Medicine Chest: Th e Near Ultimate Medicines

By John Panella and Joe Widman

THE NEAR ULTIMATE MEDICINES

Need to be saved from death? Use these

Some time ago I wrote an article about a bottle embossed “Grave Robber.” I said at the time that I thought it was the ultimate embossed medicine. I still think that. Can you even think of a single better name?

I also said I thought it was one-of-akind. I still think that. Readers were asked to let me know of another one. No one did.

Today, I am writing about a more well known bottle that I think is the second best ultimate medicine. It is the Hyatt’s Life Balsam. I have four of them. Th ree are the more common Infallible Life Balsams. Th e fourth is the more rare Double Strength Life Balsam.

Th ere are big diff erences in the color and price of these bottles. Aqua to light blue green is the common color, and hundreds to thousands of dollars is the common price. Th e prices have been going up, as they have with many bottles. Last year I would have said that an aqua Infallible was worth about $100, an aqua Double Strength about $200, a dark-blue green Infallible about $750, and a dark pontiled Infallible several thousand dollars. Th is year a dark blue green Infallible sold for $1,500, and a Double Strength sold for $365.

Wouldn’t you agree that an Infallible medicine is nearly as good as a Grave Robber? It is certainly better than a stomach bitters, kidney and liver cure, or a root liniment.

I have to think that the Infallible bottle and the Double Strength bottle must have been diff erent formulas. If the medicine is Infallible then why would it need to be double strength?

I guess we will never know the answer to that question. Maybe the Double Strength bottle was fi rst before they found the Infallible formula that replaced it entirely. • Aqua Infallible

• Aqua Double Strength — much harder to fi nd

• Deep blue green Infallible

TOP LEFT: Double Strength mold (left), and normal “Hyatt’s Infallible”mold (right). TOP RIGHT: The two different deep blue green examples. ABOVE: Embossing on the front panel of the rare Double Strength mold.

• Deep green blue, iron pontiled, Infallible

Th ey aren’t Grave Robbers, but they are very desirable to me.

The “Infallibles.” From left to right are the Double Strength example, aqua Infallible, and the deep blue green examples, smooth base and iron pontiled.

Image showing the bases of the two deep bluish green examples. Smooth base is on the left and iron pontiled is on the right.