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OL PETERA
From the collection of National Museum of American History. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
This blown and molded square-shaped bottle has an applied neck and flared collar. The clear glass is decorated with a white baked enamel cartouche on a blue background, framed by a yellow C scroll design and capped by a crown. George Urdang, author of <i>The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy Catalogue</i> attributes this bottle to the Court Pharmacy of Pillnitz. It is marked in red and black <i>OL PETERA</i>. The bottle would have contained Oleum Petera, or Peter’s Oil. Petra is Latin for rock, so this is rock oil, commonly known as petroleum. Petroleum was used as an antispasmodic, a liniment, and an expectorant.
National Museum of American History’s own descriptionCredit lineOL PETERA. 18th century. National Museum of American History, Gift of American Pharmaceutical Association and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. CC0.
