Elixir Opium Bottle

Object/Artifact

-

Patrick Henry's Red Hill

Name/Title

Elixir Opium Bottle

Entry/Object ID

01.31.10a

Description

A small, clear, rectangular-bottomed glass bottle with round shoulders, a flared lip, and a narrow neck. The glass contains several bubbles inside. Inside the bottle is residue from a dark substance, most notably coagulated in the far back side and in the neck. There is a brown label that wraps around the front and extend onto the sides of the bottle, with black borders and letters. Transcription: ELIXIR OPIUM

Made/Created

Date made

1800 - 1850

Dimensions

Height

2-1/4 in

Width

7/8 in

Depth

1-1/4 in

Material

Glass, Paper

Provenance

Notes

This elixir opium bottle comes from a larger set in the Henry family medicine chest (01.31.1). Opium is a highly addictive narcotic derived from the seeds of the poppy plant. It was used as an analgesic and an antidiarrheal. There were several tinctures marketed as "elixirs of opium," including Laudanum, Paregoric, and Black Drop. The difference between these was the amount of opium and the agents they were mixed with. The bottle has a lid (01.31.10b). This chest and its contents belonged originally to John (1796–1868) and Elvira McClelland Henry (1808–1875) during their years at Red Hill. The chest was passed down in the family to John and Elvira's daughter, Margaret Ann Henry Miller (1827–1881), and then to her daughter, Elvira Henry Miller (1850–1955). It was then given to Rose Miller Gammon Garrett (1946–) through her father, William Miller Gammon Sr. (1900–1970). William Gammon Sr. was a nephew to Elvira Miller. His daughter, Rose Garrett, is a third great-great-granddaughter of Patrick Henry. On September 4, 2001, Rose Gammon Garrett donated the medicine chest (01.31.1) and its contents (01.31.2-25) to the Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation.