If you can’t do business, drink Rex Bitters

Posted on 23 November 2018 by Ferdinand Meyer V

If you can’t do business, drink Rex Bitters

Chicago

23 November 2018 (R•032319)

Here is what I call a telephone bitters. A bitters product so late that you could call your favorite saloon, liquor or drug store and order a case of Rex Bitters using your Chicago Telephone Company issued telephone, if you were fortunate enough to have one. Illinois Bell would not form until 1923 when they began automatic telephone service in Chicago.

The first Rex bottles were amber squares followed by amber and clear round or cylinder bottles. There are a number of variants but we will look at the main examples for now. The primary listings within the Carlyn Ring and W.C. Ham Bitters Bottles book are as follows:

R 41 REX BITTERS (Round Cylinder)

REX / BITTERS / CO. / CHICAGO // c //
Rex Bitters Co. 1712 – 1714 Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois
11 1/2 x 3 (7 1/2)
Round, Clear & Amber, ABM
Label: Drink Rex Bitters for your stomach’s sake. Good in all cases of biliousness, constipation, liver, kidney and blood troubles. Fine as a bracer in any case of over-indulgence in eating or drinking. Get Yours. You’ll Need It.

R 43 REX BITTERS, NOTHING ELSE (Square)

REX / KIDNEY & LIVER / BITTERS // f // REX BITTERS / NOTHING ELSE // f //
Overbrook & Co., Wholesale Liquors, Boston, Massachusetts
10 x 2 3/4 (8)
Square, Amber, LTCR, Common

R 44 REX KIDNEY AND LIVER BITTERS (Square)

REX ( l>s ) KIDNEY ( au ) / AND / LIVER ( ad ) / BITTERS ( s>l) // THE BEST LAXATIVE / AND BLOOD PURIFIER // f //
9 5/8 x 2 3/4 (7 1/2)
Square, Amber & Green, LTCR, Common (never seen a green square? Round, green screw cap bottles used in 1941)
Very similar to Lash’s Kidney and Liver Bitters

Lash’s Bitters | San Francisco – Chicago – New York • PART ONE | The Bottles

Lash’s Bitters | San Francisco – Chicago – New York • PART TWO | History

Lash’s Bitters | San Francisco – Chicago – New York • PART THREE | Humorous and Clever Advertising

Collectors tend to shy away from these later bitters though every serious bitters collector should have a Rex Bitters bottle as it tells a story. A story of the tail end of bitters production prior to Prohibition in United States, which in 1920 essentially shut the alcohol-laced bitters business down. Well, Prohibition tried to, as some bitters were quickly repurposed or disguised as medicines and sold illegally as we will see. In 1933, with the end of Prohibition, some of the more resilient bitters came back to life.

Rex Bitters Company

On December 3, 1904, three slick city lawyers incorporated Rex Bitters Company in Chicago with $5,000 in initial capital. William Edward Slaughter was set up as President and James P. McConnell was Secretary. The company would manufacture drugs and medicines from their 1545 Michigan Avenue address. A few months later, in 1905, the company placed many “Agents Wanted” ads in the Chicago Tribune and other regional papers looking for salesmen to work salary or commission. The business must have taken off fast as the group of men increased Rex Bitters Company capital stock from $5,000 to $50,000 later in the year.

Rex is Latin for “king” so I propose this is the origin of the Rex Bitters name though ‘℞’ is a symbol meaning “recipe”. It is sometimes transliterated as “R_x” or just “Rx”. This symbol originated in medieval manuscripts as an abbreviation of the late Latin verb recipere, specifically the second person singular imperative form recipe meaning “take”, thus: “take thou”. The Rex Bitters brand and graphics seem to play on these RX letters from their name throughout their years of advertising. Earlier trademark logo graphics placed a typographic “REX” diamond on a pyramid and said, “Nothing Else, As Old As The Pyramids.” An obvious king reference. Later, typography connected the “RX” letters under the”E”. [see above]

Rex Bitters Company primarily sold Rex celebrated Kidney & Liver Bitters (later just Rex Bitters). They also put out Rex Celery and Iron Compound, Rex Elixir of Bitter Wine, Rex Ginger and Brandy Tonic, Rex Ginger, Rex Hoarhound Tonic and Rex High Ball Cordial. They advertised the bitters as curing biliousness, malaria, chills and fever, neuralgia, constipation, pain in back, dyspepsia, sick headache, indigestion, sour stomach, and all “affections” of the kidneys and liver. They said it was compounded from barks, herbs, vegetables and said it acts on the stomach and bowels, kidneys and liver without painful feelings. They forgot to mention that it was high in alcohol content, twenty-two percent.

the label advised customers to give children a teaspoonful twice a day and at bedtime “if required.”

Despite this high alcoholic content, the label advised customers to give children a teaspoonful twice a day and at bedtime “if required.” Rex Bitters merchandising emphasized that it had been recognized as a medicine by the Internal Revenue Department which had slapped a special tax on such products to help pay for the Spanish-American War.

William Edward Slaughter

William Edward Slaughter was born in Washington D.C. in 1871. Both his parents were also from the District of Columbia. He grew up in New Orleans and was raised by Lizzie Seldon according to an 1880 U.S. Federal Census report. An 1890 New Orleans City Directory lists him as a student boarding at 158 N. Rampart. He reportedly completed high school but did not attend college. On September 7, 1895, Slaughter married Maggie May Fergusson in Washington, D.C. Both are pictured above according to Charles Wilson (great-great grandson). They would remain in Washington until 1900 or so where Slaughter would work as an insurance agent. Eventually, they would have three children, Wallace, Consuelo P. and William Slaughter Jr.

Slaughter must have observed and experienced the huge popularity of bitters in New Orleans as he moved to Chicago sometime around 1902 and started Rex Bitters Company. New Orleans was a pretty racy town and he brought some of that spirit with him to Chicago and used it in his marketing campaign. In particular, he used sex to sell his bitters. Only a few bitters companies were brazen enough to do this. They already had the women against them with the Temperance Movement which was gaining steam.

Racy Advertising

The risqué, suggestive sexual overtone advertising would get William Slaughter and his company in quite a bit of trouble as James McConnell, Slaughters partner, was arrested in 1905. This was due to the Chicago Police Chief going after the many Chicago Penny Arcades showing risqué and objectionable pictures. These were really the first peep shows. He also went after the risqué souvenir postal cards canvasing his town and being plastered in windows of drug stores and other retail establishments. The image below was on the opposite side of a Rex Bitters card and was captioned “Heart Trouble.”

Chief Collins wanted to suppress the vulgar picture card and photograph evil that was perverting the morals of the young. This material including some pretty saucy advertising for Rex Bitters. Actually, the initial objectionable material, according to Collins, included two cards, “one bearing a gross picture of a woman and the other a doggerel verse.” Pretty tame nowadays.

It seems as if the town has gone stark mad over vulgar pictures. They have been increasing in number everywhere, till man, woman, and child can’t miss seeing them. The postal cards are bad enough, displayed as they are in windows everywhere and sent through the mails. Worse than the postal cards, however, are the penny arcades. I am going to recommend the revocation of their licenses.”

Chief Collins

This nuisance with the law didn’t seem to bother the gents of Rex Bitters Company as business was booming and men were their primary customers, in saloons, bars and liquor stores. Additionally, Rex Bitters now had satellite offices in New York and St. Louis.

You would not see colorful images of the family, fancily adorned women, children, dogs and cats that populated many Victorian advertising cards on Rex Bitters material. The Rex Bitters cards below certainly demonstrate this point. Provocative image coupled with suggestive words. Advertising 101.

Some of the cards that Rex Bitters Company put out were pretty darn funny as they did not depict beautiful women in suggestive poses and situations. They seem to suggest that Rex Bitters will give you your manhood and that it is just too bad if women didn’t get it. Slaughter had a number of these tongue-in-cheek cards.

Complaining Women

This all would escalate in 1907 when William Slaughter himself was taken into custody at his home after a raid at the Rex Bitters Company. The Chicago Mayor and the same Chief Collins said it was because of women who had made numerous complaints of the offensive pictures and literature used to advertise Rex Bitters. The chief said that he had also heard that models were visiting the offices of Rex Bitters Company and posing for pictures.

The chief said that he had also heard that models were visiting the offices of Rex Bitters Company and posing for pictures.

Two examples of Rex Bitters studio model shots are represented below. During the raid, so much advertising material was seized that it would not fit in the patrol wagon so three express wagons were called to the scene. Apparently $5,000 worth of books and cards were taken. Slaughter was taken to the Harris Street station and released an hour later after posting a $1,000 bond. Eventually he was charged and fined $200.

Business was Booming but Storms on the Horizon

By 1910, business was booming and Rex Bitters was being sold widely in the Chicago area. It was time to expand. Wanted ads were posted in 1912 newspapers looking for “Bright, Wide Awake, Hustling men; one for Wisconsin, one for Ohio, one for Pennsylvania and one for New York. Rex Bitters Company was now located at 1712-1714 South Michigan Avenue and said salesmen, with gilt edged references, on commission, could make from $100 a week and up. That’s pretty good.

This must have been an interesting and stimulating office environment with a growing company in Chicago at that time. A Michigan Avenue address, racy advertising, models coming and going, cops raiding the office, what else could you have? Well, in 1911, Rex Bitters Company placed local ads saying that they were selling furs at their 3rd Floor office, for “a limited time”. Why not? I wonder what truck these fell off?

We need to understand that organized crime was in its infancy in Chicago in 1910. Al Capone was only 11 or so at that time. That year, Chicago police arrested over 200 known Italian gangsters known as Black Hand members in a raid in Little Italy. Also from January 1, 1910 to March 26, 1911, thirty-eight people were killed by Black Hand assassins, many by the unidentified assassin known only as “Shotgun Man”, between Oak Street and Milton Street – “Death’s Corner” – in Little Italy. With this, on March 15, 1910, the Chicago Vice Commission was organized by Chicago Mayor Carter Harrison, Jr., to be able to bring an end to the Levee District brothels and panel houses. Things would not get much better in Chicago for some time, with Prohibition looming. Rex Bitters is woven into this fabric.

thirty-eight people were killed by Black Hand assassins, many by the unidentified assassin known only as “Shotgun Man”, between Oak Street and Milton Street – “Death’s Corner”

Running A Blind Pig

The Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906 did not spell good news for the Rex Bitters Company. This act was set up for preventing the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated or misbranded or poisonous or deleterious foods, drugs, medicines, and liquors, and for regulating traffic therein, and for other purposes. On August 23, 1912, Congressman Joseph Swagger Sherley’s proposed amendment, the Sherley Amendment, to Section 8 of the Pure Food and Drug Act, was enacted. It prohibited ‘false and fraudulent’ labeling of a product (though not advertising). The red tape was piling up.

There are numerous newspaper notices in American papers, in the mid 1910s, relating to saloons and bars being raided. Rex Bitters seems to be mentioned often. In the notice below from 1913, it says a “soft drink” emporium was raided and Rex Bitters was being sold illegally. They were “Running a blind pig” which is basically a speakeasy, an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages. Along with the bitters, the raid resulted in the confiscation of “two barrels of quantities of whiskey, wine, champagne, ginger, creme de menthe, and other intoxicants.”

Prohibition

This Rex Bitters ‘cat & mouse’ game would continue through the 1910s as the Rex Bitters Company expanded. With Prohibition taking effect in January 1920, this would all come to a boiling point. In October of that year, a U.S. judge specifically targeted the heads of Rex Bitters Company and John Lamson, president of Pond’s Bitters company. The judge went on to say, and I want the presidents, not the office boys or any other minor officials of these two companies.”

And I want the presidents, not the office boys or any other minor officials of these two companies.

Subpoenas were issued after a jurist had examined 60 quarts of liquor that had been seized by federal agents at local Chicago saloons. According to a newspaper report, “The 60 quarts were piled high in front of the jurist when he reached over and at random picked out two bottles. The first was that of the Rex Bitters Company, labeled ’22 percent alcohol’. The second was that of the Pond’s Bitters Company labeled ’20 percent alcohol’. These are rare remedies indeed to be found in saloons when Prohibition laws are in force,” said the jurist. Each of the defendants was fined $500.

All this must have pushed William Slaughter out as he moved on to run a glove manufacturing factory later in 1920. By 1930, he is the the manager of an electrical company in Chicago. After his death, Maggie M. Slaughter is found living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1955.

The company goes dark during the rest of Prohibition. There are no ads and no business listings until the Rex Bitters Company is reborn in 1935 as Rex Products Company. They are “Back on the market.”

Advertising is again posted wanting financially responsible distributers and liquor dealers to job and sell the famous Rex Bitters in Illinois and surrounding states. The ads state that Rex Bitters was a nationally known product before prohibition, and a big seller. The company is now located at 4301 Grand Avenue in Chicago.

Rex Bitters, now using green bottles with screw tops (above), would rise again and sell all the way up to 1941, when another big event would pretty much reshape the world and quiet Rex Bitters. Interesting, their last offices where noted as being in the Chicago Board of Trade building. Not to shabby at all.

There would be periodic advertising all the way up to 1957 for a non-alcoholic Rex Bitters cordial that could be used for cocktails. The Rex Bitters wings were finally clipped.

Advertising Trade Cards

The following Rex Bitters advertising card examples in this section are from bitters ephemera authority Joe Gourd.

Select Listings:

1871: William Edward Slaughter birth Washington, District of Columbia

1880: W. E. Slaughter, Student, Age: 9, Birth Date: Abt 1871, Birthplace: Washington, D.C., Home in 1880: New Orleans, Orleans, Louisiana, Street: St Louis Street, House Number: 155, Dwelling Number: 6, Race: White, Relation to Head of House: Son, Mother’s name: Lizzie Seldon, Mother’s Birthplace: Louisiana, Attended School: Yes, Household Members: Lizzie Seldon 43, W. E. Slaughter 9 – 1880 United States Federal Census

1890: William E. Slaughter, student, bds 158 N Rampart, New Orleans– New Orleans, Louisiana, City Directory, 1890

1895: Marriage William Edward Slaughter, Age: 24, Birth Date: abt 1871, Marriage Date: 7 Sep 1895, Marriage Place: District of Columbia, USA, Spouse: Maggie May Fergusson – District of Columbia, Marriage Records, 1810-1953

1900: William Slaughter, Insurance Agent, Age: 29, Birth Date: Jan 1871, Birthplace: District of Columbia, Home in 1900: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, Street: F St SE, House, Number: 156, Sheet Number: 2, Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: 35, Married: Spouse’s Name: Maggie Slaughter, Marriage Year: 1895, Household Members: William Slaughter 29, Maggie Slaughter 29 – 1900 United States Federal Census

1904: Newspaper notice (below): New Incorporations: Rex Bitters Company, Chicago, capital, $5,000: Manufacturing drugs and medicines: Incorporators: George N.B. Lowes, R.D. Stephens, Albert, Keep – Chicago Tribune, Saturday, December 3, 1904

1905: Newspaper notice (below): Agents Wanted: On salary or commission, Rex Bitters, 1545 Michigan Avenue, Chicago – St Louis Post Dispatch, Sunday, July 16, 1905

1905: Newspaper notice (below): Rex Bitters Company, No. 1545 Michigan Avenue increases capital stock from $5,000 to $50,000, William E. Slaughter, President, J.P. McConnell, Secretary – Chicago Tribune, Monday, November 20, 1905

1905: Newspaper notice (below): Police Chief Opens War on Many Penny Arcades, James McConnell, officer of Rex Bitters Company arrested – Chicago Tribune, Thursday, October 5, 1905

1907: Newspaper notice (below): W.E. Slaughter, President of Rex Bitters Company arrested, “Raid Caused by Women” – Chicago Tribune, Wednesday, February 13, 1907

1910: William E Slaughter, Proprietor Maunfacturer Bitters, Age in 1910: 39, Birth Year: abt 1871, Birthplace: District of Columbia, Home in 1910: Chicago Ward 6, Cook, Illinois, Street: Grand Boulevard, House Number: 4929, Marital Status: Married, Spouse’s Name: Maggie Slaughter, Father’s Birthplace: United States, Mother’s Birthplace: United States, Native Tongue: English, Employer, Home Owned or Rented: Rent, Farm or House: House, Household Members: William E Slaughter 39, Maggie Slaughter 37, Wallace Slaughter 12, Consuelo P Slaughter 9, William Slaughter Jr 1 – 1910 United States Federal Census

1910: Newspaper advertisement (below): Rex Bitters, The Peer of All Bitters – Chicago Tribune, Wednesday, November 23, 1910

1911: Newspaper advertisement (in post above): Rex Bitters Co. selling furs, 1712-1714 S. Michigan Avenue, 3rd Floor – Chicago Tribune, Wednesday, November 5, 1911

1912: Newspaper Wanted ad (below): Wanted Rex Bitters Co. Salesmen – Chicago Tribune, Tuesday, December 3, 1912

1913: Newspaper notice (notice in post above): Saloon is Raided, Selling Rex Bitters in a “soft drink” emporium, Running a blind pig”- The Times, Tuesday, February 4, 1913

1916: Rex Bitters Co. Products (Chicago): Rex Elixir of Bitter Wine, Rex Ginger and Brandy Tonic, Rex Ginger, Rex Hoarhound Tonic – National Association of Retail Druggists, 1916 publication

1920: William E Slaughter, Manufacturer Glove Factory, Age: 48, Birth Year: abt 1872, Birthplace: District of Columbia, Home in 1920: Chicago Ward 6, Cook (Chicago), Illinois, Street: Drexel Boulevard, House Number: 4711, Residence Date: 1920, Spouse’s Name: Maggie Slaughter, Father’s Birthplace: District of Columbia, Mother’s Birthplace: District of Columbia, Employment Field: Employer, Home Owned or Rented: Rent, Household Members: William E. Slaughter 48, Maggie Slaughter 47, Consuelo Slaughter 19, Wallace Slaughter 22, William Slaughter 11, Glenna Weidel 28 – 1920 United States Federal Census

1920: Newspaper notice (below): Subpoenas issued for heads of Rex Bitters and Ponds Bitters companies – Journal Gazette, Saturday, October 16, 1920

1930: William Slaughter, Manager Electrical Co., Birth Year: abt 1871, Birthplace(?): Louisiana, Marital Status: Married, Home in 1930: Chicago, Cook, Illinois, Street address: Chappel Avenue, Ward of City: Seventh, Block: 64, House Number: 7048, Home Owned or Rented: Rented, Home Value: 90.00, Radio Set: Yes, Lives on Farm: No, Age at First Marriage: 24, Attended School: No, Father’s Birthplace: United States, Mother’s Birthplace: United States, Household Members: William Slaughter 59, Maggie Slaughter 58 – 1930 United States Federal Census

1935: Newspaper Wanted ad (below): Wanted Rex Bitters distributors after Prohibition, Rex Products Co. – Chicago Tribune, Wednesday, November 17, 1935

1940: William Slaughter, Age: 69, Estimated Birth Year: abt 1871, Birthplace: Washington, District of Columbia, Marital Status: Married, Relation to Head of House: Head, Home in 1940: Chicago, Cook, Illinois, Street: Chappal Avenue, House Number: 7042, Farm: No, Inferred Residence in 1935: Chicago, Cook, Illinois, Value of Home or Monthly Rental if Rented: 57.50, Attended School or College: No, Highest Grade Completed: High School, 4th year, Income Other Sources: No, Household Members: William Slaughter 69, May Slaughter 68 – 1940 United States Federal Census

1941: Newspaper Advertisement (below): Tone Up Your System With Rex Bitters – The Decatur Herald, Tuesday, May 20, 1941

1957: Newspaper Advertisement (below): The new Rex Bitters nonalcoholic cordial – Chicago Tribune, Friday, April 26, 1957

Posted in Advertising, Bitters, Ephemera, History, Humor - Lighter Side, Liquor Merchant, Medicines & Cures, Regulations, Temperance, Tonics, Trade Cards | Tagged advertising, alcohol, bar, Black Hand, Blind Pig, Celebrated, chicago, Chief Collins, cocktail, drug, Drug Store, ephemera, furs, Humor, illegal, illicit, illinois, James P. McConnell, Joe Gourd, kidney, kink, liquor, Little Italy, Liver, Medicine, models, New Orleans, newspaper, Pond's, Prohibition, Pure Food and Drug Act, Pyramid, racy, Rex Bitters, risque, RX, Saloon, sex, Sherley Amendment, speakeasy, Subpoenas, suggestive, Temperance, William Edward Slaughter, Women | Leave a comment

Henry Fess Jr. Jaundice Bitters

Posted on 18 November 2018 by Ferdinand Meyer V

Henry Fess Jr. Jaundice Bitters

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

18 November 2018

Here is an extremely rare Jaundice Bitters from Milwaukee, Wisconsin put out by Henry Fess Jr., who was a prominent wholesale and retail druggist. The bottle recently showed up in an online auction that included other rather common bottles.

Fess came to Milwaukee from Pittsburgh in April, 1846 and initially was located next door to Ludington’s Corner, at what is now 405 East Water Street. That year, to attract customers, he announced in local newspapers that he had just received a large assortment of medicines from New York.

Henry Fess was born in Switzerland in 1815 and came to America with his parents. He received his citizenship papers in 1816. He later married Catherine M. Fess (1815–1885) and they had one daughter, Croesdella C. Fess.

Ludington’s Corner showing Ludington’s Building, circa 1885, on East Water Street.

Ludington Building, circa 1890

Water Street is a prominent historic street and an entertainment district in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the site of the city’s original building, City Hall, and multiple historic landmarks. Today it is still the major north–south road running through downtown and is home to Milwaukee’s Theater District, Water Street Entertainment District, and much of the city’s political activity.

In 1851, Fess moved to 377 East Water Street, Heidie’s Block; and from there, in 1853, to 395 Martin’s Block, where he conducted a robust business. He moved once again to what is now at 436 Milwaukee Street. His business was then called the Milwaukee Drug Warehouse. Advertising stated that he was a Wholesale and Retail dealer in Mediterranean, India, and all Foreign and Domestic Drugs etc. He also sold dyes, paints, oils, brushes, varnishes, chemicals, window glass, druggist glassware and other articles that were typically found in a drug store in that era. Yes, and he sold pure wine and brandy too.

In 1868, Henry Fess filed for bankruptcy and rebounded quickly as he was advertising his celebrated Tonic Bitters in 1869. His advertising that year said it was “Designed for the use of the Medical Profession and Family. It is a invaluable remedy for all diseases of the Liver and Kidneys, and the best Purifier of the Blood in the world, and has been used here by Physicians and others for 20 years“.

Steven Libbey of the Wisconsin Antique & Bottle Club has a few pictures on his web site of this bottle and reports the following, “This aqua bitters bottle from Wisconsin is embossed “H. FESS JR.” on the front, “MILWAUKIE, WIS.” on the back, “JAUNDICE” on the left panel and “BITTERS” on the right. Note the old German spelling of Milwaukee. It has a smooth base and a square blob, unlike the other varieties that have the double collar lip and pontil mark. Henry Fess Jr. was a prominent Milwaukee druggist in the 1840’s and 1850’s. There are a couple of varieties of pontil marked and smooth based bitters and at least one pontil marked druggist bottle known from this company. From left to right below are iron pontil marked bitters 8 1/4″ tall, open pontil bitters 7 1/4″ tall, and open pontil marked medicine. All are Henry Fess Jr. The large size is found with smooth base, IP (iron pontil) and OP (open pontil).

The Pioneer History of Milwaukee, in 1884, stated that “Henry Fess is one of our most respected citizens; and although like many others, he failed to get rich, has the consolation of knowing that he has the respect of his fellow citizens. He is of a very quiet temperament, is not aggressive; in fact, this is his great fault. He is no talker, greets every one cordially, if acquainted, and if he tells you a thing is so, you can depend upon its being true. I have known Mr. Fess intimately for many years, and hope the day is far distant when his pleasant face and lithe form shall be seen upon our streets no more.”

Fess was a life-long druggist who had his own bitters. Not too bad. He would die in 1901 in Milwaukee.

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

J 24 H. Fess Jr. Jaundice Bitters

H. FESS JR. ( au ) // JAUNDICE // MILWAUKEE MILWAUKIE / WIS. / BITTERS //
8 x 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 (5 1/2) 3/8 *
Rectangular, Metallic pontil mark, Extremely rare

* Second size reported

Select Listings:

1815: Henry Fess birth, 1815, Switzerland

1846: Newspaper announcement (below): New Drug Store, Henry Fess, Jr., Wholesale and Retail Druggist – Milwaukee Daily Sentinel, Saturday, July 25, 1846

1850: Henry Fess, Druggist, Age: 30, Birth Year: abt 1820, Birthplace: Pennsylvania, Home in 1850: Milwaukee Ward 1, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Family Number: 2147, Household Members: Henry Fess 30, Catharine Fess 28, Crosdella Fess 3 – 1850 United States Federal Census

1850: Newspaper advertisement (below): Milwaukee Drug Warehouse, Henry Fess, Jr., Wholesale and Retail dealer in Mediterranean, India, and all Foreign and Domestic Drugs etc. – Milwaukee Daily Sentinel, Thursday, March 21, 1850

1853: Newspaper advertisement (below): Removal Milwaukee Drug Ware House, Henry Fess, Jr., No. 195 East Water Street – Milwaukee Daily Sentinel, Wednesday, January 26, 1853

1857: FESS: Henry Jr. druggist, 195 East Water, h 190 Van Buren – Milwaukee City Directory for 1857-58

1860: Henry Fess, Merchant, Age: 40, Birth Year: abt 1820, Birth Place: Pennsylvania, Home in 1860: Milwaukee Ward 7, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Post Office: Milwaukee, Dwelling Number: 163, Family Number: 149, Real Estate Value: 6000, Household Members: Henry Fess 40, Catharine M Fess 35, Croesdella C Fess 12 – 1860 United States Federal Census

1865: Henry Fess Jr, Druggist & Chemist, 207 E Water, Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Milwaukee, Wisconsin, City Directory, 1865

1868: Newspaper notice (below): Henry Fess Jr. declares bankruptcy – The Daily Milwaukee News, Thursday, April 23, 1868

1869: Henry Fess Jr, ret druggist, 107 Wisconsin – Milwaukee, Wisconsin City Directory

1869: Newspaper advertisement (below): Henry Fess, Druggist, 107 Wisconsin. Selling his celebrated Tonic Bitters – The Daily Milwaukee News, Thursday March, 11, 1869

1870: Henry Fess, Druggist, Age in 1870: 51, Birth Year: abt 1819, Birthplace: Pennsylvania, Dwelling Number: 249, Home in 1870: Milwaukee Ward 7, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Personal Estate Value: 5000, Household Members: Henry Fess 51, Catherina Fess 45, Catherine Fess 22 – 1870 United States Federal Census

1877: Henry Fess Jr., Retail Druggist, 434 1/2 Milwaukee – City Directory for Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1880: Henry Fess, Druggist, Age: 60, Birth Date: Abt 1820, Birthplace: Switzerland, Home in 1880: Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Street: Jefferson Street, House Number: 464, Dwelling Number: 188, Marital Status: Married, Spouse’s Name: Catherine Fess, Household Members: Henry Fess 60, Catherine Fess 48, Croasdella Fess 20 – 1880 United States Federal Census

1882: Henry Fess Jr., Druggist, 436 Milwaukee, r 464 Jefferson – City Directory for Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1900: Henry Fess, Jr. Age: 85, Birth Date: Apr 1815, Birthplace: Switzerland, Home in 1900: Milwaukee Ward 18, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Ward of City: 18th, Street: Kane Pl, House Number: 364, Immigration Year: 1816, Marital Status: Widowed, Father’s Birthplace: Switzerland, Mother’s Birthplace: Switzerland, Years in US: 84, Naturalization, Household Members: Henry Fess 85, Catherine C Fess 52 – 1900 United States Federal Census

1891: DRUGGISTS’ REGISTER, List of pharmacists in attendance at the Milwaukee meeting, Aug. 11, 12, 13, 1891., Henry Fess, Jr. – Proceedings of the Annual Meeting, Volumes 11-19, Wisconsin Pharmaceutical Association

1901: Henry Jr Fess, Death Date: 11 December 1901, Death Place: Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Wisconsin, Death Index, 1820-1907

Posted in Bitters, Druggist & Drugstore, History, Medicines & Cures | Tagged bitters, Croesdella, Druggist & Drugstore, H. Fess Jr., Henry Fess, jaundice, Ludington, Medicine, milwaukee, retail, Switzerland, wholesale, Wisconsin | Leave a comment

Buck’s Aromatic Bitters – a First Rate Tonic & Remedy

Posted on 14 November 2018 by Ferdinand Meyer V

Buck’s Aromatic Bitters – a First Rate Tonic & Remedy

14 November 2018 (R•012919)

I came across some newspaper advertising for Buck’s Aromatic Bitters and was curious about the brand. It looks like the proprietors were Captain John Thomas Buck and Dr. Pinckney T. Baley (also incorrectly spelled Bailey, pictured above), working under the name, Buck & Baley, in Jackson, Mississippi. They were wholesale and retail druggists who also put out Buck’s Diarrhoea (sic) Syrup, Buck & Baley’s Chemical Yeast Powder and Southern Stomach Bitters in 1865 (see ad below)

Like many other druggists of the time, they hopped on the medicinal tonic and remedy band wagon and came up with their own bitters. They said it would cure the usual ailments that most bitters claimed during this era in the south such as Dyspepsia, Indigestion, Want of Appetite, Flatulence, Acidity of the Stomach and General Debility.

There are only Jackson, Miss. newspaper advertisements for the bitters in 1867 through 1869. Each year is represented below. There is only one bottle example that I am aware of. I can not find any other collateral material such as a label or trade cards.

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

B 248.5 Buck’s Aromatic Bitters

// f // BUCK’S // AROMATIC BITTERS // JACKSON. MISS //
8 3/4 x 2 7/8 x 2 1/8
Rectangular, Amber, NSC, Applied mouth, 3 sp, Extremely rare

Buck’s Aromatic Bitters, Jackson Miss. – Mississippi Antique Bottles & Jugs (2004), Justin McClure

On the Buck side, this seems to start with Robert Luther Buck who was born in Virginia in 1816. He was a doctor and partnered with John Thomas Buck and Dr. Pinckney T. Baley in the 1865 or so, the firm name being Buck, Baley & Co. in Jackson, Mississippi. They were druggists and apothecaries located on State Street. They sold the usual drugs and medicines along with paints, linseed oil, lard oil, window glass, putty, dyes and other convenient items. They also sold wines and liquors for “medicinal purposes”. They filled prescriptions at all hours and sold to “The Ladies”, perfumery, cocaine and portable lemonade, which is a tasty syrup. So they ran a drug store like a hardware store that was a liquor store and sold cocaine….and lemonade.

Portable Lemonade recipe, circa 1850

Pinckney T. Baley, born in 1832 in Georgia, was one of the pioneer physicians in Jackson, Mississippi. He was the son of Stephen P. Baley (1806-1876), the long-time proprietor of S.P. Baley & Co. in Jackson from the late 1830s to 1850s. S.P. Baley sold mainly groceries, hardware and liquor. He got his start when George Finucane & Co. disposed of their entire stock to S.P. Bailey & Co. in 1838. Pinckney T. Bailey truly was a doctor and attended Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia though he first entered the drug store trade when he bought a one half interest in the Yandell & Baley Drug Store located on the corner of State and Pearl Streets at No. 1 Cheapside in Jackson, Mississippi in 1853. His partner was Dr. Henry William Yandell (1835 – 1918) who graduated from medical school in Kentucky.

G. Finucane & Co. • S.P. Baley & Co. • Yandell & Baley • Buck, Bailey & Co. • Buck & Baley

Pinckney next partnered in what I believe to be the same drug store, at the same address (corner of State & Pearl Streets) with Dr. Robert Luther Buck and Captain John Thomas Buck, a southern Civil War veteran, sometime during the Civil War. Two physicians and a druggist, seemingly the perfect match. Dr. Robert Luther Buck died in 1866 and the firm became Buck & Baley, the concern that produced Buck’s Aromatic Bitters.

They split in 1873, where Baley continued his medical practice. John T. Buck, born in 1839 in Tennessee, started out as a druggist in Kentucky in 1860. He would eventually move on to other occupations including being a City Clerk and Tax Collector in Jackson, a Baptist newspaper editor and a Savings and Loan Association official for the State of Mississippi. Baley would die in 1888 while Captain Buck passed on in 1906.

A little background for an extremely rare bitters. It’s interesting to learn and imagine about the circumstances, lives and times of three men who made a bitters.

Newspaper advertisement for Buck’s Aromatic Bitters – Clarion Ledger, Thursday, January 19, 1867

Newspaper advertisement for Buck’s Aromatic Bitters – Clarion Ledger, Monday, July 13, 1868

Newspaper advertisement for Buck’s Aromatic Bitters – Clarion Ledger, Thursday, July 29, 1869

Select Listings:

1816: Dr Robert Luther Buck, Birth Date: 4 Aug 1816, Front Royal, Warren County, Virginia, Spouse: Elizabeth Buck, Children: Robert Luther Buck, Claiborne Cage Buck, Ellen Stewart Buck, Amanda Stewart Buck, Charles Buck, Mary Elizabeth Buck, Robert LeWright Buck, Jennie Cage Cole, Frances Hamilton, Dr. William Stewart Buck, James Duncan Buck, Infant Daughter Buck – U.S. Find A Grave Index

1832: Dr Pinckney T. Baley, Birth Date: 1832, Birth Place: Georgia

1838: Newspaper notice (below): G. Finucane & Co. disposes of entire stock to S.P. Bailey & Co. – The Southern Sun, Saturday, December 29, 1838

1839: Newspaper notice (below): S.P. Baley & Co. received, per steamboat Grand Gulf, at G. Finacane’s old stand – The Weekly Mississippian, Tuesday, January 29, 1839

1839: John Thomas Buck, birth 29 August 1839, Tennessee

1850: John T Buck, Age: 11, Birth Year: abt 1839, Birthplace: Tennessee, Home in 1850: District 2, Christian, Kentucky, Household Members: Samuel D Buck 46, Annis L Buck 17, John T Buck 11, Henry C Buck 2 – 1850 United States Federal Census

1853: Newspaper notice (below): Copartnership, I have sold one-half of my Drug Store to Doctor P.T. Baley, now Yandell & Baley, corner of State and Pearl Streets, No. 1 Cheapside – Flag of the Union, Friday, April 22, 1853

1853: Newspaper advertisement (below): Patent Medicines being sold by Yandell & Baley, No. 1 Cheapside – Flag of the Union, Friday, June 17, 1853

1856: Pinckney T Baley, Publication Year: 1856, Publication Place: Pennsylvania, School Name: Jefferson Medical College, Residence Place: Mississippi – US School Catalogs

1858: Newspaper notice (below): W.W. Divine, druggists, books transferred to S.P. Bailey & Co. in Jackson, Mississippi – The Weekly Mississippian, Wednesday, December 29, 1858

1860: Robt L Buck, MD, Age: 43, Birth Year: abt 1817, Birth Place: Virginia, Home in 1860: Jackson, Hinds, Mississippi, Post Office: Jackson, Dwelling Number: 315, Real Estate Value: 35000, Personal Estate Value: 30000, Household Members: Robt L Buck 43, E Buck 32, Willie Buck 14, Fanny Buck 12, Charley Buck 7, Claiborn Buck 5,M Buck 4,A Buck 2, Buck 7 Months – 1860 United States Federal Census

1860: John T Buck, Age: 20, Occupation: Druggist, Birth Year: abt 1840, Birth Place: Tennessee, Home in 1860: Hopkinsville, Christian, Kentucky, Post Office: Hopkinsville, Dwelling Number: 217 – 1860 United States Federal Census

1860: P T Bailey, MD, Age: 29, Birth Year: abt 1831, Birth Place: Georgia, Home in 1860: Jackson, Hinds, Mississippi, Post Office: Jackson, Dwelling Number: 300, Family Number: 307, Occupation: M D, Real Estate Value: 4000, Personal Estate Value: 26,300, Household Members: P T Bailey 29, E M Bailey 27 – 1860 United States Federal Census

1861: John T Buck, Age at Enlistment: 21, Enlistment Date: 21 Feb 1861, Rank at enlistment: Captain, State Served: Mississippi, Birth Date: 29 Mar 1839, Death, Date: 31 Jul 1906, Death Place: Jackson, Mississippi – U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865

1865: Newspaper advertisement (below) Southern Stomach Bitters Prepared by Buck, Bailey & Co., Jackson, Miss. – The Daily Clarion, Saturday, December 16, 1865

1865: Newspaper advertisement (below): Buck, Baley & Co., Dr. R.L. Buck, Dr. P.T. Baley and John T. Buck, Druggists & Apothecaries, State Street, Jackson, Miss. – The Daily Mississippian, Sunday, October 1, 1865

1866: Dr Robert Luther Buck, Death Date: 15 Jan 1866, Cemetery: Greenwood Cemetery, Burial or Cremation Place: Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi – U.S. Find A Grave Index

1866: Newspaper Special Notice (below): Co-partnership between Dr. R.S. Buck, Dr. P.T. Bailey and John T. Buck dissolved due to death of Dr. R.S. Buck. Buck, Bailey & Co. now Buck & Baley – Daily Mississippi Clarion and Standard, Sunday, July 15, 1866

1869: Newspaper advertisement (below): Pure Catawba Wine being sold by Buck & Baley. – Tri Weekly Clarion, Thursday, December 16, 1869

1870: Jno T Buck, Druggist, Age in 1870: 30, Birth Year: abt 1840, Birthplace: Tennessee, Dwelling Number: 600, Home in 1870: Jackson, Hinds, Mississippi, Personal Estate Value: 4,000, Household Members: Jno T Buck 30, Hattie L Buck 23, William J Buck 1 – 1870 United States Federal Census

1870: Pinckney T Baley, Occupation: Physician, Age in 1870: 38, Birth Year: abt 1832, Birthplace: Georgia, Dwelling Number: 535, Home in 1870: Jackson, Hinds, Mississippi, Personal Estate Value: 5000, Real Estate Value: 10000, Inferred Spouse: Emiline Baley, Household Members: Pinckney T Baley 38, Emiline Baley 34, George A Baley 7, Annie E Baley 9, Mira Baley 6, Farrar P Baley 4, Emmie Baley 8/12 – 1870 United States Federal Census

1873: Newspaper notice (below): Dissolution of Partnership, Captain John T. Buck and Dr. P. T. Bailey in Jackson, Mississippi on December 1, 1873. Buck buys Baley out and continues. – The Clarion Ledger, Thursday, December 18, 1873

1880: John F. Buck, Age: 40, Birth Date: Abt 1840, Birthplace: Tennessee, Home in 1880: Jackson, Hinds, Mississippi, Street: Congress Street, Dwelling Number: 52, Marital Status: Married, Spouse’s Name: Hadie Buck, Father’s Birthplace: Virginia, Mother’s Birthplace: Virginia, Occupation: Local Editor, Household Members: John F. Buck 40, Hadie Buck 33, William Buck 11 – 1880 United States Federal Census

1880: Pinkney T. Baley, Physician, Age: 45, Birth Date: Abt 1835, Birthplace: Georgia, Home in 1880: Jackson, Hinds, Mississippi, Street: State Street, Dwelling Number: 158, Marital Status: Married, Spouse’s Name: Emeline M. Baley, Father’s Birthplace: Georgia, Mother’s Birthplace: Georgia, Household Members: Pinkney T. Baley 45, Emeline M. Baley 46, Anna E. Baley 19, George A. Baley 19,Myra L. Baley 15,Farrar P. Baley 13, Cornelia A. Baley 10, Lelia E. Baley 8 – 1880 United States Federal Census

1888: Dr. Pinckney T. Baley death 12 May 1888 (aged 55–56), Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi, Burial Greenwood Cemetery, Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi, Section 4, Lot 42, new cemetery – U.S. Find A Grave Index

1890: John T. Buck, City Clerk of the City of Jackson – Charter of the City of Jackson, and Revised Ordinances of 1890

1900: John T Buck, Occupation: Sec. Building And Loan, Age: 60, Birth Date: Aug 1839, Birthplace: Tennessee, Home in 1900: Jackson Ward 1, Hinds, Mississippi, Ward of City: 1, Street: Jefferson, House Number: 511, Institution: Belhaven College (Female) Line 2 To 8 Inclusive, Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: 77, Father’s Birthplace: Virginia, Mother’s Birthplace: Virginia, Household Members: John T Buck 60, Hadie L Buck 52, William J Buck 31 – 1900 United States Federal Census

1901: John T. Buck, Secy, Building and Loan Assn., Jackson, Mississippi, V president, Miss Baptist Publishing Co., res 511 n Jackson – Jackson, Mississippi, City Directory, 1901

1904: Newspaper notice (below): Conditions in Baltimore (fire-stricken city) – Jackson Daily News, Thursday, February 18, 1904

1906: John Thomas Buck death 31 July 1906 (aged 66), Burial Greenwood Cemetery, Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi, Section 1, Lot 134, new cemetery – U.S. Find A Grave Index

Posted in Apothecary, Bitters, Druggist & Drugstore, History, Remedy, Tonics | Tagged Aromatic, bitters, Buck, Buck's, Captain John Thomas Buck, Doctor, Dr. Pinckney T. Baley, Druggist & Drugstore, Finucane, Henry William Yandell, Jackson, lemonade, Mississippi, physician, Remedy, Robert Luther Buck, Southern, Stomach, Tonic, Yandell | Leave a comment

Sazerac Aromatic Bitters – P. H. Drake & Co.

Posted on 7 November 2018 by Ferdinand Meyer V

Sazerac Aromatic Bitters Lady’s Leg

P.H. Drake & Co.

07 November 2018

Looking at the motif of the monogram “PHD & Co.” on a Sazerac Aromatic Bitters bottle leads you to Patrick Henry Drake, the proprietor for the famous Drake’s Plantation Bitters. You can see the link with the product name and Drake below with the monogram in the advertisement from Bitters Bottles.

The bottles are called a figural lady’s leg due to the sensual shape of the bottle neck. Three great examples are pictured at the top of this post from the great Bill Taylor figural bitters collection out in Oregon. The cobalt blue example is unique. Bill is known for his extensive collection of lady’s legs bitters.

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

S 47 Sazerac Aromatic Bitters

// b // SAZERAC AROMATIC BITTERS // s // motif monogram PHD & Co.
12 1/2 x 3 3/8 (5)
Round lady’s leg, ARM, Applied mouth, Milk glass – Common; Amber – Very rare;
Cobalt – Extremely rare

Note: Sewell T. Taylor, in the 1830s, imported Sazerac Brandy from Messrs. Sazerac de Forge et Fils, Limoges, France. In 1865, Tom H. Handy invented Sazerac Bitters from a secret formula based on boiled herbs. It is believed that this was a flavoring bitters originating in New Orleans.

Almanac: Morning Noon & Night, 1870-1871

Advertisement: 1872 Thomas H. Handy & Co. successors to John G. Schiller, Importers of Sazerac Brandy, Wine and Liquors, 14 and 16 Royal Street, and 11 and 13 Exchange Place, New Orleans. Advertisement 1881 Thos. H. Hardy, importing agent, Sazerac brandies, fine wines and liquors. Imported and domestic cigars. Nos. 9 and 11 St. Charles Street. New Orleans Directory 1915. Handy was listed at 118 Royal Street.

If the PHD monogram stands for Patrick Henry Drake then this could be the Drake’s Sazerac Bitters, Thompson 117.

By most accounts, around 1850, Sewell T. Taylor sold his New Orleans bar, The Merchants Exchange Coffee House, to become an importer of spirits. He began to import a brand of cognac named Sazerac-de-Forge et Fils. Meanwhile, Aaron Bird assumed proprietorship of the Merchants Exchange and changed its name to Sazerac Coffee House.

Legend has it that Bird began serving the “Sazerac Cocktail”, made with Sazerac cognac imported by Taylor, and allegedly with bitters being made by the local apothecary, Antoine Amedie Peychaud.

The Sazerac Coffee House subsequently changed hands several times, when around 1870, Thomas Handy became its proprietor. It is around this time that the primary ingredient changed from cognac to rye whiskey, due to the phylloxera epidemic in Europe that devastated the vineyards of France.

The creation of the Sazerac has also been credited to Antoine Amédée Peychaud, a Creole apothecary who emigrated to New Orleans from the West Indies and set up shop in the French Quarter in the early 19th Century. He was known to dispense a proprietary mix of aromatic bitters from an old family recipe.

According to popular myth, he served his drink in the large end of an egg cup that was called a coquetier in French, and the Americanized mispronunciation resulted in the name cocktail. This belief was debunked when people discovered that the term “cocktail” as a type of drink first appeared in print at least as far back as 1803—and was defined in print in 1806 as, “a mixture of spirits of any kind, water, sugar and bitters, vulgarly called a bittered sling.”

Read: Peychaud’s Cocktail Bitters – L.E. Jung and his Gators

At some point, Patrick Henry Drake obtained the sole right to manufacture and sell Sazerac Aromatic Bitters. By this time he had split from Demas Barnes and formed P.H. Drake & Company in New York. Thought Drake commenced with his plantation bitters in 1860, he did not start marketing Sazerac Aromatic Bitters until January 1st, 1869.

Sazerac Aromatic Bitters in yellow amber with olive tone.

Sazerac Aromatic Bitters in white milk glass (see base picture below) – Heckler Auctions

Sazerac Aromatic Bitters in white milk glass (see bottle picture above) – Heckler Auctions

Lot: 129 Bitters or Whiskey Type Bottle, America, 1860-1880. Cylindrical form with lady’s leg neck, brilliant deep sapphire blue, applied mouth with ring – smooth base, ht. 12 1/4 inches; (light patchy interior haze, two pinpoint flakes on edge of mouth). Similar in form to R/H #S-47 Possibly a labeled Sazerac Aromatic Bitters, as the color, size and form are identical. Generally fine condition. – Norman C. Heckler | Auction #170

Select Listings:

1827: Patrick Henry Drake, Birth Date: 22 Feb 1827, Birth Place: Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York, United States of America – U.S. Find a Grave Index

1849: Patrick Henry Drake, First Marriage Date: 10 Jun 1849, Father: Benjamin Drake, Spouse: Jane Eldridge Lewis, Child: Virginia Maria Drake, Julia Randall Drake – North American Family Histories

1850: P H Drake, [Patrick Henry Drake] Age:23, Birth Year: abt 1827, Birthplace: New York, Home in 1850: Ithaca, Tompkins, New York, USA, Gender: Male, Family Number: 556, Household Members: Maria Drake 53, P H Drake 23, Jane Drake 23, Mary Drake 24 – 1850 United States Federal Census

186o: Patrick H Drake, Manufacturer, Age: 31, Birth Year: abt 1829, Gender: Male, Birth Place: New York, Home in 1860: Binghamton Ward 3, Broome, New York, Post Office: Binghamton, Dwelling Number: 456, Family Number: 487, Real Estate Value: 5000, Personal Estate Value: 1500, Household Members: Patrick H Drake 31, Jane E Drake 31, Virginia N Drake 10, Julia R Drake 3 – 1860 United States Federal Census

1860: Patrick Henry Drake and Demas Barnes formed a partnership in 1860 in New York City to manufacture and market Drake’s Plantation Bitters, initially called Plantation Toddy – History of Drug Containers and Their Labels By George B. Griffenhagen, Mary Bogard

1867: Demas Barnes and Patrick Henry Drake dissolved their partnership and Plantation Bitters was transferred to P.H. Drake & Company

1869: January 1st, 1869, P.H. Drake & Co., New York, sole right to manufacture and sell “Sazerac” Aromatic Bitters (advertisement above) – Bitters Bottles

1870: P H Drake [Patrick Henry Drake], Age in 1870: 43, Manufacturer Of Bitters, Birth Year: abt 1827, Birthplace: New York, Dwelling Number: 117, Home in 1870: New York, Ward 21, District 16 (2nd Enum), New York, New York, Inferred Spouse: J E Drake [Jane Eldridge Lewis], Inferred Children: Mary E Drake , Virginia Drake, J E Drake, Household Members: Mary E Drake 25, Virginia Drake 19, J E Drake 14, P H Drake 43, J E Drake 42 – 1870 United States Federal Census

1880: Patrick H. Drake, Chemist, Age: 57, Birth Date: Abt 1823, Birthplace: New York, Home in 1880: New York City, New York, New York, USA, Street: West 56th St, House Number: 38, Dwelling Number: 122, Relation to Head of House: Self (Head), Marital Status: Married, Spouse’s Name: Jane E. Drake, Father’s Birthplace: New York, Mother’s Birthplace: New York, Household Members: Patrick H. Drake 57, Jane E. Drake 51, Virginia Drake 28, Julia Drake 22 – 1880 United States Federal Census

1882: Patrick Henry Drake, Death 4 Nov 1882, Death Place: Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Cemetery: Spring Forest Cemetery, Burial or Cremation Place: Binghamton, Broome County, New York – U.S. Find a Grave Index

1882: Patrick H Drake, Merchant, Age: 55, Birth Date: abt 1827, Birth Place: Ithaca, New York, Death Date: 4 Nov 1882, Death Place: Boston, Massachusetts, Hotel Brunswick, Cause: Acute Pericarditis, Father: Benjamin Drake, Mother: Maud Drake – Massachusetts Death Records

1883: After Drakes death business operated by William P. Ward, Proprietor

Posted in Bartending, Bitters, Brandy, Figural Bottles, History, Liqueurs, liquor, Medicines & Cures, Spirits, Whiskey | Tagged Aromatic, bitters, Bottle, Brandy, cocktail, Figural, lady's leg, monogram, New Orleans, New York, P.H. Drake & Co., Patrick Henry Drake, Sazerac | Leave a comment

Dr. Wright’s Tonic Bitters and Invigorating Cordial

Posted on 5 November 2018 by Ferdinand Meyer V

Dr. Wright’s Tonic Bitters and Invigorating Cordial

05 November 2018

Norman C. Heckler & Company has an exciting Dr. Wright’s Tonic Bitters and Invigorating Cordial that I have never seen before in their current Auction #170. Their write-up is as follows accompanied by their fine photographs of the bottle:

Lot: 63 “Dr. Wright’s / Tonic Bitters / And / Invigorating / Cordial” Bitters Bottle, America, 1845-1860. Square with beveled corners, yellow with an olive tone, applied sloping collared mouth – iron pontil mark, ht. 10 inches. R/H #W-163.5 Extremely rare and beautiful with a pristine exterior surface. One of two known examples. Fine condition. Estimate: $6,000 – $12,000 Minimum bid: $3,000

Dr. Wright’s Tonic Bitters and Invigorating Cordial Bitters was put out by Homer (Hoemer) Wright in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from about 1855 to 1858. He sold his bitters in quart bottles for $1. Yes, this is early Pittsburgh glass with an iron pontil. As good as it gets. Previously an amber example was recorded. This one is yellow with an olive tone with lots of character. It is extremely rare, either color.

Dr. Homer Wright was born in Wellsville, Ohio on April 8, 1833 and was a son of Dr. Hugh Wright, an eminent physician, and Ann (Laughlin) Wright, both from Ireland. Dr. Wright came from Shippensburg, Pa., lived for a time in Wellsville, Ohio and practiced in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, and in 1845, at the time of the great fire in Pittsburgh, was practicing at No. 8 Grant Street in Pittsburgh. This was also the location for his manufactory and principle depot for his bitters and Dr. Wright’s Family Medicines.

Dr. Wrights parents had moved to Pittsburgh when he was quite young, and his education was obtained in the public schools of the old Second Ward. After leaving school he began the study of medicine under his father, but later abandoned professional ambitions and entered the manufacturing business in Pittsburgh, the center of the glass manufacturing industry in the United States

Homer Wright had a number of patents and is best known for being partners in Collins & Wright (Henry H. Collins, Benjamin F. Collins & Homer Wright). They were the purchasers of the Pittsburgh Britannia Manufacturing Company in the early 1860s, a concern established in 1838 by Orrin Newton. The company, under its new title and ownership, continued the manufacture of britannia ware, pewter buttons, and metal trimming used in the production of glass tableware, such as salt and pepper shakers. Homer Wright died in Pittsburgh on June 3, 1919.

A much more complete biographical sketch and a picture of Dr. Wright can be found below. His eldest son, James Homer Wright (1869-1928), practiced pathology in Boston from 1893 until his death in 1928. He was rather well known. His biography is also below.

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

W 163.5 Dr. Wright’s Tonic Bitters and Invigorating Cordial

DR. WRIGHT’S TONIC BITTERS // AND // INVIGORATING // CORDIAL // f //
10 5/16 x 2 7/8
Square, Amber, Yellow with olive tone (add), LTC, Metallic pontil mark, Extremely rare

Homer Wright

History of Pittsburgh and Environs, Volume 1, American Historical Society, 1922 – Pennsylvania

HOMER WRIGHT – A man of studious, quiet disposition, Mr. Wright’s tastes called for a professional career rather than a mercantile life, but when his course was directed in commercial lines he brought from these sources valuable result. It was his intention to follow in his father’s footsteps, his study of medicine having been begun when circumstances prevented the execution of his plans, and his long and useful life was spent as a manufacturer. Homer Wright was a son of Dr. Hugh Wright, an eminent physician, and Ann (Laughlin) Wright. Dr. Wright came from Shippensburg, Pa., lived for a time in Wellsville, Ohio, practiced in Beaver county, Pa., and in 1845, at the time of the great fire in Pittsburgh, was practicing on Grant street. Dr. Wright came to Western Pennsylvania in stage-coach days, and was a pioneer settler in some of the sections in which he lived.

Homer Wright was born in Wellsville, Ohio, April 8, 1833, and died in Pittsburgh, June 3, 1919. His parents moved to Pittsburgh when he was quite young, and his education was obtained in the public schools of the old Second Ward. After leaving school he began the study of medicine under his father, but later abandoned professional ambitions and entered manufacturing lines. In the late sixties, in association with Henry and Benjamin Collins, under the firm name of Collins & Wright, he was a purchaser of the Pittsburgh Britannia Manufacturing Company, a concern established in 1838 by Orrin Newton. This company, under its new title and ownership, continued the manufacture of britannia ware, pewter buttons, and metal trimming used in the production of glass tableware, such as salt and pepper shakers. The operations of Collins & Wright were pursued in the center of the glass manufacturing industry of the United States, and the firm prospered in exceptional degree. Their location for many years was on Second avenue, between Wood and Smithfield streets; later they moved to First avenue and Cherry way; and in 1905 occupied the factory at Fifty-fifth and Butler streets, where the business is still conducted (1921) by members of the Wright family. Homer Wright continued active and prominent in the affairs of the firm until a few years prior to his death in his eighty-seventh year, and retained a firm, keen grasp upon practical affairs long past the usual age of retirement .

There were two influences of paramount importance in Mr. Wright’s life—his business connections and his home. In the world of affairs he became known for uprightness of character and steadfast adherence to lofty principles of business conduct. He was the possessor of a memory of almost unlimited capacity, and its retentiveness and exactness were the causes of remark among his friends. He read widely in current and classical literature, and in the pursuits of home life, the companionship and love of his family, found life’s highest rewards. Mr. Wright was confirmed in St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, of Pittsburgh, but after his marriage attended and was for many year s a trustee of the Second Presbyterian Church, of Pittsburgh. A blameless life won him the heartfelt benediction of all who knew him, and until his death respect and honor were paid him and have since been accorded his memory in the same measure.

Homer Wright married, Jan. 2, 1868, Sarah Livingston Gray, who died March 11, 1894, daughter of James H. and Julia (Livingston) Gray. Children: 1. James Homer, a world renowned pathologist, for twenty-five years pathologist of the Massachusetts General Hospital of Boston, Mass.; married Aagot Lunde, of Christiana, Norway. 2. Edwin L, manager of Collins & Wright; makes his home with his sister, Mary R. Wright. 3. W. Howard, secretary of the Commercial Lithographing and Printing Company of Akron, Ohio; married Janette Williamson Swan, daughter of John Swan, a former postmaster of Allegheny, Pa., and has children: Janette Ramsey, Christine Livingston, and Virginia Swan. 4. Mary R., resides at No. 917 North Negley avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Select Listings:

1833: Homer Wright was born in Wellsville, Ohio, April 8, 1833. Homer Wright was a son of Dr. Hugh Wright, an eminent physician, and Ann (Laughlin) Wright. – History of Pittsburgh and Environs, Volume 1, American Historical Society, 1922 – Pennsylvania

1845: Dr. Wright came from Shippensburg, Pa., lived for a time in Wellsville, Ohio, practiced in Beaver county, Pa., and in 1845, at the time of the great fire in Pittsburgh, was practicing on Grant street. – History of Pittsburgh and Environs, Volume 1, American Historical Society, 1922 – Pennsylvania

1850: Homer Wrights, Student, Age: 17, Birth Year: abt 1833, Birthplace: Ohio, Home in 1850: Pittsburgh Ward 2, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, USA, Household Members: Hugh Wrights 45, Ann Wrights 42, Homer Wrights 17, Eliza Wrights 14, Agnes Wrights 9, Henry Laughlin 23 – 1850 United States Federal Census

1855: Newspaper advertisement (see below): Dr. Wright’s Tonic Bitters and Invigorating Cordial – The Tennessean, Wednesday, December 19, 1855

1857: Newspaper advertisement (see below): Dr. Wright’s Tonic Bitters and Invigorating Cordial, prepared only by Dr. Homer Wright, Proprietor Dr. Wright’s Family Medicines, Manufactory and Principle Depot, No. 8 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – The Wyandot Pioneer, Thursday, March 12, 1857

186o: Homer Wright, Age: 24, Birth Year: abt 1836, Gender: Male, Birth Place: Ohio, Home in 1860:, Pittsburgh Ward 2, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Post Office: Pittsburgh, Dwelling Number: 2107, Family Number: 2703, Occupation: Student, Household Members: Name Age, Hugh Wright 56, Ann Wright 53, Homer Wright 24, Agnes Wright 18 – 1860 United States Federal Census

1863: Newspaper advertisement (see below): Collins & Wright, Britannia and Brass works, No. 139 Second Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – The Pittsburgh Gazette, Saturday, October 10, 1863

1864: Newspaper advertisement (see below): Collins & Wright, Britannia and Brass works, No. 139 Second Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – The Pittsburgh Gazette, Monday, June 6, 1864

1867: Newspaper patents notice (see below): Patent for an Improved Jug Top, Homer Wright, Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Pittsburgh Daily Commercial, Saturday, October 12, 1867

1868: Homer Wright married, Jan. 2, 1868, Sarah Livingston Gray, who died March 11, 1894, daughter of James H. and Julia (Livingston) Gray.

1869: Newspaper patent notice (see below): Patent 3637 dated October 27, 1868 for a Fruit Jar, Henry H. Collins, B.F. Collins and Homer Wright, Pittsburgh – The Pittsburgh Daily Commercial, Thursday, September 16, 1869

1869: James Homer Wright (pictured below) was born on April 8, 1869, in Pittsburgh, the oldest of five children of Homer Wright and Sara L. Gray. Dr. Wright’s father had a business that made decorative glass tableware. – James Homer Wright (1869–1928) – by Robert H. Young and Robert E. Lee

James Homer Wright (1869-1928), the eldest son of a Pittsburgh glass merchant, was educated in Baltimore and practiced pathology in Boston from 1893 until his death in 1928. In 1896, when not quite 27 years old, he assumed directorship of the newly founded Pathology Laboratory at the Massachusetts General Hospital, a post he held for the next 30 years. He is remembered eponymously by the blood cell stain that bears his name and the Homer Wright pseudorosettes of neuroblastoma, but he made many additional contributions to pathology. These include the following: determination of the cellular lineage of multiple myeloma, identification of the megakaryocyte as the cell of origin of blood platelets, recognition of the cell of origin of the neuroblastoma, demonstration of spirochetes in syphilitic aneurysms of the aorta, and clarification of misconceptions about actinomycosis. Additionally, Wright coauthored, with Dr. Frank B. Mallory, the book Pathological Technique, which was a staple of laboratories for >40 years and exemplifies Wright’s wide-ranging interests in, and contributions to, practical aspects of pathology including staining, culture and frozen section techniques, photography, and development of the rotary microtome. He received Honorary Doctor of Science Degrees from Harvard University, the University of Maryland (his alma mater), and the University of Missouri. He was the recipient of the Gross prize in 1905 for his publication on actinomycosis and the Boylston Medical Prize in 1908 for his discovery of the origin of platelets, and he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1915. Although shy and somewhat austere in the workplace, a different side was shown by his anonymously sending flowers to a young Norwegian opera singer whom he subsequently married. The pathology laboratories of the Massachusetts General Hospital were named the “James Homer Wright Pathology Laboratories” in 1956. Today James Homer Wright is remembered and honored 100 years after his description of the stain that, along with the pseudorosettes of neuroblastoma, carry his name into eternity and ensure his great contributions will never be forgotten. – James Homer Wright: a biography of the enigmatic creator of the Wright stain on the occasion of its centennial. – Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh, PA

1870: Homer Wright (Collins & Wright), Brittania Manufacturers, 139 Second Avenue, res. 8 Grant, Hugh Wright, physician, 8 Grant – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1870

1880: Homer Wright, Age: 47, Brass & Tin Manufacturer, Birth Date: Abt 1833, Birthplace: Ohio, Home in 1880: Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Street: Logan St, House Number: 41, Dwelling Number: 438, Married, Spouse’s Name: Sarah Wright, Father’s Birthplace: Ohio, Mother’s Birthplace: Ohio, Occupation: Brass Foundry, Household Members: Homer Wright 47, Sarah Wright 33, James Wright 11, Edward Wright 7, Howard Wright 5, Mary Wright 9/12 – 1880 United States Federal Census

1900: Homer Wright, Manager Britannia Ware, Age: 67, Birth Date: Apr 1833, Birthplace: Ohio, Home in 1900: Pittsburgh Ward 8, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Ward of City: Eighth, Street: Cliff St, House Number: 20, Marital Status: Widowed, Father’s Birthplace: Ohio, Mother’s Birthplace: Ohio, Household Members: Homer Wright 67, L Edwin Wright 17, W Howard Wright 25, P Mary Wright 20, Teresa Wetzel 36 – 1900 United States Federal Census

1919: Homer Wright died in Pittsburgh on June 3, 1919.

Posted in Auction News, Bitters, Blown Glass, Cordial, Glass Makers, History, Medicines & Cures, Tonics | Tagged bitters, Britannia, Collins & Wright, Cordial, Dr. Wright, Glass, glassware, Grant, Hoemer, Homer, Homer Wright, Hugh, invigorating, Ireland, James Homer Wright, Medicine, Norman C. Heckler, ohio, Orrin Newton, Pennsylvania, physician, Pittsburgh, pontil, Sarah Livingston Gray, Tonic, Wellsville | Leave a comment

Life Everlasting Bitters – Atlanta, Georgia

Posted on 1 November 2018 by Ferdinand Meyer V

Life Everlasting Bitters – Atlanta, Georgia

01 November 2018

Here is a great bitters square that John Pastor had in his recent American Glass Gallery Auction #21 which closed earlier in the week. The picture at the top of the post is from the auction. The Life Everlasting Bitters is one of the top Georgia bottles (see list further below).

Here is the auction write-upon the bottle:

“LIFE EVERLASTING / BITTERS / ATLANTA, GA.”, America, 1880 – 1890. yellowish golden amber, square with beveled corners, tooled sloping collar – smooth base, ht. 9 ½”; (professionally cleaned with some light etching, swirls and streaks of tiny bubbles on the interior surface of the glass; a couple of hard-to-see ¼” hairline fissures from a potstone or un-dissolved slag, otherwise excellent). R/H #L91. The condition issues are relatively minor, the bottle displays near mint. What a great name! Believed to be a unique example! One of Georgia’s top bottles. If you want something unique and different, this is it! A great bitters, and a bottle that would also appeal to those who collect nostrums and quackery.

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

L 91 Life Everlasting Bitters

LIFE EVERLASTING / BITTERS / ATLANTA, GA. // f // f // f //
9 5/8 x 2 1/2 (7) 3/8
Square, Amber, LTC, Tooled lip and Applied mouth, 1 sp. Extremely rare

The only direct reference I find is this “The Seven Wonders” Newspaper advertisement (below) noting a Life Everlasting Bitters sold at Heinitsh’s City Drug Store in Columbia, South Carolina in 1875. The problem is, this isn’t Atlanta which is embossed on the bottle. Columbia is a little more than 200 miles east of Atlanta.

The Seven Wonders Newspaper advertisement: Life Everlasting Bitters sold at Heinitsh’s City Drug Store – The Daily Phoenix (Columbia, South Carolina) Sunday, July 4, 1875

One has to wonder if this bottle is related to the Ponce De Leon Bitters, also from Atlanta (see comparison above). Pretty darn similar! Both bitters names seem related.

Juan Ponce de León (1474 – July 1521) is associated with the legend of the Fountain of Youth, reputed to be in Florida. He was a Spanish explorer and conquistador and became the first Governor of Puerto Rico by appointment of the Spanish crown. He led the first European expedition to Florida, which he named. If this is the case, the brand was started by George J. Howard.

Read: Ponce De Leon Bitters – George Jefferson Howard and the Coca-Cola Connection

There was a syndicated piece that appeared in many newspapers and periodicals around the country in the late 1890s and early 1900s that reads:

Theophrastus Esculapius Stubbe, proprietor of the Universal Life-Everlasting Golden Bitters, was in his office, and about him was gathered an eager group, listening to an account of the wonderful cures he had wrought with his medicine. By and by a man in sober garb—a thin, pale-faced man, sedate and melancholy— entered the office and inquired for the proprietor. “I am the , man,” said Theophrastus Esculapius Stubbe, with dignity. “You are the proprietor of the ‘Universal Life-Everlasting Golden Bitters’?” said the pale visitor. “I am. How can I help you?” “I have come to see if I couldn’t get you to establish an agency for your bitters in our town. I want you to send a smart man—one who can sell a large quantity of your medicine.” Theophrastus rubbed his hands and smiled exultingly. “You see,” pursued the sombre visitor, “my business is getting dull, and I thought with your help we might revive it.” “Can’t you take the agency yourself, my friend?” asked the great Stubbe. “No, no,” said the melancholy man, with a shake of the head. “It wouldn’t do for me. People might think I was interested.” “Ah! What’s your business?” “I am an undertaker!”

Edward H. Heinitsh

Practical Apothecaries, Fisher & Heinitsh Pharmaceutists and Druggists newspaper advertisement – The Daily Phoenix (Columbia, South Carolina), Friday, June 9, 1865

Newspaper Advertisement: Queens Delight and Sarsaparilla, Fisher & Heinitsh – The Daily Phoenix (Columbia, South Carolina), Tuesday, August 28, 1866

Newspaper Advertisement: Heinitsh’s Horse Powder, E.H. Heinitsh, Pharmacist – The Daily Phoenix (Columbia, South Carolina), Wednesday, March 10, 1869

Newspaper Advertisement: Edward H. Heinitsh, The Drug and Chemical Store – The Daily Phoenix (Columbia, South Carolina), Sunday, September 25, 1870

The Seven Wonders Newspaper advertisement: Life Everlasting Bitters sold at Heinitsh’s City Drug Store – The Daily Phoenix (Columbia, South Carolina) Sunday, July 4, 1875

Newspaper Advertisement: A New Life jn the Land!, Dr. Heinitsh, E. H. Heinitsh & Son – The Daily Phoenix (Columbia, South Carolina), Thursday, November 1, 1877

Newspaper Advertisement: Heinitsh & Reagan Will Open About September 1, H.E. Heinitsh & J.S. Reagan – Asheville Citizen Times, Friday, July 15, 1892

Posted in Advertising, Apothecary, Bitters, Druggist & Drugstore, History, Medicines & Cures | Tagged amber, American Glass Gallery, atlanta, auction, bitters, drug, Druggist & Drugstore, Everlasting, Georgia, Heinitsh, life, rare, square | Leave a comment

Jacob & David Hostetter – Dr. J. Hostetter’s Celebrated Stomach Bitters

Posted on 30 October 2018 by Ferdinand Meyer V

Jacob & David Hostetter

Dr. J. Hostetter’s Celebrated Stomach Bitters

30 October 2018 (R•033119) (R•130919)

David Hostetter was a millionaire manufacturer of one of the most, if not the most famous and successful bitters ever produced, the Dr. J. Hostetter’s Celebrated Stomach Bitters. Much has been written about the brand. I thought I would try to tie it all together.

Dr. Jacob Hostetter and David Hostetter

Of Dutch extraction, David Hostetter was the eldest child of Jacob Hostetter by his wife Mary Landis, and was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania on 23 January 1819. Dr. Jacob Hostetter was born on 13 October 1785 in York County, Pennsylvania and actually developed the original formula for the bitters. Dr. J. Hostetter prescribed the medicinal tonic to his clientele and it evidently did not occur to him to place the product at the disposal of others outside of his own practice.

Dr. Jacob Hostetter

David Hostteter was educated in Lancaster County and at the young age of 15, was employed as a clerk and salesman in a dry goods establishment in his native town. He worked in this capacity up until 1842 when he began a business of his own that met with moderate success.

In 1850, David Hostetter moved to California to capitalize on the Gold Rush and settled in San Francisco with a grocery business. The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the United States and abroad.

In the following September, Hostetters entire stock was destroyed by fire. The San Francisco Fire of 1851 (May 3–4, 1851) was a catastrophic conflagration that destroyed as much as three-quarters of San Francisco, California. During the height of the California Gold Rush, San Francisco endured a sequence of seven bad fires, of which this was the sixth and by far the most damaging. In terms of property value, it did three times as much damage as the next most destructive of the seven fires. With this disaster, Hostetter returned home to Pennsylvania where he worked as a paymaster for McEvoy & Clark and a contractor for the railroad at Horseshoe Bend.

Hostetter & Smith

In 1853, Hostetter associated himself with George W. Smith, a boyhood friend, and organized the firm of Hostetter & Smith selling Hostetter’s Celebrated Stomach Bitters. George. W. Smith, Esq., was a junior partner and was also a native of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He was born in the city of that name on 22 February 1823.

David Hostetter married Rosetta Cobb Rickey in Cincinnati, Ohio on 13 July 1854. She was born on 06 October 1829 and died on 03 July 1904 and was a daughter of Randall Hutchinson Rickey by his wife Susanna McAuley.

At that early period in its history, the firm of Hostetter & Smith occupied part of a building on Penn Street in Pittsburgh, at a rental of $175 per annum. The total staff of employees engaged in the manufacture of the bitters would scarcely number half a dozen.

The medicinal compound was manufactured in Pittsburgh in accordance with the formula discovered by his father, Dr. Jacob Hostetter, who in 1853 retired from medical practice and gave his consent to his son David, who had for some time realized the value of the medicine, to manufacture and sell the formula to the American people. The first few years of business were rather discouraging, but the partners were young men with limitless ambition, and after a great deal of missionary work, and with what was then considered quite an expenditure for advertising, the business began to grow during the late 1850s. Naturally, the reputation that the medicine obtained in Pennsylvania reached neighboring states and was finally known, not only in United States but also in South American countries.

The trade mark of St. George and the Dragon, early on became synonymous with Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters (see above). Saint George (c. 275/281 – 23 April 303) was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a soldier in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography, Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic (Western and Eastern Rites), Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox churches. He is immortalized in the tale of Saint George and the Dragon and is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. His memorial is celebrated on 23 April, and he is regarded as one of the most prominent military saints.

Read: Saint George the Dragon Slayer – Not only on Hostetter’s

Later in the 1850s, Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters would became a national best-seller. With the increase of business, Hostetter & Smith moved to Nos. 57, 58, 59, 60 and 61 Water Street in Pittsburgh. The additional space was added until the concern occupied five, three-story buildings fronting 110 feet on Water Street, with a depth of 160 feet to First Avenue. They covered an area of over half an acre and were admirably situated for purposes of shipment by rail or river, through which mediums large quantities of Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters were shipped to all parts of the United States and territories, to South America, Australia and other foreign countries.

The earliest Hostetter’s bottles could be from John Agnew and Son, Pittsburgh, 1854-1866, or Adams and Co., Pittsburgh Pa., 1854-1891. One of the largest early mass producers of bottles for Hostetter’s was Lorenz and Wrightman (L&W), Pittsburgh, Pa, 1862-1871. Another notable large producer was W. McCully & Co. There were also other glass houses that made the bottles such was the need for bottles.

A Growing Business

Nine accountants, correspondents, etc, were engaged in the counting rooms of the firm, and it is was not an over-estimate to say that in its direct and contingent operations, such as the gathering and growing of the necessary medicinal drugs, the manufacture of the paper with its dependent industries, the product of grain and its conversion to spirit, etc., the firm eventually employed directly and indirectly the labor of 1,000 people daily, and so far, aside from the intrinsic merits of its specialty, becomes a great factor in promoting the general good in Pittsburgh.

When first established, the manufacture of Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters was entirely a manual operation. The enormous increase in production, however, made this process impracticable, and machinery and apparatus of the best construction, with a capacity for putting up 500 dozen bottles per day was employed in preparing and bottling the bitters. In this department of the work, there were fourteen very large tanks, 15 feet in diameter and 5 feet high, and ten tanks 8 feet high and 6 feet in diameter. The department employed, in manufacturing, packing and shipping, not less than 50 hands.

About this time, it was necessary for Hostetter & Smith to establish a branch office in New York City, and agencies in New Orleans, San Francisco and St. Louis. From the early 1860s, the business developed from several hundred thousand dollars until in 1872, it had reached the million dollar mark. One big reason for this success was the Civil War.

During the Civil War, Dr. J. Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters was sold to soldiers as “a positive protective against the fatal maladies of the Southern swamps, and the poisonous tendency of the impure rivers and bayous.” The original formula was about 47% alcohol and was 94 Proof! The amount of alcohol was so high that it was served in saloons by the glass.

Hostetter sweetened the alcohol with sugar to which he added a few aromatic oils (anise, coriander, etc.) and vegetable bitters (cinchona, gentian, etc.) to give it a medicinal flavor. Flowerly advertising stated, “Our Bitters, which are made entirely from the choicest remedial roots, barks and herbs, the active essences and freshly expressed juices of which are preserved in chemically pure spirits, forming a compound of the most remarkable vital force and efficacy, peculiarly active in the rapid and in many cases almost miraculous relief afforded in all diseases arising from climatic causes or derangements of which an impaired stomach is the prime occasion.”

Marketing

David Hostetter, from the beginning of business, formulated a wise policy of making personal visitations on wholesale drug and commission houses. This was augmented by consistent advertising in almanacs, newspapers, magazines and exhibits. Hostetter published almanacs continuously from 1861 to 1910, when it was discontinued and no edition was published until 1933.

The business, however, contained the elements of success, and under the consummate tact and resolution of its projectors annually increased, with rapidly augmentive revenues and proportionately enlarged facilities in every department. The extent to which the operations of Hostetter & Smith reached may be illustrated by the fact that in 1866 it became necessary to do all its own printing. No firm in Pittsburgh, or perhaps in the whole country, was capable of producing, either in kind or quantity, the work requisite in carrying on the trade of the rapidly growing business.

In the Printing and Binding departments, alone, there were employed eighty compositors, pressmen and others. The equipment in machinery consisted in part of ten large cylinder presses, and eight smaller ones, all of which were kept running ten months during the year upon the publication of Hostetter’s Illustrated United States Almanacs, which were printed in the English, German, Dutch, French, Spanish, Welsh, Norwegian, Swedish and Bohemian languages.

As noted above, their first Almanac was issued in 1861 and was published only in German and English, increasing its edition each year and reaching, in the year 1867, one million copies, which were disseminated in these two languages. Still increasing its edition each year it reached, in 1876, 9,000,000 copies, which were produced that year in all the various languages above enumerated, the average issue per year eventually leveling out at 10,500,060 copies. This consumed annually, 16,000 reams of white paper, and about 2,000 reams for covers alone.

Other Ventures

With his business flourishing, and using his capital and experience, David Hostetter, in 1867, became a director in the Pittsburg Gas Company and in 1869, was elected president. He remained in this position and was a very influential person in this institution. He was also the largest stockholder and one of the most energetic movers in the East End and Allegheny Companies.

In March 1874, Hostetter purchased the charter of the Columbia Conduit Company and hastened the work forward to completion. Upon this occasion he was elected president but he declined to accept the office. With the Penn Gas Company in Philadelphia, he was a prominent director and also the second largest stockholder. He was also a director in the Farmers’ Deposit National Bank and in the Fort Pitt Bank of Pittsburg.

George W. Smith was largely engaged in other enterprises too, and was regarded, in the fullest sense, as a self-made man, liberal, intelligent and sincere.

As an aside, the city of Pittsburgh’s name is commonly misspelled as Pittsburg because innumerable cities and towns in America make use of the German -burg suffix, while very few make use of the Scottish -burgh suffix. This problem was compounded by the fact that from 1891 to 1911, the spelling of the city’s name was federally recognized as Pittsburg. Now of course, we spell it Pittsburgh.

As noted above, David Hostetter was connected during his life with various public and private enterprises; he was also the organizer of the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad, known as the “Little Giant” which enabled the city of Pittsburgh to secure a competitive outlet to the North and Northwest; one of the promoters and prime movers, with Franklin B. Bowen, William H. Vanderbilt, and others, in the organization and development of the South Penn Railroad Company, which enterprise was throttled by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company before its completion; one of the pioneers in the production, carriage, and utilization of natural gas, and also of oil and connected with the construction of the Pittsburg Water Works plant.

David Hostetter possessed a degree of great nerve, sound judgement, and power of resource, qualities which always characterized him times of emergency. A contemporary writer once said of him, “Those who are strangers look upon David Hostetter, see a man of brain and strong will power, and instinctively accord to him the possession of faculties of the highest order.”

Hostetter & Company

Upon the death of George W. Smith in 1884, his interest was purchased by David Hostetter, and the firm name changed to Hostetter and Company, with Milton L. Myers as a partner. The partnership ceased upon the death of David Hostetter in 1888. Hostetter was said to be worth from $5,000,000 to $15,000,000 upon his death. Quite an amazing accumulation of wealth and an amazing story of success in America.

The Hostetter Company

On April 10th, 1889, The Hostetter Company was incorporated by the widow and surviving children of David Hostetter, with D. Herbert Hostetter being president and Theodore R. Hostetter, vice president.

Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters advertisement showing office and laboratory on Water Street. At the time it was was being run by D. Herbert and Theo E. Hostetter, two sons of David Hostetter – 1890, Harpers New Monthly

Circa 1890 illustration of one of the floors of The Hostetter Company out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. – The Overland Monthly, Samuel Carson, 1890 (San Francisco)

Circa 1890 illustration of one of the bottling department of The Hostetter Company – The Overland Monthly, Samuel Carson, 1890 (San Francisco)

Circa 1890 illustration of the printing and label department of The Hostetter Company.

Theodore R. Hostetter died in 1902 and D. Herbert Hodstetter, Sr. died 1924. Upon the death of the latter, Frederick G. Hostetter and D. Herbert Hostetter, Jr. sons of the deceased, were elected president and vice president, respectively. Frederick G. Hostetter died in 1931 and his brother D. Herbert Hostetter, Jr. succeeded him as president of The Hostetter Company. By 1934, the business was in its fourth generation of the Hostetter family and in its 81st year of uninterrupted health-giving to the American people.

Gallery | Bottle Examples

Richard T. Siri, Western collector, and 2018 FOHBC Hall of Fame member, is the absolute authority on Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters. His knowledge is as deep as his collection and he has displayed his Hostetters at many bottle shows and conventions.

Richard states in Bitters Bottles Supplement that there are many variants of Dr. Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters bottles. Variations in height, and size of embossing as well as variations in the R embossing of DR are often noted. Bill and Betty Wilson in Western Bitters, 1969, was the first work that cataloged more than the generic identification. Their work identified thirty-nine different variants. Later variants were identified by Carlyn Ring in For Bitters Only, 1980.

A group of applied mouth Dr. J. Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters bottles with 166 variants was eventually assembled. This group was made up of a large collection assembled in the West Coast combined with a large collection assembled in the Midwest and East.

Dr. J. Hostetter Stomach Bitters (with original front and back labels), a Pittsburgh glasshouse, Medium, pure olive green, (9 ¼) – American Glass Gallery

Three Dr. J. Hostetter Stomach Bitters, probably Pittsburgh district glasshouses. L-R: Medium yellow olive green (9 1/4), Green olive (9 1/4) and Deep Olive Amber (9 5/8) – American Glass Gallery | Auction #21

Four Dr. J. Hostetter Stomach Bitters, probably Pittsburgh district glasshouses. L-R: Light yellow olive green , Olive Amber and Yellow amber and Amber – Meyer Collection

Four Dr. J. Hostetter Stomach Bitters probably Pittsburgh district glasshouses. L-R: Deep yellowish olive amber, square with beveled corners, Light-to-medium citron green, applied sloping collar, possibly Adams & Co. or Agnew & Co, Pittsburgh, Dense tobacco amber, square with beveled corners, applied sloping collar – American Glass Gallery | Auction#22

Gallery | Hostetter Labels

Four different Hostetter’s Celebrated Stomach Bitters labels, ever so ‘slightly’ different.

Gallery | Booklets & Almanacs

Cover |Dr. J. Hostetter’s Celebrated Stomach Bitters, 1856 brochure advertising Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters with customer and doctor reviews. – Duke University Libraries

Inside page | Dr. J. Hostetter’s Celebrated Stomach Bitters, 1856 brochure advertising Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters with customer and doctor reviews. – Duke University Libraries

Inside Page | Dr. J. Hostetter’s Celebrated Stomach Bitters, 1856 brochure advertising Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters with customer and doctor reviews. – Duke University Libraries

InsidePage | Dr. J. Hostetter’s Celebrated Stomach Bitters, 1856 brochure advertising Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters with customer and doctor reviews. – Duke University Libraries

Hostetter’s Illustrated United States Almanac, 1896, The Hostetter Company, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Gallery | Advertising Trade Cards

Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters “The Panama Canal” post card compliments of The Hostetter Company – Meyer Collection

Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters “Taft or Bryan?” trade card, The Hostetter Company – Gourd Collection

Gallery| Framed Advertising

Hostetter’s Celebrated Stomach Bitters (paint on glass) large advertising pieces – Meyer Collection

Gallery | Shipping Crate

1 Doz. Dr. J. Hostetter’s Celebrated Stomach Bitters, Pittsburgh, Pa. shipping crate – Meyer Collection

Postal

Hostetter & Smith Advertising Cover – Ben Swanson collection

Hostetter & Smith, Proprietors Hostetter’s Celebrsted Stomach Bitters, Pittsburgh, PA. – Ben Swanson Collection

Redington, Hostetter & Co., Wholesale Druggists, San Francisco – Ben Swanson Collection

Gallery | Advertising Blotters

Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters blotter – Joe Gourd Collection

Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters blotter – Joe Gourd Collection

Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters blotter – Joe Gourd Collection

Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters blotter – Joe Gourd Collection

Hostetter’s Bitters Display

Hostetter’s Display at the FOHBC 2016 Sacramento National – Richard & Beverley Siri

Select Listings:

1785: Jacob Hostetter born 13 Oct 1785, York County, Pennsylvania

1819: David Hostetter (son of Jacob Hostetter) born 23 January 1819, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Father Jacob Hostetter, Mother Mary Landis, Wife: Rosetta Cobb Rickey, Children: Harry Hutchinson Hostetter, Amy Susette Hostetter, David Herbert Hostetter, Wilfred Parker Hostetter, Theodore Rickey Hostetter

1850: David Hostetter, Age: 28, Merchant, Birth Year: abt 1822, Birthplace: Pennsylvania, Home in 1850: Lancaster South East Ward, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Household Members: David Hostetter 28, Benjamin Smith 19, William McLenegan 15, William S E Barron 23, George Weidler 19, John Grosh 16, John Montgomery 12, Joseph Frey 26, Jacob Hostetter 56, Mary Fritsch 39, Anna Fritsch 13, Mary Fritsch 11 – 1850 United States Federal Census

1853: Newspaper advertisement (below): Dr. J. Hostetter’s Celebrated Stomach Bitters, Hostetter, Smith & Co., 276 Penn Street, Pittsburgh

1854: Jacob Hostetter first marriage Rosetta Rickey: 13 July 1854, Cincinnati, Ohio

1855: Newspaper posting (below) for counterfeit Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters. The Hostetter’s Bitters Case

1860: David Hostetter, Age: 41, Druggist, Birth Year: abt 1819, Birth Place: Pennsylvania, Home in 1860: Allegheny Ward 2, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Post Office: Allegheny City, Dwelling Number: 358, Family Number: 396, Personal Estate Value: 10,000, Household Members: David Hostetter 41, Rosetta Hostetter 30, Harry Hostetter 5, Annie Hostetter 2, Herbert Hostetter 1, Anna Thomas 13 – 1860 United States Federal Census

1863: David Hostetter Draft Registration, May & June 1863, Age 44, Druggist, Pennsylvania – U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865

1863: Jacob Hostetter death, 2 Oct 1863 (aged 77), Milltown, Crawford County, Indiana, Burial, Valley Street Cemetery, Carroll County, Ohio, Plot: top of hill next to wife down from Pennock tomb. – U.S. Find A Grave

1870: David Hostetter, Age in 1870: 51, Manufacturer of Bitters, Birth Year: abt 1819, Birthplace: Pennsylvania, Dwelling Number: 209, Home in 1870: Allegheny Ward 5, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Personal Estate Value: 100,000, Real Estate Value: 200,000, Inferred Spouse: Rosetta Hostetter, Inferred Children: Harry Hostetter, Amy Hostetter, Herbert Hostetter, Fred Hostetter, Theodore Hostetter, Household Members: David Hostetter 51, Rosetta Hostetter 38, Harry Hostetter 15, Amy Hostetter 12, Herbert Hostetter 11, Fred Hostetter 4, Theodore Hostetter 1 – 1870 United States Federal Census

1880: David Hostetter, Age: 62, Bitters Manufacturer, Birth Date: Abt 1818, Birthplace: Pennsylvania, Home in 1880: Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Street: Western Avenue, House Number: 178, Dwelling Number: 215, Married Rosetta Hostetter, Father’s Birthplace: Pennsylvania, Mother’s Birthplace: Pennsylvania, Household Members: David Hostetter 62, Rosetta Hostetter 50, D. Herbet Hostetter 21, Wilford P. Hostetter 14, Theodore R. Hostetter 11, Herbert Dupuy 24, Amy S. Dupuy 23 – 1880 United States Federal Census

1888: David Hostetter death 6 Nov 1888 (aged 69) Pennsylvania, Burial, Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania – U.S. Find A Grave

1914: Later advertisement (see below) for Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters, 79 cents bottle – The Pittsburgh Press, Tuesday, September 15, 1914

1916: Later advertisement (see below) for Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters – St Louis Post Dispatch, Sunday, September 17, 1916

1937: Very late advertisement (see below) for Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters “Regain Energy After the Flu” – The Perry County Times, Thursday, February 25, 1937

1950: Very late advertisement (see below) for Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters – The Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, Massachusetts), Monday, January 30, 1950

Posted in Advertising, Bitters, Civil War, Collectors & Collections, Ephemera, History, Liquor Merchant, Medicines & Cures, Tonics | Tagged almanac, bitters, Celebrated, Civil War, Compound, D. Herbert Hostetter, David Hostetter, Dr. Jacob Hostetter, Dragon, ephemera, famous, Frederick G. Hostetter, George W. Smith, Gold Rush, grocer, Hostetter & Smith, Hostetter and Company, Joe Gourd, Jr., lancaster, manufacture, Mary Landis, Medicine, Pennsylvania, Pittsburg, Pittsburgh, Railroad, Redington, Richard T. Siri, Rosetta Cobb Rickey, San Francisco, St. George, Stomach, successful, The Hostetter Company, Theodore R. Hostetter, Tonic, Water Street, york | Leave a comment

Gentry, Slote & Co., New York

Posted on 23 October 2018 by Ferdinand Meyer V

Gentry, Slote & Co., New York

23 October 2018

Dean Ferguson sent the three pictures below of a “Good Samaritan Brandy”, “Gentry, Slote & Co., New York” flattened globular form bottle that he secured at a barn find from the Darlington farm in Darling, Pennsylvania which is west of Philadelphia. He said the house was very early. The bottle has an applied mouth with a cork and a super iron pontil. Dean asked if I had any information on the bottle.

I was unfamiliar with the bottle but the Gentry name sure caught my attention.

Good Samaritan Brandy (front), Gentry, Slote & Co., New York – Dean Ferguson

Good Samaritan Brandy (reverse), Gentry, Slote & Co., New York – Dean Ferguson

Good Samaritan Brandy (iron pontil), Gentry, Slote & Co., New York – Dean Ferguson

A quick search online confirmed that Norman C. Heckler Auctions had auctioned off a similar example of a “Full Figure Of Horse”, “Gentry, Slote & Co., New York” pictorial flask (GXIII-25) a few years back. Looks to be the same exact bottle form. The example was ex Paul Richards collection and ex Timothy and Christine Hill collection.

Full Figure Of Horse – “Gentry, Slote & Co / New York” Pictorial Flask, America, 1845-1860. Flattened globular form, dark yellow olive, applied mouth with ring – iron pontil mark, pint; (light exterior high point wear). GXIII-25 Early and interesting. Rare. Fine condition. Ex Paul Richards collection, ex Timothy and Christine Hill collection. – Heckler Auctions

Colonel Abram Morrice Gentry, son of Joseph and Mary (Van Meter) Gentry, was born in Brookville, Indiana in May 1821 and headed to Houston at a young age in 1838. He married Mary Frances Rather in Houston on October 29, 1844 and set up A.M. Gentry & Company offering package express for Houston, Galveston, the United States and abroad via stagecoach lines and steamers.

Gentry then established A.M. Gentry & Co., Wholesale Grocers on Congress Street in downtown Houston in 1855 or so. That is a few blocks from where I sit right now. They were also importers of Wines, Liquors, Cigars, Hardware, Crockery and many other useful items of the time period. He took on partners in New York and Boston and ran similar operations in those cities. First in New York we see Lowery, Gentry, Slote Co., Wholesale Grocers and Commission Merchants located at 121 Front Street in 1856. By 1857, Lowery is gone and the firm is Gentry, Slote & Company. By 1858, it is Gentry, Otis & Co. at the same address up until 1860 or so. In Boston in 1860, it was Gentry, Stiles & Co. Gentry and Otis or any other Gentry listing does not show up in NYC directories after that date.

This pretty much means the Good Samaritan Brandy and the figural Horse bottle were made around 1857.

Oh, and the reason Gentry caught my attention when I first saw a picture of the Gentry, Stote Co., Good Samaritan Brandy bottle? Gentry & Otis were the same grocers that put out St. Nicholas Stomach Bitters (pictured above). If you read the linked article and look at the second 1858 newspaper advertisement, you will see that A.M. Gentry, on Congress Street in Houston, had just received a tremendous shipment of liquor and tobacco from his New York concern. Included were 450 cases of Good Samaritan Brandy and 290 cases of Extra Old Pony Brandy. Wow, I need to stop digging online and dig along the Buffalo Bayou downtown!

Select Listings:

1856: Lowrey (John), Gentry & Slote, Grocers, 121 Front Street – Trow’s New York City Directory

1857: Gentry, Slote & Co., (late Lowery, Gentry & Slote) Wholesale Grocers and Commission Merchants, No. 121 Front Street, New York (Abram M. Gentry, Texas, Alonzo Slote, Texas, George K. Otis, New York) – New York City Directory

1857: Cravens & Gooch, Palestine, Texas, Attorneys, refer to Gentry, Slote & Co., New York – The Texas Almanac, Richardson & Company

1857: Gentry, Slote & Co., Grocers, New York – New York City Directory

1857: Abram M Gentry, Grocer, 121 Front, New York City, New York – New York, City Directory, 1857

1857: Alonzo Slote, Grocer, 121 Front, New York City, New York – New York, City Directory, 1857

1858: Newspaper advertisement (above): A.M. Gentry, Wholesale Grocer, Congress Street, Houston, Texas, Connected with the New York firm of Gentry & Otis, 200 cases of St. Nicholas Stomach Bitters – Southern Democrat (Waco, Texas), Vol. 1, No. 39, Ed. 1, Thursday, November 18, 1858.

Posted in Blown Glass, Digging and Finding, Early American Glass, Flasks, Historical Flasks, History, liquor, Liquor Merchant, Questions, Spirits | Tagged Abram Morrice Gentry, auction, barn, Brandy, Darling, Dean Ferguson, farm, find, Gentry, glob, Good Samaritan, grocer, GXIII-25, Heckler, horse, Houston, Lowery, New York, Otis, Pennsylvania, Slote | Leave a comment

Dr. Perley’s Leptandrin Tonic Bitters – Lebanon, New Hampshire

Posted on 22 October 2018 by Ferdinand Meyer V

Dr. Perley’s Leptandrin Tonic Bitters – Lebanon, New Hampshire

22 October 2018

I found a tall advertisement (below) for Perley’s Leptandrin Tonic Bitters and was able to match it up with an example that John Pastor sold in his American Glass Gallery | Auction #11. A tough aqua bottle find.

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

P.58 Dr Perley’s Leptandrin Bitters

DR PERLEY’S / LEPTANDRIN BITTERS // c //
9 5/8 x 3 5/8 x 2 (8)
Oval, Aqua, DC, Rare

Dr. Perley’s Leptandrin Tonic Bitters, I.N. Perley, M.D., Lebanon, New Hampshire – Argus and Patriot (Montpelier, Vermont), Thursday, February 27, 1873

“Dr Perley’s / Leptandrin Bitters”, America, ~~1885 – 1895~~. Aquamarine, oval, tooled round double collared mouth – smooth base, ht. 9 5/8″, mint. R/H #P58. List as “Rare” in the Ring/Ham book, this is another bitters that is very difficult to acquire. – American Glass Gallery | Auction #11

Isaac Newton Perley

Isaac N. Perley was born on 17 January 1839 in Enfield, New Hampshire, son of father Uri Perley (Enfield, NH) and mother Fanny Sawyer (Saulsbury, NH). He had to be pretty smart with a name like Isaac Newton right? After graduating from Canaan Union Academy in 1855 he went on to Dartmouth College and then graduated from Harvard Medical School in Boston in 1865. He next set up a medical practice and by 1870 was listed as a druggist in Lebanon, New Hampshire.

This bird’s-eye view print of Lebanon, New Hampshire was drawn and published by George E. Norris, Beck & Pauli Lith. in 1884. I.N. Perley, Druggist & Fancy Goods is one of the listings.

Lebanon was incorporated in 1761 and is a city in Grafton County, New Hampshire located in western New Hampshire, south of Hanover, near the Connecticut River. The areas Mascoma River provided power to the many mills and manufactories that were established along it in the 1800s. There was a large furniture manufactory, flannel mills, a watch-key manufactory, scythe works, a manufactory producing scythe-snaths and sleds, machine shops, two shops manufacturing overalls, among others. Lebanon’s population in 1880 was 3,364.

Post card showing Whipple Block, Lebanon, New Hampshire

Dr. Perley’s office was later located on Whipple Block. Built in 1882 in the Queen Anne style, the Whipple Block was designed by I. F. Davis and built by Muchmore and Whipple. It originally contained the Masonic Temple and a Public Hall on the top floor known as the Whipple Hall. It had stores on the ground floor and offices on the second floor. It was twice gutted by fire in 1894 and again in 1930.

Dr. Perley put out his Leptandrin Tonic Bitters in 1870 and would sell it for 75 cents a bottle. He said it would cure Liver Complaint, Jaundice, Dyspepsia, Dizziness, Piles, Loss of Appetite, Skin Eruptions, Costiveness, Indigestion, Kidney Diseases, Heartburn, Asthma, Salt Rheum., Catarrh, Scrofula, General Debility and it would Purify the Blood. Not bad for six bits. The brand only lasted until 1873, so the embossed aqua bottles are pretty rare. Dr. Perley would run his drug store up until at least 1910. His embossed druggist bottles exist.

Lebanon, New Hampshire drug store bottles, one of the bottles is a Dr. Perley’s. – AntiqueBottles.net

Dr. I. N. Perley, Druggist, Whipple Block, Lebanon, N.H. bottle

Dr. Perley would die on 7 January 1924 at age of 84 of Nephritus with Arterior Sclerosis complications. He is burried in Glenwood Cemetery in Lebanon, New Hampshire.

Leptandrin

Leptandrin is a bitter glucoside, crystallizing in needles, obtained from Veronica (Leptandra) Virginica, and probably constituting the active principle of the drug leptandra.

Leptandra is one of the very old Eclectic drugs. Like most medicinal plants it is known by several popular names, as Black root, Culver’s root, Culver’s physic, Bowman root, Tall speedwell, Veronica, Tall veronica, Physic root, and Whorlywort. Its name Veronica is probably derived from St. Veronica. Black root is found more or less plentifully throughout the United States, from Vermont to Wisconsin, and southward, growing in wet, or moist, rich ground near streams, in woods, thickets, glades, and open plains. It is particularly plentiful in limestone districts. It is a perennial herb, growing from 1 to 5 feet high, with an upright stalk, having whorls of leaves, and surmounted by spikes of crowded white flowers. It blooms in July and August. The rhizome is perennial, and should be gathered in the fall of its second year. When fresh, it has a faint, almond-like odor, and a bitter, nauseous taste, which is somewhat lessened by drying, and yields its properties to water at 100° C. (212° F.), or still better to alcohol. Age does not impair its virtues.

This drug was well-known to the Indian Herb Doctor Peter Smith, and to Dr. Hough. To the former it was known as Culver’s, or Brinton’s root, and he states that his father “used to cure the pleurisy with amazing speed” with it. Hough said of it that it was “a most mild and efficacious purge in fevers, in disorders of the stomach, or the bowels, to destroy vicious humors in the blood, to remove costiveness, or to cool fevers.” The Wyandots were acquainted with its virtues, and regarded it as “a very good healing purge.” The early Eclectic physicians considered it one of their most valuable therapeutic agents.

Specific Leptandra, the most extensively used preparation, has a dark-brown color, the peculiar, and markedly so, odor of the drug, and a bitter taste that is accompanied by the aroma of the root from which it is prepared. When dropped into water it produces a turbidity or milkiness. If specific leptandra be allowed to evaporate by rubbing a few drops in the palm of the hand the skin is impregnated with the strong odor of leptandra in an intensified degree.

Select Listings:

1839: Isaac N. Perley, Birth, 17 January 1839, Enfield, New Hampshire, Father Uri Perley (Enfield,NH), Mother Fanny Sawyer (Saulsbury, NH)

1850: Newton Perley, Age: 11, Birth Year: abt 1839, Birthplace: New Hampshire, Home in 1850: Enfield, Grafton, New Hampshire, Household Members:, Uri Perley 46, Fanny Perley 46, John Perley 18, Rebecca Perley 14, Newton Perley 11, Moses Perley 8 – 1850 United States Federal Census

1855: Isaac N Perley, 1855, New Hampshire, Canaan Union Academy, Residence: Enfield – Catalogue of the officers, teachers and students of Canaan Union Academy, Canaan, N.H., for the academic year 1855

1860: Isaac N Perley, 21, Birth Year: abt 1839, Birth Place: New Hampshire, Home in 1860: Hillsborough, New Hampshire, Post Office: Hillsborough Bridge – 1860 United States Federal Census

1863: Isaac N Perley, Birth Year: abt 1839, Place of Birth: New Hampshire, Age on 1 July 1863: 24, Race: White, Marital Status: Unmarried (Single), Residence: Enfield, New Hampshire, Congressional District: 3rd, Class: 1 – U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865

1864: Isaac Newton Perley, 1864, Enfield, New Hampshire, Dartmouth College

1865: Isaac Newton Perley graduate Harvard Medical School, Boston, 1865 – Directory of Deceased American Physicians, 1804-1929

1867: Isaac N Perley, Marriage Date: 1 Oct 1867, Clerk’s Location: Lebanon, Grafton, New Hampshire, Birth Date: abt 1839, Birth Place: Enfield, Grafton, New Hampshire, Age: 28, Father’s name: Cedric C, Mother’s name: Fanny S, Spouse Name: Kate L Sturtevant, Spouse Birth Place: Lebanon, Grafton, New Hampshire, Spouse Age: 21, Spouse Father’s Name: Jh C, Spouse Mother’s Name: Caroline C – New Hampshire, Marriage Records Index, 1637-1947

1870: Isaac N Perley, 31, Druggist, Birth Year: abt 1839, New Hampshire, Dwelling Number: 133, Home in 1870: Lebanon, Grafton, New Hampshire, Personal Estate Value: $2,000, Inferred Spouse: Kate E. Perley, Household Members: Isaac N. Perley 31, Kate E Perley 24 – 1870 United States Federal Census

1870: Newspaper advertisement(below): Perley’s Leptandrin Tonic Bitters, Price 75 cts. – The Burlington (Vermont) Free Press, Friday, May, 6, 1870

1872: Newspaper advertisement (top of post) for Perley’s Leptandrin Bitters, Put up by I.N. Perley, M.D., Lebanon, New Hampshire – Argus and Patriot, Thursday, April 25, 1872

1873: I N Perley, Residence Year: 1873, Residence Place: Lebanon, New Hampshire, Occupation: Druggist And Apothecary, West Side – Directory of Lebanon, N H, 1873

1874: Isaac N Perley, Physician, Lebanon, New Hampshire – New Hampshire Business Directory, 1874

1873:Newspaper advertisement (above)) for Dr. Perley’s Leptandrin Tonic Bitters, I.N. Perley, M.D., Lebanon, New Hampshire – Argus and Patriot (Montpelier, Vermont), Thursday, February 27, 1873

1880: Isaac N, Perley, 41, Apothecary, Birth: Abt 1839, Birthplace: New Hampshire, Home in 1880: Lebanon, Grafton, New Hampshire, Dwelling Number: 198, Marital Status: Married, Kate E Perley, Father’s Birthplace: New Hampshire, Mother’s Birthplace: New Hampshire, Household Members: Isaac N Perley 41, Kate E Perley 34, Carrie C Perley 9 – 1880 United States Federal Census

1900: Isaac N Perley, 61, Druggist, Birth Date: Jan 1839, Birthplace: N H, Home in 1900: Lebanon, Grafton, New Hampshire, Street: Green, House Number: 15, Sheet Number: 18, Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: 341, Family Number: 435, Relation to Head of House: Head, Marital Status: Married, Spouse’s Name: Kate E Perley, Marriage Year: 1867, Father’s Birthplace: New Hampshire, Mother’s Birthplace: New Hampshire, Household Members: Isaac N Perley 61, Kate E Perley 54, Hattie A Pringle 26 – 1900 United States Federal Census

1910: Isaac N Perley, 71, Druggist, Drug Store, Birth Year: abt 1839, Birthplace: New Hampshire, Home in 1910: Lebanon, Grafton, New Hampshire, Street: Bank Street, House Number: 96, Married, Kate E Perley, Father’s Birthplace: New Hampshire, Mother’s Birthplace: New Hampshire, Employer, Home Owned or Rented: Own, Home Free or Mortgaged: Free, Farm or House: House, Years Married: 41, Household Members: Isaac N Perley 71, Kate E Perley 64 – 1910 United States Federal Census

1916: Isaac N. Perley & Katherine S, 8 Bank, Hanover, New Hampshire – Hanover, New Hampshire, City Directory, 1916

1920: Isaac Perley, Age: 80, Birth Year: abt 1840, Birthplace: New Hampshire, Home in 1920: Lebanon, Grafton, New Hampshire, Street: Bank Street, House Number: 98, Residence Date: 1920, Relation to Head of House: Head, Marital Status: Married, Spouse’s Name: Kate Evelyn Perley, Father’s Birthplace: New Hampshire, Mother’s Birthplace: New Hampshire, Household Members: Isaac Perley 80, Kate Evelyn Perley 73, Sarah Walker 60 – 1920 United States Federal Census

1924: Dr. Isaac N. Perley, Death: 7 January 1924 (aged 84), Nephritus, Arterior Sclerosis, Burial, Glenwood Cemetery, Lebanon, Grafton County, New Hampshire – Find A Grave

Posted in Advertising, Bitters, History, Medicines & Cures, Tonics | Tagged bitters, Doctor, Druggist & Drugstore, Harvard, Isaac Newton Perley, Lebanon, Leptandrin, New Hampshire, Tonic | Leave a comment

Dr. Zadoc and Madame Zadoc Porter – New York

Posted on 18 October 2018 by Ferdinand Meyer V

Dr. Zadoc and Madame Zadoc Porter – New York

Dr. Zadoc Porter’s Medicated Stomach Bitters

17 October 2018

In separate bitters folders I had clippings for Porter’s Bitters and another file for Zadoc’s Bitters. I thought I would wait for a rainy day (it has rained on and off for days here now) to do a little research on both.

I have now combined the files into one file named “Dr. Zadoc Porter’s Medicated Stomach Bitters.” Zadoc Porter operated out of New York City and also sold Dr. Porter’s Sugar Pills and called himself “Mr Porter, The Great Benefactor.” His sugar-coated pills sold for 6 cents a box and were far easier to swallow than the crude and often horrid-tasting concoctions prepared by physicians. These pills were given their large-scale introduction into American dosage by patent medicine men such as Zadoc Porter. Likewise, his Medicated Bitters sold for 6 cents a bottle and 12 cents for a dozen.

Dr. Zodac Porter was a quack physician who pictured himself and his wife in distinguished Quacker garb on their advertising. I also added material for his wife who was Madame Zadoc Porter. Her specialty was “Madame Zadoc Porter’s Great Cough Remedy” and “Madame Zadoc Porter’s Balsam.” This all came together visually and was inspired from the fine advertising print from the Library of Congress at the top of this post.

Dr. Zadoc Porter started his medicine business in New York City in 1838 or so. By 1841, Madame Zadoc was pitching her medicines. In many cases they both were using the same advertising to hawk their products. They were addressed at Morse Street, No. 1 Chatham Square (pictured below).

This chaotic street 1853–55 Daguerreotype scene shows Chatham Street, now Park Row, from below its intersection with Pearl Street, northeast to Chatham Square – The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In 1856, Hall & Ruckel were the proprietors. They were located at 218 Greenwich, in New York City. By 1891, Ruckel & Hendel, located at 58 Barclay Street in New York were selling the Porter brand. In 1919, Hall & Ruckel was located at 215 Washington Street in New York. Advertising stated that they were the proprietors of and sole agents for medicinal preparations, toilet articles, etc.; specialties: “Sozodont,” “Sozodont Tooth Powder,” “Sozodont Tooth Paste,” “Spalding’s Glue,” “Madam Porter’s Cough Balsam,” “Dr. Zadoc Porter’s Bitters,” “Olive Tar,” “Mitchell’s Eye Salve,” “Sargent’s Sozoderma Soap,” “X. Bazin’s Shaving Cream,” and other X. Bazin’s toilet preparations. They had foreign agents Fassett & Johnson, in London, England; Lyman’s, Ltd., Montreal, Canada; Daube & Co., Valparaiso, Chile; A. J. Colven, Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Porter products were sold as late as 1823.

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

P 126 Zadoc Porter’s Medicated Stomach Bitters

L… The Zodac (sic) Porter Medicated Stomach Bitters
DR PORTER / NEW YORK // sp // // f // sp //
Hall & Rucker, London, New York, Paris
7 5/8 x 2 1/2 x 1 1/2 (5 1/4) 1/4
Rectangular, Aqua , NSC, Tooled Lip, 3 sp
“Zadoc” spelling correction in BBS2 required

Embossed aqua 6 5/8″ DR PORTER’S// NEW YORK bottle – Vermont Medicines

Labeled The Zadoc Porter Medicated Bitters bottle, Hull & Ruckel, New York – American Bottle Auctions

Select Listings:

1845: Madame Zadoc Porter’s Great Cough Remedy and Balsam created.

1845: Below: Mr. Zadoc Porter, great great grand uncle of Dr. Porter, 1845, Part of wood engraved advertisement. Porter was a patent medicine man of the 1840s. – Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

1854: Newspaper advertisement (below) for Dr. Zadoc Porter’s Bitters – Hartford Courant, Friday, June 16, 1854

1863: Newspaper advertisement (below) for Madame Zadoc Porter’s Great Cough Remedy and Balsam. Only 13 Cents per Bottle. In use for over Eighteen Years, Hall & Ruckel, N.Y. Proprietors – The Berkshire County Eagle, Thursday, May 21, 1863

1865: Large advertisement (top of post) for Dr. Porter’s Medicated Bitters, Prepared by Dr. Porter, New York – Library of Congress

1891: Large advertisement (above) for both Madam Zadoc Porter’s Curative Cough Balsam, Fifty Years in Use and Dr. Porter’s Medicated Stomach Bitters, Ruckel & Hendel, 58 Barclay St., New York – Judge’s Annual, Issues 2-6, 1891

1898: Zodac (sic) Porter’s Bitters Formula (below) – Practical Druggist and Pharmaceutical Review of Reviews, Volumes 1-4_1898

1919: Hall & Ruckel, 215 Washington street, New York. Proprietors of and sole agents for medicinal preparations, toilet articles, etc.; specialties: “Sozodont,” “Sozodont Tooth Powder,” “Sozodont Tooth Paste,” “Spalding’s Glue,” “Madam Porter’s Cough Balsam,” “Dr. Zadoc Porter’s Bitters,” “Olive Tar,” “Mitchell’s Eye Salve,” “Sargent’s Sozoderma Soap,” “X. Bazin’s Shaving Cream,” and other X. Bazin’s toilet preparations. Foreign agents: Fassett & Johnson, London, England; Lyman’s, Ltd., Montreal, Canada; Daube & Co., Valparaiso, Chile; A. J. Colven, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Cable address, “Sozodont,” New York. Codes, ABC, Lieber’s and Western Union. – American Trade Index, 1919

1923: Newspaper advertisement (below) for Madame Zodac (sic) Porter Cough Balsam. Hall & Ruckel, N.Y. Manufacturers – West Schuylkill Herald, Friday, November 16, 1923

Posted in Advertising, Bitters, Druggist & Drugstore, History, Medicines & Cures, Remedy | Tagged Balsam, Benefactor, bitters, Cough, Hall & Ruckel, Madame Zadoc, medicated, Medicine, New York, pills, Quaker, Remedy, Ruckel & Hendel, Stomach, sugar, Zadoc Porter | Leave a comment

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