Antique early 20th century embossed Dinneford’s Magnesia bottle, pale aqua-green

Antique early 20th century embossed Dinneford’s Magnesia bottle, pale aqua-green glass

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“DINNEFORD’S / MADE IN ENGLAND / MAGNESIA”

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The flask shape, raised lettering and soft green tint make it a very appealing piece of chemist/apothecary advertising glass. It would work beautifully as a display bottle, a shelf piece, or even as a simple single-stem vase.

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There are no chips or cracks, just light age-related wear.

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21 cm tall

9 cm wide

5 cm depth

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Description

A charming vintage English embossed glass chemist bottle for Dinneford’s Magnesia, made in a classic flat flask form with a short neck and applied lip. The bottle has a lovely pale green tint and strong moulded lettering reading “Dinneford’s Magnesia – Made in England”, which gives it real visual presence and that unmistakable old pharmacy feel.

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Originally made to hold magnesia, a widely used medicinal preparation sold as an antacid and laxative, this bottle now makes a striking decorative object in its own right. It has that wonderful honest simplicity collectors love in old advertising and apothecary glass, and it displays beautifully on a shelf, in a bathroom, kitchen, or alongside other vintage bottles.

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Condition appears good overall with age-related wear, surface marks and expected manufacturing irregularities consistent with an old utilitarian glass bottle. A very attractive example with plenty of character.

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Displayed with other bottles illustration only for sale separately

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Maker history

Dinneford’s was a well-known English chemist’s preparation sold from London in the 19th century and into the 20th century. Museum and historical sources show Dinneford’s Solution/Fluid Magnesia was marketed as a remedy for acidity and digestive complaints, and bottles of this form were made for the firm in embossed glass. Museums Victoria identifies excavated Dinneford’s magnesia bottles as pharmaceutical bottles used for an antacid and laxative, with 19th-century examples made in moulded glass, while historical directory material places Charles Dinneford, chemist and druggist, in Bond Street, London.

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The exact date of this example is hard to pin down from photographs alone, but the “Made in England” embossing suggests it is likely late Victorian to early 20th century, rather than one of the earliest 19th-century versions. That is an informed dating estimate rather than a certainty.