Try Uncle Tom’s Bitters! – Trevorton, Pennsylvania

Posted on 11 October 2014 by Ferdinand Meyer V

UncleTomsSide_Meyer10TRY UNCLE TOM’S BITTERS! – Trevorton, Pennsylvania

10 October 2014

Apple-Touch-IconAUncle Tom has been popping up in bitters news lately with two examples of the bitters appearing in the current North American Glass auction. I was also able to pick up an example (pictured above) from the great John Feldmann collection a few years back. The example is ex: Carlyn Ring. When I asked bitters trade card and ephemera authority Joe Gourd if he had any material on Uncle Toms Bitters, he said no, but… he had just purchased a cool advertisement on eBay and had the item being mailed to him. He sent me the ebay link and I borrowed the images for this post. Make sure you check out “The Song the Boys Sing”.

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Try Uncle Tom’s Bitters flyer front – eBay (Joe Gourd)

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Try Uncle Tom’s Bitters advertisement from flyer – eBay (Joe Gourd)

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Try Uncle Tom’s Bitters song from flyer – eBay (Joe Gourd)

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

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U 5 UNCLE TOM’S BITTERS
UNCLE-TOMS-BITTERS // THOMAS FOULDS & SON // TREVORTON PA // f //
10 1/16 x 2 7/8 (6 7/8) 3/8
Square, Amber, LTCR, Applied mouth, 3 sp, Extremely rare
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Uncle Tom’s Bitters in an apricot amber coloration – North American Glass

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Uncle Tom’s Bitters in a pale yellow coloration – North American Glass

What is interesting about the ebay piece is that is says it is “Prepared and sold by Mrs. Thomas Foulds & Co., Trevorton, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania”. It looks like she may have taken over the brand at some point. I believe the three bottles in this post to be prior to the printed piece.

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Uncle Tom’s Bitters in a orange amber coloration. Ex: Carlyn Ring – Ferdinand Meyer V Collection

Thomas Foulds

Thomas Foulds, proprietor of the Pennsylvania House, Trevorton, was the eldest son of Thomas and Dorothy Foulds. He was born at Tupton Moor, North Winfield parish, Derbyshire, England on September 16, 1830, and came to America with his parents in 1849. He followed mining in Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, until 1851, when he located in Trevorton, and subsequently entered the employ of the late William H. Marshall, and in company with him went to Centralia, Pennsylvania, where he was engaged one year prospecting for coal. He returned to Trevorton, and opened all the principal gangways of the North Franklin colliery, except two on the west side of the Gap.

In 1856 he purchased his present place of business, and in 1857 assumed charge of the hotel. In the same year he went South with Mr. J. W. Beebe, of New York City, and took charge of the bituminous coal mines for a New York company near Montevallo, Alabama, and while there was successful in introducing coal on the steamboats on the Alabama river. Returning to Trevorton in 1858, in connection with his hotel he engaged in the mercantile business, which he conducted until 1867, and again embarked in the coal trade at Bear Valley, and was also connected with the Rock Ridge Coal Company of Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania.

His early advantages were limited, but he educated himself by a knowledge gained from books and close observation of things around him. In 1862 he invented an improvement in ordnance known as the needle gun, for which he refused ten thousand dollars. In 1872 be invented a pump, and also invented a condenser (or what is commonly known as an exhaust in receiving pipes of pumps), for which he was awarded the only medal for condensers at the Centennial Exposition in 1876. In 1885 he received letters patent for an improvement in injector condensers, and in July, 1890, he patented an exhaust steam receiver. A metallic railroad tie is his latest invention, for which letters patent have recently been received.

He is also well known as the proprietor and manufacturer of the tonic called “Uncle Tom’s Bitters,” for which he received a trade mark in 1886.

He was the originator of the sliding scale adopted by the Bear Valley Coal Company in the regulation of its payment of wages for mining coal, previous to the adoption of the same by the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company.

History of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania – J.J. John, 1891

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Thomas Foulds located on Market street on this 1858 map of Trevorton, Pennsylvania. Notice two locomotive roundhouses in town.

Posted in Advertising, Auction News, Bitters, Collectors & Collections, History, Medicines & Cures | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Meet Chef Johnny Pol “The Foodman”

Posted on 10 October 2014 by Ferdinand Meyer V
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Food Product Jars c. 1850-1900, all dug by the Chef in California.

Meet Chef Johnny Pol “The Foodman”

10 October 2014
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Chef Johnny Pol at the 2014 Morro Bay Antique Bottle Show

Apple-Touch-IconAI met Chef Johnny Pol at the super 2014 Morro Bay Antique Bottle Show earlier this year and was impressed with his table of bottles and personality. Our hobby has so many neat people. Recently Chef Johnny sent me some of his food bottle pictures and his bio so I thought I would share.

Sauces

Circa 1875-1918 colored sauces and extracts that were dug in California and the United Kingdom.

My name is Johnny Pol. I am 56 years young and a 1990 graduate of the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. I am a retired Executive Chef and Food and Beverage Manager for 21 years, in the Fresno, Visalia, California area. Now I work for hotels and private country clubs averaging about 70+ hours a week, currently working as a Supervisor, who supervises supervisors for the CDCR/CMC Prison in San Luis Obispo, California.

So my passion for the “FOODS” bottles is a reflection of being a chef. Many early, hand-blown food bottles are so diverse in shape, form, color and size. It is one category in the bottle collecting field that there is no end to with what can be found. I still, after 37 years of collecting the food bottles, find that there are new ones to be found.

26 oz. Whirly Oils Cobalt

Goldfields c. 1860+ 26 oz. Whirly form salad oils in cobalt blue! These are 14″ tall.

Compared to Western collectors, who like whiskey bottles, sodas, meds, beers, bitters, cordials, etc. and some extremely rare food bottles, most Western collectors tend to want only American or Western blown bottles for their collection. So their focus is in a different direction and they typically do not know too much about the rarity of the intercontinental food bottles that I collect.

I have been collecting for 37 years now. My collection of bottles and jars have been dug and found in the United States, United Kingdon, France, Germany, Italy, Australia, etc. Many actually came from the California gold fields.

I was very fortunate to know some diggers and we did some research and found this site on the Sacramento river north of Old Sacramento, California. This was an early stagecoach stop and turn-around for flat bottom boats from 1853 to 1878 when it burned down, and was never rebuilt. There were dozens of great western whiskeys found along with sodas, medicines, pot lids, and many foods from the restaurant and hotel on the site. We dug over a 3-year period as to keep it on the low. We sold off many good bottles from that site, and I will share some of the finds that I dug myself over that time.

Green Goldfields Pickle c.1870's

Goldfields c. 1870+ green pickle jar, with applied top. Dug by the Chef at a Northern California gold rush site in 1989. “My eyes popped out when this gem came out! No damage, mint condition. Very Crude, Heavy, Whittled Glass! This could be a Western Blown Jar!”

Amber Vinegar Jar c.1870's

Goldfields c. 1870+ golden honey, round, gothic vinegar jar.

Batty's Cobalt 26 oz. Salad Oil

Goldfields c. 1870+ Batty “Crown” embossed gothic paneled salad oil in cobalt blue glass! Less then 5 examples known!

When attending the Le Cordon Bleu on the weekends, I would go dig at the downtown hi-rise projects that were in the process of being built. Myself and other diggers would pay off the security guard with one bottle of Red and one bottle of Black, Johnny Walker Whiskey and $20 dollars each, for the night, which was the digging fee. I dug a few great sodas, pot lids, beers and whiskeys, that I traded or sold those for the foods I collect.

I am now downsizing the 600+ bottles in the collection. Most are jars and sauces while there are several extracts, and condiment types.

Cheers for now, Chef Johnny Pol… “The Foodman”

3 Colored Jars

Food product jars with applied tops. Two left jars c. 1880+ table delicacies or preserves, jam, jelly jars. Blue square Goldfields pickle jar c. 1870-85. Remember “Foods” in colored glass are rare!

Pontiled Coloured Salad Oil C.1860's

Goldfields c. 1850+ Olive yellow color glass, six sided, pontil base, salad oil or sauce. Square collared applied top. Mega-rare in colored glass!

3 Coloured Jars c.1875- 1900

Three colored jars. From left: c. 1880-1900 condiment jar, applied top. Center: Goldfields c. 1870+ caviar barrel jar, applied top. Right: c. 1885-90 mustard barrel, tool top.

Light Colour Barrel Jar

Circa 1870+ caviar barrel, applied top, in a off orange amber color!

3 early Jars

Three early jars. Left: Circa 1880+ condiment jar, applied top. Center: Goldfields c.1870+ standard size caviar barrel jar, applied top. Right: Goldfields c.1870+ double capacity caviar barrel with applied top.

EXCELSIOR PICKLE JAR c. 1880

Goldfields, c.1865-75 teal color, embossed “EXCELSIOR”. Very crude applied top, six sided pickle jar.

C.1870 -1900 Jars

Late Goldfields food product jars with applied tops. Left: c. 1880+ sauce or condiment jar. Center: c. 1870+ puce color pickle or berry jar. Right: c. 1875+ olive condiment jar.

Amber Pickle jar # 5

Goldfields c. 1860 amber square pickle jar with applied top.

Barrel in green

Goldfields c. 1870+ double capacity, green caviar barrel.

Black Glass Fat Lip Preserve Jar

Goldfields c. 1870’s black glass preserve jar with applied top.

Limey Green Barrel

Goldfields circa 1870+ lime green caviar barrel

condiment Jars c.1840-80

Goldfields circa 1840-80 colored glass capers and condiment jars. All dug in San Francisco…

Preserve Jar in Green Large size

Circa 1880+ two pound size preserve jar in green glass with applied lip.

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Goldfields circa 1845+ L&R embossed honey jar in honey amber glass. Pontil base, fat lip applied top. Very rare form.

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Pontil base to the L&R honey jar

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Goldfields circa 1845+ L&R honey jar monogramed trademark detail

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Massive product barrel storage, utility jars, circa 1870+ with bung holes for spigots. Left: Green barrel storage-utility jar, with bung hole embossed VERREIE DE CANNES JB, to the base. Used for spirits, vinegar, olive oil, etc, This barrel is 18″ tall x 11″ wide! 16 sided, 17 rings to the body, heavy whittled glass, sheared ground top. Very Rare in this size. Middle jar: Cobalt blue barrel with bung hole, same embossing as the green jar on the base. Used for syrups, spirits, vinegar, olive oil, etc. Right jar: Very large size, light pale green aqua glass barrel storage jar, 17 1/2″ tall x 12′ wide, 16 sided to the mid body, 16 rings to the body, smooth base. Very rare in this larger size barrel.

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Goldfields circa1870+ pickle barrel form jar dug by the Chef in Oakland , California in 1989 in light blue aqua glass. Six dug in the same hole!

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Goldfields circa 1860+ extra fancy form mustard jar with pontil base

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Nice Large Colored Glass set of “Bocal” utility Jars from France, circa 1860-1880, pontil and smooth bases. These were used for fruits and vegetables.

Posted in Bottle Shows, Collectors & Collections, Color Runs, Digging and Finding, Food, Fruit Jars, Jelly & Jam, Pickle Jars, Sauce, Syrup, Utility Bottles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Dr. Whitney’s Bitters – Olean, New York

Posted on 9 October 2014 by Ferdinand Meyer V

Dr. Whitney’s Bitters – Olean, New York

09 October 2014 (R•011119)

Apple-Touch-IconANew York collector, Mark Warne contacted me about a bitters bottle I was unfamiliar with. I just may add it to my collection! Mark was kind enough to send a few pictures. To this bitters collector, this is exciting news. The Dr. Whitney’s Bitters from Olean, New York is obviously a later bottle but how late? Were there earlier versions?

Checking it out in Bitters Bottles by Carlyn Ring and W.C. Ham, I see the following:

WhitneysDrawing

W 103  DR. WHITNEY’S BITTERS
U.S.A. / sp / DR. / WHITNEY’S // BITTERS / sp / OLEAN, N.Y. //
7 x 3 x 2 (5 3/8)
Oval, Amber, FM, Tooled lip, Extremely rare
Lettering vertical on either side of sunken panel.
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Dr. Whitney’s Bitters – Olean, New York (picture Mark Warne)

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Dr. Whitney’s Bitters – Olean, New York (picture Mark Warne)

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Dr. Whitney’s Bitters – Olean, New York (picture Mark Warne)

LAMBERT WHITNEY. M.D

Dr. Lambert Whitney, the namesake for this bitters bottle, had a long and storied career. I can’t pin down exactly when he made his bitters but I suspect it started in the early to mid 1860s based on the 1919 marketing statement, “These bitters have proved themselves good for over 50 years”. At first I thought his son Lambert S. Whitney carried the torch after his death but this is unlikely as he was in the wagon business big time and retired as a gentleman farmer.

LambertWhitneyPortrait

Dr. Lambert Whitney

It is a mystery how these bitters survived after Doctor Lamberts death. If I had to bet, I would say that the Studholme brothers (Foster and Gordon Studholme), who had a prominent pharmacy in Olean, purchased the Dr. Whitney brand and sold the bitters. If the bitters was earlier it could have been associated with the Olean House Pharmacy or an earlier business. The last clipping in the post explains this relationship. Somewhere there is an earlier variant of this bottle with a lable. Gotta find it.

FosterStudholme

Foster Studholme of Studholme Brothers Pharmacy was selling Dr. Whitney’s Bitters. He was also Mayor of Olean from 1916 to 1919.

Lambert Whitney was born at St. Johnsbury, Vermont on October 10, 1812. After receiving his preliminary education at the public school of his native town, he commenced the study of medicine, and chose that as a profession, which he has successfully practiced for upwards of forty years. His parents moved to New Hampshire when he was a youth, and it was there he began the study of the profession he has so long honored. After an interval of five years in his studies, and in June, 1833, he removed to Olean and entered the office of Edward Finn, M.D., and subsequently completed his office studies under Dr. Andrew Mead, a prominent pioneer physician of this village, in the fall of 1836. He then went to Geneva and attended a course of medical lectures, and in January, 1837, he received his diploma from the New York State Medical Society. He immediately thereafter settled in Olean, and began an active and successful professional career. During the summer of 1837, Dr. Whitney became a member of the old Cattaraugus County Medical Society, and remained such as long as it retained its organization. He is also an honorary member of the present society.

In the early years of his practice Dr. Whitney rode horseback over a large territory. He says: “I did everything that a doctor then had to do.” 

Historical gazetteer and biographical memorial of Cattaraugus County, N.Y

Dr. Lambert Whitney of Olean remembers when trips to Warren, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati were made by raft down the Allegheny River.

Cuba New York Patriot – December 2, 1897

In May, 1834, Dr. Whitney united in marriage with Miss Sallie Senter. They have had six children, five sons and one daughter, of whom three of the sons survive. Of these, L.S. (Lambert S. Whitney) and R.M. (Russell M. Whitney) were the founders of the Olean Hub Factory, and one, the younger son, James A. (James A. Whitney), is now a member of the firm of E.M. Jones & Co., of San Francisco, a long established and influential fancy goods and notion house of that city.

In 1834, Dr. Whitney received the appointment of deputy sheriff, and served in that capacity one term with satisfaction. In 1838 he was elected a justice of peace and served in that office in all, twelve years. In 1853 he was chosen to represent his town on the board of supervisors, and also occupied the same position the following year, owing to a tie vote between Warren Mills and J.L. Savage, the opposing candidates. In 1860 the people of Cattaraugus County, having confidence in the doctor’s integrity, elected him to the office of county treasurer, which responsible position he filled acceptably and well for three years. He now holds the offices of coroner of the county and of health officer of the corporation, the latter a position of great responsibility and considerable discretionary power, neither of which Dr. Whitney either neglects or abuses. He always sustains an independent deportment in the administration of official duties, and, being actuated by a desire to do the best possibly to do the best possibly for the taxpayers, they appreciate his worth, and insist on his retention in office.

In religion, Dr. Whitney is a Baptist, and for nearly half a century has been an active member of that denomination. His liberality in religious enterprises and his public spirited activity in secular concerns are alike commendable, and through these qualities, and by reason of his general worth as a citizen, neighbor, physician, and friend, he enjoys a prominent position in the community, and the esteem and respect of all to whom he is known. – HISTORY OF CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, NEW YORK, Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of its Prominent Men and Pioneers. Philadelphia:
L.H. Everts, 1879, Edited by Franklin Ellis

OLEAN, NEW YORK

OleanNYPC

Olean is a city in Cattaraugus County, New York. Olean is the largest city in Cattaraugus County, and serves as the financial, business, transportation and entertainment center of the county. Originally the entire territory of the county of Cattaraugus was called the Town of Olean formed March 11, 1808. As population allowed the county was split in half and the top half was called “Ischua”, and was taken off in 1812, a part of Perrysburgh in 1814, then Great Valley in 1818. Hinsdale formed in 1820, and Portville, in 1837, leaving the current boundary of Olean that lies upon the south line of the county, near the southeast corner. The area remained sparsely populated until 1804, when Major Adam Hoops acquired the land and gave it its modern name. [Wikipedia]

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Olean in far western New York is just north of the Pennsylvania state line.

Select Timeline:

1812: Lambert Whitney was born at St. Johnsbury, Vermont on October 10, 1812.

1833: The influx of immigration during the decade ending in 1840 was not very extensive. Among those who arrived within the period indicated, who subsequently became prominent citizens, were Lambert Whitney, M.D., in 1833, who still resides here, having practiced medicine for forty-five years.

1834: Lambert Whitney united in marriage with Miss Sallie Senter.

1837: Lambert Whitney granted a diploma by the Medical Society of the State of New York in January, 1837

1837: Birth Lambert S. Whitney (son) born 23 July 1836, NY, and died in 1917.

1838: Lambert Whitney elected a justice of peace in Olean, NY and served in that office in all, twelve years.

1839: Dr. Lamber Whitney agent for B. Brandreth’s Vegetable Pills.

1838: Russell M. Whitney, second son of Dr. Lambert Whitney, was born in Olean, April 6, 1838. With the exception of seven years in the U.S. army, his life has been spent in Olean. In June, 1867, he married Lydia S. Smith, of Northampton, N.Y. He is an extensive manufacturer of wagon hubs. Like is father Mr. Whitney is a respected citizen and prominent in political affairs. – Historical Gazetteer and Biographical Memorial of Cattaraugus County, N.Y. edited by William Adams

1853: Lambert Whitney was chosen to represent his town on the Olean Board of Supervisors.

1860: The people of Cattaraugus County elect Lambert Whitney to the office of county treasurer, which responsible position he filled acceptably and well for three years.

1865: Earliest mention of Dr. Whitney’s Bitters (see last advertisement in post).

1874: The Olean Hub Factory was established in 1874 by Lambert S. Whitney. In 1875, Russell M. Whitney, brother of the original proprietor, was taken into the concern as a partner, and in July 1878, the latter, purchasing the interest of the former, became sole proprietor. The principal articles manufactured are black birch hubs, which have been quite extensively used by STUDEBACKER Bros., the well-known wagon manufacturers of South Bend, Indiana, and other large wagon manufacturers. Capacity, 124,000 hubs per annum. Hands employed, 15.

WhitneyHubFactory

Whitney Brothers hub factory later grows to about 35 work men. I doubt the son Lambert S. Whitney was making a bitters. His father would have undertake this endeavor. They had a factory on Union Street in Olean, NY

1880: Lambert S. Whitney, Oil Production – 1880 United States Federal Census

1893: Miller Block in the Village of Allegany (see picture below). Circa 1893-96 – History of  Cattaraugus County

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Just a neat period image of the Miller Block in the Village of Allegany Circa 1893-96 – History of Cattaraugus County

1901: Dr. Lambert Whitney death 0n July 31st, 1901.

1906: Lambert S. Whitney, farmer – Olean, New York City Directory

1912: “A Good Liver” Dr. Whitney’s Bitters advertisement (see below). – Times Herald, Olean, New York, October 17, 1912

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“A Good Liver” Dr. Whitney’s Bitters advertisement (see below). – Times Herald, Olean, New York, October 17, 1912

1917: Lambert S. Whitney death.

1919: “A Good Time” Good Old Dr. Whitney’s Bitters advertisement (see below). – Times Herald, Olean, New York, May 1, 1919

“These bitters have proved themselves good for over 50 years”

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“A Good Time” Good Old Dr. Whitney’s Bitters advertisement (see below). – Times Herald, Olean, New York, May 1, 1919

1920: Studholme Pharmacy now to be Olean Drug Company (see below) – Times Herald, Saturday, July 24 1920

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Studholme Pharmacy now to be Olean Drug Company – Times Herald, Saturday, July 24 1920

Posted in Advertising, Bitters, Druggist & Drugstore, History, Medicines & Cures | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Drakes Plantation Bitters on 1874 Stereoview Mock Medical Scene

Posted on 7 October 2014 by Ferdinand Meyer V

DrakesCardDrakes Plantation Bitters on 1874 Stereoview Mock Medical Scene

07  October 2014

Apple-Touch-IconAFrank Wicker over at BottlePickers.com tipped me off to this wonderful, yet bizarre stereoview card on eBay with a mock medical scene, a wizard of some sort, some poor sick lad and a Clara Barton wanna-bee. Take a moment and really look at all the props and symbology used in the image. This all takes place at “She Bang Hospital”. Curious about She Bang?

The earliest known citation of the word uses it as some form of hut or rustic dwelling. That’s in Walt Whitman’s Specimen Days, from Complete Poetry and Collected Prose, 1862:

“Besides the hospitals, I also go occasionally on long tours through the camps, talking with the men, &c. Sometimes at night among the groups around the fires, in their shebang enclosures of bushes.” More

The eBay description reads,

“Here with 1874 ID on the back is this mock medical scene.  The wizard like doctor and nurse assistant are attending to the female patient. A Plantation Bitters bottle is seen in the foreground. The back side has an old inked transcription of the sign.”

Read More: Log Cabin Series – Drake’s Plantation Bitters

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Full Stereoview Card

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Stereoview card reverse. March 1874. She Bang Hospital

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Wizard, sick lad and nurse detail. Tough to make out all words on sign. Looks like a man to me.

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Medicine box and Drakes Plantation Bitters. Goofy looking key and lock. What about that large “hamburger patty” turner?

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Unidentified medicine bottle on table. Lots of props.

[Marianne Dow] The lock, key and trident are symbols related to Pluto, aka Hades, God of the Underworld, which I interpret as they’re saying having women nurses could lead to women doctors, and figurally speaking, all hell breaking out, hence the references to explosions and the She-Bang Hospital. There was a huge controversy around the professionalizing of nurses during the Civil War, and of course the eternal Women’s Rights controversy continues. The card mentions Dr. Quintard, who was a well known Civil War doctor who became a noted Episcopal Bishop in Tennessee. I think he likely favored nurses, as he certainly needed all the help he could get as a war time doctor.

Read: Dr. Quintard bio link

Read: Pluto symobols link

Read: Unprecedented but Accomplished: The Professionalization of Female Nursing During the Civil War

Posted in Advertising, Bitters, Civil War, eBay, Ephemera, Figural Bottles, Humor - Lighter Side, Medicines & Cures | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Great Aqua Trio – Russian Imperial Tonic Bitters, National Tonic Bitters & Dunbar & Co. Worm Wood Cordial

Posted on 6 October 2014 by Ferdinand Meyer V
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National Tonic Bitters (left), Dunbar & Co. Worm Wood Cordial (center) & Russian Imperial Tonic Bitters (right) – Kyle Collection

The Great Aqua Trio – Russian Imperial Tonic Bitters, National Tonic Bitters & Dunbar & Co. Worm Wood Cordial

06 October 2014

Apple-Touch-IconAI think you all know how much I like aqua bottles. Though not a color, they certainly can add depth to a collection. I even dedicate one room to aqua bitters. When the sun hits them at a certain time, they project a rainbow on my walls and bed spread. Now that’s color! Check out these super pictures that just came in from California collector, Dave Kyle and his son Brad. Great job guys!

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Dunbar & Co. Worm Wood Cordial – photo Michael George

Ferd: I just picked up from Mike George the “Dunbar & Co. Worm Wood Cordial/Boston” whiskey bottle which makes a great trio comprised of the “Russian Imperial Tonic Bitters“, “National Tonic Bitters” and lastly this “Dunbar & Co.” all, as you well know, an exact replica in everything except the embossing and the fact that the “Dunbar” being a cordial would have to be classed as, I would imagine, a whiskey. I contacted Mike as soon as I saw this bottle on “Facebook” and he nicely gave me first crack at buying it. Mike said there are other T.J. Dunbar & Co. bottles that have similar embossings, BUT not roped and not aquas.

The pics I sent were shot by my younger son Brad and capturing the aqua colors was quite challenging but here they are. The shot with the four bottles I decided to include the “Dr. Wheeler’s Sherry Wine Tonic Bitters” as it seems to be close in configuration and it is a Boston bottle. The only other one of these that I know about, which is the exact same as this “Dunbar”, would be from the great collection that auctioned in 1975 by Norm Heckler consigned by Charles Gardner. Any more info you can come up with Ferd about this bottle would be greatly appreciated. I also should add that seeing these bottles in person is quite different from viewing the pics, the blueish aquas are gorgeous!! Anyway Ferd whatever you want with all this is fine with me—Hope to see you soon and keep up the super work—— take care, Dave Kyle

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Dunbar & Co. Worm Wood Cordial – Kyle Collection

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Dunbar & Co. Worm Wood Cordial – Kyle Collection

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Dunbar & Co. Worm Wood Cordial – Kyle Collection

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Dunbar & Co. Worm Wood Cordial – Kyle Collection

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Dr. Wheeler’s Sherry Wine Bitters (left) National Tonic Bitters (2nd from left), Dunbar & Co. Worm Wood Cordial (third from left) & Russian Imperial Tonic Bitters (right) – Kyle Collection

Read More:

Dave Kyle and his Figural Bitters

David Kyle gets the Capital Bitters on eBay

Posted in Bitters, Collectors & Collections, Cordial, Facebook, Figural Bottles, Tonics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

2016 Sacramento National Antique Bottle Convention Logo Designs | Part 2

Posted on 5 October 2014 by Ferdinand Meyer V
Sac16Logo2

Round 1 Favored Logo Concept

2016 Sacramento National Antique Bottle Convention Logo Designs | Part 2

05 October 2014

Apple-Touch-IconAThe concept of using a Sacramento sculpture to anchor the design is the theme here. Here are some new, rough, low-res, round 2 logo concepts for the 2016 Sacramento National Antique Bottle Convention. These concepts revolve around a well-known Sacramento Pony Express sculpture. The last stop for the Pony Express was Sacramento. See Part 1 Logo Concepts. Let me know what you think. fmeyer@fohbc.org

CAMinersDuo

There was a suggestion to use the famous kneeling Gold Miner sculpture in Auburn as a reference (see upper left). The 49er Historical Bottle Club is very effectively using the gold miner concept (Upper right) and actually won First Place at the 2013 Lexington National for their show flyer with this image. Let us let them have this glory and not try to use the same idea, not to mention, let’s try to use a sculpture from Sacramento.

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Concept A – Pony Express

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Concept B – Pony Express

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Concept C – Pony Express

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Concept D – Pony Express

Posted in Advertising, Bottle Shows, Club News, FOHBC News, News | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Cobalt bottle embossed W. S. Merrell & Co. – Cincinnati

Posted on 4 October 2014 by Ferdinand Meyer V

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Cobalt bottle embossed W. S. Merrell & Co. – Cincinnati

04 October 2014

Apple-Touch-IconANow here is an interesting e-mail about a killer bottle that brings to mind the Solomon’s Strengthening and Invigorating Bitters from Savannah, Georgia and the S. S. Smith Jr. & Co. from Cincinnati, Ohio. As you will find out, the Merrell name is a big part of chemical manufacturing and medicine history in America that spanned some 167 years which is quite amazing.

Ferdinand, I have sent photos of a bottle unknown to me. It is typical Bitters shape, deep cobalt blue but is only embossed W S Merrell & Co and Cincinnati on the reverse panel. He was a druggist from the 1850s through the 80s. I am trying to figure out if it is a Bitters or a Medicine. Thanks for any help you can give. Dennis Huey

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William Stanley Merrell

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William Stanley Merrell

William Stanley Merrell, whose parents were from colonial New Hartford, Connecticut, was born at New Durham, Greene County, New York on 08 January 1798 and moved with his family to Oneida, New York in 1801 when he was a child. At the age of sixteen, he journeyed on horseback to Cincinnati to visit his uncle, Major William Stanley, and returned, in the same manner, to New York State and briefly studied medicine in common schools and eventually graduated from Hamilton College in 1824 with a chemistry and allied sciences degree. With his degree, he immediately returned to Cincinnati and opened a preparatory school which specialized in chemistry and applied sciences. In 1825, he went to Augusta, Kentucky and became principal of a seminary. He next moved to Tuscumbia, Alabama in 1828 and became president of a female college. On 10 June 1828, Merrill opened the Western Market Apothecary which was the first apothecary shop west of the Allegheny Mountains at Sixth Street and Western Row in downtown Cincinnati.

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The William S. Merril Company was established in 1830

The William S. Merril Company was established in 1830. Merrell turned out to be more of a research scientist than a merchant and in 1832 he began to manufacture drugs for other pharmacies. In 1847, he discovered podophyllin, a substitute for calomel, and became the first pharmaceutical manufacturer to begin producing newly discovered resinous compounds commercially. His company served as an agent for “green drug” preparations and sold an assortment of specific tinctures along with corn silk, saw palmetto, black haw, echinacea, black cohosh, cactus, passion flowers, cotton root bark, fringe tree, and stone root. In 1850, his brother, Albert S. Merrell, became his business partner. Merrell was also the president of the Eclectic Medical College and served as a member of the American Pharmaceutical Association.

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William S. Merrell & Co advertisement – Eclectic Medical College, 1856

His wholesale drug business became quite successful and by the 1870s he was supplying ingredients to pharmacies throughout the United States and Europe. After his death in 1880, his sons incorporated the business as the William S. Merrell Chemical Company. The president at that time was George Merrell who organized the William S. Merrell Chemical Company of Cincinnati in 1888. 

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George Merrell

Later, in 1932 the business, still called the William S. Merrell Co., opened a research and manufacturing facility in Reading, Pennsylvania. By 1939 it operated out of 10 buildings on 9 acres. By 1978, the company was on 37 acres and employed 1,100. Merrell merged with Dow Chemicals in 1980.

William S. Merrell died in Cincinnati in 1880 when he was 82 years old. He is depicted on a mural that is on permanent display at the Greater Cincinnati Airport (see below). His brother George, took over the company after his death.

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W. Reiss took the photos for this mural of two Merrell employees overseeing the coating of tablets in rotary kettles. Reiss’ mural, moved from the Cincinnati’s Union (Train) Station to the main terminal at Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport.

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1901 Letterhead Merrell Chemical Co., San Francisco

Perhaps the most notable event on the company’s 167-year history was their planned United States introduction of thalidomide (as Kevadon). In 1960 Merrell licensed the drug from the German company Chemie Grünenthal but a brand new reviewer at the FDA, Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey, refused the application on the grounds that it needed more clinical studies. Merrell argued that the drug, already widely used in Europe, was completely safe. It was soon found that thalidomide, commonly prescribed as a morning-sickness treatment, was exceptionally teratogenic and caused phocomelia. A disaster was averted in the US but some 10,000+ thalidomide babies were born in Europe.

Unfortunately I can find no specific confirmation that the cobalt bottle represented in this post is a bitters. There are some records that suggest a cordial but that can not be proved either without a labeled example or advertising showing this bottle.

William Stanley Merrell Select Timeline:

1798: William S. Merrell, born in Durham, New York on 08 January 1798.

1815: William S. Merrill, Cincinnati – 1842 Catalog of the Members of the Union Society

1824: William Stanley Merrell received a chemistry degree from Hamilton College in 1824.

1828: William S. Merrell opened the Western Market Drug Store at Sixth Street and Western Row (now Central Avenue) in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. – Wikipedia

1830: William S. Merril Company established.

1831: Marriage to Mehitable Thurston Poore.

1836: William S. Merrell, S E c W row and 6th r Longorth b Plum – The Cincinnati Directory Advertiser

1852: William S. Merrell, Druggists & Apothecaries, n.w.c. Court and Plum – Williams’ Cincinnati Guide and Business Register for 1852

1856: William S. Merrell & Co advertisement (see above) – Eclectic Medical College

1865: Wm S. Merrell & Co., (Wm. S. R. & Albert S. Merrell)  (George Merrell, salesman) Dealers in Medicines, and Manufacturers of Concentrated Medical Preparations, 110 W. 3d – Cincinnati, Ohio City Directory

1869: Wm S. Merrell & Co., (Wm. S. M., President; George Merrell, Secretary) Manufacturers and Wholesale Druggists, 112 W. 3d, Factory 11 Burnett – Cincinnati, Ohio City Directory

1875: Wm S. Merrell & Co., (Wm. S. M., A. S. M. & George Merrell) Manufacturering Chemists and Wholesale Druggists, 114 W. 3d; Drug Mills and Laboratory, s.w.c. 6th and Eggleston Av – Cincinnati, Ohio City Directory

1880: William Stanley Merrell dies on 04 Sept 1880.

1888: George Merrell organizes the William S. Merrell Chemical Company of Cincinnati. – Steel and Iron Volume 48

1899: The William S. Merrell Chemical Company, 517 to 525 E. 5th – Cincinnati, Ohio City Directory

1914: George Merrell, President of W.S. Merrell & Company dies 0n 15 December 1914 – Steel & Iron Volume 48

1917: The William S. Merrell Chemical Company, 5th, Pike and Butler; Phone Canal 4190 – Cincinnati, Ohio City Directory

1925: The Wm. S. Merrell & Co., Chas. G. Merrell, President; Thurston Merrell, Vice President, 5th. Pike and Butler, Phone Main 5750 – Cincinnati, Ohio City Directory

Posted in Bitters, Druggist & Drugstore, History, Medicines & Cures, Questions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Chief Two Moon Meridas and his Bitter Oil

Posted on 30 September 2014 by Ferdinand Meyer V

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Chief Two Moon Meridas and his Bitter Oil

30 September 2014 (R•013117)

Apple-Touch-IconAWhile cruising around eBay a little while ago I came across this monster cardboard folding advertising piece for Chief Two Moon Bitter Oil. I mean, this piece is big, measuring approximately 39.5 inches tall and 52 inches wide when fully expanded. See eBay listing. I am wondering, who is Chief Two Moon? Curiously, the Bitter Oil is listed in Bitters Bottles without a classification number.

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What I find particularly creative in this advertising is the use of two moons, both a happy and sad moon face in the medicine packaging. As you may know now, the face and pain threshold pictogram is a regular tool in doctors offices to solicit pain level responses.

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“Chief” Two Moon Meridas

“Chief” Two Moon Meridas

“Chief” Two Moon Meridas (ca. 1888–1933) was an American seller of herbal medicine who claimed that he was of Sioux birth.

Meridas was born Chico Colon Meridan, son of Chico Meridan and Mary Tumoon; his exact place and date of birth are unclear. Later, his marriage certificate recorded his date of birth as August 29, 1888, but this information in unconfirmed.

By 1914 Meridas was selling herbal medicines in the streets of Philadelphia and New York. In New York he met Helen Gertrude Nugent and later married her. Shortly afterwards they moved to Waterbury, Connecticut. Meridas began to sell his herbal medicines from his house. Contemporary newspaper accounts stated that during the 1918 influenza epidemic, none of his patients died. This increased his prestige and clientele. His most famous product was “Bitter Oil”, a laxative that was widely marketed as a cure-all.

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Chief Two Moon Laboratory Illustration

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Chief Two Moon Sales Bus

In 1921 Meridas moved to a larger house and established an extensive and prosperous herb business in a storefront at 1898 East Main Street. He built his own laboratory at 1864 East Main Street in 1925. His business increased to such an extent that he had a fleet of buses for his salesmen and an airplane. He took money only for his products, not his advice. He spent lavishly but also surreptitiously donated to charities and to the poor.

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In 1928 the Atlantic City gave him the keys to the city when he founded his Indian Temple there.

Meridas claimed that he was a Pueblo Indian. However, the United States Department of Interior refused to certify that he was an American Indian, although he was presented as one in his publicity. On August 6, 1930 the Oglala Lakota Sioux of the Pine Ridge Reservation gave him the honorary title of chief, due to his financial help during the Great Depression.

In October 1930 Meridas and his wife traveled to Europe to meet Pope Pius XI. On May 3, 1932 Meridas was indicted and later convicted of practicing medicine without a license in New York and Connecticut. In November 1932 Meridas brought 26 Sioux to Waterbury to speak for his defense, some of whom stated that they had taken part of the Battle of the Little Big Horn. They also stated that Meridas had been named an Honorary Chief of the Sioux. They later celebrated at Meridas’ Connecticut estate. Two Moon Meridas died on November 3, 1933. He is buried in Hillside Cemetery, Roslyn, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. [Wikipedia]

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Another Chief Two Moon Advertising Piece – Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

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Chief Two Moon Bitter Oil Laxative in original box c. 1930 20th Century 9 in. x 3 1/4 in. x 2 in. cardboard, glass, metal, bitter oil – Mattatuck Museum

Labeled Chief Two Moon Bitter Oil – I was going through my friends 50 year collection of labeled bottles and came across this one. As you can imagine, I found a dozen or so labels that were obviously applied to the bottle in the last couple of decades but found hundreds that are no doubt original to the bottle. I also had a few with original labels on them but the label had been reproduced so it would be hard to convince someone it was original to the bottle. Anyway, this one looks like it has been on the bottle a long time but so hard to tell. – Mark Newton

Embossed side of a labeled Chief Two Moon Bitter Oil – (see above)  – Mark Newton

Posted in Advertising, History, Medicines & Cures | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment