Antique Fellows Syrup of Hypophosphites Aqua Medicine Bottle, 1910s Embossed Patent Medicine

Antique aqua glass medicine bottle embossed FELLOWS / SYRUP OF / HYPOPHOSPHITES, dating to approximately the 1910s. Fellows' Compound Syrup of Hypophosphites was a once widely advertised patent medicine with a history that is considerably more interesting than its rather innocent-looking bottle suggests. The formula included several hypophosphites along with quinine and strychnine. A surviving example in the Smithsonian collection identifies 1/64 gram of pure strychnine among its active ingredients.

This is a large aqua bottle, standing approximately 8 inches high. The front has a recessed rectangular panel with raised lettering:
FELLOWS
SYRUP OF
HYPOPHOSPHITES
The bottom has an embossed 18 on it. The aqua glass has the wonderful character associated with early glass manufacture, including small bubbles and irregularities visible throughout. The mold seam continues along the bottle and through the neck/finish. The heavy rounded top has the appearance of the older bottle style but is machine made. A fascinating piece for an antique bottle collection, apothecary or pharmacy display, medical-history collection, or collection of early patent medicines.

Condition:
The bottle has no chips or cracks. The glass is clear.

Included with this bottle is a cardstock history:

FELLOWS' SYRUP OF HYPOPHOSPHITES

Patent Medicine — Circa 1910s

Fellows' Compound Syrup of Hypophosphites was a widely advertised patent medicine produced by the Fellows company, whose roots were in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. James Fellows stated in period advertising that he first prepared his formula for his own use in 1865. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Fellows' Syrup was being promoted internationally. An advertisement published in 1916 celebrated the preparation's 50th anniversary.

The syrup was promoted as a restorative tonic and was recommended in period advertising for a remarkably broad assortment of illnesses and conditions such as anemia, bronchitis, influenza, tuberculosis, nervous conditions and general debility.

One particularly striking ingredient was strychnine. Smithsonian collection records document Fellows preparations containing strychnine, along with compounds of iron, quinine, manganese, potassium, calcium and other ingredients. One surviving Fellows preparation is recorded as containing the equivalent of 1/64 grams of pure strychnine. Strychnine was once used medicinally in small doses as a stimulant and tonic despite its toxicity. Fellows even discussed the ingredient in its own advertising; an 1890 advertisement warned that competing preparations differed in their ability to keep the strychnine in solution.

Medical organizations eventually challenged the sweeping therapeutic claims made for Fellows' Syrup and similar proprietary medicines. An American Medical Association publication recorded the manufacturer's formula and questioned the claimed benefits of the preparation.

This aqua glass bottle is embossed:
FELLOWS
SYRUP OF
HYPOPHOSPHITES
This bottle most likely dates to approximately the 1910s. Today, the bottle survives as an artifact from an era when proprietary medicines were sold with ingredients and medical claims that can seem extraordinary by modern standards.

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