# Local medical bottle Dr Bridgland Bracebridge Ontario



## RCO (Dec 25, 2015)

santa was good , came across this yesterday when I was downtown and spotted it in a small antiques store . wasn't sure if I wanted it or not as I don't really collect drug store bottles but since it was local and old figured it might be worth it even though its neck on top is somewhat damaged . its fairly old and dates from before ww1 around early 1900's era . the embossing is in good condition states " Dr Bridgland Chemist Bracebridge " .
 I haven't seen any for sale privately in recent years , my only encounter with this bottle before was when I dug a shard of one in an old farm dump a few years back . I'm assuming its a fairly rare bottle as this town wasn't that large back then and local history books seem to indicate fires were very common and parts of the downtown burnt down on several occasions .


----------



## Bass Assassin (Dec 25, 2015)

Nice addition


----------



## CanadianBottles (Dec 25, 2015)

Shame about the lip damage, but for sure whenever you see small town local druggists pick them up.  They're one of the kinds of bottles I like collecting most and I have a hard time finding them even for big cities.  Smallest Ontario town I've found any from is Renfrew, which is a lot larger than Bracebridge.


----------



## CreekWalker (Dec 25, 2015)

Great to find a local bottle like that!


----------



## RCO (Dec 29, 2015)

CanadianBottles said:


> Shame about the lip damage, but for sure whenever you see small town local druggists pick them up.  They're one of the kinds of bottles I like collecting most and I have a hard time finding them even for big cities.  Smallest Ontario town I've found any from is Renfrew, which is a lot larger than Bracebridge.




this had me thinking about what are some of the smallest towns in Ontario I've seen druggist bottles for sale from ? and not really sure of many . most I've seen online on ebay have been from like larger towns or small cities and Toronto/Ottawa . but I'm sure there are some out there from smaller towns and such


----------



## mctaggart67 (Dec 31, 2015)

Dr. Samuel Bridgland opened his drugstore in Bracebridge, as a logical extension of his medical practice, in 1872 or 1873. He ran it until his death in 1903. For the next several years, his estate owned the drugstore, before it formally passed to Henry B. Bridgland in 1911 or 1912. Henry B. Bridgland, possibly the doctor's brother, seems to have taken care of the day-to-day operation of the drugstore from 1880s onwards (and perhaps earlier). I would say that your Bridgland bottle, a Philadelphia Oval style, dates from the mid-1880s to around 1900, when Philadelphia Ovals were fashionable with Ontario druggists.

As to small towns, there are plenty of drugstore bottles from them. Just to name a few from Ontario, I've got ones from Brigden, Petrolia, Finch, Coldwater, Dutton, Norwich, Haileybury, Chesterville, Kingsville, and Princeton.


----------



## mctaggart67 (Dec 31, 2015)

This advertisement for Dr. Bridgland's drugstore appears in book about the Muskoka and Parry Sound Districts published in 1879.


----------



## RCO (Jan 1, 2016)

mctaggart67 said:


> Dr. Samuel Bridgland opened his drugstore in Bracebridge, as a logical extension of his medical practice, in 1872 or 1873. He ran it until his death in 1903. For the next several years, his estate owned the drugstore, before it formally passed to Henry B. Bridgland in 1911 or 1912. Henry B. Bridgland, possibly the doctor's brother, seems to have taken care of the day-to-day operation of the drugstore from 1880s onwards (and perhaps earlier). I would say that your Bridgland bottle, a Philadelphia Oval style, dates from the mid-1880s to around 1900, when Philadelphia Ovals were fashionable with Ontario druggists.
> 
> As to small towns, there are plenty of drugstore bottles from them. Just to name a few from Ontario, I've got ones from Brigden, Petrolia, Finch, Coldwater, Dutton, Norwich, Haileybury, Chesterville, Kingsville, and Princeton.




there also seemed to be a lot of fires in this area back then , I have a local history book and it specifically mentions bridgland's drug store as having bunt down in 1886 and 1887 . appears to have burnt down twice in a row according to book . also mentions some other fires that hit bracebridge but less specific about where 


I was aware there is other drug store bottles from smaller towns , there just so uncommon and hard to find  you never see them around . this is the first time in last 4 or so years I saw this bottle available for sale or on display .


----------



## RCO (Aug 9, 2021)

found this at a yard sale on Saturday , in a box of mixed bottles , was dirtier I cleaned it up . is some damage to the very top lip area

is a larger version of the Dr Bridgland bottle that I found in 2015 , haven't seen anything from him since then , pretty sure there rare bottles to come across , not sure if there is any other embossed druggists from Bracebridge or even muskoka area in general, this is the only druggist I've found that used them 

is a picture of it beside the smaller version I have already , can see that its much bigger


----------



## 5 gallon collector (Aug 9, 2021)

mctaggart67 said:


> Dr. Samuel Bridgland opened his drugstore in Bracebridge, as a logical extension of his medical practice, in 1872 or 1873. He ran it until his death in 1903. For the next several years, his estate owned the drugstore, before it formally passed to Henry B. Bridgland in 1911 or 1912. Henry B. Bridgland, possibly the doctor's brother, seems to have taken care of the day-to-day operation of the drugstore from 1880s onwards (and perhaps earlier). I would say that your Bridgland bottle, a Philadelphia Oval style, dates from the mid-1880s to around 1900, when Philadelphia Ovals were fashionable with Ontario druggists.
> 
> As to small towns, there are plenty of drugstore bottles from them. Just to name a few from Ontario, I've got ones from Brigden, Petrolia, Finch, Coldwater, Dutton, Norwich, Haileybury, Chesterville, Kingsville, and Princeton.


Great detail.
Confirming one item.....
With regard to "possibly the doctor's brother":
From census records:
1861: in Whitchurch, Samuel Bridgland, 41, b England, shoemaker, wife Johanna, 43, b England, children Samuel 14, Johanna 13, Elenor 9, Emelia 8, Mary 5, *Henry 3*.  All of the children b Ontario.  [Son Samuel the future doctor.]
1871: in Whitchurch, same players, ages 52, 53, 24, 22, 19, 17, 15, *13*.
1881: in Bracebridge, Samuel 33, physician, wife Emma 32, Beatrice 2, Gertrude 1, [relationship not noted] *Henry 22, druggist*.
1891: in Bracebridge, Samuel 43, physician, wife Emma 41, Beatrice 12, Gertrude 10, Mona 1, *brother H.B, 33, chemist*.
1901: in Bracebridge, Samuel 53, Gen Med, wife Emma 52, Beatrice 22, Gertrude 21, Mona 12, *brother Henry B. 42, druggist*.

(Only discrepancy in these census records comes in 1891 when Samuel and Henry are noted, in error I think, to have been born in England -- all of the other censuses have them born in Ontario.)

Birthdates given in the 1901 census: for Samuel 31 Jul 1847, for Henry B. 10 Oct 1858.

So brother Henry B., druggist, was living with Samuel in every one of the 10 yr censuses, 1861-1901.
In the Directory of Deceased American Physicians, Samuel's "type of practice": Allopath


----------



## RCO (Aug 9, 2021)

5 gallon collector said:


> Great detail.
> Confirming one item.....
> With regard to "possibly the doctor's brother":
> From census records:
> ...



think I saw something about him in a local history book that I have but I've got so many not sure which one its in , but recall there being something about him in one of them 

but will have to search around to find it


----------



## Westlawn Bed & Breakfast (Aug 12, 2021)

Good Morning: We have owned Samuel Brigland’s home in Bracebridge since 1986 and in recent years, operate it as a Bed & Breakfast. This bottle would make a wonderful addition to our memorabilia. Would you kindly reach out to us - suites@westlawnbedandbreakfast.com


----------

