Amber Bottle Glass Fragment (Archaeological Find)
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Title:
Amber Bottle Glass Fragment
Description:
Just as how colds and coughs rampage through college campuses today, 17th century students of the newly founded Harvard College also fell subject to ailments throughout their time at school. Because pharmacists and apothecaries were somewhat rare in the colonies at the time, it was not unusual for churchmen, governors, and housewives to dispense their own drugs in small amber glass bottles. Ranging in shape and size, the amber glass bottles were most likely filled with herbal remedies, similar to the ones found in physician Samuel Stearns medical notebook, or maybe it was filled with the ingredients to make home remedies, including peppermint, chamomile, cream of tartar, and camphor. If a student is struggling with fever, they can drink a concoction called “American Poison” or flip through the apothecary book and find a remedy for stiff joints or any other pain they may be suffering from. The amber glass made during this time is described as “old” amber, often appearing as a medium yellowish amber with an olive tint. The olive tinted amber glass, which became very uncommon around the late 1800’s, helps to set the upper range of possible dates of the bottle.
Source:
Anon. Bottle Colors Page. Available at: https://sha.org/bottle/colors.htm#Amber [Accessed
February 25, 2022].
^ amber glass information
Anon. Who Were The Apothecaries? Harvard Center for the History of Medicine. Available at:
https://collections.countway.harvard.edu/onview/exhibits/show/apothecary-jars/sequence.
Hume, Ivor Noel. 1969. A Guide to Artifacts of Colonial America. Philadelphia, PA: University
of Pennsylvania Press.
Stearns, Samuel, 1747-1809. Medical notebook of Samuel Stearns, circa 1773. H MS b1.1,
Countway Library of Medicine.
https://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HMS.COUNT:32523247
^ image of American Poison
Willard, Samuel, 1766-1820. Account of medicines delivered to Jonathan Fuller by Samuel
Willard, 1795-1799. B MS Misc., Countway Library of Medicine.
https://colonialnorthamerica.library.harvard.edu/spotlight/cna/catalog/990146278070203941
^ image of medicine orders and ingredients
https://anth1130.omeka.fas.harvard.edu/items/show/1783
Object Name:
Amber Bottle Glass Fragment
Inventory Description:
Thin, slightly curved, textured amber glass fragment.
Peabody Number:
2021.6.9
Intrasite:
H968, Level 7
Depth:
60 cm
Class 1:
Glass
Class 2:
Bottle Glass
Class 3:
Amber Bottle Glass
Quantity:
1
Height (cm):
2.1 cm
Width (cm):
1.6 cm
Depth/Thickness (cm):
0.1 cm