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!
