Heard it through the
Grapevine Medicine Show? Picture This Dr. Finch reports: Got the bug for old medicine bottles? This won’t cure you, but … Offered last Nov. 25 on eBay was this photo described (edited) as an “ORIGINAL ‘MEDICINE SHOW’ / PATENT MEDICINE TENT SHOW, CABINET CARD. This rare albumen image mounted to an 8 by 10 inch card stock is in very good condition. The image depicts five men, one being what appears to be a Native American in traditional dress. The other four men are standing on the same stage, which appears to be in a tent with a tent pole and rope seen in the foreground. A musical accompaniment was germane to these operations and an organ can be seen at the right of the image.” “The back of the image is annotated ‘Dr. Lawrence and Company - McDonald W. Va - Summer 1901’.” “A rare image from the height of the patent medicine practice where purveyors of mysterious ‘cures’ would use magicians, shamans, Native Americans, circus
performers and other attraction whimsies to gather crowds and sell their medicines, which claimed to heal just about every malady imaginable. These products never lived up to the exagerrated claims, but due to the traveling nature of the operations, they would be long out of town before the customer’s could realize they’d been duped for a nominal charge.”
Tired of Breaking Old Glass Bottles? Some heavy thoughts from Ralph Finch When was the last time you heard that delicate — yet thunderous — sound of a tink, crack, or crash! Next time, why not think about collecting old bricks. I have a few, and haven’t broken one yet. Or, if you don’t want bricks, how about cast iron? This information is just a bit late, but on Sept. 26, Soulis Auctions firm of Kansas City offered the Richard and Valerie Tucker Collection, an “unrivaled collection of American cast iron,” including the largest grouping of shooting gallery targets. The 2014 book, Step Right Up! Classic American Target and Arcade Forms, is a compendium of the Tucker Collection, with its many “only-known” or “one-of-two-known” examples. So, the next time you set your sights on old glass, consider aiming for cast iron.
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Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
“This practice began just before the Civil War and continued well into the twentieth century, especially in rural areas. This image is a rare and important documentation of what the operation would have looked like about the turn of the century.” It was offered with a minimum bid of $249.99, plus $10.50 for shipping. It didn’t sell.
