DUPRS_0010 Hoyt's German Cologne bottle

DUPRS_0010 Hoyt's German Cologne bottle

Hoyt's German Cologne Bottle

The bottle is complete and well preserved. It is 9.2 cm. long from lip to base. The bore is 1 cm., the finish 0.9 cm., the neck 2.9 cm. in diameter, the shoulder 0.9 cm., the body 2.67 cm. and the base 3.1 cm. On the body of the bottle there is an indented panel with the words “Hoyt’s German Cologne E.W. Hoyt & Co. Lowell Mass”. On the bottom of the bottle is the number 3. An outside seam runs along both of the sides of the bottle all the way from the base to the finish. The color of the glass appears opaque but when illuminated by the light a purplish hue is evident. The purple (amethyst) could mean that the compound of the bottle is either nickel or manganese.

E.W. Hoyt and Co. Lowell Massachusetts

Selective Surface Collection, east Stanely Park, Historic Chatham Township(modern Summit, New Jersey)

Drew University, Department of Anthropology

The 1880s

Juliet LaVigne

Glass

Cultural and Historical Significance: Originally called Hoyt’s German Cologne, the cologne was developed in 1868 by apothecary Eli Waite Hoyt. The name "German" was originally applied to the cologne in 1870. This name was chosen just to give a definite title to the cologne; it was not actually from Germany. The cologne initially was only sold in $1.00 bottles, with sample vials filled with cologne freely distributed to create an increased demand. By 1877, the production of the German Cologne became so great that Hoyt sold the apothecary shop to two then employees, Crowell and Harrison.
The original $1.00 bottle limited distribution since it was more cologne than most people needed (or wanted). Shedd designed a distinctive round bottle with the indented panel for use with the cologne and provided both the $1.00 and a new 25¢ trial-size bottle. This trial-sized bottle proved to be a huge success and business expanded quickly. The date when the trial-sized bottle was introduced is estimated to be in the early 1870's, since a medium-sized (50¢) bottle was introduced in 1876.
The bottle could have been purchased and used from the 1880’s until around 1918 when the company’s name changed to “Eau de Cologne” because of World War I. It could have been shipped to New Jersey and used around the area of its discovery.