Looking at Dr. Gottlieb Fisch’s Bitters and The Fish Bitters
Ware & Schmitz, Philadelphia
31 August 2018
I can not believe that I have not definitively written about the original figural fish bitters bottles before so I thought I would dust off my laptop and put something together. There are three variants worth noting and that includes Dr. Gottlieb Fisch’s Bitters and The Fish Bitters (centered and off-centered mouth versions). There are also later 20th century bottles.
William Harrison Ware patented the bottle design in 1866 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The bitters recipe was from “the great scientist, Dr. Gottlieb Fisch of Berlin, Prussia.” I guess we can see where the the fish bottle design originated. W. Harrison Ware was a liquor dealer who was born in New Jersey around 1835. The fish bitters brand sold from 1866 to 1882 or so. Ware & Schmitz (William H. Ware & Charles M. Schmitz) were the proprietors. They typically marketed with the “Fisch” name although many bottles are embossed “Fish”.
W. H. Ware, Design for a Bottle, Patent No. 2522, dated December 4, 1866
The bottle label reads, “An unequaled beverage and appetizer invaluable for dyspepsia, general debility, languor, loss of appetite and any complaint requiring a tonic bitters. Free from the deleterious effects of alcoholic drinks, for which it is an antidote. It is prompt in action, palatable to the taste, and bracing and invigorating in its effects upon both the body and mind.”
Cast iron Fish Bitters mold – Philadelphia Museum of Art
The bottles are extremely collectable and come in a wide range of colors including clear, aqua, amber, yellow, citron, medium green and cobalt blue. The fish bottles were made at Whitney Glass Works in Glassboro, New Jersey. Advertisement below from 1874.
Ware died in 1882 and is buried in Philadelphia at Mount Moriah Cemetery.
Later figural fish bottles.
In 1922, Eli Lilly & Company began using the blown glass fish bottle for cod liver oil and continued its use until 1933. The bottles were manufactured by the Faimont Glass Company of Indianapolis. The bottles were produced in four sizes: one pint (10″ long), one-half pint (8 1/2″ long), 4 oz (6 1/4″ long) and a salesman bottle (3″ long) which was not filled but used as an empty sample.
Wheaton Glass Company later made cute little Dr. Fisch’s Bitters in a variety of colors.
Read: Early Cod Liver Oil Bottle
The Carlyn Ring and W.C. Ham listings in Bitters Bottles for the Dr. Gottlieb Fisch’s Bitters and The Fish Bitters are as follows:
Doctor Fisch’s Bitters
F 44 Doctor Fisch’s Bitters
DOCTOR ( ad ) // FISCH’S BITTERS ( ad ) // W.H. WARE / PATENTED 1866 //
11 3/4 x 3 5/8 x 2 3/8
Fish, Applied mouth and Rolled Lip, Amber – Common; Aqua, Clear – Very rare
Label: On bevel or stomach a picture of a fish with details in German and English.
Drug Catalogs: 1876-77 and 1880 Goodwin
In 1922, Eli Lilly & Company began using the blown glass fish bottle for cod liver oil and continued its use until 1933. The bottles wee manufactured by the Faimont Glass Company of Indianapolis. The bottles were produced in four sizes: one pint (10″ long), one-half pint (8 1/2″ long), 4 oz (6 1/4″ long) and a salesman bottle (3″ long) which was not filled but used as an empty sample.
F 44 Doctor Fisch’s Bitters
The Fish Bitters (centered mouth)
F 45 The Fish Bitters (centered mouth)
THE ( ad ) / FISH BITTERS ( ad ) // W.H. WARE ( ad ) / PATENTED 1866 ( au ) //
Ware & Schmidz, 3 & 5 Granite Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
11 1/2 x 3 5/8 x 2 1/2
Fish, Applied mouth and Rolled Lip, Amber – Common; Aqua, Clear, Yellow, Green,
Yellow olive, Lime green and Reddish puce – Very Rare; Cobalt – Extremely Rare
Label: Prepared from the recipe of Dr. Gottlieb of Berlin, Prussia. An unequaled beverage and appetizer invaluable for dyspepsia, general debility, languor, loss of appetite and any complaint requiring a tonic bitters. Free from the deleterious effects of alcoholic drinks, for which it is an antidote. It is prompt in action, palatable to the taste, and bracing and invigorating in its effects upon both the body and mind.
F 45: The Fish Bitters (centered mouth)
The Fish Bitters (off-centered mouth)
F 46 The Fish Bitters (off-centered mouth)
THE ( ad ) / FISH BITTERS ( ad ) // W.H. WARE ( ad ) /
PATENTED 1866 ( ad ) // // b // W.H. WARE / PATENT 1866
Ware & Schmitz, 3-5 Granite Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
11 3/8 x 3 3/4 x 2 1/2
Fish, Mouth off center, Applied mouth and Rolled Lip, Scales like cobble-stones,
Amber-Scarce; Clear – Rare; Aqua – Extremely rare, Cobalt Blue – Extremely rare
F 46: The Fish Bitters (off-centered mouth)
Newspaper Advertising
$100,000 if Fish Bitters does not create an appetite – The Baltimore Sun, Thursday, February 20, 1868
Advertisement: Dr. Gottlieb Fisch’s Bitters – Jacksonville Republican, Saturday, September 9, 1871
Ware & Schmidt, Philadelphia, Proprietors for Dr. Gottlieb Fisch’s Bitters – The Montgomery Advertiser, Friday, June 21, 1872
The Great Tonic of the Age – Dr. Gottlieb Fisch’s Bitters advertisement – Quad City Times, Monday, August 19, 1872
Dr. Fisch’s Bitters advertisement – The Rock Island Argus, Thursday, July 17, 1873
Trade Cards
Two kitten-themed W. Harrison Ware advertising trade cards from the Joe Gourd collection. Both promoting Doctor Fisch’s Bitters on the reverse side. Circa 1880.
Tough to Catch Fish
F 46: Extremely rare medium green The Fish Bitters (off-centered mouth)
F 46: Extremely rare cobalt blue The Fish Bitters
F 46: Extremely rare aqua The Fish Bitters
Fish Bitters – FOHBC Virtual Museum
F 46: The Fish Bitters in Clear glass
Fish Tank Gallery
The Fish Bitters – Ed Gray photograph
Fish Bitters – Krist Collection
Fish Bitters at 2014 Houston Bottle Show – Meyer collection
