Buyer Beware! These Poison Bottles Are Not All That They Seem!

 Buyer Beware! These "Poison Bottles" are not all that they seem!

There has been a recent surge in sellers offering unusual antique "poison bottles" at very high prices. In reality, the bottles themselves are genuine antiques, most appear to be scent bottles dating from 1820s-1900 period, however, unscrupulous sellers are affixing newly manufactured "silver" or "gold" plaques to the glass and offering them as authentic "poison bottles". Some of the "poison" plaques may state the "poison" such as "belladonna" or "cyanide."

Some bottles also feature silvery three-dimensional skulls soldered onto the tops of the bottle caps, these skulls just like the plaques, are NOT original to the bottles and have been added recently in order to deceive you into thinking they are improving their "value". You may also encounter double ended bottles with "Poison" on one side and "Antidote" on the other. A variation of this can be seen in some examples of "Cocaine" at one end and "Morphine" at the other. 

These sellers are capitalizing on the public's fascination with all things Victorian, morbid, death related, titillating and unusual. These items may appeal to those interested in Gothic lifestyle or fashion, anyone interested in criminal justice or crime, memento mori, Victorian era customs regarding death or just an unusual "collectible", much in the same regard as the faked "Vampire Killing Kits". These items are modern fantasy items created to fool the public and add perceived "value" to items that would be rather inexpensive without all the tomfoolery. Also included in this genre are scent bottles labeled as "tear catchers," a type of bottle I have already covered in a previous article.

Please don't be fooled into thinking these "poison" bottles are the real deal - yes, they are genuine antique SCENT bottles, but they are NOT "poison" bottles. They have been fraudulently "upcycled" and sellers are trying to convince you that they are rare. They should be regarded simply as "curiosities." 

I have been made aware of a certain etsy seller who is offering these bottles and claiming (without proof) that they came from Queen Victoria's personal physician. An ebay seller located in Bulgaria is selling MANY of these bottles in various types of decor, colors and shapes. I would think that these bottles are originating from this particular seller and being purchased from them and resold by other dealers. This same Bulgarian seller also specializes in manufacturing newly created "memento mori" jewelry and spoons as well as adding onto existing antique jewelry pieces. Common themes are skulls and snakes using both silver and gold. Some of it is beautifully crafted, but unfortunately, not original.

The "poison" bottles range in price from $1000-$3000 per bottle based on decor and style. Most of the bottles are extremely common Victorian scent bottles and would sell normally for $50-$400 without the fraudulently added "upcycling."

Gallery of Faked Poison Bottles:

All of these bottles below have been found online, mostly from one particular ebay seller located in Bulgaria.

Faking Perfume Bottles to Increase Their Value

The issue of adding "after market" accents to rather plain perfume bottles to increase their value is not new to the world of collecting. Over the years collectors have dealt with unscrupulous dealers who added various labels to boring bottles. Many of these labels do not fit the shape of the bottle making them a little more obvious than others, but nonetheless it confuses collectors and dealers alike. Adding a loose label to a perfume bottle may sound harmless to those who practice the fraud in order to make a quick buck, but it hurts the world of perfume collecting as it can result in mistaken identity and false value.

These are forgeries!! Plain and simple.

Fake Victorian and Antique Chatelaine Perfumes

Here is a warning for those who buy on ebay, a seller (sunil_arts_engg_works) located in India is making fake chatelaine scent bottles. They are taking newer bottles and adding new brass hardware and calling them antique or Victorian. Most of the bottles are 1930s and newer. Many are Art Deco in style which look stupid with fake Victorian hardware. Please be aware that these are not genuine antique Victorian era perfume bottles. See some examples below. Many of their perfume bottles exhibit the same exact hardware.

They do have some authentic antique Victorian perfume bottles and scent bottles for sale amongst their "fantasy" pieces.

Bottle from Britney Spears' Curious perfume c2005

Prince Matchabelli perfume bottle c1950s