Dr. George Alva Carson, 1893

There are a few examples of a bottle known to exist that has Dr. Carsons / Victoria Wine Bitters / Whitby C.W. / Registered embossed on it vertically. An extremely rare bottle that pre-dates confederation ( 1867 ) as denoted by the C.W. ( Canada West ) designation. This is an aqua, pannelled bottle with an early crude applied top. No pontil scar on the base which was generally fell out of use by about 1863 or so in Canada in favour of the snap case. So I would surmise this bottle was in use from c.1864 through to about c.1867. To the best of my knowledge no other examples of his wares have been found to date.

I have the exact same bottle described above that I inherited. Where can I find out more information about it?

This was likely the first bottle that Dr. George used in that this ware is a very top heavy - tipsy bottle standing almost 13 inches in height....it was very prone to breakage. During this primitive time period before the formation of our provinces a vendor would need to sell his product multiple times to justify the cost of the bottle, making the good doctor very reliant on his customers good grace in returning his wares in order to turn a profit. No doubt he realized in short order that this was more often than not a " one trip bottle" so he was probably pretty quick to come up with an alternative, more user friendy style of bottle. I would say it is safe to assume that not many examples have survived. I suppose there is a chance that they may have been made at the Hamilton Glass Works 1865 - 1867 however this is not difinitive. An expert on early Hamilton wares would have to scrutivize every aspect of the bottle before he could say with some certainty that this is so. The time period is correct though given that Dr. George used the C.W. designation in his embossment ( Canada West 1841 - 1867 ). I have examined these bottles personally and am comfortable dating them to the 1860`s, I do not beleive a pontilled version has been uncovered to date so it is safe to assume they were used primarily from 1862 - 1867. It is much more likely that they are of American manufacture and as such imported from up state New York glass houses that were fond of using the panelled styled bottles for both the soda water and early patent medicine vendors during that time period. I know of no authenticated early Hamilton wares that incorporated the panelled style for their customers..however again this is not difinitive. In the 1870`s he switched to a smaller aqua coloured rectangular style bottle that stands about 7 1/2 inches tall and is embossed "Dr. Carsons Stomach Bitters " This is also a fairly scarce bottles with only a handful of specimens known to this author. Many years ago I uncovered a true corn flower blue shard of one of the early panelled Victoria bottles while digging an old dump site in Brougham, Ontario. I personally "now" know of 5 examples of the Victoria bottle including the example mentioned by our previous poster, that is not to say that more do not exist or what stills lies buried waiting to be discovered....but again a very fragile peice with a low rate of survival. All in all a great peice of early pre-confederation Canadiana and one can consider himself very fortunate to have one in his possession. No doubt his concoction was likely an invigorating mixture of alcohol and some kind of opiate that surely made his customers / patients feel a whole lot better. And considering the addictive nature of the opiates and how they were used so frequently in all the quack medicines of that time period - before legislation was enhanced to govern this problem....our smart old friend Dr. George probably had many repeat customers establishing him as a very well-to-do upstanding citizen of the early Whitby community.. If more insights are required or if the Victoria bottle is ever considered to be for sale I would have an interest as I am currently assembling a collection of early eastern township artifacts. Regards - Steve - ssventures@msn.com -

More insights to early Canadian glass manufacturing can be found on this web site in posts under Richard Snow, Whitby. A confectionaire during the 1850`s who for a very brief time sold soda water in marked bottles. Both the Dr. Carsons / Whitby C.W. and the R. Snow / Whitby C.W. do indeed rank in the top ten antique Canadian bottles to be found, atleast as far as this author is concerned. Happy hunting !

Another Dr. Carsons / Victoria Wine Bitters / Whitby C.W. tall style panelled bottle has recently been uncovered. To the best of this authors knowledge there are now 6 examples known, all in an aqua - green colour. With 6 in circulation amongst serious collectors this piece ranks as being very rare. A complete, undamaged blue example, if it was ever to be found would be an outstanding discovery and the benefactor of such a piece would undoubtedly be rewarded handsomely. To date I am not aware of any other Richard Snow wares surfacing, but if a common trash pit or out house pit of the time period ( 1855 - 1860 ) was to be uncovered I would be hopeful of one being unearthed. The R. Snow / Whitby C.W. panelled pint soda remains ranked in the top 5 Canadian bottles to acquire, there may also exist the possibility of finding a primitive stoneware, a glass quart or even a torpedo style bottle with R. Snow / Whitby C.W. embossed on it. Any of the Snow bottles would be considered to be extremely rare. For the collector of early Whitby wares ---- a special note ---- I have recently acquired 2 very rare early Whitby stoneware pieces ---- Richard Francis / Importer / Wholesale & Retail / Grocer / Wine & Spirit Merchant / Whitby C.W. - this is a 1 gallon salt glazed finger crock that dates to 1865 - 1866 prior to his asscotiation with the Yarnold & Co general store, where he went on to marry Emma, the niece of Robert Yarnold before possibly assuming ownership of the store and then moving west to Saskatchewan in 1880. The Yarnold & Co. general store was one of the most successful, if not the most successful early merchant stores in Whitby Canada West ( 1841 1867 )- pre confederation and the formation of the provinces as set out in the Charlottetown accord by Sir John A. McDonald. The second piece is an equally rare 1/2 gallon butter crock ---- R & J Campbell / Importers of Grocerie / Crockery & Glassware / Whitby - this one dates to 1867 - 1869, This firm is listed in the Ontario Business directory ( Henry McEvoy ) 1869 as dealers in dry goods and groceries, and interestingly as a proprietors for Dr. Carsons Victoria Wine Bitters. The plot thickens ! A few other names of interest I recently came across ---- William Cullen / Confectioner / Whitby 1867 - 1869, and John G. Mcdougall / Confectioner / Whitby 1867 - 1869...Did these gentleman also dabble in the soda water business as many of the early confectioners did ? We may never know unless an old bottle with their name is unearthed. Happy Hunting and be sure to post if you ever discovery these important early Whitby wares. Steve

Hi Steve, I am an archaeologist with the TRCA and doing research on a 19th C site in Pickering. Would you be able to provide me with a photo of the 1/2 gallon stoneware piece? We may have something very similar from our excavation - many fragments of salt glazed grey stoneware with dark glazed interior - one fragment has the blue stamped WHITBY on it, with no evidence of text beside or below it (likely words continued above the breakage). Could you also mention any sources you used to determine where your pieces came from, or where I might find more info on Whitby stoneware? Thanks! archaeology@trca.on.ca

Hi Eliza, you can contact me directly at ssventures@msn.com. I know of many early sites throughout the region that may yeild archaeological wares of importance. Generally with the stoneware you want to see the blue incised and serrifed lettering ex. curled "r" , draped "t" to be able to date to the 1865 - 1875 time period. Some of the early Whitby peices are quite elaborate with 4 - 6 lines of writing and beautiful painted flowers and perhaps even birds, although I have yet to see a true Whitby bird crock. Whitby was a bustling little town during this time with many merchants and more than a few brewers who undoubtedly marked their stoneware. If Ontario is to be seen in the script then you can date it to late 1867 or newer - post confederation, Whitby C.W. ( Canada West ) will tell you it is pre-confederation and likely made before the summer of 1867. Whitby C.W. peices are exceedingly rare and are much coveted by collectors and as such command high values. There are however examples of bottlers and merchant stoneware peices throughout Ontario that still carry the C.W. script but are obviously a bit newer than 1867 as some producers / merchants were a little slow to catch on. I would be interested in knowing what area you are currently excavating, your peice may be the needle in a hay stack or perhaps a small portion of a much larger cache. Good early Whitby / Pickering items are few and far between with most being locked down in private collections. Regards Steve

I have just acquired a 1/4 gallon Richard Francis merchant crock and in investigating, found this string. It has 5 lines of script, rolled R, draped T, blue debossed lettering. Last line is Whitby O. So, if your facts are correct, sounds like it is in the 1867-1879 range.... Sounds like it is perhaps a rare little crock? Thanks.

my research shows him in business by himself in 1869 - 1870, prior to this he worked at the Yarnold & Co. general store and married the neice Emma in 1867. I surmise he had his own store earlier in the 1860`s which is when the earlier marked C.W. stoneware was used, then joined the family business after marrying Emma, once again going it alone a few years later, maybe even assuming control of the Yarnold family business and renaming it to himself. A crock that is embossed Whitby O, will undoubtedly be post 1867, keeping in mind that Richard Francis left Whitby in 1880, your crock can be pinned down to 1870 through 1880, a rare piece by any standard. I have seen three R.F. - Whitby C.W. crocks, two with blue hand painted flowers and only one plain example, all three being 1/2 gallons. I would think the smaller quart would be quite rare...nice find !