DOSE GLASS COLLECTOR
ONE FROM EACH STATE IN THE US?
It is possible, however very difficult, to collect a dose glass from every state in the U.S. There are confirmed examples of embossed dose glasses from each state in the USA. At least one druggist in one city in each state bought into the notion of using dose glasses for advertising their store or product. The rarity of dose glasses from certain states reflects the sparse population and/or slim number of druggists in these areas of the country at the turn of the century. This is especially evident in what was still the Wild West. In 1896, Pharmaceutical Era magazine published a map that shows the number of pharmacists in the US by state that year. North Dakota had 183 pharmacists, Oklahoma - 127 (Indian Territory - 203), Utah - 105, Montana - 103, Idaho 82, Arizona 52, New Mexico 50, Wyoming 37, Nevada 28, and Alaska - only 4 pharmacists! Those will be your hardest to find dose glasses! Wonder why you are more likely to find dose glasses from drugstores in OH, MO, IL, PA, and NY? Compare the previously mentioned states' data to Ohio - 2165 pharmacists, Missouri - 2296, Illinois - 2872, Pennsylvania - 2922 and New York - a whopping 3439 pharmacists in 1896! Even the relatively small state of Massachusetts had 1644 pharmacists that year. However, do not despair, with time and a little luck, you just may find a rare example embossed ID, AZ, NM, WY, NV and maybe even Alaska (see State Quest Gallery)!
NUMBER OF DRUGGISTS PER US STATE FROM A MAP PUBLISHED IN "PHARMACEUTICAL ERA" FOR YEAR 1896...
4 AK - Alaska
28 NV - Nevada
37 WY - Wyoming
50 NM - New Mexico
52 AZ - Arizona
82 ID - Idaho
103 MT - Montana
105 UT - Utah
107 DE – Delaware
127 OK - Oklahoma
183 ND - North Dakota
196 VT - Vermont
203 I.T. – Indian Terr
212 D.C. - District of Columbia
219 NH - New Hampshire
242 RI - Rhode Island
256 WV - West Virginia
276 OR - Oregon
282 WA - Washington
286 SC - South Carolina
286 SD - South Dakota
288 FL - Florida
341 NC - North Carolina
347 CO - Colorado
397 LA - Louisiana
409 ME - Maine
416 AL - Alabama
424 MS - Mississippi
439 VA – Virginia
453 CT - Connecticut
559 MD - Maryland
576 TN - Tennessee
606 AR - Arkansas
630 GA - Georgia
805 MN - Minnesota
813 NJ - New Jersey
820 WI - Wisconsin
835 CA - California
835 NE - Nebraska
997 KY - Kentucky
1128 KS - Kansas
1637 IA - Iowa
1642 MI - Michigan
1644 MA - Massachusetts
1708 TX - Texas
1865 IN - Indiana
2165 OH - Ohio
2296 MO - Missouri
2872 IL - Illinois
2922 PA – Pennsylvania
3439 NY - New York
Hawaiian Islands- Hawaii, HI, H.T. or T.H. (Territory of Hawaii) - As you may notice, Hawaii does not appear on the above list. It was not referenced on the 1897 PHARMACEUTICAL ERA map. The date that HI became a US territory was Aug. 12, 1898, which was the year after the map was drawn. However, I can confirm the fact that at least three Hawaiian druggists had dose glasses. The first example was sighted in the 1988 printing of the collector's book entitled, HAWAIIAN BOTTLES OF LONG AGO. This dose glass, also pictured above, is embossed HOBRON DRUG CO. / HONOLULU, H.I. (small, tumbler shaped glass). A second example, which appeared as an auction item on eBay, is embossed BENSON, SMITH & CO. / HONOLULU (small, tumbler shaped glass). That one can be seen below on the right, as well as on the page of this web site dedicated to my 50 state collection. The third, which also appeared on eBay years later is from HOLLISTER DRUG CO. LTD. / DRUGGISTS / HONOLULU. This latest Hawaiian example, that came to my attention in 2016, is pictured below. It was described as being 2 and 1/4 inches tall (large, tumbler shaped glass). The fact that there are Hawaiian embossed dose glasses proves the possibility of putting together a complete US dose glass collection, including a glass or three from our 50th state. For more information on U.S. Territorial dose glasses, click the tab entitled U.S. TERRITORIES. PS (11/2016) - Smaller version of Hollister glass appears for sale (photo below).
