Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup

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I’m sure Mrs. Charlotte Winslow would be a popular woman in any era – who wouldn’t be if they were famous for dispensing a morphine laden medication that was sure to soothe…and get you entirely stoned in the process.  You will find plenty of discussion of opiate addiction in the 19th century – thanks to the institutionalization of the drug into medicines and other products.

Common to bottle collectors are the cylindrical vials marked “Mrs Winslows – Soothing Syrup – Curtis & Perkins – Proprietors” which are about 5 inches tall and about 1-1/4″ in diameter.  They are found with both an open pontil mark as well as with a smooth base.  Earlier examples have an inwardly rolled lip which later became a better formed tooled square lip.

Curtis and Perkins were druggists in Maine who became the agents for this medicine in the 1840s.  They later moved their operation to New York City in the 1850s.

Various agents continued the product into the 2oth century.  No doubt the Pure Food and Drug Act forced its retirement it in short order.

Pacific  Medical and Surgical Journal, 1873 reports a Providence, RI death by ingestion of Winslow’s Soothing Syrup.

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Square Bitters Bottles

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So what exactly is a SQUARE bottle?  Quite simply, it is one with a body which has a square cross-section, or, in other words, it appears to be square when looking down on it from immediately above.

The square shape was adopted by many manufacturers of bitters.  Perhaps it was precisely because of the great fame achieved by two such companies that so many felt compelled to imitate the form.  Those two products are Lash Bitters and Hostetter Stomach Bitters.  One might also include Electric Bitters in this short list, but the bottle is a bit different in that it has recessed panels.

The square bitters bottle is plain and simple utility.  There are no fancy adornments in the molds and certainly economy was the word.  The men behind these popular products were eager to sell their product in great quantity and reap the profits.  Perhaps they knew that good days of selling high-alcohol content “remedies” would not last forever.

It is interesting to consider this bottle type in contrast to the many antique bitters bottles which are so fancy in form – bottles whose form defined the product, its desirable status and no doubt its expensive price tag.

Lash Bitters

Donald Yates (PDF file) has put together a good synopsis of this company (Bottles and Extras, Winter 2003) which was in operation in various holdings from 1850 to 1966.  Interesting, it is a Western Bottle – the company began in California – before expanding to offices in Chicago and New York, and then consolidating in its final years in Passaic, New Jersey.

Hostetter Bitters

Other Square Bitters Bottles

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Steinfelds French Cognac Bitters

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I was recently going through some 19th century newspapers and other publications that I had not looked at in years.  One such paper was THE STAGE, a leaflet of several pages about the theater in New York City.  Perhaps it was a handout at theatrical productions.  I was looking at a November 1870 edition.

1870 ad for Steinfeld's Bitters

I was not expecting to find any advertisements that were antique bottle related, but much to my surprise did I find a big pitch for Steinfeld’s French Cognac Bitters. Of course! A medicinal bitters based on fine French brandy was in perfect company for the well-heeled theater crowd.

For bottle collectors, this is one rare find. Ring and Ham’s Bitters Bottles lists two different bottles, both of which carry a rare rating.  The first (S 185) is a plain cylinder  marked SST Patent on the shoulder with a eagle and crown medallion and the base is marked Steinfeld’s French Cognac Bitters.  Notes for this bottle suggests it was believed to be made earlier than the 1850s.

The other bottle (S 186) is an ornately decorated square bottle with grape vines along the corners and shingles on the shoulders.  It is found in amber and golden amber.  I searched auction records and found only 5 that have sold in the past 20+ years.  Several were listed as damaged.

It is interesting that a company which started around 1850, won a prize at a Paris Exhibition in 1867 and was still advertising in 1870 – 20 years in business?! – has so few bottles left in existence.

Where have they gone?

Below is a picture of the two Steinfeld bottles as shown in the Carlyn Ring/Bill HamBitters Bottle book.  Incidentally, if you have any interest at all in antique bottles or bitters bottles in specific, you NEED this book.  It is an incredibly comprehensive resource.

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William McCully Glass Works of Pittsburgh, PA

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William McCully and Company Glassworks in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania manufactured bottles in the mid 19th century.  Bottles found with the embossing “McC & C” or “Wm. McC & CO” can be attributed to them.

Here is an envelope from the business which has a really fine engraving of the company office as well as the manufacturing buildings.  Click to enlarge.

This envelope with its “cameo” illustration is earlier:

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