American Bitters in Ancient Rome

In December 1865, The Daily Empire, a Dayton newspaper, printed an article written by a company located in New York. What attracted my attention was the title, “Ancient Fine Arts.” Reading such a title, I expected an article about paintings or sculptures from ancient Greece or Rome. Surprisingly, my assumption was completely wrong, however, the article does mention an ancient Roman city.

A Bottle of Drake's Plantation Bitters

P.H. Drake & Co. wrote the editor of the New York Herald in response to allegations for planting a bottle of Drake’s Plantation Bitters amongst the ruins of the city of Herculaneum in Italy. Drake wanted to make clear that no agent of his would do such a thing, and strongly states how money would be better spent at home where demand is high. The author explains how American tourists could have taken a bottle with them to Italy, suggesting a more innocent explanation for the Plantation Bitters appearance next to the city’s actual relics.

One wonders why this article was published in a Dayton newspaper. Could this story be of interest to small town readers in the Midwest? Or maybe this article was an advertisement for Drake’s Plantation Bitters. It is possible that one of their bottles was found at the site in Italy, and maybe an accusation was made about purposefully planting the bottle, but whether all of that is true, is not as important as the fact that this story provides P.H. Drake & Co. an opportunity to advertise their product. The company complains about the struggle of keeping up with high demand, and mentions their agent in Europe is much too busy to pull a stunt like this. These statements showcase the success of the company.

Amusing and interesting stories can be found while reading past newspapers. Within these pages, you never know what you are going to find, so it is important not to judge an article based solely on the title. There is so much that can be learned from newspapers beyond those headliners. Sometimes the unique and unusual stories are buried beneath the surface, for instance, one can find an early example of product placement.

By Julie Hale

Sources:

The Daily Empire. (Dayton, Ohio), Dec. 01, 1865. Chronicling America: Historic 

       American Newspapers. Library of Congress.

Image found in, Griffenhagen, George B. and Mary Bogard, History of Drug Containers and Their           Labels (Madison, WI: American Institute of the History of Pharmacy, 1999), 80.