The Antiques Addict Cure-Alls in Colored Bottles

April 23, 2015

Distinctive bottles of many shapes and hues, displayed in the windows of medieval apothecaries, lured ailing customers to buy their contents. By the 18th century, England was producing more than 200 elixirs and serums, their secret formulas known only to their makers.

Called patent medicines, these “amazing cures” were manufactured under grants to those who provided medicine to the Royal family. Each medicine came in its uniquely colored, hand-blown bottle. By the late 1700s, these elixirs began to arrive in the United States with the first settlers.

After American independence, rising nationalistic feelings were exploited by U.S. manufacturers, who claimed that their potions were derived from plant products found exclusively in North America. Self-medication was alluring to early Americans, who often had limited access to medicines or doctors, and the patent-medicine business flourished. Remedies, often laced with alcohol, morphine, opium or cocaine, were virtually unregulated and available for every known ailment.

By the mid-19th century, doctors, tinsmiths and everyone in between promoted their “branded” concoctions, each with its unique bottle. Sold in retail stores and at traveling medicine shows, they relied on attractive bottles to promote their exotic ingredients. From the 19th to the mid-20th century, a variety of glass medicine vessels, numbering in the thousands, were manufactured to contain an equally prodigious number of brands.

The earliest of these bottles were made from natural sand, which gave them an opaque aquamarine color. In 18th- and 19th-century America, glass bottles were often hand-blown and misshapen or asymmetrical. Because they had to be detached from the blowpipe when finished, a round imprint on the bottom of the bottle – known as a pontil mark or scar – was created.

Early experimentation with additives in glass manufacturing resulted in green, amber or blue bottles. Colored, pontiled medicine bottles are scarce, and prices range from $100 to $20,000. These rarefied bottles are typically a color other than aqua or clear, with a pontil scar on the base. They are embossed with the name of the doctor or the type of “medicine,” as in “Cure,” “Bitters,” “Tonic” or “Sarsaparilla.” The more common aqua medicines with pontils sell for upwards of $20. (Clear glass was not perfected until the late 19th century; hence, a clear bottle is a later bottle.)

One of the clues for dating a bottle is the lip, as nearly all bottles made prior to 1870 had a hot piece of glass crudely applied to the lip. As a rule of thumb, bottles made from 1830 to 1850 have a flared or sheared lip and those made from 1840 to 1870 have applied round or squared lips. After 1870, a lipping tool was used to twist two pieces of glass clipped onto the sides of the bottle into a uniform shape. Bottles from the last part of the 19th century show evidence of this twisting motion.

One of the many popular patent products sold via elaborate traveling shows was Kickapoo Indian Sagwa. Featuring acrobats and Native American horse riders, the shows traveled the countryside, touting their cure-all as a blood, liver and stomach remedy. The richly embellished bottles claimed to contain special Native America herbal medicine, which was actually mostly alcohol, stale beer and a strong laxative. They did, in fact, contained a touch of herbs.

In 1906, the industry received its fatal blow when Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act. The U.S. government had finally stepped in to stop the sale of these “medicines,” the sellers of which made unproven, often outrageous claims about their curing everything from tuberculosis and colds to cancer.

Even so, a few patent medicines continued to be produced up through the 1950s. Some products continue to be sold even today, such as Father John’s Medicine. First produced by Father John O’Brien in Lowell, Massacheusetts, in 1855, its brown bottle still retains its familiar picture of Father John.

More than 10,000 types of patent medicine bottles were produced and distributed throughout the United States between approximately 1850 and 1906. Historians have estimated that more than 15,000 different medicines were available in these bottles.

In 1892, Owens Glass Company invented the semi-automatic bottle machine, which left a large ring, known as the Owens’ ring, on the bottle’s base. At around that time, the typical color of glass used for bottles changed from aqua to clear. Fewer bottles were embossed by the late 1930s and into the 1940s, and bottles lost their individuality as food manufacturers demanded more regular containers. The bubbles and the charming irregularities that collectors love disappeared as the 20th century progressed.

Michelle Galler has been an antiques dealer for more than 25 years. Her shop is in Rare Finds, 211 Main Street, Washington, Virginia. She also consults from her 19th-century home in Georgetown. Reach her at antiques.and.whimsies@gmail.com. [gallery ids="102039,134727" nav="thumbs"]

Featured Property

April 22, 2015

Fessenden House, one of the grandest homes in the Washington, D.C., for the first time since its construction, is for sale. The home exemplifies the finest elements of neoclassical architecture. This exquisite, one-of-a-kind residence was inspired by the work of 18th-century architects Robert and James Adam, who transformed English architecture by creating a lighter, more refined mode of Georgian design.

Designed by Leon Chatelain in collaboration with interior designer Antony Childs, Fessenden House represents the highest quality in residential construction. The grounds, designed by landscape architect James Urban, winner of the ASLA Medal of Excellence, envelop the home in the beauty and splendor of both formal and informal English gardens.

Bedrooms: 7
Full Bath: 9
Pool and poolhouse
Wine cellar with tasting room
Half-size sports court.
Offered at $22 million

Long & Foster
Christie’s International Real Estate
Nancy Itteilag
202-905-7762
Itteilag@gmail.com

Quality Hill-Worthington House on Prospect Street for Sale at $11 Million

April 21, 2015

One of the most historic houses in Georgetown and Washington, D.C., is on the market, after it was sold 10 years ago by Sen. Clairborne Pell and his wife Nuala to Ralph and Nancy Taylor. The 3425 Prospect St., NW, Federal-style house sits on the northeast corner of Prospect and 35th Streets and was built in 1798. It is also significant because of its occupants, who were active in local and national affairs.

The gray two-story brick house is for sale for $11 million by agent Russell Firestone of TTR Sotheby’s International Reality, which confirmed the listing to the Georgetowner. The asking price — $11 million — is the same amount which nearby Halcyon House sold for in 2012.

While neighbors on Prospect Street may call it the Pell house, the 6,433-square-foot house was called Quality Hill by its first owner John Thomson Mason, nephew of one of America’s founding fathers, George Mason. Prominent physician Charles Worthington lived there for 25 years. His family also owned the Leonard Mackall House on 34th Street. For a time in the early 20th century, Albert Clemons, owner of Halcyon House, also owned Quality Hill and used it for storage. To the neighbors, it was known as the “haunted house.” In the 1940s, the house finally got electricity during a major renovation by Sir Willmott Lewis and Lady Norma Bowler Lewis. In 1961, she sold it to the Pells, who sold to the Taylors for $3.9 million in 2004. The Taylors had the house undergo a restoration and rehabilitation that reportedly cost as much as the selling price.

The house has eight bedrooms. Thomas Jefferson is said to have dined there. Arches in the center hallway supposedly came from the Francis Scott Key House on M Street. The house is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Featured Property

April 8, 2015

2007 48th Street NW

Sited in the heart of Berkley, this new home by Relux Homes offers a blend of traditional and modern elements. This 5 bedroom/ 4 ½ bath home has exceptional amenities & exquisite architectural details are complemented by a sun-filled and gracious floor plan.

Offered at $2,485,000

Coldwell Banker Residential
Brokerage

Shailya “Tina” Macaya

Office: 202.625.5340

Email: Tina@cbmove.com

Featured Property

March 25, 2015

1236 Potomac Street NW

Centrally located in Georgetown’s West Village, this bright and spacious, semi-detached Victorian, built in 1890, was completely renovated by the award-winning Glass Construction Company. The first floor of the main house has an open floor plan, with three working wood-burning fireplaces and a separate butler’s pantry. On the second floor are three large bedrooms, two full baths and laundry facilities.

High ceilings and tall windows abound, with fine finishes throughout. A heated and cooled atrium connects to the attached two-story carriage house at the rear of the large Georgetown lot. The 1,000-square-foot carriage house has also been fully renovated and redesigned with a family room, a wet bar and an adjoining powder room.

Offered at $3,950,000

Washington Fine Properties
Jim Kaull
202-368-0010
jim.kaull@wfp.com

Featured Property

March 11, 2015

The Grace
3220 Grace St. NW

Sales begin March 28 for units in the Grace, seven luxurious high-end residences on a quiet street, one block south of M Street and one block north of the Georgetown waterfront. Featuring Capital City’s innovative Green Living concept, the Grace offers condominium units with one bedroom and one bath and two bedrooms and two baths. The exterior was designed to fit in with the area’s industrial feel. The interiors feature Italian marble countertops, white oak cabinets, premium fixtures, and Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances. Penthouse units offer two-story ceiling heights and incredible views. 

Pricing for the units has
not yet been set. 

202-449-9772

thegrace@stagespremier.com

Who Lives Here


Ambitious Georgetown resident Frances Holuba is one of the youngest staffers on the National Security Council at the White House. Holuba is a genuine Jill-of-all-trades as a policy expert, fashionista, athlete (she used to play lacrosse), philanthropist and more. Jack to this Jill is Giuseppe Lanzone, co-owner of the Peruvian Brothers food truck and a U.S. Olympic rower. Holuba resides on Q Street near 31st. When she’s not in Georgetown, she can be found bustling around downtown near the White House or dining at one of her favorite haunts, Estadio, near Logan Circle.

Power couple Michael and Susan Pillsbury live close by, near the corner of O and 30th Streets. A seasoned foreign-policy expert, Michael recently published “The Hundred-Year Marathon,” a book on China’s superpower ambitions, while Susan has become well known in the community for her philanthropy. The couple’s home has been a mainstay of the Georgetown Garden Tour and has been featured, along with the Asian art collection within, in Washington Life magazine.

According to the New Republic, Robert Allbritton “reshaped the way we follow politics” as a founder and publisher of Politico.
Chairman and CEO of Allbritton Communications, the media mogul sold a number of ABC stations in the D.C. area and elsewhere last year. Allbritton also served as CEO of Riggs National Corporation, the parent of D.C.-based Riggs Bank, which merged with PNC in 2005. Robert and his wife Elena, a dermatologist practicing with Braun Dermatology, live in the Bowie-

Servier House on Q Street near Tudor Place. The couple hosts a garden brunch at their home around the time of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner every year, drawing in some of the most powerful players in national politics.

Featured Property

February 25, 2015

3120 N Street NW

Located in the heart of Georgetown’s prestigious East Village, this grand, sun-filled Victorian is a Georgetown classic. With four bedrooms and four full baths, it features well-proportioned rooms, 10-foot ceilings on all floors, exquisite moldings, three wood-burning fireplaces, intimate balconies with garden views and garage parking. The home’s sophisticated and urbane setting – offering breathtaking views of the Kennedy Center, the monuments and the Rosslyn skyline – is just a short stroll from shopping, dining and cultural attractions, as well as from varied transportation options and the new vibrancy of downtown D.C.

Offered at $4,150,000
TTR Sotheby’s International Realty
Gary Wicks
202-486-8393
202-333-1212

Urban Turf: Real Estate in Real Time

January 29, 2015

“A conversation that I thought would last 15 minutes became two hours,” says Urban Turf cofounder Will Smith of his initial brainstorming – with cofounder-to-be Mark Wellborn – about a D.C-focused real estate blog.

Smith grew up in Alexandria, attended St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School and graduated from Brown University. When he met Wellborn, Smith was working on a number of other online publications he founded in the area. A D.C.-native from Capitol Hill, Wellborn had gotten his master’s from Columbia University’s journalism school and was working at the New York Observer.

The meeting, in 2008, took place at a mutual friend’s party in Brooklyn, where – in quintessential late-twenty-something fashion – “people were kicking around business ideas,” says Smith. The partners clicked when they started talking about D.C.’s lack of an authoritative real estate blog and the success of such blogs in New York City.

Founded later that year, Urban Turf’s rapid growth coincided with a development tidal wave that has washed over Washington. The blog has served up valuable scoops as the real estate market has boomed, bringing new life – and prestige – to a city best known for its political-industrial complex.

As that happened, Wellborn says, “We’ve evolved much more into a news publication rather than a real estate blog.”
The statement holds up. Urban Turf has strengthened its foothold, attracting a healthy mix of real estate consumers and professionals (70 percent and 30 percent of readership, respectively) and boasting more Facebook “likes” than Washington City Paper in the process. (City Paper’s footprint on Twitter still dwarfs Urban Turf’s, though.)

District residents increasingly rely on Urban Turf not only to inform them about real estate trends but also to fill in the details, to paint a picture of what is happening on both the macro and micro levels.

After starting out with what Wellborn describes as an “archaic idea of the web,” the site now publishes five or more posts a day, with some sponsored articles that help pay the bills. (The ads are clearly labeled, Smith is eager to interject, and they are written by someone outside editorial, Wellborn adds.)

The timing and targeting could not be more on point given the rapid influx of millennials to American cities. Lark Turner, Urban Turf’s lead journalist and a newcomer to D.C., puts it most succinctly: “Millennials are returning to cities in America, and there is probably no better example in the country [than D.C.] of all of these trends.”

Featured Property

January 28, 2015

3321 N St. NW

With more than 5,000 square feet of above-grade living space, this grand five-bedroom home is perfect for entertaining. The spacious master suite has extensive closets, an attached master sitting room and two master baths (of a total of five and a half baths). Other features include voluminous ceilings, six fireplaces, a spacious brick patio and an attached garage. There is also plenty of potential for the house’s lower level.

Offered at $3,950,000
Washington Fine Properties
Nancy Taylor Bubes
202-386-7813
nancy.taylorbubes@wfp.com