Greetings, I have a McCormick tri-corner cobalt blue poison bottle embossed with the bee brand logo, McCormick, and dated 1902. My question is; does anyone know what was sold in one of these bottles during the time they were in use?
You have a KT-14. This is the latest of the 3 variations being the screw top issue. The 2 prior were cork tops. Anyway, it seems to be in excellent condition...worth $25 - $40 depending on the day/buyer. I have no idea what came in them as I have never came across one with a label.
Thanks for the information, I have an email request in to McCormick for information about what they used to sell in them. Maybe they will reply before i checkout =0) If I find out anything useful I will pass it along.
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Hey Lizard, good to see that you made it. $25 to $40, I'd say get some tools and dig the crap outta that dump. If it was a specific med for say heart problems or something like that then the person who took that medicine may have went through several bottles a year. Worth a dig for sure. Swiz
Yep it’s definitely worth a second look. Only thing is that it’s not a pleasant spot to dig. If you look close, the indention about center top filled with leaves is the hole it came out of last summer. With all the under brush it gets really hot in there. But dig we will. [align=left] [/align]
Welcome to the forums and thanks for bringing this little laudanum bottle with you.
I wuz gonna say, "Can't be a poison, McCormick Co. was and are spice merchants. What'ya think poison Bacon bitz?" Stephen/ Poison_Us recognized it as a KT-14, so I'm scratching my head. Further lookin around was called for...
"I have found a triangular shaped bottle that is purple/blue in color with a picture of a Bee impressed on the front of it and McCormick 1902 stamped on the bottom. I can find no one who can tell me anything about this bottle such as its history or value. I would greatly welcome any information you may have on it. Thank You, Tony Compton
You did not mention your bottle had a screw top mouth but I believe it probably does. The later bottle of this style has the "Patented / July 8th 1902" in place of "Patent Applied For" as shown in the picture at the right. The bottle is common, less so with the 'patent applied for' embossing. The bottle is sometimes referred to as the "bee poison" and is considered a poison bottle by most collectors. The screw top variant would be worth $3-5." From Digger Odell, Oct. 1999.
"The KT-14 is
the well-known and popular McCormick
& Company Bee Brand Bottle, a cobalt
bottle embossed with a bee that exists in
both cork-top and screw-top versions.
There also are two different embossings,
one with “Patent Applied For†and the other
with “Patented July 8th 1902†which reflects
the approximate age of the bottle. A turn-
of-the-century magazine advertisement for
the KT-14 shows a cork-topped bottle and
reveals that the product being sold was
laudanum (a solution of opium in alcohol).
The ad notes that the bottle’s cobalt color
and triangular shape “eliminates all danger
of getting hold of the wrong bottle.†Again,
the goal was to warn of danger by bottle
color and shape, not by difficult-to-open
tops." From Poison Land by Mike Dickman.
Does the word "Poison" or "Poisonous" appear anywhere on your bottle? I don't think so, but am asking cuz I don't know. I'm gonna go reread the label on those Bacon Bitz.
Thought it strange also that McCormick sold a poison. But at least I now know what was once in my little bottle and I thank you. Be ware bacon bitz made in foreign lands. [align=left] [/align]