JOYNER  / UNITED DRUG CO. (in a shield) / TRADE MARK / SPOKANE / U.S.A. - This is a scarce druggist bottle from Spokane, WA. that is quite rare with the original label and string around the neck that probably had some tag attached at some point.  Click close-up of the embossing to see such.  This 7 3/8" tall (12 oz.) bottle from the early 20th century has a tooled, unusual two-part lip or finish - what is called the "reinforced extract" or "collared ring" depending on what reference is used.  It also has a large majority of the original label (see image) which notes that it contained "Ideal Blood Mixture and Tonic" with an alcohol level of 20%; it also notes all the maladies it would treat - from acne to "malarial poison."  The bottle is also embossed just above the label with "12 OZ.", has a smooth base, clear or colorless glass and is in mint condition with no chips, cracks, staining or other issues...reflecting it having never been buried.  It does have a bit of dirt inside which would certainly wash out easily, though I did not since I didn't want to possibly disturb the label integrity.  This bottle was acquired for use in helping illustrate some concepts on the Historic Bottle Website.  Nice item with bold embossing and a pretty nice original label.  Unavailable at this time.

LINDSEY'S / BLOOD / SEARCHER - R. E. SELLERS & Co. PROP'S - PITTSBURGH - This is an example of what is almost certainly the last (6th mold) in the long run of Lindsey's Blood Searcher bottles beginning in the 1850s.  This one most likely dates from the 1890s to possibly the early 1900s.  This example is about 8 3/4" tall, smooth base, tooled double ring finish or lip, and colorless (clear) like all of the bottles from this mold in my experience.  The embossing on this example is probably better than average for a mold that was lightly engraved it seems (maybe a weak mold engraver!).  Condition is about mint with no staining of note or chips, cracks, or other major issues though there is a couple very small reflective spots within the edge of the crudely tooled and folded upper part to the finish that appear to be in-making related, i.e., one is from a bit of the folded glass and the other appears to be a pin head size stone just on the sharp edge of the upper ring.  No cracks or issues related to these spots, but they are there.  Overall a nice example and well priced.   Unavailable at this time.

PARK PHARMACY / E. G. COOK / DETROIT - This neat chunk of bottle making iron is an original mold plate - aka "slug plate" - that was used for the production of embossed druggist bottles during the 1910s.  It is embossed as noted, as a mirror image of course to the bottles produced by this plate.  According to the story I've heard, this - and a small "horde" of such plates - were found many years ago in an old shed at the site of the Whitall Tatum & Co. glass company (Millville, NJ).  Whitall Tatum & Co. was one of the biggest producers of proprietary (i.e., embossed specifically for a particular customer) druggist/pharmacy bottles from the 1870s to 1930s, including embossed mouth-blown ones until at least 1924.  This plate is 3.5" long, just under an inch deep, and 1.3" wide and weighs one full pound.  The back of this plate has the engraved glass company catalog or tracking number of P3465E and a screw hole where the plate was secured to the mold.  The condition is excellent with just some scattered rust here and there.  An interesting feature of this item is that it has the mold air venting holes scattered throughout the engraved lettering.  These small pin holes connect with a larger drilled hole that runs the length of the plate.  These vent holes allowed for the venting of the hot gases from the mold insides as the bottle was expanding.  This plate was procured and used to illustrate the Historic Bottle Website.  Great go-with for medicinal and/or druggist collectors and just to those interested in the lore of mouth-blown bottle manufacturing.  Unavailable at this time.

SANFORD'S - RADICAL CURE - This is another of those great named cure bottles that thrill bottle collectors.  Not quite as dramatic as the Radam's Microbe Killer claim to "Cure All Diseases" but darn close.  However, the color is dramatic - a deep cobalt blue - and the glass has some nice scattered bubbles here and there.  This example is 7 3/4" tall, has a crudely applied patent finish or lip, and a smooth base (embossed number "1").  This example has no chips, fleabites, cracks or other damage but does have an overall moderate - though evenly distributed - haze that isn't too distracting (see images which show the dullness).  This bottle would respond well to a professional cleaning since the dullness is light and there is no associated etching.  This bottle was used to illustrate the medicine bottles section of the Historic Bottle Website.  Here is the write-up from that website which more fully describes this interesting bottle:

The deep cobalt blue bottle pictured to the right is another example of a "straight neck panel" bottle similar to the one described above in shape, though with a patent instead of an oil finish, three indented panels instead of four, and of course in a more brilliant color.  It is embossed on the two narrow sides (both indented) with SANFORD'S - RADICAL CURE.  The wider sides of the bottle, of which one is indented (shown in picture) and one not, are not embossed.  This medicine was probably introduced about 1871 by Weeks & Potter (Boston, Mass.) which was later (1883) called Potter Drug & Chemical Co. (Wilson & Wilson 1971; Holcombe 1977).  This particular bottle most likely pre-dates that renaming since bottles that are obviously later produced (i.e., have tooled finishes and mold air venting) are base embossed with POTTER DRUG & CHEMICAL COMPANY, BOSTON USA (Fike 1987).  The pictured bottle has no base embossing (besides the mold number "1") though some other earlier examples do have WEEKS & POTTER / BOSTON USA embossed on the base.  (Click Weeks & Potter base view to see an example with this base embossing [photo courtesy of Joel Williams].)  Considering these facts together with the primary manufacturing related diagnostic features (applied finish, no evidence of mold air venting, post base mold), this bottle can quite reliably be estimated to have been made between 1871 and 1883.  Click on the following links to see more images of this bottle: base view showing the post base mold conformation; close-up of the shoulder, neck, and finish; view of one narrow side with the embossing SANFORD'S; view of the other narrow side with RADICAL CURE.

That about tells the story of this bottle.  Unavailable at this time.

C. C. C. - CALIFORNIA CATARRH CURE - This cool 100% intact labeled bottle with about 95% of the original contents (some evaporation), original black print on red box (claims and directions on all sides) AND the original handbill or flyer framed comes as a package deal.  The bottle has four indented panels (panel on the reverse is oval in shape) with a label on one side as shown in the image; the only embossing is W. T. & CO. / U. S. A. on the base.  The label notes all the things that the product would cure.  Bottle is aqua in color, 8 1/3" tall, with a tooled "patent" lip or finish, and dates from the mid-1890s given the testimonials on the handbill; it is also in mint condition and wrapped with plastic wrap around the cork to preserve the contents.  The box is covered with directions for use, what it cures, with the back a list of "some symptoms of catarrh" which includes about everything from bad breath to dizziness to "a pain in the top of your head."  One narrow box side has "C. C. C. ALWAYS Cures" (click to see this side) and the other has " C. C. C. NEVER Fails"...sounds like it could beat many medicines available now!  The box has some staining here and there, from the contents leakage I suppose, though the wording is all easily readable and the box entirely intact, though the top flap is pretty fragile.  The handbill is a large 9" wide by 24" tall and has testimonials and all kinds of cool verbiage about catarrh.  I framed the handbill myself (had the precisely right size frame; no trimming) and it is included.  Condition of the handbill is very good with no rips or tears, just some wrinkling from being in the box for 100+ years and one small staining spot at the top middle edge and more lightly on the right side edge (from the bottle leaking I presume).  The product was produced by "The California Catarrh Company" of Woonsocket, R. I., of all places.  Nice item for a medicinal bottle collection (Ex-McMurry Antiques & Auctions item.)  Unavailable at this time.