BOLET CERVIN
From the collection of National Museum of American History. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
This jar is marked marked "BOLET CERVIN". Bolet refers to a fungus which is used as a styptic, and Cervin is the same as Hartshorn, calcium extracted from a stag’s horn. George Urdang author of <i>The Squibb Ancient Pharmacy</i>attributes the containers 1991.0664.0760 through 1991.0664.0825 to Hanau in the late 18th century based on the floral design surrounding the medallion and the initials "HN" on the bottom of many of the jars in the series. However, in a letter to museum curators dated August 1983, the pharmaceutical historian Wolfgang-Hagen Hein wrote that the containers without initials and those marked "FH" were made in Florsheim in the German state of Hesse.
National Museum of American History’s own description
