John Morgan Richards
Encyclopedia
John Morgan Richards was an American businessman and entrepreneur who made his fortune from the promotion of patent medicine
s and American cigarettes in Britain. He was the father of the novelist Pearl Mary Teresa Craigie (who worked as John Oliver Hobbes
).
Richards was born in Aurora
, Cayuga County
, New York
, the son of Dr James Richards, a Presbyterian minister of English descent, and Elizabeth Beals.
A Boston
resident in adulthood, he married Laura Hortense Arnold in 1863, and moved to London permanently in 1867, though retaining his American citizenship all his life.
His best known business achievement was a major and successful marketing campaign from 1877 onward to popularise the cigarette in Britain. This was achieved through "vigorous advertising and some ingenious and original methods of trade promotion" such as offering chemists an incentive - he would pay for their tobacco trading license - if they supplied his cigarettes, Allen & Ginter's Virginia-made "Richmond Gems". He also marketed the patent medicines Carter's Little Liver Pills
and Dr. Williams' Pink Pills for Pale People
.
He was chairman of the American Society in London, and a member of the Reform Club
.
In 1903 he purchased Steephill Castle
near Ventnor
, Isle of Wight
, where he lived for the remainder of his life. He largely retired from business after the early death in 1906 of his daughter Pearl Craigie, who lived and worked part-time in her own villa near Steephill.
His Times obituary recalled him as "the pioneer of a doubtful benefit", though crediting him with having "helped greatly to promote trade relations between England and the United States".
Patent medicine
Patent medicine refers to medical compounds of questionable effectiveness sold under a variety of names and labels. The term "patent medicine" is somewhat of a misnomer because, in most cases, although many of the products were trademarked, they were never patented...
s and American cigarettes in Britain. He was the father of the novelist Pearl Mary Teresa Craigie (who worked as John Oliver Hobbes
John Oliver Hobbes
Pearl Mary Teresa Craigie was an Anglo-American novelist and dramatist who wrote under the pen-name of John Oliver Hobbes.-Life:...
).
Richards was born in Aurora
Aurora, Cayuga County, New York
Aurora is a village and college town in Cayuga County, in the Town of Ledyard, north of Ithaca, New York, United States. The village had a population of 720 at the 2000 census, of which more than 400 were college students....
, Cayuga County
Cayuga County, New York
Cayuga County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It was named for one of the tribes of Indians in the Iroquois Confederation. Its county seat is Auburn.- History :...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, the son of Dr James Richards, a Presbyterian minister of English descent, and Elizabeth Beals.
A Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
resident in adulthood, he married Laura Hortense Arnold in 1863, and moved to London permanently in 1867, though retaining his American citizenship all his life.
His best known business achievement was a major and successful marketing campaign from 1877 onward to popularise the cigarette in Britain. This was achieved through "vigorous advertising and some ingenious and original methods of trade promotion" such as offering chemists an incentive - he would pay for their tobacco trading license - if they supplied his cigarettes, Allen & Ginter's Virginia-made "Richmond Gems". He also marketed the patent medicines Carter's Little Liver Pills
Bisacodyl
Bisacodyl is a stimulant laxative drug that works directly on the large colon to produce a bowel movement. It is typically prescribed for relief of constipation and for the management of neurogenic bowel dysfunction as well as part of bowel preparation before medical examinations, such as for a...
and Dr. Williams' Pink Pills for Pale People
Dr. Williams' Pink Pills for Pale People
Dr. Williams' Pink Pills for Pale People was a late 19th to early 20th century patent medicine containing iron oxide and magnesium sulfate. It was produced by Dr. Williams Medicine Company, the trading arm of G. T. Fulford & Company. It was claimed to cure chorea, referenced frequently in...
.
He was chairman of the American Society in London, and a member of the Reform Club
Reform Club
The Reform Club is a gentlemen's club on the south side of Pall Mall, in central London. Originally for men only, it changed to include the admission of women in 1981. In 2011 the subscription for membership of the Reform Club as a full UK member is £1,344.00, with a one-off entrance fee of £875.00...
.
In 1903 he purchased Steephill Castle
Steephill
Steephill is a hamlet near Ventnor, Isle of Wight, previously the location of a Victorian country estate with a castle-style mansion, Steephill Castle, which was demolished to build bungalows in the 1960s...
near Ventnor
Ventnor
Ventnor is a seaside resort and civil parish established in the Victorian era on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It lies underneath St Boniface Down , and is built on steep slopes and cliffs leading down to the sea...
, Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
, where he lived for the remainder of his life. He largely retired from business after the early death in 1906 of his daughter Pearl Craigie, who lived and worked part-time in her own villa near Steephill.
His Times obituary recalled him as "the pioneer of a doubtful benefit", though crediting him with having "helped greatly to promote trade relations between England and the United States".
Publications
- With John Bull and Jonathan. Reminiscences of sixty years of an American's life in England and in the United States (pub. D. Appleton, New York, 1906)
- The life of John Oliver Hobbes: told in her correspondence with numerous friends (J. Murray, London, 1911, Internet Archive)
- Almost Fairyland (1914) - a privately circulated appreciation of the Isle of Wight.