“Warner’s Safe Cure Is Life Saving”

1887 Beacon Light of Safety Almanac

Other Warner almanacs also hit on this theme of Safe Cure as a safe harbor or source of protection. The other one that comes to mind is the 1886 Girl in the Safe almanac. While not based on maritime images, this hard to find almanac emphasizes the notion that Safe Cure can protect the user from the storms of bad health. The little girl on the cover is safely tucked away inside a safe, which a thunderstorm rages around her.

1886 Girl in Safe Almanac

The take home message in all of this imagery is unmistakeable. Warner’s Safe Cure can save your life when you are threatened by ill health. Too bad it was a hollow promise.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 20,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 7 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Warner’s Safe Throatine

There is no dispute that Warner was one of the most successful proprietors of the patent medicine era. However, in 14 short years, by 1893, he was bankrupt. While his empire lived on without him, he was consigned to relative obscurity and financial ruin for the remainder of his life.  During his period of success, however, it seemed that he could do little wrong. He firmly established his trademark “Safe” in the minds of the public and produced a family of products that was, for the most part, successful. At the pinnacle of his success was his Kidney & Liver Cure, which was marketed  in multiple countries on three continents. The best evidence of his is the frequency with which the Kidney & Liver Cure bottles appear. His other remedies appear less freqently depending on the type and the foreign office from which they originated.

Perhaps at the other end of the Warner spectrum is his Safe Throatine. The above advertisement appeared  in the American Reformer in 1884. Judging from the packaging, Safe Throatine was a predecessor to Warner’s Safe Asthma Cure/Remedy and was packaged in a small tin. I have yet to see an actual example of this product, so to say that it is rare would be an understatement. This is undoubtedly the result of two factors. First, the product appears to have been produced for only a short period, in the early 1880′s. For whatever reason, the name “Throatine” must have been commercially unviable and it was changed to Asthma Cure, leaving little doubt as to the target ailment. Second, as with the later, Asthma Cure and Asthma Remedy,  the product was designed to be burned in its tin container, thereby destroying the packaging and leaving nothing for future collectors. That is why examples of the Asthma Cure and Asthma Remedy are so hard to come by. If, by chance, someone has an example of Throatine, I would be most grateful for pictures of the package.

Over the years, I have taken a stab at listing what I believe are the rarest Warner bottles and products. For no particular reason, I dubbed it the “A List.”  There is no doubt that Throatine would be listed among the rarest of the rare provided someone comes up with an example of it. Until then, all that can be said is that this product occupies mythical status among Warner’s collectors.

Warmest wishes for the holidays and for a prosperous 2012! 

Warner's Safe Diabetes Remedy in Green

Recently, Michael Seeliger was in San Jose giving a presentation on Warner’s to their bottle club.  He had the opportunity to see the collection of Michael and Kathy Craig, which includes some very nice Warner’s and he was kind enough to share them with me. Thanks also to the Craigs for allowing me to post these.

The photo above is an exceptionally rare Diabetes Remedy in green. How about a  3-Cities Safe Cure in green?

Warner's Safe Cure 3- Cities in Green

By any standard, the Craigs have a nice collection of Warner’s, including some rare examples including an olive Kidney & Liver Remedy, a clear Diabetes Remedy and a clear Kidney & Liver Remedy for starters. And, appropriately enough, a nice collection of Craigs cures.

About three years ago, I did a post on what I referred to as the “Big Print Safe Cure.”  My selection of that term was because of the rather unusual size of the words “Safe Cure” in comparison to other half pint London Safe Cures. There is also a certain crudity that is not evident in the garden variety London Safe Cure. This particular specimen just sold on eBay for the tidy sum of $1,175, which may be contrasted with a normal amber London Safe Cure half pint that would fetch less than $100.

This is only the third example of this particular bottle that I have seen in over 30 years of collecting Warner’s.  I saw the first one about five years ago and wrote it off as a “freak.” A desirable freak, but a freak nevertheless.  The size and crudity of the words “Safe Cure” made me think it had been made by an unsupervised apprentice.  Because I have now seen two more examples, I must conclude that this particular bottle was produced briefly (how briefly we don’t know) for use by the London Office, but discovered and pulled as unsatisfactory. This is pure speculation on my part, but it seems plausible and is similar in that regard to the “No Safe” Safe Remedies bottle, which must have met a similar fate.

This particular example came to the seller from London and originally sold on eBay for $25. Not a bad investment with a nice 4600% profit. Thanks to bean5024 on eBay for use of his pics and the background on this unique Safe Cure.

Warner's Safe Nervine Banner

Over the years, I have seen plenty of examples of Warner’s Safe advertising. Most of it was designed to instill brand loyalty and to help the 19th Century consumer associate the safety and security of an iron safe with the protection of a line of patent medicines.  Apparently, retailers of Warner’s Safe Remedies were encouraged to extend the branding into their establishments. Presumably, this  extension took the form of display advertising not unlike the displays that manufacturers use today to attract customers. Perhaps one of the best examples of this type of display advertising was the canvas banner. These banners heralded  the product, along with a concise statement of its benefits. One such example is the above banner of Warner’s Safe Nervine, Safe Pills and Safe Kidney & Liver Cure.

We don’t know much about this particular sign, except that it may have come from Northeastern Massachusetts, where it was auctioned. The very bottom of the sign bears the words “Murphy, Pine St., Jersey City.” We must assume that Murphy was the  producer of the sign, but that does not help much. Special thanks to Tom at Walnutt Antiques for use of his pictures. If you can shed any light on the unique piece of advertising or on “Murphy,” please let me know.

Now, compare that to the following example, which is indisputably green:

Green Tippecanoe

To the extent that there was any doubt concerning the existence of the green Tippecanoe, I think this puts it to rest.  I still believe that the bottle manufacturer probably did not intend for the bottle to be green, but that either as a result of ultraviolet radiation or simply an error in the manufacturing process, we end up with a green Tippecanoe.  Given their rarity, you should expect to pay handsomely for one of these babies, IF you can find one. Now that the green Tippecanoe myth is busted, will someone please show me an Animal Cure from Melbourne?! Yeah, right.

Postscript:  I had forgotten that American Glass Gallery offered a beautiful example of the green Tippecanoe for auction this past summer in their Auction No. 6. The green Tippe fetched a cool $8500. For a peak, take a look at Lot 177 on page 37 of their auction catalog. A very nice example.

Masthead of The American Reformer (1884)

Having done this blog now for the last 3 1/2 years, I have found that I often go looking for one thing, but find something completely unexpected and oftentimes wonderful. Such is the case with The American Reformer. My initial research was to try and find out more about a fairly obscure Warner product called “Throatine”, which was produced in the early 1880′s and was the predecessor of the more well-known and equally rare Safe Asthma Cure/Remedy. I will save the particulars of Throatine for a subsequent post, but suffice it to say that I have yet to see a photograph of the product and no collector, that I am aware of, has an example of this product in their collection.  So, “rare” would be a gross understatement.

In any event, my search started with Google, which, in turn, directed me to a publication called The American Reformer. Thanks to Google, the masthead is displayed above. Like most, if not all, of you, I had never heard of The American Reformer. The publication is subtitled “A Journal of Reform” and was published from the Tribune Building in New York City and commanded an annual subscription price of one dollar.  My reading of excerpts of this publication revealed that it was essentially a newpaper devoted to the Temperance Movement with selected news and commentary devoted to the advancement of that movement.  For those of you who are still scratching your head, the Temperance Movement advocated the prohibition of alcoholic beverages and ultimately reached its high water mark with the adoption of the 18th Amendment making Prohibition the law of the land. It was later repealed by the 21st Amendment.

At this point, you are wondering what this has to do with Throatine. Well,  it seems that Mr. Warner took a liking to The American Reformer or perhaps thought that it would help him reach new customers. I mean, who needs alcohol when you have Safe Cure? The 1884 editions of the Reformer contain a series of terrific full page ads for Warner’s Safe Cure products, including the elusive Throatine. Given the size of the ads, one would suspect that Mr. Warner was one of the Reformer’s  best advertisers. Indeed, when Warner unveiled his new Safe Remedies Building in January, 1884, the Reformer devoted four and a half columns to the event under the headline “A Magnificent Business Block – Warner’s New Safe Remedy Building”. Clearly, they wanted to keep one of their top advertisers happy. The article appeared in the January 19, 1884 edition as follows:

The American Reformer - January 19, 1884

The article has no byline and it would not be difficult to imagine that it was generated as a press release by the Warner Safe Remedies Company. Perhaps the most interesting aspect is the detail provided on every aspect of the building. It is not short of praise for Mr. Warner. Indeed, in discussing his sagacity in erecting the new Safe Remedies Building on the site of the former Central Hudson Depot, the Reformer says:

Nothing was more logical, therefore, than that Mr. H. H. Warner should early secure the best location on [North St. Paul Street], and should plan to erect thereupon an edifice surpassing all of its neighbors in size and appearance, and in cost. It is the way of the man. He sees large opportunities as by telescope, while they are yet far off; he comprehends their promise with singular clearness; he acts with marvelous promptness and unfaltering decision.

The remainder of the article strikes a similar tone. The really amazing thing is that all of this appears in the pages of a temperance paper. In upcoming posts, I will feature some of the advertisements from the Reformer and discuss them in greater detail.

My favorite part of this ad is that it claims to cure “Weak Women” from “a life of suffering and an untimely end.” Wow, what more can you ask?