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Johnson
& Johnson, The New York Times
and a Rewarding Greenwich Village Dig
by
D. S. McGee
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Robert Wood Johnson, circa. 1890's.
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Throughout my life when I heard "Johnson & Johnson"
baby powder and Band-Aids came to mind and it never occurred
to me that one day I would associate the name with New York
City privy digging. Certainly not an historical dig with
fully loaded sacks of antique bottles and artifacts being
schlepped home on the subway at the end. At no time had
I envisioned an opportunity, or need for that matter, to
meet one of the heirs and help conduct a privy excavation
at his New York City residence.
In light of the fact that we occasionally find Johnson
& Johnson bottles buried in our New York bottle dumps
and sometimes even at the top portion of our New York
City privy digs and elsewhere and before writing about
this privy dig in Manhattan's Greenwich Village section
and the scores of pontiled antique bottles it produced,
let me begin with a condensed history of Johnson &
Johnson and its position as a world leader in the health
care industry.
Robert Wood Johnson was born on February 15, 1845 in
Carbondale, Pa. In 1861 the teenaged Johnson left
the Pennsylvania countryside and made his way to Poughkeepsie,
NY, a small though bustling city situated along the
Hudson River in Dutchess County. There he worked as
an apprentice in his uncle’s apothecary, Wood &
Tittamer located on Market Street. Johnson spent three
years learning the complicated and tedious art of
mixing medicinal plasters under the tutelage of James
Wood. "Probably no other branch of the pharmaceutical
art has been the occasion of so much toil, anxiety
and failure and discouragement before any measure
of success was met," the young Johnson would say.
He went on to become a retail pharmacist at the drug
firm of James Scott Aspinwall (formerly Rushton &
Aspinwall) in New York City and then became a drug
broker.
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In 1873,
along with George Seabury, he formed the company of
Seabury and Johnson which manufactured bandages using
a new formula involving India rubber. Although the business
prospered, the stormy partnership split up a decade
later. Around 1885 Johnson began developing and marketing
the first ready-made, ready-to-use surgical dressings.
Johnson’s brilliant production and marketing design
was inspired by the identification of airborne germs
- "invisible assassins" - by Sir Joseph Lister as a
source of infection in operating rooms. This labeling
was not readily accepted by many surgeons during the
late nineteenth century. Despite the general incredulity
among surgeons and physicians Johnson labored tirelessly
and developed practical and marketable applications
for his designs. His inventions helped save countless
lives and paved the way for the vast fortunes the Johnson
family would create.
In 1886 Robert Wood Johnson joined with his brothers
James Wood Johnson and Edward Mead Johnson and, in a
defunct wallpaper factory along the Raritan River in
New Brunswick, NJ, began manufacturing improved medicinal
plasters. The brothers incorporated as Johnson &
Johnson in 1887. Soon after, a revolutionary surgical
dressing - ready-made, individually wrapped and antiseptic
- was developed and marketed. The company then designed
absorbent, cotton and gauze surgical dressings that
were mass produced and shipped to virtually every physician
and druggist nationwide.
Following this Johnson & Johnson published a book
titled "Modern Methods of Antiseptic Wound Treatment"
and this publication attained the status of standard
text on antiseptic practices and held that position
for many years. Right about this time, the company’s
products were also being shipped all over the world
bearing the distinctive red cursive logo and red cross.
Through their marketed products, strong advertising
and propaganda, the Johnson & Johnson name became
synonymous with good health.
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Wood & Tittamer Druggists, Poughkeepsie
N.Y. circa 1890's. *Bottle excavated in an early 20th century
bottle dump in upstate NY; many additional examples have
been found over the years while digging privies in that
region.
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Article in The Times regarding
the new Johnson & Johnson factory.
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Johnson
& Johnson applied their considerable resources to
the task of designing and marketing the first, first-aid
kit. The impetus for the production of these early kits
was railway and factory injuries. The company brought
the first-aid kit to market in 1890. The kit consisted
of a large wooden case with an ample assortment of contents:
antiseptic dressings, various surgical supplies, splints,
etc. along with a pamphlet explicitly detailing what
to do in the event of severed fingers, toes, and legs.
The booklet also explained the appropriate way to treat
people who had fainted. "If the accident is serious,
send for a surgeon at once. While waiting, keep cool."
This first aid kit was sold as "Johnson’s First Aid
Cabinet." The company went on to produce and sell, numerous
variations of the first aid kit.
By 1892,
Johnson & Johnson’s commercial success with sterile
gauze dressings led to the company’s slogan: "The Most
Trusted Name in Surgical Dressings." Soon after this,
baby powder was introduced onto the burgeoning medical
supply market. This product was the direct result of
a patient complaining of skin irritation caused by the
use of a medicated plaster. From then on a can of talc
was included with the orders of certain plasters. By
1894, as a result of customer requests, baby powder
could be purchased separately from the medicated plasters.
Next an improved sterilizing technique for catgut sutures
was developed and perfected in 1897. This new product
brought an appreciative response from physicians. "As
to sutures, I have used common sewing thread many times
in lieu of anything better, and oh dear how I as well
as the patient counted the days when they had to be
removed." Shortly after this, physicians would have
their pick of nine types of catgut and twenty-one types
of silk sutures from Johnson & Johnson.
In 1899, Johnson & Johnson along with leading surgeons
developed and introduced the zinc-oxide type of adhesive
plaster. Due to its quick sticking quality and overall
greater strength, this type of plaster became widely
used by surgeons. |
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Johnson
& Johnson had grown to such a degree by the turn
of the century that they shipped eighty percent of
the surgical supplies used to treat victims after
the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906. This continued
during World War I as Johnson & Johnson shipped
huge quantities of surgical and first aid supplies
for the war effort.
In 1910
Robert Wood Johnson died. He was the company’s first
president and established Johnson & Johnson as
a leader in the medical products industry. He was
succeeded by his brother James Wood Johnson who ran
the company until 1932.
In the decade
following Robert Wood’s death, one of the most recognized
contributions to first aid, the Band-Aid Brand Adhesive
Bandage was introduced by Johnson & Johnson (along
with Johnson’s baby cream) in 1921.
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Antiseptic Treatment booklet.
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An early Johnson's Baby Powder.
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Johnson
& Johnson branched out internationally in 1919
with its first affiliate in Canada. By 1924 Johnson
& Johnson created Johnson & Johnson Ltd. in
Great Britain. This was their first overseas affiliate.
In 1932 Robert Wood Johnson Jr. took over direction
of the company. During World War II he was made brigadier
general for his manufacturing accomplishments, which
contributed to the war effort immensely. Forever after
he was referred to as "General Johnson" or "The General"
(by his employees and acquaintances alike). The title
stuck with him apparently due to his rather militant,
dictatorial, iron-fisted and tyrannical way of directing
Johnson & Johnson and his personal life.
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An early illustration of the Johnson
& Johnson factories and laboratories in New Brunswick,
N.J.
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General
Johnson remained active in the company until his
death in 1968 at the age of seventy-four. His estate,
valued at over 1 billion dollars, was donated to
the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This is one
of the largest private charitable organizations
devoted to improving health and health care in the
United States. The Foundation is not connected to
any corporation.
In 1944
Johnson & Johnson’s stock went public with an
initial three way split: one third to Robert Wood
Jr., one third to his brother, John Seward (referred
to as Seward for most of his life) and one third
placed on the open market.
Seward Johnson
took over as vice president of Johnson & Johnson
after World War II. By 1967 his stock alone was
worth $91 million. In 1977 New Jersey Monthly wrote
that Seward was the wealthiest man in the state,
placing his fortune at $350 million. One of his
sons also named John Seward Johnson but referred
to as "Junior" or "Seward", was made heir and trustee
in 1980. Seward Johnson Sr. died on May 22, 1983
with an estate valued at over $400 million.
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The company’s holdings, affiliates and alliances today
are literally too numerous to mention here. One
notable acquisition of recent years was of DePuy,
Inc., a $3.7 billion cash transaction. In 2002 the
company bought drug and delivery system maker ALZA
for more than $12 billion. Not too shabby for a
company known for its marketing of Band-Aids and
baby powder!
Johnson & Johnson’s corporate headquarters is still
located in New Brunswick, NJ where it has been for
over 110 years, which brings us to 1999, the year
of the Johnson dig.
At this point in our New York City privy digging careers,
The New York Times approached us and asked if they could
come on a dig. I reasoned that if the story was done
well the publicity would be of benefit all around. Then
they informed me that the privy would have to be dug
in Manhattan. Hearing this my excitement level dropped
considerably. At that time, and still today, potential
digging sites in New York City were being torn up by
backhoes and bulldozers, without even a perfunctory
thought to history or artifacts and old bottles. Typically
I would roam the city in my spare time, on foot or by
car, looking for building demolitions or renovations
only to find that the backyards were already under construction,
or the dirt and all it contained therein had been trucked
away to undisclosed or remote landfills. Lining up a
privy dig for The New York Times was going to be difficult.
Upon reflection, I focused on an acquaintance who
was reputed to be in regular contact with an heir
of Johnson & Johnson; in fact the grandson of
Robert Wood Johnson. And, that he was in the process
of renovating his home in The Village. Or had he
already renovated it I wondered? Furthermore, I
was not sure if he would actually allow digging
on his property; although he had indicated he would
a year earlier to others.
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The
Johnson house, a location where more than 120 intact antique
bottles ranging from the 1840s-70s were unearthed prior
to major backyard renovation which destroyed this New
York City privy.
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Admittedly, I knew basically nothing then about the Johnson
& Johnson company and reflexively assumed that whoever
carried the family name would not be sitting at home waiting
for edgy Historical Diggers to call. Those of us consumed
with digging New York City's privies (or wells as some of
us refer to them). So, with basically no other viable prospects
at that exact moment I began efforts to get in touch with
him as directly as possible.
Eventually I learned through the grapevine that the
house renovation was completed but the yard had not
been done over during that phase. It was reported that
Johnson said he had "no idea" if the privy-well
in question had been destroyed during the remodeling
process but probing for it was "fine" as long
as it was done "immediately". Pulses jumped
considerably at this invigorating news! |
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Looking south from the end of the
street the dig was on.
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Nina, The New York Times reporter, called again and
reiterated that if I could not locate a site soon her
boss was going to send the crew on another assignment
and this particular story about New York City privy-digging
in Manhattan, would never be told. I informed her that
one of the members of our group had just gotten permission
to probe a site in Greenwich Village and that the house
was built in the mid-nineteenth century. She was clearly
aroused after hearing this latest development and said
to notify her as soon as the excavation was "firmly
scheduled". The only day available for us turned
out to be the absolute last day possible to get into the
yard and get things started before it was...permanently
altered.
A scant assemblage of two made it to the Johnson home
that morning to dig. After an hour or so we were able
to locate the privy walls with our probes despite
all the renovation materials scattered around the
backyard, and the inherent lack of visual boundaries
on the entire block; a "Garden Block" as
some refer to them here complete with intersecting
property lines concealed by endless vines, shrubbery,
flower beds, trees, etc. Additionally, the privy-vault
(the well) was uncharacteristically situated just
fifteen feet from the rear of the house; arguably
one could honestly say it was 'right out the back
door' as some tend to be every now and then.
Soon after I knew we had located the privy, I opened
the iron gate and started through the shadowy, narrow
horsewalk which led to the street, to get supplies. Curiously
I bumped right into someone who was headed straight for
the spot we had just probed in.
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| She turned out to be the backyard renovation foreman,
working for a local landscaping outfit as it were. Much
to our shock and dismay her crew had a contract to begin
digging then and subsequently arrived that morning with
every intention and clearly ample motivation, to get their
project underway. The only questions on our minds during
those chaotic moments were, would Johnson be sympathetic
to our needs or not, did he even care one way or the other
who got to work that day, and, more importantly, could he
be located fast enough to render a favorable outcome? On
top of this, moments earlier we had gotten off the phone
with Nina and convinced her that "we just located the well…we're
in a privy!" |
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Aware of how difficult this particular site-owner was
to get in touch with particularly at the last minute,
and hearing that we were "in the way", things
seemed considerably hopeless. The scheduled excavation
appeared to be a wash, canceled permanently! Thus The
New York Times would only get to tell the story of what
happens when a backyard privy is destroyed, dug through
unconsciously, by loathsome paid workers. A nightmarish
hour passed then someone finally got in touch with Johnson
and explained what was happening. In the end an arrangement
was made to have the landscapers begin two days later.
By this time the photographer and writer were interested
in seeing some decent artifacts. Goading us on they
reiterated that without photographs and something
worthwhile to report on...there might not be a story
in Sunday’s paper.
Having been
more or less compelled to shift into high gear or else,
and after three or four hours of energetic digging, our
sweat-producing activities bore unmistakable signs of
kitchen refuse from within the confines of the subterranean
vault: food bones, oyster shells, stove ash, etc. A short
while later, an object for the journalists to gape at,
an oxidized wine bottle from the 1880’s. Then standing
straight up, in the ash exactly how it had been deposited
125 years earlier, a free-blown, olive oil bottle, made
of paper thin glass. I looked up from the five foot hole
to see if anyone else sensed my anticipation. I had an
impression that, despite earlier challenges, the dig would
turn out to be worthwhile.
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Digging several feet above base level
in a remarkable NYC privy.
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At this
point the digging revealed plain, smooth based bottles
from the 1870’s-80’s and every now and then something
embossed or otherwise interesting: a stoneware mustard
pot with black and white lettering, "Moutarde de Maille
(France)"; a milk glass perfume bottle, C.W. Laird
Perfumer Broadway N.Y.; an aqua medicine, R.R.R. Radway
& Co. N.Y.; another mustard pot, S. Cearns’s No.
13 Chapel St. Liverpool; a R. Low & Son Perfumers
330 Strand London, stoneware; an ointment jar, X.
Bazin Phil. Clear glass; two identical pot lid bases,
J.B. Thorn Chemist London, John Tarrant N.Y. Sole
Agent for the U.S.; a dark blue and white, cold cream
pot and lid, Wedgewood style, etc.
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An assortment of bottles and artifacts from varying
periods seen getting their first breath of fresh air
in nearly a century and a half, inside this New York
City privy "well".
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Some of
the first bottles and artifacts discovered from the
earlier "throw-away" period were two Civil War era
sodas or ales, and several clay pipes. Those first
embossed bottles were Engeman & Hubener N.Y.,
one dated 1861 and the other 1862. Soon after one,
"Balm of a Thousand Flowers" appeared in the well-stocked
ash fill. Continuing on, several more bottles were
discovered: a pontiled R.R.R. Radway; a smooth based,
fancy styled, peppersauce bottle, and then a beautiful,
sapphire colored, soda/ale bottle "S. Hickerson 55
Clarkson St. N.Y." made just after the pontil rod
became obsolete in bottle manufacturing.
Later we discovered the same Hickerson bottle in aqua
and pontiled, along with three W. P. & Co. porters
made in the 1860’s. Next a Distilled Dew bottle also
from the 1860’s, then three Rowlands Macassar Oil
bottles made of flint glass, and a pontiled "Barry’s
Tricopherous for hair and skin."
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During the late afternoon all of the bottles discovered
were pontiled and this welcome change stayed
with us for the remainder of the dig. The well
was jam packed with stuff. Numerous bucketful's
of ash spilling over with broken bottles, tableware,
redware plates, and more were continuously hoisted
up from the ever deepening hole. This gave the
reporter and the photographer lots of action
to work with. Upon discovering an artifact,
it would be held up for a photo and then explained.
They documented many items and seemed enthused
by our work.
Finally the journalists left for the day and we
could focus on the dig uninterrupted. Evening approached
but it was still light out because of the time of
year. Then the discovery of a damaged, colored medicine
bottle was made. The bottle turned out to be "Hyatt’s
Infallible Life Balsam." Despite its cracks we were
excited by the find and it gave hope for what might
be discovered later. Soon after another Barry’s
appeared, then the intact remains of a hypodermic
syringe, and a puff style bottle that was black-amethyst.
Then another, identical seeming bottle…which turned
out to be soil-blackened flint glass. After this
two more "Hyatt’s" were unearthed with holes in
them. Right after that a "Phalon’s magic hair dye
# 2" was found and then a small pickle/honey bottle
with overall latticework relief on its sunken panels,
then a stoneware beer bottle inscribed "John Edwards
N.Y. 1854", etc.
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Flawless example of "Hyatt's Infallible Life
Balsam", exactly as it appeared
only moments after being discovered near the
bottom half of the privy.
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Having accomplished nearly all that two New York City
bottle diggers could hope for in one long day, the eight
foot hole was covered for the night.
In the morning, with the sun barely risen over New York
City, the gaping privy uncovered and the bottle digging
back in full swing, the Johnson's arrived. The journalists
would return only sporadically on this second day and
the Johnsons’ less intrusive presence was refreshing.
At times he and his wife seemed fascinated by the accumulation
of objects salvaged from their yard but thankfully neither
of them caught The Bug at any time.
After the long break several buckets of material from
the mid 19th Century were removed. Then the undisturbed
refuse layer reemerged and a seemingly endless supply
of bottles and artifacts from the period were discovered.
Historically many of the items were common: one half
dozen free blown olive oil bottles; numerous puffs
and laundry bluing style containers; nearly forty
small pontiled bottles that were used for ink and
medicine; another hypodermic syringe, several black
glass bottles for ale and whiskey; a small D.L. Ormsby
stoneware beer bottle; a quart size Hackmann &
Hulle stoneware beer bottle; one Dr. D.C. Kellinger
N.Y.; etc. And then a sparkling mint soda bottle,
"P. Kellet Newark, N.J. 1857" in rich dark aqua, along
with the remains of yet another "Hyatt’s Infallible
Life Balsam."
The remainder of the second day was consumed with the
work of sifting the well contents for small objects and
missing pieces from broken plates, bowls, etc. that were
important for later reconstruction projects. This task
along with filling in the hole lasted well into the night.
Spirits remained high throughout this time due to the
discovery of a flawless "Hyatt’s Infallible Life Balsam"
in deep blue green.
The profusion of intact containers on this historical
excavation and the accompanying exhilaration throughout
this entire Manhattan privy digging adventure, was a fine
example of the rare occasion when the rewards match the
efforts...we stopped counting the bottles when the tally
reached 120.
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Intact bottles
from the Johnson privy dig, circa
1840s-1870s.
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A well deserved thanks goes to Mya Chen Whitney for her invaluable
research assistance.
References
- Foster, L. (1999). Robert Wood Johnson: The
gentleman rebel. State College PA: Lillian
Press.
- Goldsmith, B. (1987). Johnson versus
Johnson. New York: Knopf.
- Hoover’s Handbook of American Business
2001. (2000). Austin, TX: Hoover’s Business
Press.
- Hoover’s Handbook of American Business
2003. (2002). Austin, TX: Hoover’s Business
Press.
- Johnson, Barbara Piaseka. (n.d.) In wic.org.
Retrieved May 20, 2003 from
http://www.wic.org/bio/johnson.htm
- Johnson, Robert Wood. (2002). In The New
Encycopaedia Britannica (Vol. 6, p. 595).
Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
- Johnson, Robert Wood. (2000). In World
Book Encyclopaedia (Vol. 11, p. 154).
Chicago: World Book Encyclopaedia.
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- Johnson
& Johnson. (1990). In Academic
American Encyclopaedia (Vol. 16). Danbury,
CT: Grolier Incorporated.
- Johnson & Johnson. (1986). Johnson &
Johnson – A company that cares – 100 year
illustrated history. New Brunswick, NJ:
Johnson & Johnson.
- Johnson & Johnson. (n.d.). In jnj.com.
Retrieved May 4, 2003 from
http://www.jnj.com/
- Margolick, D. (1993). Undue influence: The
epic battle for the Johnson & Johnson
fortune. New York: William Morrow &
Company.
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (n.d.) In
rwjf.org. Retrieved May 12, 2003 from
http://www.rwjf.org/
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