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All Forums >> [Bottle Forums] >> Digging and Finding >> Hair Tonic

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Hair Tonic - 2/29/2004 4:35:11 PM    kawdog   Posts: 192 Joined: 10/22/2003 From: Ruston Louisiana Status: offline I finally got back out yesterday and did some digging. I did not stay long though, I still don't want to over do it after being sick for awhile. I only found one bottle, but it is a neat looking one. It was uncovered by the soil collapsing around where I had been digging before and was just sitting there. It isn't embossed except on the bottom where it says U. D. Co. with an F above that, a 7 to the right and a 6 below. Here is the weird part. When I look at the bottle in the light at a certain angle, I can see words in the haze of the bottle. I can clearly make out the word TONIC on both sides and I am almost sure the bottle says HAIR TONIC. It has an applied top. I am wondering why I can read these words on the bottle, did bottles of that time sometimes have painted lables? This is the only thing I can think of as to why I can read stuff on it, kinda like some of my ACL sodas. I am attaching a picture of my bottle as well as a couple of pics I found on ebay of the same bottle. Maybe this is commonly known as a hair tonic since I searched for hair tonic bottle and those pictures came up. I would be interested in a picture if someone finds one with the label intact and to also know which manufacturer U. D. Co. is. Thanks everyone, kaw Attachment (1) Post #: 1

RE: Hair Tonic - 2/29/2004 5:36:08 PM    Harry Pristis   Posts: 495 Joined: 7/24/2003 From: Northcentral Florida Status: offline Good pix, kaw. I think you are seeing the ghost of a paper label. If it is permanent, the label and the printing on the paper label interacted with the groundwater that etched the surface of the glass. I don't know exactly what happened to your bottle, but we do know some things. --The paper that was used for the label was acidic. --The paper would have held acidic groundwater against the bottle. --The bold printed letters of HAIR TONIC may have buffered the glass against the acid paper and groundwater. I have dug these ghost labels, though I can't say now whether they were permanently etched or not. I believe some of the active diggers here will have seen this same phenomenon. ---------------Harry Pristis _____________________________ ______________________________________________ Visit The Demijohn Page at: http://members.aol.com/pristis/index.html (in reply to kawdog) Post #: 2

RE: Hair Tonic - 2/29/2004 9:20:12 PM    kawdog   Posts: 192 Joined: 10/22/2003 From: Ruston Louisiana Status: offline That is interesting. I have never run across this before and was kind of shocked last night when I was wondering what kind of bottle it was and then held it in the light. I thought I was seeing things. I was pretty sure it had to have been a paper lable but could not understand why I could read what it was since the lable was long since gone. Thanks for shedding the light on this for me Harry, take care, kaw PS I would have to assume this is a permanent condition since I did not even notice it until after I had soaked it in a toilet bowl cleaner containing mostly hydrochloric acid. It usually removes most stains I have run across. Honestly though, you don't even notice it unless you tilt the bottle in the light, so I can live with it. It sure did help me ID the bottle, next best thing to embossing I guess. < Message edited by kawdog -- 2/29/2004 8:38:22 PM > (in reply to kawdog) Post #: 3

RE: Hair Tonic - 3/1/2004 1:05:42 AM    David E Dearden   Posts: 196 Joined: 7/16/2003 Status: offline That would be United Drug Company who had at least three marks, and I wonder if what you see is acid etched "Hair Tonic" beats me. U D Cc m 1910 TO 1930 C with an H inside above U D Cc 1910 to 1920 Machine made U D Co unknow date, possiable Woodbury Glass 1882 to 1896 Above is mostly if not somewhat correct. < Message edited by David E Dearden -- 3/1/2004 1:18:21 AM > _____________________________ David E Dearden (in reply to kawdog) Post #: 4

RE: Hair Tonic - 3/1/2004 10:04:22 AM    kawdog   Posts: 192 Joined: 10/22/2003 From: Ruston Louisiana Status: offline Thanks again, I guess that about covers all my questions. I would assume my bottle is on the later end around 1897 or 1900. It doesn't appear acid etched, it really looks like the ghosting of the paper lable that was explained earlier. I believe that to be correct. kaw < Message edited by kawdog -- 3/1/2004 2:15:22 PM > (in reply to kawdog) Post #: 5

RE: Hair Tonic - 3/1/2004 10:28:23 AM    Guest Hiya kawdog. I'm fairly certain that the U. D. Co. stands for United Drug Company, which eventually became or was bought out by the Rexall chain stores. I haven't done any detailed research on the dates, transitions, etc. As for the words on the bottle, I don't remember having seen this type of bottle with enameled or etched wording. I have seen it with labels for several different medicines. Perhaps the ink on the label interacted with the chemicals in the soil to hinder the etching that affects the rest of the bottle? _____________________________ http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=LanceGilletteMusic (in reply to kawdog)   Post #: 6

RE: Hair Tonic - 3/1/2004 2:14:16 PM    kawdog   Posts: 192 Joined: 10/22/2003 From: Ruston Louisiana Status: offline I appreciate the information. I have a few regular medicines that are very similar to this bottle only they are clear. I wonder if they were also made by the same company. I have always found this style of bottle to be very attractive compared to my other plain medicines. I will post a few more pictures tonight when I get home from work. Thanks, kaw Here are the pics, I feel these bottles are kind of similar and maybe were made by the same company. I am also attaching a larger pic where you can read the ghosting of the lable. Attachment (1) < Message edited by kawdog -- 3/2/2004 12:01:28 AM > (in reply to kawdog) Post #: 7

RE: Hair Tonic - 3/4/2004 11:00:27 PM    Relicsnstuff Posts: 149 Joined: 6/23/2003 From: Down South Status: offline Hello kawdog, Been very busy so its been a while since I last been on the site, I used to do a lot of camera work using film cameras in manual and one of the keys is to control lighting. I'am going to get me a digtial that I can control shutter and aperture. Anyways I just thought your pics looked very good, I don't know if they were software generated or if you used lighting to get the effect of nice, soft, even contrast. Joe. (in reply to kawdog) Post #: 8

RE: Hair Tonic - 3/5/2004 12:58:38 PM    crozet86 Posts: 684 Joined: 2/17/2004 From: Charlottesville va. / Buena Vista Va. Status: offline Hi, This bottle is interesting kawdog for one reason, i have the exact bottle and mine is a peacocock blue and i can read AYER'S HAIR TONIC on mine but very faintly.I dont know if it is the same but that might help you identify. Eddie (in reply to kawdog) Post #: 9

RE: Hair Tonic - 3/5/2004 5:49:10 PM    kawdog   Posts: 192 Joined: 10/22/2003 From: Ruston Louisiana Status: offline Thanks guys for the info and compliment. I will see what I can come up with on the Ayers hair tonic with a search. I would really like to see this bottle with its original lable. As for my pictures, I bought my digital camera in December and have been very pleased. I don't know much about photography other than a class I took in college, but it was with a 35mm camera and I have forgotten everything I might have learned. I have been using a light table to photograph most of my bottles and I think it has worked well. Thanks again for the compliment. kaw (in reply to kawdog) Post #: 10

RE: Hair Tonic - 3/5/2004 9:29:55 PM    IRISH   Posts: 1238 Joined: 11/23/2002 From: cockatoo Australia Status: offline I have seen ghost labels (good name for it Harry ) a few times on different bottles, almost always from very corrosive tips. I also have an early 1850's salard oil bottle that you can see where the lable was due to it being still smooth and the rest of the bottle is pitted and very dull, it's funny how a bit of paper can make a difference to glass damage. (in reply to kawdog) Post #: 11

RE: Hair Tonic - 3/5/2004 11:24:04 PM    kawdog   Posts: 192 Joined: 10/22/2003 From: Ruston Louisiana Status: offline Well I did some more searching today after reading crozet's post and am happy to say I think this case is closed. If you compare these pictures I found on ebay to my bottle I think it is a pretty good match. I notice the ghosting of the HAIR TONIC seems to match pretty well with the label and if you look at the earlier picture I posted you can see the "all's" of Rexall. My bottle is earlier than this one though I believe. Thanks again for everyone's help, it feels good to find a bottle you do not know anything about and be able to see a picture of it the way it used to be. Take care, kaw Also notice the manufacturer on the label "United Drug Co." which is just what everyone told me the U. D. Co. was. Good job everyone. Attachment (1) < Message edited by kawdog -- 3/5/2004 10:27:06 PM > (in reply to kawdog) Post #: 12

RE: Hair Tonic - 3/6/2004 12:18:10 AM    crozet86 Posts: 684 Joined: 2/17/2004 From: Charlottesville va. / Buena Vista Va. Status: offline Kawdog, Glad the mystery is solved!.......lol Eddie (in reply to kawdog) Post #: 13

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