1919, a Good Vintage

[Vetus Vitrum]

I know this forum is not for bottles and this is actually not about the bottle, but the contents within. I found this about three feet deep, in a consistently moist, fine, clay-like layer, on its side. The contents are intact, the cork had stayed moist and sealed for over a hundred years and the portion that was in the bottle looked new until I turned it upright and it began to dry. I have opened the bottle and it has a semi-sweet, fruit and alcohol smell to it. The bottle is an Owens Bottle Company, O in a square, plant code 3 (Fairmont West Virginia) date code 9 (1919). The content is California Fig Syrup, CALIFIG by name. It was sold as a natural laxative, also containing extract from the plant, Senna (25%), the laxative, and alcohol (6%). I read a publication by Bill Lockhart and Beau Schriever titled "California Fig Syrup; The Company and Its Bottles", which is where I found the stated information. I am tempted to taste it and most likely will. Finding this bottle with contents intact was truly an unexpected discovery.