Unopened old poison bottle

[Jacoby]

I am new to this forum, but I see there is much knowledge here. I am in the antique business and see quite a few bottles in my travels, but I have always ignored them due to my lack of knowledge. I have recently decided to start learning more about about bottles, since I see so many. I recently found this unopened poison bottle. This bottle is 3-1/4" tall, and has three sides, two of which are marked "POISON", and one side is blank. The bottle is full of triangular-shaped tablets with a wad of cotton between the cork and tablets. Any information about the tablets would be appreciated. Also, is an unopened bottle a rare find? What is the bottle worth? Thank you.

 

[Jim]

Nice find, Kevin. Welcome to the forum! What you have is a KT-9 poison bottle. They come embossed with POISON/ POISON, POISON/ TRILOIDS or POISON/ TRILETS. One like yours with the contents and cork label should be worth $15-20. They are fairly common as poisons go, but I like them and they appeal to people with their bright color and strong embossing.

The tablets are corrosive sublimate antiseptics, also known as mercury bichloride. It is NASTY stuff that can cause chemical burns and is deadly if ingested. Originally, the tablets were dissolved in water to make an antiseptic solution, but they are very strong in pure, undiluted form. The best thing to do is to leave that thing corked, and to warn others to do the same. Thanks for sharing your find, I love poison bottles! ~Jim

 

[Jacoby]

Thanks Jim! I'll keep looking for more bottles!

 

[saphireblue]

Poison bottles are by far my favorite bottles. Unfortunately I only own 2 of em. A small amber one with poison embossed on it and a vapo-cresolene. I would be scared of the unopened poison bottles. LOL Some of the poisons made back then (shrudders) rat poison and such. That stuff kills ya even by exposure.

 

[GuntherHess]

The William Warner company was huge and made numerous products.
Its a somewhat common bottle but its pretty cool with the sticker on the top.

 

[Whisperingwinds]

Pretty bottle,

Hey how can one tell when a bottle is K9? I have more cobalt and posions in cobalt, than Carter has pills and I dont know how to figure the year and type...any ideas?

ww

 

[Jim]

Sherry, The numbers come from Rudy Kuhn's Poison Bottle Workbooks. There are two volumes. It is the best reference material for poison bottles. The books can be hard to find, but they do come up on eBay once in a while. ~Jim

 

[cracked bottle]

I recently ordered the two volumes from Terry. She was very helpful.

Marc