Indianola Herb tablets

This is an envelope (above) that was used to hold Indianola herb tablets, concocted by Richard “Diamond Dick” Tanner. Tanner was born in Taylorville, Illinois, in 1869, and came to Nebraska in 1878. He began his career as a long distance rider and circus performer in the 1890s. In 1905 he entered medical school in Nebraska and in 1910 he combined his show business talent and knowledge of herbs to promote and sell natural remedies out of his Norfolk, Nebraska location. Although he tried to go “straight” for a while and temporarily dropped the Diamond Dick moniker and persona, the call of show business was too strong for him and he began easing his way back into the public spotlight as Diamond Dick. A self-proclaimed specialist in chronic diseases, Dr. Tanner enjoyed success as such, no-doubt aided by his self-promotion as a noted personality of the “Wild West.”