Early HALL'S BALSAM FOR THE LUNGS Aqua Glass Bottle Circa 1860 - 1870

An early bottle for DR. WM. HALL'S BALSAM FOR THE LUNGS.  Hall's Balsam for the Lungs claimed to be the complete cure of consumption, pneumonia, coughs, colds, asthma, bronchitis, and all diseases of the throat, chest and lungs.

This older variety HALL'S BALSAM FOR THE LUNGS bottle likely from the late 1860s, is made of aqua colored glass.  The bottle is a molded mouth-blown bottle with a double-ring finish.  Slightly smaller than other Hall's Balsam bottles, it measures about 6 ¾” tall by 2 ¾” wide by 1 ¾” in depth. The ring and the neck together measure about 1 ¼” long.

Both the front and back are designed with a concave rectangular shape on the label panel/side wall.  There are no markings on the sides as is sometimes seen on the Hall's Balsam bottles.  The only markings are on the front of the bottle, where the following is positioned vertically on two lines: HALL'S BALSAM FOR THE LUNGS 

The bottle is in good condition with nice elongated bubbles, ripples and stretch marks.  The applied double-ring finish does have what appears to be a drip of glass immediately below the second ring. It looks somewhat like a crack (see last photo) but if you rub your finger over the area, it is a drip.  There is a small rough area about ¼” long by ⅛” wide  on the embossed area near the heel, possibly a glaze pop or mold roughness from the manufacturing process.Note:  Historic bottles should not be used for food or beverage storage.

About HALL'S BALSAM FOR THE LUNGS: Although the remedy was to contain balsam, some sources reference it was made from ipecac, extract of squills, chloroform, wine of tar, opium and mullen.  In the early 1850s, the A.L. Scovill & Company of Cincinnati produced the remedy.  A.L Scovill was founded by a young doctor in his early twenties, Amon L. Scovill, who exited his company about twenty years later when it was taken over by the John F. Henry & Company.