I can’t believe it! A 1929 Glaxo Baby Book literally fell out of my linen cupboard.
It must have been wedged in the paneled walls for decades. Moth-eaten but otherwise readable it explains Scarlet Fever, Rickets and the benefits of Cod Liver Oil. Oh, haven’t we come a long way in medicine.
In Wellington 1873, local entrepreneur Joseph Nathan established a trading company that was a forerunner to Glaxo’s milk powder drying operation at Bunnythorpe, Manawatu.
Just like today’s Plunket Book, the Glaxo Baby Book was self-proclaimed ‘Encyclopaedia of Mothercraft’; the first ‘go to’ in times of need regarding sleeping, feeding or baby troubles. First published in 1908, revised editions have found their way into the hands of mothers around the globe. This book c 1929 (both By Royal Appointment to the count of Spain and Italy) was not a diary but a bible!
Glaxo was a milk formula, so this brand-funded baby book had a subtle sprinkling of formula, and particularly compares prepared Glaxo vs fresh Cow’s milk (which some 90 years ago was still being served to newborns).
The content and wording is utterly gorgeous and still makes perfect sense. Some stand-outs are:
Suggested Minimum Layette
- 4 vests (2 night, 2 day) made of soft wool or silk and wool
- 4 belts (ditto)
- 4 petticoats (fine flannel)
- 4 gowns (nun’s veiling or silk) to be worn for night
- 2 house shawls (not too open a mesh)
- 1 large shawl (for outdoor wear)
- 1 light soft cap (or bonnet)
- 2 doz. napkins (Turkish towelling)
- 1 doz. soft muslin squares (for use particularly during the first few weeks)
- Bootees and matinee coats
- Bath, cot and basket containing: Glaxo Baby Soap, Glaxo Baby Cream, Glaxo Baby Powder
Oh, and you could get the paper patterns or knitting directions by writing to Glaxo!
The Ten Commandments of Baby
- You must not kiss me on the mouth;
- You must not sneeze or cough near my face;
- You must not give me a dummy;
- You must give me a bath every day;
- You must not leave me in soiled linen;
- You must give me a bed to myself;
- You must let my room be large and keep the window open;
- You must put me to sleep frequently in the fresh air;
- You must observe scrupulous cleanliness with my food and its preparation;
- You must keep my Glaxo in a dry cool place with the lid well closed.
For the Perplexed Mother there are a range of FAQs; some as relevant today than ever…
Q: Must I drink stout while nursing baby?
A: No. Alcohol in any form is bad for both mother and child.
….and some other bewildering questions:
Q: Is it necessary with a girl baby to break ‘the nipple strings’?
A: No. It is a cruel and harmful practice. Any interference with the infant’s breasts leads to the formation of abscesses.
Well I just had to research more into this. Breaking nipple strings!? What was that all about? Well it seems that country midwives ‘of the old fashioned kind’ believed that mothers who had inverted nipples and struggled to breastfeed, could be avoided if at birth, nipples were pinched and squeezed from female newborns. This practice, which by no accounts was conducted in no gentle manner, was practiced for the first four weeks of their life.
This book covers all you need to know and more. Common baby ailments like colic, constipation, croup – and some distant diseases thankfully we didn’t grow up with like Diphtheria, German Measles, Mumps, Scarlet Fever and Rickets. Thank goodness for child inoculations.
If you want to me to quote a ‘slice of life’ back in the 1920’s motherhood, please leave a comment below and I’ll be delighted to share some ancient words of wisdom with you!
Post Script: Why do we think it is 1929? It is difficult to find the publication date of this vintage baby guide. The big clue was the inside back cover that refers to an extract the The Daily Mail, April 23, 1927 on the benefits of Cod Liver Oil so we knew it post-dated 1927. And, it was the 21st edition (1908+21 = 1929). Bingo bango. Glaxo Smith Kline have since confirmed our conclusions!
October 1, 2021
Glaxo was well known in my family as the matriarch of us was born a 10 lb baby in April 1925. she could not take breast or cows milk & lost a lot of weight & was not feeding. She thrived on Glaxo. My grandfather a frugal Northern Irishman referred to her as the dear baby as she was expensive to feed til weaning.
What was so special that was in Glaxo to make the product tolerable ?
My mum was born in Gore NZ and lived a long productive life & lived to age 87.
October 4, 2021
Hi Kevin, thanks so much for sharing! From what I understand from Glaxo’s advertising it was marketed as a ‘super-milk food’ rich in vitamins. Glaxo ‘Builds Bonnie Babies’ so their tagline stated, and your mother was proof. Here’s one of Glaxo’s many print ads: https://www.alamy.com/original-1920s-advertisement-advertising-glaxo-milk-food-for-babies-image60585768.html. So lovely to hear your mum lived a productive and long life. All the best. >>Julie
November 8, 2020
Thanks very much for all of your help in trying to find the original tin of my father and his twin brother.
Tim
November 8, 2020
Hi Tim, I don’t know if I have been of any real help….but thank you all the same. Your dad and uncle? Fabulous. A piece of NZ history right there, a celebrity in Kiwi households for decades. What an incredible link. All the best Tim >>Julie
October 15, 2020
Good evening! I would like to know if you still have the photo of twins, William and Stanley, who were associated with the Glaxo Baby Formula? I happen to know these twins who are now 82 years old! It was a lovely photo and would love to know more about how they had their photo taken around 1938.
October 18, 2020
Hi Heather, I don’t personally have the photo you refer to…but that sounds so lovely that you know the twins! May I suggest you contact Glaxo Smith Kline (they are the modern version of the Glaxo group who originally published the book) and they may be able to assist, you just never know! Here’s their NZ website: https://nz.gsk.com/en-nz/ >>Julie
May 23, 2016
Thanks for the post! I’ve only just discovered the existence of these Glaxo Baby Books (am currently looking for 20th Century baby care advice as dispensed by the baby formula marketers of the day). I have seen that the 25th edition was in 1958, so I figured Glaxo did a new edition every two years… that would make yours 1950 rather than 1929 if correct? The photographic image looks more a 1950s thing, but whether Scarlett fever was still much of an issue then with penicillin around etc, I don’t know.
I’d be very keen to know whether this book you have found does any or all of the following: encourage feeding schedules; caution that infants waking outside the scheduled time are improperly fed; warn that breast-milk supply will be affected by things such as improper maternal diet, or fluid intake, or any stress/anxieties … basically any of the myths now acknowledged as likely to sabotage breastfeeding attempts.
May 25, 2016
Hi Julie, thanks so much for your post. Through our own research we had it pitched at around 1927-1929 but to confirm our theory, we contacted Glaxo (Glaxo Smith Kline now) who confirmed it was a 1929 edition. We’re really pleased. Let me do some reading and I’ll see if I can post any specific information.
May 29, 2016
Hi Julie,
On feeding schedules: the book encourages 6 x daily feeding times for the first five months (6am, 9am, 12noon, 3pm, 6pm and 10pm). If the baby was to wake for a night feed (ie: 7 feeds within 24 hours) then a reduction must be made in the amount given at each feed — as to not to overfeed. 6 months + recommends 5 x feeds a day. “It is most important to see the daily total quantity is right and the intervals between the feeding times are regular. The feeding table is to be used as general guide.”
There is little scare mongering or sabotage that I read into. Despite being a book produced by a baby milk formula company, Glaxo promotes a section to Breast Feeding and Mixed Feeding. This was at a time when mother’s were feeding their infants sweet water or cow’s milk with terrible infant suffering and mortality. “Babies no more able to digest cow’s milk than they are able to digest leather” suggested a lecturing infant Specialist in London. Much of the articles are educational. “It is wrong in principle to give complete bottle feeds if the mother is still able to breast-feed baby”.
Little advice was imparted to the breastfeeding mother in this book with regards to her own health for healthy milk production, other than suggesting that mother’s themselves would benefit before and after the birth by drinking Glaxo herself.
All in all, it seemed very honest and forthright across a huge range of illness and ailments. There are ad placements throughout the book but they are mainly ‘cod liver oil replacements’ which are also a Glaxo product. The marketing was refreshingly innocent :)