Laxative eases through

FOR two centuries Daffy’s Elixir was one of the best-selling patent medicines. Invented by Leicestershire clergyman Thomas Daffy in 1647, the herb-infused alcoholic laxative originally sold as a stomach medicine but by 1700 was advertised as a cure-all for everything from consumption to rickets.

It continued to be produced by the Daffy family and various imitators throughout the 19th century – …

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