Collectible Medicine Bottles (1900-Now)

The Fascinating World of Collectible Medicine Bottles From 1900 to Present

While many collectors concentrate on finding early antique medicine bottles, you can find many fascinating examples of medicine bottles made after 1900 on eBay. You can never be sure what is going to happen to old medicine bottles values, so make sure to collect the ones that you love. Since most are small, it is easy to display vintage medicine bottles on a shelf or in another small area making them an exciting conversation piece.

Types of vintage medicine bottles

Generally, medicine bottles are divided into three broad categories. The first type of old medicine bottles is those where the substance inside was patented or proprietary. These include bottles designed to hold special cures, bitters, tonics, and sarsaparillas. The second type of old glass medicine bottles were those used by a druggist at a pharmacy. The final type of vintage medicine bottles are those designed to hold poisons or chemicals.

What are some types of bitter and tonic bottles used in the early 1900s?

There were several types of antique glass medicine bottles used during the first decades of the 1950s. These bottles included:

• Log-cabin bottles: When viewed from the side, these bottles standing between four and six inches tall look like a log cabin. They were usually embossed on the roof.
• Blow-type bottles: While you can see other colors occasionally, these green glass medicine bottles usually are molded in at least two parts, and they have a bead cap.
• Square bitters bottles: These dark glass square old medicine bottles usually had embossing up their entire sides, and they were made in a one-piece mold.
• Broker bitters bottles: Sometimes called lady leg bottles, the neck on these vintage medicine bottles is as long if not longer than the rest of the bottle. The neck has a blob in the middle.
• Barrel-shaped bottles: Many of these old medicine bottles were amber, and they have a barrel shape. Options with decorative lines on them can be found when you are shopping for old brown glass medicine bottles.

Types of druggist medicine bottles

Even some of the over-the-counter products found on store shelves in most pharmacies have a long history. These bottle shapes often started as druggist bottles. Individual druggist used these medicine bottles, and makers embossed many with that drugstore's information. Common druggist bottle shapes include:

• Philadelphia oval: Introduced in around 1890, companies still use this bottle shape with its rounded corners and almost flat back. Whitall Tatum & Co. was one of the largest producers of this vintage medicine bottle shape.
• Union oval: Sometimes called Baltimore oval, these bottles have a flat back, short curved sides, and a rounded front. Illinois Glass made many of these bottles.
• Machine-made ovals: These vintage medicine bottles were made by machines, and they closed with a cork. Many collectors look for these bottles made by the Owen-Illinois Glass Company, and these glass medicine bottles are marked with an "l" inside a diamond on their bottoms