True amber is sometimes coloured artificially.
The curious signs on the coloured carboys in chemists' windows, which were commonly to be seen until the middle of the 19th century, were signs used by the alchemists to indicate various chemical substances.
The original prescription is kept by the pharmacist for either three or ten years, according to the country, and a certified copy given to the patient, written on white paper if for internal use, or on coloured paper (usually orange yellow) if for external use.
The latter occurs only in the temperate possessions of the British empire, in which there is no great preponderance of a coloured native population.
In the intervening space (the object-box) are contained a number of fragments of brilliantly coloured glass, and as the tube is turned round its axis these fragments alter their positions and give rise to the various patterns.
