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

Several readers have asked that I do an article on research. My first comments is that I rarely feel satisfied with the results of my efforts, but they are the best I can do under the circumstances. Travel and time would be more fruitful, but these are both limited for me since I practice solo pediatrics for a living.

Cover of Guide to the A.M.A. Historical Health

Fraud and Alternative Medicine Collection.

Trade-mark, National Kidney & Liver Cure.

Letters to libraries and historical societies bring a response in perhaps 75% of the attempts. Once I waited 2 years for a reply. It helps to offer payment for the expenses and to enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Some libraries have requested that I have my local library write them for the information, but the only time I tried this, there was still no response. The library involved was in Chicago. Smaller communities generally answer inquiries more enthusiastically than the larger cities, though San Francisco has always responded, as has Philadelphia. The St. Louis and Charleston, S.C. libraries have referred me to professional researchers, and I used one in St. Louis with adequate results, however, this can become expensive. A library address can be obtained from your local library.

It's been my good fortune to have knowledgeable collector friends like Bill Agee, Sam Greer, Dan Cowman, John Wolf, Tim Wolter, Charlie Barnette, and Tom Eccles to turn to for answers. Dan Cowman has a large collection of advertising materials and a number of books that most of us do not have. I'm always thankful for friends.

Articles from bottle magazines are very helpful, but I suggest keeping a list as significant ones appear, because most do not publish indexes.

Bottle and related books are a very important source. Here is a list of those available to me: Adams, Samuel H., 1905, The Great American Fraud; Agee, Bill, 1969, Collecting The Cures, and 1973, Collecting All Cures; American Medical Assoc., 1912, Nostrums and Quackery; Baldwin, Joseph, 1873, Patent and Proprietary Medicine Bottles of the Nineteenth Century; Blasi, 1974, A Bit About Balsams; Calhoun, Mary, 1976, Medicine Show; Carson, Gerald, 1961, One for a Man, Two for a Horse; DeGrafft, John, 1980, American Sarsaparilla Bottles; Denver, Kay, 1968, Patent Medicine Picture, and 1970, At the Sign of the Mortar; Feldaus, Ron, 1978, The Bottles, Brewerianna and Advertising Jugs of Minnesota, 1850-1920, Vol. 2: Whiskey, Druggist, Medicine; Fike, Richard, 1978, The Bottle Book; Fletcher, Johnnie, 1991, Oklahoma Drug Store Bottles; Griffenhagen, Geo., 1969, Private Die Proprietary Medicine Stamps; Harmer Rooke Galleries, 1988, The Samuel Greer Collection; Holcombe, Henry, 1979, Patent Medicine Tax Stamps; Kendrick, Grace, 1971, The Antique Bottle Collector; Mc Namara, Brooks, 1976, Step Right Up; Munsey, Cecil, 1970, The Illustrated Guide to Collecting Bottles; Neilsen, Frederick, 1978, Great American Pontiled Medicines; Odell, John, 1977, Indian Bottles and Brands; Oleson, Charles, 1894, Secret Nostrums and System of Medicine; Ring, Carlyn, 1980, For Bitters Only; Russell, Mike, 1988, Civil War Period Bottles and Jars; Seeliger, Michael, 1974, H.H. Warner, His Company and His Bottles; Shimko, Phyllis, 1969, Sarsaparilla Bottle Encyclopedia; Watson, Richard, 1965, Bitters Bottles, and 1968, Supplement to Bitters Bottles; Wilson, Bill and Betty, 1971, 9^th Century Medicine in Glass; Wolf, John, 1975, Collecting More Cures; Young, James, 1962, The Toadstool Millionaires, and 1967, the Medical Messiahs.

Two books that were published in 1991 deserve a brief review: Hafner and Associates, Guide to the American Medical Assoc. Historical Health Fraud and Alternative Medicine Collection, lists the contents of a very extensive file. One must identify form the listings the information desired, and write or visit there to view or copy the actual material; there's a copying charge. I've used this source once to obtain information not available elsewhere; Mc Guire, Eric, Bottle Products and the U.S. Patent Office, has indexed information that has not been readily available, a total of 13,777 19^th century registrations on 22 microfiche sheets. I'm finding this to be a very helpful resource. For example, my 9 inches tall, square, amber bottle is embossed only National / Kidney & Liver / Cure. No city of origin is given. How does one seek more information? Mc Guire illustrates the label and tells us that Joseph W. Bowles, of Normal, Illinois, first put out the nostrum on January 1, 1891, and registered the trademark on October 27, 1891. Now I can write the public library or historical society of Normal, and I can also know that the Walton and Co. of Philadelphia, who manufactured the ear of corn National Bitters, did not give us National Kidney and Liver Cure.

Catalogs from auctions and other sales are a good source for checking prices and examples of bottles and variants. Glass Works puts out very good information, as do many of the others.

And don't forget what a valuable resource your local club can be. Most have an annual show and sale, and there should be other shows close enough to occasionally attend.

Much remains to be learned about our great hobby. One person told me that collecting old bottles has stimulated his interest in history after formal education failed to do so. That's sort of the way it's been for me. Good researching!

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