Dick,
I can't help you on bottles 2 or 3, but a lot is known about Hostetter's
Bitters.  s.  Hostetter's Bitters has been referred to in many references
and I can comment on its composition, which varied over time.  Overall, it
was one of the most alcoholic of the bitters, and the bitters as a group
tended to be high in alcohol (with exceptions).  One of the more informative
(and critical) commentaries on Hostetter's Bitters can be found in Arthur J.
Cramp's "Nostrums and Quackery", Vol. 2, 1921, pp. 740-743, which summarizes
data published originally in the Journal of the American Medical Assoc.
Regarding alcohol content, in 1883, an analysis by the U.S. Dept. of
Agriculture reported this bitters was 32% alcohol.  In 1906, a North Dakota
state lab analysis gave a value of 43% by volume.  A year later, after the
Pure Food and Drug Law of 1906 began to impact the pharmaceutical industry,
the product label gave a value of 39%, and later it was reduced to 25%.  The
manufacturers claimed that the alcohol was needed to keep the botanical
ingredients in solution, but Cramp and others disputed this claim.  Charles
W. Oleson in "Secret Nostrums: Systems of Medicine", Oleson & Co.,
Publishers, Chicago, 1891, gave a recipe for Hostetter's Bitters.  It called
for sugar (2 lbs), calamus root (2 lbs), orange peel (2 lbs), Peruvian bark
(2 lbs), gentian root (2 lbs), columbo root (2 lbs), rhubarb (8 oz),
cinnamon (4 oz), cloves (4 oz), and alcohol (4 gallons).  The Oleson
reference is considered a reliable one by pharmacy historians.  The
ingredients include a number of laxatives, explaining why the product was
sometimes called a "stomachic bitters" and the Peruvian bark provided
quinine explaining the claim of the manufacturer that this was an
anti-malarial beverage.  Cramp argued that there wasn't enough quinine in
the product to make the anti-malarial claim.  Other formulas have been
reported that vary, but they all included laxatives and a lot of alcohol.
The bottom line was that it was a very big seller for many years.
-----Original Message-----
From: Dick Keck <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Friday, June 29, 2001 4:04 PM
Subject: Help with Bottle ID


>From a bottle cache in a barn wall 16 late 19th century bottles were
>recovered.  By type they were mostly bitters or prescription bottles.  I am
>looking for more definite identification of date and contents if possible.
>Fike and Toulouse did not produce any info.
>
>1)  Hostetter's bitters; 8 3/4 in tall, 2 5/8 in square, amber, no bottom
>mfg mark, "10", "11", or "31" embossed on back panel.  Mold seam goes up to
>but not over lip.  Hostetter was in business from 1853 - 1958, a more
>specific date for these bottles would be helpful.
>
>2)  Colorless medicine bottle; 7 in tall, embossed with an ounce symbol
>then "viii" on one side, bottom is embossed "CRYSTO"
>
>3) Miniature amber bottle; 4 1/16 in tall, 1 9/32 in diameter, bottom is
>embossed "WB" with the "B" attached to the last leg of the "W".
>
>Any and all help is most appreciated.
>
>Dick Keck
>