CONSTITUTION BITTERS
SEWARD & BENTLEY | BUFFALO, NY
The Constitution Bitters from Buffalo, NY
Stephen B. Seward & Burr S. Bentley
14 May 2013 (R•031314) (R•051814) (R•053015) (R•030616) (R•051010-FBN) (R•052619-Letterhead)
For the sake of this Constitution Bitters, we are dealing with Stephen B. Seward and Burr S. Bentley of Seward & Bentley, Buffalo, New York. The company name changed many times as there are listings for Seward, Bentley & Cheney, Ward & Bentley, Daniel Seward & Co., Seward & Liebetrut and Edward Liebetrut This shows obvious changes in partnership and ownership later in the 1860s.
Stephen even got his start earlier than that as his name occurs as S. B. Seward in the late 1850s on bottles and advertising etc. When this bottle mold was produced, Cheney had not yet joined the firm. This bitters first appeared in 1864.
The Carlyn Ring and W.C. Ham listing in Bitters Bottles Supplement 2 is as follows:
C 223 A.M.S.2. ( au ) / 1864 // CONSTITUTION / BITTERS // A.M.S.2. ( au ) /
1864 // SEWARD & BENTLEY / BUFFALO, N.Y. //
9 1/4 x 2 7/8 x 2 1/4 (7 1/4) 1/4
Rectangular, Amber, LTC, Applied mouth, 4 sp, Rare
AMS2: All Must Surrender To Constitution Bitters
Label: A.M. 1864 S.2. Prepared from a formula of an eminent physician and used for many tears with wonderful success as a tonic, for strengthening of the system, giving tone to the stomach and creating a healthy appetite. It has no equal.
1864 & 1866 Thomas’ Buffalo Business Directory: Seward & Bentley Druggist, 189 Main, Stephen B. Seward and Burr S. Bentley
1868 City Directory for Buffalo: Seward, Bentley & Cheney Druggist, 241 Main
1877 Billhead: Edward J. Liebetrut, Druggist (formerly Seward & Liebetrut, formerly Seward & Co.)
Stephen B. Seward
Stephen B. Seward was born Franklinville, New York in 1831. In 1865 or so, he became senior member of Seward, Bentley & Cheney in Buffalo, New York. He moved in the late 1870s to Omaha and later to St. Louis (see obituary below). I think this might help explain why the Mexican Bitters bottle is so similar.
Obituary for Stephen B. Seward – The Pharmaceutical Era, Volume 21 – 1899
Burr S. Bentley
Burr S. Bentley was born about 1837 in Buffalo New York. He married Josephine Thwing on 23 May 1867. Burr was a jeweler and watchmaker with a shop at 243 Main Street. He was a partner in 1864 with Stephen B. Seward in Buffalo, New York as Seward & Bentley, later, Seward, Bentley & Cheney, druggists and fancy goods merchants with a shop at 189 Main Street.
Question?
What does “A.M.S.2. 1864” stand for? The similar Mexican Bitters is embossed “A.S.F.5. 1866”. This newspaper advertisement below confirms, “All Must Surrender to Constitution Bitters”.
A.M., S. 2. – All must surrender to Constitution Bitters – The Indiana Herald, Wednesday, August 19, 1868
Read More: Mexican Bitters – Henry C. Weaver – Lancaster, O
Examples
“A. M. S. 2. / 1864 – CONSTITUTION / BITTERS – A. M. S. 2. / 1864 – SEWARD & BENTLEY / BUFFALO. N.Y.”, America, 1864 – 1870. Medium to deep golden amber, rectangular, applied sloping collar – smooth base, ht. 9 1/8″, width 2 7/8″, depth 2 ¼”, virtually attic mint; (just a slight trace of extremely faint exterior wear, otherwise pristine perfect!) R/H #C223. A rare mold, these do not come around often! – American Glass Gallery Auction 14
A.M. S. 2 1864 CONSTITUTION BITTERS – SEWARD & BENTLEY BUFFALO, N.Y.”, (Ring/Ham, C-222), New York, ca. 1865 – 1875, yellow-green color – Glass Works Auctions
Amber Constitution Bitters – Ferdinand Meyer V collecion
Green Constitution Bitters – Bitters Bottles Supplement
Three gorgeous Constitution Bitters in the famous John Feldmann collection. Those three have now found new homes with the dispersement of the collection in 2012.
Constitution Bitters previously auctioned by Norman C. Heckler auction. This bottle was found in Michigan and had full contents. – Heckler Auction #89 – March 2010
Advertising
Constitution Bitters advertisement – Shawano County Journal, January 18, 1866
Constitution Bitters and Seward’s Cough Cure advertisements (see below) both on the same page of the Gettysburg Compiler, 1869. Notice how Cheney has joined the partnership.
Constitution Bitters and Seward’s Cough Cure advertisements (see above) both on the same page of the Gettysburg Compiler, 1869.
Collateral
NY. Buffalo. Constitution Bank. Constitution Bitters. Signed S.B. Seward and B.S. Bentley. Denomination: 5. – Ben Swanson Collection
Embossed Token: Seward’s Cough Cure, S.B. Seward Druggist Buffalo
Use Seward’s Cough Cure – Cattaraugus County: Embracing Its Agricultural Society, Newspapers, Civil List … Biographies of the Old Pioneers … Colonial and State Governors of New York, Names of Towns and Post Offices, with the Statistics of Each Town – J. Manley, 1857
Alisma for the Hair, sold by Seward & Bentley of Buffalo from around 1868. They were initially Ward & Bentley (Dec 67), then by Jan of 68 it was Seward & Bentley. By 1869, they called themselves Seward, Bentley, and Cheney. Advertisements for this preparation in the 1874 New York State Directory and in the 1868 Alton (Ill.) Telegraph. It was being sold by Daniel Seward & Co., Druggists & Grocers Goods. They were listed in the Drug business at 907 3rd, in Buffalo, during 1867-68. The latest reference to this preparation I found was in the 1896 Morrison & Plummer Catalog. – Hair Raising Stories
Constitution Bitters noted on Edward J. Liebetrut, Druggist (formerly Seward & Liebetrut) 1877 receipt – Joe Gourd Collection
