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

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

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

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

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