Antique Humphreys Homeopathic Ophthalmia & Sore Eyes Remedy Rare #18 Bottle For Sale

A superb, NOS (new-old-stock) example of Humphreys’ Homeopathic Remedy No. 18 — the rarely-seen formula for Ophthalmia & Sore Eyes — complete, unopened, and preserved exactly as it sat on a 19th-century pharmacist’s shelf.
At just about 2.5 inches tall, this little glass vial packs a remarkable amount of authenticity: a crisp, clean, near-perfect label; full, original white pellets; and its original cork, untouched since the day it was sealed. Finding any Humphreys vial this pristine is uncommon — but No. 18 is truly scarce, appearing far less frequently than the typical low-number remedies.

Condition

• NOS / unopened, full contents

• Label is pristine, bright, and complete, with strong ink, no staining, no lifting

• Glass is crystal-clear, no haze, no clouding

• No chips, cracks, scratches, or bruises

• Cork original and intact

• As close to “museum ready” as you’ll find for a homeopathic vial of this era

This is the grade collectors hope to find but almost never do.

About Humphreys Homeopathic Medicine Co.

Founded in 1853 by Dr. Frederick Humphreys in New York City, the Humphreys Company became one of the longest-running and most commercially successful homeopathic manufacturers in the United States. Their remedies were marketed with a blend of medical earnestness and Victorian flair: ornate labels, elegant fonts, and the iconic lion seal representing natural strength and purity.

By the late 1800s, Humphreys’ numbered remedies were found in pharmacies, traveling doctors’ kits, frontier towns, and family parlor cabinets across America. Each formula corresponded to a specific ailment: No. 1 for fevers, No. 3 for teething, No. 7 for coughs — and No. 18, offered here, for inflammatory eye conditions like redness, irritation, and “sore eyes,” a common complaint in the gas-lit, dust-filled streets of the 19th century.

About Remedy No. 18 — Ophthalmia & Sore Eyes

Eye irritation was a remarkably frequent problem in the Victorian era. Coal smoke, dry interiors, gas burners, and unfiltered city air made chronic redness and ophthalmia almost a daily occurrence. Humphreys’ No. 18 claimed to soothe inflammation using a blend of homeopathic ingredients such as Euphrasia (eyebright) and Apis, reflecting the era’s belief that natural botanical extracts could calm “tired and inflamed eyes.”

This vial represents that history in its purest surviving form — untouched, undisturbed, and visually striking.

Set the Scene (1880s–1900)

Imagine a small-town apothecary: polished walnut shelves, blue and aqua glass jars, the warm glow of flame-lit sconces. A customer steps in after a day exposed to dust, coal soot, or eye strain from ledger work by lamplight. The pharmacist reaches for these very vials — neat rows of numbered remedies — and hands over No. 18 with instructions to dissolve “6 pellets for adults, 3 for children, four times per day.”

Your unopened vial is a direct survivor of that world — the material culture of Victorian medicine, preserved.

Rarity

Humphreys vials appear regularly, but high-number ophthalmic remedies are notably scarce, especially No. 18, which saw far smaller production and far less survival due to their single-use nature. Combine that with NOS condition and you have a truly collector-grade example.

What the Red Script Is

The red cursive is not handwritten by a pharmacist — it’s part of the printed label, added intentionally by the Humphreys Homeopathic Medicine Company.

Humphreys frequently reused base labels (the decorative black ones with the lion seal) for many of their numbered remedies. These labels were printed in large batches and then overprinted in red or black with the specific ailment the vial treated.

In your case, the red script reads:

“Ophthalmia & Sore Eyes.”

It’s written in decorative Victorian script and overprinted diagonally across the label.

Why They Did This1. Cost Savings

Printing the ornate frame + lion motif for every single numbered remedy would’ve been wildly expensive.
By using a generic label and printing the ailment later, they could:

• print tens of thousands of blank labels

• customize them cheaply on demand

• keep inventory manageable

Victorian pharmaceutical frugality at its finest.

2. Quick Identification

Shelves in 19th-century apothecaries were packed with dozens of identical vials.
The bright red script let pharmacists quickly spot:

• the ailment

• the remedy number

• the intended use

Think of it as early color-coding.

3. Regulatory Clarity

By the 1880s–1890s, many states demanded clearer indication of what a medicine was for. The red script satisfied these evolving guidelines.

Fun Historical Detail

Humphreys’ red overprint became so iconic in the homeopathic world that collectors today often look for the “red script labels” specifically, since they correlate to:

• late 180s to early 1900s production

• more specialized remedies

• lower-survival-numbered vials (like No. 18)

• higher desirability

Your example’s crisp red text is a huge plus.

Accurate Date Range:1890–1905Why this range is solid:1. Label Design (Lion Seal + Black Ornamental Frame + Red Overprint)

This exact combination appears in Humphreys catalogs and surviving sets only after 1889 and does not appear on post-1906 FDA-era packaging.
The red diagonal ailment overprint is especially characteristic of 1890s batches.

2. Paper Stock & Typography

The heavy, cream-colored rag paper with serif type and the transitional Victorian-to-Art-Nouveau motifs peaks circa 1895.
By 1907–1908, Humphreys had switched to cleaner, more modern layouts.

3. Cork Style

Your cork is:

• machine-cut

• lightly tapered

• with mid-density inclusion patterns
  This is the cork style most commonly used 1890–1905.
  Earlier corks (1870s–1880s) are hand-cut and rougher; later corks (post-1905) are cleaner and more uniform.

4. Glass Characteristics

Your vial shows:

• perfectly clear soda-lime glass (not the earlier aqua)

• light thickness

• precision cylinder molding

• no mold seams extending through the lip (suggests pre-1906 machine dominance)

This manufacturing style is nearly always 1890–1905 in small homeopathic vials.

5. Remedy Numbering + Ailment Specification

Humphreys expanded their high-number specialty remedies (like No.18) in the 1890s, and began phasing certain numbers out by the early 1900s when regulation pressures rose.

Conclusion

Your vial was made between 1892 and 1903 — with 1895–1900 the most likely sweet spot.