Bottles Worth More Than Contents
Question: I have some old medicine bottles that were marketed by hucksters during the really “wild” days of the Wild West. How many varieties of patent medicine were sold during those days?--R.T.
Answer: Collectors believe more than 50,000 varieties of patent and related medicines were sold in this country during the last half of the 19th Century and the early years of the 20th Century. The firms and individuals who sold these “cure-alls” usually made wild claims that the contents could cure almost every disease under the sun.
Actually, however, the so-called medicinal contents added up to little more than a simple alcohol concoction.
As it turned out, the real value--realized years later--was in the bottles and not the contents. Colorful glass, embossed inscriptions, fascinating paper labels with outrageous claims and designs--all of these elements have contributed to making patent-medicine bottles popular among collectors.
Millions of these bottles were manufactured, which makes it relatively easy for the new collector to start a colorful collection without a huge investment. For example, one of our source books shows a “Dr. Hostetter’s Bitters” bottle, marketed initially out of New England, beginning in the mid-1850s.
The amber-colored rectangular bottles contained contents that the manufacturers, David Hostetter and George Smith, claimed would cure a myriad of stomach ailments.
Somehow, Hostetter and Smith sold their product to the Union Army during the Civil War as a necessary stimulant for soldiers before they went into combat.
Dr. Hostetter’s Bitters bottles, according to catalogues, can still be found at prices in the $10-$20 range.
Camden House, a Los Angeles auction firm, will hold an interesting auction for film buffs and collectors from March 31 to April 1.
Among the highlights, according to a Camden House statement, will be “two recently surfaced production paintings from the 1939 classic ‘The Wizard of Oz’--used to create the unforgettable images of the Emerald City and the Yellow Brick Road. . . . These vividly colored pastel paintings, which . . . were not known to still be in existence, are considered to be among the most significant artifacts ever from the history of film.”
Estimated selling price, according to Camden House, is $50,000 to $100,000 for the Emerald City painting, $25,000 to $50,000 for the Yellow Brick Road.
Interestingly, the very delicate pastel works turned up more than a decade ago when a salvage company was dismantling the MGM complex in Culver City.
“There’s no doubt in our mind,” said a Camden House vice president, Richard Vilkin, “that the two paintings by artist Warren Newcombe, which measure 22 by 28 inches, are authentic.” He said his conclusion was based on analyses of the works by “people who are ‘Wizard of Oz’ experts” and other specialists in the film field.
One reason why it has taken so long to bring these two delicate paintings to market, Vilkin speculated, is that only in recent years have film memorabilia appreciated significantly in value. Largely motivating this price move, he believes, has been the extraordinary price increases in fine art, which has priced many collectors out of that market.
“And so,” Vilkin said in a recent telephone interview, “collectors have turned to film” to acquire works for their art collection. And, to be sure, he added, “a lot of studios had fine artists working for them.”
Other items in the auction include an autograph book of more than 600 inscriptions and signatures of film and stage stars, composers, authors, sports figures and other celebrities; and original movie posters and theater lobby cards.
An auction catalogue can be purchased for $20 from Camden House Auctioneers, 10921 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 713, Los Angeles 90024; or telephone (213) 476-1628.