GRANGER BITTERS – BALTIMORE

BOYKIN CARMER & CO.

24 February 2013

1887 Boykin, Carmer & Co. advertising listing Baltimore City Directory

The Granger Bitters from Baltimore is a tough bottle to find and I do not have an example in my collection, yet. The bottle has a tooled top and is also embossed ‘BOYKIN CARMER & CO.” Interestingly enough, in some of the Baltimore City directory listings (see below) it is listed as ‘BOYKIN CRAMER’. This looks to be a mistake.

Boykin Carmer & Co. Wholesale Druggists were located on 11 and 13 N. Liberty Street in Baltimore City. Dr. Thomas Jackson Boykin was listed as President. Dr. Boykin was born on January 26, 1828 in Sampson Co, NC, and died about October 08, 1909. He married Katherine Wentworth Micks on November 01, 1866 in Elmira, NY, daughter of William Goodrich Micks and Cornelia Martha Rathbone. In 1885 his partner was James W. Carmer. H.R. Micks and Jas. G. Stanley were also listed with the business. They produced a number of bottles and products such as Boykin’s Worm Killer, Harty’s Diarrhea Remedy, Stanley’s Nerve & Bone Liniment, Laudanum Poison and a long necked druggist bottle embossed with the company name. A few examples are posted below.

What is interesting is that one example, as noted in Bitters Bottles by Carlyn Ring and W.C. Ham was found in Loris, South Carolina. The example pictured in this post was found in an antique shop some thirteen or so years ago in Virginia. I do not know if it is a coincidence, but this advertising envelope was addressed to Kildee, North Carolina. The company has also shown up in a few South Carolina directories. Time to dig in to Ancestry.com and look further. I wonder where the ‘Granger’ name came from?

Read More: Leading up to Baltimore Glass Works

1896 Advertising Cover Boykin Carmer Druggist Baltimore

The Carlyn Ring and W.C. Ham listing in Bitters Bottles is as follows:

G 91  GRANGER BITTERS

GRANGER BITTERS // f // BALTIMORE // BOYKIN CARMER & CO //
8 1/2 x 2 1/2 (5 3/4)
Square, Amber, LTC, Tooled Lip, Extremely rare
Found near Loris, South Carolina

G 91 L ….Granger Bitters
Boykin Carmer & Co., Proprietors, 11 & 13 Liberty Street, Baltimore, motif anchor
7 3/4 x 3 1/4 x 2
Flask – oval, Amber
Probably earlier version of lettered bottle.

Boykin Carmer & Co. Letterhead logo – 1883

BOYKIN CARMER & CO WHOLESALE DRUGGISTS BALTIMORE – is aqua, and the dimensions are as follows: 9.36″ tall, finish height is .80″, inner mouth is .53″, base is 2.47″ x 1.28″. Embossed on one side of the bottle is “Boykin Carmer & Co. Wholesale Druggist Baltimore” – Port Tobacco Archaeological Project

Antique LAUDANUM Poison Bottle- Has paper label with skull & crossbones. States dosages from 3 months old to adult. On small part of label missing but it didn’t have writing on it. Back of bottle has embossed BOYKIN CARMER & CO DRUGGISTS BALTIMORE MD. Has cork in place. – historical ebay

STANLEY’S NERVE & BONE LINIMENT BOYKIN CARMER & CO BALTIMORE, MD.

Dr. Thomas Boykin Obituary – American Druggist and Pharmaceutical Record, Volumes 54-55 – 1909

1899 City of Baltimore, Maryland Directory

1894 Report of the State Tax Commissioner of Maryland to the General Assembly

1883 Reports and Resolutions, Volume 2 By South Carolina. General Assembly

Here you see for the first time that Boykin and Carmer were from North Carolina. – Baltimore Physician and Surgeon, Volumes 2-6 – 1874