Anyone who collects old bottles will know these Wolf's Aromatic Schnapps bottles, but as the bottles are now approaching 100 years old they are becoming difficult to find and as a result, very collectable Australiana.
Wolfes Aromatic Schnapps was sold worldwide but this is the dinki di Australian version.
Dating from the period 1920 - 30, the contents of this bottle was a sort of "magical cure all" for many ailments but in reality it was actually Gin based, no wonder the user felt good after having some of this!
The product name doesn't directly mention alcohol but the label clearly states it is an aromatic alcoholic beverage and that it has been bottled in bond under the supervision of the Commonwealth Customs supervision. No mention is made of the alcoholic content however.
The product was called Wolfe's Aromatic Schnapps and it was traded here in Australia by M. Moss Co. Pty Ltd.
The Schnapps was actually made in Holland, shipped to Australia (and elsewhere) and bottled here in Australia.
Moses Moss started M.Moses C. Pty Ltd having founded his company around 1857-58. He was a very active and well known member of the Sydney Jewish community.Moses died in 1883 and at the time this bottle was available for purchase, the company was run by Lawrence Moss and Lawrence Phillips.
This product was extremely successful for the company and it was also considered respectable for women to partake of this product, remembering that in those times a woman drinking alcohol was frowned upon because it was not considered a respectable thing for women to drink alcohol.
The glass bottle was made by the Australian Glass Company, founded in 1870 in Sydney.
Wolfe's Aromatic Schnapps (bottle ONLY)
EMPTY - NO CONTENTS!
6.5 fluid ounces (small bottle)
Clear glass
Top lip so that the cork (long gone) could be secured - this is before the days of crown seals
This is the dimple base bottle marked underneath as
A G M (Australian Glass Manufacturers)
322 which is most likely a product code
A logo but I cannot clearly make it - this is unknown to us.
The bottle has stamped into the sides of the glass bottle:
Side 1:
AROMATIC
SCHNAPPS
Side 2:
THIS BOTTLE ALWAYS REMAINS
THE PROPERTY OF
M.MOSS & Co_ PTY LTD_
Side 3:
UDOLPHO WOLFES
Side 4:
This has the rather tattered remains of the original paper label. Mostly still readable but suffered after being in the garden shed for almost 100 years!
CONDITION:
Absolutely no chips
Absolutely no cracks
Glass is clean
The label is in good - minus condition, mainly readable but obviously suffered from poor storage. I have now placed this bottle within a sealed plastic bag to reduce this degradation of the label, with cardboard sitting over the label to prevent further damage from light.
