original privy dug mid-nineteenth century iron pontiled dark "electric blue" soda water bottle manufactured for burroughs wellcome & co., new york city, ny. the porter shaped bottle features a clean strike with embossing that reads “b.w. & co” with a raised end-letter "o", and beneath that “new york”. the opposite side is embossed "soda water". the applied blob top features concentric marks from tooling, and some slop. clean, visible side mold seams fade at the bottom of the slightly asymmetrical neck. the pontiled bottle has a high kick-up at the base with heavy iron residue. henry wellcome was born in wisconsin, and had a pharmaceutical apprenticeship under an english chemist in garden city, on the frontier in minnesota. his uncle was a famous physician and surgeon whom he often assisted in operations at a very early age, and quite naturally he at first thought of studying medicine, but later decided to become a pharmaceutical chemist. in 1871 wellcome went to chicago, just after the great fire, and entered the employ of thomas whitfield, whose store was then located at eighteenth and state streets. here he met dr. f. b. power, with whom he formed a strong friendship, and prof. f. m. goodman, dean of the chicago college of pharmacy, who was then manager of mr. whitfield's store. he entered the chicago college of pharmacy, where he attended lectures for one year, but as young power had come to philadelphia to assume the directorship of parrish's laboratory, he decided, at the suggestion of the latter, to finish his course at the philadelphia college of pharmacy. on moving to philadelphia, wellcome took charge of dr. hershey's store, on north fifth street. shortly after graduation mr. wellcome went to new york and took a position with caswell, hazard & co., on broadway. in 1876 wellcome accepted a position with mckesson & rob bins, and in the interests of this firm went to south america, where he visited and studied the native cinchona forests. he conceived the idea that london would be an ideal place for a manufacturing chemist, and accordingly in 1880, in conjunction with the late silas m. burroughs, established the firm of burroughs, wellcome & co., who became well known as manufacturers of chemicals, alkaloids, and other pharmaceutical products.