I rarely run across a blanket that leaves me dumbfounded, but color me stumped on this remarkable very early wool trade blanket. I have absolutely no idea who manufactured it – if I had to guess I’d say Buell but why guess when I can be blissfully ignorant instead? This came from the estate of Milton K. Paine of Windsor, Vermont. Mr. Paine was a druggist who concocted the wildly popular “Paine’s Celery Compound” and sold the rights in 1880 undoubtedly for a very handsome price.

I quote the potion’s magical powers -“Thousands of lives that are now fast wearing out would be prolonged if Paine’s Celery Compound were in each instance used to stop those ominous pains over the kidneys, to build up the rundown nervous strength, and cure permanently those more and more frequently occurring attacks of headache and indigestion.” For those who didn’t suffer reoccurring headaches, an evening dose or two of Paine’s with its 21% alcohol content could get them jump-started first thing the very next morning.