J.F Hartz Company BIG bottles

[udamodamockin]

so I have 2 bottles and I was wondering if anyone could offer up some info on them and some possible value of them if any.

the first bottle is large its 12.5" tall and 21.5" around, the original paper label is attached and reads H & H cough mixture and has listed ingredients and logos the original cork is still there and there is a dried up substance inside. the following links are pictures

http://i43.tinypic.com/x3s9ah.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/2wqemiw.jpg



the second is slight smaller and measures 11 3/4" tall and just under 15.5" around, it's original paper label is still attached and read baby cough mixture and also has listed ingredients and logos the original cork isn't with it and it's empty. the following links are pictures

http://i39.tinypic.com/5xmkm.jpg

http://i40.tinypic.com/96m7io.jpg

 

[surfaceone]

Hi Lindsey,

Welcome. How about some good photos of the bottles and their labels, please.

Oh, I see that you have now put some up. Good work.

 

[epackage]

I don't see much value in this style bottle, maybe $5-10, unless there's some kooky e-bayer looking to add a Hartz like this to his/her collection.....Jim

 

[mctaggart67]

Surfaceone: That's a great pic of a cobalt Hartz poison! Of course, I'm a bit biased. My wife, Leanne, took it of one of the prizes in my collection.

 

[surfaceone]

Geeze, Glen,

Not only do you have a great Hartz Heart, but a lovely and photographically gifted bride! Thanks for identifying it. So, what's the story behind that blue beauty?

 

[mctaggart67]

Thanks for the kind words, surfaceone. I've been collecting Canadian poison and drugstore bottles for over 30 years now. I still remember the first Hartz, Toronto bottle I saw back in 1981 or 1982 and have coveted them ever since. The J.F. Hartz Co. marketed its products mostly to physicians and hospitals, though pharmacists also purchased from the Hartz line. Bottled compounds made up just one facet of the Hartz business, since the company also marketed surgical instruments, medical literature, and even specialized office furniture and medical appliances for doctor's offices and hospitals. The Hartz, Toronto bottles embossed with all the little hearts on them are all BIM and only come in cobalt, though I wouldn't be surprised if an amber one turned up. As to these multi-heart embossed cobalts, they come in three sizes: 4-ounce, 8-ounce, 16-ounce. Variations on these sizes include being embossed or not with "Contents X Ounces" above the big heart on the bottles' front shoulders. I count them as true poison bottles, since every single labelled version I've ever seen sports a poison label. I think the little hearts were, beyond being a fanciful play on the company name, an intentional effort to act like more traditional poison bottle hobnails/stars as a means of indicating poisonous contents to users in the dark. Hartz, Toronto bottles also come without all the little hearts, having just the big heart on their fron shoulders. This latter style of bottle comes in the three aforementioned sizes, in cobalt, amber and clear, and in both BIM and ABM versions, with later ABMs embossed Toronto and Montreal. I'll make two other interesting points about Hartz bottles. One, cobalts are almost always the same shade of cobalt, unlike other Canadian poison bottles of the same era, which range from light cobalt, verging on cornflower blue, to a very dark, almost purplish cobalt blue. Two, the parent firm of the Toronto branch was based in Detroit, Michigan, and, to my knowledge, did not use such an elaborate poison bottle.

 

[surfaceone]

Hey Glen,

Thanks for the history on Hartz. Who was the maker of the Toronto Hartz bottles? Very interesting that there were marked differences in color and embossing between the US and Canadian examples.

I would love to see more of your Hartz collection, some time, if you are so inclined to show them. Thanks, again.

 

[mctaggart67]

Here's some of my Hartzes.

 

[mctaggart67]

more...

 

[Wheelah23]

I really Harts those bottles.