Dive into this fascinating collection of Civil War-era bottles recovered from the SS Republic shipwreck! This book is filled with an array of beautiful photographs and paired with compelling historical descriptions of the many varieties of bottles recovered from the Republic shipwreck. More than 6,000 bottles, representing more than 175 different types, were archaeologically recovered 1,700 feet deep in the Atlantic Ocean. The Republic was destined for New Orleans to replenish merchant's shelves just a few months after the end of the Civil War, the bottles represent a unique time capsule of 19th-century life.
 
The stories of these incredible bottles speak to a time when virtually anything could be bottled, advertised and sold, many by manufacturers who clearly swindled the public with outrageous claims, and who got around prohibition laws by promoting high-alcohol content as medicinal. The amazing range of the containers and often their unusual contents - from bear-grease pomades to French perfumes, from hot-pepper sauces to beer and wine, from century-old peaches to quack medicines of all sorts - all convey a delightful and often quirky glimpse of a long-gone era. As the photos demonstrate, each bottle is a work of art in itself. Categories in Bottles from the Deep include patent medicines, bitters, wine, beer, spirits, food bottles, hair products & beauty aids, and ink bottles.