FOR SALE - Bottles & Bottle Books
& other collectibles
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This and the associated linked web pages are my current listings of antique or "historic" bottles, bottle books, and other collectibles for sale.
I try to be as comprehensive as possible in describing bottle condition but am not perfect (thus the money back guarantee). Many of the "flaws" or condition issues that I point out are often overlooked by others. I also try to take representative pictures of all the bottles listed, though some bottles can defy accurate pictorial representation. Click on the highlighted link(s) in each listing description to see the picture(s) of the specific item for sale.
If you would like additional digital pictures or information, please e-mail me (link below).
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To help properly describe the bottles on this list or for the people who found this page and have some basic questions about antique bottles, I have another web page that is a glossary of some major antique bottle descriptive terms. It is found at the following link - Bottle Description & Condition Glossary. It includes more links to pictures to help portray some of the bottle characteristic described.
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I also have a books-for-sale (non-bottle books) list if you click on the following link: BOOKS FOR SALE. Though limited in scope, this list has a variety of books, with an emphasis on Western Americana books.
Click on the thumbnail picture, highlighted title links, or other links within each listing to see pictures of the bottles described.
My email is -
SIMMOND'S
/ NABOB / TRADE (Sultan with hookah and attendant) MARK / PURE / KY BOURBON /
WHISKEY - All this embossed on this well known but quite scarce,
full faced, Western "picture" whiskey cylinder fifth. This example is
listed in the late John Thomas's most recent book (2002) as #142A and is the
earliest of this short series of cylinders
dating from the late 1870s to early 1880s. Apparently this whiskey was
advertised in 1882 as being "Strongly recommended by the medical
faculty (what "faculty" isn't noted!) for all cases of nervousness,
dyspepsia, chills, etc..." Like many high alcohol products of that
era, it was purported to have high medicinal value. (Reminds me that my
dad always noted that his stops at the state liquor store in Oregon were needed
to get his "medicine"!) Thomas also notes that many of these were found in
Nevada in the usual mining camp areas like Hamilton, Eureka, and Virginia City
as well as the Sierra Nevada and some other mining areas in California.
Although a San Francisco bottled product (George Simmond's & Co. in business
from 1877 to 1888 according to Thomas) these were one of the earlier German made
"Western" cylinders dating from the noted range above.
As with most all of these type amber to red-amber German made Western-used whiskey cylinders this example has a nice and sloppy applied top (click applied top to view such), heavily whittled throughout the body, a high slightly pointed/domed base, and a color that is a medium orange to somewhat reddish amber getting redder towards the base as the images show. This is a beautiful window bottle with that color and crudity! Condition is very good to excellent (aka close to mint) with some very minor light wear/scuffing in a few places (largely on the back) but no chips, cracks or other post-manufacturing damage. Thomas's book lists the mid-range value of these at a seemingly high $2500; this very nice example is offered for significantly less. $750
OREGON
IMPORTING CO./ WE NEITHER RECTIFY / (O. I. CO. monogram) / NOR COMPOUND /
PORTLAND, ORE. - That is all boldly & sharply embossed within a slightly
oval to round slug plate (aka "plate mold") on this quart sized cylinder whiskey
bottle with straight fluting on the shoulder and lower neck. According to
John Thomas's great book on Oregon liquor bottles this style bottle was called a
"Maverick Brandy" which was the name used for this style of liquor bottle by the
huge Illinois Glass Company (Alton, IL.) who almost certainly was the
producer of this bottle for the Portland company. A quick check shows an
identical one by that name, including the "bumps" at the lower end of the
flutes, shown (sans embossing) in that glass company's 1903, 1906, 1908 and 1911
catalogs (I have original examples of all these). That fits perfectly the
history of the company which, according to Thomas, began in 1904 and ran until
statewide alcohol Prohibition began in Oregon in 1915. Isn't the history
of these bottles cool!? The "We neither rectify nor compound" motto was a
reference to some liquor bottlers of the era "rectifying and compounding," i.e.,
cutting, diluting, blending and otherwise adulterating the product in
undesirable ways (maybe "snake heads"?). Not this company!
Anyway, this example is 11.6" tall, clear or colorless glass (the type that would turn amethyst), has a tooled "brandy" lip or finish, and dates during the range noted above. It was probably was actually used for brandy, though without an original label it is impossible to tell. In my experience these clear examples are scarcer than the amber versions and more likely to be stained. This specimen is in great condition with no cracks, chips, pings, dings, or other post-production damage; it just has some widely scattered, light, water staining on the inside back which is non-detracting...the outside is unstained and nice. Also some nice bubbles in the glass and minor crudeness befitting a later, mouth-blown bottle. Another ex-Bob Barnett bottle I acquired a long time ago. $50
OREGON
IMPORTING CO./ WE NEITHER RECTIFY / (O. I. CO. monogram) / NOR COMPOUND /
PORTLAND, ORE. - Here is the light-ish amber example of the same
cylinder quart whiskey bottle that was fully described above...and blown in the
same mold even though the embossing is lighter than the very bold
clear/colorless example. However, it is of moderate boldness and very easy
to read (see enlargement of close-up of embossing). The color is a
light-ish amber with a golden tone to it; the images show it pretty well though
in real-life it is a bit brighter. This example is dead mint as far as I
can see looking it over several times, with no chips, cracks, flea-bites,
scuffing, staining, or anything post-manufacture. A very nice example of
one of a relatively small universe of Western fancy (fluted or swirled) shoulder
liquor cylinders...and one of only two from Portland to my recollection (the
other being the Remington swirl shoulder cylinder). $60
SPRING VALLEY / WINE CO.
/"THE BIG STORE" /2ND
& YAMHILL / PORTLAND, ORE. - This is all embossed within
a
plate - called a slug plate by collectors - as evidenced by the relative
distinct and slightly indented to elevated plate edge circle around the
embossing; it is not an embossed circle. The lower body also reads FULL
PINT with serifs on the lower body. These early 20th century style
flasks - this being a "Eagle" style (see my educational website discussion on
this style at
http://www.sha.org/bottle/liquor.htm#Eagle%20Flasks ) are often quite rare,
or at least as rare as their coffin, shoo-fly and picnic flasks cousins, but don't get
quite the collecting interest as those slightly older (though often contemporary)
brethren. These are still very interesting pre-Prohibition liquor flasks
which are often quite hard to find as they were usually made for a relatively
limited time.
According to the late John Thomas's excellent 1998 book Whisky Bottles and Liquor Containers from the State of Oregon "Starting sometime during the year 1909 the Spring Valley Wine Company opened its doors at 242 and 244 Yamhill in Portland. The Shapiro brothers George and Joseph opened it. It was a wholesale operation only. The company lasted until closed by Prohibition in 1915." So these date sometime between 1909 and 1915. Oregon's statewide Prohibition began on January 1st, 1916 preceding full National Prohibition by 4 years (lucky state...ha). Although Thomas noted it was a "wholesale operation only" the fact that they bottled some of their products in these flasks - which come in pint and half pint sizes - indicates that they at least sold some in smaller quantities...or these flasks were give away items for holidays, special customers, or ??? Interestingly, the flasks were blown in the "Dandy Style" as well as this "Eagle" style; the Dandy being quite similar but without the ring on the neck. (See the following section of my educational website on "Dandy" style: http://www.sha.org/bottle/liquor.htm#Dandy%20Flasks ) Both sizes in the Eagle and Dandy style seem to be equally rare; they are all seldom seen flasks. This is a duplicate pint for me with the one I've had for years being blown in a slightly fatter and shorter Eagle flask mold (and the FULL PINT is non-serif lettering & it has double rings at the base of the neck) but with the same plate obvious upon close inspection.
This particular flask, as noted, is the pint size with the "serif" lettering for FULL PINT. It is 9.3" tall, made in a now slightly pink (amethyst) glass, and has a tooled "brandy" style lip or finish. This particular mold also has a bunch of faint (but visible in the images) "peen" or "rivet head" markings on the body above the plate (7 circular marks) and on the back upper body (3 marks). Why? No idea except something to do with the formation or alteration of the mold and an interesting crudeness at a time (late mouth-blown era) when crudeness was less common although this flask also has an assortment of bubbles in the glass. It is in very good condition with one tiny pin prick mark on the lip edge, a small impact mark on the back base (about pin head sized), a few external abrasions and some very light, scattered content haze here and there. Overall a very nice and hard to find pre-Prohibition flask. $75
CROWN
DISTILLERIES / (crown above double shield with CDCo monogram inside) / COMPANY
- That is all embossed within an oval on the body of this fifth sized liquor
bottle from San Francisco. It has inside threads and includes an original
hard rubber stopper with essentially the same "embossing" on it. Click
HERE to see a close-up of
the stopper which is in pretty good condition with a little bit chipped off one
side.
These bottles like the Van Schuyver listed above likely contained a popular spirits product - Cyrus Noble Whiskey - and span a pretty wide time frame from at least the 1880s to National Prohibition at the end of 1919. This company was connected with the Lilienthal (San Francisco) and W. J. Van Schuyver (Portland, OR.) companies as briefly discussed above in regards to sharing the same stoppers in their inside threaded bottles. Most of the bottles used by the three companies had essentially the same monogram of the crown over a shield with the initials inside the shield varying with the company. This particular example likely dates from the 1900 to 1910 era.
As to the details of this bottle it is the same height and general conformation as the Van Schuyver above measuring about 11.25" tall without the stopper. The color is a bright medium amber, has some scattered bubbles in the glass and a tooled inside threaded finish with the noted stopper. Condition is essentially mint with no cracks, chips, dings or significant staining...maybe just a bit of dirt on the inside and a few minor and non-distracting scuff marks. This example was found out in the woods of the Cascades near Klamath Falls many years ago and given to me since the person was not a collector. Time to pass it on as I've too many bottles. $30
In retirement I've been accumulating and studying the different molds used for this company's cylinder fifths. I have all of the variations of the molds but one which I believe exists (based on eBay images) that is a 4th variation with PORTLAND embossed but no OR or ORE after it. There are also variations within some of the mold types which are found with both cork and inside thread finishes or lips; others have just corks or just inside threads, but not both. Also the earliest, true "slug" plate example comes in both closure types with both tooled and true applied lips. Four different conformations from just one mold! The company was incorporated in 1901 so all those with INC embossed date after that time, though the last mold variant without INC embossed may have been still in use in 1902 or 1903 depending on how quick the company went through their bottles. This example dates from around 1905 give or take a few years as the PCGW company didn't use that name until 1903.
In any event, this example has a height (without stopper) of 11.25" and the color is a rich, bright medium amber; the images show the color well to my eye. It has a tooled inside threaded lip/finish typical of the era it was made. There surface is glossy with no straining glass inside or out and very little scuffing. The only issues are a bit of roughness to the rim of the bottle under the cap; click close-up of the rim to see such without the cap on. Some or all of it may be in making or not; it isn't too distracting and totally invisible with the cap on. There is also a "peck" mark at the front base edge that is a bit bigger than a pin head. All in all this is a pretty good example of a Northwest favorite - yesterday (full) and today (empty). $30
STAR
(asterisk?) BASE EMBOSSED, 4-PIECE MOLD, APPLIED LIP, WESTERN MADE CYLINDER
SIXTH - Offered here is a scarce to relatively rare, Western blown
cylinder sixth (6 to the gallon) that was found on private land near Klamath
Falls, OR. a few decades ago. Specifically, it was found on the Running Y
Ranch back when it was an actual ranch owned by the Disney Corporation (it is
now an upscale resort, vacation and housing area) by a timber "cruiser" cruising
(marking trees for selective cutting) for a future timber sale. Not being
a bottle collector it was given to me and I used it as an example to illustrate
the category of tall cylinder liquor bottles which were used widely by Western
American liquor companies though the style was also used throughout the
US. (See the write-up on it at the following link:
https://sha.org/bottle/liquor.htm#Tall%20slender%20bodied%20straight%20neck%20spirits%20cylinders
)
These bottles with the star or asterisk on the base are pretty firmly attributed to the San Francisco and Pacific Glass Works in San Francisco or if they predate about 1876 (not likely in my opinion) to either of those companies prior to their merging in that year. There are various body embossed liquor and some food bottles that have similar markings on the base which were virtually certain to have been made in the Bay Area, although the markings can vary. For example the "curved R" examples of the Fleckenstein & Mayer (a Portland, OR. liquor Co.) cylinder fifth and pint "knife edge" flask both have similar markings except it is a 4 pointed (instead of 8 pointed) version more like a + with pointed ends like this bottles marking. In any event these are Western made and Western used bottles.
This example is a bit over 11.5" tall, 2.75" in body diameter (fifths are more like 3"), has a crudely applied "brandy" finish with some slop below, and was blown in a four piece mold. Click close-up of the shoulder to see the mold lines in that area reflecting its four piece mold production. Click close-up of the shoulder, neck and finish/lip to view such. The glass color is wonderful in that it is a light to moderate density yellow amber with a bit of a green tint thrown in for fun. I've heard this called "old amber" though that isn't very informative. The images show the color pretty well. Following is also a link to the same bottle in a window with a couple of related "fifth" cylinders on each side which were likely blown at the same SF&PGW - window image. (That linked image shows the bottle as more yellow with little green, though to my eye the images to the right here show the green hue more accurately. The fifth on the left is a standard medium amber; to the right a more medium chocolate amber.)
Condition is just about perfect with no chips, cracks, dings, potstone bruises or other like issues. It has no staining as it was found on top of the ground in some ponderosa pine duff. It does have a very faint, very narrow meandering scuff line on one side which may have just been from when it was made or possibly when filled and/or shipped? It is barely visible and non-distracting and takes nothing away from the visual condition. Some scattered bubbles, stretch marks in the neck and wavy - and a bit whittled in places - glass round out a very nice, Western spirits bottle that I've seen a few of in recent years sell for as much as $200+. This is also about the oldest bottle (ca. 1880 give or take a few years) I know of found in Klamath County. (The oldest by maybe a year or two would be a Fleckenstein & Mayer cylinder reportedly - by John Thomas - found 40-50 years ago near Fort Klamath. I'm sure there are some older ones found long ago as Klamath Falls was founded in 1867 as Linkville.) $125
CUTTER / O.K. WHISKY. / J. H. CUTTER /
OLD / BOURBON / TRADE ("slugged" on crown) MARKS / (barrel with J. H. C.) / C. P.
MOORMAN / MANUFACTURER / LOUISVILLE , K. Y.
Offered here is a nice example of the Thomas #41 "slugged on crown" J. H. Cutter dating from the mid-1870s to probably early 1880s. This Cutter variation also has the reverse embossing - A. P. HOTALING'S / O. K. / CUTTER WHISKY - on the upper body and shoulder (click reverse side view to see such). I've acquired and sold a few of these over the years as they are very popular cylinders with Western collectors. They do sport more body embossing than any other whiskey fifth I can think of from the golden era of "glob top" whiskies - the late 1860s to mid 1880s or so.
Of some interest - at least to me - is that this bottle comes from the era that an unknown mold maker/engraver left his mark on his work via a distinctive curved "R" (the right leg distinctively curves down then out) when engraving that letter on the inside mold surface. This bottle has no curved "R"s except for the words TRADE and MARKS found on each side of the slugged on crown. There are are 7 more "R"s on the bottle but they all have standard straight legs. Why? It appears that the engraving was the work of two different workers with the curved "R" guy finishing the mold engraving - and adding the crown? - after someone else did the bulk of it? As far as I know there is no equivalent precursor bottle without the crown in the middle so why was it slugged in to begin with? Maybe the first crown was ugly or poorly done? The very similarly embossed "bird" J. H. Cutter (Thomas #42), which overlapped in use with this offered bottle during the mid to late 1870s, has every "R" on the bottle with the curved leg. Weird, eh? I guess some mysteries just get lost in history. (Note: If anyone reading this has any information pertinent to this mystery I would LOVE to hear from you!)
Anyway...this example is a medium-ish, somewhat "chocolate" amber (click window image to see this bottle in natural light to the far left) with an applied glob top with some overrun below (click close-up of the lip/finish to see the applied lip). It has a lot of "whittle" effect on the front with some - but a bit less - in the back. It has the indented or domed base formed by the "post base mold" it was blown in; click base view to see such. It is essentially in "as made at the SF&PGW glassworks" (the likely maker of this bottle) condition and is essentially mint with one small "in-making" flaw. It has a small potstone "bruise" underneath the "L" in Louisville at the bottom left. This is visible in the embossing close-up to the left (click to enlarge). A close-up of that part of the bottle is available at this link - close-up of potstone. The potstone itself is only 1-2 mm in diameter, but does have a discolored oval around it which is about 5 mm wide and 2-3 mm tall. See the linked image. Otherwise the bottle is essentially perfect with a very nice glossy (may have been professionally cleaned?) glass surface, no staining that I can see, nor chips, cracks, dings, scratches of note or any post-manufacture "issues." Would look real nice in the window! $175
PACIFIC
CLUB / OK / WHISKEY - This is embossed within a somewhat oval
"plate" (aka "plate mold") on this fifth (maybe sixth?) sized cylinder whiskey
bottle. Though it doesn't say so, this whiskey bottle was used by the Meyer &
Kassel Gottstein's who opened a wholesale liquor outlet in Seattle, WA. in 1884.
That (and more information below) is from John Thomas's great "Whiskey Bottles
and Liquor Containers from Washington" book (1998). Thomas noted seeing an
example at a Washington bottle show of this particular Pacific Club variant with
an intact label noting the Gottstein's as the proprietors of this brand.
The brothers used an assortment of other embossed bottle types during their years of business until succumbing to Washington's early Prohibition law in 1915. Notably, there exists a couple extremely rare bottles (clear glass fifth and picnic flasks) that are embossed (both plate molds) "PACIFIC CLUB / OK / BOURBON / (Indian paddling a canoe) / M. & K. GOTTSTEIN SEATTLE W.T." Yes, one of the very few Territorial liquor bottles from Washington and "picture" whiskys to boot! The other bottles included a plate mold coffin flask and an assortment of different liquor cylinders embossed (in plates) with "PACIFIC CLUB / M. & K. GOTTSTEIN / SEATTLE, WASH."...and this "maverick" type cylinder.
I believe this cylinder to be fairly rare as I've not seen many - or really any of the Pacific Club bottles - over the years. Evidence of their scarcity is implied by the high values that Thomas estimated for virtually all of the Gottstein bottles 25 years ago when the book was published. Outside of the Thomas book listing, this particular Pacific Club is only noted in Bob Barnett's "Western Liquor Bottles"; it is not in the Wilson's "Spirit's Bottles of the Old West."
This bottle is 11.75" tall, about 2.8" in diameter at the base, blown in a cup base mold with a tooled "brandy" finish or lip. It certainly looks to be an early 1900s bottle with appropriate period mold air venting and possibly one of the last the company used prior to that state's Prohibition in 1915. The bottle has no chips, cracks, dings, notable scratches or other physical issues; just a few wisps of hard to see water stain to the inside and maybe a bit of dirt. The glass has a nice pink tint to it due to the use of manganese dioxide to decolorize the glass which will turn various shades of pink to purple depending on the amount of exposure to UV light. (I discuss this in some detail on my educational Historic Bottle Website at this link: https://sha.org/bottle/colors.htm#Colorless ) This example was acquired by my late father decades ago in the NW somewhere. Time to pass it on. If a collector of Washington bottles this is probably the least expensive to acquire of the Pacific Club bottles. $95
LOUIS
TAUSSIG & CO. / LTCO monogram / SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.
- That is all boldly embossed within two circles on this early 1900s whiskey
cylinder fifth. Louis Taussig was a long time liquor dealer in San
Francisco beginning at least as early as 1866 according to the Wilson's "Spirits
Bottles of the Old West" although Louis Taussig claimed to have established in
1856. Eric McGuire's small 1967 booklet on San Francisco liquor dealers
(based on city directories) affirms the 1866 date as the first listing of
Taussig in business, though maybe he came West earlier? The company used a large
array of different cylinders, squares and flasks through their lengthy history
which didn't end until 1918 just before National Prohibition took effect.
The company's bottles ranged from crude, amber glob top "slug plate" (plate
mold) cylinders up to neatly made tool tops in the early 1900s.
This bottle was one of the later ones dating from the first two decades of the 20th century and is a nice example of the later bottles which can be found with or without the inside threads and with some subtle differences in embossing. This inside thread example is a bit under 12" tall, a typical 3" in diameter at the base (typical for the fifth size bottle), has a tooled "brandy" finish or lip with tooled inside threads. The bottle has the original hard rubber embossed stopper which are rarer than the bottles to find. Click image of the base and stopper to see such. The base also has a lightly embossed 29 /H which collectors used to believe indicated manufacture at Holt Glass Works (West Berkeley, CA.) largely because Dr. Julian Toulouse ascribed it to that factory. (He even used the 29/H - like on this bottle - as an illustration in his 1970 book "Bottle Makers and Their Marks". He even noted that Louis Taussig was a big customer of Holt Glass.) However, that has been pretty well proven to be in error in more recent years since. If interested in the story see the following linked article on Holt on my other educational website - https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/Holt.pdf
Condition is largely near mint with some minor, hard to see wisps of haze on the inside and a small nick on the side of the lip rim which is hidden under the stopper. Click image of the upper neck and finish to see the small flake on the rim of the finish to the left side under the visible rim indentation. The glass is colorless with a pink tint indicating that the glass was decolorized with manganese dioxide which will turn varying shades of pink to purple with exposure to UV light. (I discuss this in some detail on my educational Historic Bottle Website at this link: https://sha.org/bottle/colors.htm#Colorless ) This example, if my memory serves me correctly, was found by a long deceased relative who found it laying in the sun on their Eastern Oregon ranch while pushing cattle from one pasture to another. A very nice looking, clean example of this bottle - which is often stained - which is relatively abundant and priced appropriately. $30
FULL MEASURE / F.
ZIMMERMAN & Co. / MAIL / ORDER / HOUSE / PORTLAND, ORE. / NET CONTENTS 32 OZ.
- All that is embossed on one side of this abundant quart whiskey bottle from
Portland, Oregon. This example is uncommon in that it has much - 85% maybe
- of the original label on the reverse. Yes, it is tattered and some parts
scotch taped to keep it from chipping off more, but it still has some great
information and graphics. What can be read is as follows: ZIMMERMAN
SPECIAL RESERVE (monogram of FZ&Co.) STOCK STRAIGHT WHIS(KEY) DISTILLED BY THE
ROCK SPRING DISTILLING CO. OWENSBORO, KY OLD , MELLOW AND RELIABLE BOTTLED AND
GUARANTEED BY F. ZIMMERMAN & CO. PORTLAND, OREGON. In addition at the
bottom can be read in small letters on three lines (with my speculation of the
rest in parenthesis): "$1000.00 and cost of analysis will be paid
(to the buyer with) / proof that the original contents
of this (bottle is not) / pure, straight, unadulterated
(whiskey)" Pretty cool, eh? Click on the images to the
right to see larger versions which show the details better.
The ability to procure whiskey through the mail during those divisive years leading up to National Prohibition in 1920 was one of the rallying points of the Temperance movement. There were many companies that went to mail order selling I believe in the early 1900s in order to increase their market as the country was gradually going dry...state by state. I don't know the history for sure, but I believe that mail order whiskey became illegal at some point just prior to Prohibition. Of course, Oregon passed their own Prohibition law early - helped greatly by the new ability of women to vote - taking effect on January 1st, 1916 four years prior to National Prohibition. So this bottle must date sometime prior to that date, i.e. probably were made sometime between about 1900 and 1915. John Thomas noted in his bottle on Oregon liquor bottles that Zimmerman's mail order market was Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Utah and Nevada and that he claimed to be the largest mail order dealer on the West coast.
The bottle is a full quart - as noted in the embossing - and a light to medium amber glass color (they also come in colorless glass that will turn purple). It has a tooled "brandy" style finish or lip which also has a bit of the original cork in place. Click image of the neck and lip to see such. The base has a faint mold number of 2713. Click base view to see such. The bottle is essentially perfect with some dirt inside and tiny peck mark on the edge of the lip. $35
Bitters & Medicinal
WORMSER BROS' / (indented "bung hole") / SAN FRANCISCO -
Here is another example (I sold one some years ago) one of the classic Western (made)
bottles - the famous Wormser barrel! This is the only true Western barrel bitters
(or maybe used for liquor also?) bottle (the Turner Brothers barrels are really
Eastern items).
These used to be virtually unobtainable and rarely seen, though due to a couple small caches of them being found some years back (Nevada & Oregon reportedly) there are a few around now...including this excellent example. (If you are looking for one of these you likely know the stories better than I.) These bottles date from only 1869 according to Wichmann's great "Antique Western Bitters Bottles" book (and the Wilson's 1969 classic) who listed them as valued at "$3000 to $7000" in the various shades of amber (the unique light citron green example was unknown at that time). Since there were a few more of them around, economics dictated a falling of prices - which happened for a time. Examples are more rarely seen at auctions today. A similar colored example - though not as brilliant as my offering here - recently sold on eBay for over $2600! Another similar one at American Bottle Auctions (ABA) went for $2500+ with commission though the supply is still dwarfed by the demand and prices have been ticking up again. I recently acquired one that I know came from a particular Nevada mining camp, so I'm selling this example even though it is superior in condition and color. (This offering is actually an ex-ABA auction item from some years ago.)
Anyway, this offered example is 9.5" tall, has an applied, one-part "oil" type lip or finish, smooth shallowly domed base, and is in a very nice yellow color with an amber tone. Call it light yellow amber if you will; a tad lighter than the average example but not quite as light as the lighter example pictured in Wichmann's book. The images show the color accurately to my eye. This example is perfectly mint with no chips, cracks, pings, dings or flea-bites. It has been professionally cleaned I believe (like most of them) but without any diminishment of the glass surface or beauty; looks like it was never buried. It has some bubbles in the glass and a vague touch of whittle making it a very nice example of a classic bottle that every Western bottle collector should have. $2250
CELRO-KOLA
- CELRO-KOLA CO. / PORTLAND, ORE. - CELRO-KOLA - Here is a
VERY rare Oregon bitters type bottle. In fact, this is the only one I've
ever seen or heard of though I've seen an assortment of the later Celro-Kola
bottles which are machine-made without the sunken panels. This example is
embossed on two indented sides with CELRO-KOLA in script and on the
in-between side with CELRO-KOLA CO. / PORTLAND, ORE. The fourth unembossed
label panel is not indented.
This hand-blown (not machine-made) bottle dates from the very early 1900s as it has a tooled "brandy" style finish or lip and a smooth base (indented square). It is near mint with just a bit of scuffing or light scratching on the label panel. The color is a bright light to medium amber which is accurately shown in the images (click any to enlarge). An interesting aspect is the neck which tapers from larger to smaller going up to the lower ring at the base of the lip or finish. The only square "bitters" type bottles I've seen with this feature is one variation of the California Fig Bitters, which also date from the same early 1900s era. I've had this bottle for decades, though I don't remember where I acquired it. In any event, a great Oregon rarity! $295
DR HENRY.S / WORLD'S TONIC - & / BLOOD PURFIFYER.
- This is a very nice example of what is reported to be a Western blown
tonic bottle and possibly related to the California Dr. Henry's products (e.g.,
Dr. Henry's Sarsaparilla). It has the deep blue aqua color typical of the 1870s and 1880s
products blown at the SF&PGW (or predecessors) and have been reported to be
found in the West, though some seem to come from back east also. The
shape, size and embossing pattern was probably chosen to emulate the way more
popular "Dr. McClean's Strenghtening Cordial & Blood Purifier" though the mold
engraver (or Dr. Henry?) had a problem correctly spelling purifier choosing to
spell it "Purifyer" to the delight of modern bottle collectors. Unlike the
McLean's product, this bottle has the noted embossing spread over both sides of
the body...once again to the delight of collectors.
In any event, this example is 9.2" tall, "flask" shaped body (over 4" wide and 2" thick), blown in a post-base mold, lacking evidence of body air venting although boldly embossed, and a crudely applied double ring lip or finish with an appearance and manufacturing signature dating it to the 1870s. The glass is, as noted, a rich blue aqua with a nice assortment of bubbles in the glass and a bit of other crudeness to the body. Condition is near mint with no issues besides one surface open bubble at the heel that has no depth at all; it appears to have been professionally cleaned to my eye. Great example of a very rare tonic bottle that I've seen a couple examples sell for $500 or more in recent years. This example is well priced at $250.
DR.
HENLEY'S / WILD GRAPE ROOT / IXL (in an oval) / BITTERS
- These large (at least a quart
in capacity) Western bitters bottles are quite popular with collectors since
they are...large...have great embossing and found in a myriad of colors, though
any color besides shades of aqua are very expensive. A
very popular product, these bottles are found all over the West from the mining
camps of Utah, Nevada, and Montana to the big cities of the day - San Francisco,
Portland, Sacramento. In my experience visiting scores of the mining camps
and ghost towns of the West, it is the rare location where one does NOT find
fragments of an IXL - it was that popular.
This example is just over 12" tall, a relatively rich "San Francisco & Pacific Glass Works" blue-aqua color (where it was made), the usual domed base, and an appropriately crude applied "champagne" style banded finish (click neck and lip image to see such). This example probably dates from the late 1870s to early 1880s since it fairly crude (stretch marks, bubbles), not air vented, and from a mold that lacks the distinctive curved "R" of the earlier mold(s). FYI...here is a copy of the original labeling that these bottles had: Henley's IXL Bitters label
This offering is in very good condition with no chips, cracks, dings or repairs - only some light scattered haze inside and some minor scratching, scuffing/wear mostly on the back of the bottle. It has lots of small seed bubble throughout as well as some decent whittle. A nice example with a nice deep aqua coloration. $250
DR
COOPER'S / SARSAPARILLA / WOODARD, CLARKE & CO / PORTLAND, ORE. -
One of the more exciting finds when I was a teenager (late 1960s) digging in the
urban renewal areas of Portland, OR. was finding one of these rare Portland
bottles - the only embossed sarsaparilla bottle from Oregon (or NW) I believe.
Unfortunately, that original find got away though I've had this one - which I
purchased later - for many years. They just don't come along often but it
is time to move this one on also...just not enough room for everything.
This big medicine bottle is of a bluish aqua glass, 10" tall, indented body panels on all four sides (just the front embossed), smooth base with indented circular center (post base mold conformation), and dating from around 1895 to 1905 I would guess. Woodard, Clarke & Co. was a major NW druggist and medical supply firm which must have been somehow connected to the Clarke-Woodward Drug Co. (see the CLA-WOOD MALT TONIC bottle listed later on this page) which was also in Portland; the "w" in Woodward being a misspelling of Woodard? I don't know the history of this company though I do know there were C. H. WOODARD embossed drug bottles that dated back at least into the 1870s. The condition of this bottle is very good - near mint I would call it - with no chips, cracks, dings or significant staining. There are some wisps of very, very faint haze here and there though largely the back panel on the outside and the shoulders on the inside; probably a scuff or two somewhere though I can't find any of note. Hard to find Oregon medicine bottle of good size. $225
PIPIFAX
- This is embossed large and bold on one side of this hard to find Western
"bitters" bottle; the other 3 panels are unembossed. These are somewhat of
a mystery bottle but are reportedly only found in the West. There were a
series of distributors in San Francisco according to the two Western bitters
bottles books by Bill & Betty Wilson (Wilson & Wilson 1969) and Jeff Wichmann
(1999). According to their research, the product was actually made in
Germany and franchised to dealers in the US, being shipped in barrels with the
labels supplied by the manufacturer for placing on the bottles.
It was first distributed in SF by Walter & Schaeffer in 187o with the franchise sold to the James M. Gowey Wholesale Liquor Company in 1873. In 1876, John Sroufe and Hugh McCrum bought out Gowey and (to quote the Wilson's), "...the first embossed bottles were ordered for the Pipifax brand. By 1885 the mold wore out and they selected a smaller bottle (like Hostetter's) and it was paper labeled thereafter." The product was advertized as "The Famous Rosicrucian Elixir" according to the label used by Goewey. (Note: The label image in the Wilson's book shows the name spelled as Goewey, not the Gowey noted in the text of both books). It was a "Magenbitter" according to the several labels pictured in the two books which was apparently German for bitters?
In any event, these bottles are fairly rare according to Wichmann and I've seen one now and then through the years indicating some level of scarceness. This example is about 9.4" tall, about 2.7" wide on each side, and has a somewhat crudely applied "brandy" finish or lip. The color is pretty well shown in the images - a light to medium yellowish amber. As the full bottle image shows, it has quite a bit of wavy body crudeness (mold was not air vented) along with dimples in the glass, twist marks on the neck and some scattered bubbles. The condition is good with no chips, cracks or dings of any kind. It does have a nice glossy outside surface (as images show) with just a few minor scuffs and very small spots of staining. The inside has an overall though fairly uniform moderate content haze which could easily be cleaned but isn't too distracting. Nice example at a decent price. $150
JOYNER
/ UNITED DRUG CO. (in a shield) / TRADE MARK / SPOKANE / U.S.A. - This
is a scarce druggist bottle from Spokane, WA. that is quite rare with the
original label and string around the neck that probably had some tag attached at
some point. Click close-up of
the embossing to see such. This 7 3/8" tall (12 oz.) bottle from the
early 20th century has a tooled, unusual two-part lip or finish - what is called
the "reinforced extract" or "collared ring" depending on what reference is used.
It also has a large majority of the original label (see image) which notes that
it contained "Ideal Blood Mixture and Tonic" with an alcohol level of 20%; it
also notes all the maladies it would treat - from acne to "malarial poison."
The bottle is also embossed just above the label with "12 OZ.", has a smooth
base, clear or colorless glass and is in mint condition with no chips, cracks,
staining or other issues...reflecting it having never been buried. It does
have a bit of dirt inside which would certainly wash out easily, though I did
not since I didn't want to possibly disturb the label integrity. This
bottle was acquired for use in helping illustrate some concepts on the
Historic Bottle Website. Nice item with bold embossing and a
pretty nice original label. $25
W.
M. JOHNSON'S / PURE HERB TONIC / SURE CURE / FOR ALL MALARIAL DISEASES
- That is all embossed on one side of the this square "bitters" type
bottle. Click different
view of the embossing to see such with the bottle laying on its side.
Wonder what "ALL" malarial diseases means as I thought malaria was a stand alone
disease? Regardless, this is a nice bold and voluminously embossed Western
tonic and cure bottle all wrapped up together.
As far as history, the maker was located in Marysville, CA. being owned by W. D. Kenyon and W. M. Johnson. According to my copy of "The Hedden's Store Handbook of Proprietary Medicines" (a great little book from 1974 about the bottles in the original contents of a drugstore in Scottsburg, Oregon) the Johnson's Tonic trademark was registered in California in 1901 (never trademarked at the national level) though the product was first produced in 1900. Heddon's store had one with the original label and contents and the "cure" claims were much broader than just "malarial diseases" including "...sick headache, billiousness, indigestion, neuralgia, heat affections and general debility...". This product must not have been made for very long since it would have been making largely illegal claims come mid-1906 and the implementation of the Pure Food & Drugs Act. And indeed, the bottles are seen now and then but are not plentiful.
The bottle is about 24 ozs. in capacity, stands 8.75" tall, has a tooled "oil" finish or lip, and is embossed on the base with 147 / G. That is a typical type of base marking used by an unknown California glass company since many Western bottles of that very early 1900s have similar markings though with different numbers and letters. It has relatively heavy glass which is a moderately dark chocolate amber with maybe a bit of red. Click on the close-up view to see a larger version and judge the color for yourself; the image shows it accurately to my eye. The bottle is essentially perfect with no chips, cracks, or staining of note. There are a few very minor surface scuffs but basically it is about as perfect as the day it was made. $200
THE
OWL DRUG CO. / (owl on a mortar with pestle trade mark) / SAN FRANCISCO - A
decent example of a very popular bottle with collectors due to the variety of
colors and different molds allowing for some affordable but dramatic color
"runs" and excellent window displaying. The mouth-blown (aka "hand-blown")
examples like this were probably made into the mid-1910s with crown-top,
machine-made ones made after that through at least the 1920s.
This example is the standard (give or take a bit) 9.5" in height, has the somewhat narrow tooled "blob" or "rounded ring" type lip or finish, smooth and slightly domed base, and dates from the late 1890s to around 1915 or so. It is a medium, though rich and brilliant emerald green color; the images show the color accurately to my eye. It is basically in perfect physical condition with no chips, dings, cracks, and little in the way of scratching or scuffing. It does have some light haze on parts of the outside (most is on the front and shows in the close-up image) and some similar density content staining on the inside. Displays quite nicely as the full bottle image shows and would be a good candidate for a cleaning if so inclined. The embossing is average for these with the owl's body feathers faint though the rest of the trade mark is pretty bold as is the lettering. Nice example priced to reflect the minor "issues." $100
LASH'S
/ PRODUCTS CO. / NEW YORK-CHICAGO / SAN FRANCISCO - Here is another
cool bottle with the label and contents; there are others scattered around my
for sale pages. This one is from the famous (too collectors) Lash's Bitters Company
which was founded by John Spieker and Tito Lash in 1883. One of the first
products they produced was Homer's Ginger Brandy along with the Lash's
Bitters the following year. At some point - probably after Spieker died
1914 (he had bought out Lash many years earlier) - the company was sold and
morphed into the Lash's Products Company as is embossed on this bottle.
The "Ginger Brandy" morphed into "Ginger Cordial" at some point after that. There is much more history on the company found in the these references - Wilson
& Wilson 1969; Fike 1987.
As noted the label on this notes that it is Homer's Ginger Cordial not Brandy. The label also notes that the product is "Non-Alcoholic" indicating that it was almost certainly made during Prohibition. The label also doesn't note any particular medicinal uses for the product, like were certainly touted prior to the early 20th century laws and regulations severely restricting the wild and usually erroneous claims of the prior century. All it notes is that it is "A PERFECT BLEND OF HIGH GRADE GINGER AND OTHER AROMATICS, PRODUCING A SUPERIOR STIMULATING AND SATISFYING BEVERAGE." Bet it would be more "stimulated and satisfying" if it had alcohol! The actual contents are quite clear with not really any sediment at the base...looks good...but not recommended 100 years later.
The bottle is machine-made and has a flattened diamond with a very small "I" in the middle. Click BASE VIEW to see such as well as the distinct "suction scar" on the base - a sure sign of a bottle made on an Owens Automatic Bottle Machine. The "diamond I" is the marking for the glass company that made the bottle - the Illinois Glass Company. They used that marking on machine-made bottles from June of 1915 until the company was combined with the Owens Bottle Company to form the Owens-Illiniois Glass Company which is still in business. To view the in depth article on the company from my educational website, click on the following link: https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/IGCo.pdf So given it's likely manufacture during National Prohibition, this bottle and contents dates from 1920 to 1929 - around a century old. The bottle is in mint condition and the label as shown in the images...95% complete at least with a bit of staining. The bottle has a tightly sealed cork with most of the neck label intact and readable except for the part that went over the cork which is missing. Nice addition to your collection of "complete" bottles with label and contents. $45
JOYS
- SARSAPARILLA - THE / EDWIN W. JOY CO. / SAN
FRANCISCO - I sold one of these some time back, but found another in box
I didn't know I had. The embossing is scattered on three sides of this
rectangular medicine bottle from California; the remaining (back) side is a
typical plain, indented label panel. Actually, all of the sides are indented
and the embossing is bold and distinct - sometimes these are not that boldly
embossed in my experience. (For a better view of what both side panels
embossing looks like, see the previously sold example images in the "sold"
section below.) This is also a very nice example in a "Western" bluish aqua,
tooled single collar ("patent" finish), smooth slightly indented base, almost 9"
tall, ca. 1880s to 1890s. A scarce sarsaparilla from the West which didn't
produce very many embossed sarsaparilla bottles it seems (and most of those are
quite rare). Condition is near
mint with no chips, cracks, overt staining or other post-production damage besides a
tiny "flea bite" on the middle of the outside edge of the back, unembossed
panel and a little bit of very faint haze inside primarily in the lower back and
one side panel; the outside is virtually spotless. This example also has some body crudeness and bubbles in the glass adding to its
visual appeal. It is what I would call "about mint" and is also a very
nice example - at least as good as the sold one. $50
NOTE: I also have another example that is identical - a nice blue aqua (just a tiny bit less blue than the example to the right) - but is full of hundreds of seed bottles and has nice rude, wavy glass, stretch marks in the glass, and is a very nice example. It is also in essentially mint condition but does have a couple small almost invisible "flashes" at the edge of the base; pictures on request if desired. A beautiful example and priced accordingly given the small flashes. $30
HOSTETTER'S
/ ESSENCE / JAMAICA GINGER / PITTSBURG - Wondering why this bottle
is listed on the Western bottles page? Read on as it is almost certainly a
Western made and used bottle and interesting for a variety of reasons.
First off the city Pittsburgh is spelled wrong...sort of. It currently is
spelled Pittsburgh but bounced around quite a bit for over a century. The
official spelling at the time of manufacturing this bottle (1870s) was with the
"H" at the end so it is misspelled for that time period as well as the present.
See the following linked website for more information:
https://www.visitpittsburgh.com/things-to-do/arts-culture/history/the-pittsburgh-h/
This bottle also has three of the distinctive curved "R's" in the spelling which are firmly attributed to an unnamed mold maker/engraver working in the Bay Area from the late 1860s into the early 1880s. This person created scores if not several hundred molds for embossed bottles that have this type "R". Most of these bottles were clearly embossed as being from the West (typically California with some from Oregon and Nevada) or used by companies historically known to be operating in the West. This bottle was blown in the type blue aqua glass commonly seen with bottles blown at the San Francisco Glass Works or Pacific Glass Works or the combined company (San Francisco & Pacific GW) after merging in 1876, although this one isn't as "fiery" as some can be.
As a comparative example of another bottle firmly established as a Western blown and used bottle, having the same type embossed curved "R's", but embossed with a very non-Western City consider the patent medicine embossed on three sides with WHITE'S - PRAIRIE / FLOWER - TOLEDO, O. Click HERE to see an image of this Jake with the Prairie Flower bottle - a bottle which to my knowledge is only found in California (like my example). I did some research on the Prairie Flower product via the now accessible California newspaper archives and found that it was advertised in several northern and central California newspapers from August 1878 to January 1880. It was produced and sold by a Channing White whom called himself a "Dr. White" in the earlier ads but not the later ones. (Note: Some have presumed that the Toledo, O. was for Toledo, Oregon which is near Newport. However, in the 1870s Toledo, Oregon didn't really exist as anything more than a homestead/ranch. Mr. White's advertisements typically noted that he was from Toledo, O. which was certainly Ohio.) The Prairie Flower bottle may be offered for sale in the future.
Anyway...this bottle was acquired many years ago from a guy who noted it was found in Utah - a very decidedly "Western" state which was well within reach of California via the new Transcontinental Railroad. David Hostetter - of Hostetter's Bitters fame - joined the "rush" to the gold fields in California in 1850. Like most gold seekers he became disenchanted with prospecting and opened a grocery store in San Francisco. After it burned to the ground in (I believe) the famous 1851 conflagration he returned east but maintained ties with the West Coast . He eventually returned to the West Coast in 1869 partnering with John Redington who had the largest wholesale drug distributing company in the West. Redington bought him out in 1876. Hostetter returned east never to return West (I believe) although his wildly popular bitters continued to be sold throughout the country. (This history summarized from Bill & Betty Wilson's great 1969 book on Western Bitters.) I mention the history as these Jamaica Gingers ( called "Jakes") almost certainly date from the 1869 to 1876 era of Hostetter in the West.
This particular bottle is 6.25" tall, has an early and somewhat sloppy tooled "oil" finish or lip, and dates as noted ab0ve. Tooled (versus applied) finishes did appear on smaller bottles by the early 1870s in my experience and observations. This bottle also doesn't have any air venting marks on the body which places it most likely prior to the early 1880s. Click base and side image to view such. Of interest, this bottle also shows the twisting or tailing to the right of the upper end of the vertical side mold seams indicating possibly that the workman finishing the lip was likely left handed. (This is a theory I've been investigating; retired and have too much free time I guess.) Click neck and mold seam to view an image of the tailing mold seam. Condition of the bottle is very good with no chips, cracks or post-production damage; just some spotty inside staining to the right side though the outside surface is pretty much free of stain. Cool Western made and distributed Jamaica Ginger which isn't seen very often - much less often than the somewhat newer Eastern version. $50
MEXICAN - TONIC - This is
embossed boldly on the two narrow side panels of this big (about a fifth quart
in size), 10.75" tall tonic bottle that is seldom encountered in my experience.
I traded for this one at a Western bottle show years ago, but I don't know where
the product originated though the West is a likely choice (more speculation below). The bottle most
certainly dates sometime between the late 1880s to maybe 1910 or so given it's
manufacturing features. Specifically, those are a tooled finish (aka
"lip"), several mold air venting marks on the two wide side shoulders and a
cup-base mold conformation. Click
close-up of the tooled finish
and base view to see images
of such. The body is 4.5" wide by 2.5" deep. It is really almost 8
sided as the corner panels are about 3/4" wide.
As to the history of the product, that is an interesting question. As noted, I acquired this example at a bottle show in California. (Though I had another example at one point also.) At that time I knew nothing certain about its origin. I was aware of the late Bob Barnett having listed a different Mexican Tonic in his "Western Liquor Bottles" book though it was a colorless/clear glass, typical fifth cylinder "whiskey" shape with a tooled finish. That really cool bottle was embossed in an oval with MEXICAN / TONIC below which it was also embossed with a friendly looking eagle holding an olive (?) branch. Below that was JOSE GARCIA / MEX. That got me searching for any more information about Mexican Tonic bottles which led me to this wonderful website which is well known to Western bottle collectors - http://www.westernwhiskeytooltopgazette.com/2020/02/mexican-tonic.html There pictured is the only known example of the Jose Garcia bottle (I think) and a wonderful item it is.
Since those bottles are as rare as hen's teeth, I got wondering if this was an alternative (later?) bottle that the same product was bottled in? The history found at the above website is quite interesting, but makes one wonder who Jose Garcia was? They authors of that article speculate it was a fictitious name as the real proprietors were Los Angeles residents - Peache & Starin - who were producers of some Mexican Tonic during the same era this amber but much different Mexican Tonic was produced? Lots of questions with no definitive answer making it at least somewhat likely that this bottle was also used for the product - possibly because dark amber glass protects the contents way more than colorless/clear glass would? Maybe that was why the colorless cylinder was quickly abandoned and replaced with this amber bottle? This Mexican Tonic bottle also holds about the same as the clear one. The linked article also notes that the product was sold by the Goldschmidt Brothers (LA also) in the later 1890s. Could this be what they bottled it in? You be the judge...
In any event, the condition of this interesting bottle is just about mint, with no staining to the glass inside or out nor cracks, chips, cracks, dings, or potstone radiations...there really isn't even any scratching. What "issues" there are all stem from the manufacturing. Specifically, there is one small (5 mm x 2 mm) teardrop open bubble on one side which has no depth (this shows barely on the side view linked above. There is also a very small in-making rough spot at the edge of the lip which I'm certain was just a speck of partially melted sand that happened to be there. Click on the finish close-up link above to see this spot. In short it is a great big, great condition rare tonic bottle that likely was a Western product. $135
H.
KLAS OREGON - PEACH BITTERS - Offered here is one of the great rarities
among Oregon bottles. It is only one of two known embossed, mouth-blown
bitters bottles from the State of Oregon. (This is not counting the Henley's IXL Bitters
which was really a California product with Henley first having roots in
Portland, OR. Also the Oregon Grape Root Bitters was a San Francisco
product and not made in Oregon.) Top of that small heap is the uber rare (one known!) square
DR. G.W. BROWN - OREGON / CHITTUM BITTERS rated as the 8th most
important (0f 25) 19th century Western bottles by a group of well known Western
collectors and published in the 2016 FOHBC National Bottle Show held in
Sacramento, CA. Chittum is a shrub to small tree found along the cooler
and wetter portions of the West Coast from northern California up well into
British Columbia and as far east as western Montana. It - Frangula
purshiana - is also known as Cascara or Chittum by NW Native Americans who
used it for its medicinal qualities. No city is embossed on the bottle but
the only known specimen was found in Portland, Oregon and Dr. George W. Brown
has been documented as living there from the early 1860s until 1874 when he
died. The product was trade mark registered in 1871 and the formula
patented in 1873. Sorry...I just love the history of 19th century Western
bottles as you'll see below...
The only other embossed Oregon Bitters is this bottle which is embossed around the shoulder with H. KLAS'S OREGON / PEACH BITTERS. I first I heard about this bitters in Bill & Betty Wilson's 1969 book "Western Bitters" where it was listed with some history but no image of the bottle strangely enough. That made it quite mysterious to me as well as never having run across anyone who had an example. The Wilson's also listed it as being "clear" glass (it is aqua) and the name embossed Henry Klas, not H. Klas like this example; likely just the information they had acquired from someone who had not seen one either. They did include an ad for the product - taken from either a newspaper or business directory - that you can see at this link: Oregon Peach Bitters ad. The Wilson's also noted that it was first made and bottled in label only bottles for "...many years before the embossed bottle was made. Evidently only one order was made from the glass works, otherwise even if it was a poor seller, more specimens than are known should have been found." They did not note how many specimens they knew about so it seems to just be a hearsay type listing with a bit of history. The Wilson's did note that the bottle was "made circa 1893." The bottle IS listed and illustrated in Ring & Ham's 1998 updated "Bitters Bottles" book. They noted it as "extremely rare" and that the name was trademarked in November 1886. It is not mentioned at all in Jeff Wichmann's excellent 1999 book "Antique Western Bitters Bottles" which seems strange also.
Back in the mid to late 1970s I was doing some bottle related research in old Portland business directories at the Oregon Historical Society in downtown Portland. I was helping the late John Thomas do research on liquor companies in Portland and Oregon in general since I lived in the area at the time. Information that was eventually incorporated into his 1998 book on Oregon whiskey and liquor containers. While going through the Portland business directories I found the same ad that was listed in the Wilson's book and linked above. It was in an 1889 directory which also listed Henry Klas at a living/business address of 24 F street (now NW Flanders). In 1890 and 1891 he was listed as Hilarius Klas at that same address with the same ad but under the category of "medicine manufacturers" and noted he was specifically a "bitters manufacturer." (So I suspect he was named by his parents as Hilarius, but went by Henry? I would.) There were no listings prior to 1889 nor any after after 1891. I think that well brackets the era of this maker of bitters as having been made sometime between late 1886 (trademark registration) and 1891 after which he disappears from the directories. Even though he lived in Portland his product ads note Aumsville as the location. Apparently that is where the peaches came from for his bitters which the ad notes was the only "reliable blood purifier." Not sure what it would do for the blood but would be great for the bowels in quantity...ha. So this bottle was certainly made between 1886 to 1891, though may have been label only during those early years making it more an 1890 or so bottle if the "one order from the glass works" (as the Wilson's noted) is correct...and it probably is.
As to the bottle itself, it is 11" tall, probably a "sixth" in size, has a tooled "brandy" lip or finish, and was blown in a cup base mold. The base has 4 evenly spaced (4 points of the compass spaced) air venting marks around the outside base edge but none on the body which fits well with the era this bottle was made which was the early years of mold air venting. Click base view to see such. The embossing is sharp and bold, the glass a nice blue aqua that indicates probable manufacture at the SF&PGW in San Francisco. Click the following two links to see close-ups of the shoulder embossing: H. KLAS'S OREGON side and PEACH BITTERS side. This bottle is essentially perfectly mint with no staining, chips, cracks, dings or other post production flaws. It has a few bubbles in the glass and a bit of crudity to the tooled lip. Click close-up of the shoulder, neck and finish to see such. It's doesn't have the visual impact and panache of a Dr. Wonser's USA Indian Root Bitters but is way rarer! If you want a complete collection of all the Oregon embossed bitters bottles - excluding the Chittum Bitters which is untouchable - then here it is. $495
Oregon Druggist Bottles &
Related
Offered below is an assortment of hand blown (aka
"mouth-blown) Oregon druggist/apothecary bottles largely from small Oregon towns
and cities. In recent years, collecting an example from every town in
Oregon (or any state) that had such has become more popular since it can be a
relatively inexpensive endeavor compared to collecting other genre's of bottles
(like Hutchinson sodas) from every town/city that produced such.
LEVINGER DRUG CO. / WE NEVER SUBSTITUTE (in a
banner) / BAKER, ORE. - This is a nice, medium size (6 oz. or
so) druggist from the small town of Baker, Oregon. The base is also embossed faintly with
C. L. G. CO. and
the number "4" (I think) which indicates manufacture by the Carr-Lowrey Glass Company
- a long lived bottle making company in Baltimore, MD. that specialized in
prescription bottles. (For the complete story on this company see my
educational Historic Bottle Website for the article; it is at this link:
http://www.sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/CarrLowreyGlassCo.pdf )
I don't know anything about the history of this druggist (or any of the Baker druggists listed) but the bottle dates from the 1900 to 1915 era based on the design which was called the "Paris Square Prescription" by some other glass companies. I guess the company felt the need to have a different "We Never..." type motto to compete with the nearby Muegge Druggist, in this case they didn't substitute...apparently substituting something not good for something more good?
This bottle is 6.3" tall, has a typical tooled prescription style finish or lip, and of a colorless glass as shown in the image. It is also in about perfect condition with no chips, cracks, or visible scratching; it just has the very lightest of internal haze which is hard to see. Another nice eastern Oregon druggist for your Oregon State drugstore collection! $25
(star)
STAR DRUG CO. INC. (star) / KLAMATH FALLS, ORE. / "THEY HAVE IT"
- Since I live near Klamath Falls it follows that I would collect local
bottles to some degree. Unfortunately, K. Falls wasn't much of a town
until the early 1900s when the Klamath Reclamation Project was initiated by the
then new Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) turning a lot of marshlands into farmland.
One can argue (and people still are!) whether that was a good thing or not but
it meant that the population of K. Falls didn't really amount to much until that
time and after.
[The only bottles that predate "The Project" are at least three different sizes of a "Philadelphia Oval" style prescription bottle which was used by an early druggist named Henry Kessler during the late 1880s. They were embossed with HENRY KESSLER / DRUGGIST / LINKVILLE, OREGON - Linkville being the original name for K. Falls prior to it being changed to Klamath Falls in 1893. Those druggist bottles likely date prior to September 1889 when much of the town was burned down included Henry Kessler's store - an estimated $6000 loss for him (Klamath Echoes 1967).]
Anyway...primary among the limited possibilities
for local collecting with any variety are milk bottles beginning in the 1920s or
the various embossing patterns and sizes of local druggist bottles from at least
3 different drug stores/druggists from the early 1900s. This offering is a
four ounce size (embossed
IV on
shoulder) with ounce gradation markings on the right beveled side next to the
embossing. There were at least 7 other sizes with this embossing pattern
ranging from 1 oz. to 16 oz. The base is embossed with W.B.M.CO. which was the "makers marking" for the Western Bottle
Manufacturing Co. of Chicago, IL. who used that marking from origination of
the company in 1900 up until about 1931. However, the company was not
known to have any glassmaking equipment; instead they were almost certainly a
"jobber" for the Foster glass companies (like noted for the Sumpter drug bottle
above). See the article on Western on my educational website at this link:
https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/WesternBottle.pdf
The entire history of the Star Drug Co. I do not know but certainly from an embossed, mouth-blown bottle perspective it was all from the first quarter of the 20th century. The following is my chronology of the three major variations:
1. The earliest examples appear to be embossed with: STAR DRUG STORE / F. M. WHITE PROP. / KLAMATH FALLS, ORE. along with one large star at the upper part of the embossing which is as wide as all the three lines of embossing except for the bottles under 2 oz. which have no room for a star. Dr. Floyd M. White was a new medical school graduate who arrived in Klamath Falls sometime prior to 1909. The first mention I can find in Klamath Echoes (Klamath historical society journal from the 1960s) is that in April of 1909 he moved into an office (store also?) with another doctor "across" (kitty corner most likely) from the Courthouse (SE corner of 4th and Main according to early Sanborn maps). It was in or next to the new brick First National Bank building at 401-407 Main. Earlier ( 1898 and 1907) Sanborn maps show a "drugstore" in a couple locations in that quarter block so he could well have been operating for some time during that period. That is all of the sparse history I have been able to find out about the origin of the drugstore. His name disappears from the later (below) bottles though he could well have still been the owner or operator. In any event, the bottles with Dr. Whites name likely date from the early 1900s to early 1910s, have ounce gradation marks along the narrow right beveled edge, and are base embossed with W.B.M.Co.
2.The mid-chronology type (this offering and the next two below) are embossed with: (small star) STAR DRUG CO. INC. (small star) / KLAMATH FALLS, ORE. / "THEY HAVE IT". These date from the 1910s, have ounce gradation marks only along the narrow right beveled edge, and are also base embossed with W.B.M.Co.
3. The final embossing pattern is as follows: STAR DRUG CO., INC. / (small star) THE REXALL STORE / KLAMATH FALLS, ORE. These have graduation markings down both beveled edges adjacent to the embossing with ounces on the left and metric (CC's) on the right. According to Wikipedia page on Rexall "The stores, having roots in the federation of United Drug Stores starting in 1903, licensed the Rexall brand name to as many as 12,000 drug stores across the United States from 1920..." and "After World War 1, the cooperative established a franchise arrangement whereby independently owned retail outlets adopted the Rexall trade name and sold Rexall products." Additional dating evidence is found on the base of the bottles which have an indented "crescent moon and a star" which indicates it was the "Venus Oval" style of druggist bottle which were sold by the Langley & Michaels Co. (San Francisco) although the actual bottle maker was almost certainly the Crescent Bottle Co. (McDonald, PA.). All this adds up to these bottles dating from just after WW1 to maybe the mid 1920s. (Two examples of this pattern are offered further down the page.) The style and base marking is covered briefly on my other educational website's article on "Symbols" makers markings which is available at this link: https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/Symbolsarticle.pdf (page 8)
Interesting history, eh? (At least it was fun for me.) As noted this offering is the four ounce version of the bottle which is 5.5" tall and has a tooled "prescription" finish (aka lip). It has a nice light purple tint to it as indicated by the images; the pink being a function of the manganese dioxide used to "decolorize" the glass. It is in almost mint condition with virtually no staining; the only issue being a very small impact mark on the rear heel. An excellent example which is a duplicate for me after recently picking up a small collection of K. Falls druggist and milk bottles. SOLD!
(star)
STAR DRUG CO. INC. (star) / KLAMATH FALLS, ORE. / "THEY HAVE IT"
- The bottle to the left is the smaller, 3 oz. version
(embossed
iii on
shoulder) with embossing as described above variation #2. As noted above, I believe this
embossing pattern to be the middle, 1910s variation. It also has
W.B.M.CO. embossed on the base like the above example.
This 3 oz. size is 4 7/8" tall, has a tooled "prescription" finish, and is of colorless glass that has a slight tint like the example above. Condition is very good with a nice shiny, unstained exterior surface but just a bit of very light whitish water or content haze inside; no chips, cracks, or other post production issues. SOLD!
(star)
STAR DRUG CO. INC. (star) / KLAMATH FALLS, ORE. / "THEY HAVE IT" -
The bottle to the right is identical to the one just above with the same
embossing pattern as well as the the
iii
embossed on the shoulder. It should be since it is the same size bottle
having been blown in the same mold! I ended up with three of these
inadvertently with one residing in my collection. Both extras need to go
to another home.
This example has the same specifications as the one and is also free of any chips or cracks. The only difference is this example has a bit more whitish haze or water staining on the inside as well some on the outside and back. Save a few bucks if that isn't an issue as it is still a nice example. $15
STAR DRUG CO., INC. / (star) THE
REXALL STORE / KLAMATH FALLS, ORE. - This is a nice example of
the third embossing design pattern elaborated on above which is the only pattern
that has the graduation markings on both sides of the front embossing plate -
ounces to the left and CC's to the right. The image of the base also shows
the unusual indented star above an indented crescent. Click on the images
to the left to see larger versions with more detail.
This bottle is just under 6" tall, is of clear/colorless glass with a bit of a pink tint, and a tooled "collared ring" lip or finish. The style is the "Venus Oval" which has neat fluted shoulders. The bottle is essentially in mint condition with only the faintest of haze on the inside in the shoulder and side; the outside of the bottle is sparkling with no chips, cracks, dings, or any issues. Nice K. Falls druggist bottle! SOLD!
STAR DRUG CO., INC. / (star) THE
REXALL STORE / KLAMATH FALLS, ORE. - This is a nice example of
the same type bottle but the 2 oz. size. This bottle has the same details
as above except a touch over 4.5" tall. Condition is equal to the above
with just a few faint wisps of haze on a bit of the inside but with a sparkling
clean exterior. Click on the images to the right to view larger versions. SOLD!
CURRIN'S / FOR DRUGS - This boldly embossed little bottle (below left) is a new (to me) druggist bottle from Klamath Falls. It isn't embossed with Klamath Falls (aka is a "maverick") but it was certainly used by the Currins in K. Falls where these bottles were found. The store was opened in May 1922 by two brothers - Clarence and Charlton Currin - at 9th & Main. Charlton Currin had been a clerk for Dr. Floyd White and the Star Drugstore sometime in the early parts of the 20th century (see discussion above). Maybe he worked there until he opened his own store? The ad shown below right was from the Klamath Falls Herald in their first year in business.
Brother Clarence and his wife Zula had previously
opened a drugstore in St. Johns, Oregon in 1909 (part of Portland since 1915).
Apparently Clarence assisted his brother Charlton in opening the store in K.
Falls since Charlton was likely a "local" there. See this link for
information on the St. Johns store:
https://stjohnsunknown.wordpress.com/2014/02/28/currins-for-drugs/
(These bottles likely had no town embossed so they could be used at either store
without confusing people?)
In any event, "Currin's for Drugs" was in
continuous business in Klamath Falls at the 9th & Main location from 1922 until
1970 when it moved down the street a few doors. However, the Currin
brothers had long passed on with Charlton dying in 1927 and Clarence in 1932.
Various owners - including Clarence's widow Zula - operated the store under that
name until the mid-1970s when it finally folded. Click on the following
link for an image of the building in 1960 and more history:
https://www.klamathfallsnews.org/news/klamath-heritage-ninth-and-main-c-1960
This bottle is 3" tall, colorless (clear) glass with a slight amethyst tint ("decolorized" with manganese dioxide) and hand blown with a tooled "collared ring" lip or finish. It is shoulder is embossed with 3iv (druggist symbol for for 1/2 oz. I guess?). The base is embossed with W.T. Co. (arched upwards) / D / U.S.A. (arched downwards) within the indented base. This indicates it was blown by Whitall, Tatum & Co. (NJ) and is one of the later mouth-blown bottles one can find. It was called the "The Acme Prescription" in their 1924 catalog and noted the "Moulds Take Lettered Plates" for proprietary embossing like this bottle. The sizes in the catalog ranged from 1/2 oz. to 32 oz. with this offered bottle the smallest. (I also have a 2 oz. example but only one in my collection, no duplicate like this one.) Click HERE to see that 1924 W. T. Co. catalog page showing this bottle offering. This example is free from any chips, cracks or other post-production damage; just has a bit of light haze on the inside from being buried. SOLD!
CONRAD STAFRIN / CHEMIST & DRUGGIST / DALLAS, OREGON
with a mortar & pestle in the middle of the embossing - (Image to the
right.) Here is a neat "picture"
druggist bottle from a still small(ish) Oregon town about 15 miles west of
Salem. A quick search of the internet found that Conrad Stafrin was a
Swedish immigrant (at 8 years old with his parents) born in 1876 and died in
1932 at age 56. He was actually a college graduate in Kansas and the same
from a school of pharmacy in Ohio. He began working in a Dallas drugstore
in 1900 buying the business a couple years later. He operated it until his
death and is buried in Dallas. (For more information on this interesting
guy - who apparently also participated in the Mexican border disturbance in 1916
[think Pancho Villa] - see his obituary at this link:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/30543502/conrad-stafrin ).
This bottle is 5.25" tall, held 3 oz. as indicated by the
graduation marks along the left side (CC's on the right) and embossed
iii on
shoulder, has a tooled three-part "reinforced prescription" finish or lip
(typical of many early 1900s druggist bottles), and is of the typical druggist
bottle colorless glass (turning slightly pink). It is also embossed BLUE
RIBBON within the indented base which was a proprietary name for this type
fluted shoulder druggist bottle made by the Standard Glass Company
(Indiana) who used that marking from 1908 into the early 1920s on mouth-blown
bottles. (Article on that glass company available on my educational
website at this link:
https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/StandardGlass.pdf ) I suspect this
bottle dates from the 1908 to WW1 era.
Condition of the bottle is perfect; I don't believe it was ever buried given the most of the original cork and slight residual contents on the inside. No chips, cracks, scuffing, or other issues...with a few bubbles in the glass. Don't know the rarity of this bottle, but suspect there aren't too many around. $30
MOORE'S
DRUG STORE / WOODBURN, ORE. - (Image to the left.) Here is
yet another small city (non-Portland) Oregon druggist bottle that isn't commonly
seen. I've seen just a couple of different Moore's Drug Store bottles through
the years but not seen any other embossed druggist bottles from a different
druggist in Woodburn. The only other variant of the Moore's druggist
bottles I've seen was embossed with WOODBURN PHARMACY / H. L. MOORE / WOODBURN,
OREGON. It was a smaller (3.75") similar shaped "oval" pharmacy
bottle without graduation marks but with SHELDON embossed on the base.
This indicates manufacture by Sheldon-Foster Glass Co. (Chicago) and dating from
about 1900 to 1907 (Lockhart et al., 2019). (That would likely be a bottle
that pre-dates this offering by a few years.)
I found a few mentions of the drugstore in a quick internet search. One was in the June 30th, 1918 Oregonian (Portland newspaper) that noted that Moore's Drug Store carried various Palmolive products. Another mention (National Association of Retail Druggist's publication) of the store was that it was renamed Moore & Beer's Drug Store in 1921 with the "old" name being Moore & Dunn's Drug Store (an I. C. Beer having bought out Mr. Dunn). And finally a 1922 "Oregon Voter" magazine notes that his full name was Hurlie L. Moore. The article also noted that he was born in Iowa in 1878, came to Oregon in 1890 and "entered the drug business" in Woodburn in 1893 (age 15?). Found nothing noting when he actually opened his own drugstore but not likely until around 1900 I would think when he would have been in his early 20s. Amazing what one can find easily on the internet!
The bottle itself is certainly of a style and "look" of
druggist bottles from the early 1900s to late 1910s era with the graduation marks on
both sides of the noted bold embossing - ounces to the left and CC's to the
right. That is also supported by the drugstore name being just Moore's
Drug Store from the around 1905-1907 until at least
the 1918 reference noted above. The shoulder has the embossed pharmaceutical
symbol
ii
indicating the capacity was 2 oz. It stands 4.5" tall, has a tooled
"prescription" finish and an indented base with no embossing identifying the
maker of the bottle though it was likely Dean-Foster Glass (another ownership
manifestation of the Sheldon-Foster-Dean group of companies). It is physically about perfect with just some light
scattered content haze on the inside; the outside seems to not be stained. (It
was possibly never buried since the outside is non-stained and the inside
sporadic haze stops at the point the cork would have gone down?). I nice
and scarce Oregon druggist bottle. $35
SKIDMORE
DRUG CO. / PRESCRIPTION / DRUGGISTS / PORTLAND, ORE. - (Images to
the right.) That is all embossed in an artsy circles and lines pattern on this
nice druggist bottle from Portland. Stephen G. Skidmore & Co. was one of
the earlier druggists in Portland beginning (first business directory listing
anyway) in 1867 in Portland under just his name as a druggist. He became
S. G. Skidmore & Co. in 1878 the business continuing under that name - and
several owners - until 1905 when the S. G. was dropped and it became just
Skidmore Drug Co. which lasted until at least 1915. Skidmore died in 1883
at the age of 45. The still existing "Skidmore Fountain" near Front Street
in Portland was done in honor of him in 1888.
This example has an original label for "Oil of Eucalyptus" and noting that the Skidmore Drug Co. (still noted as S. G. Skidmore & Co. on the label) was owned by "Ralph Crysler / Propr." Somewhere in between Skidmore operating it and Crysler as owner was another owner - Charles E. Sitton - as I've seen bottles embossed with that name. I don't know if there were other owners involved. The label also notes that it was located at 151 Third Street which I've seen embossed on earlier Skidmore bottles. For more history on the company see this link on Bergseng's great website on druggist dose glasses: http://www.bergsengs.com/Skidmore-OR.html
In any event, this bottle is a little over 4" tall, has a tooled "prescription" style finish, colorless/clear glass which looks a bit pink (decolorized with manganese dioxide), and faintly has C. L. G. Co. within the indented base indicating that it was made by the Carr-Lowrey Glass Co. who used that mark from about 1889 into the 1920s. See the article on my educational website at the following link: https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/CarrLowreyGlassCo.pdf This bottle likely dates 1900 to 1910, although the S. G. was dropped in 1905 (labels were often used for many years until the supply ran out). This bottle is mint with no condition issues at all...'cept for a tiny bit of content residue in the bottom. The label is essentially totally intact and readable, though does have some age related darkening as the photo shows. Nice Portland druggist bottle with a very rare to find original label. $20
SODA/MINERAL WATER & BEERS
NOME / BREWING / AND / BOTTLING CO. - Offered here is a rare Alaskan soda bottle...from
Nome, AK! No road still runs to Nome from the rest of AK and it was the location of one
of the late 19th century "gold rushes" to Alaska with discovery in late 1898.
The "rush" part of gold mining petering out by about 1910 although there is gold
mining going on there still today (according to Wikipedia). Nome was one
of the stranger gold rushes of the "West" in that the gold was found in the
beach sands along the shore - all placer gold, no hard rock. (Gold Beach
Oregon is the only other beach one I can think of but it was very short lived.)
the gold was "easy" to get if one ignores the fact that it was far enough north
to not see the sun at all for 2 months in the winter along with permafrost to
deal with in part. It was the furthest "west" gold rush in the United
States being on a longitude of about 170 degrees west (Sutter's Mill is at about
121 degrees west). This bottle dates from the "rush" era of the first few
years of the 20th century.
This is one of those taller bodied Hutchinson soda bottles - like many are from Hawaii also - and stands 7.75" tall. It was made in a 4-piece mold with the upper leaves beginning just above the "NOME" which one can see in the images. It has a tooled blob finish (aka "lip"), the original good condition stopper and is embossed very boldly with NOME / BREWING / AND / BOTTLING CO. Like the example offered above, this is another of the few Hutchinson soda bottles used in Alaska - all rare (10 or less known) according to Ron Fowler's Hutchbook.com website. There were two different variation of the "Brewing and Bottling Co." bottles, the other about an inch shorter and with the makers marking P.C.G.W. for the Pacific Coast Glass Works (SF) whom likely made this bottle also. This offered example is cataloged as AK0006 on Ron's Alaska list and is not makers marked. According to Van Wieren's book "American Breweries II" this company was in business from 1900 to 1904 under the name "Nome Brewing and Bottling Co.", with "Bennet & Kern prop." being located at "D. St. and Dry Creek" in Nome. After that time (later in 1904 to 1919) it was called the Nome Brewing Co." only...apparently producing just beer.
Click the following link to see an ad for the company from a 1903 Seattle based business directory. Makes sense the company would advertise via a Seattle directory as it was the Gateway to the Yukon during the Alaska Gold Rush: 1903 Nome Brewing and Bottling Co. advertisement. I've not heard of any beer bottles with such embossing so it is probable that these bottles were used for both soda and beer?
Condition of the bottle is essentially dead mint; I don't believe it was ever buried as it still had the original stopper in it. It has a bit of very light case wear to some of the letters (which is visible barely in a few of the images enlarged) and at the heel and essentially is scratch free with a shiny, blemish free surface. Bottle also has some nice bubbles scattered in the glass. More images of the bottle are available at the following links: right side view; left side view; back view; base view. A quick look at American Bottle Auctions shows they have offered only two of these soda bottles back in 2007 and another in 2011 selling for $1200 and $950, respectively (plus commissions). Probably can't find a finer example...if you can find one at all. $950
WAIALUA / SODA WORKS
Hutchinson
soda bottle - This is a "scarce" soda bottle from Haleiwa, Hawaii
(Oahu) which is about as far west as one can get in the United States; thus its
listing on this page. That is it is ranked as "scarce" according to Ron
Fowler's great Hutchinson soda dedicated website -
www.Hutchbook.com
He classified it as HI0155 and it is also listed in Elliott & Gould's classic
1988 book on Hawaiian Bottles as #312 I believe. They also dated this soda
as circa 1908 due to the "blob" finish being what they called the "half-funnel
top" which has the widest diameter portion of the finish just above the halfway
point (they come in full-funnel finishes also). It is one of the dozen or
so variations of the Waialua soda bottles of which a few have a large "W" on the
base...like this example. This like many of the other variations from this
soda works was made in a four piece mold where the removable and replaceable
"plate" for the embossing was the lower half of the front mold half. Click
HERE for a
close-up of the upper body, shoulder and the finish/lip.
This nice condition soda has a tooled "blob" finish, is a pale blue aqua in color and free of any cracks, chips, body pings or other damage although there is a few splotches of very light haze inside in a few places although some may just be dirt which would wash out. It has some minor case wear on the body (primarily at the edge of the base) and a bit of the lettering and some minor scuffing on the body. There is a very tiny pin prick nick on the rim in one place which is way smaller than a pin head and may just be in-making. Some bubbles in the glass also enhance the look. Overall a nice looking soda bottle and in better than average shape for a multiple use, returnable soda bottle. $65
EAST
SIDE BOTTLING CO. / PORTLAND / ORE. - This is a pretty rare (first I've
seen or had) soda bottle from East Portland (east of the Willamette River) which
was at one point a separate city in competition with Portland (west of the
river). Yes, it is "just" a crown top soda, but is hand blown (aka "mouth
blown") and is a genre of Oregon mouth-blown bottles that have yet to be
discovered...maybe? The company was, according to period business
directories operating for only one year - 1912. This according to Ron
Fowler's great book on Oregon soda bottles. It was located in the
"Brentwood Addition" (there were lots of "additions" in that area in the 1890s
to 1920s) at the NW corner of Cooper and Spring Avenue. This bottle has a
hand tooled crown finish, is embossed in a "slug plate" (really a "plate mold"
according to bottle makers), and is a nice greenish aqua color.
It is also embossed at the reverse heel with O - S A B Co. What does that mean? Well, it indicates that the bottle was produced by the American Bottle Company (various plants in the Midwest). More specially the "0" is a certain date code for 1910 and the "S" the plant code for the companies Streator, IL. plant; the old Streator Bottle and Glass Company. (For more on the company see the very recent article available on my other educational website at - http://www.sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/AmericanBottleCo.pdf Fowler's book does note that some bottles have the same heel codes but with a "9" instead of a "0" (i.e., 9 - S A B Co). In fact, this particular bottle appears (with magnifying glass) to have the "0" cut over a "9"! So this indicates that East Side Bottling ordered at least two batches of bottles - one in 1909 and one in 1910....cool! Apparently, the company was in business earlier but it wasn't picked up in the business directories until 1912, then likely disappeared by 1913. (Isn't this history sleuthing fun!) The bottle is in essentially mint condition with very little wear (even to the embossing), some very faint wisps of internal haze, and a couple very tiny peck marks which all adds up to very fine shape for a a re-used soda bottle. Rare item from Portland! $30
FREDERICKSBURG
(arched) / (dashed line) / BOTTG Co / S. F. CAL. - That is all
etched on the body of this medium olive green, "Apollinaris"
style beer bottle. These etched San Francisco beer bottles seem to be
pretty rare in my experience. I remember seeing images of a few etched
"export" style beer bottles in Grace Kendrick's book from the early 1960s, but
had seen very few in real life. Until this example I had never seen this
style etched though I have had and sold several of the similar shaped but
embossed Fredericksburg Bottling Co. beer bottles in past years (see
SOLD BOTTLES below). I picked this one up years ago at a California bottle
show to illustrate the style on my other educational "Historic
Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website." The
Apollinaris style of bottle was used extensively for both beer and mineral water
- particularly in the West.
These, like the embossed examples, were likely blown in Germany although American bottle makers listed these in their catalogs implying they made them. See the following linked page from the 1906 Illinois Glass Company catalog I have scanned and posted on the noted website: https://sha.org/bottle/Typing/IGCo1906/IGCo1906page250.jpg The right page at that link shows these available in several sizes including this offering which is the "quart" size which really only held about 25 ozs.; what was called a "scant" size. The catalog also notes that the company did sell "Full Measure" 32 oz. quarts also. I believe that the offerings in those catalogs were actually imported from German and sold as though they were actually produced by the American company. But who knows...
Anyway...this example, like those noted in the catalog, was produced in a turn mold which is very evident as the horizontal spinner rings are pretty noticeable - they can be seen on the enlarged examples of the images to the right. (The guys that produced these bottles were called "twister" blowers in the trade.) This example has an applied "blob" finish (lip) with the usual short conformation typical of these bottles and likely dates from the 1890s to maybe early 1900s. It has no chips, cracks or other post-production damage but does have some wear and scratching on the outside indicating that it was reused many times. This is also obvious on the base which has a lot of wear around the resting surface; click base view to see such. It also has a sediment stain ring inside (visible in the close-up shot above) which is a bit detracting but not too bad. In any event this is still a nice example of a rare and historic type beer bottle that as far as I can tell, was only used in the West. $50
HONOLULU
/ BREWING CO. / HONOLULU, H. T. - That is embossed on one of the
few beer bottles from Hawaii Territory. True the use "territory" for
Hawaii on the bottle isn't quite like it's historical use on earlier day
mainland states bottles, but is still pretty cool. The "Aloha State" had several
hundred different soda bottles used from the 1850s to 1910s era of mouth-blown
bottles, but only a hand full of beer bottles. Elliot & Gould's excellent
(but out of print) book "Hawaiian Bottles of Long Ago" only devoted
three pages to beer bottles which, with the exception of some uber-rare, earlier
"Macfarlane & Co., H.I." ("Hawaiian Islands" - pre-territory I guess) amber
export beers, are all attributable to the couple manifestations of the Honolulu
Brewing Company.
According to Van Wieren's "American Breweries II" the brewery began in 1898 and operated under that name until 1900 when it became the "Honolulu Brewing and Malting Co." from that year to 1920 (National Prohibition). However, Elliot & Gould listed the several (very subtle) variations of bottles embossed like this as dating from 1908 to 1911, with the "...and Malting Co." bottles dating from 1911 t0 1917. So maybe they were still using the earlier name for quite a few years into the early 20th century, not changing to the "and Malting" name until 1911 or so? A quick check of the internet indicates that Congress imposed alcohol prohibition in Hawaii in 1918; thus, the 1917 date being the end point.
This bottle is the "quart" (around 25 oz.) size (this embossing pattern is only found on these larger bottles, has a td "blob" finish, stands almost 12" tall, and is number 831 in Elliot & Gould's book. It has "317" embossed on the base which was a mold number used by some West Coast glass company that made the bottle - likely the Illinois Pacific Glass Co. which also made the later "malting" bottles (which all have tooled crown cap finishes). (Click base view to view such although the number is not visible.) The bottle is a nice greenish aqua color with some scattered bubbles in the glass. It is essentially in mint condition and maybe never buried. Only a few small scratches and one small body "ping" mar the perfection of this scarce beer bottle. (The ping marking is visible in the full sized image to the lower left side of the bottle.) Probably can't find a finer version of this bottle I suspect. $50
MISCELLANEOUS WESTERN BOTTLES & RELATED ITEMS
CRANE
& BRIGHAM / SAN FRANCISCO Florida Water bottles
- These two bottles are excellent examples of scarce/rare Florida Water bottles
produced (blown) and used in San Francisco in the 1870s. Both are pictured
to the right (click to enlarge). The following is from Bill & Betty
Wilson's 1971 book 19th Century Medicine in Glass - "This
firm started as Crowell, Crane and Brigham in about 1856. It was
originally established by Eugene Crowell several years earlier as a retail drug
store. In 1859 Crowell & Crane pulled out and started their own business,
which lasted for only two years and Crowell sold his interests to William H.
Brigham. The firm of Crane & Brigham became one of the largest in San
Francisco. Henry A. Crane retired in the early 1880s but lived on to the
grand old age of 82 when he died in 1922."
The
earlier company (Crowell, Crane & Brigham) was responsible for two of the great
and extremely rare (I've never seen either in person) 1850s Gold Rush era
embossed bottles from San Francisco: the cobalt blue, mug based, iron pontiled
soda bottle embossed C C & B / SAN FRANCISCO and the
rectangular, blowpipe pontiled medicine bottle embossed on three sides with
CROWELL, CRANE & BRIGHAM - SARSAPARILLA & - YELLOW DOCK
- both of which date from the 1856 to 1858 period. As there were no glass
makers in the West (or even west of the Mississippi) at the time these bottles
were blown somewhere in the east and shipped around the horn to San Francisco.
Then they were filled, used and eventually tossed with few of the extant.
In any event, these two Florida Water bottles date from the 1870s with the
smaller one possibly being from the very early 1880s. Both were found in
the downtown urban renewal areas in Portland, OR. back in the late 1960s.
Although neither are embossed as to contents, the shape of them is of a type that was used about 100% of the time for that particular product - a type of inexpensive perfume/cologne which some claimed to have medicinal properties. Typical of the style, the neck is about as tall as the body in both sizes.
The larger bottle has three of the distinctive curved "R's" in the spelling which are firmly attributed to an unnamed mold maker/engraver working in the Bay Area from the late 1860s into the early 1880s. This person created scores of - maybe several hundred - molds for embossed bottles that have this type "R". Click on the image to the immediate left to see a larger version showing the embossing. Most of the bottles attributed to this mystery mold maker/engraver (don't know if he did both or not) were clearly embossed as being from the West (typically California, Oregon, & Nevada) like both of these bottles or used by companies historically known to be operating in the West. The smaller example has no "R's" in the embossing to curve though the "look" of the embossing is identical to its larger brother so it is certainly a product of the same mold maker. Both were blown in the type of deeper blue aqua glass commonly seen with bottles blown at the San Francisco Glass Works or Pacific Glass Works or the combined company (San Francisco & Pacific GW) after merging in 1876. The larger example is very much the "fiery" deep aqua color with the smaller one being a bit more muted but still of the same look in general.
The larger example is very scarce but more abundant than the smaller size in my experience. It is embossed CRANE & BRIGHAM / SAN FRANCISCO vertically inside a deeply indented panel. It is 9" tall, has a crudely applied "oil" style finish or lip, and smooth somewhat indented or domed base. Click close-up of the applied lip to see such. This bottle is a beauty and one of the finest example I've ever seen. It has no post-production issues, i.e., no chips, cracks, pings, nibbles or even really any staining as the "fire aqua" glass from the Bay Area during that era was quite resistant to staining or patination. There are even a few specs of the original foil capsule showing on the upper neck! The glass is fairly crude with decent whittling, a few bubbles and neck stretch marks. Great example! $85
The smaller and rarer example is also embossed vertically inside a deeply indented panel in a much more abbreviated manner (not as much room as the big bottle) with C. & B. / S. F. although that says enough to make it certain to have been Crane & Brigham. It is 6.25" tall, has a tooled "oil" style finish or lip, and a more proportionally indented domed base than the larger example. The glass is a medium blue aqua and the neck is crude and a bit wavy on the inside from the use of the lipping or finishing tool. The bottle is in very good condition though does have a bit of staining inside the shoulder, a bit of outside light dullness and a small flake at the heel on the backside. Click close-up of the heel to see the latter issue. Overall a nice example of a very rare SF Florida water (a recent sale of a mint one on eBay was for $280+). $100
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