A discoverer of chloroform, Professor Justus von Liebig inspired the Liebig Extract of Beef Company, which collected many herbs and spices, including chili peppers from around the world. One of the company’s French-language trade cards depicted Malaysian workers on a spice plantation (upper left) and a Spanish lady collecting peppers in her Andalusian basket (lower right). Not lost on the Liebig Company was the fact that many early liniments, including snake oils, frequently provided topical pain relief by including capsaicin-spiced ingredients, courtesy of the chili pepper. (Copyright © the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology.)

A discoverer of chloroform, Professor Justus von Liebig inspired the Liebig Extract of Beef Company, which collected many herbs and spices, including chili peppers from around the world. One of the company’s French-language trade cards depicted Malaysian workers on a spice plantation (upper left) and a Spanish lady collecting peppers in her Andalusian basket (lower right). Not lost on the Liebig Company was the fact that many early liniments, including snake oils, frequently provided topical pain relief by including capsaicin-spiced ingredients, courtesy of the chili pepper. (Copyright © the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology.)

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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.