Hagan's Magnolia Balm, White

The indications or uses for this product as provided by the manufacturer are: For beautifying the complexion, eradicating freckles, eruptions, sunburn and tan

William E. Hagan (1826-1902) of Troy, New York, began working for local drug manufacturer, C. Heimstreet & Company in the late 1840s. Hagan took over the business in 1855, changing the name to W. E. Hagan & Company. It is not certain when Hagan first developed Magnolia Balm, but by 1860, the balm was widely advertised as “a perfect and compleat [sic] remedy for pimples, blotches, freckles, eruptions, sunburn or tan.” Hagan apparently sold the rights to the product in the early 1860s, and by 1872 the balm was owned by the Lyon Manufacturing Company.

In 1880 the Southern Medical Record reported that a 3.5-ounce bottle of Hagan’s Magnolia Balm contained 2 drachmas glycerin, 262 grains zinc carbonate, a trace of carmine, lavender, and bergamot. Beginning in 1910, about the time of this bottle, Magnolia Balm was available in three colors – pink, white, rose red – and sold for 75 cents or often less when on sale. (The price listed on this bottle is 75 cents.) Magnolia Balm appears to have disappeared from the market by 1931.

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