The Smith Brothers were makers of the first
cough drops produced and advertised in the United States, becoming one of the most famous brands in the country in its day.
History
William Wallace Smith I (1830–1913) and Andrew Smith (1836–1895) were the sons of James Smith (c. 1800–1866) of
Poughkeepsie, New York
Poughkeepsie ( ) is a city within the Poughkeepsie (town), New York, Town of Poughkeepsie, New York (state), New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, New York, Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie i ...
. James' family had emigrated from
Fife
Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...
,
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, to Canada in 1831, and James from St. Armand,
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
, to the U.S. in 1847.
In New York, James opened an
ice cream shop called "James Smith and Son." James Smith bought a cough drop recipe from a journeyman peddler named Sly Hawkins and in 1852 made his first batch of "Smith Brothers Cough Drops". The September 24, 1934 issue of Time Magazine featured the story on the rise of the Smith Brothers.
William and Andrew took over the business after their father died in 1866.
Originally the drops were sold from glass jars on countertops. To prevent
drug stores from selling generic versions the company began packaging drops in branded boxes in 1872. To distinguish their drops from imitators, the bearded brothers created a logo featuring their portraits and stamped it on their boxes. When the logo was trademarked in 1877 the word "Trade" appeared under the picture of William and the word "Mark" under Andrew's. It followed the brothers became known as Trade and Mark, nicknames that stick to this day.
Of the brothers, William Smith was the dominant, community-minded and a prohibitionist. He was known for such quirks as keeping financial records on the backs of used envelopes. He ran for public office several times and was a generous local philanthropist who assessed his brother Andrew for half of all charitable donations whether he knew of them or not.
Andrew, on the other hand, was known as the more amiable brother and not a tee-totaller.
The company's staunch defense of its trademark made the Smiths' faces among the most famous in America, the subject of editorials, comics, and cultural references.
Andrew Smith died in 1895, and William continued as company president until he died in 1913. William was succeeded by his son, Arthur G. Smith (c1875-1936), who expanded the company by adding
menthol
Menthol is an organic compound, specifically a Monoterpene, monoterpenoid, that occurs naturally in the oils of several plants in the Mentha, mint family, such as Mentha arvensis, corn mint and peppermint. It is a white or clear waxy crystallin ...
drops in 1922,
cough syrup
Cold medicines are a group of medications taken individually or in combination as a treatment for the symptoms of the common cold and similar conditions of the upper respiratory tract. The term encompasses a broad array of drugs, including ana ...
in 1926, and
wild cherry drops in 1948. Arthur G. Smith had two sons: William Wallace Smith II (1888–1955) and Robert Lansing Smith (1891–1962). William Wallace Smith II was born in Poughkeepsie N.Y.
Sales
In 1963, the Smith family sold the company to
Warner-Lambert.
F & F Foods of
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
purchased it in 1972 and production left Poughkeepsie. The iconic Smith Brothers logo was diminished in favor of the F&F Foods logo and the brothers' name recognition declined.
Though the product became scarce, it continued to make appearances in pop culture references such as the season 1, 1986 of ''
The Golden Girls
''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. The show's ensemble cast stars Beatrice Arthur, Betty ...
'' episode, "
The Flu”. Rose politely declines a Sucrets cough drop from her date, and tells him that she's “sucking on a Smith Brothers”. In the 1997 ''
Seinfeld
''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...
'' episode "
The Van Buren Boys", Jerry references "Smith Brothers cough drops" in a discussion about thick beards. Later in the 2009 ''
Simpsons'' episode, "
O Brother, Where Bart Thou?". The expression, "When the Smith Brothers shave..." was used in popular culture to mean something that was never expected to happen. In
Victor Herbert
Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859 – May 26, 1924) was an American composer, Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor of English and Irish ancestry and German training. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and co ...
's 1906
operetta
Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...
''
The Red Mill
''The Red Mill'' is an operetta written by Victor Herbert, with a libretto by Henry Blossom. The farcical story concerns two American vaudevillians who wreak havoc at an inn in the Netherlands, interfering with two marriages; but all ends well. Th ...
'', two heavily bearded men appear on stage, while one of the Vaudevillians yells, "Pipe the Smith Brothers!" Smith Brothers cough drops also get a prominent reference in
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ...
's 1932 comedy, ''
Pack Up Your Troubles'', when Stan makes a trip to Poughkeepsie to see if one of the Smith Brothers is the father of their deceased friend Eddie Smith, whose orphaned daughter was left in their care and until the pair could return her to relatives.
In the 1963 film ''
Beach Party
''Beach Party'' is a 1963 American film and the first of seven beach party films from American International Pictures (AIP) aimed at a teen audience.Smith, Gary A. Smith (2009) ''The American International Pictures Video Guide'', McFarland ...
'', the character Deadhead suggests that if the bearded Professor Sutwell had a twin he'd make a good cough drop.
In 2011, F & F sold the brand to GemCap, a
private equity fund
A private equity fund (abbreviated as PE fund) is a collective investment scheme used for making investments in various equity (and to a lesser extent debt) securities according to one of the investment strategies associated with private equity.
...
in
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
.
In 2014, GemCap sold the company to
hedge fund
A hedge fund is a Pooling (resource management), pooled investment fund that holds Market liquidity, liquid assets and that makes use of complex trader (finance), trading and risk management techniques to aim to improve investment performance and ...
York Capital Management, who once again attempted to revive the brand which had largely disappeared from store shelves. However, in 2016, the Smith brothers cough drop brand folded due to declining sales. Smith Brothers Cough Drops remained available on some retail shelves and online sources, due to previously purchased unexpired back stock.
Comeback
In May 2016, Lanes Brands of
Bedford, New Hampshire
Bedford is a New England town, town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 23,322, reflecting a growth of 10% from 2010. Bedford is a suburb of Manchester, New Hamps ...
, acquired the Smith Brothers brand. Lanes is the United States subsidiary of Lanes Health based in Gloucester, United Kingdom. According to the Lane Brands website, the Smith Brothers brand of cough drops returned to the American and worldwide markets later in 2017. According to the homepage of the company website, the cough drop flavors Black Licorice, Honey Lemon, Wild Cherry and Warm Apple Pie cough drop flavors were being offered again in the form of packets filled with sealed drops, and two tee-shirts, with the former flavor Menthol Eucalyptus, and the classic small boxes of cough drops not yet available.
In July 2021, Lanes Brands appointed BT Remedies LLC of Trevose, PA the exclusive importer and marketer of Jakemans Throat & Chest Lozenges and Smith Bros. Throat Drops. At that time, Lanes Brands closed its US offices. According to the Smith Brothers website, it currently has four flavors available: Honey Lemon, Wild Cherry, Warm Apple Pie and Black Licorice, and all products are offered for sale on the company website. The cough drops are offered in zipper-sealed bags filled with 30 wrapped drops.
Timeline
*1830 Birth of William Wallace Smith I
*1831 Emigration of Smith family from Scotland to Canada
*1836 Birth of Andrew Smith
*1847 Emigration from Canada to Poughkeepsie, New York
*1852 Cough drops advertised in newspapers
*1866 Death of James Smith
*1870 Trademark bill defeated
*1872 Prepackaged cough drops introduced
*1876 Trademarks recognized
*1877 Smith Brothers trademark registered
*1888 William Wallace Smith II born
*1891 Birth of Robert Lansing Smith
*1894 Death of Andrew Smith
*1913 Death of William Wallace Smith I
*1922 Menthol drops introduced
*1926 Cough syrup introduced
*1936 Death of Arthur G. Smith
*1948 Wild cherry drops introduced
*1955 Death of William Wallace Smith II
*1962 Death of Robert Lansing Smith
*1964 Brand is sold to Warner-Lambert
*1977 Manufacturing moved to Chicago, Illinois
*2016 The Smith Brothers brand is acquired by Lanes Brands, the United States subsidiary of Lanes Health in Gloucester, United Kingdom
*2017 Lane Brands, New Hampshire subsidiary, brings the Smith Brothers Cough Drops line back to retail shelves
*2021 BT Remedies LLC appointed as the exclusive marketer of Smith Brothers
References
External links
*
Audio Story on Smith Brothers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith Brothers
Patent medicines
Brother duos
Companies based in Chicago
Poughkeepsie, New York
Throat lozenges