The Bottle Book

Originally printed in 1987, The Bottle Book is designed for the cultural historian, the bottle collector, and those just interested in pharmacopoeia. This book is a guide to the identification of the embossed, patent and proprietary medicine bottles produced in an era of American history when anything could be bottled, advertised and sold – legally. A cornucopia of cures, bitters, tonics, and balms, many of them little more and slightly disguised alcohol, were available to the gullible but willing public. Not only are the embossed and shapely bottles of this era highly collectable today, they are also valuable to archaeologists who interpret and date historical sites. This book has been designed as a reference book. It provided detailed descriptions to aid the researcher in identifying and evaluating whole or fragmented vessels. A discussion of the patent and proprietary medicine years, and the innovations applied to the production of glass, is followed by a brief interpretation of bottles by color, design and shape. Over 40 chapters detail nearly four thousand medicine bottles. Numerous line drawings, and color photographs will aid the researcher/collector/anthropologist in the identification process.