"TL" <t6p@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:1183561583.183689.162110@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Hello all,
> I recently found a very small bottle embossed with "Dr. Birney's /
> Catarrhal Powder". It is 2.5" high and 3/4" wide. The information I
> found on the web was interesting in that the contents of the bottle
> had been part cocaine. I was surprised to find very little on the
> bottle other than the history of the product in reference to quack
> medicine and addiction of the late 1800's and early 1900's.
> Could anyone give me some idea of the rarity of this bottle?
> http://pterable.home.mindspring.com/bottle/catarrh.jpg
> Thank You,
> Tom
I'm adding a cross-post to rec.antiques.bottles. I don't know
if that group is very active any more, because old bottles aren't
as collected now as they were 20 years ago.
Yours has spent a long time buried or in water, and has absorbed
lots of minerals (accounting for that iridescence), so it's not in
perfect condition and if there was a label, it's now long-gone.
Cocaine was a common ingredient in old patent medicines,
and you can often find a bottle with the contents intact.
I know you're not looking for value (and we don't know what
something is worth)...but "rarity" really doesn't figure into
much unless it's the work of an established artist ;)
You can search *completed* listings on "that big online auction
site" to see what quack bottles are selling for when exposed to
a potential audience of millions. The highest price I see right
now, is $44.99 for 49 different ones. I see no Dr Birney's,
so maybe yours IS rare. ?
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