Page 50 - Sunday 21 March Auction

Dalby’s Carminative
concoction were however widely known (instructions were in Pharmacopeia any chemist had to hand from the late 1700’s) and stock bottles were made for it. Francis and her sons branded hers ‘Gell’s Dalby’s’ to claim the ‘only genuine’ product but her younger brother James (1750-1815) used his connection to begin marketing his own version through rival wholesalers Barclay & Co in 1810. His son and grandson, James Jnr and Henry continued selling it as “prepared by James Dalby” right up to 1900. The Earliest bottles are pontiled with very fat serif lettering and all the crudity of early 1800’s medicines. They were also made in America (by Dr Dyott, and much later Whitall Tattum & Co). Inward rolled lips and tubular pontil scars are definite clues to American manufacture. Most
The medicine was said to relieve “Wind, watery or Dry Gripes, Bloody Stools or other Diforders in the Stomach and Bowels of Infants” when first marketed in 1757
by Joseph Dalby (born Dolby, 1714-1784) at Malmesbury in 1757. An apothecary and surgeon he was in London from 1766 and from 1773 marketing his peppermint, cinnamon, clove, and
such bottles have a curious difference in the shortening of the name to ‘Carminativ’ (no ‘E’). This is a pointer to where made but a number of bottles look in most other features (fat flared lips and open pontil scars for instance) to be British. It may be these were produced to specification given by American buyers British glasshouses? Whatever the source, all Dalby’s should be considered individually for strength of character. Mostly aqua, flint/ clear or pale ice blue, it is rare to find without any lip damage and extremely rare to find strong, deep colours.
camphor flavoured - opium containing nostrum via wholesaler Francis Newberry in St Paul’s Church Yard. It was what became known as a ‘baby killer’ medicines which frequently quietened children into the grave. It was not a patent medicine but like many makers he kept his own recipe secret, leaving it to daughter Francis Gell (1740-1825) in his Will of 1784. The contents
*Note: an extended article showing the current lots and more will appear in BBR 167
of the
288. DALBY’S CARMINATIVE BOTTLE. 3.75ins tall. C. 1815-30 and probably British made? Amber glass, varies greatly from light to dark. Char- acterful whittling with beautiful rich amber tones, treaks of deep colour and touches of olive tones. Inward tapering cylinder with a crude, fat, inwardly folded flared lip, base pontilled cross hinge mould. Embossed very boldly DALBY’S/ CARMINATIVE.Tiny lip flake & body ding but overall very good. A truly extraordinary and distinctive example of it’s type - never seen anything quite like it in fact. Possibly unique? (9/10) NR £600-800+