Thanks for the info! I was thinking that they were probably medicinal. When you've seen them in catalogs, what are called or used for? 

Sarah

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On Feb 4, 2013, at 2:06 PM, "Mills, Robin" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I, too, find similar artifacts in mining related contexts. Very thin walled
> vials, flat bottom, small corks for closures, variously 2 1/2 - 3 inch
> height, about 6/16" diameter.  I have labelled them medicinal after finding
> similar photos in old catalogs and advertisements.
> 
> Robin Mills
> BLM Fairbanks district Office
> 907-474-2359
> [log in to unmask]
> 
> On Sat, Feb 2, 2013 at 9:19 AM, Sarah Sportman <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
> 
>> Hello,
>> 
>> I'm trying to identify a few artifacts we recovered from back yard
>> contexts in a 19th century mining town in the Adirondacks.  We found six
>> fragments of thin, clear glass tubes. They are a little smaller in diameter
>> than a modern drinking straw and round in cross-section.  All are broken
>> and each fragment is less than 3 inches long.  The fragments came from the
>> yards of three different domestic sites, including a tenement house, a
>> double house, and the superintendent's house. The sites were occupied from
>> the mid 1870s to the mid 1890s.  Any help in identifying them would be
>> greatly appreciated!
>> 
>> thanks,
>> Sarah
>>