COSTAR POISON discussion......

[madman]

test

 

[AntiqueMeds]

I see your two rats and raise you three mice and a muskrat

 

[|MDB|]

As to the COSTAR company on Broadway in New York city involving the arrests of the two principals on manslaughter charges:

"The [grand] jury found that the children came to their death by phosphorus poison contained in the 'Costar Rat and Roach Exterminator', manufactured and sold by Gilbert M. Richardson and Nicholas S. Kelley, unlawfully labeled 'Free from poison. No danger in using'."

Regarding an ad for COSTAR's products, COSTAR seems to have advertised and sold only poisons. Poisons for rats, mice, cockroaches, bed-bugs, moths, fleas, insects and 'etc' though they advertised the company's products as being "perfectly harmless to mankind."

The first ad below is from the New York Times, dated September 27, 1853. The second ad is also from the New York Times, dated May 16, 1854.

 

[|MDB|]

COSTAR clearly is identified as a poison seller, or at least a seller of "exterminators" by the firm's very mailing address, namely "COSTAR's Exterminator Depot, no. 448 Broadway N.Y.". Additional products i.e. for moths, bedbugs, fleas, 'insects', etc.

 

[|MDB|]

Were there two COSTAR companies in New York, selling the same products?

Interestingly, the Henry Costar company had one of the first advertising jingles, the chorus of which was "COSTAR'S EXTERMINATORS, EXTERMINATORS."

"As Spring approaches Ants and roaches From their holes come out, And mice and rats, In spite of cats, Gaily skip about. COSTAR'S EXTERMINATORS, EXTERMINATORS ..."

For Rats, Mice, Roaches, Ants, Bed Bugs, Fleas, Moths In Furs and Insects on Plants, Fowls, Animals, etc. Only infallible remedies known. Free from poisons. Not dangerous to the human family.

http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cdnc/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SDU18660731.2.13.3&cl=CL2.1866.07&srpos=0&dliv=none&st=1&e=-------en-logical-20--1-----all---

 

[epackage]

ORIGINAL: |MDB|

Were there two COSTAR companies in New York, selling the same products?

No, as I noted and posted in the company outline from the book I found it clearly states that they also sold Stove Blacking, Stove Polish and Laundry and other items.....

The following is from the book "New York's Great Industries", written by Richard Edwards in 1885....Seems Vermin and bug death weren't the only things Henry was selling.....Jim

The company also manufactures the famous "Silver Ore Stove Polish Lacquer , which when applied to stoves, heaters, ranges and grates shines with black silver brillancy." The company also manufactures the "Red Metallic Lacquer," which is specific to cleaning and polishing, and is warranted not to scratch or blemish. The company is also the manufacturer of the popular "Yosemite Sift Crystals," which stand unrivaled for the bath, the toilet, or as a healer of cutaneous troubles(sores). It will cure catarrh, and is the best thing to add to the water for the cleansing of delicate fabrics and is unsurpassed for general laundry.


Taken from this book....One company many different products....

http://books.google.com/books?id=ZJi9P1eCf3MC&pg=PA208&lpg=PA208&dq=%22henry+r.+costar%22&source=bl&ots=C1uHjr4pvN&sig=DxJYAWNeWmNWCLCWDZiDvQAwakM&hl=en&ei=YU2tTpOEO8rc0QHs4NzGDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result#v=onepage&q=%22henry%20r.%20costar%22&f=false

 

[|MDB|]

Hello, epackage. When arrested in 1894 following the death of two children who died eating their product, the company president Gilbert L. Richardson said that COSTAR was founded by his father sixty years before, or about 1834. The claim to fame of the Richardson family's company was an "extermination" product called Rat Exterminator, and they had a depot on Broadway in New York.

Henry R. Costar - who appears to have been born 29 February 1824 - would have been a child of ten years of age when the Richardson family established their COSTAR company.

When he grew up, Henry R. Costar opened a depot on Broadway in New York to sell a product called Rat Exterminator. Like the original COSTAR company, he claimed his company's poisons were not poisons. If he was merely a copycat operator, it seems that Henry R. Costar effectively usurped the COSTAR company name, business address, and primary product - along with the false non-poison disclaimer.

Regardless whether the business name COSTAR was the same as the family name of Henry R. Costar, the latter also sold salves, solvents, pills, and cough remedy. Here are five ads, in one image, to avoid having to upload five separate small ads.

 

[OmegaFirefly]

Hello Michael,
Boy, you are quite the researcher. A lot of good articles but one thing that I really need to ID this bottle of mine is to have a picture of it. Are you seeing any pictures accompanying these articles?
How are you going about finding all these articles? What is the secret?
Hope to hear from you. You can either keep on contacting everyone through the forum or you can contact me directly at omega2012@centurylink.net
Thanks,
Dave

 

[|MDB|]

Hello, OmegaFirefly. All of the folks here use the same means, Google, for scoping out background info. It's a hit and miss proposition on most occasions but sometimes a person here gets lucky and finds something useful to another member.

As to obtaining an image or illustration of the product packaging, unfortunately that is proving to be a hard thing to come by. But if I do find anything in that regard I certainly will let you know, as I'm sure will others.

 

[AntiqueMeds]

using google for research is a good start. I augment that will searches in various digital newspaper collections, old business directories , and early books. I also use old trade cards but they didnt really become common until the late 1870s.
Some early companies did little advertising and are very hard to research.