Warner’s Safe Cure: Artist’s Album (1888) – Part I

If you have been following this blog for even a short amount of time, you have undoubtedly come to the conclusion that collecting Warner’s Safe Cures extends beyond just the bottles. Warners collectors are blessed with an enormous array of advertising paper and other ephemera produced by one of the great proprietary medicine companies of  the late 19th and early 20th centuries. H. H. Warner missed few, if any, opportunities to plaster the reading public with his brand, whether by almanacs, newspaper ads, posters, cookbooks or puzzles and games. This list is extensive.

Having said that, the question becomes which examples of his advertising best informs us of the enterprise. By my way of thinking, his almanacs and other publications give us one of the most complete pictures of his pitch to an American public desperate to cope with disease in an age where real, medically competent physicians were indeed rare. Among his publications, one of the best has to be his Artist’s Albums. I say “albums,” because there were actually two. While one of the two is distinctly more rare than the other, both are terrific examples of his marketing. The version with Santa Claus going down the chimney (above) is the more common of the two, while the version with the boy sitting on the log (below) is rare.

Unlike other Warner’s Safe publications that were printed by Mensing & Stecher, the Artists’ Albums were printed by Cosack & Company of Buffalo, New York. The back cover of both albums featured a box of Log Cabin Sarsaparilla.

Apart from the terrific graphics, the Artists’ Albums feature the most comprehensive catalog of the Warner’s Safe Cure inventory as it existed in 1888. The featured products included Safe Cure, Rheumatic Cure, Diabetes Cure, Nervine, Tippecanoe – The Best, Asthma Cure, Safe Pills, Benton Hair Grower, Animal Cure, Log Cabin Sarsaparilla, Log Cabin Hops & Buchu Remedy, Log Cabin Cough & Consumption Remedy, Log Cabin Hair Tonic, Log Cabin Extract, Log Cabin Plaster, Log Cabin Rose Cream, Log Cabin Liver Pills and Safe Yeast.  Each of the products was discussed and a facsimile of the package was included. The next part of this post will feature some of those articles.

The Artists’ Albums were issued at about the time that Warner’s medicine empire reached its peak. Over the period of the next five years, Warner went from proprietary medicine mogul to financial collapse and public humiliation. These publications provide us with a glimpse of the types of products pitched to our great grandparents.

Special thanks to Jon Moran for reminding me of the uniqueness of the Artist’s Album and providing me with scans of its contents.

Warner’s Safe Cure in Black & White

One of the pioneers of Warner’s collection is Michael Seeliger.  Michael published the original Warner’s Safe catalog entitled  H. H. Warner: His Company and his Bottles. Michael has permitted me access to some of his original Warner’s photographs taken in the 1970′s. Over the next several weeks, I will be featuring Michael’s photographs so that everyone can enjoy them. Thanks Michael!

Warner’s Collector Profile: Mike Seeliger

For those of you who have collected Warner’s Safe Cures for many years, the name Mike Seeliger is familiar. For those who are new to Warner’s collecting, Mike was one of the pioneers and published the first guide to collecting Warner’s Safe Cures back in 1974 called “H.H. Warner: His Company & His Bottles.” I started collecting Warner’s shortly after Mike published his book, so he deserves a good deal of the credit (or blame) for getting me hooked on these bottles. Mike also participated in the Great Warner’s Safe Cure Exhibit on April 21, 2001 in Rochester. I was fortunate enough to be asked to participate in that exhibit and to get the chance to meet Mike.

When I started this blog, I wanted to interview some of the collectors who have contributed  to Warner’s collecting and have posted interviews of Jack Stecher and Dave Kyle. Mike was also on my short list and I am happy to report that he agreed to participate. Thanks to Mike for bringing Warner’s collecting into its own and for sharing some of his insights.

1.    When did you first start collecting Warner’s Safe bottles?

     I actually started collecting Ruby Red Schlitz throw away bottles. We would find them and could sell them for about $6 each. These were made in 1963. This was about 1969 or so. We then found some ruby red beers from 1949-1953 and these brought even more money (Quarts and 7oz returnables). We would find the old dumps and leave them alone. Then we found that this is where the real money was and the real interest. I would go out with my Aunt and hunt bottles during the day when I wasn’t attending classes at the University of Wisconsin.

2.    Why?

     When we would dig a dump at an old farm house or go into an abandoned farm building or house, you could almost write the history of the illnesses, and what the family was doing based on the old stuff in dumps. You knew what illnesses they had and what they drank or used for food based on the bottles that ended up in the dump.

3.    What was the first Warner’s Safe bottle that you added to your collection?

     After hunting one morning, I went up to an old abandoned house and started digging behind it. The hillside sloped down about 80 feet into the Wisconsin River. The whole hillside was broken Warner bottles. There were double collar tops, blobs, cures, remedys and even a Safe Remedies Co. pieces. I have a olive green corner of a warner (K&L Remedy) that I found there. No whole bottles. I always wanted a Warner bottle but had not acquired one.

     Then my shovel struck a Warner bottle right in the middle. I reached down and started digging with my hand. The bottle was upside down so it might be intact. It was. A double collar K&L cure. I almost cried I was so happy and excited. I quickly rushed to the car and hid it in case I got kicked out of the dump.

     I ended up digging 5 whole bottles out of that dump. 3 Cures and 2 Remedys.  Almost every bottle in the dump was a Warner.  KL cures and remedys.  There was never a Nervine, Diabetes Cure, Bitters, Tippecanoe or anything else. Seems this family needed to cure their Kidneys or liver and that was all. The bottles ranged in age for over 25 years. They must have been a great customer of Warner.

 

4.    What is the last Warner’s Safe bottle that you added to your collection?

     I just added a nice double collar reverse safe.

 

5.    Out of the Warner’s Safe bottles that you own or have owned, which was your favorite and why?

     1. The labeled Animal cure on Ojea’s cover. I offered it to Jack Stecher when I sold it but Jack couldn’t buy it then. He eventually got it from Luke. The bottle is the king of all cures and labeled at that.

     2. If you read the second “Collecting All Cures” by Agee, you will see a reference in the back talking about 2 Animal cures London that I sent him.

     I had argued with the owner of a shop about their authenticity and he wanted $18 for them. I said they were fake. Finally, I bought them when I came to my senses and realized that $18 was a small price to pay for an Animal cure even if it was a repro.

     The two were different colors, olive and apple green. I started to realize that they were English glass. Why two different colors of repros? Were they real? I called Agee and discussed. I sent them to him to see. I also sent them to Jack to see. Were they real?

     Agee said he didn’t know but if they were real, they were the greatest cure to be found at the time. The rest is history.

     At that time I found an “Antique Trader Magazine” in England and started to advertise for Warner bottles. Suddenly I could by all sorts of them. Bottle hunting was just beginning in England and I had the market almost to myself. It was great. Soon I was collecting all sorts of Warners. I also found some collectors in Australia and Germany and started to get Warners and began to trade, buy and sell.

     I did buy Lafferty’s collection that had the Bitters, Tonics and Tonic Bitters in it. Also it had a black glass Diabetes cure 4 cities and a Safe cure 4 cities that was almost clear on top and light amber at the base. The two were quite a pair.

 

6.    Is there a Warner’s Safe bottle that you always wanted, but were never able to add to your collection?  If yes, which one?

     I think the green Tippecanoe is the greatest Warner of all time.

7.    Apart from Warner’s Safe bottles, is there another piece of Warner’s advertising or paper that is your favorite? If yes, what is it?

     I collected all the Almanacs I could find. When I compared them from year to year I could trace Warner’s expansion through the years. I finally had to write a book to clear up all the confusion about Warner bottles in the early 1970s. The books written up until then didn’t do Warner justice.

 

8.    What’s your best story (or stories if you have more than one) about getting a Warner’s Safe bottle?  The more details, the better.

     The two stories about digging my first and the Animal cures from London are the best. My next best story is a man who called me from Germany. He had 14 Warners from Frankfurt that came out of his wife’s attic. He wanted $1200 for the lot. I didn’t have that kind of money at the time. I went to my father and asked for a loan. He thought I was crazy. But I had never asked for anything before.  He said are you sure you can get your money out of them? Needless to say when I received the bottles 9 Cures 4 green ones, and 5 Nervines large and small some with labels I had no problem selling them. He got his money back in 2 weeks.

     Another story really is about writing my book. Back then it was written by my wife Alice (Married 39 years) and I with a typewriter sitting on the picnic table out in the back yard. The bottles were drawn around a cardboard template and all the drawings were done by me freehand. I kept trying to make it as complete as possible but Warner bottles kept turning up. Soon I had to publish it. I bought 250 copies for $1 each printed by Insty Prints. I sold them for $2.50 which included the postage. The first few I didn’t sign and these are the rare ones after that I signed each one.

     I believe in the dedication at the front of the book. My wife’s understanding of my need to collect and my enthusiasm toward bottles has allowed this all to be an important part of my entire life. I think that without this any collector will tear apart a marriage, collecting can become an addiction. A good addiction but an addiction none the less.

     I did walk into a store to find a large safe with H.H. Warner sole agent written on the front. Store owner wouldn’t sell it to me. It is still there although he painted some screens while leaning then against the safe a few years ago.

9.    If H. H. Warner were still alive and you could interview him, what questions would be at the top of your list?

     Did you really think this cured anyone?

     How did you develop your great marketing plan?

     The 9 ½ inch Safe Cure (safe) Rochester N Y, where did that bottle fit in in the time frame of Warner bottles? Is it a mold error like the reverse safe?  How about that reverse safe, did you know about it?

      Also the Safe cure around the neck, I think it is a transition bottle between the Double collar K&L cure and the blob because it has the Safe Cure Label on it not the K&L cure label, when was it used?

 

10.  Other than Warner’s Safe bottles, what is your favorite bottle or bottles? Why?

     I have both of the Spark’s bottles. I really like them. One time I found a Spark’s dose cup.

 

11.  What’s the best way to encourage young bottle collectors to develop an interest in Warner’s Safe bottles?

 

     Unfortunately digging is really the way to really get to like bottles. When you look at bottles they seem to reek history. I love black glass and think about Washington, Jefferson and others drinking out of them. I love movies that are true to bottles in the period films.

     Bottle collecting has made me some very dear friends that have been with me all my life, this is the best part. Now I go to bottle shows with Bill Mitchell of Steven’s Point Wisconsin we make about 8 shows a year and the National Show is the high point.

Thanks again Mike. I think if I had come across that dump with all of the Warner’s, I might have gone into shock. Needless to say, the price of Animal Cures has risen somewhat from $18, not to mention the price of Frankfurts, especially Nervines and labelled ones. With any luck, I will try to get Mike to provide us with some more Warner’s stories and information that will dazzle you.

Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors Expo 2008 in York, Pennsylvania

Beautiful weather and a really nice show, what more could you ask for? Okay, a few showers, but otherwise delightful for August. Better yet, the Warner’s Safe Cures, Tippecanoes and Log Cabin Remedies were here for the picking during the dealers set-up and early admission. Many of us who worked on the Great Warner’s Safe Cure Exhibit  (“GWSCE”) in 2001 in Rochester, including Jack Stecher, Dave Kyle, Andy Lange and Bob Sheffield had a chance to catch-up. Andy was the clear winner as far as rare Warner’s on his sales table, including two London samples, a strap sided London Compound, a half-pint aqua London Safe Cure, two Pressburg Safe Cures (Green and Aqua), a labelled  olive London Diabetes Cure (perhaps one-of-a-kind), two Frankfurt half pint Nervines (in amber and green), a Frankfurt Diabetes Cure, a grass green Rochester Diabetes Remedy and two labelled Log Cabin Remedies with the orginal boxes. Seldom will you see so many bottles on the Warner A-List in one place, at one time. Nice work Andy!

When I was not drooling over Andy’s selection, I did manage to make it around the rest of the show. From Jack Stecher I got one of the original Safe Cure Almanacs from 1879-1880 and the London Almanac from 1888-1889. I have never seen either of these almanacs for sale before and neither had Jack. They had been in Dave Kyle’s collection.

In addition to the GWSCE, the show included folks from down under, who brought some of their Warner’s along. Wayne and Lorna Humphries from New Zealand came with Andy as well as James and Sandy Bell from Australia. Needless to say, they get the award for the longest journey. Perhaps the best thing was that there were Warner’s at almost every level from that for the beginning collector to that for the most seasoned collector. In addition to a host of Rochester Kidney & Liver Cures, Safe Remedies Company bottles and Kidney & Liver Remedies, I saw three Safe Bitters, four Animal Cures (including a light amber London, an olive London and an amber 3 Cities),  and a slug plate Rochester half-pint Nervine. In addition to the Safe Almanacs, Jack brought along so other go-withs, including vintage photos of the Warner Mansion and the Warner Observatory, several Benton’s Hair Growers and several stereoscope slides of Warner Island.

This Expo was a delight. Thanks to the Federation for a wonderful job.

Warner’s Safe Cure: Animal Cures

If you are a serious Warner’s collector, you will likely remember the first time that you actually laid eyes on an Animal Cure. I had collected Warner’s on and off for over two decades before I actually held one in my hands. I had read about them in Mike Seeliger’s book, where he says

“[p]robably the rarest Warner presently known. Only two green ones are known to exist.”

H. H. Warner: His Company & His Bottles at 20. That was in 1974.  In the intervening 34 years, more Animal Cures have surfaced, but they are far from common. Indeed, depending on color, they generally sell for between $900 and $1800+. I know of two labelled Animal Cures that exist (one with the contents). Needless to say, the price for the labelled ones would be exceedingly high, assuming they ever go up for sale, but don’t hold your breath.

The Animal Cure itself is a fascinating bottle. Americans refer to it an the Animal Cure, while the Brits apparently all it a Mammoth Cure. Its 40 ounce size makes it stand head and shoulders above the average Safe Cure pint. It appears in various shades of green and amber in the London variety and various shades of amber in the 3-City variety. It is unclear as to whether there was actually a difference between the ingredients of the Safe Cure for humans and that for animals, although the labelled Animal Cures state plainly as the bottom “To Be Used for Animals Only,” which implies that it would be unfit for humans. Indeed, a page in both 1887 Warner’s Artists Albums is devoted to the Animal Cure. It states in part:

“Warner’s Safe Cure for Animals” is a special preparation for animal use, and should not be used by mankind. For all ordinary troubles, liver and blood disorders, proceeding from mal-assimilation of food and imperfect action of the kidneys and liver, it is a specific. It is put up in very large bottles, and sells for $1.25 per bottle. It has been used in many cases with most signal success, and many thousands of dollars of horse-flesh alone has been saved by the timely use of this great remedy.

Warner’s Artist Album (1887) (see above). The scarcity of Animal Cure bottles suggests that it may not have been as popular for use with livestock as it was with humans. Nevertheless, Animal Cures provide a wonderful addition to any Warner’s collection.

 Photos courtesy of Ed Ojea and Jack Stecher.