Warner’s Safe Cure: 3-Cities (Canadian vs. British?)

The Warner’s Safe Cure bottles that were produced from the Toronto Office were unique in that they bore the names of Warner’s foreign offices at the time: Rochester, Toronto and London arranged around the face of the bottle. It became conventional wisdom that these 3-Cities bottles were all Canadian. But, as with so many other aspects of the Warner patent medicine empire, there is always an exception waiting in the wings.

The Toronto 3-Cities variants have common features: double collar lip and the full spelling of CANADA and ENGLAND. Although the 3-Cities bottles do not come in variety of colors, they are great bottles and, with the exception of the Safe Cure, can be truly difficult to get.  Indeed, the half pint Nervine is considered a Top 10 bottle by many.

In the mid-1990′s a previously uncataloged 3-Cities Safe Cure pint emerged. Unlike the its Canadian cousins, this variant had a blob lip rather than the double collar and the words “Safe Cure” were on one line, rather than two. In addition, the names of the two countries on the left and right sides of the bottle were abbreviated: “LONDON, ENG” and “TORONTO, CAN.”  The question became, if these 3-Cities were not from Toronto, where were they from. No one knows definitely; however, because many of the known examples have surfaced in England, it is reasonable to conclude that they represent a British 3-Cities.  As far as the question of “why,” the best possible explanation appears to be that Warner may have been experimenting with a generic Safe Cure bottle that could be issued out of any of his foreign offices with the mere change of a label.  While the Canadian 3-Cities Safe Cure is considered a good bottle, its more recently discovered British cousin is rare.

The bottle pictured on top is the Canadian 3-Cities Safe Cure and the one below is the British 3-Cities Safe Cure. I apologize for the sub par lighting on these pictures, but if you look closely, you will see the bottom picture has the abbreviated country, the blob lip and “Safe Cure” on one line rather than two.

Warner’s Safe Diabetes Cure

Warner’s Safe Diabetes Cure was one of Warner’s initial offerings in 1879.  The box promised “A Sure Remedy for Diabetes.”  But, as we all know even 125+ years later, there is no cure for diabetes. Diabetes is still very much with us and is generally managed by insulin or diet. No big surprise that Warner promised cures to the incurable. The surprise is that there were those who believed that his nostrum resolved their problems.

Warner described Diabetes as being of “two forms, the insipid and the sweet.”  If you understand what that means, please let me know. He goes on to say that both forms “are revealed by an unusual flow of water, accompanied with great thirst, loss of flesh, cramps, sore gums, boils, weakness, etc., etc.” The whole “loss of flesh” thing sounds kind of scary. The fact of the matter is that diabetes has very serious symptoms and effects, not the least of which could be blindness or amputation of limbs. Perhaps that’s what he meant by loss of flesh.

And, lest you think that Warner’s Diabetes Cure would resolve all of you symptoms, think again. As Warner pointed out “Don’t use Safe Diabetes Cure for kidney disorders – use only Warner’s SAFE Cure, a different compound.” I have included portions of the 1888 Warner’s Artist’s Album that discusses the Diabetes Cure as well as a labelled bottle and the Rochester and Dundein Diabetes Cures.

Warner’s Safe Cure in Paris?

In his quest to extend his patent medicine empire around the world, H. H. Warner made stops in Toronto, London, Frankfurt, Melbourne, Dundein and Pressburg. But why did he apparently miss the opportunity to open foreign offices in places like Rome, Madrid, Moscow or Paris? That may be a question that is lost to history, but there is evidence that Warner marketed his products beyond the cities embossed on his bottles. Perhaps the best evidence of this can be found in his advertising and in at least one of his bottles.

The 1891 Almanac is particularly interesting. It is entitled “Census Statistics” and depicts eight arms reaching toward a box of Warner’s Safe Cure. On the sleeve of each arm is the name of one of the Warner foreign offices: Frankfurt, Pressburg, Toronto, Melbourne, Dundein, London, Rochester and Rangoon, Burmah. That’s right, Rangoon. To me knowledge, no one has ever found a Warner’s Safe Cure embossed Rangoon or bearing a Burmese label. And yet, the almanac puts Rangoon alongside Warner’s other established offices.

The second piece of advertising that suggests a broader foreign market is a flyer issued by Warner’s London office. The flyer provides Warner’s London address on Laystall Street, but just below that it states “ALSO AT PARIS, KREUZLINGEN, BRUSSELS, &c.” This would seem to suggest that Warner’s Safe Cure had made it to France, Switzerland and Belgium in addition to Burma. As with the Rangoon Office, no one has unearthed a Safe Cure embossed Paris, Kreuzlingen or Brussels. Having said that, there is one additional piece of evidence which confirms that Warner had, in fact, targeted the French market.

Above is the only known example of a French labelled Warner’s Safe Cure. Although the label is clearly in French and designed for Parisian consumers, the bottles is embossed London. Had this bottle been tossed into a trash pit and its label destroyed, it would be just another London Safe Cure. This proves that Warner not only marketed his Safe Cure in countries beyond his foreign offices, but that he may have done so by using a bottle embossed with a known office, such as London, and a label for the new market. Based upon this evidence, it may be that Warner’s Safe Cure actually made it to Burma, but used a bottle embossed Melbourne or 4-Cities or that one was available to the Swiss in Kreuzlingen but contained in  a bottle from Frankfurt.

One thing is for sure, the Warner’s Safe Cure empire was larger than his embossed bottles  would suggest.

Warner’s Safe Asthma Cure/Remedy

Although most Warner’s collectors focus on the glass bottles, there are other Warner products that deserve attention. Perhaps one of the most desirable of those non-glass Warner collectibles is the tin that contained the Warner’s Safe Asthma Cure or Asthma Remedy. Very few of these tins exist, because proper use of the product damaged or destroyed the container. Unlike the Safe Cures or Log Cabin Remedies, the Asthma Cure was not designed to be taken internally. Instead, the instructions advised the user to “burn a half teaspoonful in the cover or saucer. Inhale the fumes.”  This burning certainly damaged the cover of the tin and over time may have damaged the rest of the container. This perhaps explains the exceeding rarity of these tins.

Never one to miss the opportunity to cross-market his products, Warner instructed users of his Asthma Cure that patients reported improved health after using a dozen bottles of Warner’s Safe Cure to purify their blood and Warner’s Safe Pills to “keep the bowels free.” The Safe Asthma Remedy dropped the endorsement of the Safe Cure, but kept the reference to the Safe Pills. Both of these endorsements echo an important theme in the patent medicine community, which believed that all disease sprang from a diseased liver or kidneys or the failure of the bowels to function properly.

If you are fortunate enough to come across an example of Warner’s Safe Asthma Cure/Remedy, don’t miss the chance to add it to your collection. Thanks to Jack Stecher for pictures of these unique items.

Warner’s Foreign Offices: Melbourne Revisited

Back in June, I wrote about Warner’s foreign offices in Melbourne and Dundein, New Zealand.  With help from Wayne Harris, I shed a bit of light on the opening of those two offices as Warner’s business was beginning its upward rise. Apparently, the early bottles from Melbourne and Dundein was imported from the United States or possibly London. It was not until the H. H. Warner & Co. Ltd. bottles appeared in the 20th Century that one can say with conviction that the Melbourne bottles were home grown.

The more important question is in what order did the Melbourne bottles appear in the market and what is there relative importance among Warner’s collectors. After talking with those who I consider to be the experts in this, I am prepared to offer up what I think is the most probable sequence of those bottles with the caveat that I’m not sure that anyone can provide an absolute answer. It is also reasonable to expect that there was overlap between the Melbourne Safe Cure bottles.

The Safe Cures

There is no doubt that the Safe Cures were the first to arrive on the scene in Melbourne. They consisted of the Safe Cure, Nervine, Diabetes Cure and Rheumatic Cure and each of them had the specific Cure embossed on the bottle. In other words, the Diabetes Cure had “Diabetes Cure” embossed on the bottle. These are great bottles and were made in the United States and shipped down under. The most often appear in shades of amber with an occasional puce. They appear in the pint and half pint sizes (Safe Cure and Nervine are the only half pints). Clearly the Nervine, Diabetes Cure and Rheumatic Cure are difficult to get and fetch a nice price.

The Safe Remedies

The next in line were likely the “Safe Remedies,” which were the first Melbourne bottles without the specific Cure embossed on the bottle. I have not seen a labelled version, but I suspect that Warner still offered his Safe Cure, Nervine, Diabetes Cure and Rheumatic Cure but distinguished each with a specific label adhered to the “Safe Remedies” bottle. Undoubtedly, this would have been done as a cost control measure. They appear only in the pint size and in shades of amber. These are very desirable bottles and can fetch close to $1000 in good condition.

The Safe Medicines

The Safe Medicines likely followed the Safe Remedies and probably appeared on the scene about the same time that the 1906 Food & Drug Act was passed in the United States. At this stage I am not sure if the Warner’s Safe Company was still marketing the full range of remedies, but as with the Remedies, they would have been distinguished by product-specific labels. The Safe Medicines appear in amber and, unlike their predecessors, they appear in both a pint and half pint size. They are somewhat less scarce that the Safe Remedies, with the half pint being particularly hard to get.

H. H. Warner & Co. Ltd./Warner’s Safe Cure (Concentrated)

These bottles bear the monogram “AGM” on the base and were actually manufactured in Australia. The AGM mark stands for Australian Glass Manufacturers Co. Dating them is a more difficult task. They probably came out in the 1910′s and the HHWCL bottles appear in both a pint and half pint size in amber and a much rarer olive. The Concentrated bottle appears in amber. Generally speaking these bottles are not considered hard to find, but labelled versions fetch a higher price.

My effort to try to fix the progression of Warner’s Safe bottles from Melbourne is my opinion and I would welcome any information that anyone has that would either support my theory or rebut it. G’day.

Warner’s Reference Guide – Now Out of Print

I recently communicated with Ed Ojea, who has provided great assistance to me in providing you with information and photographs on Warner’s Safe Cures. You will recall that some months ago, I recommended the Warner’s Reference Guide as a good source for those folks interested in collecting Warner’s.  Unfortunately, Ed advises that he has no sold out of the Warner’s Reference Guides with the exception of a few black and white copies. So, if you want one of the color versions, you’re gonna need to convince another collector to part with their copy or find one for sale on eBay.

Many thanks to Ed and Jack Stecher for collaborating on this very helpful publication. I think it remains the best available source on information about Warner’s Safe Cures…..with the possible exception of this blog.

Warner’s Safe Errors: “No Safe” Safe Remedies Co.

I have intended to do a post concerning these bottles for some time, but a recent comment reminded me that I had neglected to do so. I have previously written about the Warner’s Safe Remedies Co. bottles and have vented that some online sellers have referred to them as “rare.” In my opinion, only under very limited circumstances would a Safe Remedies Co. bottle be considered “rare.”

The first is if you have one of these bottles with full label and contents and it is one of the rare varieties such as the “Acute Rheumatic Compound ” or “Sedative,” then the appellation “rare” is appropriate. Examples with full labels or contents for “Compound: A Diuretic” would be desirable, but not rare.

The second is if you have the so-called “No Safe” Safe Remedies Co. bottle in either the 12 1/2 oz. or 6 oz. sizes. I would say that the 6 oz. is particularly rare. It is generally agreed that these bottles were mold errors and that the bottle manufacturer simply left the word “Safe” out of the mold so that they read “Warner’s Remedies Co.”  I have seen only 4 examples or the 12 1/2 oz. and only 1 of the 6 oz. All of the examples I have seen are amber rather than the clear or aqua, which are the two other colors in which Warner’s Safe Remedies Co. bottles appear. This would seem to confirm the mold error theory, suggesting that the error was promptly corrected and leaving only a precious few of the error bottles available to collectors. The above photographs, moving from top to bottom, show two labelled Safe Remedies Co. bottles with labels for Rheumatic Remedy and Acute Rheumatic Compund; the “No Safe” Safe Remedies Co. bottles in the 12 1/2 and 6 oz sizes and the same two bottles with their labels for Safe Compund: A Diuretic. The bottles are from my personal collection.

In the event you have one of the amber Safe Remedies Co. bottles in your collection, do yourself a favor and look closely at the embossing. If the word “Safe” is missing, the value of your bottle may have increased substantially.

Warner’s Safe Cure Cork Screws

Today with the possible exception of the occasional wine bottle, we have little use for cork screws. However, before the advent of screw tops that arrived on the scene in the late 1910′s and early 1920′s, the cork screw was an essential device. Since all beverages, medicines, household products and many foods were contained in bottles sealed with corks, they required a device which could extract the cork with minimal damage. Hence, the cork screw. There are even collectors that specialize in cork screws.

Although Warner’s collectors obviously favor the bottles of H. H. Warner, they are also intrigued by items associated with those bottles. Hence, the popularity of Warner advertising and even his cork screws. It is amazing that many of these survive today since they were likely discarded after the cork was initially extracted. Those that have survived, however, are a nice little treasure.