Poison label dating
from the early 1900s
Labelling medicine properly is very important. Many rules and guidelines have been set and continue to be made to protect customers. The labels inform you what is inside and contain instructions for its use.
Labelling has not always been so clear. In the past there was little information on medicines given out to customers, they had to trust the pharmacist.
Group of poison bottles
In the 1800s a mainly illiterate society recognised bottles containing poison by their colour. Coloured labels were also used. A red label printed in black represented poison, while red ink on white was for external use only. Legislation in 1899 made the use of special poison bottles compulsory in pharmacies where there was no separate poison cabinet.
It was not until 1935 that ribbed and grooved poison bottles were made compulsory for the home. Making poison bottles recognisable to the touch would avoid incidents of accidental poisoning. Bottles could be ribbed or studded, with red labels to warn of their contents. Some even had bells on.
Early labels used in pharmacies were mainly for storage bottles and jars, not on the bottles given to customers. The earliest labels were engraved or painted on the bottles. By the end of the 1800s bottles were moulded with recessed panels and curved rectangular glass labels with mitred corners that were cemented into the recess. Varnished hand written labels were common throughout the Victorian period. They were mainly gold with black writing and a red border. The names of the contents of the bottle were in Latin.
Gold and black label for
iron sulphate from the early 1900s
Research in the 1800s discovered that the most effective coloured glass to protect ingredients from light damage was yellow. This colour was not adopted because the gold labels used would not have shown up as well on yellow glass and the look of the pharmacy would have to change! Blue, green and colourless bottles continued to be used.
