BOTTLE, medicine

Blue glass bottle. Bottle proportionately tall, and tapered slightly outwards towards the shoulder. Broken off at base of neck, suggesting that the neck may have been long (a short- necked bottle is unlikely to have its neck broken off). No markings or labels extant on the bottle, but manufacturing seam is visible on each side of the bottle, running the length of the bottle. The bottle is reminiscent of a caster oil bottle, or may have been used for other medication. This is indicated in part by the blue colour of the glass, derived from cobalt. Blue glass was common in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries for medicine, cosmetic containers and table glass such as salt dishes and decanters. (Refer The Parks Canada Glass Glossary, Jones, O, Sullivan, C. et al, National Historic Parks and Sites Branch, Parks Canada, 1985. A copy of this text is held in the WAM library). The bottle was found on the site of the Roe St cottage after the cottage had been demolished in 1986 by Errol Allen (Art Gallery). Errol took a number of photos of the site, before and after demolition of the cottage, as well as "doing some digging" (the result of which he unearthed the bottle).

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History Collection

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