Collection Highlights
Balustrade section from Federal Hall, New York
Date:
1788-1789
Object Number:
1884.3
Medium:
Painted wrought iron
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Museum Collections
Luce Center
Medicine bottle
Object Number:
Z.606
Date:
1880-1910
Medium:
Glass, lithium carbonate, paper, cork
Dimensions:
Overall: 6 1/4 x 2 1/4 in. ( 15.9 x 5.7 cm )
Marks:
printed paper label: affixed to obverse: "GRANULAR / EFFERVESCENT / Lithium and Potas- / sium Carbonate / (ALKALINE NEUTRALIZING SALT) / Each dessertspoonful represents 5 grains of / Lithium Carbonate, 20 grains of the com- / bined Sodium and Potassium Bi
Description:
Blue glass medicine bottle containing lithium carbonate; blown in a two-part mold with separate base plate; wide flat collar, cylindrical neck, rounded shoulder, cylindrical body with paper label attached, and "H. K. MULFORD CO. PHILADELPIA" in relief in base; cork stopper.
Gallery Label:
At the turn of the twentieth century, the American drug trade was almost wholly unregulated. This "patent medicine" may have been intended to treat complaints ranging from gout to mania. It contained a mixture of baking soda, caffeine, and lithium, which is toxic in large doses. Such bottles are frequently found in urban archaeological excavations.
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.
