Herbert Law - Horace and Herbert

The two brothers responsible for shaping San Francisco in the earthquake’s aftermath are now as buried in obscurity as the barrels their employees hid away. The Law brothers were born in the 1860s by the mills of Sheffield, England, but soon immigrated to Chicago, and in 1884 they struck out for San Francisco. By 1906, Hartland was established as an M.D., and Herbert as a chemist. More importantly, they headed local business associations and owned prominent San Francisco buildings, including the new Fairmont Hotel. Their holdings were worth millions.2

How did they do it? The secret was Viavi. In 1899, a volume of medical advice made its way into American and British homes: Viavi Hygiene, by Hartland and Herbert Law. The book ministered to myriad complaints: tumors, back pains, constipation—and, of course, the Victorian favorite, catarrh. Like many patent medicines, the Viavi system promised common sense and hard science—namely, through Viavi Capsules, Viavi Royal, Viavi Laxative, Viavi Cerate, Viavi Iron Tonic, and above all else, the Viavi douche.