# What is this bottle!?



## nickiticki (Sep 29, 2013)

hello everyone, new to the forum.  I researched the internet for information on the bottle and i cam up with nothing, tried searching the forum and cannot find anything related to this bottle or the markings.  On one side it says "F.CHACYARD" and the other side says "CHEMIST" i actually found this bottle in a lake in northern Ontario, thought it was cool and just threw it in my cabinet for display.  Got watching a tv show on antiques so it got me a little curious.  Any help identifying this would be much appreciated.  Thanks for your time everyone.


----------



## mctaggart67 (Sep 29, 2013)

Your bottle find dates from the early 1880s through to the early 1900s, though it is likely from towards the latter of this date range. F.C. Hagyard (erroneously spelled Haggard in early business directories) operated as a "chemist and druggist" at Acton, Ontario in the 1860s. While in Acton, he undoubtedly got to know Thomas Milburn, another local druggist. Indeed, it is possible, though not yet proven, that Hagyard partnered with Milburn during the early years of T. Milburn & Co. In the early 1880s, Hagyard's Yellow Oil was promoted nationally in cross-Canada newspaper advertisements. It is not clear whether Hagyard was the sole proprietor of Yellow Oil at this time. However, we do know that his Yellow Oil, among other of his proprietary medicines, were part of T. Milburn & Co.'s overall product line by the late 1890s and into the twentieth century.

 Pictured is a labelled Yellow Oil which is part of the Anderson Farm Museum's collection. Labelled specimens like this are harder to find, though they should not be considered rare. Non-labelled embossed examples, such as the one you found, are pretty common, most especially in Ontario, where bottle diggers unearth them with regular frequency. As to value, non-labelled embossed ones fetch around $2 to $10, depending on condition, colour and age.


----------



## zecritr (Sep 29, 2013)

> CHACYARD


 
 this is the only thing i found mentioning this bottle,seems they found one also in that area 

 http://ottawa.ca/sites/ottawa.ca/files/migrated/files/cap257004.pdf


----------



## cowseatmaize (Sep 29, 2013)

Glen I think got it. I had trouble with the spelling and perhaps the the archies of Ottawa did also. 
 Way to to do research archies.[][][]
 I want a research grant and be allowed to get things wrong too.


----------



## mctaggart67 (Sep 29, 2013)

Part of the problem with these bottles is that on account of the mould-makers' stylistic choices the "G" in Hagyard looks very similar to a "C," so it's an easy mistake to make. The other problem is a research based one because early directories butchered the man's surname, probably because it's an unusual one. In my own book, "The Ontario Drug Store and Druggist List (1851-1930)," I've got Hagyard down as "Hoggard" or "Haggard," because of original directory errors.

 As to archaeologists, well, up here in Canada they have a fair bit of animosity towards us bottle folks. To many archaeologists, we're ignorant looters and thieves, who destroy the integrity of historic sites (dumps, privies, etc.) and add very little to historical knowledge because we're more interested in finding for profit. I understand the situation is similar in the U.S.


----------



## cowseatmaize (Sep 29, 2013)

Are you an archaeologist or digger. Maybe a bit of both? You got the right answer and that's what's important. Now it's out there for the world to see. 
 Nice work, you deserve a grant.[]


----------



## cowseatmaize (Sep 29, 2013)

> Hagyard's Yellow Oil


Cures deafness, how cool is that?


----------



## mctaggart67 (Sep 29, 2013)

> ORIGINAL:  cowseatmaize
> 
> Are you an archaeologist or digger. Maybe a bit of both? You got the right answer and that's what's important. Now it's out there for the world to see.
> Nice work, you deserve a grant.[]


 

 Thanks for the kinds words. I've got a masters degree in history and I've conducted a great deal of research into such themes as local history and the bottle-related trades. I used to dig a lot when I lived back in Ontario. At the time I would have been deemed a looter, despite publishing bottle-related research. I now live in Calgary, Alberta, and all the good dumps are under the city and thus inaccessible, except by lucky happenstance of being at a construction site when a small dump/privy is hit by workers. The recent major flood here did wash out part of a riverside dump. Unfortunately, the force of the currents smashed everything and deposited nothing but shard after shard after shard downstream in the wake of the flood.


----------



## cowseatmaize (Sep 29, 2013)

It sounds like your a straddling the fence like I am. I like some of the painstaking work they accomplish but also think they go overboard at times. I don't think a backyard crapper or hillside dump is all that archeologically important unless it's shown to be of a particular person or culture from history records. Maybe the EPA should be concerned at times for those... (shoot, did I type that out loud?)


----------



## cowseatmaize (Sep 29, 2013)

...and sorry Nick for the off on a tangent stuff.
 Welcome and I hope your question was answered.


----------



## nickiticki (Sep 30, 2013)

Thanks for the help guys, great info!  Nice to know what i actually have now.


----------

