Madame Restell: Peddler of Illicit Abortifacients

Anna Lohman (1812-1877), better known as Madame Restell, ran a flourishing mail-order business from the 1840s to the 1870s with her husband Charles. Using the names Madame Restell and Dr. Mauriceau, they sold contraceptives, abortifacients, and operated an abortion clinic in New York City.

Madame Restell eventually became so widely known that Restellism was a synonym for abortion.

This cartoon, found in an 1878 issue of Puck Magazine, illustrates editorial opposition to newspapers which permit classified ads for female doctors who cater to females. 

This image, from the cover of a 1878 New York Times Illustrated, depicts Madame Restell guilty of breaking the Comstock Law.