I've never understood the concept behind 'tonic wine'. It sounds like a hangover (heh!) from the Victorian period, like buying heroin from the chemists and prussic acid from the corner shop (Prussic Acid being my main choice of name if I ever recorded any Aphex Twin-style electronica). A little alcohol a week is said to be beneficial for your health, but I'm not sure I'd fancy a few gulps of Buckfast before trying to settle down.
Then I realised where I found the image, and things started to become a little clearer. I discovered this in a 1940 copy of People's Friend magazine. What other period of British history would require you to take a pretty strong drink before going to bed? If I'd have lived through the Blitz I think I would have been permanently pickled (although you do wonder how many people missed the air raid siren and had to be dug out of the wreckage of their bedrooms after a Phosferine or three). As an aside,I really like the name of the product - somehow redolent of phosgene gas and phosphorus, those well-known putter-to-beds. It smacks of an era before large marketing departments and focus groups, although I'd take a focus group over being bombed any day.
Good night! Sleep well!
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