Potions and Poisons

Last Sunday my mom and I visited another estate sale. This wasn't the place we went to last time, but a new house. The house had been owned by a 95 year old woman, who clearly had good taste in antiques. Since we went on the last day of the sale, everything was marked down 50% from the first day's prices! This is usually the case with estate sales.

As you all know, I've been on the lookout for some witchy potion bottles. I was lucky enough to obtain a dark wine bottle from the pumpkin carving party, which looks perfect wearing the Arsenic label. The rest of the bottles were found at the estate sale.

The little bottles were priced three for $1.00. The claw bottle cost $1.50. What a deal! Of course, I had to do some research on the bottles when I got home. Here's what I found out...

You will notice that this bottle is embossed with the words "Not to be taken". This is because it is an old poison bottle! Don't worry about the little snake; this bottle has been empty for a long time.

These kinds of bottles were sold between 1870-1930. I'm not sure how old my bottle is. It is stamped with 1990 on the bottom. It could be a reproduction made in 1990 or that number could mean something else. It may really be an antique, because I saw this exact bottle go for $21 on ebay recently.

This curvy, brown bottle was used to hold 4 oz. of Bovril.

Here's the embossed "Bovril" marking. I had no idea what Bovril was until I looked it up. Turns out it was a thick, salty meat extract used for flavoring things like soups. It's funny for this bottle to end up in the hands of a vegetarian, but I think any ancient meat residue is long gone! I found this bottle being sold online from $5.00-$15.00.

Here is my favorite find! Look at that creepy talon. It's just the perfect bottle for a witch display. I wonder what the previous owner used this for. Maybe she put it out for Halloween as well.

The bottom of the bottle is marked: 

Ball and Claw Bitters ~ World's Best Remedy

This is an antique reproduction of a bitters bottle. I know it is a reproduction, because it is marked with the Indianapolis Drug Company stamp. It also has the Wheaton, NJ stamp on the bottom. The Wheaton company was known for making antique reproductions. This bottle may be vintage, but it is not an antique. That's too bad, because original antique bitters bottles go for thousands of dollars! I did find this one being offered for $100 online, though.

For those who don't know, bitters were an infusion of herbs in alcohol which offered a way to consume alcohol in medicine during times when drinking was socially unacceptable or illegal. The bitters heyday in the US was from 1860 to 1906. This was the time of the Temperance Movement. Alcohol was still legal at this time, but looked down upon by many people. Bitters were outlawed with the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 which effectively ended the manufacture of products which were alcohol and/or opiate based.

This little bottle, like the last one, has Wheaton stamped on the bottom. So it must be another antique reproduction.

Here's the wine bottle transformed into a sinister vessel for Arsenic!

I love this label. If you enlarge the above photo, you'll see that at the bottom it reads "Rest Best With Martha's". I think Martha Stewart has a wicked sense of humor...

This last photo is of the "Witches Way" menu I found at Dollar Tree last year. I saw a few of these signs in the stores this year too. It will be included in a display for the Witch party this year. I think it will look perfect on the kitchen counter, behind these spooky bottles!

P.S. ~ As of now, my duct tape pumpkin creation is on the Duck Duct Tape web site! If you'd like to see my 15 minutes of duct tape fame: 

http://duckbrand.com/Promotions/stick-or-treat.aspx

Hopefully, my photo will remain up for a little while. Let me know if any of you end up entering this contest, because I'd love to see what you think up!