As a new member of this chat group, I want to thank everyone who replied to
my inquiry about patent medicines for their thoughtful and useful comments.
There were a few responses that asked about good sources for bottle research
and evaluation of patent medicines.  I thought I would respond and limit my
comments to books/references that go beyond simple identification (i.e.
provide information with historic, cultural, economic, medical content).
The references by Fike ("The Bottle Book"), Baldwin ("Patent and Proprietary
Medicine Bottles"), and Hunt ("Medicine Bottle Glass Index") have already
been mentioned by respondents to my question.  Among others I have found
useful are:

Bingham, A. Walker
1984  The Snake Oil Syndrome: Patent Medicine Advertizing.  The Christopher
Publishing House, Hanover, MA.  (good on advertizing and history)

Cramp, Arthur
(3 vols., published in early 20th century)  Nostrums and Quackery.  American
Medical Assoc., Chicago (deals with contents of questionable patent
medicines)

Holcombe, Henry W.
1979  Patent Medicine Tax Stamps  Quarterman Publications, Hanover, MA
(historical reviews of companies that manufactured patent medicines that
were taxed)

Jones, Olive R.
l986  Cylindrical English Wine and Beer Bottles: 1735-1850.  Research
Publications, Environment  Canada - Parks, Ottowa, Canada (for studies on
wine or beer bottles)

McGuire, Eric
1991  Bottled Products and U.S. Patent Office: Nineteenth Century Trade
Marks and Lable Registration.  Published by the author, San Raphael, CA
(trademark/copyright historical data on microfiche for U.S. bottled
products, late l9th century.)

McKearin, Helen and Kenneth M. Wilson
l978  American Bottles and Flasks and Their Ancestry.  Crown Publishers, NY
(good for researching bottle manufacturing history & for some bottles)

Odell, John
2000  Pontil Medicine Encyclopedia.  Published by the author, Lebanon, OH
(very complete listing with historical data).
1997  Indian Bottles and Brands.  Ibid. (lists & provides historic data on
bottles with names related to Indians or claims of being Indian remedies)

Oleson, Charles W.
1899  Secret Nostrums and Systems of Medicines. A Book of formulas.  7th Ed.
Oleson and Co., Publishers, Chicago  (There were numerous editions of this
book, a summary of formulas or approximate formulas for the more popular
patent medicines.)

Pharmacopoeia of the United States
Early l9th century to present   P. Blackiston's Sons and Company,
Philadelphia (Many volumes prepared by experts in pharmaceutics and medicine
describing and evaluating prevalent ingredients of medicines in much detail,
including components of patent medicines.  Each edition reflects the
changing medical views.)

Ring, Carlyn and W. C. Ham
1998  Bitters Bottles.  Boyertown Publishing, Boyertown, PA  (the most
complete reference on bitters)

Snyder, Robert E.
l980  Whiskey Paper.  Published by the author, Amarillo, TX (brief but
informative reference on whiskey bottles)

Toulouse, Julian H.
l972  Bottle Makers and Their Marks.  Thomas Nelson, Inc., NY  (identifies
manufacturers through their initials or logos and gives historical
information)

Van Wieren, Dale P.
l995  American Breweries II.  Published by the Eastern Coast Brewiana
Assoc., West Point, PA (Useful for dating beers and ales)

Wilson, Bill and Betty Wilson
l97l  19th Century Medicine in Glass.  Nineteenth Century Hobby and
Publishing Co., Washington, DC  (an encyclopedic-style review of patent
medicines)
l968  Spirit Bottles of the Old West.  Ibid.  (similar to above, but on
whiskey bottles)

Wood, George B. and Bache, Franklin
1865  The Dispensatory of the United States of America.  l2th edition.  J.
B. Lippincott and Co., Philadelphia (many editions over the years, similar
to pharmacopoeias)

Young, James Harvey
196l  The Toadstool Millionaires.  Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ
(Dr. Young is a historian who has spent the last 50 years or so researching
patent medicines and related topics.  His books and numerous publication
provide well researched historic data.)
1967  The Medical Messiahs.  Ibid.

Zumwalt, Betty
l980  Ketchups, Pickles, Sauces: l9th Century Food in Glass.  Mark West
Publishers, Fulton, CA (Similar to Wilson and Wilson books.  Betty Zumwalt
was formerly Betty Wilson)

    Notes:
l) This is not meant to be a comprehensive list, but a list of some of the
books found useful for historic research.
2) Some of the books are clearly more scholarly than others in the list.
3) Many of these books are out of print, but remain good sources for
research and have not been replaced by more current references.