Customer Reviews

Bottles from the Deep: Patent Medicines, Bitters, and Other Bottles from the Wreck of the Steamship Republic

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Very enjoyable read. Brief, but succinct in discussion of the bottle types recovered from the wreck. Provides interesting history of the various bottle types. Great photography of the recovered treasures. I read it in a couple of hours. Can't wait for Oddysey to publish more on their discoveries and recoveries. Be sure to read The Lost Gold of the Republic for an excellent presentation of the history and discovery of the SS Republic and the development of the Oddysey Marine Company. It was extremely well written and an enjoyable read. Both books are highly recommended for the shipwreck buff or treasure collector.

"Bottles from the Deep" is, I think, the first published (in the paper sense) product of Odyssey Marine Exploration's impressive archaeological excavation of the steamship Republic, and doubtless it will not be the last. Some archaeologists shrink from the idea of a marine salvage firm doing good archaeology, but with the Republic Odyssey has shown how it can be done; the Republic fieldwork is a model for deep-ocean archaeological investigation. What remains is to see how the data recovered are used and shared with the profession and the public. Ellen Gerth's book suggests that Odyssey will do well in this regard, too. The book provides a concise summary of the history of the shipwreck and its excavation, and then plunges into fascinating details about the various types represented among the thousands of bottles recovered. Stephen Sweet's Infallible Liniment, Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup -- it's amazing our ancestors survived the 19th century swilling such stuff. Very handsomely illustrated, Gerth's little book is a contribution to the archaeological literature that's fun to read. Not too big to be a stocking stuffer for one's favorite bottle nut, either.