VERY RARE E. F. Kunkel Paper Label Medicine Bottle “Kunkel’s Bitterwine of Iron”
Specifications
| Return Shipping Will Be Paid By | Buyer |
| All Returns Accepted | Returns Accepted |
| Item Must Be Returned Within | 30 Days |
| Refund Will Be Given As | Money Back |
| Type | Medicine |
| Contents | Original |
| Era | Screw |
| Color | Brown |
| Label | Paper Label |
| Country | United States |
| Material | Glass |
| Time Period Manufactured | Pre-1930 |
| Original | Yes |
| Vintage | Yes |
A single bottle embossed “E. F. KUNKEL’S // BITTER / WINE OF IRON // PHILADELPHIA, PA.” was also recovered from this shaft, and would have contained yet another product advertised to treat stomach problems (Figure 5). Edwin F. Kunkel seems to have begun selling patent medicines in Philadelphia late in 1871, establishing his long-lived business at 259 North 9th Street by 1872. 29 Kunkel’s Bitter Wine of Iron was designed primarily to treat “nervous debility,” 30 but its proclaimed cures were wide ranging:E. F. Kunkel’s celebrated Bitter Wine of Iron will effectually cure liver complaint, jaundice, dyspepsia, chronic or nervous debility, chronic diarrhea, disease of the kidneys and all diseases arising from a disordered liver, stomach or intestines, such as constipation, flatulence, inward piles, fullness of blood to the head, acidity of the stomach, nausea, heartburn, disgust for food, fullness or weight in the stomach, sore erections, sinking or fluttering at the pit of the stomach, fluttering at the heart, choking or suffocating sensation when in a lying posture, dimness of vision, dots or webs before the sight, dull pain in the head, deficiency of perspiration, yellowness of the skin and eyes, pain in the side, back, head, chest, limbs, etc., sudden flushes of heat, constant imaginings of evil and great depression of spirits. 31Basically, Kunkel’s Bitter Wine of Iron claimed that it could strengthen a weakened nervous system by “enriching the blood.” 32 It seemed to target nearly all symptoms of emotional distress, promising to improve sleep, appetite, and energy. 33 Its strong alcohol base would surely have helped appease its users. The bottle recovered from Feature 2 was likely made and sold in the 1870s, and would have once born a yellow wrapper around it, complete with Kunkel’s image.