Antique Medicine Bottles Dr Cannon's Medicine Chest

ANOTHER "PATENT MEDICINE ARTICLE" FROM THE PAGES OF

ANTIQUE BOTTLE AND GLASS COLLECTOR MAGAZINE

THE MAGAZINE OF THE ANTIQUE BOTTLE COLLECTING HOBBY

Historically, there is a mingling of medicines and beverages. Mineral waters were considered to be of health benefit, and were often carbonated by nature. Dr. Joseph Priestly, an English scientist, discovered oxygen, and in 1772 was given credit for the first practical method of artificially carbonating water. After this, some natural mineral waters without carbonation were carbonated artificially, and other waters were also artificially carbonated. When flavors were added, they became soda waters5 Chemists, pharmacists,

doctors, and business people all got into the act, so it’s not surprising that some 19th century medicines were put out in soda water type bottles.

The following items in my collection fit into this category, all bottles, bimal:

1. Buffum’s // Sarsaparilla // & Lemon // Mineral Water // Pittsburgh, bare iron pontil, ten sided, deep aqua, 7 3/4 inches tall.

2. Charles Joly / Philadelphia / Jamaica Sarsaparilla, round, amber, blob top, 9 1/2 inches tall.

3. Dr. S.F. Stowe’s / Ambrosial Nectar / monogram of wreath and stemmed glass / Patented May 22, 1866, round, lime green, narrow band below lip, 8 inches tall.

4. R. Bovee / Troy N.Y. // Mineral / Waters, Hutchinson type, clear, 7 inches tall.

5. A Blood Purifier / Tonic Diuretic / Laxative and Appetizer / Wootan Wells Mineral Water / Bottled At / Wootan Wells, Tex. / By Wootan Wells Co., Hutchinson type, aqua, 6 1/2 inches tall.

6. Allouez / A Curative Water / For Kidney, Liver & Stomach / For Sale Here, advertising sign, 9 by 18 1/2 inches.]

7. Phoenix / PNBC monogram / Nerve Beverage Co. / Boston / U.S.A., round, clear, crown top, 9 1/4 inches tall.

8. Drink / Delicious / Bludwine / Trade Mark / For Your / Health’s Sake all inside a wreath of leaves, and below City Bottling Works / Sulfur Springs, Tex.

Through the years, sarsaparilla was used to treat syphilis, skin diseases and rheumatism; later to purify the blood.6 By 1909, it was found to have little if any medicinal value.1 Government chemists after 1906 and the Pure Food and Drugs Act discovered that some mineral waters had so little mineral content that they might as well have come from an ordinary water tap; and some were downright filthy.3

J.C. Buffum and Co., was first listed in the Pittsburgh City Directory in 1857, as manufacturers of Sarsaparilla, mineral water and soda water. They were located at 26 Market Street near 2nd. They had a cobalt bottle exactly like my deep aqua one and later a smooth base cobalt almost torpedo shaped bottle, 8 1/4 inches tall, embossed in circles Buffum & Co. / Pittsburgh // Sarsaparilla / And / Mineral Water. Later locations were 122-4 Third Ave. in 1902, and the 1200 block of Voskamp St. in 1910. The company was not listed after 1920.2

Charles Joly was in business as early as 1848 according to one ad. The Philadelphia address in 1884 was No. 9 S. 7th St., and from 1908-1909, 1122 McClellan St. Jamaica Sarsaparilla was also put out in a 10 inch tall crown top variant.2 Charles Joly patented Joly’s Beer in Philadelphia in 1878.4

Ambrosial Nectar was a root beer for medicinal purposes. Dr. Samuel F. Stowe was in Providence R.I., and had other medicines including a Vegetable Rheumatic Tincture and Magic Fluid. Stowe died about 1882, and his daughter Sally B. Stowe continued the business, patenting Dr. Samuel Stowe’s Vegetable Rheumatic Tincture in 1884.4,7 I have no specific information about R. Bovee. Troy is near enough to Saratoga Springs to have capitalized on the mineral water business. The Hutchinson type container was used most extensively between 1890 and 1912.5

Wootan Wells no longer exists. It was located about 30 miles southeast of Waco. Francis M. Wootan established it as a resort community about 1880. It centered around wells of mineral water found on his farm land. Soon there were three hotels, a mule drawn railway, a telegraph, a Wells Fargo, and several stores, dance halls, cabins and cottages. Things went very well until about 1910, when fire destroyed a large hotel. Soon, the bottling plant burned along with other buildings. In 1916, the wells began to fail, and by 1923, only a few foundations remained. There was mineral water in Marlin, a near by town, so all the activity began to center there.2

The Allouez Mineral Spring Water Company was located in Green Bay, Wis. I have no other information about this product.3

Adams & Taylor of Boston, Ma. patented Phoenix-Scheidam Gin in 1872 and again in 1875. Whether there is any relationship to the Phenix Nerve Beverage Co. of Boston is not known to me.4

Bludwine doesn’t sound very delicious to me. Neither does sulphur spings. The German word for blood is Blut; for wine, wein. Modified German? Maybe.....

References:
1. Arny, H.V.: Principles Of Pharmacy, 1909.
2. Cannon, R.: Antique Bottle and Glass
Collector, Sept., 1985, Jan., 1986, Aug., 1991.
3. Denver, K.: At The Sign Of The Mortar, 1970.
4. McGuire, E.: Bottle Products And The U.S.
Patent Office, 1991.
5. Munsey, C: Collecting Bottles, 1970.
6. Shimko, P.: Sarsaparilla Bottle Encyclopedia,
1969.
7. Wilson, B. and B.: 19th Century Medicine In
Glass, 1971

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