Thursday, January 26, 2023

Enter the Esco Distinctive Embalming Fluid Bottle

Things turned kinda caskety around here this month, so let's now inject AEET with something a little more preservingly juicy via this vintage 16 ounce Esco Distinctive Embalming Fluid bottle that I picked up the other day. Online sources say the equally distinctive, square, art deco designed glass container actually dates anywhere from the 1930's through the 50's, and after spending nearly a half hour cleaning the thing, (which initially looked like it had accidentally been buried 6 feet under with a cadaverous client for nearly a century), I'm definitely leaning more towards the oldest date possible. In an ironic turn of events, the embossed numbers and lettering, not to mention the ominously lovely stone and leaf work on all sides, now pops a bit more "alive" than it did at the antique store, thanks to the wonders of Goo-Gone and warm water.

3 comments:

Mr. Cavin said...

I was gonna say... That art deco ziggurat neck design seems soo late twenties to me. That's when Frank Lloyd Wright was doing all his Mayan revival stuff, right? I can see why it was a design Esco kept around for decades. Probably they added the word "distinctive" for the new generation.

These should have been the decanters in Rick Deckard's apartment. I can tell you did a great job on the clean u--even without a "before" picture.

Brian Barnes said...

I love the cracked stone design on the bottle. It's got an art deco and at the same time more natural design with the stone and the leaves.

That's a really pretty survivor. The obelisk measuring side probably helps date it to whenever Egyptian stuff was in vogue.

JMR777 said...

I have to admit, I never knew this existed, just like the concrete burial vault sample you featured back in 2019.
I know every industry needs various unique supplies, not the kind of stuff you could find at the local drug store, I just never considered the supply needs of the last profession most people, or their relatives, have to deal with.

It's a unique item, that's for sure, I can only imagine the story that goes with it.