Warner’s Foreign Offices: Pressburg (1888 – 1890)

One of the great mysteries about Warner remains his selection of cities to establish his foreign offices. London, Toronto and Frankfurt are no-brainers. They were significant commercial centers in the late 19th Century and remain so today. Melbourne, while a significant city today, was much more primitive in that era and had to import its Safe Cure bottles from New York until much later in its existence. Dundein, New Zealand is a complete mystery, although the current thinking is that it was little more than a laboratory and certainly less than a factory. And then, there is, of course, Pressburg. I recall when I first picked up Seeliger’s book and saw a Safe Cure from Pressburg. Like most, my reaction was “where?” Even now, if pressed (no pun intended), I would find it difficult to find the city on a map of Europe. And for good reason.

Pressburg is the German name for the City of Bratislava located on both banks of the Danube River bordering both Austria and Hungary. It is the seat of government for Slovakia and, as you can imagine, it has changed hands down the centuries as the borders of Europe have been redrawn many times. It was renamed Bratislava in 1919 and appears to be quite picturesque. Apparently, Germans still refer to it as Pressburg. The above photo is courtesy of Wikipedia.

For whatever reason, in 1888, Warner elected to open an office in Pressburg. Perhaps it was an effort to penetrate more into the market of central Europe. Whatever the motivation, the Pressburg Office has short-lived. It lasted only two years, until 1890. This, of course, accounts for the relative rarity of Pressburg Safe Cures. Indeed, when Seeliger published in 1974, he listed only one variant from the Pressburg Office, an amber pint Safe Cure the rareness of which he rated as “few known.” (Seeliger No. 46). Even thirty years later, Pressburg Safe Cures are still rare. Frankly, I don’t recall seeing one “in the flesh” until the mid-1990′s. The Safe Cure appears only in a pint size in amber, olive green and aqua, with amber being the most frequently seen. The only other Pressburg variant is a pint Diabetes Cure with only one example known to exist.  Both the Pressburg Diabetes and the aqua Pressburg Safe Cure rank in the top 10 of the Rarest Warner’s. The labelled Pressburgs shown above are as rare as they come.

Undoubtedly the collapse of the Soviet Union and the opening of commerce with Eastern Europe had made more of the Pressburg bottles available to collectors. However, given the short life of that Office, Warner’s Safe Cures from Pressburg will never be anything less than rare.

The Rise and Fall of the Warner Empire: Life After Safe Cure (Part IX)

Although H. H. Warner lost control of the Safe Cure business that he had coaxed into existence in 1879 and grown into an international success, he apparently never lost his entrepeneurial spirit. Unfortunately for him, he never experienced any degree of success.  Following his bankruptcy filing in 1893, Warner separated from his second wife, Emily Olive Stoddard, and moved for a time to New York City. There is some speculation that he attempted to form another medicine company in Philadelphia in 1908-1915; however this has not been documented. It has also been speculated that he moved for a period to Mexico, looking after lumber investments. While there, he may have met Christina de Martinez, who later took Warner’s name and resided with him in Minneapolis.

Between 1915 and 1919, Warner promoted yet another medicine business, the Nuera Manufacturing Company or Nuera Remedy Company in Minneapolis. At the time of Warner’s death in January, 1923, it was referred to as the Guaranteed Remedy Company and thereafter as Warner’s Renowned Remedies Company.  The 1924 Minneapolis City Directory lists the Warner’s Renowned Remedies Company managed by R. P. Rutherford located at 728 Security Building. The Security Building was located at 2nd Avenue South and 4th Street and later became known as the Midland Bank Building. I have included two photographs of the building from the archives of the Hennepin County Public Library in Minneapolis. Judging from the vehicles in one of the photographs, it appears that they were taken in the early 1930′s.

Following his death, a small advertising booklet for Warner’s Renowned Remedies heralded “Dr. H. H. Warner” as “Humanities benefactor – Founder and Former Owner – Warner’s Safe Remedies. It offers numerous mail order only remedies for ailments like Goiter, Stumak, Ake, Gall Stone, Vaginal and the Renowned Kidney Remedy. Christina de Martinez Warner was never officially married to H. H. Warner. Indeed, there is no evidence that he had ever divorced Emily. Nevertheless, Christina lived with Warner on Blaisdell Avenue in Minneapolis. Minneapolis City Directories for that period list C. M. Warner is listed as widow of H. H. Warner and president of the Warner’s Renowned Remedies Company from 1930 to 1933 and vice-president between 1934 and 1941. The last record for the company was in 1942 and listed Mrs. Eva Ross as president. Christina died in 1949.

After his death in 1923, Warner was buried in his first wife’s family plot in Lakeview Cemetery in Skaneateles, New York. The grave is located in an old area of the cemetery and marked with an impressive red marble gravestone.

Special thanks to Jack Stecher who has thoroughly researched Warner’s life, including his life after he left the Safe Remedies Company in Rochester. Jack has published his work in his articles entitled “H. H. Warner: World Renowned Patent Medicine KIng – Biographical Sketch.” Thanks also to the Hennepin County Library for their assistance in researching the Minneapolis City Directories and finding photographs of the Security Building.

Faux Warner’s: The Reproductions by Crownford China

Charles Caleb Colton (1780-1832) is given the credit for coining the phrase “imitation is the sincerest of flattery.”  Whether that is true or not remains to be seen; however, thanks to Crownford China, the name of Warner’s Safe Kidney & LIver Cure was given somewhat of a rebirth in the late 1960′s or early 1970′s, when that manufacturer issued a reproducation bottle in a variety of colors. Some of these reproductions also included a label that bore no resemblence to the original Warner’s Safe Cure Label. The Warner’s Reference Guide designates them as WRG #R1 and WRG #R2.

To Crownford’s credit, although they got the label wrong, they did a respectable job on the reproduction of the bottle. The bottles have roughly the same dimensions as the original pint Kidney & Cure. I have not seen them in any size other than a pint nor have I seen them for any of Warner’s other cures, such as Nervine, Diabetes or Rheumatic Cure. There was also another reproduction issued in the 1980′s, which did not include a label. The first reproduction appeared in aqua green and amber and appeared with a blob lip, while the later version appeared in cobalt blue and yellow with a double collar. The double collar lip on the later reproduction is hollow unlike the original double collar. The cobalt blue is particularly striking and I am sure that some collectors thought they had stumbled onto a one-of-a-kind cobalt Warner’s Safe Cure, unitl they realized it was a reproduction.

Some Warner’s collectors have added these reproductions to their collections and ironically, in recent years, several of the reproductions have well surpassed the price of the original Kidney & Liver Cure. The cobalt reproduction has fetched a price as high as $150. Go figure. If you look at the base of the early reproduced bottle, most have the name “Crownford China” embossed there. It is unclear why these reproductions were made, except that they provided a nostalgic nic nac and perhaps as a nod to one of the great patent medicine kings.

Thanks to Ed Ojea for several of the photographs included with this post and Jack Stecher for his insights.

Warner’s Foreign Offices: Frankfurt A/Main (1887 – 1900)

 

The year 1887 was significant for H. H. Warner. It saw the opening of his office in Melbourne, Australia as well as a new office in Frankfurt, Germany. While he was busy expanding his presence on two continents, he also launched a new line of products called Log Cabin Remedies. It seemed that there was very little he could not do. Before the end of that year, he would help found the Rochester Chamber of Commerce and begin serving as its first president.

Frankfurt A/M or Frankfurt a/main, which is embossed on the Frankfurt bottles refers to the fact that the city is located on the Main River and is used to distinguish it from another German city of the same name located on the Oder River. Frankfurt A/M is located in an administrative region of the country referred to as “Darmstadt.” Indeed, one of the two labelled Safe Cures pictured above is referred to as a “Darmstadt”  Frankfurt variant, because its label bears the name of that region. While labelled Frankfurt Safe Cures are rare, the Darmstadt label ranks as the rarest of the rare. The label is noticeably different with the safe having a white center rather than a dark one.

Unlike its counterpart in Melbourne, the office in Frankfurt remained open only until about 1900. This accounts for the relative scarcity of Frankfurt bottles. The bottles appear generally in amber and olive green; however, an occasional blue-green example will surface (see above) and commands a nice premium. The amber variants are usually the harder bottles to get, especially in a light or honey amber. The reference to the Main River that appears immediately after “Frankfurt”  is abbreviated either A/M or a/main. The “a/main” is the rarer of the two. The Safe Cure appears in a pint (amber or green) and an ABM variant exists which is hard to find. There are also Diabetes and Nervine (pint and half pint) variants which are rare. To my knowledge, no Frankfurt Safe Rheumatic Cure has surfaced. It is possible that it existed in a Safe Cure bottle with a Rheumatic Cure label, but I have not seen an example of that.

The photos are from my collection as well as courtesy of Jack Stecher and Glass Works Auctions.

Warner’s Safe Remedies: Benton’s Hair Grower

At some time prior to 1888, Warner acquired the exclusive rights to a product called Benton’s Hair Grower. Unlike his Safe Cures, Tippecanoe and Log Cabin products that appeared in bottles with distinct embossing, Benton’s Hair Grower was packaged in a small, short clear bottle with a wide mouth. The contents of the bottle, which the 1888 Artist’s Album characterized as “a gelatinous substance” looks like a cream colored parafin. And yet, despite the understated appearance, its advertising had that characteristic Warner panache.

According to Warner, Benton’s Hair Grower had been on the market for many years with “hosts of friends” in every section of the Union. The advertising provided the potential user with a timetable of what he (or perhaps she) could expect from the product. Benton’s would remove dandruff (6-14 days), stop hair falling out (14-30 days), start a growth of hair (30-60 days), grow hair 3-6 inches (6 – 12 months), restore hair to original color ( 3 – 6 months), grow hair in 75 out of 100 cases no matter how long bald. In addition, this wonder of medicine was “free from Mineral or Vegetable Poisons” (whatever that means). The package appears to have a “before” and “after” picture as a motivator.

Benton’s was offered in three strengths: single for $1.00, double for $2.00 and triple for $3.00. For those customers cursed with “very tough and hard” skin, the double or triple strength was suggested. Through the courtesy of Jack Stecher, I acquired the above bottle of Benton’s; however, it does not have a label or box, so I cannot tell whether it is the single, double or triple strength. It is unclear how long Warner marketed Benton’s Hair Grower, although one would suspect that it would have competed for the same customers to whom he was trying to sell his Log Cabin Scalpine and Hair Tonic.

2,000 Views!

Thanks to your help, it took about half the time to reach 2,000 views that it took to reach 1,000 for the Warner’s Safe Blog. I really appreciate your comments and questions and I hope that you will pass this site along to other collectors who might be interested. On to 3,000!

Warner’s Safe References – “The Snake-Oil Syndrome”

In an effort to make this blog both interesting and informative, I have tried to highlight sources of information on H. H. Warner and his patent medicine enterprise. Without question, the most complete published work is the article by Edward C. Atwater entitled “Hulbert Harrington Warner and the Perfect Pitch,” published in New York History magazine in 1975. The article is thoroughly researched and provides as good a source as exists on the topic. Indeed, Atwater’s article has served as a primary source for countless books and articles in the last 30 years.

I have recently discovered another book that I would recommend. It is entitled  “The Snake-Oil Syndrome: Patent Medicine Advertising” by A. Walker Bingham published in 1994. The book is loaded with great information about patent medicine advertising, including a brief discussion about H. H. Warner and examples of his advertising. The bad news is that the book appears to be out of print, so you will need to check your library to get a copy or folk out about $125 to a book dealer.

Warner’s Safe Cure: Private Die Proprietary Stamps

A comment I recently received prompted me to put together this post on the proprietary tax stamps used by Warner on his Safe Remedies. In point of fact, they are more correctly called private die proprietary stamps and they originated under the Tax Laws of 1862 enacted by Congress to help the North pay the costs associated with the Civil War. While I consider myself somewhat knowledgeable about H. H. Warner, I have to admit an ignorance about these stamps. I had seen them over the years and admired them, but had not researched them or appreciated their purpose. For some history and reference sources on these stamps, I would suggest you look at a site called Private Die Proprietary Stamps: (The “Match and Medicine” Stamps).

You will recall that I have done some posts entitled “Beware of Fraud!”  and “Beware of Fraud (Part II),” which focused on Warner’s absolute, and not entirely unjustified, concern about those who might counterfit his products. As part of his campaign to insure that his customers were purchasing the genuine article, his went to great lengths to educate those customers on the indicia of genuineness. In other words, what should a customer expect to see on a bottle of Warner’s Safe Cure.

Among the specific marks that Warner advised his customers to look for was the presence of a light brown Private Proprietary Internal Revenue Stamp (of various demoninations depending on the type of Cure and size) bearing the outline of a safe “and within it the picture of a Negro gathering herbs.”

In additional to examples of the private die stamps, I have included a picture of a sealed Safe Kidney & Liver Cure and Safe Cathartic Pills with the stamps in place. Thanks to Jack Stecher for those photos. Also, I would suggest you check out another page by the same folks that host the page on the Private Die Stamps. This page features some great examples of Warner Stamps in their various denominations. I have added that page to my blog roll.

The Rise and Fall of the Warner Empire: The Warner’s Safe Remedies Co. (Part VIII)

Warner’s slide into insolvency was hastened by the Panic of 1893, which some historians compare to the Great Depression of the late 1920′s and 1930′s. However, the fact of the matter is that H. H. Warner was the architect of his own misfortune. His once great patent medicine empire could not support the weight of his wildly speculative investments and ever diminishing interest in managing his once great enterprise. His collapse surprised many, who had seen him as favorite son of Rochester. Indeed, in December, 1887, he had been elected as president of the newly formed Rochester Chamber of Commerce. Ironically, Warner’s inaugeral address to the organization highlighted the importance of reinvestment of capital to promote business growth. The Chamber later selected Warner as their Man of the Year over a lesser known camera maker named George Eastman. Clearly, the Kodak would never last.

 By 1893, however, Warner’s successes were ancient history. The British directors of the H. H. Warner & Co. Ltd. voted that his stock should be forfieted as a penalty for his mismanagement. With his last valuable asset stripped away, Warner filed for bankruptcy and spent the remaining years of his life attempting to regain his business prominence. Although he was out as the owner of the company, it continued to exist without him. Atwater reports that the American branch of the company was sold to Rochester businessmen, J. J. DeMay and S. B. Keaner, who moved it back to Rochester to occupy the Duffy Malt Whiskey warehouse and it survived on an ever diminishing scale until the mid-1940′s.

Under the management of DeMay and Keaner, the company produced remedies under the name Warner’s Safe Remedies Company, which included a Diabetes Remedy, Rheumatic Remedy, Kidney & Liver Remedy, Acute Rheumatic Compound, Compound: A Diuretic, Nervine and Sedative.  As Seeliger reports, these bottles had the same embossing with different labels to designate the specific contents. An approach similar to that used with the H. H. Warner & Co. Ltd. bottles in Melbourne. The Safe Remedies Co. bottles generally appear as amber, aqua and clear variants, although a select few may have color variations that make them more valuable.

From its beginning in 1879, Warner’s Safe Remedies had been a dramatic success growing almost exponentially and spreading out to the four corners of the globe. Perhaps in the end, its rapid success with Warner at the helm was its undoing. Perhaps he began to believe that everything he invested in was bound to produce the riches he had become accustomed to. Whatever the reason, by 1893, Warner’s intuitive skills for investing and marketing failed him. The star that had burned so brilliantly was burning itself out. Although Warner would live another 30 years, he would live them in the shadow of his former successes.

Warner’s Safe Errors: Melbourne “SAEE” Cure

Some of the Warner’s Safe embossing errors are as simple as an incorrect letter in the mold. Take, for example, the “WARNER’S SAEE CURE” from Melbourne. But for the incorrect subsitution of an “E” for an “F”,  the bottle is normal. While this error does not dramatically increase the bottle’s value, it does create a distinct novelty that is worth adding to a Warner’s collection.

Thanks to Ed Ojea for the picture (above) the other is from the internet.