Aspirin
This Patent Artwork collage captures the manufacture or production of Acetyl Salicylic Acid – aspirin. Aspirin can trace its roots back to the days of Hippocrates. In the 1800s researchers tried to strip down the pain relieving properties of the herbal remedy and had some success but with bad stomach side effects. Felix Hoffman had great success in refining a formulation that Charles Frederic Gerhardt tried but gave up on and was able to patent his formulation in the late 1800s. He worked for Bayer at the time, they gave it a brand name and thus Aspirin was born.
The word “Aspirin” (uppercase A), was originally a trademark of Bayer. The trademark and all IP was stripped from them as part of the Treaty of Versailles at the end of World War 1 because of their participation in the war and the name was “genericized” as aspirin (lower case A).
The contextual background used for this print mimics paper from a chemistry lab book.
This print appeals to MDs, pharmacists and chemists alike.