Emanuel Thomas Lyon was born in Germany in 1815. He graduated from Princeton College, in New Jersey somtime in the 1840s. He started working as a Chemist in New York City around 1849. His primary product over the years was his "Magnetic Powder" for pest control. From 1850 to 1858, his "Magnetic Powder Depot" was located at either 420 or 424 Broadway. In addition to his primary product, he concocted his Kathairon and an Essence of Jamaica Ginger sometime prior to 1852. He worked as a Chemist for Demas Barnes, and later for Heath, Wynkoop & Co., who sold these preparations.
Demas Barnes was the Proprietor of the Kathairon from around 1854 until 1856. Advertisements starting in 1857 indicated that Heath, Wyncoop, & Co. were the sole Proprietors by that time. During the period that they owned the product, they issued bank notes from "The Kathairon Bank." The notes were mentioned in Holcombe's book and pictured in a June 91 article in Antique Bottle & Glass Collector magazine by Mike Russell. Advertising in 1856 and 57 claimed that they had sold nearly a million bottles of the Kathairon the previous years. During the years that Heath, Wynkoop & Co. were the Proprietors of the Kathairon, they also listed the Lyon's Indian Hair Dye.
Apparently, Lyon died in 1858. In fact, there are no further listings of him in New York City after that time. From 1860 on, the Kathairon was prepared primarily by Demas Barnes. In 1871, the Lyon Mfg Co. came into being, although E. Lyon didn't have anything to do with it.