Marigolds in Tricopherous BottleGelatin-silver photograph on Ultrafine Silver Eagle VC FB photographic paper, image size 21.3cm X 16.4cm, from a 4x5 Kodak TriX Pan Professional negative exposed in a Tachihara 45GF double extension field view camera fitted with a Nikkor-W 210mm f5.6 lens.
Titled and signed recto, stamped and annotated verso.
I found the Tricopherous bottle in the broad treeless valley between the Etheridge Range and Mount Northcote in Australia's Snowy Mountains. Tricopherous is a 19th century hair tonic intended to reverse advancing baldness. It consists of 97% alcohol, 1.5% castor oil, 1% cantharadins (Spanish fly!), and a whiff of fragrance. One wonders which of these ingredients prompted consumption in the high and lonely spot where the bottle was discarded maybe a century ago.