The Hoarhound and Elecampane syrup was recommended for the cure of coughs, colds and asthma. The two main ingredients, hoarhound and elecampane, are flowering plants common to Great Britain and Southern Europe. Elecampane is also used today to manufacture absinthe, an anise flavored highly alcoholic beverage.
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| Langley Sarsaparilla and the Leving's Hoarhound And Elecampane Syrup |
The firm of L.P and S.S Crane were also agents for Leving’s Sarsaparilla and Rosewillow, who claimed the product was recommended for treatment of scurvy, syphilis and other diseases of the blood.
The Leving’s Hoarhound And Elecampane Syrup bottle is seven inches tall, has an applied single collar top and comes in shades of western aqua. The Leving’s bottle is considered very rare and is a highly desirable western blown medicine.
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| January 1851 Sacramento Transcript Ad |
Interestingly, the Leving's Hoarhound also comes with a tooled top. Wilson indicated the Leving's products were 1890s, but the bottles date from the later 1870s into the 80s. While not pictured the Leving's Sarsaparilla and Rose Willow is a square, squatty bottle which comes in a pale aqua with a tooled top, and a deep turquoise applied top version. I believe there are about 25-30 of the Hoarhound meds in collections, and perhaps 15 of the Sarsaparilla and Rose Willow. I have only seen 3 of the deep turquoise applied top sarsaparilla's and one was severely cracked. Nice examples Rick! Dale M.
ReplyDeleteDale,
DeleteI have not seen the Sarsaparilla & Rosewillow in person. Is it western blown?
rs
Excellent research! In addition to western aqua, you can also add yellow green to the color lineup.
ReplyDeleteWow! Yellow green! Would love to see the bottle. Can you post a picture?
ReplyDeleters
Rick, the Sarsaparilla and Rose Willow in the tooled version is a light pale aqua and is usually stained leading me to believe it is eastern blown. The applied top examples are pristine sparkly deep colored glass which looks western made to me. Dale
ReplyDeleteEric McGuire once told me Leving produced these bottles in the late 70s then left California to return in the 90s and produced both for a second time. Eric could clarify my failing memory of this conversation MAX
ReplyDeleteHey Max, my response to your comment ended up in the Champlain blog - sorry about that. Check out the "little surprise" item above this string. While I am here, and to confuse matters even more, the Champlain bottle is definitely a Cloverdale origination. Several boxes of the stuff were found in a barn in Cloverdale in the late 60's, early 70's. It is likely that all the labeled bottles floating around came from those boxes. Champlain had a run of bad luck with his wife dying and then his partner dying and then his kids. He left California himself where he died about 1876 in Missouri.
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