amber Elixir De Soulac Les Bains bottle with label

laurag146

I think this is a rare one! What do you think?

I have a bottle that I believe must be from the 1800's I know it's from France but I can't find really find info on it. It is really neat, I attached some pictures. The labels on the bottle are still mostly intact! Its says Elixir De Soulac. Also embossed on the side of the bottle it says Elixir De Soulac Les Bains. On the neck of the bottle I can make out G. Dupit and G. Mercier and C.ie Can anybody tell me about this bottle? What it might be worth? Thanks so much for any input!

historic

Great label...really great in fact.

What little that I can see of the bottle details does suggest 19th century but the font and graphics of the label feel more modern, as in early 20th century.

It would be helpful to see a picture of the base and know if the mold seam goes up into the lip or stops on the neck. A picture of the full bottle showing the embossed side would also be helpful to get a sense for the overall shape

laurag146

Thank you for replying. I tried to get good pics of the seams. I don't know how well it will show up since the forum reduces the photo size. Let me know if you want me to email you the full size versions. It looks like to me the seam goes all the way up underneath the label on the neck but I do not see it on the lip of the bottle.

laurag146

Here is a picture of the bottom.

historic

As coincidence would have it, one turned up recently on fleabay. Here is a link:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/290620496622

It brought $78. Undamaged, no labels. Disregard this knucklehead seller's keyword stuffing: the bottle has no pontil mark, no iron pontil mark, has nothing to do with either a lady's leg shape or cabin shape and no, it is not a bitters bottle.

The labels definitely bump it up a few notches value-wise. After seeing the additional photos, I have a better impression that this is a very late 19th century bottle. Its overall appearance is strong - if this were an American bottle, it would be a home run.

laurag146

Thank you so much for the info. I found some info on the net about how to tell a bottle's age, how it was made, what a pontil mark is etc. Very interesting reading. Thank you for the link and from what I learned his description makes no sense to me either! I can't find another example of this bottle on the net either.

BobB

Having a label adds so much social history to an understanding of your bottle. I just did google searches & translations of the words on your label, "Elixir De Soulac Les Bains". Les Bains = the bath. ...Olivétains Benedictines of l' Abbey of Soulac (the Gironde), one can get everywhere their Elixir… Bénédictins of Soulac supplements the series of the beneficial preparations…. Sitzbaths to running water or not, all temperatures ...In Gironde, the Atlantic Ocean encounters the Garonne and Dordogne rivers. On this land, where the Bordeaux vineyard has been blossoming for centuries.
I.e. your bottle probably contained a medicinal liquid related to Bordeaux wine prepared by Benedictine monks at their abbey de Soulac for use by people soaking in the bath(tub) [or sitzbath]...this usage has special interest to me this week as I have been hearing stories of a relative suffering from severe hemeroids. It would seem to me that collectors of medicinal bottles would prize such a grand bottle with wonderful label.

laurag146

Thank you Bob for that information. I have been googling it and didn't find anything like that. That is really interesting, I think I may have to do some more searching. It is really incredible to think of how old the bottle is and that I get to handle something that was made that long ago, if only the bottle could talk!

jellise1

It would probably say stop touching me!jk. Very cool bottle.Have you had it a long time?

Helena

All these comments on this thread date back to 2011 / 12...I dont know the owner history of the bottle since that time... but can see its been bought and sold a few times since 2011.it came up again this week on eBay Dec.2019 .......8 years later .....and its the very same bottle discussed above.. You can see that by the photos. And now its my turn as I just won it on eBay today. Happy to add this to my collection.......... I don't know of any other surviving examples in existence at this time. Ive been collecting French liqueurs and other labelled French bottles since the early 70s...but never seen this one until now

Chris

@Helena - that is part of the fun of collecting - seeing things you recognize and having a second chance to buy them!

It is always amazing to me to talk to some collectors who maintain a huge cache of knowledge in their heads as to where all the examples of such-and-such rare bottle are located, which collection, how much was paid for each, etc.