Date: Fri 16-Apr-1999

Publication: Ant

Author: LIZAM

Quick Words:

McMurray

Full Text:

McMurray Auction: What The Doctor Ordered

By Rita Easton

KIRKWOOD, N.Y. -- A catalogued absentee mail/phone bid sale was held by

McMurray Antiques and Auctions, with a closing date of January 30. The eighth

event of this type held by the gallery, the featured items were patent

medicines, pill tins, apothecary and drug store items, and advertising.

The 261 lots offered drew 157 registered bidders. Various consignors from

across the country were represented, among them a noted Philadelphia

collector. Prices quoted do not reflect the ten percent buyer's premium

charged.

A pair of Tiffany style leaded crystal/glass show globes were the top sellers

at $9,500. The colorful 16 by 12-inch globes hung 30 inches from the ceiling

with chains, and were circa 1900-1910, according to Terry McMurray of the

gallery, who noted that most of the items sold to collectors.

A Dr Kilmer's paper advertising sign, 13 by 29 inches, depicting a three-

quarter rendering of a man inside a medicine bottle, fetched $4,700. Kilmer

was a proprietary medicine manufacturer in Binghamton, N.Y., distributing his

medicines in the US and England.

A dye-cut cardboard display tooth, the giant image having three roots, used as

a counter display, garnered $600. The lot advised "Try Our Toothache Cure ...

you will find it a quick and reliable remedy."

"Dr Pierce's Golden Medical Discovery," a paper advertisement featuring a

full-length image of Dr Pierce, dapper in a dark cape and sporting a cane,

sold at $550; a "Tarrants Seltzer Aperient" paper sign, with a charming image

of a young girl in a turn-of-the-century costume standing on a swing, brought

$1,800; and a circa 1915 cylinder shaped cardboard container for Security Lice

Powder, a veterinary product, having a photo of a white chicken within an oval

on the label, was won at $280.

A Whitall Tatum Co. #1 suppository machine, the 6«-inch high apothecary device

used to press the mixture of ingredients into a capsule mold, was purchased at

$400; and two Warner's bottles, one for Safe Nervine, the other for Safe

Remedy, sold at $250 and $325 respectively, the Safe Remedy bottle having its

original cardboard box.

A pair of ceramic drug jars with covers, having attractive Latin labels,

achieved $325; a two-tiered counter show globe, 26-inches high, with several

sections, each fitting into the next, tapering to a small stopper, each

section meant to contain a different color liquid, fetched $375; and an Ideal

capsule filler, a wooden box for making capsules realized $1,200.