THE EYE CUP OR EYE BATH 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

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

Eye baths were used in England in the 16^th century.

The financial account of the Lestrange family of Hunstanton contains the following entry for 1578: “Silver piece for mistress's Eye --- 5 shillings.”

Glass eye cups or eye baths in a variety of colors date back into the 19^th century in the United States, and aluminum examples appeared early in the 20^th century. I have the following colors in glass: cobalt, milk, black, pink, amber, emerald green, lime, milk lime, clear, cornflower blue, and orange. There's also an aluminum example, which was used in the 1920s by my family. My cornflower blue and orange may have been fairly recently produced, but the others appear to be older. There is a clear eyecup, not in my collection, embossed on the base TradeMark John Bull, Pat. Aug. 14, 1917.

I've not been able to determine if this was Louisville's John Bull of Sarsaparilla fame. My clear and milk glass examples have a G on the base, my pink a B within a triangle, my emerald green, W circled by Made in England. The amber one is somewhat asymmetrical and crude, but has mold marks. Amber free-blown types are less common.

Through the years there have been several devices used to install liquid eye medicines into the eyes for irrigation or treatment, but for use by the patient, the eye cup or eye bath were most popular until eye drops were developed using a screw-capped top provided with a plastic collar and a rubber unit carrying a glass dropper and a rubber teat. To use the eye cup, the patient applied it to the eye with the head bowed forward, threw the head back with the eye open, ensured lavage of the eye by blinking several times and then removed the cup with the head once more bowed forward.

The term collyrium was used by the Romans to denote a number of medications molded together in gum to form a solid cake, a small piece of which was dissolved in water or oil and applied to powders and ointments, but today its use is generally confined to watery solutions used for instillation into the eye.

Sometime in the early 1900s, Wyeth Laboratories of Philadelphia began to put out a product they called Collyrium. It came in a cobalt machine made, round bottle that is 5 3/4 inches tall and includes a matching eye cup and stopper combination embossed Wyeth on one side and Collyrium on the other. John Wyeth, 1834-1907, graduated from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy in 1854 and began working for Henry C. Blair; Wyeth became a full partner in 1858. He sold his interests, and in 1860 with Brother Frank, opened a drugstore at 1410 Walnut. The firm of John Wyeth & Bro. Prospered and Edward T. Dobbins became a full partner. Fire destroyed the store in 1889 and the business was moved to 11^th and Washington. The retail store was sold to Frank Morgan. John Wyeth's only son Stuart became president of the firm in 1907. When Stuart died in 1929, Harvard University inherited the firm, and in 1931, American Home Products, Inc., became owners. The company as Wyeth-Ayerst is still in business today.

John Wyeth & Bro., registered six products with the U.S. Patent Office between 1876 and 1897, but Collyrium was not registered until 1937. This was done because other companies were coming out with similar products and using the term collyrium. One of these was Ibath by McKesson and Robbins. It came in a cobalt oval screw top bottle with ribbed sides, 5 1/2 inches tall, label only, and a white plastic cap that was also an eye cup. This is in my collection; along with the Ibath example is a later Collyrium bottle, labeled only, screw top, cobalt, square, 4 1/2 inches tall, with a cobalt plastic cap and eyecup with Wyeth embossed on each side. The currently marketed Collyrium for Fresh Eyes by Wyeth-Ayerst comes in clear, round plastic squeeze bottle 5 inches tall, with a clear plastic cap and eye cup that has collyrium embossed on each side.

Just to be sure that your eye bath doesn't become a body bath, I suggest that you first place a towel entirely around your neck.

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Wyeth's Collyrium, early, cobalt glass.	Ibath, Mckesson & Robbins.