This is a rare antique Ship's Apothecary Cabinet that still has some of the medicine bottles it was originally stocked with. It is made of mahogany with rosewood veneering on inside edges. The photos give a good description of the Cabinet and also, the antique jars. It has two small front doors, one with a lock, that open to reveal slots and a drawer (note the small hand cut dovetails.) which held items used by a ship's doctor. In the inside top corner, there is a brass pin that when pulled out, allows a secret compartment in the back to slide open. Inside the compartment are three more slots for medicines that apparently needed to be hidden from the ships crew.
The bottles inside the Cabinet are very old, hand cast, 6 with words, "James Folsom, Ships' Apothecary, Boston, Mass." With the stopper in, they are 3.75 inches tall. Three of them appear perfect, two others have small chips on the top, one has a nick on the bottom corner so it would leak. The thinner bottle says, J.P. Taylor, New Bedford, Mass. The round one says, "Johnson's American Anodyne Liniment.
We found online identical examples of this chest made from the late 1700's through the 1800's. We also found an example of the medicines list that were included in the Cabinet which was actually sold by the James Folsom Company of Boston, Mass. The Cabinet has some damage with one of the wood dividers missing and also a small drawer missing. When we found it, part of the upper Cabinet had been broken but was still partly attached. (We re-glued it with an epoxy glue.) It has a lock with a replacement key but the lock is bound up inside. The rosewood veneer lining around the door and cabinet edges has numerous missing pieces. (These could be restored but we prefer to let a new owner make that decision.) There are some drying cracks, also on the doors. Inside, there is damage to some of the fabric lining, likely caused by an acidic medication. (We had a chemist friend inspect it and they suggested treating it with a mild water/soda solution, which we did.) Interestingly, one of the identical Cabinets we found was once on Admiral Nelson's Ship, Victory. Nelson was the British Admiral at Trafalgar, who lost his life in the battle in 1805. The Cabinet was owned by James Beatty, the Ship's Surgeon who treated Nelson as he lay dying. It is currently for sale for close to $30,000. Ours is priced much less. We would ship it with the glass jars carefully packed, separate from the Cabinet to protect both. Shipping will be inexpensive within the U.S. Please ask any questions, study the photos, and be certain you want it should you wish to make an offer as returns will not be accepted.
Good to very good condition, age considered. As you can see, a lot of the original contents are missing but the ones that remain are as described. The lock & key do work, the hidden compartment in the back is opened via the small clasp on the inside front upper right corner. See pictures for more and all measurements.
