Glass bottle with the words "F.W. Fitch Co. Ltd. Canada" etched in the glass
Doing work in the Don Valley means that you invariably come across all sorts of garbage. Most of it is the of the mundane sort such as plastic bags and water bottles, beer cans, and other discarded junk. But occasionally you come across something unusual. One such thing was a glass bottle with the writing embossed on the glass "F.W. Fitch Co. Ltd. Canada". It is unusual to find a glass bottle that has been made with the logo part of the actual glass bottle. Most labelling is painted on which wears away over time.
I picked this bottle up and rather than toss it in the recycling I took it home and cleaned it up. It didn't take much research to find out what it contained. F.W. Fitch was a maker of shampoos and hair tonics. I was unable to find any history of the company other than they were in business in the 1960s.
So why was the bottle in the Don Valley? It's possible that it was discarded in one of the many informal garbage dumps that can be found in our ravines. Another possibility is that it had an alcohol content and somebody might have drank from the bottle. I suppose I'll never know. I'll just add it to the list of curiosities one comes across in life. In this case another small story about the Don.
5 comments:
F.W. Fitch was my father's great grandpa. Or (great great). He was a barber who created his own line of hair products for the "common" man. I think it's awsome you didn't throw away that bottle. If you ever want to part with it, Let me know.
-Amber
I found one just like it in Hudson, Quebec this week, about 4 feet underground while digging a water leak. Mine is in perfect shape too but no Canada written on it, just The F.W. Firch Company
I live in NE Ohio and we found it with a bunch of other old glass stuff in a garbage dump over a ravine! still has a cap on it! Jackpot :)
I found one too in a discarded box. In Victoria BC. Still has the lid but no contents.
Travis I found one in Spokane wa 11/21/10 it dosent have the cap and no contents but still a nice find but what is it worth
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