Medicine show

Medicine shows were traveling truck, horse, and wagon teams which peddled "miracle cure" nostrums and other products between various entertainment acts. They developed from European mountebank shows and were common in the 19th century United States, especially in the Old West era (though they continued up to World War II). They are most commonly associated with "miracle elixirs" (sometimes referred to as snake oil), which, it was claimed, had the ability to cure any disease, smooth wrinkles, remove stains, prolong life or cure any number of common ailments. Most shows had their own patent medicine (these medicines were for the most part unpatented but took the name to sound official). Entertainment often included a freak show, a flea circus, musical acts, magic tricks, jokes, or storytelling. Each show was run by a man posing as a doctor who drew the crowd with a monologue. The entertainers, such as acrobats, musclemen, magicians, dancers, ventriloquists, exotic performers, and trick shots, kept the crowd around until the salesman sold his medicine.