Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Those of Mystery


Hello again (and pardon my weeklong absence).  I figured that by now I’m probably boring you with all of these stories, so I’ve decided to dedicate this post to mystery bottles!  These are embossed bottles not marked with towns or states, but are from Rhode Island.  And to make it even better, they’re unlisted!  It took quite a bit of research to pin them down, but it paid off. 

One of my earliest mystery medicines was a Russell’s White Drops.  A Google search showed it was produced by the Russell Medicine Company of Providence, RI.  Looking in the online list you can find a Wm. Russell Jr., who preceded the company named after him.  This product for babies was sadly like most quack medicines, and the ingredients included alcohol and codeine. 


Another medicine I purchased simply because I liked the name was a Quick Stop for Headaches.  A Google search turns up an 1889 article advertising “Mattison’s Quick Stop for Headaches”.  E.F. Mattison was a druggist from Providence, and this was apparently one of his patent medicines.  Who knows, maybe it was an early version of aspirin!





There are a number of other unlisted no-town embossed RI medicine bottles I don’t have yet, including the following:

Oxolo- found with label for the People’s Chemical Co. Providence, RI


Dr. Seth Arnold’s Infantile Regulator- that’s one I predicted would pop up!  From Woonsocket








Dr. Samuel’s World’s Dyspepsia Cure- sold exclusively by S.W. Baxter of Providence, RI
 It is aqua, 4-3/4" tall, and is embossed on the sides only.


And just for fun, here are some marked (unlisted) RI bottles of exceeding rarity:

Parker’s Compound Indian Vegetable Bitters Cranston, RI
Two were dug in a cellar hole in Shannock, RI.  It's a rectangular aqua bottle from the 1870s. Probably the rarest RI bitters out there.

F.H. Perry & Co. Providence, RI  Pat. Aug. 8th, 1882
A very rare base embossed fruit jar.  The patent date is on the lid


S.S. Thompson Newport, RI/ This jar not sold, to be returned
A rare cream jar with ground screw cap lid


Krealin Co. Providence, RI
Somehow I was present at two different digs when two examples of this were dug.  Both times they went to my digging buddy.


James. W. Finn/ Family Liquor Store/ Mineral Spring Ave./ Pawtucket, RI
I missed this one on ebay when I was just getting familiar with it.  As a rule, never pass up an unknown embossed RI whiskey!