Treasure Chest Thursday: Old Bottles from Lee's Drug Store

Medicine Bottles from Lee's Drug Store
Middlesboro, Kentucky

I love these old bottles from Lee's Drug Store!  So much, in fact, that I have them displayed on a shelf in our living room--right beside Granddad's old drug store distiller that I wrote about in last week's Treasure Chest Thursday.  All the bottles are made of glass with glass stoppers and have the old drug store labels on them.  I was curious about the medicines they once held, so I did a bit of research.  The large bottle on the right labeled "SYR.AURANTII" contained syrup auranti, or syrup of orange peel.  Yellow in color and with a pleasant odor and taste, this used as a flavoring agent in medicines.  The middle bottle held "Elixir Lactated Pepsin" which was used to relieve indigestion.  The bottle on the left is labeled "PV.ASAFOET." This was most likely used to relieve gas, though several sources mentioned that it could be used to treat hysteria.

Graduated Measuring Glass
Lee's Drug Store
Middlesboro, Kentucky

In front of the three large medicine bottles is a small graduated measuring glass used to measure liquid ingredients when preparing medicines.

Elixir Lactated Pepsin Bottle
Lee's Drug Store
Middlesboro, Kentucky

Medicine Label
Elixir Lactated Pepsin
Lee's Drug Store
Middlesboro, Kentucky

The greenish-blue bottle in the middle of the photo at the top is probably my favorite.  A friend and neighbor from my hometown of Middlesboro, KY, gave this to me after my dad, Frank W. Lee, passed away in 2004, and that alone makes it a treasure to me.  Thank you, Jan!  I, also, like the rather unusual color of the bottle, and I LOVE that it still has the label of the original Lee's Drug Store, complete with Granddad's slogan "Get It At Lee's."  Notice the phone number, too.  I wonder if that's my granddad's handwriting on the label?

Back of Elixir of Lactated Pepsin Bottle
Lee's Drug Store
Middlesboro, Kentucky

Label on back of Elixir of Lactated Pepsin Bottle
Lee's Drug Store
Middlesboro, Kentucky

The back of the greenish-blue bottle contains a label of the price Granddad charged for Elixir of Lactated Pepsin.  Interesting.  I just paid $60 for a 1-month supply of my generic brand stomach medication. That's quite a price increase! I think I should have followed in the family footsteps and been a pharmacist.



Sources:

"Drug Medical Dictionary," Rx List--The Internet Drug Index, 2013

"Physicians Desk Reference," PDR.net, Montvale, New Jersey:  2013