Sunday, June 8, 2025

Summer 2024 Finds #8

 The massive Italian immigrant influx in Providence circa 1890 had such an impact that its effects are still evident in the Federal Hill neighborhood. The local pharmacies catered to the almost completely Italian neighborhood by having some of their bottles embossed in Italian! One of these was the Farmacia Del Popolo Atwells Ave. Providence, RI. An extremely rare bottle, I was even more surprised to see it was also a different variant!



An E.T. Luther Pharmacist Olneyville, RI would normally not be a terribly significant addition, but this example is a very early square. The overall crudeness and embossing style strongly point towards the early 1870s.



An E.A. Calder High St. Providence, RI is not typically a very exciting find. This one, however, was rectangular instead of the usual square!



A Wm. J. Burton & Co. Providence, RI turned out to be an unlisted size at 3-1/2".



A H.I. Hough Druggist Olneyville, RI was also a new variant. The only examples listed have a pictorial bird on them.