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

antique NO DOUBT ABOUT IT bottles

Nineteenth century medicine vendors often used such words as infallible, certain, guaranteed, dead shot, and sure cure to describe their products. It helped sell the medicine, and there was no law against it, at least until the Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906. Seven of these “no doubt about it” bottles can be found on my shelves.

Hyatt's Infallible Life Balsam (left) and Stephen Sweet's Infallible Liniment

Leading the group is an emerald green, rectangular bottle with a bare iron pontil, 10 1/4 inches tall, embossed Hyatt's // Infallible // Life Balsam / N-Y. They also blew this bottle in yellow green, light green, and aqua. One of the rarest variants is emerald green, rectangular, but almost square, with a bare iron pontil, and 9 1/4 inches tall. There are smooth based variants as well. William H. Hyatt began in the Bowery about 1849, and moved to uptown New York City about 1859. He also put Hyatt's // Pulmonic // Life Balsam / N-Y in aqua, rectangular, bare iron pontiled bottles, 9 5/8 and 11 inches tall, and Hyatt's // A B / Double Strength // Life Balsam / N.Y in aqua, rectangular, smooth based bottles. This product was advertised in 1864.

"Elepizone" A Certain Cure for Fits & Epilepsy (left) and Dr. Hoxie's Certain Croup Cure

Stephen // Sweet's // Infallible // Liniment came in aqua, rectangular with beveled edges, blowpipe pontiled bottles, 5 1/4 inches tall; later there were smooth based variants. Sweet was a country doctor who practiced near Lebanan, Connecticut. Edmund B. Richardson, a Norwich, Vermont, apothecary, put up his medicine, and was the sole proprietor by 1859. He may have been the father of Edward A. Richardson, later of Wells, Richardson and Company, a proprietary medicine company in Burlington, Vermont.

“Elepizon” / A / Certain Cure For / Fits & Epilepsy / Dr. H.G. Root / 183 Pearl St / New York is embossed on an aqua, rectangular, smooth based bottle, 8 1/2 inches tall. There are clear variants, 5 7/8 inch tall variants, and London variants; some bottles have H.G. Root, M.C, which is an abbreviation for manufacturing chemist. Henry G. Root learned the drug began a practice in New York City in the early 1860s. Root started his business in 1875, and was listed in New York directories at least through 1913.

Emerson's Sarsaparilla-3 Bottles Guaranteed to Cure-3 (left) and Dr. H.F. Peery's Dead Shot Vermifuge

Dr. Hoxie's // Certain / Croup Cure // Buffalo, N.Y., appears on a clear, rectangular bottle, 4 1/2 inches tall. A.C. Hoxie, M.D., was listed in an 1865 directory as a Homeopathies, who is one that treats diseases with small doses of drugs which are capable of producing symptoms in healthy persons similar to those of the disease to be treated. At least it sounds logical. This cure was advertised in 1872, and was charged to a remedy in 1900.

Clay's Sure Cure For Rheumatism

Emerson's Sarsaparilla / 3-Bottles Guaranteed to Cure-3 / Kansas City, Mo., is embossed on a clear, oval bottle, 8 1/2 inches tall. There is a variant with both Chicago, Ill. And Kansas City, Mo., slugged out. Perhaps the brand started in Kansas City and moved to Chicago. The label was registered on April 20, 1897. I have another bottle embossed Emerson's / 50 Cts. Sarsaparilla which is aqua, rectangular, and 9 1/2 inches tall. A different company probably put this out.

Dr. H.F. Peery's // Dead Shot / Vermifuge appears on an aqua, oval bottle 4 inches tall. A vermifuge is a medicine that causes the expulsion of worms from the intestinal tract. There is a blowpipe pontiled variant that is embossed Perry's, but Peery's is the spelling given in their ads. H.F. Peery allowed Abraham and Isaac Sands to have his sole agency about 1840, and it became a big seller. Later, others bottled the preparation, which was “capable, from the promptitude of its action, of clearing the system in a few hours of every worm”.

I can imagine the thoughts of the nineteenth century customer. “I'm not one to play around with something as important as my health. I want that dead shot, sure cure stuff, even if it costs a little more”. Those vendors understood human nature very well.

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