Beef Iron and Wine Paper-Label Druggist from Shelby, Michigan

[hemihampton]

I've seen some medicine bottles ect. from Shelby Michigan before & I'd have to assume they are from the other one, out by Bear north of Muskegon. LEON.

 

[Robby Raccoon]

As it turns out, I indirectly bought it from another member of the local bottle club: We were talking about Shelby on the way there tonight, so I said, "For best acquired I brought a Shelby, Michigan paper label druggist Beef Iron and Wine.""I think I had one of those," said the man behind me in the SUV. Uh-oh, I began to think, for it might mean that it's common. "With a cow's head on it? Green label?" he asked. "Yeah, and my label's a little chewed up," I responded."Is the mouth chipped?" And bells began to ring in my mind. "Yeah, was the right side of the label damaged?" And he smirked and affirmed it: It was his bottle, but he was getting rid of it because he smokes inside and didn't want to damage the label. No one else there has seen one before, but one member knew the company and believed they had paper-label bottles-- this one proving it.

 

[CanadianBottles]

I'm pretty sure that Stevenson & Co was actually a small local druggist. This is the second example of this sort of thing I've seen, but I'm pretty sure that Stevenson's name was added after the label had been printed, or was at least printed on a plate where they could easily exchange druggists' names. See how the ink is different on that part versus the product description? I'm quite certain that back around the turn of the century there were companies that produced products like this with customized labels for each store to make it look like it was a special product from that store, when really the same product could be found at any number of stores, each with their own name printed on it. I've got a hair restorer bottle from a drug store in Courtenay, BC - a fairly remote town only a bit bigger than Shelby - with a nice elaborately designed label, but again the drug store name is printed more faintly than the rest of the label and isn't worked into the design at all, just like yours. Sadly I'm not in the same city as my collection as the moment so I can't get a picture, but I'm positive that it's the same idea.

 

[Robby Raccoon]

I was also thinking that the name was added on after as like a stamped-on thing. I was thinking, "Well, where's the pic?" when I read the last line. lol.