Sunday, May 11, 2014

Anyone seen one of these ??


Here's a bottle I pulled out this wknd.  Sure has a Western blown look and feel to the glass and embossing. Deep aqua sparkle glass, heavy embossing. Looks to be late 1870s early 1880s.


 It's 7" tall, applied top, shaped like an Injection Brou bottle (you know, those French venereal treatments we dig at whorehouse and boarding house sites on occasion).
Could this have possibly been a Western venereal treatment bottle ???  P.P.M. CO     The only guess off the top of my head for the initials was Perry Pratt Medical Co. but I'm pretty sure that's not right.
I'm hoping someone out there can solve the mystery on this one.   I'm 99.9% sure it's a western blown bottle.

AP


5/12 Update from Eric McG:


You found a bottle produced for the Pacific Proprietary Medicine Co., who operated in San Francisco from 1872 to 1877. They concocted a variety of medicines so I am assuming the bottles may have held a number of products. I have only seen a couple of these

5/13 Update:

Looks like the company possibly may have started out as the Pacific Proprietary Medicine Depot (PPM D)   and then morphed into the Pacific Proprietary Medicine Co. (PPM CO). Not sure if these two were one in the same company or not (See Bruce's second email below).  Still waiting on additional info on that.  Also received a cool text this morning from Numa G, saying he found something showing the PPM CO exhibited Elephant Bitters at the 1875 Industrial Fair, and that D.L. Munson was listed in 1877 running the company in S.F. !!  Wow... Elephant Bitters......  would sure like to see that embossed on a Western bottle !!

AP

 

Two emails just in from Bruce of Western Whiskey Gazette !

Tom;
I compared your base alongside a S.F. spice. It appears to be a modified mold with flat sides and a "remodeled" neck and closure.
Definitely western glass in my opinion.



 

And then he found this ad....... (San Francisco Elevator newspaper Sept 25, 1868)

First reference 1868. Talk about a pedigree!









 


 

5/14 update: Two supporting publications just in from Numa G

 
How about some 'ELEPHANT' BITTERS !!   PPM Co displayed these at the 1875 Fair (see ad below sent to me by Numa G ).  Could there be an embossed one of these out there waiting to be dug, or did they simply put all of their products in the PPM CO bottle pictured above.... ?? AP
 

Sept 11, 1875 ad for Industrial Fair





 
 

and an 1877 Directory listing showing D.L. Munson in charge





 
 
 
Thanks go out to Bruce, Eric, and Andrew for researching and each  adding pieces to the puzzle....quickly solving the mystery of this bottle !  Although, now a new mystery has been created from this research.... there may be an Elephant in the " bottle room"  somewhere  out there !!  At least I hope so.....
AP
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

8 comments:

  1. This is one pretty bottle! I have dug the clear Injection Brou, and this is a different animal. Almost has a "Twiaba" look to it. I would agree that it is almost certainly western blown, and perhaps Eric can shed some light on the brand. At lease one "P" could be Pratt, or Pacific, and the "M" could be "medical"? Nice find! DM

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  2. Dale- It does look much more like a Twiaba. You might be on to something....
    Thanks !

    AP

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  3. You found a bottle produced for the Pacific Proprietary Medicine Co., who operated in San Francisco from 1872 to 1877. They concocted a variety of medicines so I am assuming the bottles may have held a number of products. I have only seen a couple of these but I suspect there may be more lurking in boxes of junk bottles owned by clueless diggers since the only hint of their identity is the silent scream that says . . . "SAN FRANCISCO GLASS".

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  4. Thanks Eric ! Any idea who the proprietors were ? I'm curious if any familiar names associated with Western products were involved in that venture. It almost seems like they were so quack that they didnt want to put their own name on the bottle !

    AP

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  5. Tom;
    Check your in box. It's all there.
    Bruce

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  6. I wonder if Warren ran into any information on this outfit when he was researching for his book?
    rs

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  7. Yes, I knew about the Pacific Proprietary Medicine Depot that was operated by Hostetter, Smith & Dean.

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  8. Odd; Notice how "Elephant" was in parenthesis?

    If it was only blown in a figural mold in S.F...

    Now, we're talkin'!

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