Figural Liquor Bottle of Prussian Soldier from the excavation of a privy at 1304 Howard Street

One of the more unusual bottles recovered in this privy is shaped like a soldier, the details of which suggest the makers may have intended it to appear Prussian. Businesses often marketed such bottles as containers for whiskey, though researchers have not yet identified a match for this particular one. Whenever archaeologists recover distinctive items that seem to reflect ethnic identity, it is tempting to try to link them with residents at a location. However, in an era of mass production and mass consumption, such products were easily available to all consumers.