When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
NO. 1 SHAKER SYRUP • CANTERBURY, NEW HAMPSHIRE • CIRCA 1850s
A beautiful early medicine bottle from the Canterbury Shakers, standing 7½ inches tall and embossed on opposite sides “No 1 / SHAKER SYRUP” and “CANTERBURY N.H.” The lettering is strong, the glass is bright and lively, and the body is filled with tiny seed bubbles that sparkle in the light.
THE SHAKERS AND THEIR SYRUP
This was medicinal syrup, not maple syrup. The Canterbury Shakers operated a substantial herbal medicine business under Brother Thomas Corbett, the community’s physician. Their sarsaparilla compound was prepared at the village’s Syrup Shop, where an 1848 addition provided dedicated space for bottling and packing. Herbs were dried in the lofts of a neighboring building.
The Shakers sold their medicines beyond the village. For a nineteenth century customer, the Canterbury name on the glass identified a product made by a religious community with an established reputation for careful work. The bold embossing kept that identity visible even after the paper label was gone.
Here is the remarkable part: archaeologists recovered bottles bearing this same “No 1 Shaker Syrup / Canterbury N.H.” embossing from an early San Francisco store site associated with the great fire of May 3–4, 1851. One matching bottle was still corked and contained its original dark brown syrup. These bottles were traveling across the country during the California Gold Rush.
DATE AND GLASS CHARACTER
I date this example to circa 1850s, with a broader estimated range of circa 1845–1865. It has a crude applied top and a diagonal hinge mold line beneath the base. Countless beautiful seed bubbles run through the aqua glass. At one bottom corner is an extra blob of glass formed during manufacture—a wonderful bit of original glasshouse mint—exceptionally bright, clean, and shiny.
No chips or cracks.
No haze, dirt, scuffs, or scratches.
Strong embossing on both named sides.
Tons of beautiful seed bubbles.
Original manufacturing blob at one bottom corner.
Height: 7½ inches.
A superbly preserved Canterbury Shaker bottle with striking glass, clear local identification, and a documented connection to one of the most compelling stories in early American medicine.
