Canadian Poison Bottles

Welcome to our Antique Bottle community

Be a part of something great, join today!

mctaggart67

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2010
Messages
661
Reaction score
69
Points
28
Most Canadian poison bottles are variants of the irregular hexagon, or "Canadian Coffins," as we call them in Canada. This bottle belongs to the first wave of Canadian Coffins, which were distributed by the Beaver Flint Glass Company, Toronto (BFG Co. T) but probably manufactured by the Diamond Flint Glass Company. These Beaver Flints are almost exact replicas of English Lewis and Towers patent poisons, suggesting that Beaver Flint either ripped off the design (unlikely, given the strong links between British and Canadian civil courts at the time) or had some sort of agreement to use the design in Canada. They come in 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8-ounce sizes, with or without the word "POISON" embossed on the front side panel, and range in colour from very light cobalt, verging on cornflower, to very dark cobalt, with a hint of a purplish tinge.

711656622F71479798AF9BE9C8516593.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 711656622F71479798AF9BE9C8516593.jpg
    711656622F71479798AF9BE9C8516593.jpg
    51 KB · Views: 369

mctaggart67

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2010
Messages
661
Reaction score
69
Points
28
RIGO Canadian Coffins are the most common type of Canadian poison bottle. RIGO is an acronym for Toronto's RIchards Glass CO., established in 1912 to distribute glassware primarily to drugstores. Most, if not all, RIGO bottles were actually made by the Dominion Glass Company.

6F719C30DF2B4953B54BB8FE7D9B7720.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 6F719C30DF2B4953B54BB8FE7D9B7720.jpg
    6F719C30DF2B4953B54BB8FE7D9B7720.jpg
    82.5 KB · Views: 366

mctaggart67

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2010
Messages
661
Reaction score
69
Points
28
RIGOs are basal embossed with RIGO, either with or without Dominion Glass's diamond trademark.

78E5603923844B3CA17D4D25C0BF5446.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 78E5603923844B3CA17D4D25C0BF5446.jpg
    78E5603923844B3CA17D4D25C0BF5446.jpg
    73.6 KB · Views: 335

mctaggart67

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2010
Messages
661
Reaction score
69
Points
28
One interesting RIGO variant is embossed with "POISON" across the back shoulder. Canadian collectors have given them the nickname "RIGO poison backs." This one sports a label from Canada's famous T. Eaton Co., which distributed products, including poisons, across Canada via a catalogue system. Eaton collectors will notice that the label references only the Winnipeg store, rather than "Toronto and Winnipeg."

D7CD9CE533BC4B1EACC3470843B775EA.jpg
 

Attachments

  • D7CD9CE533BC4B1EACC3470843B775EA.jpg
    D7CD9CE533BC4B1EACC3470843B775EA.jpg
    66.3 KB · Views: 362

mctaggart67

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2010
Messages
661
Reaction score
69
Points
28
Private mould Canadian poison bottles include BIM and ABM Parke, Davis & Co. (P.D. & Co.) poison bottles, which have Dominion Glass Company mould numbers embossed on their bases. You'll have to take my word that this example has a Dominion mould number.

277494809F544EA2949EDCCEC8ADB1AE.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 277494809F544EA2949EDCCEC8ADB1AE.jpg
    277494809F544EA2949EDCCEC8ADB1AE.jpg
    66.2 KB · Views: 363

mctaggart67

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2010
Messages
661
Reaction score
69
Points
28
Gophers -- technically, Richardson Ground Squirrels -- presented farmers on the Canadian Prairies with a number of pest problems, most notably that gopher holes were dangerous to livestock because of the hazard of leg breaks. There were two basic methods of dealing with the gopher issue: 1) shoot the rodents, and some Canadian farm boys got so good at this method that they made excellent snipers in World Wars I and II, or 2) poison the varmints. This latter method has resulted in what may well be another uniquely Canadian contribution to the world of poison bottles -- the silk-screened gopher poison jar, like this variant from Saskatchewan, the most fun Canadian provincial name to pronounce! I imagine thousands and thousands of these jars were manufactured, but I've only seen two of them since moving to the Canadian Prairies four years ago. I've got, and have seen, many standard drugstore prescription bottles and regular poison bottles labelled with gopher poison labels, and I've seen a fair number of plain jars with gopher poison labels stuck on them, but these silk-screened fellows just don't turn up. Anyone out there have anything similar?

A0A7BC12BBFE416295A92D2DAD3BC49E.jpg
 

Attachments

  • A0A7BC12BBFE416295A92D2DAD3BC49E.jpg
    A0A7BC12BBFE416295A92D2DAD3BC49E.jpg
    61.6 KB · Views: 322

mctaggart67

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2010
Messages
661
Reaction score
69
Points
28
I'd like to give credit for the above pictures of specimens in my collection to:

1) Leanne Smith, my wife, at http://www.flickr.com/photos/lookatleannespictures/

2) Darren Spindler, a good collecting friend, at http://www.ecbw.ca/

3) Four Seasons Bottle Collectors Club at http://www.canadianbottlecollectors.com/



904A3B4C237748879A26C01EC6557059.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 904A3B4C237748879A26C01EC6557059.jpg
    904A3B4C237748879A26C01EC6557059.jpg
    103.6 KB · Views: 316

Longhunter

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2009
Messages
284
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Meridian, Mississippi
I just won this bottle on the bay. It looks like it fits the RIGO category you are showing here. The embossing is different.
It reads "1 OZ CARBOLIC ACID" on the front panel, "POISON" on the right panel and "USE WITH CAUTION" on the left panel.
It is coming from a Canadian ebay seller.



0A59A7CD5BFB4D5195E8FDE968483AE8.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 0A59A7CD5BFB4D5195E8FDE968483AE8.jpg
    0A59A7CD5BFB4D5195E8FDE968483AE8.jpg
    61.6 KB · Views: 325

mctaggart67

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2010
Messages
661
Reaction score
69
Points
28
The Carbolic Acid poisons resulted directly from the efforts of the Ontario College of Pharmacy (OCP) to oversee the sale of that chemical. Around 1910-12, it became provincial policy, as per the regulatory initiatives of the OCP, that Ontario pharmacists had to put up carbolic acid in these specially designed bottles. They come in 1/2, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 16-ounce sizes. Besides being embossed with "Carbolic Acid" on their fronts, they also have "O.C.P." (for Ontario College of Pharmacy) embossed on their bases. Other provincial pharmacy boards in Canada also adopted their official use.

3F0C04E9D7124658A753C7D7CE5D89C5.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 3F0C04E9D7124658A753C7D7CE5D89C5.jpg
    3F0C04E9D7124658A753C7D7CE5D89C5.jpg
    103.6 KB · Views: 325

surfaceone

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2008
Messages
11,161
Reaction score
23
Points
0
ORIGINAL: mctaggart67

One interesting RIGO variant is embossed with "POISON" across the back shoulder. Canadian collectors have given them the nickname "RIGO poison backs." This one sports a label from Canada's famous T. Eaton Co., which distributed products, including poisons, across Canada via a catalogue system. Eaton collectors will notice that the label references only the Winnipeg store, rather than "Toronto and Winnipeg."

Hey Glen,

I like your credits above. Kudos to youse.

That lovely is near pristine! What is the embossing?

"John Craig Eaton, the son of Timothy Eaton, became an early proponent of building a combined store and mail order operation in Winnipeg. Although Timothy Eaton initially had misgivings over the difficulties involved in managing a store 2,100 kilometres (1,300 mi) kilometres from Toronto, John Craig was eventually able to convince his father. Eaton's acquired a city block on Portage Avenue at Donald Street, and the five-storey Eaton's store opened to much fanfare on July 15, 1905. Timothy Eaton and his family were on hand for the opening of the second Eaton's store, with the Winnipeg Daily Tribune noting in its front page headline: "The Canadian Napoleon of Retail Commerce Reaches the Capital - Views His Great Store for First Time - Well Pleased".

The landmark red brick store, known as "the Big Store" to Winnipeggers, was a success. The initial staff of 750 grew to 1200 within a few weeks of the opening. By 1910, three more storeys were added to the store and other buildings were constructed. By 1919, the Eaton's operations in Winnipeg covered 21 acres (85,000 m2) and employed 8000 people.

For many years, the Winnipeg Eaton's store was considered the most successful department store in the world, given how it dominated its local market. As late as the 1960s, Canadian Magazine estimated that Winnipeggers spent more than 50 cents of every shopping dollar (excluding groceries) at Eaton's, and that on a busy day, one out of every ten Winnipeggers would visit the Portage Avenue store." From wiki-Eaton's.

portage+2.jpg
 

Members online

No members online now.

Latest threads

Forum statistics

Threads
83,220
Messages
742,916
Members
24,237
Latest member
Fancy2cu
Top