Very Old Radways

[DeepSeaDan]

Found several newer versions of this very common bottle and today, I was fortunate to swim up to this very early version. Question: this one doesn’t say “Act of Congress” etc. - would this indicate it was an older pontiled version?

 

[CanadianBottles]

Wow, that's a great find! I don't see too many pontilled bottles being found in Canada.

 

[Roy]

Found several newer versions of this very common bottle and today, I was fortunate to swim up to this very early version. Question: this one doesn’t say “Act of Congress” etc. - would this indicate it was an older pontiled version?

That's a beauty!
I have one similar packed away somewhere.
I can't remember if mine has Act of Congress, on it. Roy

 

[Len]

I believe the U.S. Government approved version came out in the 1860s, if memory serves, probably after the Civil War. Guessing 1868.?? So, if not embossed as such, you two have an earlier effort sans Uncle Sam's unintentional sales pitch. They sell well enough either way. I'm wondering if the Royalty in England also gave their approval? Hmmm.

 

[sandchip]

Baldwin shows an ad from 1852. Great looking bottle!

 

[DeepSeaDan]

Baldwin shows an ad from 1852. Great looking bottle!

Hi Sandchip - would you please send me a copy of the Baldwin ad? Messenger would work well - thanks!

P.S.: Belay that request! I found an ad showing a Radway's potion in an issue of The Portland Transcript from 1851 - I wonder if they sold this amazing tonic earlier than that year? Regrettably, they didn't show a picture of the bottle in the ad.

 

[DeepSeaDan]

Wow, that's a great find! I don't see too many pontilled bottles being found in Canada.

Hey CB! I've found several of them thus far, most from Loyalist country in s.e. ontario, though I found a favourite one 4 hours north of the border! For all the obstacles to transport back in the early pioneer era, they managed to get the goods to far-flung places - can you imagine the effect on your kidneys from weeks of travel on those 'corduroy' roads??

 

[Len]

President #44 called CT roads the worst in the country. Various parts of my body would agree that they're not good. Still, I'm glad we aren't in the pre-asphalt time frame or a frontier area that makes use of ice roads in cold weather. My hat is off to those that carried the goods, mail, etc. when + where the going was/is really tough.

 

[sandchip]

Hi Sandchip - would you please send me a copy of the Baldwin ad? Messenger would work well - thanks!

P.S.: Belay that request! I found an ad showing a Radway's potion in an issue of The Portland Transcript from 1851 - I wonder if they sold this amazing tonic earlier than that year? Regrettably, they didn't show a picture of the bottle in the ad.

Dan, I apologize for the misleading wording in my comment. In the book, Patent and Proprietary Medicine Bottles by Joseph K. Baldwin, the author mentions only the name of the newspaper and the date that it appeared. He didn't show any actual images of the ads. The one he listed for Radway's appeared in the New York Daily Times, January 26, 1852. Some of the online resources for early newspapers may show the actual ad. Hope this helps.

 

[DeepSeaDan]

President #44 called CT roads the worst in the country. Various parts of my body would agree that they're not good. Still, I'm glad we aren't in the pre-asphalt time frame or a frontier area that makes use of ice roads in cold weather. My hat is off to those that carried the goods, mail, etc. when + where the going was/is really tough.

I've read more than one testimonial where authors related their experiences travelling by horse & buggy over roads made of felled saplings, laid side-by-each, perpendicular to the road ( hence the descriptor "Corduroy Road ). Hour upon hour of back-breaking, kidney-bouncing torture - then a wheel pops off or an axel breaks! All this in unbearable, mosquito-infested heat and humidity.

It's a wonder anything or anyone got anywhere!