Glass Medicine Bottle

One colorless base and body fragment from a 19th- century small rectangular-bodied (3 cm by 2 cm) patent medicine bottle. Seams on the edges and base indicate that it was produced in a two-piece hinge mold. Embossed on all four sides (WI...//FOR/ H...//BALS...//MIR..), the fragments do not provide enough information to discern the original brand or the contents. However the letters on one side, "BALS", may refer to a popular type of medicine, a "Balsam", which was frequently used to treat coughs, consumption, and rheumatic fever.

• Object number

  1136

• Date made

  1810

• Dimensions

  Length 3 cm

  Width 2 cm

• Decoration

  Embossed

• Color

  Colorless

• Animals/objects

  Bottle, Medicine

• Patterns

  Lettering

• Category

  Personal

• Class

  Glass

• Functions

  Medical

• Material

  Glass, Non-Lead

• Context

  Lot 26*, Test Cut AP, Cistern Deposit: Grayish, Yellowish and Rust Brown Silty Sand in Feature (624.1136)

• Forms

  Base/Body

  Rectangular Body Cross-Section

• Techniques

  Mold Blown