New York, New York. R.H. McDonald & Co., Dr. Walkers California Vinegar Bitters. Mirror. Bowers NY-6

New York, New York. R.H. McDonald & Co., Dr. Walkers California Vinegar Bitters. Mirror. Bowers NY-6740. Gilt brass. 38 mm. Choice Mint State.，Obverse: Mirror. Reverse: Dr. WALKERS / CALIFORNIA / VINEGAR BITTERS in a triangular arrangement, with a mortar and pestle at center. A ribbon above and around reads, PURELY / VEGETABLE / FREE FROM / ALCOHOL. Two lines below read, R.H. McDONALD & Co. / AGTS NEW YORK. In tiny letters at left and right borders: PATD JUNE 16 68.<p>Exceptional surfaces with virtually complete gilding and a resulting brilliant and satiny gold appearance. The only tiny breaks in the gilding will require magnification for discovery. A superb piece. The mirror is likewise bright and clear, with one small area of the backing having broken down a bit. Very attractive overall and the Bowers plate piece.<p>The California Vinegar Bitters product was widely advertised during this era and also later, including in newspaper notices, trade cards, and a yearly almanac. The United States Internal Revenue issued 4-cent revenue tax stamps to be affixed to each bottle, picturing Dr. Walker and giving the addresses as San Francisco and New York.<p>From an 1874 advertisement: "No person can take these bitters according to directions and remain long unwell, provided their bones are not destroyed by mineral poison or other means, and vital organs wasted beyond the point of repair." The patent medicine was said to cure dyspepsia, indigestion, sour eructations of the stomach, dizziness, tightness of the chest, coughs, bad taste in the mouth, bilious attacks, palpitation of the heart, inflammation of the lungs, pain in the region of the kidneys, female complaints, inflammatory and chronic rheumatism, etc.<p>，Ex David Proskey; F.C.C. Boyd; John J. Ford, May 1983; Steve Tanenbaum, 2011; Q. David Bowers Collection.，