A product of Budapest, Hungary, Hunyadi Janos, was not a bitters, as you might guess, but a mineral water imported into the United States from the mid 1870’s up through the late 1920’s. Considered a natural mineral water, this excerpt from a February 4, 1913 memo from the Andreas Saxlehner company to the House Ways and Means committee tried to make the case that it wasn’t simply a sparkling or effervescent table water but belonged to a class of natural waters that exhibited medicinal qualities. It was written in an effort to reduce the cost of a recently imposed tariff.
…The firm of Andreas Saxlehner, of Budapest, Hungary, owners of the Hunyadi Janos springs and bottlers of the well known Hunyadi Janos medicinal water, desires to present to your honorable committee some further arguments applicable particularly to the class of natural medicinal waters to which the same belongs.
Natural mineral waters may be divided into two classes. To the one class belong those sparkling or effervescent table waters, the therapeutic value of which is negligible, and which are merely agreeable beverages. These are fairly to be regarded as luxuries. To the other class belong the natural waters which display important medicinal properties. The waters of this latter class are largely prescribed by physicians and should be regarded as necessities, rather than luxuries, and should be so treated in determining the duty to be imposed upon them…
According to a January 1, 1881 advertisement found in the “British Journal Medical Advertiser” those medicinal properties included its use as a laxative as well as a treatment for a wide range of ailments including hemorrhoids, headaches, obesity and gouty attacks, female disorders and even the evil consequences of indiscretion in diet.
So, with that as background, the story of Hunyadi Janos mineral water, or bitter water as it was sometimes referred to, begins with a man named Andreas Saxlehner.
According to his obituary, found in the June 10, 1889 edition of England’s “Sheffield and Rotherham Independent:”
He was the son a poor weaver, and half a century ago went to Vienna in the hope of increasing his worldly store. There he met Louis Kossuth, who helped to establish him as a cloth dealer, and he toiled slowly on until one memorable day in 1863, when a fellow cloth dealer from the country, chatting in his shop, told Saxlehner that on his land, is not less than 10 places, there bubbled up a strange kind of water with a peculiar odor and still more peculiar taste, which neither four-footed animals nor those with two feet would drink. Andreas had the spirit of adventure stirred within him, but acted with the wisdom of a serpent. Over to the cloth dealer’s farm he went with an analytical chemist, and after careful examination the farm was bought.
Saxlehner named the water produced by the farm, “Hunyadi Janos,” a name that was in no way descriptive of the nature or quality of the water but, according to his obituary, simply
because John Hunyadi, the victor over the Turks, was one of the men included in Saxlehner’s “Hero Worship.”
Shortly after acquiring the farm, Saxlehner got permission from the Municipal Council of Buda to sell the water locally, and as time went on and business increased, he acquired additional territory and opened new wells such that by the turn of the century a feature found in the December 5, 1896 edition of “The Lancet” described the overall facility as comprising:
some two hundred and eighty acres of which one hundred and twenty are employed for obtaining Hunyadi Janos water.
An 1896 booklet published by the Saxlehner company included this turn of the century depiction of the springs along with a description of the operation.
The view from Dobogo Hill of the Saxlehner bottling establishment, with its numerous and extensive buildings, is one of the sites of Hungary. The foreground of the picture is occupied by the filling house, into which by means of underground pipes the water is conveyed from the wells which are over 100 in number.
According to the “The Lancet” feature, each of the wells was enclosed in its own separate wooden structure. They can be seen dotted along the landscape in the above depiction.
The Saxlehner publication went on to say:
The filling apparatus can turn out more than 100,000 bottles a day ready for delivery. The greatest care is taken in collecting and bottling the water, the whole process being carried out entirely by machinery, and every possible source of contamination is most scrupulously guarded against. The bottles after being filled, corked, capsuled and labeled are stored in a large warehouse.
“The Lancet” feature also included this interior view of the bottling house picturing the “filling, capsuling and labeling” operations
Finally, the Saxlehner publication went on to describe the ancillary facilities of the Springs.
In convenient proximity are the various workshops for the manufacture of the packing cases, etc. and the engine room for the production of electric light, by which the whole establishment is illuminated, and for the supply of all other motive power that is required. A permanent staff of some 250 workpeople is employed all the year round.
Another ring of laborers’ cottages, the fire brigade station, and various storehouses, all forming part of the establishment, complete the picture.
A junction railway two miles in length, constructed by the firm, branches off from the mainline of the State railways to the filling house and storeroom, and brings the establishment into communication with the general stream of commercial circulation.
The demand necessary to require over 100 wells began to make itself known by the early to mid- 1870’s when the mineral water’s presence began spreading beyond the Hungarian borders.
In the U.S, this started happening in 1876. Prior to that point newspaper references to “Hunyadi Janos” were almost non-existent. In fact, the only pre-1876 mention of it that I can find was its inclusion on a menu of “Fresh Mineral Waters” being offered for sale by a Richmond, Virginia druggist named Meade & Baker in April/May of 1875.
The catalyst for change came in March, 1876 when according to court records in the case of “Saxlehner v. Eisner & Mendelson Co.”
Saxlehner made a contract with the Apollinaris Company whereby he gave to it the exclusive sale of his Hunyadi Janos bitter water in the United States; that is he sold to it all it required and agreed to not sell for export there.
It was through the subsequent advertising efforts of the Apollinaris Company, in concert with their agent, the New York City firm of Frderick DeBary & Co., that the mineral water gained its reputation in the United States.
As early as 1877 advertisements for the “NEW APERIENT WATER” were appearing in medical journals and national magazines, and by 1878 those advertisements were also appearing in local newspapers found in every state east of the Mississippi, as well as in Texas and California. One of several introductory advertisements employed during this time is shown below.
Over the next decade, as “Hunyadi Janos” gained popularity imitations began appearing on the market. Bearing similar labels and tagged with the “Hunyadi” name they included names like “Hunyadi Matayas,” “Hunyadi Lajos,” Hunyadi Vilmos,” “Uj Hunyadi,” and “Hunyadi Laszlo,” among others.
In spite of the fact that the company didn’t significantly address this issue in the courts until the 1890’s, sales apparently continued to grow such that by 1895, according to a story in the March, 1896 edition of “The Druggist and Practical Gazette:” the Apollinaris Company had worked the trade up to 1-1/2 million bottles a year, which was the upper limit contemplated when their contract with Saxlehner was executed.
That being said, the relationship between the Saxlehner’s and the Apollinaris company wasn’t all that harmonious, and in 1896 the contract between the two firms was in the process of being terminated early. An interview with an Apollinaris executive named Steinkopff, included in the March, 1896 “Druggist and Chemical Gazette” story provided some details.
“Yes it is a fact that we are giving up our concession for the supply of the Hunyadi Janos water next March,” said Mr. Steinkopff. Our contract was made in 1875, and would expire at the end of the century. But we have exercised our option to determine it earlier. Our relations with Mr. Saxlehner have been strained almost from the first. We spent £54,000 in introducing the Hunyadi Janos water and in extending its sale. That expense fell on us exclusively, and we have considered that we were entitled to more support from the Saxlehners. We do not think that they have protected us so well as they might have done from the importations of the water from the Continent by other firms; we believe the water supplied has not always been, as it should have been, from the richest springs; we worked up the trade to 1-1/2 million bottles a year, which was the extreme limit contemplated when the contract was made, and then Mr. Saxlehner wanted to make new conditions if we went beyond that quantity. So we have been in continual disputes with him and his successors…
Steinkopff went on to say that the Apollinaris company. was planning on going into competition with the Saxlehners.
“Some five or six years ago I bought an estate near Budapest, in the bitter-water district, with springs on it which yield a very rich bitter water, and it is this water which we propose to sell in the future…”
“And the name?”
“It will bear the trade mark ‘Apenta,’ which has been registered. But it is drawn from the Hunyadi springs.”
After their contract with the Appolinaris company was terminated the Saxlehner’s went on to establish their own U. S. import office. Not wasting any time, the opening was announced in the “New York Tribune,” on March 12, 1896.
Andreas Saxlehner, of Budapest Hungary, will on March 26, 1896, open an office in the Bennett Building, New York City, for supplying direct to the trade the world’s well-known genuine natural Hunyadi Janos aperient water.
This will enable all purchasers to secure the genuine Hunyadi Janos aperient water direct from the proprietor. As this water has been recommended by over one thousand of the highest medical authorities as being the best of any aperient water in the world, its success has caused many imitations to be put on the market. Purchasers should therefore see that the name of Andreas Saxlehner is on each label.
The Bennett Building was located on the corner of Nassau Street and Fulton Street in lower Manhattan. As early as 1896/1897 the firm of Andreas Saxlehner was listed there with an address of 93 Nassau Street (later 130 Fulton Street) where, according to this February 13, 1902 price list found in the “Pharmaceutical Era,” you could order a case of fifty bottles of Hunyadi Janos for $11.
By 1898, the NYC directories named Albin Trojan as the company’s New York manager and both Trojan and the company were listed in this manner up through 1917.
Throughout this time period the company continued to advertise their mineral water on a national scale, as evidenced by this advertisement that appeared in major city newspapers across the country (New York, Chicago, Minneapolis and San Francisco, to name a few) in March and April of 1914.
It was also during this time, 1912 to be exact, that the company introduced a new product to the U. S. market, “Hunyadi Janos Pills.” Advertisements, disguised as newspaper stories, introduced them in October, 1912. One such ad appeared in the October 31st edition of the “Brooklyn Daily Times.”
A New Remedy for An Old Complaint
A Scientific and Important Discovery for the Treatment of Constipation, Liver and Stomach Disorders
The careless selection of widely advertised and ineffective remedies is the cause of a good deal of misery. Be careful of taking without your doctor’s orders, drugs like Calomel and Cascara in any form, and other drastic stuff. Besides their harshness, they act only on a single organ and cannot stimulate all the different structures which are diseased.
These facts lead to a great deal of experimentation and finally to the discovery of Hunyadi Janos Pills, a scientific and perfect combination which does work – gently – on all the proper organs. Hunyadi Janos Pills are compounded with only one end in view and that is to relieve you of your troubles. You need not experiment on yourself – you need not take anywhere from 1, 6 or 10 pills – one or two pils at night are enough and sure. They work where and when work is required – without griping. Buy a box and try them tonight. You’ll see the reason why – the next morning.
For sale by all up-to-date druggists.
Later newspaper advertisements like this one followed, though they were pretty much confined to just several states in the northeast.
On a side note: Although the pills were marketed under the Hunyadi Janos name, according to court records, “Hunyadi Janos Corporation v. Stoeger,” they were actually manufactured in the U.S. and were made of chemicals, none of which was derived from the Hunyadi Janos water.
Ultimately the U. S. operation fell victim to World War I when, in October 1918, it was announced that Saxlehner’s U. S. business was being put up for sale by the Alien Property Custodian. The announcement appeared in the October 18th edition of the “Daily News” in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The state department has received through the Swiss Legation a protest from the German government which declared that the sale of German-owned property in this country was “consciously aimed to do lasting injury to German economic existence. The protest was received on September 16, and was made public yesterday by A. Mitchell Palmer, alien property custodian…
The only answer to the protest was made by Manager of Sales Joseph P. Guffey, of the alien property custodian’s office, who announced that the following concerns valued at more than $100,000,000 would be sold on the following days:..
The firm of Andreas Saxlehner was included on the list and scheduled for November 4th.
Ultimately, according to court records, “Hunyadi Janos Corporation v. Stoeger,” the sale actually took place a month later, in December, 1918.
On December 21, 1918, the Alien Property Custodian of the United States, acting under the provisions of the Trading with the Enemy Act, demanded and seized the business of the firm of Andreas Saxlehner, all its tangible and intangible assets, trademarks, trade-names, and good will as the property of an alien enemy resident in Budapest, Hungary.
On December 24, 1918, the Alien Property Custodian filed a copy of the demand and notice of the seizure of the property in the office of the Commissioner of Patents, and sold as a going concern the business heretofore conducted under the trade-name Andreas Saxlehner, at 130 Fulton Street, New York, and elsewhere in the United States, including its office furniture, fixtures, pills, labels, good will, trade-names and trademarks to the Partola Manufacturing Company, which on May 19, 1919, transferred the same to the Hunyadi Janos Corporation,
Apparently, the new corporation got the American made Hunyadi Janos Pills back on the market rather quickly and by July they were running newspaper advertisements, with one July 11th Minneapolis “Star Tribune” ad bragging:
Peace is here again. So are Again! Hunyadi Janos Pills…
…Bring peace to your system. Don’t wait.
This more traditional advertisement appeared in the July 31, 1919 edition of the “Pittsburg Press.”
In 1920 they began advertising the Hunyadi Janos water, though just sporadically. The earliest post-war mention I can find appeared in the July 8, 1920 edition of Jersey City, New Jersey’s “Jersey Journal.”
As far as I can tell, over the next year they were preparing to hit the market on a larger scale such that in early 1922, according the August 3, 1922 edition of an advertising publication called “Printers Ink,” they had on hand 40,000 bottles and had invested $100,000 in the business. Unfortunately for them, it was around this time that another importer, Alexander F. Stoeger, entered the picture. According to a May 20, 1922 “New York Times” story:
Mr. Stoeger had set up an agency for the sale of the (Hunyadi Janos) water for which he paid 281,000 marks, or $333 in our money. Mr, Stoeger, it was stated, has described himself as the sole source of the water in this country
So, as the dust settled in mid-1922, the Hunyadi Janos Corporation was importing the water from Hungary and selling the water under the trademarks acquired when they purchased the business from the Alien Property Custodian, while Stoeger was importing it from the same place and selling it under the old pre-war trademark.
The “New York Times” story reported that on May 20, 1922 the federal courts in support of the Hunyadi Janos Corporation issued an injunction restraining Stoeger from selling or dealing in Hunyadi Janos water. Two days later however, the injunction was vacated by a district court.
Stoeger quickly put out an announcement to the trade announcing the decision. The announcement, found in the June, 1922 edition of a publication called “The Retail Druggist,” went on to say:
Mr. Stoeger has just returned from Budapest. Hungary, where he has purchased a large quantity of GENUINE HUNYADI JANOS from the firm of Andreas Saxlehner (Budapest), who have authorized Mr. Stoeger to act as sole authorized importer for the United States, Philippines, Cuba and Canada.
The case would play out in the courts over the next several years with Stoeger ultimately succeeding on appeal in 1925.
As far as I can tell, Stoeger continued to market the Hunyadi Janos mineral water throughout much of the 1920’s. As late as July 26, 1927, Hunyadi Janos was included in a table of “Price List Changes” found in a publication called “Drug Markets” (highlighted in yellow)…
That being said, there’s no evidence I can find that indicates Stoeger was still importing Hunyadi Janos mineral water in the 1930’s. In fact, by 1933, Stoeger had dropped the term “importer” from his New York City directory listing.
It appears that the Hunyadi Janos Corporation had also run its course prior to 1930. In 1922, they had apparently moved out of the Bennett building, then listing 100 West 21st Street as their address. That year, the directory also included a listing for their “water sales company” at 25 West 43rd Street. Two years later, the corporation listing remained but the listing for “water sales” had vanished. Advertisements for their Hunyadi Janos Pills had also disappeared by the early 1920’s.
Ultimately, in 1936 the corporation was non-responsive to an effort by the U. S. Patent Office to effect the cancellation of their Saxlehner patents.
The last U. S. advertisement I can find for Hunyadi Janos appeared in the March 13, 1929 edition of New York’s “Daily News,” further suggesting circa 1930 as a likely end date for Hunyadi Janos in the U. S.
The bottle I found is dark olive green in color and matches exactly this description of Saxlehner’s bottle found in court records.
At or about the time when Andreas Saxlehner adopted the name of “Hunyadi Janos” he also adopted a characteristic and novel style of bottles in which said water was sold by him in the market, the same being of a straight shape with a short neck, to the top of which was attached a metal capsule bearing the inscription “Hunyadi Janos Budai Keseruviz” (meaning the Hunyadi Janos Bitter Water of Buda)
This pictorial representation of the bottle appeared in the “1904 London Medical Directory.”
The same style bottle is pictured in the 1881 advertisement found in the beginning of this post as well as the 1929 advertisement (pictured just above) so the bottle design apparently went unchanged during the 50+ years it was imported into the United States.
All embossing is found on the base; “SAXLEHNER’S BITTRRQUELLE” along the circular edge, and ‘HNNYADI JANOS” in the center.
On a final note: the Bennett Building, home of the U. S. business in 1896, remains to this day. Opened in 1873, it occupies the entire block on the west side of Nassau Street between Fulton and Ann Streets.
