When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Long before adhesive bandages and neatly packaged first-aid supplies became household standards, physicians relied upon products like this to control bleeding during surgery, dentistry and emergency treatment. Even empty, the bottle presents like a miniature Victorian medical catalog: nearly every available surface is covered with wonderfully detailed advertising for antiseptic cotton, gauze, ligatures, bandages and surgical dressings.
Maker
Prepared by Seabury & Johnson of New York and London, the pioneering medical-supply partnership established by pharmacist and chemist George J. Seabury and Robert Wood Johnson. The firm became particularly important in promoting Joseph Lister’s revolutionary antiseptic principles in America. Robert Wood Johnson subsequently left the partnership and helped establish Johnson & Johnson in 1886, making this bottle an especially interesting precursor and commercial relative of one of America’s best-known healthcare companies. Johnson & Johnson’s historical timeline confirms Seabury & Johnson’s early importance in medicated plasters and surgical dressings.
Original Front Label
The highly decorative front label reads:
ONE OUNCE
STYPTIC COTTON
PREPARED BY
SEABURY & JOHNSON
It also advertises the company’s specialties in:
- Surgical and pharmacopoeial plasters
- Antiseptic dressings
- Absorbent materials
The elaborate border is composed of reproduced international exhibition and award medals—a classic Victorian method of proclaiming worldwide acceptance, quality and prestige.
What Was Styptic Cotton?
Styptic cotton was absorbent cotton impregnated with an astringent or blood-stanching preparation. A physician or dentist could tear off a small piece and press it directly against a bleeding wound, surgical incision or tooth socket. It was the compact, ready-to-use bleeding-control product of its day.
The contents are now completely gone; this bottle is empty and offered strictly as an antique medical collectible.
Extraordinary Wraparound Advertising
The surviving side and rear panels effectively form a period Seabury & Johnson product catalog, listing:
- Lister’s antiseptic gauze
- Carbolized, eucalyptol, iodoform and thymol gauze
- Catgut ligatures wound on glass rods
- Oiled silk and muslin
- Hospital oiled paper
- Gutta-percha tissue
- Spongio piline
- Mackintosh cloth
- Antiseptic and absorbent cottons
- Cotton wool and surgeon’s lint
- Tarred and medicated jute and oakum
- Plain and antiseptic bandages
- Rubber elastic bandages
The repeated use of “Lister’s” directly connects the package to the revolutionary transition from traditional nineteenth-century surgery to antiseptic wound treatment.
Bottle Details
- Approximately 4 inches tall
- Rich amber glass
- Rectangular body with rounded shoulders
- Wide-mouth pharmaceutical or surgical-dressing form
- Tooled rolled finish
- Embossed side panel reading “SEABURY & JOHNSON / NEW YORK & LONDON”
- Original multi-panel paper label
- Empty
Condition
The amber glass appears bright, clean and attractive, with no obvious chips or cracks visible in the photographs. The original label remains substantially complete and readable, with expected age toning, staining, surface wear, edge losses and small areas of abrasion. Its honest wear gives it outstanding late-Victorian medical-apothecary character.
Label Transcription
Front:
ONE OUNCE — STYPTIC COTTON
Prepared by Seabury & Johnson
Specialties: Surgical and Pharmacopoeia Plasters, Antiseptic Dressings and Absorbents.
Antiseptic Gauzes:
Lister’s antiseptic gauze, yard wide, in 5-yard tins and 100-yard rolls; also bandages in any width or length. Carbolized, eucalyptol, iodoform and thymol gauze in various strengths. Bandages 2½ × 10 and 4 × 10; custom formulas and sizes supplied.
Catgut Ligature (Lister’s):
Nos. 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and assorted, wound on glass rods inserted into the cork—described as more practical than the usual form.
Other Surgical Materials:
Oiled silk and muslin; hospital oiled paper; protective oiled silk; gutta-percha tissue; Spongio Piline; Mackintosh cloth; poultices, etc. Available in assorted boxes and rolls. Improvements added as professionally endorsed.
Antiseptic Cottons:
Continuous layers in packages containing 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 ounces. Absorbent, carbolated, borated, salicylated, styptic and iodoform varieties. Custom formulas supplied; strength and quality guaranteed.
Cotton Wool and Lint:
Bleached and unbleached cotton wool; surgeon’s absorbent and plain lint. “Our Own Manufacture—More Absorbent Than Any Other.” Available in 1-pound and 1-ounce packages.
Jute and Oakum:
Antiseptic, borated, carbolated, tarred, plain and medicated varieties. Sold in decorated tin boxes or in bulk.
Bandages:
Plain and antiseptic; pure cotton, linen-finish, linen, flannel and woven varieties. Assorted widths from 1½ to 4 inches, with special sizes available.
Rubber Elastic Bandages:
Medium and heavy; 2, 2½ and 3 inches wide by 3, 4 or 5 yards long.
Embossed Glass:
SEABURY & JOHNSON — NEW YORK & LONDON.
