David Jayne was born in Stroudsburg, PA in 1799. In 1818 He took up the study of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. After completing his studies he began to practice as a rural family doctor in Salem, New Jersey in 1822. Apparently, he first introduced his own medicines around 1830, and he was first listed as an M.D. in Philadelphia in 1839. An ad in late 1850 listed the firms address at No. 8 South Third Street; at the bottom it added that "after October, 1850, the store would be removed into the new eight story granite building, 84 Chestnut Street.
Jayne sold various nostrums including a "Tonic Vermifuge" for the expulsion of worms. He gave away copies of "Jayne's Medical Almanac & Guide to Good Health" to prospective users of his many preparations. The almanacs contained a picture of a big-eyed worm along with a lot of advice about how to stay in good health (mainly by buying his concoctions).
In 1846 his two sons: David W. and Eben C. joined him and the business was known as David Jayne & Sons. In 1855, Dr Jayne issued a statement that "The manufacture and sale of my family medicines, heretofore conducted in my name, will hereafter be conducted under the firm name of Dr. D. Jayne & Sons, to whom all letters relating to the sale of my medicines should be addressed." From 1860 to 1866 the business was probably run by his sons. He was serving as president of the Commonwealth Insurance Company during this period. He apparently died in 1866. It was said that he left about $3,000,000 to his family who continued to run his business.
The business called D. Jayne & Sons was alive and well past the turn of the century. From 1870 to 1884, it was being run by Eben C. Jayne and John K. Walker. Then, from 1885 till after 1905, Eben was running the business alone. In 1878, Eben C. Jayne (as a member of D. Jayne & Son) registered the brand name as a Trade Mark (TM #5,741). He indicated that the brand name had been in use since 1845.
The majority of the biographical information above was obtained from the National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Other sources included the Wilsons' book, and Holcombe's book.
After examining over fifty years worth of Jayne's Almanacs and ads, I've found that the Jayne's Hair Preparations were in production during approximately the following periods. Jayne sold Alibert's Oleaginous Hair Tonic as an Agent between 1837 and 1840. In January of 1840, he claimed to be its sole Preparer and Proprietor. It was probably during that year that he called it Jayne's Oleaginous Hair Tonic. Eventually, he changed the name of his product to just Jayne's Hair Tonic and discontinued selling Alibert's entirely. According to the 1849 Almanac, the label of the Dr Jayne's Hair Tonic bottle had before and after pictures with the dates September 1839 and April 1841. His Tonic could have very well been in production that early. The Hair Tonic was in production until after the turn of the century. Jayne's American Hair Dye was being made prior to 1849, and was discontinued around 1867 or 1868. Jayne's Liquid Hair Dyes were started around 1857, and also lasted into the mid-60s.
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