Objects
Flask
BjFj-101.90
Clear lead glass
Medicine
8 cm high X 2.2 cm in diameter
Unknown
Second half of the 19th century
Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History
Luc Bouvrette
Small glass flask usually containing a single dose of medicine. Since much of the population was illiterate in the late 19th century, single doses were a way of avoiding mistakes.
Bottle
BjFj-101.292
Clear glass
Medicine
16.5 cm high X 7 cm wide
Unknown
Second half of the 19th century
Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History
Luc Bouvrette
In response to epidemics in the late 19th century, remedies of all kinds were sold. That is why medicine bottles are frequent finds on Montréal archaeological sites from that period.
Bottle
BjFj-101.338
Green glass
Medicine
15.5 cm high X 4.6 cm wide
United States
Second half of the 19th century
Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History
Luc Bouvrette
Rectangular bottle inscribed "Davis Painkiller /Vegetable." This liquid medicine was patented in the United States in 1845. Advertisements claimed that it could cure virtually all ills, from cuts, burns,sprains, coughs and colds to rheumatism and more.
Fine-toothed comb
BjFj-101.40
Bone
Hygiene
3.6 cm X 2.9 cm for the remaining part
Unknown
Second half of the 19th century
Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History
Luc Bouvrette
Small comb that originally had two rows of fine teeth on each side. It would have been used for both adults and children, to remove lice from hair and beards.
Toothpaste jar
BjFj-101.93
Fine white glazed pottery
Hygiene
7.3 cm in diameter
England
Second half of the 19th century
Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History
Luc Bouvrette
Lid from a small jar marked "Parisian Tooth Paste Atkinson's." Epidemics in late 19th-century Montréal encouraged Montrealers to pay more attention to their personal hygiene.
Syringe
BjFj-101.591
Glass and copper metal
Medicine
9.5 cm long
Unknown
Second half of the 19th century
Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History
Alain Vandal
This glass syringe dating from the late 19th century was for administering liquid medicine.
Chamber pot
BjFj-101.388
Creamware
Hygiene, urinal
20 cm in diameter X 10.3 cm high
England or Canada
Second half of the 19th century
Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History
Luc Bouvrette
Chamber pots are the forerunners of our modern-day toilets. They were long used by all family members, especially at nighttime. They gradually disappeared with the introduction of indoor toilets in urban households in the early 20th century.
