A R G Y L E   B I T T E R S

E. B. Wheelock  – New Orleans

07 April 2013 (R•120913-Time Picayune Ad)

These elegant Bitters are peculiarly adapted for a warm climate”

Good grief, I love this outlandish marketing stuff. The female ‘fact’ posted below is one of the most preposterous marketing claims that I have come across recently. Maybe I should get some of this juice for my wife. I recognize some of her symptoms during football season when she is not moving quickly enough to keep us guys in the right ‘frame of mind’. Hopefully she won’t read this.

It is a well-established fact, that fully one-half of the female portion of our population are seldom in the enjoyment of good health, or, to use their own expression, “never feel well”.

This phrase alone is worth placement in “The Baloney Hall of Fame”

It a well-established fact, that fully one-half of the female portion of our population are seldom in the enjoyment of good health, or, to use their own expression, “never feel well”. They are languid, devoid of all energy, extremely nervous, and have no appetite. To this class of invalids, these Bitters are especially recommended.

I first started reading more about Argyle Bitters last week during my series of Houston posts. It seems like this product was specifically developed in Pittsburgh and marketed for the warmer, humid climates such as New Orleans and Houston. I am fortunate to possess two rather different examples that are interesting to compare (see above).

Advertisement from The Houston Telegraph – 1860

Advertisement from The Times Picayune (New Orleans) – 1860

The Carlyn Ring and W.C. Ham listing in Bitters Bottles is as follows:

A 83  ARGYLE BITTERS, circa 1871

ARGYLE BITTERS / E.B. WHEELOCK / N.O. // f // f // f // // b // C I & SONS
9 3/4 x 2 5/8 (7 1/4) 3/8
Square, LTC, Amber, Green and Yellow olive, Applied mouth, Rare
Bottle also known with an unmarked base.
C I & Sons are C. Ihmsen & Sons of Pittsburgh (see below) in business 1867-1885. (In business much earlier, probable starting 1836 or sooner)

A 83.5  ARGYLE BITTERS, circa 1859

ARGYLE BITTERS / E.B. WHEELOCK / N.O // f // f // f //
9 3/4 x 2 3/4 (7 1/4) 3/8
Square, LTC, Amber, Green and Yellow olive, Applied mouth, Rare
Similar to A 83 except N.O embossing on third line is the same size as other embossing and there is no period after the O. The embossing is lower on the panel, and there is no base marking.

C. Ihmsen & Co. 1836 Advertisement

Read More: Glasshouses and Glass Manufacturers of the Pittsburgh Region: 1795 – 1910 By Jay W. Hawkins (Page 272 onwards)

New: Christian Ihmsen, Charles I. Ihmsen, Charles T. Ihmsen and William Ihmsen

The Daily Picayune (New Orleans): May 31, 1860. A sure remedy for dyspepsia, fever, ague, etc.

Drug Catalogs: 1878 CB & Co., 1896-7 and 1901-2 JP&K Co.

Trademark 28,089 Medicinal Bitters. Lucien N. Brunswig. New Orleans, La. Filed April 9, 1895. Registered April 7, 1896. Essential feature; the word ‘Argyle’ in block letters. Used since 1871.

Various Lucien N. Brunswig patents – Annual Report of the Commissioner of Patents By United States. Patent Office

Lucien Napoleon Brunswig was born in Montmedy, France, in 1854, and was educated at the College of Etain. Apparently Brunswig thought his future lay in the United States and he came to the U.S. in 1871. He found work as an apprentice to a U.S druggist. In 1875 Brunswig opened his own drug store in Atchison, Kansas. After a year of business he sold his drug store and moved to Fort Worth, Texas.

In Fort Worth Brunswig opened a new drug store that not only sold retail but also dealt with wholesale pharmaceuticals. Within 5 years the business was producing $350,000 in annual sales. Business took Lucien to many places and one of those places was Independence, Missouri. There he met and married Annie Mercer. The newly married couple made their home in Fort Worth and they soon added children.

In 1882, George Finlay, the owner of a well-established wholesale drug firm in New Orleans invited Brunswig to join him as a partner. Brunswig sold his Fort Worth business and joined Finlay in the firm of Finlay and Brunswig. In 1885 Finlay died and Lucien Brunswig took over the entire wholesale drug firm which then became L. N. Brunswig and Company. In 1887 he took on a partner by the name of F.W. Braun. [The Southerly Flow]

C. Ihmsen & Son Pittsburgh base mark – www.sodasandbeers.com

Allegheny County’s Hundred Years By George Henry Thurston

Ihmsen City Directory listings in Pittsburgh – Glasshouses and Glass Manufacturers of the Pittsburgh Region: 1795 – 1910 By Jay W. Hawkins

1872 map showing the location of the glassworks of C. Ihmsen & Sons on the south side adjacent to the Monongahela River. – Glasshouses and Glass Manufacturers of the Pittsburgh Region: 1795 – 1910 By Jay W. Hawkins

Argyle Bitters advertisement in The Daily True Delta – Sep 17, 1859

The Celebrated Argyle Bitters – Advertisement in New-Orleans Commercial Bulletin – Dec 13, 1867

A 83 – Golden amber ARGYLE BITTERS – Meyer Collection

A 83.5 – Deep Olive Green ARGYLE BITTERS – Meyer Collection