all original and completely intact 1859-1860's crude blue aqua oval wizard oil bottle manufactured for chicago patent medicine manufacturers john and lysander hamlin. the squat oval bottle is finished with a crude short neck and rolled lip. the base is smooth with a seam evidencing use of a keyed hinge mold. embossed vertically on the front body is "hamlin's / wizard / oil", with the location on the back, "chicago / ill". crudities are consistent with its age and date of manufacture, and discoloration is typical of being dug. in 1859, while still in his early 20's, john austin hamlin first developed and began to sell his "hamlin's wizard oil" in cincinnati, oh. differing sources indicate the formula for the medicine either originated with john's father, or was bought from dr. c.m. townsend, of lima, ohio. regardless, john hamlin and his brother lysander moved from cincinnati to chicago in the early 1860's to produce their wizard oil there. whether hamlin developed his sense of traveling showmanship riding the circuit with his father, or as a traveling show agent for dr. townsend, hamlin's showmanship acumen became the hallmark of his career. in the first year of the civil war, after hamlin had just moved to chicago, he bgan to originate the "medicine show" as his star advertising medium. he employed comedians, ventriloquists, and more to draw the crowds throughout the country, after which the lecturers came up on the stage and sold oil as fast as they could hand out bottles. it was one of the most successful advertising schemes of the day and placed the business on a splendid foundation. hamlin's traveling shows were hugely popular, and with the help of their circus-like atmosphere well over a million bottles of wizard oil were sold during the late nineteenth century. according to an 1864 city directory, the brothers operated at 102 washington street. advertising declared the oil would cure toothaches, headache, earache, neuralgia, and cramp colic in a matter of minutes; sore throat, lame back, sprains, and diphtheria in a matter of hours; rheumatism in a few days. two bottles of wizard oil sold for 25 or 50 cents. two chicago wholesale distribution agents aided the company in doing widespread business during the civil war. in 1865 lysander hamlin joined the chicago patent business. the company continued to be run by a succession of family members, remaining a massive ongoing concern through the first third of the twentieth century. it did, however, suffer a serious image set-back around the turn of the century after a medical analysis of the oil's content showed it to be 65% alcohol with a little capsicum and chloroform, along with ammonia and a few pungent/aromatic vegetable oils to enhance its medicinal "signature". subsequent attention from the fda forced the company to scale back their "cures-anything" style of advertising and to limit their claims to the product's benefit in the temporary relief of "minor aches and pains".