Sold for A$3,860
(Possum) / Opossum / Brand. Base Mark: W. T & Co. / 3 / U.S.A. (William Henry Slater, Blackburn, Victoria) Medicine Eucalyptus Applied top, tooled finish. Amber. 2 oz. 137 mm. 1900s
Excellent. Tiny flake to upper rear lip with an associated tiny outer rear lip flake, these can just be felt, but are very minor. Couple of spots of surface grime that will clean off. Barely even a scratch! The trade mark is absolutely amazingly detailed, showing very clearly a ringtail possum! Yes, not an opossum at all. The opossum is not native to Australia and looks vastly different, yet in the early days Australians commonly referred to our possum as an opossum - incorrectly. This was perpetuated through the media of the day, with some companies even registering products under the name of opossum brand! Speaking of which, William Henry Slater of Barnes Road, Blackburn, registered Opossum Brand eucalyptus oil with a remarkably similar trade mark in 1892! Slater also had standard eucalyptus bottles with Nunawading on them. The only example known, this is the best eucalyptus bottle in Australia by far, and depicts a native Australian animal - so even better! Grade: 8.4 Estimate: $2500 - 3000
