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BALS MECH
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 bottle is marked <i>BALS MECH</i>. The bottle would have contained the Balsam of Mecca (or Balm of Gilead); a viscous liquid derived from the tree Balsamodendron opobalsamum. Real balsam of Mecca came from the former Ottoman Empire and was scarce, and boiled balsam leaves were often substituted. The balsam of Mecca was used as an antiseptic, stimulant, and vulnerary.
National Museum of American History’s own descriptionCredit lineBALS MECH. 18th century. National Museum of American History, Gift of American Pharmaceutical Association and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. CC0.
