DR. HOOFLAND'S - GERMAN - TONIC  This is embossed on three non-indented sides (4th side for label).  Just over 9 1/2" tall with a tooled "brandy" finish (or long tapered collar with a ring to some), blue aqua in color, smooth base, ca. 1880-1885.  This is one of the rarer and more desirable tonic bottles and was almost certainly produced by the same company in Philadelphia as the very common Dr. Hoofland's Bitters.  Apparently this brand didn't do too well or was much more limited in distribution as the tonics are hundreds of times rarer than the bitters.  Condition of this example is mint...period.  I can find nothing wrong with it and am only selling it because I recently acquired a ever so slightly better one (a bit more crudeness).  This bottle does have a lot of nice bubbles in the glass and some stretch marks on the neck so it has it's crudeness too.  Nice big, scarce, tonic bottle. $50

VIN ZYMO WINE TONIC - This bottle is a very interesting, very early 20th century (1900-1910) "wine tonic" - common sub-species of medicinal tonics - bottle that was bottled in a standard "Bordeaux" style wine bottle.  The bottle was produced in a turn-mold as it has no side-seams and the distinctive concentric horizontal rings on the body typical of that manufacturing method.  It also has a tooled banded "champagne" style lip or finish, smooth base with a 1.25" kick-up and bump ("mamelon") in the center, 11.6" tall, and is a nice medium olive green color. 

The bottle is labeled Vin Zymo Brand Elixir Wine Tonic which was produced by Purexo Products of San Francisco, CA.   It notes a 20 or 30% alcohol level (there is a hole that obscures part of percentage) which is much higher than the usual levels of wine (12-15%) so must have been fortified to give it extra "medicinal" qualities.  The label also notes that it "contains valuable medicaments (whatever that means) in properly blended fully matured California wine" and is "free from iron and laxatives."  The bottle is in about mint condition (a little scratching on reverse) and the original label is very colorful and 95%+ intact and still solid.  Bottle used for and pictured on the Historic Bottle Website.  Interesting California wine related item from the era when the government was just beginning to really crack down on quackery.  $20

STEWART D. HOWE'S - ARABIAN / TONIC / BLOOD PURIFIER - NEW YORK - These Arabian Tonic bottles have always been a favorite of mine - have had several through the years - in that they are big in size, nicely embossed, a bit earlier in age (1870s), and have a great name!  This bottle is 9.5" tall, 3.25" wide and about 2" thick.  It also has an applied "patent" finish, blown in a post-mold (smooth base), lacks any mold air venting, and as noted likely dates from the 1870s (possibly late 1860s or very early 1880s) era I would estimate from the manufacturing characteristics. 

This example is boldly embossed and is essentially mint with just a bit of content haze in the upper front shoulder that takes a bright light to see.  It also has some nice bubbles in the glass, a pleasant blue aqua color, stretch marks on in the neck, and a bit of slop over below the lip.  I don't believe it has every been buried and certainly not professionally cleaned.  One of the bigger, better, and fairly scarce "medicinal tonic" bottles!  $45

VITAL / TONIC -  WHITNEY MEDICINE CO - A / LIFE PRESERVER - PROVIDENCE, R.I. - This rare tonic bottle is one of five embossed tonic bottles I've cataloged from the small state of Rhode Island.  Not too bad for that smallest of states area wise (5 Rhode Islands could fit within Klamath County where I live in in Oregon!).  It looks to have somewhat copied the well know period Hoods Sarsaparilla bottles (an example at this link: https://sha.org/bottle/Typing/medicine/hoods.jpg ) or maybe the Dr. Kilmer's Swamp Root bottles - both of which have similar indented paneling.  This example I acquired years ago and is the only one I've catalogued...so quite rare?

Specifically, this bottle is embossed all four sides within indented panels.  The front has VITAL and TONIC in arched indented panels to the top and bottom with the in-between flat area where a likely label went. (Click on the first image to the right.)  Opposite the front, the reverse has  A / LIFE PRESERVER embossed vertically top to bottom in a narrower indented panel.  (Click the second image to the right to view a larger version of that image.)  The right narrow indented side has WHITNEY MEDICINE CO. embossed similarly.  (Click right narrow side panel to see such or the third image to the right.)  The opposite narrow indented panel has PROVIDENCE, R.I. embossed similarly.  (Click left narrow side panel to see such or the last image to the right.)  All the embossing is very bold. 

A quick look through the most comprehensive medicine bottle books I have (Fike, Knapp and Baldwin) found no mention of this bottle.  Knapp did note a Whitney's Croup Cordial from Providence that was in the famous Greer collection (all pontiled bottles) and dated from the 1840s.  That was long before this bottle was made which looks to be of mid 1880s to late 1890s manufacture.  Fike did note a small bottle embossed with only Vital Balsam but had no details about where it originated.

The bottle is a bit over 9" tall, 2.75" wide and 1.75" deep.  The base is of the post-mold variety which indicates a mold conformation with a separate base plate for helping the two mold sides close more accurately. (If unfamiliar with the different types of molds used for bottle blowing see the Bottle Bases page on my Historic Glass Bottle ID & Information Website at this link - https://sha.org/bottle/bases.htm#Post%20Mold )  It has a tooled double ring finish or lip and evidence of some mold air venting  (two small bumps on the shoulders opposite the mold seams) which would be consistent with the date range noted earlier.  The bottle is a nice blue aqua of moderate intensity and is near mint with just some wisps of a faint white-ish stain (I think) inside in the upper shoulder and the neck.  The bottle is otherwise sparkling clean and physically undamaged with no chips, cracks, potstones or other distractions.  A hard to find and rare medicinal tonic bottle.  $95  SOLD

C. C. C. / TONIC - This is the first of two C. C. C. TONIC bottles I'm offering for your consideration.  Whether they are related or not, I do not know for sure, but have some ideas...so read on.  This example is what would be called a "Blake" style pharmacy or druggist bottle.  See my other Historic Glass Bottle ID & Information Website at the following link for more information on this popular (at the time) rectangular style of druggist bottle: https://sha.org/bottle/medicinal.htm#Rectangular%20Druggists  This bottle is embossed boldly on the front side with C. C. C. which has horizontal lines embossed within each of the large "C" letters.  Below it is embossed with TONIC in large, but solid or filled in letters.  Click on the full sized image to the left to see view a larger image. 

The only references to  C. C. C. on medicine bottles that I can find are the "Certain Corn Cure" (Indiana), "Certain Chancre Cure" (Texas) and "Curtis' Cough Compound" (unknown) in Knapp's "Antique American Medicine Bottles" book.  The only one with "TONIC" embossed is the scarce but occasionally seen bottle which is embossed C C C / TONIC / BOERICKE & RUNYON / NEW YORK which was also bottled in the "Blake" style druggist bottle.  It has a different look to the embossing in that it does not have the thick letters with lines like this example and there are no periods after each "C" like this example.  And of course, it has the company and city embossed whereas this offering doesn't as well as coming in two sizes (6" and 8").  I'm not positive those are connected with this one but since they are bottled in the same style bottle it is a distinct possibility?  It is also possible that this bottle is a rip off imitation of the B&R product?  In any event, this is the only example I've ever seen of this particular tonic bottle so if used by B&R it was likely the earlist one.

The bottle has a typical - for the bottle style - tooled "prescription" lip or finish.  Click close-up of the shoulder, neck and finish to see such closer up.  It is 8" tall, by 3" wide, by 2" deep - a large bottle for the style probably holding upwards of 16 oz.  It is of colorless glass like most druggist style bottles with an ever-so-slight amethyst tint when looking through a thick part of the glass.  This indicates the glass batch was decolorized with manganese dioxide and would turn purple if exposed enough time to sunlight.  The base is embossed in the center with an "N" inside of a circle; click base view to see such.  That is the makers marking for Obear-Nester Glass Co. (St. Louis, IL.) which used this marking from 1895 to the mid-1920s; this bottle dating from the first 10-15 years of that period (late 1890s to maybe early 1910s).  If interested in the history of the company see this article on my Historic Glass Bottle ID & Information Website at this link:  https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/Obear-Nester.pdf

Condition of this bottle is nearly mint with no chips, cracks or dings of any type.  It has very little outside scuffing and very light water staining in a few spots inside...a minority of the insides.  The outside is sparkling clean.  Nice medicinal tonic bottle which is the same size and "Blake" style as the equally rare Columbian Tonic listed above.  Makes a good pair!  $45

C.C.C. / star / TONIC - Offered here is another very rare medicinal tonic bottle similarly embossed but is strangely enough shaped like a "shoo-fly" liquor flask.  In fact, I've only ever recorded one example of this bottle - this offering.  As far as I know this is the only medicinal tonic bottle in this shape that is embossed "TONIC." The shape seems to imply a high amount of alcohol in addition to it's medicinal qualities?  Continuing the discussion above speculating as to where this bottle came from it does share some similarities (the C.C.C. embossing being of a different design than the TONIC below it; periods after each "C") and some differences (star ornament, the shape and glass color).  If this flask is also another variety used by Boericke & Runyon as speculated on above, then it is distinctly a different type and size.  This, like the example above, could also be a knock-off imitation?

Manufacturing attributes include the slightly vague/sloppy two part double ring, tooled lip/finish.   The reverse has no embossing but is kind of crude; click reverse view to see such.  Click close-up of upper body, neck and finish to see such.  The base is smooth with no embossing; click base view to see such.  As the images show, the glass is a nice medium amber with a bit of brightness to it.  The embossing seems to be via a replaceable plate (aka "plate mold" or "slug plate" in collector parlance) as it appears a bit indented on the front unlike the backside.  I see no air venting marks.  It was blown in a cup-base mold like most all shoo-fly flasks I've observed over the years and I've seen and owned a lot of them.  That style of flasks seems to have originated about 1880 or a few years earlier. (I cover the style on my Historic Glass Bottle ID & Information Website at the following link, if interested:  https://sha.org/bottle/liquor.htm#Shoo-fly%20&%20Coffin%20flasks ) Given the noted manufacturing details, I would date this flask to the mid-1880s to early 1890s.

The condition is essentially mint with the exception of a small impact flake on the lower right corner (shows in the base view and the full view slightly) that is shallow and about 3mm x 4mm.  Otherwise the outside of the flask is sparkling clean; the inside has some splotchy moderate staining the upper half of the bottle which is hard to see without a bright light behind it.  Cool and rare tonic that still is a mystery to me, though it is likely from somewhere in the Eastern US although I don't remember from what location I procured the bottle.  $50

...or take both CCC bottles for $85 (plus shipping).

JOHNSON'S TONICS - Four different molds!  Offered here as a group are a few variations of what was likely one of the most popular medicinal tonics of the late 19th to early 20th century - JOHNSON'S CHILL & FEVER TONIC.  Specifically, these four bottles are all a bit different although the two on the right in the 4 bottle images has the same embossing on both the sides as well as the base.  Actually 3 of 4 bottles have "47" embossed on the base with the second from the left having "24".  Click bases view to see such. 

I couldn't find much history on the product or producer besides Richard Fike's medicine bottle book (1987) noting the product being advertised in 1891 and much later in the early 1940s, though that indicates that the product was sold for at least a half century and at least originated in Savannah, GA.  (Fike notes that in the early 1940s it was being sold by a company in St. Louis, MO.)  Matt Knapp's comprehensive book on American medicine bottles (2012) lists a few variations like the b0ttle to the far left (with A.B. Girardeau embossed and likely the oldest?) but not the three other bottles here.  The bottles will be described as they are shown in the image from left to right; click on the "Example #" hot link to see a close-up image of that entire bottle.

Example #1 (far left):  This colorless/clear glass example is embossed vertically (top to bottom) with JOHNSON'S CHILL & FEVER TONIC / GUARANTEED TO CURE / A. B. GIRARDEAU. SAV'H. GA.  This bottle - same as all the others - has a tooled double ring lip or finish and was blown in an air vented (one vent mark on the back shoulder) cup-base mold with a square indentation on the base; this one having "47" embossed in the center (a likely mold tracking number).  The glass has a very slight pink tint indicating that the glass batch was decolorized with manganese dioxide as were the other three examples (more on that below).  The bottle is essentially mint with just the faintest trace of even haze on the inside; no chips, cracks, dings, open bubbles or other post-production damage.  It has some scattered bubbles in the glass and I believe this is the oldest of the group due t0 having just one air venting mark; probably dating from the 1890s.

Example #2 (second from the left):  This deep amethyst example is embossed JOHNSON'S TONIC / MADE IN / SAVANNAH, GA.  This example was likely exposed to an ultra-violet (UV) light (like used for food sterilization) for some period of time to bring out the purple lurking in the glass batch formula due to the manganese dioxide as noted above.  This example has 6 separate air venting markings spread out around the shoulder area as well as four on the base.  This probably indicates a more recent manufacture (though still mouth-blown) than example #1 above, i.e., likely early 1900s to mid-1910s.  The base is embossed with a "24" mold number unlike the three other examples with "47".  This example has some light haze scattered inside and out which isn't too distracting due to the nice purple color.  Like all 4 bottles, this one has no chips, cracks, dings, open bubbles or other post-production damage.

Example #3 (third from the left):   This (and the next) example is embossed JOHNSON'S CHILL / AND FEVER TONIC.  Also another deep amethyst example that was also likely zapped with a UV light.  This example also has about 6 air venting markings scattered around the shoulder area but none on the base like #2 above.  This would indicate to me that it was made sometime between #1 and #2 - probably 1900 to 1910.  Condition is very good with some scattered light haze (some colorfully iridescent) which is also not too distracting due to the wonderful color.  Like with all 4 bottles this one has no chips, cracks, dings, open bubbles or other post-production damage.

Example #4 (far right):   This last example is embossed identically to #3 - including the "47" on the base - although upon close inspection this was blown in a different mold than #3.  Proof of this is also supported by this bottle just having two slightly larger venting marks on the shoulders opposite the vertical mold seam lines.  The glass is also basically colorless like #2 with a bit of pink also indicating that the glass batch had manganese dioxide as the decolorizer.  Condition is also physically perfect - no chips, cracks, dings, etc. though the glass is more moderately water stained by not horribly so.

All four bottles are available as a group for only $50 

WESTMORELAND'S - CALISAYA TONIC. - Here is another "rare square" medicinal tonic bottle, this one from the Deep South.  Westmoreland's Calisaya Tonic bottles were produced in two sizes - this 9.75" large (maybe 18-20 oz.) size (I've recorded two different molds) and a smaller approx. 8" tall small size (three different molds recorded, see listing below).  Click view of both size bottles together to see such.  This is the earlier example with a crudely applied "brandy" finish (aka lip), no evidence of mold air venting and blown in a post-base type mold.  This example is likely to be the earliest of the two larger sizes since the other large size had a tooled finish/lip, was blown in a cup-base mold and has several air venting "dots" on the shoulders opposite the mold seams.  (I owned an example of the later one but sold it long ago.)

Back when I acquired my first example of these bottles (20+ years ago and one of the smaller sizes) I was in contact with Bill Baab (well known collector in the South) who gave me some information on its history having written "The Book" on Augusta, GA. bottles. I don't have the book (since it is narrowly regional a long ways from where I live in Oregon) but he noted the following in an email:  It's an Augusta, Georgia bottle. Jesse M. Westmoreland of Greenville, S.C., came up with the formula, but the Westmoreland Calisaya Tonic Co., was chartered on March 4, 1890 in Augusta. 

This particular bottle as well as the earliest appearing small size (listed below, the other two smaller variations to be listed later) both appear to pre-date 1890 given the manufacturing features noted earlier which are indicative of bottles made no later than mid to late 1880s, i.e., before Bill Baab's noted date of chartering in Augusta.  Hummm...  This got me searching a bit more in my much too extensive (sez the wife) bottle book library and did find some clarification.  Specifically, in Mark Knapp's "Antique American Medicine Bottles" book (Knapp 2012) he only notes the smaller (~8") version of the product but has an undated advertisement (likely from the 1880s) which notes that the product was first prepared and sold in 1883 out of Greenville, SC by a Dr. J. M. Westmorland.  Click on Westmorland's Calisaya Tonic advertisement to see such.  Bingo!  This larger example was almost certainly made for the Westmoreland Calisaya Tonic Company when it was in Greenville, SC. as well as the earliest of the smaller size noted above (and shown in the linked image in the first paragraph).  The later examples were likely made for the Augusta branch or after the company moved to that city - I don't know which but that is what the noted diagnostic manufacturing bottle features are indicating.

As noted it has a crudely applied "brandy" or "long tapered collar with a ring" finish or lip.  Click close-up of the shoulder, neck, and finish to see such.  It was blown in a non-vented, post-base mold; see image of the base to see such showing the side mold seams wrapping around to the base and terminating at the circular "post" base seam.  Two of the three sunken side panels (opposite ones) have the embossing; the other having no embossing and likely used for a label.  The 4th panel is not indented and likely had a label also. The glass is a nice, bright medium amber with scattered bubbles with one small tear drop one (<1/4") on the plain sunken panel at the surface but with no depth at all (in making).  This particular example is in near mint condition and appears to have been lightly cleaned with just a bit of dullness in the middle of the base plate area.  No cracks, flashes, chips or other post-production damage.  There is an area of indentation on the edge of the finish that is associated with a fold or line on the inside of the upper lip which I'm certain is all in making though some may have an issue with it.  Click view 1 and view 2 of this area for close-ups.  Since the bottle was lightly tumbled/cleaned this spot on the rim is smoothed a bit.  All in all an very good example of a rare Southern medicine bottle.  $175 SOLD

WESTMORELAND'S - CALISAYA TONIC - Offered here (images to the right) is the apparent earliest of the smaller size (maybe 11-12 oz.) bottles used for the same product as above with most likely the same history behind it as explained previously.  I have three different mold examples of the smaller size of the Westmoreland's Calisaya Tonic with this one exhibiting the features consistent with manufacture in the 1880s, i.e., a true applied "brandy" finish, no evidence of mold air venting and blown in a post-base type mold.  I am pretty certain that this is the first of the smaller versions which was used by the Westmoreland Calisaya Tonic Co. when it was formed in Greenville, SC.  Click view of both size bottles together to see such.  Besides the size, the only real difference between the bottles is that the smaller size has embossing that is back slanted whereas the larger size lettering is straight up and down.  Don't know why of course though likely due to either a different mold engraver or at the request of the Dr. Westmoreland for that batch of bottles.  It has the same format of paneling as the larger example with the embossing found on opposite sides in an indented panel, another plain indented panel between the two embossed ones and a non-indented flat label panel on the fourth side.

This bottle is exactly 8" tall, was blown in a post-base mold (click base view to see such) without air venting and has an applied "brandy" finish or lip which has a bit of sloppiness confirming the finish was made from tooling separately applied glass after the formation of the bottle.  (Note: If unfamiliar with the difference between applied and tooled finishes - as I use the terminology - see the following linked article that I wrote for a Society of Historical Archaeology publication in 2010: https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/finishingtoucharticle.pdf )  Click view of the shoulder, neck and finish to see such showing a bit of crudeness to the base of the finish ring indicating an applied finish.  The glass color is a very deep chocolate amber - really a black amber as it takes holding it to a strong light to see through the bottle.  It has a moderate amount of crudity with some wavy glass on the label panel. bubbles in the glass and stretch marks in the shoulder-base of the neck area.

Condition of this example is very good with no chip, cracks or other physical damage besides a few very light, but short scratches.  It does have a bit of dullness patchiness in a few places on the side panels and the base.  There are a couple bubbles that are on the surface of the glass but with no depth at all...just part of the bottles hand-blown crudity.  Nice example!  $85

LIEBIG CO'S - COCA BEEF TONIC - That is what is embossed on the two opposite narrow sides of this relatively scarce medicinal tonic bottle, which is made much rarer as it still has most (95%) of the main descriptive labeling on front and about 80% of the labeling on the opposite plain wide panel.  Click on the images to the right to view larger versions and more detail.  The main label (click HERE to see a scan of that label) has all kinds of period common wild claims about the effectiveness of the original contents of this bottle.  The first portion below CHEMICAL WORKS on the main label reads as follows: A Purely Natural and Easily Digested Tonic for Invalids, Dyspeptics and Debilitated Broken Down Constitutions and a Restorative for Convalescents.  The label also notes that the Liebig Laboratory and Chemical Works Co. was located in New York, Paris and London.  Likely that this product had some popularity though the company also sold other types of medicinal products also including Liebig's Beef, Wine & Iron.

My medicinal tonic notes indicate that it was advertised in an edition of the Portland Oregonian newspaper in 1898 as an "Extract of Beef" - yum.  Richard Fike's great book on patent medicines (The Bottle Book - A Comprehensive Guide to Historic Embossed Medicine Bottles - 1987) notes that "Liebigs Extract of Beef, Wine & Iron and other similar products (like this Coca Beef Tonic I presume) were the property of the Liebig Extract of Meat Co. (LEMCO), London, England and were originated by Baron Liebig in 1865."  He also notes that the Beef, Wine & Iron was first advertised in the United States in 1889 and the product was still being sold until at least 1921.

It has a tooled "patent" style finish or lip and a smooth ever-so-slightly indented base.  Click view of the base to see...the base which has no mold seams indicating this bottle was blown in a cup-base mold.  This dates the bottle most likely to sometime after the mid to late 1880s but likely no later than the first decade of the 20th century. Given the advertisement and that absence of air venting on the body of the bottle and the tooled finish I would date this example pretty solidly to between 1890 and 1900.

The bottle is a bit over 7" tall, 2.7" wide and 1.9" deep.  Click view of the shoulder, neck and finish to see such.   The color is a nice bluish aqua and is in mint condition having never been buried.  None of the sides are indented and the embossing on the narrow sides is quite bold.  Click right side to see the LIEBIG CO'S embossing side; click left side to see the COCA BEEF TONIC side.  These bottles are "around" but are rare with labeling and in such perfect condition.  $60

PUROLA BITTER HERB TONIC label only medicinal tonic bottle - Here is a very nice label only medicinal tonic bottle from Portland, Oregon. The label is essentially perfect with no chipping or staining but with a slight overall but even slight darkening of the paper that is common with old labels.  So I'm pretty positive that the label is original to the bottle and not some added later thing.  In addition to the previous evidence the person I acquired it from (eBay) noted that they had found a few of them the attic or basement of some Northwest building that I can't remember...probably Portland.  The label does note that the contents were "One Pint, 5 Fluid Ounces" which is about the amount to the base of the neck this bottle would hold.

I had another example of this product where the label was actually different but from the same company.  Click Bitter Herb Tonic label to see the label of that example which I sold years ago.  It was produced by the same company - Blumauer-Frank Co. - but prior its name adding the "PUROLA" before Bitter Herb Tonic.  Possibly an older example?  The bottles' label also notes that the product acted as "AN APPETIZER, ALSO LIVER, STOMACH AND BOWEL STIMULANT WHICH REPRESENTS THE VIRTUES OF ANGUSTURA, MANDRAKE, CASCARA, DANDELION AND HOPS COMBINED WITH AROMATICS.  Sounds great!  Also notes that it contains 25% alcohol...50 proof would also help as a stimulant.

The base has a mold number of 1016 embossed which is "ghosted" as I've heard this phenomena called.  If you click on the image to the right of the base, you'll have a larger, better quality image pop up in a separate window.  You'll see that the number is lightly repeated just to left and slightly below - at a 45 degree angle or so - the centered number.  That is a function of the glassblower slightly lifting the inflating gob of hot glass and then expanding it with his lungs but slightly shifting or rotating his position.  In my experience this seems to be most often observed on bottles mouth-blown from the late 1890s into the mid to late 1910's when automatic machines took over the job.

The bottle stands 8.5" tall, is about 2.75" to a side and has beveled corners.  See image of the reverse panels to see such.  The side mold seams end right at the base of the finish but there is no slop since there was no applied glass added.  The tooling of the finish/lip to shape was very nicely done indicating to me that the bottle is likely from the 1910s and a very late mouth-blown product.  Click image of the upper body, shoulder and neck/lip to see such.  The color is a typical medium amber and typical of the square bottles used for Dr. J. Hostetter's Bitters and a myriad of other bottle "medicinal" products from the Civil War era well into the first few decades of the 20th century.  The condition is absolutely perfect with no issues at all..and included the likely original cork.  Nice addition to an Oregon or  Northwest medicine collection or medicinal tonic collection which is the reason I acquired it.  $50

WAIT'S WILD CHERRY TONIC - THE GREAT TONIC - There aren't a whole lot of  mouth-blown (not machine-made) medicinal tonic bottles that are embossed and from the West, but this is one of them.   The company also made Wait's Kidney and Liver Bitters among other products including this Wild Cherry Tonic. According to Ring & Ham's book on bitters, the product was made by the George Z. Wait Co. who were "Wholesale Manufacturing Pharmacists" located at 531 J. Street, Sacramento, CA."  I don't know if the Bitters or the Tonic was the biggest seller, though both seem to be scarce but "around" out West here at bottle shows which is likely where I got this fine example. 

The Bitters was also bottled in an identically shaped, medium amber colored bottle both of which were likely made in the late 1890s to at least the mid to possibly late 1910s.  They - the Tonic and the Bitters - were both almost certainly made by the Pacific Coast Glass Works as the noted Wait's K&L Bitters has the base makers marking of PCGW who used that marking from 1903 to about 1920.   Richard Fikes' "The Bottle Book" (1987) also notes and has images (third page of color plates) of the Bitters, brief information on the Bitters and Tonic as well as an image of another product bottled in the Bitters bottle that is labeled as containing "Wait's Horehound, Irish Moss, Honey & Balsam Tolu"...and was good for coughs, colds, etc.  Likely fairly high in alcohol I suspect.  Fike dated all the Wait's bottles to 1906 (because of the Pure Food & Drug Act became law?) to 1920 (National Prohibition?) indicating the product was high alcohol and largely ineffective for medicinal purposes?  Hard to say...

This bottle stands 8.75" tall, has a tooled "oil" style finish or lip, blown in a cup base mold and has a mold or catalog number of 147 / G embossed on the base.  Click base view to see such.  Interestingly the base has a moderately sharp 146 / G embossed with a "ghosted" version of the 14 part of it to the right of the more distinct embossing resulting in a partial "double stamp" of the base embossing.  This is a function of the blower ("gaffer" in glass maker parlance) of the bottle briefly touching the hot parison (gob of red hot glass on the blowpipe) to the base plate then lifting the blowpipe upwards to inflate the bottle to the conformation of the mold resulting in a sharper full embossing version of the base mold catalog code.  Interesting eh?  It is something that seems to really only show up much right near the end of the mouth-blown bottle era, i.e., 1890s to 1920 or so.  The vertical side mold seams both end just above the shoulder top with horizontal tooling marks visible from there up into the lip/finish.  Click view of the shoulder, neck and lip to see such.

Condition of this bottle is essentially sparkling clean and like new with no cracks, chips, staining or other post production damage.  There is a small in making rough spot at the base of the neck that didn't get smoothed out with the lipping tool; it is about a quarter inch by 3/8th inch and is obviously from the manufacturing process.  (It shows a bit in the THE GREAT TONIC image to the left right at the base of the neck on the right; click to enlarge.)  There are a couple very small areas of what appears to be content crust that is hard to see and probably just indicates that the bottle was never buried.  A period typical medium amber glass (see images) and some scattered bubbles in the glass and you have a fine specimen of a scarce - though not horribly rare - Western made and used medicinal tonic bottle.  $65

...MORE TO COME IN THE FUTURE!