Antique Harris' Witch Hazel Bottle Label Labeled Binghamton New York NY c1910 For Sale

Antique Frank E. Harris Witch Hazel Bottle – Binghamton, N.Y. – Original Label – c.1907-1915Intro

Here’s a fantastic survivor from the dawn of America’s regulated medicine era — a beautifully preserved aqua glass bottle of Harris’ Pure U.S.P. Extract Witch Hazel, complete with its bold Art Nouveau / early industrial-era label and unusually crisp condition. Most of these “working medicine” bottles were tossed once empty, labels washed away in bathroom cabinets or medicine chests. Yours escaped all of that. The combination of the strong aqua glass, full readable label, attic-mint shine, and absence of damage makes this one far more desirable than the average early 1900s drugstore bottle.

And that line — “Guaranteed under the Pure Food and Drugs Act, June 30, 1906” — plants this bottle right at one of the biggest turning points in American medical history: when the federal government finally began cracking down on dangerous patent medicines that had been quietly pickling the public with alcohol, opiates, cocaine, and outright fraud. This bottle is basically a little glass time capsule from the era when America started trying to clean up the Wild West of medicine.

Precise Date

Circa 1907–1915

Why:

• The label specifically references the Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906, which manufacturers proudly added shortly afterward to reassure consumers.
• The typography and layout are classic Edwardian-era commercial label design.
• The bottle appears to be an early machine-made bottle with a tooled crown/packer style finish.
• The pale aqua glass and mold seam characteristics fit the 1905–1915 period extremely well.
• “U.S.P.” (“United States Pharmacopeia”) branding became heavily marketed during this era as consumers became more aware of purity standards.

This is almost certainly pre-World War I.

City / StateBinghamton, New York

Prepared by:

Frank E. Harris
Manufacturing Chemist
Binghamton, N.Y.

About the Maker

Frank E. Harris appears to have been a regional manufacturing chemist and proprietary medicine producer operating in Binghamton during the early 20th century. Companies like his supplied:

• druggists
• general stores
• rural pharmacies
• mail-order medicine dealers

This was the age when thousands of small American chemists created branded remedies competing against national giants like:

• Pond’s
• Humphreys’
• Lydia Pinkham
• Hamamelis products
• Sloan’s Liniment

Many vanished entirely after stricter federal regulations and later pharmaceutical consolidation crushed smaller operators.

That’s part of why bottles like this survive as fascinating little ghosts of forgotten local medicine companies.

Contents & UsesWitch Hazel Extract (15% alcohol)

Witch hazel was one of the most respected botanical remedies of the era and actually did have legitimate medicinal uses.

Derived from the native North American shrub Hamamelis virginiana, it was commonly used as:

• an astringent
• antiseptic wash
• hemorrhoid treatment
• bruise remedy
• sore throat gargle
• skin toner
• insect bite relief

The label is wonderfully ambitious, recommending it for:

• bruises
• burns
• scalds
• insect bites
• sore throats
• earaches
• piles (hemorrhoids)
• ulcers
• open wounds

That’s classic early 1900s medicine marketing:
“If it hurts, splash this on it.”

And unlike many “miracle cures” of the period, witch hazel actually had a decent reputation medically.

Marketing Style

The marketing here is fascinating because it blends:

• scientific authority
• family safety
• government approval
• traditional botanical medicine

Key phrases like:

• “Pure”
• “U.S.P.”
• “Effective Family Remedy”

were intentionally chosen to reassure consumers after decades of medical fraud scandals.

The dramatic lettering and radiant background behind “EXTRACT” were designed to make the bottle leap off a crowded apothecary shelf under dim gaslight or early electric bulbs.

Bottle & Condition Details

Several desirable traits:

• strong light aqua coloration
• excellent clarity
• full original label
• no chips or cracks
• clean attic-mint surface
• attractive squared medicine form
• embossed-looking heavy typography effect on label
• early industrial machine-made character

That little trapped bubble and waviness in the glass gives it personality — old glass still had a touch of handmade chaos even after automation began creeping in.

This bottle absolutely has display appeal.

Medicine & Technology During the Period

When this bottle was sold:

Technology

• Most homes still lacked telephones.
• Cars were replacing horses, but slowly.
• Airplanes were experimental novelties.
• Electricity was spreading city-by-city.
• Rural Americans still relied heavily on mail-order catalogs.

Medicine

Doctors still had:

• no antibiotics
• no insulin
• no modern painkillers
• limited surgical sanitation

People treated many illnesses at home with:

• tonics
• extracts
• liniments
• herbal remedies
• alcohol-based medicines

This was the twilight era before modern pharmaceuticals took over.

Politics & America at the Time

This bottle belongs to the Progressive Era.

Theodore Roosevelt was reshaping the country with:

• trust-busting
• food safety reforms
• railroad regulation
• public health initiatives

The Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906 — referenced directly on your label — was revolutionary. Before it, medicine labels often lied outright about ingredients.

The federal government was essentially saying:

“Maybe the ‘cure-all cocaine syrup’ industry needs supervision.”

A radical concept at the time.

What Was Happening in Binghamton That Decade?

Binghamton in the 1900s–1910s was booming as an industrial city.

Major industries included:

• cigar manufacturing
• shoes
• pharmaceuticals
• machinery
• rail transport

Notable developments:

• rapid electric streetcar expansion
• factory growth
• immigrant labor influx
• dense downtown commercial development

Binghamton would later become famous as:

• the birthplace of IBM’s predecessor
• a major manufacturing center
• the “Parlor City”

So this bottle came from a city very much plugged into America’s industrial ascent.