![As he advertised from the corner of 10th and Greene Streets (left) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dr. Ira W. Stoughton (1854 to 1920) offered his dental patients a choice of general or local anesthesia. According to this trade card from the Wood Library-Museum’s Ben Z. Swanson Collection, Dr. Stoughton offered his patients “Pure, fresh [Laughing] Gas daily.” Although he advertised it as “Dr. Stoughton’s Wonderful Pain Obtunder,” his local anesthetic was branded “Odontunder” and advertised with a cherub winging around with a banner (right). Analysis of Odontunder revealed a 1.35% concentration of cocaine in its proprietary mixture. Conveniently for Dr. Stoughton, his supplier of local anesthetics had, by 1910, become geographically local—the Odontunder Manufacturing Company had moved from Ohio to Stoughton’s Philadelphia. (Copyright © the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology.)](https://asa2.silverchair-cdn.com/asa2/content_public/journal/anesthesiology/126/4/10.1097_aln.0000000000001582/2/m_14ff01.jpeg?Expires=1687559837&Signature=ugavh29FGmhOV75CoMHTUfRhdiDVlVWpI-Xd0J4yfa88wkULb3znrjhQKxUwuLdDjD6TQL0HGgHR87Z1cWZipBapjDN4o5d-umY8UeeSs4Qn8czpWI-uvXPFkoicBElbzCk-LqHtdxYkTADsqOy80MLf4cKUbDN1Nh~FHuV0YpP8gV~VCwwuLP3e987ySMXE0rC4d~4w~7Ro3pDuIHnQDWhsRIgyc9fsw6qyFN5sN~LpGDt7SBYUrMNsO9w8ythv87pSTTt5VV3HkSkDo9AEDqKVfJ22yoBVOFlctITWQ7r4aj8mmoFnTq7Dt9HLwv~D-8hvar3w3XWaYuLc-1rQUQ__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAIE5G5CRDK6RD3PGA)
As he advertised from the corner of 10th and Greene Streets (left) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dr. Ira W. Stoughton (1854 to 1920) offered his dental patients a choice of general or local anesthesia. According to this trade card from the Wood Library-Museum’s Ben Z. Swanson Collection, Dr. Stoughton offered his patients “Pure, fresh [Laughing] Gas daily.” Although he advertised it as “Dr. Stoughton’s Wonderful Pain Obtunder,” his local anesthetic was branded “Odontunder” and advertised with a cherub winging around with a banner (right). Analysis of Odontunder revealed a 1.35% concentration of cocaine in its proprietary mixture. Conveniently for Dr. Stoughton, his supplier of local anesthetics had, by 1910, become geographically local—the Odontunder Manufacturing Company had moved from Ohio to Stoughton’s Philadelphia. (Copyright © the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology.)
As he advertised from the corner of 10th and Greene Streets (left) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dr. Ira W. Stoughton (1854 to 1920) offered his dental patients a choice of general or local anesthesia. According to this trade card from the Wood Library-Museum’s Ben Z. Swanson Collection, Dr. Stoughton offered his patients “Pure, fresh [Laughing] Gas daily.” Although he advertised it as “Dr. Stoughton’s Wonderful Pain Obtunder,” his local anesthetic was branded “Odontunder” and advertised with a cherub winging around with a banner (right). Analysis of Odontunder revealed a 1.35% concentration of cocaine in its proprietary mixture. Conveniently for Dr. Stoughton, his supplier of local anesthetics had, by 1910, become geographically local—the Odontunder Manufacturing Company had moved from Ohio to Stoughton’s Philadelphia. (Copyright © the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology.)
George S. Bause, M.D., M.P.H., Honorary Curator and Laureate of the History of Anesthesia, Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, Schaumburg, Illinois, and Clinical Associate Professor, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. UJYC@aol.com.
