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heavily iridized 19th century privy dug antique american square amber bitters bottle with tapered collar manufactured for geo w.m. reed in connecticut.
  • heavily iridized 19th century privy dug antique american square amber bitters bottle with tapered collar manufactured for geo w.m. reed in connecticut.
  • heavily iridized 19th century privy dug antique american square amber bitters bottle with tapered collar manufactured for geo w.m. reed in connecticut.
  • heavily iridized 19th century privy dug antique american square amber bitters bottle with tapered collar manufactured for geo w.m. reed in connecticut.
  • heavily iridized 19th century privy dug antique american square amber bitters bottle with tapered collar manufactured for geo w.m. reed in connecticut.
  • heavily iridized 19th century privy dug antique american square amber bitters bottle with tapered collar manufactured for geo w.m. reed in connecticut.
  • heavily iridized 19th century privy dug antique american square amber bitters bottle with tapered collar manufactured for geo w.m. reed in connecticut.
  • heavily iridized 19th century privy dug antique american square amber bitters bottle with tapered collar manufactured for geo w.m. reed in connecticut.
  • heavily iridized 19th century privy dug antique american square amber bitters bottle with tapered collar manufactured for geo w.m. reed in connecticut.
  • heavily iridized 19th century privy dug antique american square amber bitters bottle with tapered collar manufactured for geo w.m. reed in connecticut.
heavily iridized 19th century privy dug antique american square amber bitters bottle with tapered collar manufactured for geo w.m. reed in connecticut.

heavily iridized 19th century privy dug antique american square amber bitters bottle with tapered collar manufactured for geo w.m. reed in connecticut.

SKU: UR-22853-15
reference only
single largely intact c. 1870's square, richly colored and irridized amber bitters bottle manufactured for geo w.m. reed. the body has sloping shoulders and beveled edges on each side, and is finished with an applied tapered collar that exhibits some slop. deeply embossed vertically on one side is the name "reed's tonic" with "1818" sitting centrally between the two words, and "gilt / edge" arching above and below in smaller lettering. the base is smooth with a round indentation and strong side seams that run up to the neck, evidencing manufacture with a two-piece mold. the vibrant glass is heavily irridized, especially around the base, with a rainbow-like patina. surface wear is typical of its age and date of manufacture. geo w.m. reed was the proprietor of 'reed's bitters and 'reed's gilt edge tonic', among other things, while operating at 298 state street, new haven, connecticut. reed's gilt edge tonic was marketed as "a true specific for malaria and indigestion", as quinine was believed to prevent malarial infections.while folk medicines and natural product derivatives have, in many cases, proven a fruitful source of modern, medically accepted remedy, they have also proven an abundant source for quackery and claim to panacea or cure for multiple disparate afflictions. patent medicine was one of the first major product categories that the advertising industry promoted and the nineteenth century witnessed incredible excesses in pharmaceutical advertising. patent medicine promoters pioneered many advertising and sales techniques later used for other products. beginning in colonial america and extending to the passage of the pure food and drug act, a plethora of quack pharmaceutical manufacturers produced and aggressively marketed home remedies of dubious origin and questionable chemical purity. whether the ingredients were opium and ethanol or simple milk sugar, no regulations governed their manufacture or sale.

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