6
Bottles and Extras Fall 2005 46 The Wistars (Casper, Richard, Dr. Casper, Henry & Issac) Copyright © 2005 Cecil Munsey with editorial and research assistance from Frank Sternad PROLOGUE TO THIS ARTICLE Brass Buttons Wistarburg Glasshouse Scientific Discovery Wistarʼs Balsam of Wild Cherry Wistarʼs Cough Lozenges Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology This article is the first comprehensive research-based work on the First Family of American Glass–The Wistars. It covers three hundred years of glass-related history in America. It begins, after a brief history of glass, with the 1739 building of the first successful glass factory in America—Wistarburg in South Jersey. It deals with a famous Civil War era proprietary medicine. And provides a short history of the first nation’s first independent medical research facility that was started in the 1890s and is still in existence today. A Brief History of Glass Man-made glass, in the form of beads, was first created in Egypt 2,500 years before Christ. The next most important step in glass production was the introduction of the blowpipe in the Near East approximately 50 years before Christ. In view of the fact that the area was under the control of the Romans, that and other glass produced in Europe was called “Roman Glass.” Roman glass was quite advanced. But, when the western half of the Roman Empire collapsed, the production of glass was limited to the remaining Eastern Half of the Roman Empire (which eventually became Byzantium) and later to production in the Arab states. It was not until the Renaissance that Western Europe again started to produce glass of fine quality, in Venice Italy. The fact that Venice was closely linked by trade with Byzantium and with the Arab states undoubtedly played an important role in this development. In 1291 the production of glass in Venice was moved to the island of Morano to prevent the spread of fires and protect the secrets of glass making, and where it has basically remained to this day. A very clear form of glass called Cristallo was developed in Venice and delivered by sea to Northern Europe where it was in great demand. When Columbus arrived in America, he had with him glass beads to trade with the “Indians.” They were made in the city of Venice! Eventually the secrets of glass making were stolen from Venice and the production of glass spread to northern Europe and England. The first industry transplanted to America by Europeans was glass making— by the Spanish in 1535 in Mexico. Later, the English started glass production in their first settlement in America, at Jamestown in 1608. The effort failed, then was re- attempted in 1621, but again failed even though six Italian glass blowers were “imported” to handle the work. The American settlers did not give up easily and attempts at glass making were again made in Boston, New Amsterdam and Philadelphia—but all failed within relatively short periods. Caspar Wistar (1696-1752) The Wistar name was one of great influence and importance in Philadelphia during the 19 th and 20 th centuries. The progenitor of the American Wistars was Caspar who came to the United States from his homeland near Wald-Hilspach, Baden, Germany in 1717 at age 21, and established in New Jersey what is believed to be the first successful glass factory in the colonies. Like his father, Caspar always wrote his name “Wüster,” but at the time of his naturalization in the British colony (1739?) it was recorded “Wistar.” Caspar’s younger brother John (1708-1789?) arrived in Philadelphia ten years later in 1727, settled in the Germantown district, and was registered with yet another variant of the surname, “Wister.” To this day there exists two spellings of the family name. Caspar Wistar emigrated with almost no money. But within three years he was buying, dividing, and selling real estate to other German newcomers. Soon after, he invested in an iron furnace, followed by a forge, in Berks County, and later established a lucrative brass button manufactory in Philadelphia. His buttons, in his son’s words, “…were noted for their strength, and warranted for 7 years.” In 1726 he married a wealthy Quaker, Catherine Jansen, having already been admitted to the Society of Friends for that purpose. Wistar thus entered into the Philadelphia Establishment, and became one of the city’s leading merchants, with a house and general store on Market Street near the homes of Mayor Charles Willing and Benjamin Franklin. At the time of his death, from the disease dropsy in 1752, Caspar Wistar [Figure 1] was one of the wealthiest men in the province. In 1738-39, Wistar launched his bold entrepreneurial venture in glass making Figure 1: Caspar Wistar

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Bottles and ExtrasFall 200546

The Wistars(Casper, Richard, Dr. Casper, Henry & Issac)

Copyright © 2005 Cecil Munsey

with editorial and research assistance from Frank Sternad

PROLOGUE TO THIS ARTICLE

Brass Buttons

Wistarburg Glasshouse

Scientific Discovery

Wistarʼs Balsam of Wild CherryWistarʼs Cough Lozenges

Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology

This article is the first comprehensive research-based work on the First Familyof American Glass–The Wistars. It covers three hundred years of glass-relatedhistory in America.

It begins, after a brief history of glass, with the 1739 building of the first successfulglass factory in America—Wistarburg in South Jersey. It deals with a famous CivilWar era proprietary medicine. And provides a short history of the first nation’s firstindependent medical research facility that was started in the 1890s and is still inexistence today.

A Brief History of GlassMan-made glass, in the form of beads,

was first created in Egypt 2,500 years beforeChrist. The next most important step inglass production was the introduction of theblowpipe in the Near East approximately50 years before Christ. In view of the factthat the area was under the control of theRomans, that and other glass produced inEurope was called “Roman Glass.” Romanglass was quite advanced. But, when thewestern half of the Roman Empirecollapsed, the production of glass waslimited to the remaining Eastern Half ofthe Roman Empire (which eventuallybecame Byzantium) and later to productionin the Arab states.

It was not until the Renaissance thatWestern Europe again started to produceglass of fine quality, in Venice Italy. Thefact that Venice was closely linked by tradewith Byzantium and with the Arab statesundoubtedly played an important role inthis development. In 1291 the productionof glass in Venice was moved to the islandof Morano to prevent the spread of firesand protect the secrets of glass making, andwhere it has basically remained to this day.

A very clear form of glass calledCristallo was developed in Venice anddelivered by sea to Northern Europe whereit was in great demand. When Columbusarrived in America, he had with him glassbeads to trade with the “Indians.” Theywere made in the city of Venice!

Eventually the secrets of glass makingwere stolen from Venice and the productionof glass spread to northern Europe andEngland. The first industry transplanted toAmerica by Europeans was glass making—by the Spanish in 1535 in Mexico. Later,the English started glass production in theirfirst settlement in America, at Jamestownin 1608. The effort failed, then was re-attempted in 1621, but again failed eventhough six Italian glass blowers were“imported” to handle the work. TheAmerican settlers did not give up easily andattempts at glass making were again madein Boston, New Amsterdam andPhiladelphia—but all failed withinrelatively short periods.

Caspar Wistar (1696-1752)The Wistar name was one of great

influence and importance in Philadelphiaduring the 19th and 20th centuries. Theprogenitor of the American Wistars wasCaspar who came to the United States fromhis homeland near Wald-Hilspach, Baden,Germany in 1717 at age 21, and establishedin New Jersey what is believed to be thefirst successful glass factory in the colonies.Like his father, Caspar always wrote hisname “Wüster,” but at the time of hisnaturalization in the British colony (1739?)it was recorded “Wistar.” Caspar’s youngerbrother John (1708-1789?) arrived inPhiladelphia ten years later in 1727, settledin the Germantown district, and was

registered with yet another variant of thesurname, “Wister.” To this day there existstwo spellings of the family name.

Caspar Wistar emigrated with almost nomoney. But within three years he wasbuying, dividing, and selling real estate toother German newcomers. Soon after, heinvested in an iron furnace, followed by aforge, in Berks County, and later establisheda lucrative brass button manufactory inPhiladelphia. His buttons, in his son’swords, “…were noted for their strength,and warranted for 7 years.” In 1726 hemarried a wealthy Quaker, CatherineJansen, having already been admitted to theSociety of Friends for that purpose. Wistarthus entered into the PhiladelphiaEstablishment, and became one of the city’sleading merchants, with a house andgeneral store on Market Street near thehomes of Mayor Charles Willing andBenjamin Franklin. At the time of hisdeath, from the disease dropsy in 1752,Caspar Wistar [Figure 1] was one of thewealthiest men in the province.

In 1738-39, Wistar launched his boldentrepreneurial venture in glass making

Figure 1: Caspar Wistar

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Bottles and Extras Fall 2005 47

near Alloways Creek in the wilds of SalemCounty, New Jersey (near present dayAlloway). The site contained excellentsand, clay for crucibles, abundant wood forfuel and potash, and access to the DelawareRiver and Philadelphia by water. Wistarcontracted with four skilled Belgianglassmakers. He agreed to pay theirpassage, furnish food and servants for themin America, and to grant them one-third ofthe profits from the glassworks. The mastercraftsmen agreed to oversee theconstruction of a glassworks built atWistar’s expense, operate the factory, andteach Caspar Wistar and his son Richard

Figure 3: Charles Willing (1710-1754)

(and “no one else”) the mystery and art ofproducing glass. The works were generallyreferred to as the Wistar Glass Works, butwere known internally by its proprietors asthe United Glass Company.

The Wistar Glass Works became the firstsuccessful glass producing plant not onlyin the colonies, but in all of America. Thefactory also made scientific glass, supplyingBenjamin Franklin (1706-1790) with theglass apparatus used in his experiments onelectricity. Bottles and window glass werethe chief products of “Wistarburg,” as theglasshouse and its surrounding communitywere called. Historians claim that bottlesformed the major thrust of the Wistars’output. They estimate, based on theglasshouse ledger figures for the periodfrom October 1748 to May 1749,approximately 17,000 bottles were madeduring those seven months. Despite thosenumbers, only three authenticated bottlesfrom the Wistarburg factory are known tohave survived.

The oldest of the authenticated bottlesmade at Wistarburg Glass Works is a blackglass seal bottle embossed, “C. Willing”[Figure 2]. Charles Willing (1710-1754,Figure 3) was born in England and trainedin the mercantile business, coming toPhiladelphia in 1728 to take charge of afirm established by his family. He carriedon a large foreign trade and was very activein city affairs. Elected to the Common

Council in 1743, he was commissioned asone of the justices of the City Court, and in1748 was elected Mayor of Philadelphia.A decade later, in 1754, he was againelected mayor. The “C. Willing” seal bottlewas blown for him during his time asmayor.

Wistarburg and subsequent glassworksin New Jersey became known collectivelyas the glass factories of “South Jersey.”They were vividly described in a poeticessay by Carl Sandburg in his firstpublished volume:

“Down in Southern New Jersey, theymake glass. By day and by night, thefires burn on and bid the sand let in thelight. The factories by night would havedelighted Whistler, who loved gloomand mist and wild shadows. Great raftsof wood and big brick hulks, dotted witha myriad of light, glowing and twinklingevery shade of red. Big, black flamesshooting out smoke and sparks; bottles,bottles, bottles, of every tint and hue,from a brilliant crimson to the dullgreen that marks the death of sand andthe birth of glass.” —In RecklessEcstasy (1904)

Richard Wistar (1727-1781)Caspar Wistar died in 1752, and his son,

Richard Wistar, took over the business. Hecontinued to operate the glass works for 29years until his death in 1781 when the

Figure 2: Bottle embossed “C. Willing.” Figure 4: Bottle embossed “WM.SAVORY 1752.”

Figure 5: Bottle embossed “RW.”

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Bottles and ExtrasFall 200548

property passed to his son, John Wistar(1759-1815) who conducted it for a shorttime before its abandonment.

It was during Richard’s tenure as theowner of Wistarburg, that another of theauthenticated Wistarburg seal bottles wasmade [Figure 4]. WM. SAVORY 1752reads the glass seal on this wine or spiritsbottle, handed down in the family of thefamous Philadelphia cabinet-maker whodied in 1787. The bottle is a dark olivegreen, bubbled, with a sheared lip and acollared neck.

Richard Wistar made another of thethree remaining authenticated bottles fromWistarburg. This bottle was made for hispersonal use. The seal on the bottle featuredan embossed “RW” (presumably standingfor “Richard Wistar”) and was made ofgreen glass [Figure 5].

In 1769 Richard Wistar inserted anadvertisement in the New York Journal orGeneral Advertiser for August 17 thatprovides a good picture of the kinds of glassbeing produced at Wistarburg at that time:

“Made at the Subscriber’s Glassworksand now on Hand to be sold at HisHouse in Market Street, opposite theMeal Market, either wholesale or retail,between three and four hundred boxesof Window Glass, consisting of thecommon sizes, 10x12, 9x11, 8x10, 7x9,6x8, etc. Lamps Glass or anyuncommon Sizes under 16x18 are cutupon short notice. Where also may behad, most sorts of Bottles, Gallon, HalfGallon, Quart, full measure HalfGallon Case Bottles, Snuff andMustard, Receivers and Retorts ofvarious sizes, also electrifying Globesand Tubes, etc.”

Beside John, Richard Wistar had fiveother sons. Richard Jr. (1756-1821) builta large four-storied building in Philadelphiain 1790 to conduct an extensive retail andwholesale iron and hardware business. Withthe profits of this undertaking he investedlargely in lands and houses in the vicinityof Philadelphia that later becameexceedingly valuable. During theRevolutionary War he had advocated thedefense of his property by arms, resultingin his being disowned by the Society ofFriends that his grandfather had adoptedin 1726. He was an inspector of prisons,and one of the early friends and supportersof the Philadelphia Library Company andthe Pennsylvania Hospital.

Caspar Wistar, M.D. (1761-1818)The second Caspar Wistar [Figure 6]

was a brother of Richard Wistar, Jr. (seeabove). He was a prominent Americanphysician and man of learning, born inPhiladelphia, and named for hisgrandfather who founded the Wistarburgglass factory.

Born a Quaker, Wistar was said to havebeen inspired to become a physician by thesuffering he witnessed in the aftermath ofthe Battle of Germantown in 1777. Heearned his medical degree from theUniversity of Edinburgh [Scotland] in1786, returned to Philadelphia, andsucceeded Dr. Benjamin Rush in 1789 asprofessor of chemistry at the medical schoolof the College of Philadelphia (later theUniversity of Pennsylvania). He held theposition of professor of anatomy andmidwifery there from 1792 to 1810. Dr.Caspar Wistar also served as a staffphysician at area hospitals includingPennsylvania Hospital, the country’s oldest,and became chairman of the Departmentof Anatomy at the University ofPennsylvania School of Medicine in 1808.He wrote the first American textbook onanatomy, A System of Anatomy (twovolumes, 1811, 1814). He had manyprogressive ideas and was an early advocateof vaccinations against disease. During theyellow fever epidemic of 1793 he nearly losthis life after being stricken by the diseasewhile caring tirelessly for others.Differences of opinion regarding treatmentof the fever caused a breech in hisfriendship with the famous Dr. Rush.

Dr. Wistar’s reputation drew medicalstudents to Philadelphia from around theworld. He was, however, widely respectednot only for his expertise in medicine, butFigure 6: Dr. Caspar Wistar, M.D.

also for his breadth of knowledge in thehumanities and the general sciences. Hischief scientific interests outside of medicinewere paleontology and botany. He was alsoparticularly known for his hospitality, andhis home was the weekly meeting place ofstudents and scientists. These so-called“Wistar parties” were so popular that theycontinued to be given even after his death.He was elected to the AmericanPhilosophical Society in 1787 and servedas its president from 1815 until his deathin 1818. He was also elected a Fellow ofthe College of Physicians in 1788. Theplant genus Wisteria, described by botanistThomas Nutall, was named in his honor.

Dr. Caspar Wistar was married twice,first in 1788 to Isabella Marshal, who diedchildless two years later. In 1798 hemarried Elizabeth Mifflin, with whom hehad three children: Dr. Richard MifflinWistar, Dr. Mifflin Wistar, and ElizabethWistar.

Henry WistarIt is believed that Henry Wistar was a

descendant of John Wister (brother of thefirst Caspar Wistar) who settled atGermantown in 1727. A Pennsylvania willindicates Henry Wistar leased property inthe Moyamensing district of Philadelphiaduring the early 1800s. By 1840 he wasacknowledged the originator of a “patentmedicine” that would command sales formore than a century—Dr. Wistar’s Balsamof Wild Cherry. Wistar promoted hisconsumption cure with the tag line, “Thetrue Riches of Life is Health.” In 1841 thenostrum was advertised by Lewis Williams& Co. of Philadelphia, apparently the newproprietor of Wistar’s recipe; but by May1844 Williams had transferred sole rightto manufacture and sell the medicine invarious regions, including easternPennsylvania, to Isaac Butts of New Yorkwho had been a distributor of the Balsamfor the past year. Butts ordered 8-sided,green glass bottles blown with the productname embossed vertically over three of theeight sides [Figure 7]. On the sixth sidethe letters “I.B.” were added, undoubtedlyrepresenting the initials of the proprietor.Less than a year later, in March 1845, Buttsconveyed rights to Seth W. Fowle of Boston,including the bottle molds, printing plates,pamphlets, and other equipment. Acompanion product was Wistar’s CoughLozenges, added in 1855.

In addition to the containers embossed“I.B.”, other surviving bottles, possessing

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Bottles and Extras Fall 2005 49

applied lips along with blowpipe or ironpontil scars, are embossed with agencynames such as “Sanford & Park/Cincinnati.O.”, “John D. Park/Cincinnati”,and “W.M.S.”. The latter set of initials arethose of W.M. Spear, a Philadelphiaopportunist who landed in court in 1847when Fowle requested an injunction to haltthe production and sale of Spear’s blatantimitation of Dr. Wistar’s Balsam.

Undoubtedly, the big seller for Seth W.Fowle & Son was “Dr. Wistar’s Balsam ofWild Cherry for the cure of Consumptionand all Lung Diseases.” From the fact thatthe U.S. medicine tax stamp pasted on thecontainers had a face value of four cents, itcan be determined that this proprietaryretailed at $1 a bottle. Also, governmentrecords of the private die revenue stampssold to the proprietor during the years 1869-1883 indicate that over one million bottles

of Wistar’s Balsam were produced, yieldingan average annual retail sale of $78,000—more than a goodly sum in those days.

Included on the bottle wrapper was thispresumptuous rhythmic verse:

“In Rome thus spoke the Pope:I’m glad to meet you, I assure you, sirYou are quite well, I hope?No? Then I know just what will cure

you, sir.What, ho! Request our court apothecaryTo bring some WISTAR’S BALSAM OF

WILD CHERRY.”

Isaac Jones Wistar (1827-1905)The Wistar Institute of Anatomy and

Biology, the nation’s first independentmedical research facility, was founded in1892 by General Isaac Jones Wistar[Figure 8]. General Wistar provided fundsfor a new building and a trust fund toguarantee perpetual care for the existingWistar Museum at the University ofPennsylvania. The Museum originallyconsisted of the accumulation of anatomicalpreparations used by the famous Dr. CasparWistar (1761-1818, see above) throughouthis active career, and was renamed theWistar Institute upon incorporation in April1892. Its benefactor, General Isaac Wistar,was Dr. Caspar Wistar’s great nephew.

In his role as teacher, Dr. Caspar Wistardeveloped a number of unique teachingaids, some of which were life-sizedanatomical models made of dried and wax-injected human limbs and organs. Otherswere fashioned of wood, carved byAmerica’s first native-born professionalsculptor, William Rush. Today, The WistarInstitute owns the only extant examples ofRush’s anatomical models. Two yearsbefore his death, Dr. Wistar appointed ayoung physician, Dr. William EdmondsHorner as caretaker of these valuablemodels. Horner later enlarged thecollection and opened the first anatomicalmuseum in the United States, the Wistarand Horner Museum. After Wistar’s deathWilliam Horner, who later served as deanof the University of Pennsylvania Schoolof Medicine, maintained and expanded thecollection of anatomical specimens, furtherexpanded under the curation of Dr. JosephLeidy who acquired animal specimens aswell as fossil and anthropological samples.

By the late 1880s the collection hadgrown so large and overly handled that itwas beginning to show signs of wear andneglect, a situation compounded by a firein Logan Hall at the University of

Figure 8: Issac Jones Wistar

Pennsylvania where the museum washoused. University Provost William Pepperbegan a fund-raising campaign to providefor rehousing and refurbishing thecollections to assure their continuedavailability for study and the teaching ofmedicine.

It was at this point that Isaac JonesWistar stepped into the picture. Aprominent Philadelphia lawyer and retiredCivil War Brigadier General, Wistar madean initial gift to Provost Pepper’s campaignto save the museum. But General Wistarthen offered a more far-reaching proposal.Determined to create a lasting gift for theserious study of biological research as wellas to preserve his great uncle’s teachingcollection, he funded an endowment andresearch building for The Wistar Instituteof Anatomy and Biology. The Universityof Pennsylvania transferred the museumcollections to the Institute by Deed of Giftin 1892. Shortly after the turn of the 20th

century, The Wistar Institute began to fulfillIsaac Wistar’s dream of a center for “newand original research” in the biological andmedical sciences.

The Wistar Institute today has nearly 400staff members, including about 130doctoral-level scientists who occupy morethan 50 laboratories. Working in theInstitute’s original 1894 building and itsmore recent extensions, Wistar scientistscarry out multidisciplinary investigationsof all types of cancer and viral,autoimmune, and degenerative diseases.

AUTHOR’S NOTE:In 2003 a wonderful, best selling, book

Figure 7: Dr. Wistar’s Balsamof Wild Cherry.

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Bottles and ExtrasFall 200550

was published—A Short History of NearlyEverything by Bill Bryson (seebibliography). Indulging my interest inmany things, including paleontology, Iselected Bryson’s award winning book asone to read as a distraction from my almostconstant research and writing about bottles.I had only read a hundred pages of the over500-page work when up popped the name“Caspar Wistar.”

From my forty-five years of studyingbottles and their history, my memoryreminded me that a Caspar Wistar wasAmerica’s first successful glassmaker.Could it be that the Wistar featured in theBryson book was the same person? Iquickly found out that there were numerousnotable Wistars in American history of the1600s through 1900s: I discovered that thefirst Caspar and his son Richard wereinvolved in early American glass history,and that perhaps the most famous wasCaspar Wistar, M.D. (1761-1818), the wellknown physician and teacher. Then therewas Dr. Henry Wistar who invented andpromoted Dr. Wistar’s Balsam of WildCherry. And also Isaac Jones Wistar whofounded and funded the world famousWistar Institute of Anatomy and Biologyin Philadelphia.

Bill Bryson not only tries to find out whatwe know, but also to find out how we knowit. To that end, the author apprenticedhimself to a host of the world’s mostprofound scientific minds, living and dead,and that elite group included Dr. CasparWistar. According to Bryson:

“In 1787, someone in New Jersey –exactly who now seems to be forgotten– found an enormous thighbone stickingout of a stream back at a place calledWoodbury Creek [Figure 9]. The boneclearly didn’t belong to any species ofcreature still alive, certainly not in NewJersey. From what little is known now,it is thought to have belonged to a“hadrosaur,” a large duck-billeddinosaur. At the time, dinosaurs wereunknown.

Figure 9

The bone was sent to Dr. CasparWistar, the nation’s leading anatomist,who described it at a meeting of theAmerican Philosophical Society inPhiladelphia that autumn.Unfortunately, Wistar failed completelyto recognize the bone’s significance andmerely made a few cautious anduninspired remarks to the effect that itwas indeed a whopper. He thus missedthat chance, half a century ahead ofanyone else, to be the discoverer ofdinosaurs. Indeed, the bone excited solittle interest that it was put in astoreroom and eventually disappearedaltogether. So the first dinosaur boneever found was also the first to be lost.”

As most of us know, President ThomasJefferson thought there might be scientificand political value in sending a party toexplore the interior of America beyond theMississippi. Hoping the intrepidadventurers would find herds of healthymastodons and other outsized creaturesgrazing on the bounteous plains, Jefferson’spersonal secretary and trusted friendMeriwether Lewis was chosen co-leaderand chief naturalist, along with GeorgeRogers Clark, for the expedition. And theperson selected to advise Meriwether Lewison what to look out for with regard toanimals living and deceased was none otherthan Dr. Caspar Wistar.

By the early years of the nineteenthcentury, fossils had taken on a certaininescapable importance, which makesWistar’s failure to see the significance ofhis dinosaur bone all the more unfortunate.At the time, several other opportunitiesarose for Americans to claim the discoveryof dinosaurs but all were wasted. In 1806the Lewis and Clark expedition passedthrough the Hell Creek formation inMontana, an area where fossil hunterswould later literally trip over dinosaurbones, and even examine what was clearlya dinosaur bone embedded in rock, butfailed to make anything of it. Other bonesand fossilized footprints were found in theConnecticut River Valley of New Englandafter a farm boy named Plinus Moody spiedancient tracks on a rock ledge in SouthHadley, Massachusetts. Some of these atleast survive and are in the collection ofthe Peabody Museum at Yale. Found in1818 (the year of Dr. Caspar Wistar’sdeath), they were the first dinosaur bonesto be examined and saved, but unfortunatelythey weren’t recognized for what they were

until 1855, decades after a first opportunityto appreciate the age of dinosaurs.

References:

Books:Blasi, Betty. A BIT ABOUT BALSAMS.

Louisville, Ky., 1974.Bryson, Bill. A SHORT HISTORY OF

NEARLY EVERYTHING (pp. 79, 82-83, 94,355). New York: Broadway Books, 2003.

Davids, Richard Wistar. THE WISTARFAMILY: a genealogy of the descendantsof Caspar Wistar, emigrant in 1717.Philadelphia, 1896. [microfiche, availablefrom www.ajmorris.com].

Holcombe, Henry W. PATENTMEDICINE TAX STAMPS. Lawrence, MA:Quarterman Publications, 1979.

Hunter, Frederick William. STIEGELGLASS. New York: Dover Publications,Inc., 1950.

Innes, Lowell. PITTSBURGH GLASS1797-1891, A HISTORY AND GUIDE FORCOLLECTORS (xv, xvii). Boston,Houghton Mifflin Company, 1976.

McKearin, George S. & Helen.AMERICAN GLASS (Pp. 36-37, 67, 78-79,427, 584). New York: Crown Publishers,Inc., 1941.

Moore, N. Hudson. OLD GLASS,EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN (Pp. 212-220), New York: Tudor Publishing Co.,1935.

Munsey, Cecil. The Illustrated Guideto COLLECTING BOTTLES (Pp. 22-25).New York: Hawthorn Books, Inc., 1970.

Nielsen, R. Frederick. GREATAMERICAN PONTILED MEDICINES.Medford, N.J., 1978.

Northend, Mary Harrod. AMERICANGLASS (Pp. 23-31). New York: TudorPublishing Co., 1926 by Dodd, Mead andCompany, Inc.

Pepper, Adeline. THE GLASSGAFFERS OF NEW JERSEY (Pp. 19-29).New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1971.

Phillips, C. J. GLASS; THE MIRACLEMAKER (Pp. 16-17). New York &Chicago: Pitman Publishing Corporation,1941.

Rogers, Frances & Beard, Alice. 5000YEARS OF GLASS (Pp. 52-58).Philadelphia & New York: J. B. LippincottCompany, 1937.

Van Rensselaer, Stephen. EARLYAMERICAN BOTTLES AND FLASKS.Peterborough, N.H., 1926.

Wilson, Kenneth M. NEW ENGLANDGLASS & GLASSMAKING (Pp. 38-49).

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Mark on the base of Falls Cityamber whiskey flask (shown in photo above).

A duo of Falls City bottles: Amber whiskey flask and smallwhiskey sampler in aqua. Both are marked "F.C.G.CO."

information available showsthat the firm wasincorporated (again!) as theLouisville BottleManufacturing Company inMarch of 1900.

The last listing for theLBMCo appears in the 1901Louisville city directory. Thefactory is not listed in the1902 directory.

I have very littleinformation on the specificproducts made at this plant,but likely the typicalcontainers of the period werebeing produced. One articlefrom early in 1898 states“oils, panels, packers, andsnuffs” and other “variouswares” were then beingmade.

A bottle almost certainlymade by this firm (aHutchinson-style blob-topsoda, embossed “AmericanBottling Works, LouisvilleKY”) is embossed on theheel with “K G CO.” It is made of clearglass and dates from the late 1890s, whichwould fall in the correct period of timeduring which the Kentucky CooperativeGlass Company operated. Therefore I wouldattribute the “K.G.CO.” mark to thisparticular factory.

The site where this factory once stood isnow buried somewhere in the vicinity of theI-264 / I-64 expressway interchange and iscompletely inaccessible.

*I want to thank Hemingray Glass Co.researcher/historian Bob Stahr forgenerously sharing articles he found in earlyissues of the glass trade periodicals“Commoner & Glassworker,” “NationalGlass Budget” and “China, Glass &Lamps.” His assistance is very kindlyappreciated.

I want to also thank Greg Spurgeon forgiving me permission to use some of thefruit jar photos that were posted on hiswebsite.

Other references I found to be useful thatare not already mentioned within the textwould include “Indiana Glass FactoryNotes” by Dick Roller (1992); “The GlassIndustry of New Albany” by Gerald O.Haffner (1983); and “Louisville Breweries:

A History of the Brewing Industry inLouisville, Kentucky, New Albany andJeffersonville, Indiana” by Peter R. Guetigand Conrad D.Selle (1995). Someinformation has been gleaned from variousissues of Louisville newspapers, as well asCaron's Louisville City Directories, U.S.Census data and other sources.

This article concludes the series. DavidWhitten may be contacted by E-mail:[email protected].

Continued from Page 45.New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company,1972.

Wistar, Isaac Jones. AUTOBIOGRAPHYOF ISAAC JONES WISTAR 1827-1905HALF A CENTURY IN WAR AND PEACE.New York: Harper, 1937.

Periodicals;McKearin, George S. “Wistarburg and

South Jersey Glass.” Antiques, Vol. X, Issue4, pp. 274-280, October 1926.

Sicard, Hortense Fea. “Sidelights on theWistars and Their Glass-House.” Antiques,Vol. X, Issue 4, pp. 281-282, October 1926.

Internet:htpp://www.ajmorris.com – The Wistar

Family, a Genealogy of the Descendants ofCaspar Wistar, Emigrant in 1‘717 byRichard Wistaar Davids. 59 pages plus 3-pag supplement, originally published in1896 at Philadelphia

Cecil Munsey13541 Willow Run RoadPoway, CA 92064-1733

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