As a collector, one of the most exciting types of bottle to come across at a show or on a dig is a pontiled bottle. A pontil is an unquestionable sign of age, generally pre-1865. Rhode Island has a healthy amount of pontiled medicines, some which are common, and others so rare that very little is known about them. Since I already have a RI Medicine bottle history blog, I'm just going to do a quick overview of all the known pontiled RI medicine bottles. If you see a "picture needed" blurb, and happen to have that bottle, please contact me! I would be most grateful for your help. Thanks, and enjoy!
Acronyms: OP mean open pontil, IP means iron pontil, LRBC is Little Rhody Bottle Club.
David Andrews Vegetable Jaundice Bitters- Providence, RI
This is one of the most iconic RI bottles known. The distinctive tombstone shape make it stand apart from virtually all other pontiled medicines known. It is a very rare bottle, but they do come up for auction every 1-2 years.
Another bottle that recently surfaced deserves note. It is simply marked "D. Andrews". While it can't be confirmed as a RI bottle, the odds are certainly in its favor.
Dr. Seth Arnold's Balsam/ Cough Killer / Rose Compound- Woonsocket, RI
Dr. Seth Arnold was one of the most successful patent medicine manufacturers in Rhode Island. His balsam and cough killer were so popular that they were still being sold into the 1920s. The Balsam bottle is fairly common, and comes in two sizes (4" and 5"). The small size is harder to find. Like most medicines with flared lips, they usually have damage, so finding an example in mint condition isn't easy. There is also an 8-sided version, which is rare. It also has a flared lip.
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| Balsam, large size |
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| small size |
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| Rolled lip version |
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| 8-sided version |
The Cough Killer is uncommon, but not hard to find. It only comes in one size, and has a flared lip as well.
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| Cough Killer (side) |
The Rose Compound is the rarest of the lot. This 8-sided bottle is pretty much identical to the 8-sided Balsam bottle. I only know of the one example pictured on the LRBC website.
Barber's Indian Vegetable Jaundice Bitters- Providence, RI
This one I am very doubtful of. While the smooth based examples are around, I have only heard of a pontiled one by secondhand word of mouth (someone told someone who told me etc). Given that the smooth base examples are solidly mid-late 1870s-1880s era, I'm saying this is an urban legend until proven otherwise. (picture needed?)
Below is a picture of a smooth based exammple.
P. Buffum's Health Restorative- Providence, RI
An exceedingly rare pontiled RI medicine. It comes in two sizes, but the only example I have ever seen was the one pictures in the Samuel J. Greer collection catalog back in 1988. (better picture needed)
Burrington's Vegetable Croup Syrup- Providence, RI
A scarce pontiled RI medicine. Normally found as a smooth base 1870s-90s bottle, the pontiled version is hard to find. I have seen a handful in auctions.
This is the much harder to find example embossed Burrington's Genuine Croup Syrup. I would rate it as very rare.
H.H. Burrington / Dr. Wadsworth's Dry Up for the Catarrh- Providence, RI
Another one I have heard rumors of. This bottle comes in clear and aqua early smooth base examples. One collector reported a pontiled example, but it has not been verified. (picture needed)
Smooth base example:
Chapin & Thurber Apothecaries- Providence, RI
Another very rare one. Listed in 3 sizes, I have never seen one in person, only the two pictured below.
J.M. Curtis Cure for Baldness- Providence, RI
A very rare smooth based bottle, the pontiled one exists, but has only been spoken of in whispers. I would personally nominate is as one of the Top 10 cure bottles of all time. (picture needed)
A smooth based example:
Davis Vegetable Pain Killer- Providence, RI
By far the most well-known pontiled bottle from RI. It is also the most common (one of the most common pontiled medicines in the US in fact). There are a number of sizes and some variants. The common sizes are 4-1/4" and 5". There are also 6-1/2", 7", and 8-1/4" sizes. The two middle sizes are rare, and the large size is very rare.
This bottle can also be found with an iron pontil in 6-3/4" and 8-1/4" sizes. Both of these are very rare.
The last variant is a 4-1/2" example with a rolled lip. This one is rare.
G.W. Davis Inflammatory Extirpator & Cleanser (New York, not RI)
Whoops! We got this one wrong. There was a G.W. Davis in Providence, RI who was a botanic druggist. However, he did not put out an Inflammatory Extirpator & Cleanser.
DeWitt's Pain Reliever- Providence, RI
A rare one. Since it is not embossed with Providence or RI, it quite often doesn't get the attention that it deserves. They show up with the frequency of about one per 1-2 years.
There is however, an extremely rare variant, marked DeWitt's Pain Reliever 1850-60 Providence, RI that I have never seen before. If you come across this one count your lucky stars!
Dyer's Healing Embrocation- Providence, RI
A fairly common medicine that might win the award for most variants. The common version measures 6" and has a sloping collar lip. It also comes in a 4-3/4" size, which I have not seen yet.
A variant with a non-sloping collar lip comes in 5", 5-3/4", and 7-1/2". All of these are rare.
There are two variants with rolled lips measuring 3-3/4" and 4-3/4". The small one has a funny abbreviation of Provce. The small one is rare, and the larger on is very rare.
A flared lip version measures 5". This is a rare version.
Lastly, two 12-sided examples measure 4-1/2" each. The apostrophe location in Dyer's /Dyers' is different. These are rare. (Dyer's on left, Dyers' on right)
Dr. Grave's Hygeian Alterative Syrup- (Grafton, VT?)
Another whoops! This one is pretty excusable though. A pontiled label only bottle reads: Dr. Graves Hypertrophy or Heart Regulator Providence. Dr. Graves was actually from London, and the medicine was prepared by a doctor in Vermont.
Hassard- Providence
A very rare and obscure bottle. The shape is a common one, similar to the common heel embossed Pynchon Boston pontiled medicine. I have only seen one in person, and the other on the LRBC website. Both have different lips (flared and rolled).
Hazard & Caswell- Newport, RI
Famous to collectors for their square cobalt blue bottles, this company has origins dating back to the 1850s. Until recently, there was only one known pontiled bottle from this company. This large rectangular bottle with beveled corners is very rare.
Recently surfaced was this exciting find, a cod liver oil type medicine bottle. It is fairly common as a smooth base, but very rare with a pontil.
Dr. Holme's Balsam- Providence, RI
Another very rare RI medicine. I have only seen one in person and another in a recent auction. The smooth based example is just as rare as the pontiled one!
Dr. Hough's Anti-Scrofula Syrup- Providence, RI
Perhaps one of the most impressive pontiled RI medicine bottles is the massive Hough bottle. It is rare to find with a smooth base, and very rare to find pontiled.
C. Jillson's Compound Vegetable Syrup- Woonsocket, RI
While one of the largest cities in RI, Woonsocket's population didn't take off until the 1860s-70s. It's sole pontiled medicine is very rare. I have only seen pictures of two examples.
C.A.P. Mason Alpine Hair Balm- Providence, RI
One of the most prized bottles from RI as a smooth base, the unlisted pontiled version is one of the most sought-after hair bottles of all time. I couldn't believe it until a collector sent me a picture.
Ambrose Morse Compound Dockroot Syrup- Providence, RI
An extremely rare one! I have only seen a picture of one, which was badly damaged, and there might be another damaged one according to a value guide. Similar in shape and design to the David Andrews Bitters, they broke very easily, hence the damaged examples. Update: one was sold recently and it was undamaged!
A. Morse Druggist Providence, RI
Just as rare and impressive as the last Morse bottle! I've only seen pictures of the one show below.
Morse's Celebrated Syrup- Providence, RI
One of the two well-known large oval meds from RI. The scarce aqua examples come with open and iron pontils (open pontiled is slightly harder to get). The blue green version comes with an iron pontil (rare). The emerald green version comes with an open or iron pontil, both are very rare. Perhaps the rarest color is clear. While not the most sought after or valuable color, I haven't seen one yet!
Paine's Vegetable Pain Curer- Providence, RI
This "double whammy" medicine has two things going for it. First, it is pontiled, and second, it is a cure. Pontiled cures are mighty hard to come by, and this is one of the rarest ones out there. It comes in three sizes. I was able to recently tie this bottle to Thomas S. Paine of Providence, who apparently tried to rip off Davis Vegetable Pain Killer. Judging by the rarity of the bottles he didn't do very well!
J.H. Potter - Westerly, RI
The only pontiled medicine from Westerly is a very rare one. I have only seen one in person, and 1-2 that sold in auctions. This example has a label for Excelsior Hair Dye.
Rhode's Fever & Ague Cure- Providence, RI
Another rare pontiled med that is more often found with a smooth base. There is a version that is also embossed Providence, RI that must be extremely rare, because I have never seen or heard of one besides the LRBC listing. There is also a version embossed Antidote to Malaria on the front, which is very rare. A number were dug together a few years back, but there are probably only a dozen or so known.
Andrew J. Smith's Celebrated Croup & Cough Syrup- Providence, RI
One of the rarest embossed cylinder meds from RI. I had never seen one until last year, when one turned up (not for sale of course) at a bottle show.
Snow & Mason Cough & Croup Syrup- Providence, RI
Another medicine that had a remarkable run from the 1850s to the 1920s. While very common to find with a smooth base, pontiled examples are rare. There is supposed to be a version without the "Cough & Croup Syrup" embossing, but I have never seen one. If it exists I'd call it very rare.
Dr. Wadsworth's Vegetable Croup Syrup- Providence, RI
Another very rare embossed cylinder. It is also one of the earliest pontiled medicines from RI, probably dating to the 1840s. It comes in 5" and 6" sizes, with the 5" version being a bit harder to find. The flared lips also make finding a mint example very difficult.
Dr. S.A. Weaver's Canker & Salt Rheum Syrup / Canker Cure / Cerate- (mostly)
Providence, RI
Dr. Sterry A. Weaver might have been from Providence, but when he fell ill with consumption (possibly in 1852), the rights to manufacture his medicine were promptly bought up by J.N. Harris & Co. of New London, CT. Weaver died a few years later in 1857. That means that most of the pontiled Weaver bottles are in fact from New London, CT. The RI variants are in fact embossed Providence, RI. It was likely this was removed when the company changed hands. The Providence marked bottles are rare.
The Canker Cure is very rare, being another pontiled cure. Only the example embossed Prov. is definitely from Rhode Island.
The Cerate bottles are scarce. These never had RI embossed on them, so it's hard to tell which ones are from RI unless you found a labeled one.
Whitney's Croup Cordial- Providence, RI
A very rare bird! One of these hasn't been seen since the 1988 Greer auction. This 12-sided flared lip beauty was sold by Charles Dyer. Update: I was able to acquire this medicine last December!
Thanks to the following for providing pictures: jeffnholantiquebottles.com, American Bottle Auctions, Norm Heckler, Joel Forte
