According to a fellow collector, this was a hair preparation. In Dick's Practical Recipes from the 1870s, one of the recipes was titled: Pomade Contre l'Alopecie, to Cure Baldness. Although I haven't been able to translate the word, I think there is enough evidence to assume that this was, in fact, a hair preparation. Bottle description courtesy of Chip Van Curen.
BOTTLE DESCRIPTIONS
1
Oval, 5 1/8", rolled top, no panels, O.P., aqua, front: "BOCKING'S - ALOPECIA - WHEELING, VA, "