Dr. De Andries Pure Sarsaparilla Bitters – New Orleans

Posted on 19 February 2019 by Ferdinand Meyer V

Dr. De Andries Pure Sarsaparilla Bitters

E. M. Rusha – New Orleans

19 February 2019

I recently updated the post for the extremely rare Dr. Hyde’s Southern Stomach Bitters put out by Dr. Edward Caleb Hyde in New Orleans around 1868. The Dr. De Andries Pure Sarsaparilla Bitters was made during the same time period by E. M. Rusha who operated within walking distance of Edward Hyde off of Tchoupitoulas Street in New Orleans. Both of their bottles are very similar with the shape, column bevel and shoulder detail. You can see a comparison below. Maybe they were friends but they were certainly competitors with their bitters. Most likely, Hyde aped Rusha with his bitters.

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

D 35 Dr. De Andries Sarsaparilla Bitters

DR DE ANDRIES // SARSAPARILLA / BITTERS // E.M. RUSHA / NEW ORLEANS // f // 10 x 4 x 2 1/4 (7 3/8) Rectangular, LTC, Applied mouth, 3 sp, Column bevel, Olive green, Metallic pontil mark, Extremely rare; Amber and Olive amber, Rare

Edwin Morris Rusha

Edwin Morris Rusha was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 6, 1811. Rusha left his parents at the young age of fourteen and came to New Orleans, Louisiana. Considered well-educated, Rusha first found employment as a painter for a short spell. He apparently was optimistic and successful in his early endeavors as he sent for his mother when he was twenty years old. His father had died shortly after his departure from Philadelphia. Rusha was close to his mother and she lived with him until she died many years later.

When he was twenty-two years old, Edwin M. Rusha went into the wholesale liquor business on Girod Street near Tchoupitoulas. He would remain on this street for half a century selling wines and liquor. He was well-known, popular and had continued success with his various pursuits which included land sales, real estate and being a cotton factor and general commission agent. It was not uncommon to see a newspaper notice saying 50 or 100 barrels of whiskey was headed his way down the Mississippi on a steamer. Great advance advertising if you liked Kentucky whiskey.

On March 9, 1837, Rusha married Mary Ann Sherman and they remained together for fifty-three years until she died in 1890. They would have fourteen children. Some would help with clerking at the liquor store. Quite a nest and a trustful work force.

For Sale: An old Negro Woman, a good Cook and Washer, to a good master will be sold at a bargain. Apply to E. M. Rusha, 24 Girod Street

Rusha once posted a newspaper ‘For Sale’ advertisement in 1850 where he was selling “An old Negro Woman, a good Cook and Washer, to a good master will be sold at a bargain.” I don’t have an illustration but I can certainly concur up an image in my mind. Sad, but true. I guess he was a generous man as another newspaper notice thanked him for sending the editors of The New Orleans Piscayune a basket of delicious peaches that were raised in his nursery in Livingston Parish, Louisiana.

Yet another newspaper notice states that his young son “had the flesh crushed off the bone of one of his hips last evening, by being caught between the cars on the Carrolton Railroad, whilst attempting, boy-like, to help himself to an outside ride.” You see these train-hopping notes in newspapers all the time, even nowadays. The New Orleans and Carrollton Railroad was one of six short-line rail systems built to connect the city of New Orleans with surrounding neighborhoods, in this case, four-and-a-half miles to the resort village of Carrollton. It was one of the first public transit trolley systems built in the urban United States. All of these referenced newspaper clippings can be read in full in the timeline at the end of this post.

In 1854, Rusha was firmly established as an Importer of Foreign Wines and Liquors and a Dealer in Domestic Spirits. He sold a wide range of products such as a general assortment of French brandies, wines, fruits in liquor, assorted cordials, bitters, essence, peppermint, curacao etc. By 1860, he was running full-page ads within the annual New Orleans City Directory. The U.S. Federal Census that year noted that he had real estate value of $50,000 and a personal estate value of $20,000.

By 1863, we see Rusha’s first advertisement for his Dr. De Andries Pure Sarsaparilla Bitters. The 1867 advertisement and illustration below looks like some pretty happy fellows partaking in his bitters. By the way, I really do not think that there was a Dr. De Andries. This was probably a made-up name to give his brand legitimacy. Rusha could not call himself a ‘Doctor’ as Edward Hyde did with his Dr. Hyde’s Southern Stomach Bitters. You could get away with a lot more stuff back then. You know, drink this medicine that was full of alcohol that was sold at a liquor establishment so you could tell your wife that you weren’t at the saloon.

Also in 1867, Rusha takes a full-page city directory ad that is similar to the ad further above but now states that he is the Proprietor of Dr. De Andries Pure Sarsaparilla Bitters. As noted previously, he actually began selling it in 1863. He says that it is sold by grocers and druggists throughout the United States and that his bitters “are the best Preventative of Health ever introduced into this Country. As a general drink they are exhilarating; they give tone to the stomach, being free from all impurities.” He also says that his bitters are “Guaranteed to be Purely Vegetable” which might make you think there was no alcohol in it. You can bet dollars to doughnuts that his bitters was fully spiked. Another ad infers that Gen. Grant was recommending Dr. De Andries Pure Sarsaparilla Bitters for Cholera.

During all these years, Rusha was very high up in the leadership of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in New Orleans. The I.O.O.F. was (and is) a non-political and non-sectarian international secret society and fraternal order of Odd Fellowship. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Wildey in Baltimore, Maryland though its origins were much earlier in England.

Rusha left the I.O.O.F. in 1891, renouncing the secret society and joined the Catholic Church. He was in prayer with Rev. Father Cavanaugh of St. Stephen’s Church when he suffered his third stroke and died on August 24, 1893 at the age of 82. Quite a man, quite a life and quite a bitters.

Select Listings:

1811: Edwin Morris Rusha, Birth: 6 Jul 1811, Pennsylvania, – U.S. Find a Grave

1845: Newspaper notice (below) Dwelling House and Furniture, A Lot of Ground drawn by E.M. Rusha – The Times Picayune, Friday, October 17, 1845

1850: Newspaper notice (below) For Sale: An old Negro Woman, a good Cook and Washer, to a good master will be sold at a bargain. Apply to E.M. Rusha, 24 Girod Street – The New Orleans Crescent, Monday, November 25, 1850

1854: Newspaper advertisement (below) E. M. Rusha, Importer of Wines & Liquors and dealer in Domestic Spirits, Nos. 54 and 56 Broome Street (late Girod street), New Orleans, Keeps constantly on hand a general assortment of French Brandies, Wines, Fruits in Liquor, assorted cordials, bitters, essence, peppermint, Curaco etc.- The South Western, Wednesday, September 6, 1854

1856: Newspaper notice (below) Work-House and Prisons, E.M. Rusha on committee signing of on prison invoice – The New Orleans Crescent, Friday, January 18, 1856

1857: Newspaper notice (below) Receipts of Produce, Cincinnati, Steamer Susquehanna, 56 bbls whiskey E.M. Rusha – The Times Picayune, Sunday, May 3, 1857

1857: Newspaper notice (below) **E.M. Rusha sends the editors of the New Orleans Piscayune a basket of delicious peaches**, raised in the nursery of E.M. Rusha of Livingston Parish, Louisiana – Nashville Union and American, Saturday, July 11, 1857

1858: Newspaper notice (below) E.M. Rusha Girod Street, For Sale of Lease, Speedwell Cottage Coffee House – The Times Picayune, Tuesday, June 22, 1858

1860: E.M. Rusha, Merchant (tough to read), Age: 45, Birth Year: abt 1815, Birth Place: Pennsylvania, Home in 1860: New Orleans Ward 2, Orleans, Louisiana, Post Office: New Orleans, Dwelling Number: 685, Family Number: 1473, Real Estate Value: 50,000, Personal Estate Value: 20,000, Household Members: E M Rusha 45, Mary Ann Rusha 34, John A Rusha 21, Edward Rusha 19, Emma Rusha 17, Elizabeth Rusha 15, Joseph Rusha 13, Frederick Rusha 11, Catharine Rusha 9, Mary Rusha 7, Ida Rusha 5, Hister Rusha 1, Mary Murphy 30 – 1860 United States Federal Census

1860: Newspaper notice (below) Receipts of Produce, Cincinnati, Steamer Lecomte, 80 bbls whiskey E.M. Rusha – The New Orleans Crescent, Wednesday, November 28, 1860

1861: Full-Page City Directory advertisement (above in post) E.M. Rusha, Importer of Foreign Wines and Liquors, and Dealer in Domestic Spirits, Nos. 54, 56 and 58 Girod St., Between Tchoupitoulas and Commerce Streets, New Orleans – New Orleans, Louisiana, City Directory, 1861

1861: Newspaper notice (below) Accident to a Boy: Son of E.M. Rusha injured hitching a ride on a moving train – The New Orleans, Crescent, Thursday, February 7, 1861

1861: Newspaper notice (below) Independent Order of Odd Fellows, E.M. Rusha, Rec. Secretary – The Times Picayune, Wednesday, March 13, 1861

1861: Newspaper advertisement (below) Rusha & Hawn (E.M. Rusha and John P. Hawn, Tuscaloosa), Cotton Factors and General Commission Merchants, 42 Gravier Street, New Orleans – The Montgomery Advertiser, Monday, March 25, 1861

1861: Newspaper notice (below) Dissolution of Rusha & Hawn (see above) – The Times Picayune, Sun, April 4, 1861

1863: Newspaper advertisement (below) Dr. De Andries Pure Sarsaparilla Bitters, E.M. Rusha, No. 43 Girod, near Tchoupitoulas, New Orleans – The Times Picayune, Tuesday, October 6, 1863

1865: E M Rusha, Wine and Liquor Dealer, 41 43 45 Girod, New Orleans, Louisiana – Duncan and Co´s New Orleans Business Directory, 1865

1866: E M Rusha, Liquor Merchant, 63, 65 and 67 Girod, New Orleans, Louisiana – Denson and Nelson´s New Orleans and Mississippi Valley Business Directory and River Guide, 1866-67

1866: Newspaper advertisement (below) Just Received: 50 cases DeAndries’ Sarsaparilla Bitters and 100 cases Callahan’s Old Cabin Whiskey, Swarbrick & Co., 50 Camp Street – The New Orleans Crescent, Wednesday, January 3, 1866

1866: Newspaper advertisement (below) General Grant used to convince patrons buy Dr. De Andries Pure Sarsaparilla Bitters for Cholera – The Times Picayune, Wednesday, March 14, 1866

1867: Full-Page City Directory advertisement (above in post) E.M. Rusha, Dealer in Wines and Liquors, Dr. De Andries Pure Sarsaparilla Bitters, Sold by Grocers and Druggists Throughout the United States, They are the best Preventative of Health ever introduced into this Country. As a general drink they are exhilarating; they give tone to the stomach, being free from all impurities. Try them. E. M. Rusha, Sole Proprietor, Depot, Nos. 63, 65 and 67 Girod Street, New Orleans – New Orleans, Louisiana, City Directory, 1867

1867: Newspaper advertisement (above in post) E.M. Rusha, dealer in Foreign Wines and Liquors and Sole Proprietor of Dr. De Andries Pure Sarsaparilla Bitters, Depot, Not. 63, 65 and 67 Girod Street, Near Tchoupitoulas, New Orleans – The South Western, Wednesday, July 3, 1867

1868-1870: E M Rusha, Liquor Merchant, 63, 65 and 67 Girod, res. 213 St. Charles, New Orleans, Louisiana – New Orleans, Louisiana, City Directory, 1868-70

1869: Directory listing (below) I.O.O.F. (Independent Order of Odd Fellows) officer for 1868 E M Rusha, R.W. Grand Lodge I.O.O.F. of the State of Louisiana, New Orleans, Louisiana – New Orleans, Louisiana, City Directory, 1869

1870: E M Rusha, Liquor Dealer, Age in 1870: 58, Birth Year: abt 1812, Birthplace: Louisiana, Dwelling Number: 193, Home in 1870: New Orleans Ward 2, Orleans, Louisiana, Inferred Spouse: M A Rusha, Household Members: E M Rusha 58, M A Rusha 48, Kate Rusha 19, Molly Rusha 16, Ida, Rusha 14, Esther Rusha 10, Sam Rusha 8, Robt Rusha 5 – 1870 United States Federal Census

1875-1878: Edwin M. Rusha, wines and liquors, 65 and 67 Girod, r. St. Charles, cor. Bordeaux, Joseph F Rusha, clerk E.M. Rusha, New Orleans, Louisiana – New Orleans, Louisiana, City Directory, 1875

1893: Edwin Morris Rusha, Death: 24 Aug 1893 (aged 82), New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, Burial: Lafayette Cemetery Number 1, New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana – U.S. Find a Grave

1893: Newspaper notice (below) Mr. Edwin M. Rusha died last Thursday – Louisianna Review, Wednesday, August 30, 1893

Posted in Advertising, Bitters, History, Liqueurs, liquor, Liquor Merchant, Medicines & Cures, Sarsaparilla, Spirits, Whiskey, Wine & Champagne | Tagged bitters, Brandy, De Andries, dealer, E.M. Rusha, Edward Caleb Hyde, Edwin Morris Rusha, Girod, importer, liquor, Louisiana, Mary Ann Sherman, Mississippi, New Orleans, Odd Fellows, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pure, Sarsaparilla, spirits, Tchoupitoulas, Whiskey, wholesale, Wine | Leave a comment

Continental Bitters – Mayer, Strouse & Baum

Posted on 14 February 2019 by Ferdinand Meyer V

Continental Bitters

Mayer, Strouse & Baum – Philadelphia

14 February 2019

I recently came across this neat circa 1862 trade card advertisement (above) held by the The Library Company of Philadelphia for Continental Bitters put out by Mayer, Strouse & Baum which surprisingly, seems to be unlisted. The proprietors are noted as Importers of Wines, Brandies Gins &c. The primary image and the reason for the bitters name is an illustration of the Continental Hotel, at No. 116 North 3rd Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The card also shows street and pedestrian traffic, including horse-drawn carriages, an omnibus, and a man on horseback.

The Continental Hotel was tall for its time and sat prominently over the Washington Square neighborhood at a height of six stories. Located at the corner of 9th and Chestnut streets, the 700-room Continental Hotel opened its doors to the public in 1860 and featured one of the nation’s first elevators, in addition to a grand stairway crafted of polished Italian marble that ushered guests into its world of no-holds-barred extravagance.

The architect was John McArthur, Jr. who was known for being the architect of the Philadelphia City Hall. Abraham Lincoln visited Philadelphia on February 21-22, 1861 arriving from New York via Newark and Trenton to stay at the new Continental Hotel. There he talked with advisers about the rising tensions and learned of a newly-discovered assassination plot. The following morning, Lincoln went to Independence Hall to ceremoniously raise the nation’s new flag. He hadn’t prepared a speech but spoke to the issues of the day. The hotel was demolished in 1924.

There are no examples of this bitters other than this advertising reference. Bill Ham with Bitters Bottles Supplement 2 may want to list in his upcoming book.

Advertisement and Trade card
C 224.5 CONTINENTAL BITTERS, Mayer, Strouse & Braum, 116 N. 3d, Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pensylvania City Directory, 1862

Mayer, Strouse & Baum

Not much is known about Mayer, Strouse & Baum though we can see from Philadelphia city directories that they were in business from 1861-1863 at 116 North 3rd Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The partners were Jacob Mayer, Levi Strouse and Gabriel Baum who were wholesale liquor dealers and importers. It must have been challenging conducting business in the midst of the Civil War. Jacob Meyer would continue with his own operation afterwards while Strouse and Baum went into business together selling liquor.

Select Listings:

1858: Newspaper notice (below) Coat Basters Wanted at Jacob Mayer & Co’s, 116 N. Third Street – Public Ledger, Tuesday, December 14, 1858

1860: Jacob Mayer, Merchant, Age: 45, Birth Year: abt 1815, Birth Place: Germany, Home in 1860: Philadelphia Ward 12 Division 1, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Post Office: Philadelphia, Dwelling Number: 165, Family Number: 228, Real Estate Value: 10000, Personal Estate Value: 15000, Household Members: Name Age, Jacob Mayer 45, Matilda Mayer 33, David Mayer 14, Emmanuel Mayer 12, Washington Mayer 10, Marion Mayer 8, Josephine Mayer 7, Virginia Mayer 5, Charles Mayer 3, Wm Mayer 1, Morris Mayer 11, Jeannet Mayer 20, Jennie Jacobs 19 – 1860 United States Federal Census

1861: Mayer, Strousse & Baum (Jacob Mayer, Levi Strouse & Gabriel Baum), wines and liquors, 116 N. 3d, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1861

1862: Mayer, Strousse & Baum (Jacob Mayer, Levi Strouse & Gabriel Baum), liquors, 116 N. 3d, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1862

1863: Mayer, Strousse & Baum (Jacob Mayer, Levi Strouse & Gabriel Baum), wholesale liquor dealers and importers, 116 N. 3d, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1863

1863: Jacob Mayer, Dealer, Birth Year: abt 1816, Age: 47, Residence Year: 1863, Residence Place: Philadelphia Ward 12, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Pennsylvania, Septennial Census, 1779-1863

1864: Jacob Mayer, liquors, 116 N. 3d, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1864

1864: Strouse & Baum, wholesale liquors (Levi Strouse and Gabriel Baum), 337 N. Front, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1864

1865: Levi Strouse, liquors, 337 N. Front, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1865

1867: Mayer & Morgan, wholesale liquors, N. 3d, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1867

1870: Newspaper notice (below) Steamship Salvor, Ashcroft arrives in Charleston with 1 bbl whiskey from Jacob Mayer – Philadelphia Inquirer, Wednesday, August 10, 1870

1870: Strouse & Baum, liquors (Levi Strouse and Gabriel Baum), 122 Walnut & 17 Granite, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1870

1880: L. Strouse & Co., (Levi and Benjamin Strouse), liquors, 213 N. 3rd., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1880

Posted in Advertising, Art & Architecture, Bitters, Brandy, Gin, History, liquor, Liquor Merchant, Spirits, Wine & Champagne | Tagged Abraham Lincoln, bitters, Brandy, Continental, Gabriel Baum, Gin, Hotel, Importers, Jacob Mayer, Levi Strouse, liquor, Mayer, merchant, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Strouse & Baum, Wine | Leave a comment

Lieber’s French Cordial Bitters

Posted on 13 February 2019 by Ferdinand Meyer V

Benjamin Lieber’s French Cordial Bitters

Philadelphia

13 February 2019 (R•041019)

I recently came across this neat advertisement (above) held by the The Library Company of Philadelphia for B. Lieber (Benjamin) showing his storefront in Philadelphia in 1849. The illustration shows that Lieber is an Importer of Brandies, Wines and Gins. His address is No. 121 North Fourth Street between Vine & Callowhill Streets in Philadelphia. The ad also notes that he specializes in Foreign Wines and Liquors, London Brown-Stout, Scotch Ale, Absinthe, Segars, &c. and that he is a Manufacturer of Punch Essence, Cordials, Lemon Syrup, Raspberry, Lavender, Rose, Blackberry and Wild-Cherry, Brandies, Bitters &c. The bitters reference set me off in a search for more information.

Closer inspection of the advertisement shows the four-story storefront adorned with signage and displays including bottles, small boxes, and broadside advertisements, predominately for French cordials and an unlisted B. Lieber French Cordial Bitters crate or sign in the center of the display window. There is also a large model cask with advertising text and stacks of labeled boxes flank the open entrance. Box labels include “Ysla de Cuba,” “Assorted Cordials,” “Glorias,” “Habano.” A clerk confers with a patron within the entrance as a laborer enters the cellar to continue to retrieve barrels of “Madeira No.1” and “Port,” which line the sidewalk. In the street, a drayman departs with his delivery of a cask of “J. Hennesy [sic] & Co. Cognac.” The illustration also includes a massive street post adorned with a weather vane designed as a Native American figure, and partial views of adjacent buildings. Another signs says wholesale & retail.

There is a listing in the Carlyn Ring and W.C. Ham Bitters Bottles as follows:

L 87 LIEBER’S WINE BITTERS
B. Lieber, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia Directory 1853

Bitters Bottles Supplement 2 may want to be updated per this post to say Lieber’s French Cordial Bitters or a new listing may want to be created. I did not find any reference to Lieber’s Wine Bitters and suspect both bitters are the same. No bottle examples exist that I am aware of.

The new listing by Bill Ham for the forthcoming Bitters Bottles Supplement 2:

Advertisement
L 86.5 B. Lieber French Cordial Bitters
Benjamin Lieber, 121 North Fourth Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Full page advertisement from The Library Company of Philadelphia showing B. Lieber storefront in 1849. The illustration shows that Lieber is an Importer of Brandies, Wines and Gins etc. Closer inspection of the advertisement shows the four-story storefront adorned with signage and displays including bottles, small boxes, and broadside advertisements, predominately for French cordials and a B. Lieber French Cordial Bitters crate or sign in the center of the display window.

Benjamin Lieber

Not much is known about Benjamin Lieber who was born in England on February 26, 1813. Both of his parents were English. His wife was named Rachel. The earliest Philadelphia listing I could find was for a B. Lieber noted as an Importer of Wines and Liquors at 239 South 2nd Street in 1837. By 1849, he has a retail and wholesale establishment at 121 North 4th Street. That is the building image posted above. He also had a second outfit at 283 Market Street.

This guy moved his shop around like it was on wheels. By 1861, he is located at 123 South 2nd in Philadelphia. In 1863, he is located at 333 North 3rd. In 1864, it is 911 North 2nd. In 1866, it is 239 South 2nd. He would finally settle in 1868 at 111 S. Water in Philadelphia. The business was now called Lieber & Son as his son David joined him. They were still listed as importers of wines and liquors. They would remain at this location until at least 1872 when the pair drop off the Lieber & Son business radar. David would move into the sales business. Benjamin Lieber would die in 1903 in New York City.

Select Listings:

1813: Benjamin Lieber, Birth Date: 26 Feb 1813, Birth Place: England – U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current

1837: Importer of Wines and Liquors: B. Lieber, 239 S 2d – McElroy’s Philadelphia city directory

1849: Advertising print (above). B. Lieber, Apri 1849, importer of brandies, wines, gins, brown-stout, scotch ale, absinthe, segars, &c. and manufacturer of punch essence, cordials, lemon syrup, raspberry, lavender, rose, blackberry and wild-cherry. Brandies, bitters &c. No. 121 North Fourth Street between Vine & Callowhill Streets Philadelphia. – The Library Company of Philadelphia

1849: Newspaper advertisement (below) To Country Merchants, Hotel Keepers and Others. For sale on liberal terms by B. Lieber, Importer, at 121 North Fourth Street or 283 Market Street. Note Napoleon Bitters for sale – Public Ledger, Friday, August 31, 1849

1849: Newspaper advertisement (below) Punch Essence sold by B. Lieber, 283 Market Street and 121 N. Fourth Street – Public Ledger, Friday, November 9, 1849

1850: Benjamin Lieber, Liquor Merchant, Age: 37, Birth Year: abt 1813, Birthplace: England, Home in 1850: Philadelphia North Mulberry Ward, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – 1850 United States Federal Census

1850: Newspaper advertisement (below) To Families, Very superior Old Brandy (1801) just arrived, 283 Market Street between Seventh and Eighth Streets, B. Lieber, Wine Merchant – Public Ledger, Friday, April 19, 1850

1851: Newspaper advertisement (below) Danzic Spruce Beer just received at B. Lieber, Wine Merchant, 283 Market Street – Public Ledger, Thursday, May 8, 1851

1853: Newspaper advertisement (below) To Confectioners, Hotels &c., B. Lieber, Wine Merchant, 283 Market Street – Public Ledger, Thursday, December 22, 1853

1856: Lieber B., wines and liquors, 283 Market ab 7th, h 101 Franklin ab Buttonwood – McElroy’s Philadelphia city directory, Volume 19, 1856

1856: Lieber Isaac, wines & liq., 441 Market – McElroy’s Philadelphia city directory, Volume 19, 1856

1860: Benjamin Lieber, Merchant, 45, Benjamin Lieber, Birth Year: abt 1815, Birth Place: England, Home in 1860: Cheltenham, Montgomery, Pennsylvania, Post Office: Cheltenham, Dwelling Number: 223, Family Number: 223, Real Estate Value: 50,000, Personal Estate Value: 11,000, Household Members: Benjamin Lieber 45, Rachel Lieber 40, David Lieber 14, Juliet Lieber 16, Flewrette Lieber 12, George Lieber 10, Washington Lieber 8, Franklin Lieber 6, Harriet Lieber 4, Clara Lieber 2, Walter S Lieber 1 – 1860 United States Federal Census

1861: Benjamin Lieber, Wholesale Wines and Liquors, 123 S 2nd, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1861

1863: B Lieber, Wholesale Wines and Liquors, 333 N 3d, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1863

1864: B. Lieber, Liquor, 911 N. 2d, h Abington, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1864

1866: B. Lieber, Importers of Wines and Liquors, 239 S 2d, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1866

1868: B. Lieber & Son, (Benjamin & David), Wines, 111 S Water, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1868

1869: B. Lieber & Son, (Benjamin & David), importers of wines and liquors, 111 S Water, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1869

1870: Benjamin Lieber, Wholesale Liquor Dealer, Age in 1870: 57, Birth Year: abt 1813, Birthplace: England, Dwelling Number: 367, Home in 1870: Cheltenham, Montgomery, Pennsylvania, Personal Estate Value: 10,000, Real Estate Value: 27,000, Inferred Spouse: Rachel Lieber, Inferred Children: David Lieber, Fleurette Lieber, George Lieber, Benj F Lieber, Harriet Lieber, Clara Lieber, Walter S Lieber, Morean Lieber – 1870 United States Federal Census

1870: B. Lieber & Son, Wholesale Wine and Liquor Dealer, 111 S. Water, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Gopsill´s Philadelphia Business Directory, 1870

1871-1872: B. Lieber & Son (Benjamin & David), liquors, 111 S. Water, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1872

1874: B. Lieber , Merchants, Commission, 111 S. Water, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Philadelphia Trade Directory, 1874

1880: Benjamin Lieber, Liquor Merchant, Age: 67, Birth Date: Abt 1813, Birthplace: England, Home in 1880: Cheltenham, Montgomery, Pennsylvania, Dwelling Number: 82, Spouse’s name: Rachael Lieber, Father’s Birthplace: England, Mother’s Birthplace: England, Household Members: Benjamin Lieber 67, Rachael Lieber 57, Clara Lieber 22, Walter S. Lieber 20, Morean G. Lieber 18 – 1880 United States Federal Census

1900: Benjamin Lieber, Age: 87, Birth Date: Feb 1813, Birthplace: England, Home in 1900: Manhattan, New York, New York, Street: Seventh Avenue, House Number: 2145, Sheet Number: 3, Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: 21, Family Number: 53, Immigration Year: 1835, Marital status: Married, Spouse’s name: Rachael Lieber, Marriage Year: 1843, Father’s Birthplace: England, Mother’s Birthplace: England, Household Members: Benjamin Lieber, Rachael Lieber – 1900 United States Federal Census

1903: Benjamin Lieber, Death Date: 7 Jan 1903, Death Place: New York, Cemetery: Mikveh Israel Cemetery #03, Burial or Cremation Place: Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania – U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current

Posted in Advertising, Bitters, Brandy, Cordial, History, liquor, Liquor Merchant, Spirits, Wine & Champagne | Tagged Benjamin, bitters, Bottle, Brandy, business, Cordial, David, England, foreign, French, importer, Lieber, merchant, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, punch, retail, son, storefront, Syrup, wholesale, Wine | Leave a comment

Could this bottle be for Tobias’s Wine Bitters?

Posted on 11 February 2019 by Ferdinand Meyer V

Could this bottle be for the Celebrated Tobias’s Wine Bitters?

11 February 2019

Robert Biro posted over on the Peachridge Glass Facebook page, a series of images for a dug Tobias & Son ladies leg cylinder with a killer iron pontil. The bottle also has a Philadelphia embossing on the base. I believe this bottle held the Celebrated Tobias’s Wine Bitters though that name is not embossed on the bottle. Roberts email consisted of the following text and bottle images:

1850s… TOBIAS & SON PHILADAS. – This two-part mold ladies leg bitters type of bottle was dug from a 1850s trash pit from downtown Savannah Ga. The bottle has an iron pontil mark and also has applied string glass around the top that is sheared off at the lip. This bottle is nine and a half inches tall and two and three-quarters inches wide. There is a photo of another bottle like this that sold at Glass Works Auctions not too long ago that has a different type of top. – Robert

Looking in the Carlyn Ring and W.C. Ham Bitters Bottles book, there is a listing for the following:

T33 Tobias Wine Bitters
S. Tobias, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia Directory, 1845

S. Tobias & Son

Solomon Tobias was born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1790. We know that he was still in Charleston in 1818 as there is “a petition of young Solomon Tobias, Charleston, for an appointment in the army, July 4, 1818.” Later Tobias advertising states that he established his wine and liquor business in 1821, presumably in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where the Tobias wholesale wine and liquor business was carried on for many decades.

We first see a hard address and reference of S. Tobias as a Manufactory of Wine Bitters located No. 93 North Fifth Street in Philadelphia in 1837. He also took out newspaper notices the same year cautioning ‘Tavern Keepers in the Country’ to be wary of spurious Wine Bitters that were being sold as his product. He stated that he continued to label all of his barrels, kegs, demijohns, and bottles with his written signature, S. Tobias. He was probably using an unembossed pontiled cylinder bottle at this time for the bitters.

In other 1837 advertising (below), Tobias was selling Stoughton Bitters, Lavender Bitters, Tansey Bitters, Brandy, Wines, Liquors and Syrups along with his signature Tobias’s Wine Bitters. He would heavily advertise his Wine Bitters up until 1850 or so.

The Library Company of Philadelphia holds this super fine print of the S. Tobias storefront that was created by William H. Rease, artist and printed by Wagner & McGuigan lithography press in Philadelphia in 1845. The image shows the four-story storefront adorned with signage on the 100 block of North Third Street. Note the prominent sign for “Manufactory of the Celebrated S. Tobias Wine Bitters.”

Looking at the art above, you can play “I Spy” and see a patron entering one of the two open entryways at which a straw basket and wine cask are displayed across from a large-cask shaped sign which reads “S. Tobias No. 68 Importer & Dealer in Wines Liquors Cordials and Syrups.” At the other entryway, a laborer rolls a cask out the door near a worker entering the cellar. Within the store, the backs of a patron and a clerk are visible in the rear of the store in which shelves of liquor bottles, straw baskets, wine casks, and barrels are displayed on shelves, the floor, and the open display window. Other boxes, bottles, casks, and barrels are visible at the upper floor windows. Barrels and boxes, one marked “S. Tobias” line the sidewalk, near a street lamp in front of the store.

The print also shows partial views of the adjacent businesses and the signage adorning the storefronts of Charles M. Schott, dry goods (66 N. 3rd St.) and Scattergood & Whitall, druggists’ glassware (70 N. 3rd St.). A clerk is visible working at a table through the doorway of Schott, and a pulley and boxes are visible within the open doorway of Scattergood & Whitall.

Tobias became a tenant within the No. 68 North Third Street building starting in 1845 and renamed his business S. Tobias & Son in January 1847. This would have been the earliest date for Robert Biro’s bottle as the base is embossed ‘S. Tobias & Son.’ Advertising would continue through 1849 or so for the bitters.

There is also this fine full-page advertisement below in the 1848 Philadelphia Wholesale Business Directory for S. Tobias & Son showing the full front of their new store at No. 68 North Third Street, above the Arch. They are noted as Importers and General Dealers in Wines, Liquors, Cordials and Syrups and also Manufacturers of the Celebrated S. Tobias’s Wine Bitters, Wild Cherry, &c. On the ad, the S. Tobias stands for Solomon Tobias. His son was Joseph F. Tobias. They offered a wide range of liquors, wines, cordials and syrups of a very superior quality and said that Country Merchants will do well to call and examine their stock and will offer a liberal discount to those who purchase and agree to sell again.

Here is an 1849 advertisement where S. Tobias & Son were selling S. Tobias’s Wine Bitters to the western gold rush market.

In 1860 or so, the liquor business was renamed Joseph F. Tobias & Company. Joseph F. Tobias and James Carstairs Jr. were partners and importers of wines, brandies etc. located at 206 and 208 S. Front in Philadelphia. Solomon Tobias was listed as living at home so he must have retired. He would pass on in 1868.

The full-page advertisement below from the 1878 Philadelphia City Directory is for Joseph F. Tobias & Co. Wine and Spirits Merchants, No. 241 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. They were noted as direct importers of wines, brandies, Holland gins and dealers in fine old Monongahela, rye, wheat and bourbon whiskies. They were also the Sole Agents in the United States for Giesler & Co’s, Blue Seal, Blue Seal Special Dry and Dry Verzenay Champagne Wines. It says he was established in 1821 which means when his father Solomon Tobias started the business. Joseph was born five years later. Note that there is no listing for a bitters product.

Here below is a section of a panoramic view of Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. You can see the Joseph. F. Tobias storefront. Again, no special bitters sign. Jos. F. Tobias & Co. would continue in business until 1893 or so at the 241 Chestnut address though at some point he moved next door to 237 Chestnut and took on new associates, Mahlon Hutchinson and Edward P. Vogele. Joseph would die in 1902. He spent his final years living at the Aldine Hotel.

So, is this bottle for the Celebrated Tobias’s Wine Bitters? Probably so. We will not know for sure until a labeled example shows up.

Select Listings:

1790: Solomon Tobias, Birth Date: 1790, Birth Place: Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina – U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current

1818: Reference: The Papers of John C. Calhoun (Columbia, S.C., 1963) for a petition of young Solomon Tobias, Charleston, for an appointment in the army, July 4, 1818 – United States Jewry, 1776-1985, Volume 1

1821: Tobias & Co. established (1878 advertisements, see post)

1836: Joseph F. Tobias, Distiller (?), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – The Philadelphia Saving Fund Society

1837: Newspaper advertisement (below) – S. Tobias’s Manufactory of Wine Bitters – Public Ledger (Philadelphia), Monday, April 10, 1837

1837: Newspaper Notice (below) – Caution to Tavern Keepers in the Country against spurious of Wine Bitters. Continue to label all barrels, kegs, demijohns, and bottles with my written signature, S. Tobias. 93 North Fifth Street – Public Ledger (Philadelphia), Tuesday, June 27, 1837

1840: Solomon Tobias, Cordial Distiller, 66 N 3rd, Philadelphia – Philadelphia Directory, A. M’Elroy, 1840

1846: Newspaper Advertisement (below) S. Tobias, No. 68 North Third Street. Manufacturer of Tobias Wine Bitters, Wild Cherry, &c. – Public Ledger (Philadelphia), Friday, April 24, 1846

1846: Newspaper Advertisement (below) Caution to Hotel and Storekeepers: S. Tobias posting warning about bogus Wine Bitters. States that all Wine Bitters and Wild Cherry produced by him have is label, with his signature on the barrel, demijohn and bottle. States that he has only one store at No 68 North Third Street. – Public Ledger (Philadelphia), Wednesday, September 16, 1846

1847: Newspaper notice (below) S. Tobias now associated with son, Joseph F. Tobias in the Wine and Liquor Business. Now S. Tobias & Son, No 68 North Third Street. Ad starts on January 1st 1847 – Public Ledger, Thursday, January 7, 1847

1847: Newspaper Advertisement (below) Caution to Hotel and Storekeepers: S. Tobias & Son posting warning about bogus Wine Bitters – Public Ledger, Thursday, April 22, 1847

1848: Advertisement (below) S. Tobias & Son, Importers and General Dealers in Wines, Liquors, Cordials and Syrups: also Manufacturers of S. Tobias’s Wine Bitters, Wild Cherry, Brandy, &c &c, No. 68 North Third Street, above Arch, Philadelphia, Solomon Tobias, Joseph F. Tobias – The Coal Regions of Pennsylvania, E.N. Carvalho & Company, 1848

1849: Newspaper advertisement (below) Adventures to California. S. Tobias & Son selling S. Tobias’s Wine Bitters to the western gold rush market.- Public Ledger, Friday, January 26, 1849

1849: Newspaper advertisement (below) S. Tobias & Son, No. 68 Third Street,Philadelphia. Note under Cordials they are selling Wine Bitters, Tansey Bitters, Lavender Bitters and Peppermint Bitters. – Lewistown Gazette, Saturday, May 5, 1849

1850: Solomon Tobias, Merchant, Age: 65, Birth Year: abt 1785, Birthplace: South Carolina, Home in 1850: Philadelphia Dock Ward, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Family Number: 607, Household Members: Solomon Tobias 65, Margaret Tobias 45, George Tobias 12, Augustus Tobias 10, Edward Tobias 8, Ella Tobias 6 – 1850 United States Federal Census

1850: Joseph F. Tobias, Marriage, 10 Jan 1850, West Whiteland, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Church of the Atonement, Spouse: Mary Ann Jenneff – Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Church and Town Records, 1669-2013

1860: Sol Tobias, Wine Dealer, Age: 68, Birth Year: abt 1792, Birth Place: South Carolina, Home in 1860: Philadelphia Ward 10 East District, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Post Office: Philadelphia, Dwelling Number: 896, Family Number: 988, Household Members: Sol Tobias 68, Margt Tobias 55, Amanda Tobias 21, Augustus Tobias 19, Edwd Tobias 17, Ella Tobias 14 – 1860 United States Federal Census

1860: Joseph Tobias, Carpenter, Age: 34, Birth Year: abt 1826, Birth Place: Pennsylvania, Home in 1860: Philadelphia Ward 10, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Post Office: Philadelphia, Dwelling Number: 1303, Family Number: 1394, Real Estate Value: 10,000, Personal Estate Value: 10,000, Household Members: Joseph Tobias 34, Mary A Tobias 30, J S Tobias 10, Katty Tobias 7 – 1860 United States Federal Census

1860-1863: Joseph F. Tobias & Co., (Joseph F. Tobias & Jas. Carstairs Jr.), importers of wines, brandies etc., 206 and 208 S. Front, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Solomon Tobias listed living at home) – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1864

1860: The Carstairs were a large family and all seemed to be in the liquor business. It seems that James Carstairs Jr was the original member of this company. In 1860 he is shown in partnership with Joseph F. Tobias and George W Wood, (clerk) in Jos. F Tobias & Co., another liquor dealer. – pre-pro.com

1864: Joseph F. Tobias & Co., (Joseph F. Tobias), wholesale liquor merchants, 206 and 208 S. Front, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1864

1867-1868: Joseph F. Tobias, liquors, 206 S. Front, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Solomon Tobias listed living at home) – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1868

1868: Solomon Tobias, Death Date: 27 Jan 1868, Death Place: Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, Cemetery: Forest Hills Memorial Park, Burial or Cremation Place: Huntingdon Valley, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania – U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current

1868: Legal notice: Estate of Solomon Tobias, deceased – Intelligencer, Volume 25, 1868

1870: Joseph F. Tobias, (Office Fronts Walnut), Age in 1870: 43, Birth Year: abt 1827, Dwelling Number: 1703, Home in 1870: Philadelphia Ward 8 Dist 23 (2nd Enum), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Inferred Spouse: Mary Ann Tobias, Inferred Children: Kate Tobias, Household Members: Joseph F Tobias 43, Mary Ann Tobias 40, Kate Tobias 18, J serieffe (hard to read) Tobias 20 – 1870 United States Federal Census

1874-1875: Joseph F. Tobias & Co. (Joseph F. Tobias), Liquors, 206 S. Front, Philadelphia – Philadelphia Trade Directory, 1874

1878: Philadelphia Directory Full Page Ad (above in post): Joseph F. Tobias & Co. Wine and Spirits Merchants, No. 241 Chestnut Street – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1878

1880: Joseph F. Tobias, Liquor Merchant, Age: 53, Birth Date: Abt 1827, Birthplace: Pennsylvania, Home in 1880: Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, Street: North Side of Locust Street, House Number: 1705, Dwelling Number: 90, Marital status: Married, Spouse’s name: Mary Anna Tobias, Father’s Birthplace: South Carolina, Mother’s Birthplace: Spain, Household Members: Joseph F. Tobias 53, Mary Anna Tobias 51 – 1880 United States Federal Census

1882: Advertisement (below) Joseph F. Tobias and Co., 241 Chestnut, Wine and Spirit, Merchants – Official Programme of the Bi-Centennial Celebration of the Founding of Pennsylvania

1889: Advertisement (below) Joseph F. Tobias & Co., Wine and Spirits Merchants, 237 Chestnut Street – Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia, Volume 2, By American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia

1889-1891: Joseph F. Tobias & Co. (Joseph F. Tobias, Joseph Tiers & Mahlon Hutchinson), liquors, 237 Chestnut, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1889

1893: Joseph F. Tobias & Co. (Joseph F. Tobias, Mahlon Hutchinson & Edward P. Vogele), wines, 237 Chestnut, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1893

1897: Joseph F. Tobias residing at Aldine Hotel, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1897

1902: Joseph F. Tobias, Birth Date: abt 1822, Birth Place: Phila, Death Date: 12 Nov 1902, Death Place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Age at Death: 80, Burial Date: 16 Nov 1902, Burial Place: Laurel Hill, Street address: Haddonfield, N J – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Death Certificates Index, 1803-1915

Posted in Advertising, Bitters, Cordial, Digging and Finding, History, Liqueurs, liquor, Liquor Merchant, Spirits, Syrup, Whiskey, Wine & Champagne | Tagged Aldine, bitters, Celebrated, Charleston, Chestnut, Cordial, Edward P. Vogele, James Carstairs Jr., Joseph F. Tobias, ladies leg, Lavender, liquor, Mahlon Hutchinson, merchant, Pennsylvania, Peppermint, Philadelphia, pontil, Robert Biro, S. Tobias, Savannah, Solomon Tobias, son, South Carolina, storefront, Tansey, wholesale, Wild Cherry, Wine | Leave a comment

Spring Bitters – John W. Service

Posted on 25 January 2019 by Ferdinand Meyer V

Spring Bitters – John W. Service

Hartford, Connecticut

25 January 2019

Bobby Conner sent me the two top-most pictures here and said, “Good morning Ferd. Here’s a bitters you may enjoy seeing. I can’t find any info on it other than Bill Steele ‘thinks’ he may have had one at one time. Enjoy.”

I’ve not seen this bottle before so I thought I would check it out. Spring Bitters was somewhat of a generic term for bitters but there are certainly a few embossed and labeled Spring Bitters out there associated with proprietors. Here is a 1935 article about “Grandma’s Spring Bitters.”

Looking at Bitters Bottles by Carlyn Ring and Bill Ham, I see S 98, Shedd’s Spring Bitters from Jamestown, New York which is a rectangular, amber bottle with a tooled lip. A labeled example is pictured below.

There is also a labeled, S 168, Spring Bitters which is rectangular and amber, another S 168 Spring & Summer Bitters put out by A.S. Davis who was an agent in Chelsea, Massachusetts.

Most interesting is a S 168.7 Spring Bitters noted in Bitters Bottles Supplement with (street address) and (city and state). It is noted as oval, aqua and has a tooled lip. I suspect this is our bottle with outdated information or incomplete information.

The new Carlyn Ring and W.C. Ham listing in Bitters Bottles Supplement 2 is as follows according to Bill Ham:

S 168.7 Spring Bitters

SPRING BITTERS / J. W. SERVICE / 243 PARK ST / HARTFORT CT // f //
7 5/8 x 3 1/8 x 1 7/8
Oval, aqua, NSC, Tooled lip, Very rare

Here are a few additional pictures Bobby sent with an outdoor setting.

John W. Service

John W. Service was born on February 21, 1858 in Worcester, Massachusetts. His father was William Service and his mother was Hellen Smith. He first married a Rebecca G. and she died in 1892. He then married Susan Ellen Aldred in 1893. His father died at the young age of 30 or so while his mother, from Scotland, died in 1910.

We first see John clerking in a drug store in the late 1870s with an Edwin Crary who had a drug store at the corner of Park and Squire Streets in Hartford, Connecticut. This leads to an almost 40 year span where he was a prominent and popular druggist, most for his own concerns at 243 and 299 Park Street in the South End of Hartford. He called his 299 store “The Modern Pharmacy.”

He probably sold his aqua Spring Bitters in the late 1880s though there was another Spring Bitters being sold at the City Hotel Drug Store on Main Street in Hartford, Connecticut in 1884, according to this Hartford Courant advertisement below. Maybe this product gave him the idea? Later in 1890, another advertisement said that various spring bitters were being sold in nearly every drug store in Hartford. “Their show windows are full of bottles of spring tonic bitters; you buy a bottle, you think that it does good.” They go on to say that all those spring bitters don’t work and you should use their Pure Wines of California Spring Bitters made by the California Wine Agency, located at 72 Trumbull Street in Hartford.

Like many druggists bottles, the typography on the Spring Bitters bottle is slanted left opposed to straight or italicized right which I find interesting. It must have been a short run since this example is the only bottle example that I, and others have seen. I also can not find any advertising for the product. I did find this picture below of his standard druggist bottle.

In 1910, with regulations severely tightened with what druggists could sell, John Service updated his druggist license to sell spirituous and intoxicating liquors, ale, lager beer, Rhine Wine and Cider at the 299 Park Street address. He had previously pled guilty to violating the provisions of his earlier liquor license and was fined $25 and costs. He was to sell these products for medicinal purposes and not to get drunk on the premises. They had taverns and bars for that. He agreed to not sell spirituous liquors in quantities exceeding one gallon, except other than distilled liquors and those in quantities exceeding five gallons. His license cost fifty dollars. Basically these drug stores, in many cases, were the first convenience stores that are everywhere today.

Though I could not find a picture of his drug stores, I did find the picture below for Lester H. Goodwin, Pharmacist located at 336 Main Street in Hartford during the same time period. If you enlarge the picture you can read that he his selling Drugs & Medicines, Mineral Waters, Soda, Poland Water, Trusses, Elastic Stockings and Supporters. His Homeopathic Pharmacy also had a sign reading “Open All Night.” His products were displayed neatly in his first floor corner shop windows.

John W. Service retired in 1917 when he sold his drug store at 299 Park Street to James DeLeo and James P. Murray, who had been his clerks, one about nine years and the other about three. He also sold his interest in the 243 address to George Robertson who had run the store and been his partner.

John Service was well known in other ways and was considered one of the earliest baseball fans and financial supporters of local clubs in Hartford. Hartford had nearly continuous baseball from 1874 to 1952, including early major league baseball teams from 1874-1877. He retired in Middlesex, Massachusetts where we last see him in 1920. He died around 1929.

Select Listings:

1858: John W Service, Birth Date: 21 Feb 1858, Birth Place: Worcester, Massachusetts, Father: William Service, Mother: Hellen Smith – Massachusetts, Birth Records, 1840-1915

1880: John W. Service, Clerk in Drug Store, Age: 20, Birth Date: Abt 1860, Birthplace: Massachusetts, Home in 1880: Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, Street: Lawrence Street, House Number: 43, Dwelling Number: 155, Marital status: Single, Mother’s Birthplace: Connecticut – 1880 United States Federal Census

1890: Pure Wines of California Spring Bitters made by the California Wine Agency, located at 72 Trumbull Street in Hartford. – Hartford Courant, Wednesday, May 7, 1890

1892: Newspaper notice (below) Mrs. Rebecca G. Service, wife of John. W. Service died…- Hartford Courant, Wednesday, June 15, 1892

1893: Newspaper advertisement (below) Richardson’s SherryWine Bitters being sold by John W. Service – Hartford Courant, Thursday, September 21, 1893

1893: Marriage John W Service, Age: 34, Birth Year: abt 1859, Birth Place: Worcester, Marriage Date: 14 Feb 1893, Marriage Place: Boston, Massachusetts, Father: William Service, Mother: Helen Service, Spouse: Susan E Aldred – Massachusetts, Marriage Records, 1840-1915

1893-1894: John W Service, Druggist, Street address: 243 Park, Hartford, Connecticut – Geer’s Hartford, Connecticut, City Directory, 1894

1897-1899: John W Service, Druggist, 243 & 299 Park, h 42 Allen, Hartford, Connecticut – Hartford, Connecticut, City Directory, 1897 also Geer’s Hartford, Connecticut, City Directory, 1897

1899: Newspaper notice (below) Druggist’ License for John W. Service, 299 Park Street – Hartford Courant, Wednesday, May 3, 1899

1900: John W Service, Druggist, Age: 42, Birth Date: Feb 1858, Birthplace: Massachusetts, Home in 1900: Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, Ward of City: 8th, Street: Allen Place, House Number: 70, Sheet Number: 8, Number of Dwelling in Order of Relation to Head of House: Head, Marital status: Married, Spouse’s name: Susie E Service,Marriage Year: 1893, Father’s Birthplace: New York, Mother’s Birthplace: Scotland, Household Members: John W Service 42, Susie E Service 36, Charlotte Ring 29 – 1900 United States Federal Census

1900: Newspaper advertisement (below) Dr. Holt’s Kidney Tablets sold at John W. Service, 243 Park Street and The Modern Pharmacy, 299 Park Street – Hartford Courant, Tuesday, July 24, 1900

1900 – 1903: Drug Stores: John W Service, Druggist, Street address: 243 and 299 Park, h 70 Allen Pl, Hartford, Connecticut – Hartford, Connecticut, City Directory, 1900

1905: Newspaper notice (below) John W. Service, a druggist, pleaded guilty to violating the provisions of his liquor license and was fined $25 and costs. – Hartford Courant, Saturday, October 7, 1905

1906 – 1916: John W Service, Druggist, 299 Park (Modern), Hartford, Connecticut – Hartford, Connecticut, City Directory, 1906

1910: John W Service, Druggist, Age in 1910: 51, Birth Year: abt 1859, Birthplace: Massachusetts, Home in 1910: Hartford Ward 8, Hartford, Connecticut Street: Washington, House Number: 41, Marital status: Married, Spouse’s name: Susaine C Service, Father’s Birthplace: Connecticut, Mother’s Birthplace: Scotland, Industry: Own Store, Employer, Employee or Other: Own Account, Home Owned or Rented: Own, Home Free or Mortgaged: Free, Farm or House: House, Years Married: 17, Household Members: John W Service 51, Susaine C Service 39 – 1910 United States Federal Census

1910: Newspaper notice (below) John W. Service submits for druggists license to sell spirituous and intoxicating liquors – Hartford Courant, Friday, April 15, 1910

1910: Newspaper notice (below) death Mrs.William Service (Helen Smith), mother of John W. Service – Norwich Bulletin, Wednesday, December 28, 1910

1913: Newspaper notice (below) Burglar Enters Two Houses in South End – John W. Service – Hartford Courant, Saturday, July 5, 1913

1917: Newspaper notice (below) John W. Service Out of Drug Business – Hartford Courant, Wednesday, August 22, 1917

1920: John W Service, Age: 61, Birth Year: abt 1859, Birthplace: Massachusetts, Home in 1920: Medford Ward 2, Middlesex, Massachusetts, Street: Fells Avenue Terrace, House Number: 16, Residence Date: 1920, Marital status: Married, Spouse’s name: Susan E Service, Father’s Birthplace: New York, Mother’s Birthplace: Scotland, Household Members: John W Service 61, Susan E Service 55 – 1920 United States Federal Census

1936: Newspaper notice (below) Susan Eldredge, second wife of John W. Service dies. Notes John W. Service died about seven years ago – Hartford Courant, Tuesday, December 15, 1936

Posted in Bitters, Druggist & Drugstore, History, Medicines & Cures | Tagged aqua, Baseball, bitters, Bobby Conner, Bottle, clerk, Connecticut, Druggist & Drugstore, drugs, Edwin Crary, George Robertson, Hartford, James DeLeo, James P. Murray, John W. Service, Lester H. Goodwin, licence, Massachusetts, Medicine, Middlesex, Park, pharmacist, spring, store, Worcester | Leave a comment

He Sold Black Hawk Bitters

Posted on 23 January 2019 by Ferdinand Meyer V

He Sold Black Hawk Bitters

23 January 2019

I saw the “He Sold Black Hawk Bitters” notice below for Black Hawk Bitters in a Mexico, Missouri newspaper dated Thursday, December 2, 1915. It caught my eye as a possible unlisted bitters.

Still more arrests for selling Black Hawk Bitters that made men climb telegraph poles and throw their tools in the street!

In the notice, J.T. Gentle, a druggist from Vandalia, Missouri, was indicted on eight counts for selling Black Hawk Bitters. This is not too surprising in the 1915 pre-Prohibition temperance era as many spirits were disquised and sold as patent medicines. He said the alcohol in the bitters was sufficient to keep the product from spoiling.

In another newspaper notice, druggist, M.K. Shuggart in Iowa also had his Black Hawk Bitters seized. In court, he said it was a medicine and that it was a summer drink and should be classified with lemonade, even though the bitters was labeled 30 percent alcohol. Still more arrests for selling Black Hawk Bitters that reportedly made men climb telegraph poles and throw their tools in the street! The last from the Kansas Democrat in Hiawatha, Kansas. This is the kind of material you find in bitters researching, just like the assorted nefarious material put in a bitters bottle.

While this bitters may be unlisted, I doubt it. There are no proprietors listed and each druggist would not make his own Black Hawk Bitters. In Bitters Bottles by Carlyn Ring and Bill Ham, there is a B 114, labeled amber square for Black Hawk Stomach Bitters (Windsor’s Black Hawk Liver and Stomach Bitters) being sold by Hartz & Bahnsen, Sole Proprietors in Rock Island, Illinois in the 1890s.

The new listing by Bill Ham for the forthcoming Bitters Bottles Supplement 2:

Newspaper article
B 113.5 BLACK HAWK BITTERS, Albert Lehman, Manufacturer
Quad City Times (Davenport, Iowa), March 20, 1867

In the follow-up Bitters Bottles Supplement there is a listing B 114.5, for a labeled amber ~~oval~~ square Black Hawk Stomach Bitters with a graphic of a Indian Chief in headdress. This was a tonic put out by the Columbia Chemical Co. in Saint Louis, Missouri. An example is pictured below from the Lou Hollis collection.

There was also a Black Hawk Bitters made by Meyer Bros. Drug Co. in Saint Louis, Missouri in 1914 as reported in National Association of Retail Druggists.

Any one of these bitters could be the Black Hawk Bitters referenced in the top advertisement.

Another Black Hawk Bitters

Here is another newspaper notice (represented further below) about a fellow named Albert Lehman who was the manufacturer of Black Hawk Bitters in 1867 according to the Quad City Times in Davenport, Iowa. He was arrested for Licentious Assault for the intent to commit a rape of a Regina Magnus. That was his wife.

He was arrested for Licentious Assault for the intent to commit a rape of a Regina Magnus. That was his wife.

Evidence presented said that it appeared that Regina Magnus was the daughter of Franz Staufenbeil, who at the time was engaged with Lehman to manufacture Black Hawk Bitters. In court, the assault was proved by Regina, her mother and her father.

Albert Lehmen filed an affidavit denying the assault and claiming the prosecutions malicious. In the document given by the police magistrate, Franz Staufenbeil had been previously convicted of keeping a house of ill-fame.

Another crazy bitters story. This bitters may have been the genesis of the bitters produced in the 1890s and 1900s.

Black Hawk

Black Hawk, (1767 – October 3, 1838) was a band leader and warrior of the Sauk American Indian tribe in what is now the Midwest of the United States. Although he had inherited an important historic medicine bundle from his father, he was not a hereditary civil chief. Black Hawk earned his status as a war chief or captain by his actions: leading raiding and war parties as a young man, and a band of Sauk warriors during the Black Hawk War of 1832.

During the War of 1812, Black Hawk fought on the side of the British against the U.S., hoping to push white American settlers away from Sauk territory. Later he led a band of Sauk and Fox warriors, known as the British Band, against European-American settlers in Illinois and present-day Wisconsin in the 1832 Black Hawk War. After the war, he was captured by U.S. forces and taken to the eastern U.S. He and other war leaders were taken on tour of several cities.

Just 49 years had passed since Black Hawk had been laid to rest in 1870 at Spring Lake, Utah, when members of the LDS Mormon Church robbed the contents of his grave in 1919. Accompanying the article is a photo of William E. Croft standing in the open grave, grinning ear to ear, while holding the skull of Black Hawk. While the living descendants of Black Hawk were outraged and heartbroken, their voices fell on deaf ears. Seemingly without conscience or remorse church leaders without a lick of civility made no apologies, in spite of a federal law passed in 1906 called the Graves Protection Act. Descendents of Black Hawk had no real legal recourse until the enactment of the National American Graves Protection Reparation Act, or NAGPRA, passed in 1994. (Source Marriott Library Special Collections Brigham Young University)

Read more about bitters named after Indians:

Red Cloud Bitters – One of the Chicago ‘Indians’

Red Jacket Bitters – Another Chicago ‘Indian’

He had a new variety of bitters known as Red Jacket Bitters

Lewis’ Red Jacket Bitters – New Haven, Connecticut

Barnett & Lion’s Southern Grey Jacket Stomach Bitters

Select Listings:

1867: Newspaper notice (below) Albert Lehman, the manufacturer of Black Hawk Bitters, assaulted his wife – Quad City Times (Davenport, Iowa), Wednesday, March 20, 1867

1912: Newspaper notice (below) Still More Arrests for selling Black Hawk Bitters That Made Men Climb Telegraph Poles and Throw Their Tools in the Street – The Kansas Democrat (Hiawatha, Kansas), Thursday, September 26, 1912.

1914: Blackhawk Bitters, Meyer Bros. Drug Co., Saint Louis, Missouri –National Association of Retail Druggists., 1914

1915: Newspaper notice (above) J.T Gentle, druggist from Vandalia, Missouri indicted on eight counts for selling Black Hawk Bitters – Mexico Missouri Message, Thursday, December 2, 1915

1917: Newspaper notice (below) Havner Makes Tama Bone Dry. M.K. Shuggart asks for seized Black Hawk Bitters to be returned. Though it is labeled 30 percent alcohol, he said it was a medicine. – Evening Times Republican (Marshalltown, Iowa), Friday, August 3, 1917

Posted in Advertising, Bitters, Druggist & Drugstore, History, Medicines & Cures | Tagged Albert Lehman, alcohol, bitters, Black, chemical, Columbia, Court, Davenport, Druggist & Drugstore, Franz Staufenbeil, Fraud, Hawk, Indian, Iowa, J.T. Gentle, Lou Hollis, M.K. Shuggart, Medicine, Mexico, Meyer, Midwest, Missouri, newspaper, Regina Magnus, Saint Louis, Sauk, unlisted, Vandalia | Leave a comment

Tincture of Centaury Bitters – Bernheim Brothers & Uri

Posted on 20 January 2019 by Ferdinand Meyer V

Tincture of Centaury Bitters – Bernheim Brothers & Uri

Louisville, Kentucky

20 January 2019

If you go to the I.W. Harper website and visit the history menu on the banner, the following opening screen reads, “THE I.W. HARPER LEGACY, A LEGEND IS BORN” followed by “I.W. Harper’s story begins in 1848 when our founder, I.W. Bernheim, came to America with $4 and a dream. A century later, his bourbon whiskey empire remains.”

Jerry Phelps recently shared some bottle images of a round, amber, sealed and pontiled Tincture of Centaury Bitters bottle from Louisville, Kentucky. I have heard of this bottle but have never seen pictures before, so this is pretty exciting.

Back in 2014, I posted a list of “Kentucky’s Top 25 Rarest Bitters Bottles“, compiled by Paul Van Vactor, Sheldon Baugh and Steve Keith. The Tincture of Centaury Bitters was noted as No. 6 without a picture. Well, today I finally added that picture.

6. Round amber seal bottle embossed on seal BERNHEIM BROS. / & URI / LOUISVILLE / KY. Embossed horizontally below seal ULBRIGHT / RELIABLE / IMPORT CO. / TINCTURE / OF / CENTAURY / BITTERS. Also, embossed vertically on sides: BLOOD PURIFIER / STOMACH TONIC.

Tincture of Centaury Bitters

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

C 111 Centaury Bitters

seal BERNHEIM BROS. (cu) / & URI / LOUISVILLE (s-u-d) / KY ULBRIGHT ( ad ) / RELIABLE ( ad ) / IMPORT CO ( ad ) / TINCTURE ( ad ) / OF / CENTAURY ( ad ) / BITTERS ( ad ) // vertical lettering BLOOD PURIFIER // c // vertical lettering STOMACH TONIC //

Sir. John Hill’s Medicines – Tincture of Centaury – 1776

The newspaper clipping below from The Caledonian Mercury (London), July 6, 1776 notes that Sir John Hill was making a Tincture of Centaury in 1776. Centaurium erythraea is a species of flowering plant in the gentian family known by the common names, common centaury and European centaury. The European centaury is used as a medical herb in many parts of Europe. The herb, mainly prepared as tea, is thought to possess medical properties beneficial for patients with gastric and liver diseases.

Hill developed his bitters for Disorders in the Stomach, and creating an appetite. He called Centaury “the great Stomachic; in preference to all other bitters; in that it gives an appetite and good digestion, and neither heats nor binds the body. With an account of the plant, and the method of gathering and preparing; and a few rules for such as have weak stomachs.” Price 6d.

Bernheim Bros. & Uri Overview

At one point, Bernheim Bros. & Uri were one of the largest wholesale liquor dealers and distillers in Kentucky and the United States. Bernheim Brothers was started in 1872 by Isaac Wolfe Bernheim and Bernard Bernheim on a small scale and developed at a phenomenal rate and in 1891 reported annual sales of about $2,000,000.

Their slogan was “Tall Oaks from Little Acorns Grow.” The Bernheim Bros. distillery opened its doors in 1870 and thrived through Prohibition. The I.W. Harper namesake was born by 1872 and began producing a whiskey that would win Gold Medals throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s. In 1875, Nathan M. Uri became a member of the firm and the firm name changed to Bernheim Bros. & Uri. This would have been when the Tincture of Centaury Bitters was made.

Isaac Wolfe Bernheim

Isaac Wolfe Bernheim, also known as Ike, was born on November 04, 1848 in Schmieheim, now part of Kippenheim in Germany. He was the son of Leopold (Leon) Solomon Bernheimer and Fanny Weil-Bernheim and the husband of Emma Bernheim and Amanda “Mandie” Bernheim. His father was a merchant by profession.

In 1861, when laws regarding civil rights for Jews were liberalized, the Weil/Bernheim family moved to Freiburg, Germany. Isaac’s sister Elise died, leaving Isaac with only one brother, Bernard, two years his junior from his mother’s first marriage. He was apprenticed in Freiburg eventually to learn bookkeeping and money handling until 1864 when at age 16, he first gained employment as a clerk in Mannheim and in Frankfurt am Main in 1865. He gradually became somewhat independent in Frankfurt until the summer of 1866 when war with Austria eventually hindered business in Frankfurt. It was during that time that he met with his uncle Livingston who was visiting from the United States who impressed Isaac with the success that could be achieved with hard work, health and good fortune. The uncle also promised him a job in New York. With Europe in the grips of war, Isaac emigrated to the United States, arriving in New York in April 1867.

Isaac arrived only to find his uncle’s cotton and yarn mills near Broadway in New York City closed, with his uncle close to being bankrupt. The country was in a state of flux from the effects of the Civil War and he could find no gainful employment. He left New York for Pennsylvania to become a peddler (pictured above), selling household items such as needles, pins, threads, suspenders, handkerchiefs and ladies stockings. He became more fluent in English and American customs and by October 1867 was able to enlarge his stock and buy an old horse and a wagon.

The young I.W. Bernheim then established winter headquarters in Overton, a small town in Pennsylvania. When his horse died he moved to Paducah, Kentucky in May 1868 and took a position as bookkeeper and salesman in his uncle Livingston’s firm, Livingston & Weille. The uncle had moved to Paducah to join in business with another uncle of Isaac. Later that year, he moved to the prominent liquor wholesalers Loeb & Bloom and became their bookkeeper at $40 per month. It was here that he began to realize greater success and was able to save enough money over a two year period to pay off his debts, buy some clothing and begin sending money home to his mother. His steady income allowed him to save enough to bring Bernard Bernheim, his younger brother by two years, over from Germany to join him in Paducah. In 1870, he gained some say with the firm and Isaac’s brother Bernard was hired to replace Isaac as bookkeeper. Isaac then became a traveling businessman for the liquor business.

On January 1, 1872, the two Bernheim brothers left the firm in a dispute with the owners over becoming partners with interest in the business. With the money they had saved plus a considerable investment from a silent partner, Elbridge Palmer, they were able to open a competing business, called Bernheim Brothers in Paducah, Kentucky. The brothers are believed to have contributed their life savings of $1,200 to help fund the $3,200 start-up. They also set up administrative and distribution offices in Chicago at 87 Washington Street.

Both the brothers were young, wide-awake, aggressive, had persistent natures, full of enterprise and ambitions to grow. Because of their proximity to large waterways and the ability to ship product throughout the Midwest, the company prospered.

The business was successful and the brothers bought out their silent partner and admitted Nathan M. Uri (brother to Isaac’s wife, Amanda) as a partner. He is pictured above. The company was renamed Bernheim Brothers and Uri. Nathan’s father, Morris “Moses” Uri, an immigrant from Hechingen, Germany, was an early settler in Paducah, Kentucky. He owned a small frontier type general store there that burned in a citywide conflagration in 1851. Surviving the loss, Morris continued in commerce, running a grocery with a large liquor component. He ultimately became part owner of a distillery and opened a liquor sales office in Chicago. With wife Amelia (Halheimer), also a German immigrant, Morris sired a family of six, five girls and Nathan, born in 1857. Within 15 years, their business trading covered the entire South and spread into parts of the West and Northwest.

In 1879, the Bernheim Brothers register the I.W. Harper brand. The I.W. initials were borrowed from Isaac’s own name, while Harper was the surname of a famous horse breeder (F.B. Harper). The brand went on to win multiple medals for quality, the first being at the New Orleans Exposition on 1885.

In March 1896, Bernheim Bros. and Uri bought out all interests in the Pleasure Ridge Park distillery, seven miles southwest of Louisville. That facility had been built in the early 1870s but the owner had lost it in the Panic of 1870 and they joined a combine of investors to buy him out.

At this time Bernheim and Uri were not distillers themselves but rectifiers and wholesalers of a wide variety of alcoholic spirits. Pleasure Ridge provided them with the raw whiskey for blending into brands they vigorously marketed nationwide. The arrangement was that Isaac worked sales to the West, Nathan to the East. Endowed with a strong work ethic, the two men were on the road constantly. Meanwhile Bernard looked after day to day operations. The plant was equipped for the manufacture of sour mash, fire copper sweet mash, quick maturing Bourbons, ryes identical with those made in Pennsylvania and Maryland and neutral spirits. On June 1, 1891 Nathan M. Uri left the partnership and set up his own company.

One newspaper report stated that the Bernheim Bros. had the finest office in America for whiskey distribution. It was 65 feet long, 25 feet wide and had a 35 foot high ceiling which had relief work of steel painted white and gold. The rear of the office had one immense oval window 25 feet wide and about 30 feet high in the center. The walls were wainscoted with quarter sawed oak for about 10 feet and above, they are decorated in yellow and gold with deep blue background. All the fixtures and desks were of oak, the floor also being oak. At night, an immense chandelier of incandescent lights supported a single light on each desk.

The entire building had a steam heated system, was lighted by electricity and had two electric elevators used for freight and passenger service. The balance of the second floor was used for storage that held tax-paid stocks for use in the blending departments. Another warehouse on Washington Street held much larger stocks. The third floor was where goods were gauged, sampled and marked before being lowered to the first floor for shipment. The fourth floor was fitted up to be the bottling department that had the most modern appliances used for washing bottles, filtering whiskey, filling bottles, corking, capping etc. A large support force of men and women were employed that included thirty-odd salesmen. In 1898, the offices were relocated to 133 West Main Street between First and Second in Louisville. The new building was four stories in height, plus the cellar, 225 feet in length and 25 feet wide and had similar departments as the previous location.

Bernheim Bros main offices, 133 West Main Street, Louisville Kentucky

In 1896, The Pleasure Ridge Park distillery was destroyed by fire, leaving the Bernheim Brothers with a $1 million dollar tax bill on the bonded whiskey that had been stored in its warehouses. The Brothers begin building the Bernheim Bros. distillery on Bernheim Lane and they are again in production the following year. By 1903, the company incorporated as Bernheim Distilling Co. with $2m in capital.

In 1906, Bernheim Distilling Co. acquired the Warwick distillery. The company apparently also had a stake in the Mayfield distillery. During the Prohibition era, Bernheim Brothers Distillery was one of only ten distilleries allowed to continue to make bourbon for medicinal purposes.

The various linear companies in this post used the brand names: A Fair Exchange, Comet Whisky (pictured above), Crestmore (bottle pictured further below), F.F.V., F.F.V. Rye, I.W. Harper, Kentucky Reserve, Metropolitan, Old Complimentary, Old Continental (pictured below), Old Moorehead, Old National Whiskey (pictured below), Owl Hollow, Prosperity, Shaw’s Malt, and The Whiskey Your Grandfather Used.

In 1911, United American Co. was organized with Albert S. Roth, president and Milton W. Barkhouse, Vice President, to assume the property and interests of the Bernheim Distilling Co. An example of one of their brands is pictured below. From 1920 to 1933, both the Bernheim Bros and Warwick plants were partially dismantled and the property sold, but Bernheim Distilling Co. operated as a medicinal whiskey distributor. In 1934, Schenley purchased the brands, ultimately becoming the property of United Distillers.

In 1992, a large distilling plant called the Bernheim Distillery was opened in Louisville (on West Breckinridge Street near Dixie Highway) by United Distillers, which was owned by Guinness. United owned the I.W. Harper brand at the time the distillery was opened, but it had cheapened the quality of the brand in the U.S. market, focusing instead on Asia and Europe (especially Japan, where the product became a top brand of bourbon). They then took the brand off the U.S. market entirely. United became Diageo in 1997 when Guinness merged with Grand Metropolitan, and Diageo continues to own the brand but no longer owns the distillery. The modern Bernheim distillery is not to be confused with the prior Bernheim distillery sites. [Wikipedia]

I.W. Bernheim became a notable philanthropist and member of the national Jewish Community in the United States. He financed two Kentucky statues in the statuary hall of the U.S. Capitol (the only two statues privately purchased there), a statue of Abraham Lincoln outside the Louisville Free Public Library and the statue of Thomas Jefferson outside the Jefferson County, Kentucky courthouse.

Upon visiting his hometown of Schmieheim in the early 20th Century, Bernheim financed Schmieheim’s first plumbing system and built homes for the elderly and for children. In 1928 he purchased 14,000 acres of farm land in Bullitt and Nelson Counties, Kentucky and established the Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest in 1929.

I.W. Bernheim died on April 01, 1945 at age 96 in Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, California and is buried in Kentucky. He truly waste of the great pioneers of American whiskey, and he also made a bitters.

Historical data of young I W Bernheim references an article by Charles Hartley that appeared in The Courier-Journal on 11 September 2013.

Newspaper Support

Advertisement for Bernheim Bros. & Uri – The Courier Journal (Louisville) Tuesday, January 15, 1895

I.W. Harper Whisky full-page advertisement by Bernheim Brothers, Sole Controllers – The Courier Journal (Louisville) Tuesday, January 15, 1895

KENTUCKY WHISKY full-page advertisement – The Courier Journal, Sunday, December 11, 1898

Select Notes:

1848: Isaac Wolfe Bernheim, Birth Date: 4 November 1848, Birth Place: Baden-Württemberg, Germany, Father: Leon Solomon Bernheim, Mother: Fanny Weil-Bernheim – U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current

1865: I. Bernstein & Co., 320 Main, between 3rd & 4th, Retail Dealers, Kentucky – U.S. IRS Tax Assessment Lists, 1862-1918

1870: Isaac W Benheim, Traveling Agent Wholesale Liquor Store, Age in 1870: 22, Birth Year: abt 1848, Birthplace: Baden, Home in 1870: Paducah, McCracken, Kentucky, Father of Foreign Birth: Y, Mother of Foreign Birth: Y, Male Citizen over 21: Y, Household Members: Bernard Bernheim 20, Isaac W Bernheim 22 – 1870 United States Federal Census

1880: Issac W. Bernhiem, Wholesale Liquor Dealer, Age: 31, Birth Date: Abt 1849, Birthplace: Baden, Home in 1880: Paducah, McCracken, Kentucky, Street: Jefferson Street, House Number: 203, Dwelling Number: 58, Race: White, Gender: Male, Relation to Head of House: Self (Head), Marital status: Married, Spouse’s name: Amanda Bernhiem, Father’s Birthplace: Baden, Mother’s Birthplace: Household Members: Issac W. Bernhiem 31, Amanda Bernhiem 25, Leon S. Bernhiem 4, Monis U. Bernhiem 2, Bertrain Bernhiem 4/12 – 1880 United States Federal Census

1890: Bernheim Bros. (I W Bernheim, B Bernheim and N M Uri), Wholesale Whiskies, 135 and 137 W. Main, Louisville, Kentucky – Louisville, Kentucky, City Directory, 1894

1894: Bernheim Bros. (Isaac W Bernheim & B Bernheim), Whiskies, 125 W. Main, Louisville, Kentucky – Louisville, Kentucky, City Directory, 1894

1895: Newspaper advertisement (above) I.W. Harper Whisky represented by Bernheim Brothers, Sole Controllers – The Courier Journal (Louisville) Tuesday, January 15, 1895

1900: Isaac W Bernheim, Whiskey Distiller, Age: 51, Birth Date: Nov 1848, Birthplace: Germany, Home in 1900: Anchorage, Jefferson, Kentucky, Sheet Number: 4, Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: 46, Family Number: 49, Immigration Year: 1867, Relation to Head of House: Head, Marital status: Married, Spouse’s name: Amanda Bernheim, Marriage Year: 1874, Father’s Birthplace: Germany, Mother’s Birthplace: Germany, Years in US: 32, Household Members: Isaac W Bernheim 51, Amanda Bernheim 45, Leon S Bernheim 24, Morie W Bernheim 22, Bertram M Bernheim 20, Ellrige P, Bernheim 18, Amelia Bernheim 15, Helen Bernheim 14, Margaret Bernheim 11 – 1900 United States Federal Census

1903: Bernheim Bros. (Issac W., Morris U. and Leon S. Bernheim), Wholesale Whiskies, 648 W. Main, Louisville, Kentucky – Louisville, Kentucky, City Directory, 1903

1909: Bernheim Distilling Co., Inc., Issac W. Bernheim, president, Bernard Bernstein vice president, M.H. Flarsheim, sec., A.B. Flarsheim, asst sec., E. Palmer Bernheim, treas, Frank D. Bernheim, asst treas., also Bernheim Distribution Co. – Louisville, Kentucky, City Directory, 1909

1910: Isaac W Bernheim, Whiskey Merchant, Age in 1910: 61, Birth Year: abt 1849, Birthplace: Germany, Home in 1910: Louisville Ward 7, Jefferson, Kentucky, Street: South Third St, House Number: 1014, Immigration Year: 1867, Marital status: Married, Spouse’s name: Amanda Bernheim, Father’s Birthplace: Germany, Mother’s Birthplace: Germany, Native Tongue: English, Household Members: Isaac W Bernheim 61, Amanda Bernheim 56, Margurite Bernheim 21 – 1910 United States Federal Census

1916: Newspaper advertisement (below) I.W. Harper Whiskey, Bernheim Distilling Co. – Pacific Wine Brewing Spirit Review, 1819

1920: Isaac W Bernheim, Age: 71, Birth Year: abt 1849, Birthplace: Germany, Home in 1920: Louisville Ward 7, Jefferson, Kentucky, Street: Third, House Number: 1014, Residence Date: 1920, Marital status: Married, Spouse’s name: Amanda Bernhiem, Father’s Birthplace: Germany, Mother’s Birthplace: Germany, Native Tongue: German, Household Members: Isaac W Bernhiem 71, Amanda Bernhiem 66, Celia Bachman 27, Fanny Staits 65, Mary Kavanaugh 45, Eddie Layson 18 – 1920 United States Federal Census

1945: Isaac Wolfe Bernheim, Death Date: 1 Apr 1945, Death Place: Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, California, Cemetery: Isaac Bernheim Cemetery, Burial or Cremation Place: Clermont, Bullitt County, Kentucky, Father: Leon Solomon Bernheim, Mother: Fanny Weil-Bernheim, Spouse: Amanda Bernheim – U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current

Posted in Advertising, Bitters, History, liquor, Liquor Merchant, Medicines & Cures, Spirits, Tonics, Whiskey | Tagged Acorn, Antique, Bernard Bernheim, Bernheim Brothers, Blood, Bottle, Bourbon, Centaury, chicago, Cure, Distillery, Germany, I.W. Bernheim, I.W. Harper, Isaac Wolfe Bernheim, Jerry Phelps, John Hill, Kentucky, legacy, legend, liquor, Livingston, Louisville, Medicine, merchant, Nathan M. Uri, Oak, Paducah, purifier, rectifier, spirits, Stomach, Tincture, Tonic, Uri, Whiskey, whisky | Leave a comment

Congress Bitters – The Great American Tonic!

Posted on 15 January 2019 by Ferdinand Meyer V

Congress Bitters – The Great American Tonic!

Dundas Dick & Co. – New York

15 January 2019

I have an amber rectangular embossed Congress Bitters bottle in my collection (pictured at the top of post) that I know nothing about. There is no proprietor name or location embossed on the bottle. Of course a paper label would have had that information, but the label is long gone. I also have an advertising trade card for Congress Bitters, The Great American Tonic with no proprietor name noted. It is pictured below. I always assumed the bottle and the card were related.

For the bottle, the Carlyn Ring and W.C. Ham listing in Bitters Bottles is as follows:

C 216 Congress Bitters

CONGRESS // sp // BITTERS / f //
9 1/4 x 3 1/4 x (7) 1/8
Rectangular, Amber, LTC, Applied mouth, 3 sp
Scarce

For the advertising card, the Capitol constitutes the logo or trade mark for Congress Bitters. The New York lithography firm of Schumacher & Ettlinger created this skillfully rendered view, giving the product a sense of delicacy. Fine details of a carriage and the building’s innumerable columns were set in a frame of flowers and ferns. The sophisticated design belied the cruder approach to the reverse. A tightly packed mass of text argued the benefits of the tonic “for invalids, females and delicate persons.” The bitters was sold for $1.00 a bottle by druggists and medicine dealers. Like many widely distributed trade cards, this one provided a space at the bottom for a local merchant to print their retail information. In my case, the druggist is J. C. Saur from Napoleon, Ohio.

Searching on the Internet and through newspapers, I see other listings for Congress Bitters but not the one I am looking for. This includes William Allen’s Congress Bitters, Hellman’s Congress Bitters and Sterne’s Celebrated Congress Bourbon Bitters. Been there before.

Finally, I find some information noting that there was a Congress Bitters made by Dundas Dick & Co. in New York. The bitters was considered a fraud as it contained 29.06% of alcohol by volume and sugar with very little else except flavoring. A Special Bulletin was put out by the North Dakota State University, Regulatory Division in 1914. You can see a short clipping below followed by the full text.

CONGRESS BITTERS

From the North Dakota. Agricultural Experiment Station, Agricultural College, Agricultural Experiment Station, Food Department, 1914

“Congress Bitters are not an intoxicating beverage and being purely vegetable they can be used at all times with beneficial results. In the case of dipsomania or for persons having an unnatural desire for liquor they will be found peculiarly suitable as the use of the Bitters will enable them to free themselves of this pernicious appetite by acquiring a healthy appetite for solid foods.”

Sounds good, doesn’t it? A cure for the liquor habit and contains 29 per cent of alcohol, a little sugar, and scarcely anything else, except aromatics. In other words, about the strength of whiskey when reduced with water by the average drinker. A fine cure this would be, supplying the very thing that the unfortunate victim needed to avoid. Another of America’s disgraces in the patent medicine line.

Congress Bitters, “The Great American Tonic,” according to the label, is put out by Dundas Dick & C0., of New York, our Lab. No. 8586, and claims to be a healthful appetizer, a safe invigorant, and, according to the label, a remedy for dyspepsia, indigestion, constipation, ague and diseases of the stomach, bowels, liver and kidney.

“They purify and enrich the blood, tone and impart strength to the system stimulate the digestion, regulate the bowels, promote a healthy appetite, dispel nervous exhaustion, cure general debility, revive the physical energies, correct weakening irregularities, banish languor, and give buoyancy to the spirits. Are especially recommended as a true tonic and restorer for invalids, females and delicate persons.”

Not much question but what if enough were taken it would give buoyancy to the spirits. Among other things it is a nerve stimulator, a sure remedy for dyspepsia and indigestion; a reliable antidote for chills, fevers and. all malarial diseases.

On their circular they again repeat:

“Congress Bitters are not an intoxicating beverage. * * * They are classed strictly as a medical agent. Can be given at all times with beneficial results.”

This wonderful preparation, $1.00 per bottle for about 12 ounces, is found to contain as follows:

Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360 c. c.

Specific gravity at 25° C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9702

Solids, grams per 100 c. c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.70

Ash, grams per 100 c. c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0128

Sugar, grams per 100 c. c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.01

Alcohol by volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29.06%

Phosphates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. present

Emodin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. absent

Cinnamon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . .. present

Capsicum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. present

Plant tissue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . absent

Plant extract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . small amount

Aside from the sugar, there is very little of other solids. At most only a slight trace of mineral matter is present; the sugar and alcohol are the chief and essential constituents, together with flavoring matter in this beverage.

Dundas Dick & Company

That is an unfamiliar and interesting name. Is it one person or two? A search and follow-up uncovers a special medicine-man from Edinburgh, Scotland. Dundas Dick was born around 1838 and brought up in Heriot’s Hospital, which was founded in Edinburgh to educate the sons of freeman of that city.

At the age of fourteen he was apprenticed by the governors of the hospital to an apothecary in Edinburgh. After that apprenticeship, he found similar employment in Glasgow. While there he learned how to make gelatin capsules. An 1861 Scotland census shows Dundas Dick living in Edinburgh with his mother Isabella Dick who was sixty years old. In 1864, he came to New York alone with dreams of a new life, capsules on his mind and I’m sure, his savings from Scotland.

Dundas next shows up in 1865 in New York City where he is selling capsules for Tape Worms. He was described as a slight-built, low-sized, delicate-looking man with a smooth face by one newspaper account. He was a life-long bachelor and and his only relative in the states was his brother. An 1866 IRS Tax Report notes a Dundas Dick, Manufacturer who is located at 547 Broome in New York City. He receives his U.S. naturalization papers in 1868. Here is an 1872 newspaper ad below saying how safe his Castor Oil soft capsules are. No taste, no smell, no Croton Oil and so pleasant that children ask for more!

His capsules would make him rather famous, wealthy and get him in trouble too. In 1873, there was a mysterious death of an Italian, Professor Domenico Minneill in New York. Dundas Dick was accused, after all, of putting Croton Oil in this Castor Oil capsules. Apparently the professor took the Dundas Dick & Co. pills that lead to his death. Read Full Account.

The Pharmaceutical Era reported in 1902, “It may be news to many druggists that Dundas Dick & Co. were the original makers of soft capsules in this country, having introduced them to the medical profession in 1865. It will not be news, however, to know that their Docuta Sandalwood capsules are being quite generally prescribed by physicians for diseases of the genito-urinary organs. There is good profit in selling these goods and those unacquainted should write to Dundas Dick & Co., 112 White street, New York, for their literature.”

Dundas Dick, in his chemical and manufacturing laboratory, would come up with all kinds of medicines and cures along with his Tape Worm Capulets such as Sandalwood Capsules, Castor Oil Capsules, Seidlitine Seidlitz Powders, Thermaline and eventually his Congress Bitters in 1879 or so. He brought capsules to America and invented and patented many machines for facilitating and producing capsules in a cheaper way.

His bitters were so popular, they would sell all the way up to 1908. I suspect the C 215 Congress Bitters amber square listed in Bitters Bottles might have been his first bottle while the C 216 amber rectangular bottles were his work horse. This bottle is rated scarce but they are out there. Is it the Congress Bitters bottle related to Dundas Dick? Probably so, but we will not know until a labeled example shows up.

The postal card below from the Joe Gourd collection certainly ties the Capitol trade-mark card to his card. Note that it says “Please send one doz. Congress Bitters, with the framed Show Card and Advertising matter…” The bottles analyzed in Kansas were 12 ounces so that also matches the bottle sizes noted in Ring and Ham.

During his years in the patent medicine business, Dundas Dick made several fortunes which indicates that he lost the same in intervals. In the late 1880s, Dundas seemed to have been suffering from mental health issues. One report finds him arrested in 1887 for leaning against a lamp post and singing in a loud and inharmonious strains. When confronted, he said he had no home and he would do as he pleased. This sounds like onset dementia to me. His new partners at the time, James Hardie and Michael E. Finnigan, would bail him out at the local police station and take him to debtors quarters where he lived by himself with three nurses who were employed to care for him and see that the was not left alone, as he would often wander away or run off. A physician was also employed to give him the necessary medical attention. This help all cost money and it was said that his present wealth in 1887 was estimated at over $100,000 and that the had a nice income from property in New York City, Brooklyn and Flatbush.

Dundas Dick would die on April 1, 1893, on his birthday. He was 55 years old. His obituary said he died of paresis.

The Dundas Dick Co. would continue in business until 1906 or so followed by the Dundas Drug Co. until 1914. They were selling Quinine, 3-D Kidney Pills, Liver Pills and Stomach Pills at 502-4 Canal Street in New York City. The little bottle above contains Quinine with a Dundas Drug Co. label. That’s a 50 year run of the Dundas name in capsules, pills, medicines and the Congress Bitters, A Great American Tonic!

Full page advertisement for Dundas Dick & Co., Manufacturing Pharmaceutical Chemists, 112 White Street, New York – Nashville Journal of Medicine and Surgery, Volumes 50-51, 1882

Dundus Dick & Co. were eventually listed in 1881 as manufacturing chemists located at 112 White Street in New York. The company and their products are represented nicely below. The select group of images are from an 1881 Dundas Dick & Company Thermaline Malaria Medicine booklet given out by druggist, J. F Schmidt from Patterson, New Jersey.

The following represent a select group of advertising trade cards. Most mention product names accompanied by eye-catching illustrations and many had handy annual calendars.

Select Listigs:

1838: Dundas Dick, Birth Date: abt 1838 – New York, New York, Death Index, 1892-1898, 1900-1902

1861: Dundas Dick, Chemist & Druggist’s Assistant, Age: 22, Estimated Birth Year: abt 1839, Relationship: Son (visitor), Where born: Edinburgh, Midlothian, Registration Number: 685/2, Registration district: St Andrew, Civil Parish: Edinburgh St Mary, County: Midlothian, Address: 2 East Broughton Pl, Household Members: Isabella Dick 60, Dundas Dick 22, Magdalene Johnston 12, Andrew Robertson 25 – 1861 Scotland Census

1865: Dundas Dick & Co. introduced capsules for Tape Worms – Nashville Journal of Medicine and Surgery, Volumes 50-51, 1882

1866: Dundas Dick, Manufacturer, 547 Broome, assets 10.00, State of New York – U.S. IRS Tax Assessment Lists, 1862-1918

1868: Dundas Dick, Declaration, 3 August 1868, State of New York, Herkimer County, New York – New York, State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1794-1940

1872: Newspaper advertisement (below) Castor Oil sold by Dundas Dick & Co., 35 Wooster Street in New York – New York Herald, Wednesday, October 16, 1872

1873: Newspaper notice (below) The Mysterious Death of the Italian Prof. Domenico Minneill. Dundas Dick & Co. does not use croton oil – The Sun, Monday, February 17, 1873

1875: Dundas Dick & Co., capsules, 30 Wooster – Goulding’s Business Directory of New York, 1875

1877: Dundas Dick & Co., Capsules, 35 Wooster – Goulding’s Business Directory of New York, 1877

1878 – 1880: Dundas Dick & Co. (Dundas Dick), Drugs, 35 Wooster – New York, New York, City Directory

1879: Dundas Dick of New York files a patent application for “A medical compound“, 5th June, 1879 – US Patent Office

1881: Newspaper advertisement (below) Various Dundas Dick & Co. products, manufacturing chemists, 112 White Street, New York – New Philadelphia Ohio Democrat, November 10, 1881

1882: Full page advertisement (above) for Dundas Dick & Co., Manufacturing Pharmaceutical Chemists, 112 White Street, New York – Nashville Journal of Medicine and Surgery, Volumes 50-51, 1882

1882: Newspaper advertisement (below) Congress Bitters by Dundas Dick & Co. – New Philadelphia Ohio Democrat, January 12, 1882

1883: Dundas Dick & Co. (Dundas Dick), Chemist, 112 White – New York, New York, City Directory, 1883

1890: Dundas Dick, State: New York, County: Kings, Town: Flatbush, Year: 1890 – U.S., Indexed County Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1918

1893: Dundas Dick, Death: 1 Apr 1893, New York, New York – New York, New York, Death Index, 1892-1898, 1900-1902

1897: Dundas & Co., Chemists, 112 White – New York, New York, City Directory, 1897

1906: Capsules: Dundas Dick Co., 79 Varick, New York, New York – New York, New York, City Directory, 1906

1914: Newspaper advertisement (below) The Dundas Drug Co. selling 3-D Kidney Pills, 502-4 Canal Street, N.Y.C. – New York Tribune, Sunday, July 5, 1914

Posted in Advertising, Apothecary, Bitters, Druggist & Drugstore, Ephemera, History, Liquor Merchant, Medicines & Cures, Remedy, Scams & Frauds, Tonics, Trade Cards | Tagged advertising, american, bitters, Bottle, Brooklyn, Broome, calendar, Capitol, capsules, castor oil, chemist, Congress, croton oil, Cure, Domenico Minneill, Druggist & Drugstore, Dundas Dick, Edinburgh, Fraud, J. C. Saur, Joe Gourd, Medicine, New York, pills, Poison, powders, Quinine, Remedy, Sandalwood, Schumacher & Ettlinger, Scotland, Seidlitine, Seidlitz, Tape worm, Thermaline, Tonic, Wooster | Leave a comment

Excelsior Stomach Bitters – Rose’s Drug Store, Westminster, Maryland

Posted on 4 January 2019 by Ferdinand Meyer V

Excelsior Stomach Bitters – Rose’s Drug Store

Westminster, Maryland

04 January 2019 (R•041019)

Here is an advertisement below for a possibly unlisted Excelsior Stomach Bitters that I came across during research for the Excelsior Stomach Bitters post from St. John, Iowa. This bitters is late and was advertised in 1904, came in three sizes (25c, 50c and $1 bottles) and could be purchased at Rose’s Drug Store in Westminster, Maryland. Westminster is northwest of Baltimore City. Being from Baltimore, I was curious.

Excelsior Stomach Bitters at Rose’s Drug Store, Westminster, Maryland

The Democratic Advocate, March 5, 1904

The new listing by Bill Ham for the forthcoming Bitters Bottles Supplement 2:

Advertisement
E 65.7. Excelsior Stomach Bitters, Roses Drug Store, Westminster, Maryland
Advertised in 1904, came in three sizes (25, 50 and 75 cents)
John J. Rose was a druggist who advertised his concern as Rose’s Modern Drug Store primarily due to having one of the first soda fountains in the region.

John J. Rose

At first I pictured a more matronly “Rosie the Riveter” type lady behind the druggist counter doling out drugs but it turns out that we are talking about John J. Rose, a life-long druggist born in Baltimore, Maryland on March 9, 1869. He was the youngest son of George and Eliza Rose. His father and older brother were butchers in Baltimore.

By 1900, at the age of 31, he purchased A. H. Huber’s long-standing drug store and opened his drug store at 183 East Main Street in Westminster, Maryland. Huber had started his own drug store in 1865 and was the successor to Huber and Royer at No.2 Carroll Hall in Westminster. They sold drugs, chemicals, patent medicines, fancy articles and perfumery. One of their main products was Hering’s Compound Syrup of Blackberry Root.

Soda Fountain, circa 1905

Rose’s first newspaper advertisement in 1900 asks the reader to “Try My Ice Cream Soda” drawn from his new soda fountain at Rose’s Modern Drug Store. He was also selling crushed fruit, pure fruit juices, ice cream, mineral waters, pure drugs, chemicals, toilet articles, soaps, patent medicines, perfumery, shoulder braces and trusses, cigars, Kodaks and photo supplies and stationery etc. Of course he was filling prescriptions too. As noted above, he would sell the Excelsior Stomach Bitters in 1904. Rose would guarantee in his ads that the bitters would give great relief or a cure for dyspepsia, indigestion, biliousness, constipation and sour stomach.

We can’t say for certain that this is his bitters but it probably was, as we find no reference in this time period and region of a maker of Excelsior Stomach Bitters. I am not aware of any surviving bottles.

Rose would operate his drug store up until his death in January 1918. At this point, Randolph Wehler, from Washington, D.C. opened a new drug store that was formally occupied by Rose’s Drug Store.

5c Trade Token from Rose’s Drug Store, Carroll County, Westminster, Maryland

Main Street Post Cards, Westminster, Maryland

A.H. Huber (Successor to Huber & Royer) (John J. Rose would buy this concern in 1900, see below), Westminster, Maryland

The Democratic Advocate, December 21, 1865

Try My Ice Cream Soda at Rose’s Drug Store (formerly Huber’s), Westminster, Maryland

The Democratic Advocate, December 29, 1900

Ex-Sheriff wins the handsome doll at Rose’s Drug Store, Westminster, Maryland

The Democratic Advocate, December 29, 1900

Rose’s Phosphatic Emulsion of Norwegian Cod Liver Oil being sold at at Rose’s Drug Store, 185 E. Main Street, Westminster, Maryland

The Democratic Advocate, November 7, 1903

Soda Fountain just installed at Rose’s Drug Store, Westminster, Maryland

The Democratic Advocate, June 30, 1911

Rose’s Drug Store robbed on East Main Street in Westminster, Maryland

The Democratic Advocate, June 29, 1917

New Drug Store formally occupied by Rose’s Drug Store, 183 East Main Street, Westminster, Maryland

The Democratic Advocate, October 4, 1918

Select Listings:

1869: John J. Rose, Birth Date: 9 March 1869 – U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current

1870: John Rose, Age in 1870: 1, Birth Year: abt 1869, Birthplace: Maryland, Dwelling Number: 453, Home in 1870: Baltimore Ward 17, Baltimore, Maryland, Inferred Father: George Rose, Inferred Mother: Eliza Rose, Household Members: George Rose 50, Eliza Rose 41, Andrew Rose 20, Charles Rose 18, Francis Rose 16, Theresa Rose 14, Harry Rose 12, Clara Rose 10, Irene Rose 8, Welborne Rose 5, John Rose 1 – 1870 United States Federal Census

1900: John J Rose, Druggist, Age: 31, Birth Date: March 1869, Birthplace: Maryland, Home in 1900: Westminster, Carroll, Maryland, Street: East Main Street, House Number: 67, Sheet Number: 22, Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: 422, Family Number: 441, Relation to Head of House: Boarder, Marital Status: Married, Marriage Year: 1895, Father’s Birthplace: Maryland, Mother’s Birthplace: Maryland – 1900 United States Federal Census

1900: Newspaper advertisement (above) Try My Ice Cream Soda at Rose’s Drug Store (formerly Huber’s), Westminster, Maryland – The Democratic Advocate, December 29, 1900

1903: Newspaper advertisement (above) Rose’s Phosphatic Emulsion of Norwegian Cod Liver Oil being sold at at Rose’s Drug Store, 185 E. Main Street, Westminster, Maryland – The Democratic Advocate, November 7, 1903

1904: Newspaper advertisement (above) Excelsior Stomach Bitters at Rose’s Drug Store, Westminster, Maryland – The Democratic Advocate, March 5, 1904

1911: Newspaper advertisement (above) Soda Fountain just installed at Rose’s Drug Store, Westminster, Maryland – The Democratic Advocate, June 30, 1911

1918: John J. Rose, Death Date: 21 Jan 1918, Cemetery: Saint Johns Cemetery, Burial or Cremation Place: Westminster, Carroll County, Maryland, Spouse: Regina C. Rose – U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current

1918: Newspaper advertisement (above) Randolph Wehler Opening a New Drug Store formally occupied by Rose’s Drug Store, 183 East Main Street, Westminster, Maryland – The Democratic Advocate, October 4, 1918

Posted in Advertising, Apothecary, Bitters, Druggist & Drugstore, History, Medicines & Cures, Questions | Tagged A. H. Huber, Antique, Baltimore, bitters, Bottle, butcher, Carroll, drug, Druggist & Drugstore, Excelsior, fountain, Huber and Royer, John J. Rose, Main, maryland, Randolph Wehler, Soda, Stomach, store, Street, Westminster | Leave a comment

Daily Dose | 2019

Posted on 3 January 2019 by Ferdinand Meyer V

January – April | 2019

30 April 2019 | Tuesday

Working with some outstanding images from the great Ben Swanson collection of medical ephemera. In this case it is for unlisted bitters material. The new listings are as follows:

Advertising Card or Label
H 69.3 HATCH’S AROMATIC HERB BITTERS, Prepared by J. Hatch, Druggist & Apothecary, Jacksonville, Illinois, For the Cure of Dyspepsia, Liver Complaint, General Debility. A Splendid Appetizer and Strengthener of the System After Sickness. Directions. One wine-glass full 3 times a day before meals.
Johnson Hatch, Druggist, b New Hampshire, 1810, United States Federal Census, 1880

Trade Card
G 19.7 GERMAN BITTERS, Dr. Henry Shurmann, German Root and Herb Doctor, Manufacturer of German Bitters, and Patent Wine of Juniper, No. 216 South George Street, York, PA.

Listing in Bitters Bottles Supplement 2 for Polo Bitters:

P 118.8 // POLO / BITTERS ( au ) / T. P. GRIFFIN / & CO. / LONDON // f // f //f //
7 1/2 x 2 1/8 (5) 1/2
Square, Aqua, DLTC, Applied mouth, Extremely rare
English

29 April 2019 | Monday

Working with some outstanding images from the great Ben Swanson collection of medical ephemera. In this case it is numismatic material relating to bitters facsimile bank notes. These extremely rare images are being prepared for a special color plate section in the forthcoming Bitters Bottles Supplement 2. Here is another interesting example for Mitchell’s San Gento Bitters. The new listing is as follows:

Facsimile Bank Note
M 105 SAN GENTO BITTERS MANUFACTURED BY F. A. MITCHELL, M.D., New Albany, Indiana, 20 denomination, Engraver: Strobridge Company, Cincinnati, Ohio. Francis Asbury Mitchell was in business from 1867 to 1880. “One Dozen Bottles Properly Used are more valuable than Twenty Dollars in Gold to anyone who has Diseased, Stomach Bowels or Kidneys, or Diseases of the Nervous System of any kind. Reverse: The San Gento Bitters are Prepared in Pure Bourbon Whisky. Official Medicines Compounded on Scientific Principles and Recommended by the Leading Medicine Men of the Country. Counter-stamped on reverse: C. C. WARD & BRO. WHOLESALE DRUGGISTS 215 MAIN ST MEMPHIS, TENN.

The bottle is listed in Bitters Bottles as M 105 DR. F. A. MITCHELL’S SAN GENTO BITTERS (p387).

Dr. Francis Asbury Mitchell was born in Hamilton, Ohio in 1834. He practiced in New Albany, Indiana while attending classes at the University of Louisville in 1859 and 1860. He would graduate from the same school in 1865. He first worked with O. Sackett in the wholesale drug trade and practiced in Perry county for 15 years. It was during this period that his San Gento Bitters made an appearance. His advertising would say, “One Dozen Bottles Properly Used are more valuable than Twenty Dollars in Gold to anyone who has Diseased, Stomach Bowels or Kidneys, or Diseases of the Nervous System of any kind. The bitters were also “Prepared from pure Bourbon Whiskey.” The 1870 U.S. Federal Census, even listed his trade as a wholesale liquor dealer which is odd for a doctor. During this time, he took a post graduate course at the University of Louisville so he knew his destiny. In January 1892, Mitchell returned to New Albany were he continued his practice specializing in the treatment of nasal catarrh, throat and ear diseases until his death in 1915.

San Gento Bitters reference – The Louisville Daily Courier, Saturday, August 15, 1868

This unlisted and labeled Vegetable Stomach Bitters will be represented in Bitters Bottles Supplement 2. It sold on eBay in September 2018.

V 12.2 L … Vegetable Stomach Bitters, W. D. Burdett (William Draper Burdett), Apothecary, Established in 1850, 143 Main Street, Marlboro, Mass. Dose – From one table-spoonful to a wine glass full three times a day, before eating: to be taken in a little sweetened water.
Oval, Aqua, 8 ¼ tall, 221 embossed on bottom.

28 April 2019 | Sunday

Facsimile Bank Note
F 46.5 HENRY FISH’S CELEBRATED & SUPERIOR STOMACH BITTERS, Denomination 5, H. Fish, Proprietor, Alton, Illinois. Henry Fish was a liquor merchant who was born in Bavaria in 1840. The bank note also says that the bitters “is the most pleasant and effective Tonic and Stimulant in the United States.”

27 April 2019 | Saturday

This labeled Brazilian Blood Bitters will be represented in Bitters Bottles Supplement 2.

B 207 L … Brazilian Blood Bitters, B. S. Lauderbach Co. Newark, N.J.
6 3/4 x 2 1/2 x 1 3/4, Clear, Price $1 a bottle, or six bottles for 5 dollars.
The Pharmaceutical Era, Volume 5, 1891
Trade card

Here are a few Brazilian Blood Bitters advertising trade cards and a postal cover from the Joe Gourd collection.

26 April 2019 | Friday

“The Chalmers Catawba Wine Bitters is, in my opinion, the zenith of western crossover bottles. Blown into a whiskey style mold, it pictures Sutter’s Mill “Fort”, which was ground zero for the California Gold Rush of 1849. This event, in turn, spawned the great westward migration which settled the “wild west”. I first encountered this particular example while a student at San Jose State in the early 1970s. The distinctive amber swirl through the mid section rendered it unique. After 45 years, I was finally able to add it to my bitters collection. Patience is indeed a virtue. ~ Bruce Silva

Making an appearance in the upcoming Bitters Bottles Supplement 2: unlisted BLACKSTONE BITTERS

25 April 2019 | Thursday

This labeled Billings’ Mandrake Tonic Bitters will be represented in Bitters Bottles Supplement 2.

B 96.5 L … Billings’ Mandrake Tonic Bitters, Billings & Co., New York,
7 1/8, aqua, four sunken panels, square collar.

24 April 2019 | Wednesday

This letterhead will be represented in Bitters Bottles Supplement 2.

Letterhead
J. 16.5 JAMAICA RUM SARSAPARILLA BITTERS, Principal Depot for Sale of the Scrofcuro Medicine, Consumpcuro or Pulmonic Wild Cherry Pectoral, and Jamaica Rum Sarsaparilla Bitters. From Dr. J. Ball & Co’s Drug and Medicine Warehouse, 91 Liberty Street, New York City, New York dated November 22, 1876.

These trade cards from the Joe Gourd collection will be represented in Bitters Bottles Supplement 2.

Trade Cards
B 29.5 (reverse copy stamped on) FOR SPRING MEDICINE USE MAX BARTEL’S STOMACH BITTERS, (front) Roman scenes of two youths; La Flute Pastorale (The Pastoral Flute), La Fuite des Oiseaux (The Flight of the Birds) and L’eau Claire Du Printemps (Clear Spring Water)

23 April 2019 | Tuesday

Below is an unlisted bitters reference for Beacon Bitters and Stomach Tonic. The paper advertising piece reads, “Made only by the Acme Chemical Mf’g Co., New Orleans, La., Price: 25 cts, 50 cts & $1.00 per bottle.” Acme Chemical started around 1890 as an 1890 New Orleans City Directory lists Patent Medicines: Acme Chemical Company, E. A. Hall, President; R. McWilliams, Secretary, Office, 16 St. Charles.

The new listing for the forthcoming Bitters Bottles Supplement 2:

Advertising Card
B 39.7 BEACON BITTERS AND STOMACH TONIC, Made only by the Acme Chemical Mf’g Co., New Orleans, La., Price – 25 cts, 50 cts & $1.00 per bottle.

This set me off to confirm the brand. In 1893, Acme Chemical Co. advertised in the Times Democrat looking for a girl to past labels and pack medicine. In 1914 – 1919, they were renamed Acme Chemical Manufacturing Company and were listed under Patent Medicines making special preparations and were located at 517 St. Louis Street in New Orleans. They are even listed in 1930 at that same address. Pretty cool tin sign below for H.G.C., a popular product of Acme Chemical.

Here below is a colorless glass druggist bottle that probably contained their Beacon Bitters and Stomach Tonic. It might have come in three sizes as noted in the subject advertisement. It would have been a labeled bitters.

[Update 5.3.19] Ferdinand, Saw your post about Beacon Bitters and thought you might like to see this crate for their primary product. We find the bottle you pictured from time to time in privies in Galveston, mostly in the areas that used to make up the red light district. Dug one last Sunday as a matter of fact. They may have bottled their bitters in them, but I’ve only ever found the one size and it fits perfectly in the crate for their Gonorrhea remedy. Best Regards,

Brandon DeWolfe, P.E.

20 April 2019 | Saturday

Is this Creole Bitters that was auctioned by Jim Hagenbuch at Glass Works Auctions related to the advertisement below? Time period seems to be correct.

189. “CREOLE BITTERS” – (indented label panel on the reverse), (Ring/Ham, 246.5), American, ca. 1860 – 1870, aqua, oval form, 10 3/8”h, smooth base, applied double collar mouth. Some light inside stain and a few light scratches, otherwise perfect. Very rare, the last one sold was in 1995!

Established 1861, The Celebrated ‘Virginia’ Creole Bitters, Sole Manufacturer, D. S Huffard, Iron Front Warehouse, Governor St., Richmond, Va. – Staunton Spectator, Tuesday, January 23, 1866

18 April 2019 | Thursday

Extraordinary miniature “Dr. Lovegood’s, XX, Family Medicene (spelling error) 1863” in aqua – Van Zant Collection.

Read: DR LOVEGOOD’S FAMILY BITTERS, Dr. Leonard Harriman, Anderson, Indiana

15 April 2019 | Monday

Mario Pisterzi sent me some pictures of an unlisted labeled Great Northern Bitters from Chicago, Illinois. Mario is vice president of the 1st Chicago Bottle Club. He noted that O. Sonnenschein & Co. is noted on the label and said he had run into a road block in obtaining information. This was a tough one until I found out we were talking about Otto for the “O”.

Otto Sonnenschein was born in July 1857 in Austria. He made his way to New York and then to Chicago. We see him first listed in 1876 as a bookkeeper. In 1887, he was listed as a partner with his brother Leopold, (L. Sonnenschein & Bro.) in the jewelry trade at 179 Madison. In 1889, his brother Leopold was selling liquor at 223 Randolph. The same year the brothers were partners in real estate with Sonnenschein & Solomon (Leopold Sonnenschein, Fred M. Solomon and Otto Sonnenschein) addressing at 301 Opera House Buiding. Otto would take over the liquor end of the business in 1892 as O. Sonnenschein & Co. and by 1900 was listed as a liquor dealer in the U.S. Federal Census. He would operate until 1902. We can date the bottle in that time frame.

The new listing by Bill Ham for the forthcoming Bitters Bottles Supplement 2:

G 99.5 L… Great Northern Bitters, O. Sonnenschein & Co., Chicago Illinois.
Amber, tooled lip. Label is black with yellow/gold typography.
Otto Sonnenschein, from Austria, was a liquor dealer in Chicago from 1892 to 1902

14 April 2019 | Sunday

Newspaper reference to an unlisted Dr. Jay’s Vegetable Bitters and Billious Corrective submitted by Bobby Hinely. This early bitters was prepared by Holden & Saunders, 52 Cornhill, Boston. “This invaluable medicine was invented by Dr. Jay, of England… Upwards of ten thousand bottles have been sold within a year.” Boston Post, Thursday, September 16, 1841.

The new listing by Bill Ham for the forthcoming Bitters Bottles Supplement 2:

Newspaper Advertisement
J 27.3 Dr. Jay’s Vegetable Bitters and Billious Corrective
Prepared by Holden & Saunders, 52 Cornhill, Boston. “This invaluable medicine was invented by Dr. Jay of England … Upwards of ten thousand bottles have been sold within a year.”
Boston Post, September 16, 1841

12 April 2019 | Friday

Post update: The XR Hartley’s Peruvian Bark Bitters from Muncie, Indiana. Unlisted labeled example and a new unlisted variant. “Ferdinand, here are my buddy Balsam Bills Peruvian Bark Bitters from Muncie, Indiana. One is a paper label only.” Martin Van Zant

Super unlisted sample-sized Hesperidina Bagley barrel once sold by Glass Works Auctions.

Sample Size Bitters, “HESPERIDINA / BAGLEY / UN BARREL”, (Ring/Ham, B-5L), Argentina, ca. 1890 – 1910, amber barrel, 4 1/4”h, smooth base, tooled lip, 99% original labels, embossed red foil closure and contents. The bottle is perfect. Unlisted in this sample size.

The new listings by Bill Ham for the forthcoming Bitters Bottles Supplement 2:

B 4.8 L . . . Bagley’s Stomach Bitters, Hesperidina, Bagley Unparril, Industria,
Argentina.
HESPERIDINA BAGLEY UN BARRIL
4 1/4 x 1 5/8
Round – barrel shape, 7 rings above label band and 6 rings below, Amber , DC, Applied mouth
Graphic label: Hesperidina is a very interesting and rather tasty Argentinian aperitif flavoured with mint and oranges. It was created in 1864 by Melville Sewell Bagley, an American émigré in Buenos Aires. It was originally made as a digestive aid.
From Brazil.

B 4.9 L . . . Bagley’s Stomach Bitters, Hesperidina, Bagley Unparril, Industria,
Argentina.
HESPERIDINA / BAGLEY / UN BARRIL // c //
// b // RIO DE LAPLATA BRAZIL (in circle)
9 ½ x 3 1/4
Round – barrel shape, 7 rings above and 6 rings below label band, Amber and Copper, DC, Applied mouth and Tooled lip
Graphic label: Hesperidina is a very interesting and rather tasty Argentinian aperitif flavoured with mint and oranges. It was created in 1864 by Melville Sewell Bagley, an American émigré in Buenos Aires. It was originally made as a digestive aid.
From Brazil

B 5 L . . . Bagley’s Stomach Bitters, Hesperidina, Bagley Unparril, Industria, Argentina.
HESPERIDINA / BAGLEY / UN BARRIL / INDUSTRIA ARGENTENIA
// b // 2 (triangle) 2
10 ¼ x 3 ¾
Amber and Olive yellow , Round barrel shape 6 rings below and 7 rings above label band, DC, Tooled lip and ABM
From Brazil

11 April 2019 | Thursday

The Dr. Whitesel’s Calisaya Bitters appears to be unlisted. In 1883, R. K. Dyas of Crittenden, Kentucky obtained Label Patents for Dr. Whitesel’s German Cough Syrup, Dr. Whitesel’s Calisaya Bitters, Dr. Whitesel’s German Liniment and Dr. Whitesel’s Blood Specific as noted in the Annual Report of the Commissioner of Patents For the Year 1883.

The new listing by Bill Ham for the forthcoming Bitters Bottles Supplement 2:

Label Patent
W 102.7 Dr. Whitesel’s Calisaya Bitters, R. K. Dyas, Crittenden, Kentucky
Also obtained patents for Dr. Whitesel’s German Liniment and Dr. Whitesel’s Blood Specific as noted in the Annual Report of the Commissioner of Patents For the Year 1883

29 March 2019 | Friday

Post update: B. T. 1865 S. C. SMITH’S DRUID BITTERS

27 March 2019 | Wednesday

Old San Jacinto Bitters reference seems to be unlisted. Samuel H. Gilman, Sole Patentee and Proprietor, Galveston, Texas. The Galveston Daily News, Saturday, May 14, 1870

22 March 2019 | Friday

Ok, today is DISCHARGE day. My 10th day at Memorial Herman Hospital, Texas Medical Center, Jones Tower, Dr. Red Duke Trauma Institute. Two surgery’s so far. Final surgery scheduled for next Wednesday.

21 March 2019 | Thursday

Sad news to start the day. Liz Heckler passed away. Later in the day, I heard of the sudden death of Rick Simi, one of our western anchors. Rick and his beautiful wife Cherry hosted, at their house, one of the finest dinner parties associated with a bottle show. Additionally, Rick’s Western Bottle News was the inspiration for Peachridge Glass. More info on Cherry Simi Facebook page. This is terribly upsetting. Our deepest condolences. This follows of course, the death of Dr. Burton Spiller.

13 March 2019 | Saturday

Post update: A labeled Dr. Stephen Jewett’s Tonic Bitters

Post update: Dr. Wynkoop’s Sarsaparilla – New York

11 March 2019 | Monday

Stereograph of possible unlisted bitters reference (top left banner display sign) at the Fourteenth Industrial Exhibition, Mechanics’ Institute, 1879, Naber, Alfs and Brune, 413 Front St. S.F., Sole Proprieters of the Celebrated Pacific Stomach Bitters, Sole Agents of Kentucky’s Old Phoenix Bourbon, Photographer: Carleton E Watkins.

09 March 2019 | Saturday

A nice Dewey’s Manilla Bitters pitcher spotted by Alan DeMaison in an antique shop on his way to the Baltimore Antique Bottle Show on Sunday, 10 March.

24 February 2019 | Sunday

As a designer and artist, I really admire the wonderful advertising art for Bininger products such as the fully labeled A.M. Bininger & Co. figural cannon, held by the Corning Museum of Glass. Other Bininger products include: La Sylphide Bourbon, Old Kentucky Bourbon, Great Gun Bourbon, Traveler’s Guide Bourbon, Essence of Old Virginia Wheat Whiskey, Bouquet Bourbon, Zouave Bourbon, Pioneer Bourbon and Favorita Gin.

Read: Bininger Advertising Art & Labels

23 February 2019 | Saturday

Post updated for Dr. John Bull and Louisville at that time

22 February 2019 | Friday

Post updated for Barnett & Lion’s Southern Grey Jacket Stomach Bitters

21 February 2019 | Thursday

Just amazes me how much Hostetter & Smith dominated the bitters market. Look how many places were selling Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters in New Orleans in 1859.

18 February 2019 | Monday

Working on a post for Dr. De Andries Sarsaparilla Bitters from New Orleans. This required an update to the Dr. E. C. Hyde’s Southern Stomach Bitters post. Both these guys knew each other and set up shop around the corner from each other.

14 February 2019 | Thursday (Valentine’s Day)

I posted earlier today on Continental Bitters advertised by Mayer, Strouse & Baum in Philadelphia from 1861 to 1863. During my research, I came across these other Continental Bitters and Old Continental Bitters ads.

The first is an 1864 advertisement for McCullough’s Continental Bitters advertised in Richmond, Virginia in 1864. (Richmond Weekly Palladium, Wednesday, March 16, 1864) This appears to be unlisted. The new listing for the forthcoming Bitters Bottles Supplement 2:

Newspaper Advertisement
M 53.5 McCullough’S Continental Bitters
Richmond Weekly Palladium, Wednesday, March 16, 1864

Here is an 1868 advertisement below for an Old Continental Bitters “now manufactured by Dr. H.S. GeEENO of Topeka, Kansas.” This appears to be unlisted. The Osage County Chronicle (Burlingame, Kansas), Saturday, July 25, 1868.

The new listing for the forthcoming Bitters Bottles Supplement 2:

Newspaper Advertisement
O 25.5 Old Continental Bitters, Manufactured by Dr. H.S. GeEENO of Topeka, Kansas
The Osage County Chronicle (Burlingame, Kansas), Saturday, July 25, 1868

Here below is an advertisement for Thurston’t Old Continental Bitters sold in Lynn, Massachusetts 1887. The bitters is listed in Bitters Bottles as T 26, Thurston’s Old Continental Bitters. It was prepared by George B. Thurston of Lynn, Mass. There are rectangular, aqua bottles out there.

This last article from Iowa in 1918 is titled “Bitter Scrap in District Court, Continental Bitters and Bitter Wrangle – Bitter Appeal to the Court.” The Continental Bitters that Theodore Keutchman, a local druggist, contained about 25% alcohol. He was arrested some years earlier. I’m really not sure what Continental Bitters is being referenced here.

12 February 2019 | Tuesday

Hoofland’s German Bitters advertisement for the patent medicine showing a medieval scene. – Library Company of Philadelphia Print Department. According to Hoofland’s Almanacs, this eponymous bitters was “the happy result of intelligent research, coupled with the extensive practice of Dr. Christoph Wilhelm Hueflin (Hoofland) of Gena, Germany.” Dr. Hoofland’s Celebrated German Medicines were first being sold in Philadelphia at 278 Race Street in 1847.

Interesting stereo card for the New Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane. Looks like the architect and contractor working in field. The Institute of Pennsylvania Hospital, also known as Kirkbride’s Hospital or the Pennsylvania Hospital for Mental and Nervous Diseases, was a psychiatric hospital located at 48th and Haverford Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It operated from its founding in 1841 until 1997.

11 February 2019 | Monday

Post update: Tobias Barto and his Great Gun Bitters – Reading, PA

09 February 2019 | Saturday

Advertisement for an O 82, Original Aromatic German Bitters put out by Charles Schneyer, Rectifier and Wholesale Liquor Dealer, Not. 154 and 156 Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia – Philadelphia City Directory

03 February 2019 | Sunday

It made my day when I pulled this bad boy out of the ground. I dug it from a small 1860s to a early 1870s dump in downtown Savannah. This bitters is the rarest from Savannah and also one of the rarest from the state of Georgia The bottle is about 9 1/2 inches tall and is a dark puce amber color. A hard bottle to photograph due to the intense rainbow color patina on the bottle. – Robert Biro

Read: Deutenhoff’s Swiss Bitters –Savannah

01 February 2019 | Friday

Unlisted bitters listing for Southern Stomach Bitters prepared by Buck, Bailey & Co., Wholesale and Retail Druggists, Jackson, Mississippi. These guys also put out Buck’s Aromatic Bitters. Ad from The Daily Clarion, Saturday, December 16, 1865. The new listing for the forthcoming Bitters Bottles Supplement 2:

Newspaper Advertisement
S 150.3 Southern Stomach Bitters, Prepared by Buck, Bailey & Co., Wholesale and Retail Druggists, Jackson, Mississippi. Also proprietor of Buck’s Aromatic Bitters.
The Daily Clarion (Jackson, Mississippi), Saturday, December 16, 1865

31 January 2019 | Thursday

Post update: Arabian Bitters – One Thousand and One Nights

26 January 2019 | Saturday

Recently I wrote about a rare Spring Bitters bottle by John W. Service, druggist in Hartford, Connecticut. Here is a much earlier 1859 reference of an unlisted Dr. Day’s Spring Bitters in the The Democrat, Tuesday, May 24, 1859. J.H. Leonard was druggist and apothecary from St. Albans, Vermont. This could be related to the D 31 listing in Bitters Bottles.

17 January 2019 | Thursday

New image of extremely rare, Tincture of Centaury Bitters from Louisville, Kentucky. Added to Kentucky’s Top 25 Rarest Bitters Bottles, compiled by Paul Van Vactor, Sheldon Baugh and Steve Keith.

Read: Tincture of Centaury Bitters – Bernheim Brothers & Uri, Louisville, Kentucky

6. Round amber seal bottle embossed on seal BERNHEIM BROS. / & URI / LOUISVILLE / KY. Embossed horizontally below seal ULBRIGHT / RELIABLE / IMPORT CO. / TINCTURE / OF / CENTAURY / BITTERS. Also, embossed vertically on sides: BLOOD PURIFIER / STOMACH TONIC.

Kentucky’s Top 25 Rarest Bitters Bottles, compiled by Paul Van Vactor, Sheldon Baugh and Steve Keith

15 January 2019 | Tuesday

Neat advertising trade card for Drs. Starkey & Palen’s Compound Oxygen, 1529 Arch Street, Philadelphia, circa 1887.

13 January 2019 | Sunday

Post update: Who is I. & L. M. Hellman of St. Louis, Missouri?

12 January 2019 | Saturday

Post update: The great William Allen’s Congress Bitters

03 January 2019 | Thursday

HECKLER has a clear U.S. Gold Bitters in their next auction. Read: U.S. GOLD BITTERS – Augusta, Maine

02 January 2019 | Wednesday

Here is an advertisement below for an unlisted Excelsior Stomach Bitters that I came across during production of the Excelsior Stomach Bitters post from St. John, Iowa. This bitters is late, came in three sizes and could be purchased at Rose’s Drug Store in Westminster, Maryland. Found in the The Democratic Advocate, Saturday, March 5, 1904. I found the token online for sale on eBay.

Read: Excelsior Stomach Bitters – Rose’s Drug Store, Westminster, Maryland

Posted in Advice, Bitters, Daily Dose, News | Tagged Acme, Ball, beacon, Billings, Blackstone, Blood, Brazilian, Daily, Dose, Excelsior Stomach Bitters, Jamaica, Joe Gourd, Lauderbach, Mario Pisterzi, Mitchell, news, Otto Sonnenschein, Polo, Rose's Drug Store, rum, San Gento | Leave a comment

Search for:
Posts
September 2025

M T W T F S S

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30

« Jan
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
- Ferdinand Meyer V on Barrel Series – Original Pocahontas Bitters
- The Life and Times of E.H. Taylor – E.H. Taylor, Jr. on A question regarding an “Old Taylor” find
- Froggy on The Triangular O.H.P. Rose’s Peruvian King Bitters
- etmcguire on Dr. Jaffe’s Celebrated Cinchona Bitters Trademark Letter
- mikedickman on Daily Dose | April • June 2 0 1 7
- gregtbr on The Triangular O.H.P. Rose’s Peruvian King Bitters
- Bocabottle on Early Damiana Bitters or is something wrong here?
- texas bottle man on Confederate Stomach Bitters – Angelo Velati – Columbus Georgia
- texas bottle man on Confederate Stomach Bitters – Angelo Velati – Columbus Georgia
- mikedickman on Daily Dose | July 2016
Archives
- September 2025 (4)
- January 2024 (1)
- October 2021 (1)
- December 2020 (1)
- November 2019 (1)
- October 2019 (1)
- September 2019 (1)
- August 2019 (2)
- July 2019 (1)
- June 2019 (1)
- May 2019 (4)
- April 2019 (4)
- March 2019 (5)
- February 2019 (7)
- January 2019 (7)
- December 2018 (8)
- November 2018 (7)
- October 2018 (11)
- September 2018 (6)
- August 2018 (3)
- July 2018 (1)
- April 2018 (2)
- March 2018 (4)
- February 2018 (2)
- January 2018 (1)
- December 2017 (1)
- October 2017 (7)
- August 2017 (1)
- July 2017 (3)
- June 2017 (6)
- April 2017 (1)
- March 2017 (1)
- February 2017 (1)
- January 2017 (3)
- October 2016 (4)
- September 2016 (3)
- August 2016 (3)
- July 2016 (3)
- June 2016 (1)
- May 2016 (2)
- April 2016 (1)
- March 2016 (8)
- February 2016 (8)
- January 2016 (5)
- December 2015 (3)
- November 2015 (17)
- October 2015 (14)
- September 2015 (11)
- August 2015 (6)
- July 2015 (4)
- June 2015 (9)
- May 2015 (15)
- April 2015 (13)
- March 2015 (16)
- February 2015 (21)
- January 2015 (21)
- December 2014 (24)
- November 2014 (22)
- October 2014 (29)
- September 2014 (16)
- August 2014 (27)
- July 2014 (26)
- June 2014 (23)
- May 2014 (27)
- April 2014 (27)
- March 2014 (36)
- February 2014 (39)
- January 2014 (40)
- December 2013 (28)
- November 2013 (35)
- October 2013 (41)
- September 2013 (42)
- August 2013 (42)
- July 2013 (38)
- June 2013 (38)
- May 2013 (35)
- April 2013 (38)
- March 2013 (43)
- February 2013 (28)
- January 2013 (37)
- December 2012 (44)
- November 2012 (37)
- October 2012 (50)
- September 2012 (44)
- August 2012 (48)
- July 2012 (47)
- June 2012 (40)
- May 2012 (49)
- April 2012 (42)
- March 2012 (45)
- February 2012 (36)
- January 2012 (43)
- December 2011 (38)
- November 2011 (54)
- October 2011 (31)
- September 2011 (31)
- August 2011 (43)
- July 2011 (36)
- June 2011 (23)
- May 2011 (38)
- April 2011 (75)
Categories
- Advertising (467)
- Advice (272)
- Ales & Ciders (38)
- Ancient Glass (7)
- Apothecary (59)
- Art & Architecture (72)
- Art Glass (3)
- Article Publications (153)
- Auction News (243)
- Barber Bottles (7)
- Bartending (2)
- Bitters (1,018)
- Black Glass (11)
- Blacking (4)
- Blown Glass (38)
- Bottle Shows (250)
- Bottles and Extras (44)
- Bottling Works (36)
- Bourbon (29)
- Bowls (5)
- Brandy (3)
- Breweriana (45)
- Candy (1)
- Carnival Glass (3)
- Chamber Pot (1)
- Chestnut (10)
- Civil War (104)
- Club News (158)
- Cod Liver Oil (4)
- Coffee (1)
- Cola (11)
- Collectors & Collections (724)
- Cologne (27)
- Color (26)
- Color Runs (174)
- Cordial (40)
- Currency (13)
- Daily Dose (53)
- Decanter (9)
- Demijohns (27)
- Depression Glass (6)
- Digging and Finding (318)
- Dinnerware (14)
- Display (79)
- Diving (17)
- Druggist & Drugstore (270)
- Early American Glass (132)
- eBay (147)
- Ephemera (228)
- Errors (1)
- Eye Cups (1)
- Facebook (63)
- Figural Bottles (310)
- Fire Grenades (5)
- Fishing Floats (2)
- Flasks (146)
- Fly Traps (2)
- FOHBC News (165)
- Folk Art (22)
- Food (1)
- Freeblown Glass (27)
- Fruit Jars (40)
- Gin (34)
- Ginger Ale (14)
- Glass Companies & Works (113)
- Glass Makers (68)
- Hair Tonics (25)
- Historical Flasks (114)
- History (945)
- Holiday (31)
- Humor – Lighter Side (89)
- Hutches (12)
- Infant Feeders (3)
- Inks (47)
- Insulators (42)
- Jelly & Jam (6)
- Juice and Ades (1)
- Lamps (3)
- Legal (9)
- Lightning Rod Balls (13)
- Liqueurs (8)
- liquor (24)
- Liquor Merchant (244)
- Mailbox Letters (20)
- Marbles (7)
- Medicines & Cures (589)
- Milk & Creamers (22)
- Milk Glass (10)
- Mineral Water (49)
- Miniatures (22)
- Museums (73)
- News (401)
- Painted Label (7)
- Paperweights (3)
- Passing (1)
- Patents (3)
- Peachridge Glass (48)
- Pepper Sauce (8)
- Perfume (20)
- Photography (143)
- Pickle Jars (23)
- Pitchers (7)
- Poison Bottles (22)
- Postage (25)
- Pot Lids (14)
- Pottery (13)
- Pressed Glass (1)
- Price Guides (3)
- Publications (63)
- Questions (341)
- Regulations (6)
- Remedy (63)
- Reproductions (6)
- Revolutionary War (14)
- Root Beer (4)
- Rum (2)
- Salt (4)
- Salve (3)
- Sarsaparilla (38)
- Sauce (5)
- Scams & Frauds (18)
- Scents (4)
- Schnapps (18)
- Sea Glass (3)
- Seltzer (2)
- Shaving Mugs (5)
- Shot Glasses (8)
- Snuff (10)
- Soda Bottles (40)
- Soda Water (41)
- Soft Drinks (17)
- Spanish-American War (1)
- Spirits (170)
- Stained Glass (6)
- Stoneware (21)
- Syrup (13)
- Target Balls (7)
- Tax Stamps (40)
- Tea (2)
- Technology (36)
- Temperance (3)
- Tobacco (15)
- Tonics (179)
- Trade Cards (106)
- Treasure (6)
- Uncategorized (21)
- Utility Bottles (53)
- Vases (7)
- Veterinary (7)
- Virtual Museum (13)
- Water (12)
- Whimsies (14)
- Whiskey (165)
- Windows (15)
- Wine & Champagne (48)
- Witch Ball (4)