antique bottles THE MEDICINE CHEST --- BY DR. RICHARD CANNON

antique CELERY MEDICINE bottles

I think of celery as what we chomp down on at the dinner table. Its seed also has diuretic and antispasmodic properties according to my 1951 Dorland's Medical Dictionary. In the Druggist's Hand-Book of Medicinal Roots, Barks, Herbs, Flowers, Etc., put out by the G.S. Cheney Co. of Boston in 1900, I read that celery seed was used for the treatment of dropsy, incontinence of urine, and liver complaints.

King's Sarsaparilla Celery and Compound (left) and Kennedy's Sarsaparilla and Celery Compound (right)

John DeGrafft in American Sarsaparilla Bottles includes six brands that also have Celery embossed: Dr. Bell's Sarsaparilla and Celery Compound, Carl's Sarsaparilla and Celery Comp., Aurora, Ill., Husted's Sarsaparilla with Celery, Kennedy's Sarsaparilla and Celery Compound, Kings Sarsaparilla Celery and Compound, and Logan's Sarsaparilla and Celery, Omaha, Neb. Joseph K. Baldwin in Patent and Proprietary Medicine Bottles lists twelve that include Celery in the name. Gladstone's Celery and Pepsin Compound which was “for sale in all bars” according to the Mobile, Alabama Daily Register of April 14, 1896, sounds good. There were also celery bitters.

Paines Celery Compound in aqua and amber.

Recently, I acquired the amber, square bottle embossed King's // // Sarsaparilla / Celery and Compound // // , 10 1/4 inches tall, bimal, and considered to be extremely rare by DeGrafft. Tom Eccles of California has this bottle with complete labels, which helps us to know more about this gem of the past. It was put out by the King's Medicine Co. of London, England, U.S. Branch, Pittsburgh, PA. A large B dominates the front label and located within the B are the words Celery, Sarsaparilla, and Brain Food plus drawings of a celery plant and a sarsaparilla plant. The label reads “For the Brain, Blood, Stomach, Nerves and Kidneys. Cures Scrofia, Rheumatism, Constipation, Boils, Pimples and Humors on the Face, Catarrh, Headache, Dizziness and Female Weakness, Loss of Appetite and All Kidney and Liver Diseases.” The directions on the back label are in both English and German.

My amber, square bottle embossed Kennedy's // // , 9 7/8 inches tall, bimal, and given as rare by DeGrafft, is the subject of another article. I do not know which Kennedy put it out; there were at least five different Kennedy's in the nineteenth century proprietary medicine business in the U.S.A., and none listed this product. I have favored Donald Kennedy of Roxbury, Mass., in an unsuccessful attempt to compete with Paine's Celery Compound from nearby Vermont. However, this could even be another remedy from abroad.

Bromo Celery The Arnold Chemical Co. Chicago.

Most of us have an amber, square bottle about 9 3/4 inches tall, embossed Paine's // // Celery Compound // // . I also have one 9 5/8 inches tall and aqua; clear variants exist as well. The earliest bottle is amber, square, 9 3/4 inches tall, and embossed Celery Compound // // Compound at an angle within an embossed celery plant. Milton K. Paine, a pharmacist as early as the 1840's in Windsor, Vermont, began bottling his “Celery Compound” in 1882. It contained celery seed, red cinchona, orange peel, coriander seed lemon peel, hydrochloric acid, glycerine, simple syrup, water and alcohol. There is one ad with testimonials from six members of the clergy, perhaps to assure the public that it had not been overly steeped in alcohol. Another ad states that “Celery Compound Cures Disease of the Nerves, Kidneys, Liver, Stomach, and Bowels, and acts as a Blood Purifier and Tonic to the Central System”. This very successful medicine was soon marketed by the Wells, Richardson and Company of Burlington, Vermont, and they became the sole proprietors in the late 1880's. Don Fritschel, now of Georgetown, Texas has an excellent review of Wells, Richardson, and Co. in the September, 1974 issue of Old Bottle Magazine.

There's little in the materials available to me about my 4 inch tall, amber, bimal, round bottle embossed Bomo Celery / The Arnold / Chemical Co. / Chicago. It's shaped like the 4-inch size of Bromo Seltzer, and was likely a competitor. The product was for headaches, rheumatism, etc., and was advertised in the Weekly People & Patriot of Concord, NH., on November 8, 1895, according to Baldwin. It probably is not one of Seth Arnold's products.

Baldwin includes another catchy one: Pineapple Pepsin and Celery, The best stomach medicine in the world, manufactured by Standard Pharmacal Co., Binghamton, New York, Binghamton Past and Present, 1894. Maybe in order to compete with Dr. Kilmer, they even threw in a trip to Hawaii.

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