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A POCKET-SIZED PROMISE FROM AMERICA’S PATENT MEDICINE AGE
In the late 1800s, before antibiotics, before regulation, and long before warning labels, Americans turned to miracle tonics promising relief from nearly everything that ailed them. This little bottle is a perfect survivor from that era — a sealed, corked, original trial-size bottle of Dr. King’s New Discovery, one of the most famous cough and lung remedies of the 19th century.
It’s small, but historically loud.
The embossed glass, original label, and intact contents make this a museum-grade example of patent medicine history — the kind of piece that usually turns up empty, chipped, or stripped of its label.
LABEL TRANSCRIPTION (VERBATIM)
“Trial Bottle of Dr. King’s
New Discovery for Consumption”
By taking the contents of this small bottle, you will readily perceive the remarkable curative qualities of this great New Discovery for Consumption, Coughs, Colds and all Diseases of the Throat, Chest and Lungs, which will convince you of its wonderful merits, and show you what can be done by a regular one dollar size bottle. Give it a trial.
Dose for adults, one teaspoonful every three hours.
For sale by Druggists and Dealers everywhere.
This language is pure late-Victorian marketing gold.
BOTTLE DETAILS
Height: approx. 4 1/8 inches
Glass color: Clear
Shape: rectangular with beveled corners
Embossing:
“DR. KING’S NEW DISCOVERY” (raised lettering on side)
Condition:
Style: blown mold, tooled lip
Era: circa 1880–1895
Yes — this is a trial bottle, exactly as stated on the label.
ABOUT THE COMPANY – DR. KING & CO.
Dr. King’s New Discovery was created by Dr. J. H. King in the late 19th century and became one of the most widely advertised cough remedies in America.
It was later manufactured and distributed by:
📍 Dr. King’s New Discovery Co.
📍 Chicago, Illinois
By the 1890s, it was a household name — heavily advertised in newspapers, almanacs, and traveling medicine shows.
This product survived into the early 20th century, but this style of bottle and label dates earlier, before federal regulation changed everything.
WHAT WAS IN IT?
Like most patent medicines of the era, it likely contained:
Alcohol (often 20–40%)
Opium derivatives (small amounts)
Herbal extracts (licorice, wild cherry, squill)
Glycerin or syrup base
Which explains why people felt better quickly.
And why the FDA eventually shut the party down.
LIFE AT THE TIME (1880s–1890s)
When this bottle was sold:
• Germ theory was still being debated
• Tuberculosis (“Consumption”) was rampant
• Antibiotics did not exist
• Doctors made house calls
• Electricity was rare
• Most medicine was bought from pharmacists or traveling salesmen
• Newspapers were filled with cure-all ads
• The telephone was a novelty
• Horse-drawn transport ruled the streets
People genuinely believed in products like this — and for many, they were the only hope available.
ESTIMATED DATE
Circa 1885–1898
This dating is supported by:
Embossed glass style
Paper label typography
Use of “Consumption” language
Trial-size marketing format
Pre-Pure Food & Drug Act claims (1906)
CITY / STATE OF ORIGIN
Chicago, Illinois, USA
(Primary manufacturing and distribution hub for Dr. King’s products)
COLLECTOR VALUE
Because this example has:
✔ Original label
✔ Original cork
✔ Contents intact
✔ Strong embossing
✔ Trial-size format
✔ No damage
FINAL NOTE
This is not just a bottle — it’s a snapshot of a time when medicine was part science, part hope, and part showmanship. The survival of the label and contents makes it far more desirable than the average empty example.
