jan feb 2007

Vol. 18 No. 1

www.FOHBC.com

Enjoying the West Montana and Idaho

Page 36

January-February 2007

The official publication of the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors

Bottles and Extras

The Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors

Bottles and Extras

Vol. 18 No. 1

January-February 2007

No. 169

Table of Contents Bottle Buzz................................................2 Recent Finds..............................................3 FOHBC Officer Listing 2006-2008............4 President’s Message...................................5 Regional Reports........................................6 A Remedy For Every Ill: Hatchett’s Drugstore and the Evolution of American Pharmacy Mike Bunn & Allen Vegotsky......12 HEROIN and ASPIRIN The Connection & The Collection - Part I Cecil Munsey.............................18

Random Shots: Meet The Collector: Kevin Wade Robin R. Preston........................22 Battery Insulators, Oil Insulators and Chloride Accumulators Charles & Sandi Irons.............22 Patents Issued to William Beach Fenn - Part I of 2 Barry L. Bernas..............................29 Enjoying the West - Montana and Idaho Ralph Van Brocklin........................36 Charles Matzen Near to His Goal: Completing Savannah Collection Bill Baab........................................42

Brooklyn Potteries Mark Smith...............................54 The Dating Game: The American Bottle Co., A Study in Contrasts and Contradicitons Bill Lockhart, Pete Schulz, Carol Serr, Bill Lindsay & David Whitten..........................47 Ulysses S. Grant - His Whiskey History Jack Sullivan.............................59 Membership Information.........................62 Classified Ads and Ad Rate Information...63 FOHBC Show-Biz Show Calendar Listings............66

Cover photo: Montana mountain range with Montana minijugs. Photos sent by Ralph Van Brocklin.

WHO DO I CONTACT ABOUT THE MAGAZINE? CHANGE OF ADDRESS, MISSING ISSUES, etc., contact the business manager: June Lowry, 401 Johnston Ct., Raymore, MO 64083; Ph: (816) 318-0160 or E-mail: osubuckeyes71@aol.com To ADVERTISE, SUBSCRIBE or RENEW a subscription, see PAGES 82-83 for DETAILS. To SUBMIT A STORY, send a LETTER TO THE EDITOR or have COMMENTS and concerns, Contact: Kathy Hopson-Sathe, Bottles and Extras Editor, 341 Yellowstone Drive, Fletcher, NC 28732 Phone: (423) 737-6710 or E-mail: kathy@thesodafizz.com BOTTLES AND EXTRAS (ISSN 1050-5598) is published bi-monthly (6 Issues per year) by the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors, Inc. (a nonprofit IRS C3 educational organization) at P.O. Box 341062, Memphis, TN 38184; Ph: (901) 272-8428; Website: http://www.fohbc.com. Periodicals Postage Paid at Memphis, TN 38111.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Bottles and Extras, FOHBC, P.O. Box 341062, Memphis, TN 38184; Ph: (901) 272-8428;.

The Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors, Inc. assumes no responsibility for products and services advertised in this publication.

The names: Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors, Inc., and Bottles and Extras, are registered ® names of the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors, Inc., and no use of either, other than as references, may be used without expressed written consent from the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors, Inc. Certain material contained in this publication is copyrighted by, and remains the sole property of, the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors, Inc., while others remain property of the submitting authors. Detailed information concerning a particular article may be obtained from the Editor. Printed by Interpress Media Solutions, Memphis, Tenn.

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January-February 2007

Bottle Buzz News, Notes, Letters, etc.

Send Buzz Notes to: Kathy Hopson-Sathe at: kathy@thesodafizz.com or write: Buzz Notes, 341 Yellowstone Drive, Fletcher, NC 28732

The Toledo (Ohio) Museum of Art Glass Pavilion at 2445 Monroe Street made its debut during a week of preview events in August 2006. Nearly 10,000 visitors from around the world marveled at the Glass Pavilion as architectural masterpiece, pristine new home of TMA’s worldrenowned glass collection, and active glassmaking studio space. The Glass Pavilion is now open to the public during normal Museum hours: Tues., Wed., Thurs. and Sat. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Fri. 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed on Mondays, New Years Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Admission is free.

Visit www.toledomuseum.org for more information in regards to exhibits and hours.

BOTTLE BUZZ NOTES Guest edited by Cecil Munsey What happens in the world of collecting seems to always be of interest to those of us who collect something. Gathering newspaper and magazine articles about record finds and sales is always fun but recently there have been a spate of collecting events. Here for your interest and amusement some of the most interesting are offered: • A British collector using a metal detector found a rare gold coin in February.

He was prospecting on private land in south London when he found an Edward III double-florin coin. In a recent Spink Coin

auction, the coin went for nearly a cool $850,000. That was a record price for a British coin. When the coin was minted in 1343 (663 years ago), the coin, known as a “Double Leonard,” had a face value of six pounds (about $15 at the time). It was the first large gold coin to be minted in England after hundreds of years of silver coins. The coin depicts a full-length portrait of Edward III, seated on a throne and holding a sword and specter. The coin that was found is one of only three known examples, the other two being found in 1857 (149 years ago) by schoolchildren in northern England.

The record price paid for the coin easily bested the former record for a British coin, which was one of England’s first cold pennies, minted around 800 A.D. • Are there any good bottle collecting tales? Well yes, Jeff Wichmann owner of American Bottle Auctions (Sacramento) still holds the record for selling the most expensive antique bottle in the hobby. In addition to the fact that he sold a Bryant’s Stomach Bitters for $67l,500, Jeff was also responsible for getting the antique bottle hobby coverage on CNN and a number of other networks.

• The Smithsonian’s National Gallery of Art plans to buy one of the 19th century’s best-known American paintings, “The Gross Clinic” by Thomas Eakins, for a record $68 million. The sale price sets a record for a pre-World War II artwork created in the United States, according to a statement released recently by the

Bottles and Extras painting’s owner, Thomas Jefferson University. Philadelphia has long considered the painting one of its cultural treasures.

• It may well be the world’s most expensive painting [ever]. Entertainment mogul David Geffen, reportedly sold the Jackson Pollack work, “No. 5 1948” for about $140 million. The buyer reportedly is David Martinez, the Mexican financier who recently bought an apartment in Manhattan’s new Time Warner Center for $54.7 million.

• A New York judge ruled recently that a Pablo Picasso painting can be sold at auction, despite a claim that its former owner was forced by the Nazis to sell it in the 1930s because his family descended from Jews. The painting, “Portrait de Angel Fernandez de Soto” sold for $60 million by Christie’s.

• A Florida voter may have unwittingly lost hundreds of thousands of dollars by using an extremely rare stamp to mail an absentee ballot in the recent election. The “1918 Inverted Jenny” stamp, which takes its name from an image of a biplane accidentally printed upside-down, turned up the evening of the election in Fort Lauderdale, where the election committee was inspecting ballots from [arts of South Florida. John Rodstrom, a member of the county’s Canvassing Board said he saw the red and blue Inverted Jenny and two stamps from the 1930s and one from the 1940s, on a large envelope containing an absentee ballot. He did not examine the postmark but did disqualify the ballot because the envelope did not contain a return address, or any clue to the identity of the voter as required by Florida law. Only 100 of the misprinted stamps have ever been found, making them among the rarest in the world of stamp collecting. A single Inverted Jenny could be worth $300,000.

Bottles and Extras

January-February 2007

Recent Finds New Finds Recently, I have come across two “new finds,” both cures.

The first one has the appearance of an amber pumpkinseed flask, however it is 4 5/8" tall, 3 1/4" wide with a smooth base. It dates to the 1865-75 period.

Found in a New York City cellar along with post Civil War trash along with several others. The embossing reads FOR COLDS / COUGHS CROUP &c / IMMEDIATE RELIEF / & / SPEEDY CURE. It is an unknown cure until this time.

Second, a large black glass utilitiy bottle, 12 3/4" high, 6" in diameter with a sand pontil, dates to the 1770-1810 period. It also has an applied seal which is 1 3/4" in diameter which is embossed G. SCHLEY with a three-ring bull’s eye in the center, and below the bull’s eye is five dots. This bottle has a lot of crudity in the making.

More Georgia mini jugs discovered

By Bill Baab Georgia’s mini jug numbers continue to climb, thanks to a Fairburn, Georgia man who shared his collection with this writer in mid-November of 2006.

Jerrell Melear’s list includes two scratch and seven stencil, raising the master list total to 234 of the little jugs.

The original total of 225 was posted in my story in the Summer 2005 issue of Bottles & Extras.

Here are Mr. Melear’s minis: SCRATCHED: Compliments / of / R.D. Powell’s / Little Store / Vinegar (believed to be in Atlanta). Compliments / of / Ollie (?) B. Johnson / Pure Vinegars / Atlanta, Ga. STENCILED: Compliments of / A.B. Gartrell / Atlanta, Ga. Compliments of / W.S. Edwards / 209 Whitehall St. (no city name, but it’s Atlanta). Compliments of / B.F. Byfield / Atlanta, Ga. Compliments of / J.T. & W.M. McCollough / Atlanta, Ga. Brook Hill Whiskey / Compliments of / Carroll & Long / Sole Agt’s (believed to be in Atlanta). Compliments / of / H.O. Reese / Atlanta, Ga. Compliments of / (indistinct name) –ore & Son / (indistinct number) E. Hunter St. (no city name, but it’s Atlanta).

Known Atlanta scratch mini jugs now total 30, while the city’s stenciled minis total 26.

Mr. Melear is currently conducting research through city directories and other sources to make sure the minis without city names are indeed from Atlanta. All were dug in dumps there, he added.

I am currently developing a list of South Carolina mini jugs for a future story in Bottles and Extras. Readers owning minis from the Palmetto State are urged to contact the writer at his address posted at the beginning of the Southern Region report elsewhere in this issue.

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January-February 2007

Bottles and Extras

Federation of Historicial Bottle Collectors

Business & News The Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors is a non-profit organization for collectors of historical bottles and related collectible items. Our primary goal is educational as it relates to the history and manufacture of historical bottles and related artifacts.

FOHBC Officers 2006-2008 President : Carl Sturm, 88 Sweetbriar Branch, Longwood, FL 32750-2783; Phone: (407) 332-7689; E-mail: glassmancarl@sprintmail.com First Vice-President : Fred Capozzela, 1108 Ritger St., Utica, NY 13501; Phone: (315) 724-1026; E-mail: fcapozzella@hotmail.com Second Vice-President : Richard Siri, P.O. Box 3818, Santa Rosa, CA 95402; Phone: (707) 542-6438; E-mail: rtsiri@sbcglobal.net Secretary : Ed Provine, 401 Fawn Lake Dr., Millington, TN 38053; Phone: (901) 876-3296; E-mail: ed.provine@thyssenkruppelevator.com Treasurer : Alan DeMaison, 1605 Clipper Cove, Painesville, OH 44077; Phone: (440) 358-1223; E-mail: a.demaison@sbcglobal.net Historian : Richard Watson, 10 S.Wendover Rd., Medford, NJ 08055; Phone: (856) 983-1364; E-mail: rewatson@bellatlantic.net Editor : Kathy Hopson-Sathe, 341 Yellowstone Dr., Fletcher, NC 28732; Phone: (423) 737-6710; E-mail: kathy@thesodafizz.com Merchandising Director : Kent Williams, 1835 Oak Terr., Newcastle, CA 95658; Phone: (916) 663-1265; E-mail: kent@altarfire.com Membership Director : Gene Bradberry, P.O. Box 341062, Memphis, TN 38184; Phone: (901) 372-8428; E-mail: genebsa@midsouth.rr.com Conventions Director : Wayne Lowry, 401 Johnston Ct., Raymore, MO 64083; Phone: (816) 318-0161; E-mail: JarDoctor@aol.com

Business Manager / Subscriptions: June Lowry, 401 Johnston Ct., Raymore, MO 64083; Phone: (816) 318-0160; E-mail: osubuckeyes71@aol.com Director-At-Large : John Pastor, 7288 Thorncrest Dr. SE, Ada, MI 49301; Phone: (616) 285-7604; E-mail: jpastor2000@sbcglobal.net Director-At-Large : Sheldon Baugh, 252 W. Valley Dr., Russelville, KY 42276; Phone: (270) 726-2712; Fax: (270) 726-7618; E-mail: shel6943@bellsouth.net Director-At-Large: Cecil Munsey, 13541 Willow Run Road, Poway, CA 92064-1733; Phone: (858) 487-7036; E-mail: cecilmunsey@cox.net Midwest Region Director : Ron Hands, 386 Spring Grove Dr., Tallmadge, OH 44278, E-mail: rshands225@yahoo.com Northeast Region Director : Larry Fox, 5478 Route 21, Canandaigua, NY 14424; Phone: (585) 394-8958; E-mail: brerfox@frontiernet.net Southern Region Director : Edwin Herrold, 65 Laurel Loop, Maggie Valley, NC 28571; Phone: (941) 923-6550; E-mail: rbitters@mindspring.com Western Region Director : Bob Ferraro, 515 Northridge Dr., Boulder City, NV 89005; Phone: (702) 293-3114; E-mail: mayorferraro@aol.com Public Relations Director : James Berry, 200 Ft. Watershed Rd., St. Johnsville, NY 13452; Phone: (518) 568-5683, E-mail: max@klink.net

Bottles and Extras

January-February 2007

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Federation of Historic Bottle Collectors

President’s Message

President : J. Carl Sturm 88 Sweetbriar Branch Longwood, FL 32750 (407) 332-7689 glassmancarl@sprintmail.com

January-February 2007 A New Year is upon us once again. I sincerely hope that each and every member out there had a happy holiday season.

Remember when you were younger? It seemed two years between these holidays and now they seem to come up every six months. I guess I’m just caught up in the aging process. Speaking of aging, we need some new, younger, blood in our hobby. The lack of younger collectors could be the death of the bottle collecting hobby as we know it. The Orlando, Florida club was disbanded several years ago because it “died out.” I mean that literally. A few moved out of the area, several died and suddenly there were no collectors remaining. I guess a lot of the attrition has to do with the pricing of our bottles and the lack of digging areas. If any of you readers have any ideas how to get new collectors involved, drop us an email and let us know so that we can publish your ideas. Just remember to put the word bottles in the subject line so that our Spam Blocker can be overridden.

My son and I attended the Savannah, Georgia show and sale in early November.

The facility seemed at very near capacity with dealers. They had a lot of early buyers in attendance on Friday night. On Saturday the aisles were full of attendees all day. I saw many bags of bottles being carried out to the parked cars. This show is a very nice, laid back show with a lot of Southern Hospitality and a fine assortment of bottles.

There is always lots of dug bottles available, as Savannah is apparently not “dug out” yet.

This issue is the first of your bimonthly issues. We have changed printers and hope to maintain a better schedule in getting the magazines to you. The new method is that the mailings will be made by the printer and can be shipped immediately after the printing run. The previous method had several days of delay build in to the delivery system. The magazine, as you may already have notice, is a few pages less than previously, but that is because of the extra printings required. Let us know what you think of the new magazine in both delivery and printing wise.

It has been several years since I have

held the office of President. Even though I had been a Board of Directors member all along, there were a lot of things that I needed to catch up on. I have found that my current Board of Directors has been quick to assist me whenever a problem has arisen. You, the collectors, have an excellent Board of Directors. Of course, you elected them. When you attend a show, look at the dealers tables and if you see a Board members name, stop, introduce yourself and ask a question or let them know how we can serve you better. If we don’t know something is wrong, we can’t correct it. The FOHBC Business and News page of the magazine has a listing of your Board members with telephone numbers and e-mail addresses. We are easy to find and will listen to your problems concerning the FOHBC. As I have said many times before, Dig Hard or Buy Wisely and watch your collections grow.

J. Carl Sturm, President, FOHBC

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January-February 2007 well as ones to show up and buy, there is no show.

The Genesee Valley Bottle Collectors of Rochester, N.Y. are enjoying another successful season under the guidance of Chris Davis [club president]. The GVBCA is an organization committed to the bottle collecting hobby. As with most bottle clubs, they meet ten times each year. One of these meetings is a charity auction with the proceeds being split between Mercy Flight [a not-for-profit helicopter ambulance service] and Bethany House, a home for battered women.

One meeting is the annual picnic held in June before adjourning for the summer.

The other eight meetings are about the history of collecting. Individuals known for their expertise in different fields are invited to speak before the membership. Almost everyone in the club collects something different, but because of these guest speakers much is learned about other interests. This is a great educational opportunity.

This year, GVBCA is very excited about returning to its show site for over 30 of its 37 shows. This year’s show will be at Minett Hall on the Henrietta Fairgounds [see their ad in the Show-Biz section of this issue, page 68]. The hall has received extensive renovations such as a new roof, overhead doors, paved parking lots, new entrance, completely repainted interior with brand new lighting fixtures, new rest rooms and much more.

GVBCA is pulling out all the stops.

Advertising has been increased. Sixty show tables have been added. Exhibits will be the finest in many years due to increased exhibitor space. The show committee intends to double the number of people in attendance this year. Reduced table fees are being offered. Motel rooms have been secured at the Microtel for almost half the

going rate for that time of the year. The GVBCA has always hosted one of the classiest show in the country and this year’s promises to be one of their best ever.

Open Pontil, the newsletter of The Potomac Bottle Collectors: In the October issue are two articles that are very well written: the first “A City’s Fame,” which is about Hunter Baltimore Rye by Jack Sullivan, and the second, “Not All Bottlers Were Men,” by Mike Cianciosi.

These are extremely well written articles and can be accessed by punching Potomac Pontil into any search engine. This is a superb newsletter featuring some of the greatest articles available. This club deserves a lot of praise and support from us all. Please give these guys a look.

I have received a request from the ESBCA Syracuse, N.Y. for info on help to develop a web page. This is a service provided by the Federation but not something I have ever been asked to deal with. As I learn more about this I will report back to you.

The FLBCA of Ithaca, N.Y. hosted its annual First Frost Show and sale on November 12 at the Dryden Fire Hall. This is always a fun time because it is a flea market type sale held by people, which for the most part are bottle collectors. For years this has been put together by George Blaasch and his lovely wife Marie. George’s brother Bob for several years has run the food concession. Bob’s prices are so low that people actually show up just to eat.

There is no admission charge and a lot of people come through the door. It is a great time for any one who has the time to attend.

It is always the second Sunday in November.

Always need material for these reports and invite any and all to submit material.

Larry

bottle shows, and the bottle diggers have been busy too. Read on to see what some of the Midwest clubs were doing… (don’t forget to send those newsletters and hand-written news items in – other people enjoy reading your stories!)

and tell to their September meeting. Jim Koutsoures gave the talk this month and he always has a good story to go with his talks and this time was no exception. His presentation was titled “Bottles I Have Discovered,” some bought, some found. On a cross country driving trip, diving and digging all the way, he made a stop in Carolina and decided to dive in a bay.

While diving Jim found a bottle of champagne “not cracked.” It seems that there had been a Christening (ship, not

Northeast Regional News Larry Fox 5478 Route 21 Canandaigua, NY 14424 (585) 394-8958 brerfox@frontiernet.net First let me offer my apology for not submitting a report for the last couple of issues. I can only say that I was extremely pressed for time with other matters.

Unfortunately I had to attend to them rather than my report. I shall try not to over commit myself in the future. Larry The Digger newsletter of the Richmond Area Bottle Collectors Association: RABCA’s 35th annual show and sale was reported to be a success despite the inclement weather. Nothing makes a good show more of a challenge than bad weather.

On show day Mother Nature decided to bless the RABC with a Nor’easter making loading and unloading a task.

Dennis Smith traveled all the way from Buffalo to set up an exhibit featuring Celery Cola. I have been privileged to experience Dennis’s exhibits and can tell you they are superb.

Libby Croker exhibited Shots From Around the World. More than a hundred shot glasses were displayed.

Rick Burchfield [Editor of The Digger] did an excellent display of demijohns and carboys.

I would like to quote their vice president because his words to his membership are important to us all. Quote Bruce Wadford: “I urge all of the membership to remember these guys and gals and try to attend one or more of their shows in their home state.” These words ring loud and true to me as a show chairman for without committed people both to set up and sell as

Midwest Regional News Joe Coulson 10515 Collingswood Lane Fishers, Indiana 46038 (317) 915-0665 jcoulson@leaderjar.com Hello, folks! It’s been a beautiful Fall season here in the Midwest. The theme over the last few months has been plenty of

Bottles and Extras

Antique Bottle Club of Northern Illinois The club members of the ABCNI brought lots of wonderful bottles for show

Bottles and Extras baby!) a few months previously, and as Jim pulled the bottle from the water the Captain of a ship informed him that the bottle had been for the Christening. He went on to explain that the person doing the ship Christening let the bottle fly and it landed in the water, for Jim to later find. No report on whether a replacement was found. And the liquid is still in the bottle. It still has not been “cracked” open!

The ABCNI’s October meeting was Acquisition Night. Many fine bottles were brought for display and category competition. The prize for ‘Best Overall’ bottle went to Dan Puzzo for his shell and rib cobalt decanter. Greg Scheuneman (their show chairman) reported that “The Brat Shop” is a go for the 1st Sunday in May 2007 for their annual show and sale.

It will be a bottle, table top collectibles and advertising show.

Findlay Antique Bottle Club The Findlay Antique Bottle Club is known for its FAB-ulous annual October Bottle Show and Sale, with its friendly atmosphere, amazing displays, and tasty FREE supper for the dealers! There were plenty of bottles, jars, insulators, milks, medicines, advertising and so much more at this year’s show. Club member Michael Elling reports the following: “There were 66 tables and an estimated 300 attendees for the Findley Ohio Bottle Show. It is held at the exhibit barn out on state highway 224 west of town. This was their 30th year.

There was something for everyone, especially milk items because northwest Ohio has always had and still has an active dairy industry. Soda bottle tables, 18th 19th Century flasks, paper items, advertising signs, and even hospital glass were evident among the full dealer tables.

One latecomer dealer was delighted to set up outside the front door because it was a mild day, and the people kept arriving throughout the morning and into the afternoon. Surrounding Autumn foliage was at its crest.”

Huron Valley Bottle & Insulator Club Michele K. of the HVBIC sent in this report. The Huron Valley Bottle & Insulator Club’s 31st annual show was held Sunday October 1st, 2006 at the Holiday Inn, Auburn Hills, Mich. We limited the number of tables this year to cut down on over crowding. The dealers seemed pleased with the new room setup. The show sold out and walk thru was about the same as

January-February 2007 last years show. Walk-ins were a cobalt Mason jar valued at $10,000 (possibly Hemingray-made), along with a Canadian cobalt threadless that was dug in Canada.

There were two prototype jars, one crystal clear and the other a white milk glass with a price tag of $2,200. Sales were brisk, there was a steady heavy flow of traffic.

This year we had a good mixture of goods for sale, lightning rod balls, insulators, bottles, porcelain signs, gasoline items, fruit jars. Once again it was an international show, with some Canadian traffic, and our buddy, Richard Deering (he shoots photos of old lighthouses), from Seattle, Wash. stopped in again this year. The threadless pieces that Shawn Long (CD742.3) & Barrett Nicpon (CD742) brought were pretty cool too.

Iowa Antique Bottleers The IAB reported in their October newsletter that their part in the 2006 Show and Sale was successful. Thirty-seven tables rented for their part of the Mega Show, thirteen early admissions, and 230 through the door. In their November newsletter Don Faas discussed the club’s 2006 Ink Bottle, 50 were made and are for sale at $15 each. Discussion concerning the number of each type bottle the club currently has on hand ensued and what should be done to facilitate the bottles sales.

Mike Burggraaf had expressed his desire to have the many club bottles stored at his house be put somewhere else. Motion was made to have these club bottles and others owned by the club (representative number of each type) to be present at the January meeting so they can be sold, distributed by auction, and other means, as possible. Both motions passed and the January meeting will be designated as an IAB club bottle meeting. Don Faas indicated he would display a complete collection of club bottles.

More discussion concerning the use of money donated as a memorial for John Christenson, a traveling Club Bottle showcase, and a Hall of Fame Plaque were discussed. At the October meeting Tom Southard brought a display of large embossed Iowa drug store bottles that was truly outstanding and contained some very rare and great bottles.

Frank Dicks reported on some new fruit jar reproductions in a letter to the editor in the November IAB newsletter. He came across some new repro 1858 pints and quarts in new colors, other than the repro midget colors. The quarts have a “7”

7 embossed on the bottom and the pints have a “44” along with a “Made in China” tag.

They all take a regular zinc or modern jar ring and are shoulder seal jars. The new colors are lt. cobalt, teal, lt. olive, amber, lt. olive green and amethyst.

Also in their November newsletter, Jeff Krapfl tells the following wonderful story: I have not been doing any digging this year to amount to much, but I have made some nice attic and basement “finds.” On September 9th there was an estate auction at Keiler Wisconsin (about seven miles from Dubuque). I purchased three very rare etched beer glasses from the New Vienna, Iowa Brewery. Being born and bred in New Vienna, I was thrilled to say the least! But, the very next day I found the best piece of my life to this point of time.

The old tavern in New Vienna had finally closed after being in the Schaetzle family since 1861 in the same spot.

Virginia passed away at the age of 91 with no close family and had been the sole owner of the tavern since the 1950s. Her nephews and nieces spent a month sorting through her possessions and on September 10th had a tag sale of the items that were left. The next door neighbor to the tavern had told me several days earlier that I probably would not find anything, as the nieces and nephews had been hauling stuff out for a month! But I thought I had better check it out anyway.

The sale was to start at 10 o’clock on Sunday morning. The day dawned very dark, gloomy and rainy. At 8 o’clock I decided to head up to New Vienna and get as close to the front door as possible (I figured cars would be backed up for two blocks). Imagine my surprise when I got there and nobody was there. I was shocked and parked right in front of the door. I sat in my car and was reading the Sunday newspaper. By 8:30 a.m. I was still the only person there! About that time one of Virginia’s nephews motioned to me to open my car window and asked if I would like to come in early. I said “Sure!”

When I walked into the tavern the first thing I saw was a large wood object with glass windows that said “Lager 281 Beer.”

It was very dark so her nephew gave me a flashlight to look at it. It turned out to be a large early beer light with nine reverse painted glass panels from the New Vienna Brewing Co.! Imagine my amazement when the flashlight shone on two panels that had eagles perched on globes that stated “New Vienna Brewing Co.” There

8 are two doors that open on the bottom and kerosene lanterns were hung inside for illumination. It is in my opinion, the fanciest and rarest beer light in Iowa. And possibly one of the greatest lights in the United States once restored. I have taken all the windows out, and they will be going to Pennsylvania for stabilization and restoration. The wood frame will need some careful restoration on the bottom as well, but is being done by a local woodworker. Once finished, I will take it to one bottle meeting for display, and then it will reside at my place until my demise.

I purchased several other interesting small items, loaded the sign on a friend’s pickup, and headed for home. Before leaving, I gave the relatives my name and phone number and told them to call if they found any old paper items such as statements and invoices in the attic.

About two weeks later I got a phone call from the Executor of the estate. They had found several boxes full of newspapers, photos, invoices, statements and so forth in the attic. Would I be interested? Three days later they had everything lined up on the bar in the tavern. There were very many interesting items, including lots of great whiskey and beer papers pre-prohibition.

There was even a hard-cover book from 1902 with day-to-day operations of the New Vienna Brewing Co.! Also fancy letterheads from the N.V. Brewery and several account books with “New Vienna Brewing Co.” embossed on the covers. I plan on displaying the best items at a forthcoming bottle club meeting. Because of my long time interest in our local brewery, this has been a find of the utmost importance to me!

The IAB newsletters always contain wonderful digging stories by Mark Wiseman. He has a regular column, “The Digger’s Scoop,” that tells of his local digging adventures with Elsie (the dog), the old brown truck, and various digging friends that join him.

Jelly Jammers The Fall 2006 issue of the Jelly Jammers Journal had many interesting photos and historical info on various jelly glass items.

Kalamazoo Antique Bottle Club The KABC reported the following in their September newsletter… “We had a lot of fun at the 2006 Summer Club Picnic!

However, there were several of you that

January-February 2007 were very much missed. We had a real oldfashioned summer-time picnic feast! We cooked up 20 sirloin burgers, six regular and six cheese brats and several hot dogs.

We had garden fresh home-grown tomato slices and lots of fresh onion to dress up our steak burgers. We also had some great pot-luck dishes to pass around. After the picnic, we admitted to each other, ‘we sure overdid the eating!’ We agreed to pile the blame for our grievous acts of gluttony on those of you who failed to join us! After all, somebody had to eat your share! Chuck picked up some nice ‘bottle-value’ books for door prizes, and after the lucky winners had claimed them, we started giving away the farm! We gave away a ten pack of uncooked sirloin burgers, bags of chips, a bag of charcoal, hamburger and hotdog buns – lots of prizes!”

A couple of the club members made some great finds, and it was talked about in the club’s October newsletter. “Scott rescued two drug salesman’s sample books that someone had dumped in a dumpster. I believe all the stuff was products of Perrigos in Allegan. The huge books are filled with page after page of old labels and old cartons front and back. What a find! Here is another amazing thing that we saw. Brent Heighton brought in a very old collection of drug store prescriptions that were filled out by doctors from the turn of the century.

Have you ever stopped to think how crazy it is to collect old bottles! Let’s face it, we are trash collectors! And think of how much money we pay for some of this old trash… we love it! But collecting drug store prescriptions, that is really wild!

Doctors had just as terrible penmanship in the 1800s as they do today! With everyone pitching in, we figured most of them out, and they called for every kind of drug you can think of. The most surprising thing wasn’t seeing prescriptions written for the hard stuff like morphine, it was one that was written for aspirin!

It appears that the drug stores all supplied the local doctors with pads of preprinted prescription sheets with the drug store’s name and address and other advertising. Many of them were very ornate. It sure was an interesting old collection. My theory behind this unusual collection is this: I think this person might have been a drug salesman who requested these from the different stores that he called on so that he would have a record of each of his clients and their addresses. Really pretty cool stuff, Brent!”

Bottles and Extras Midwest Antique Fruit Jar & Bottle Club The MAFJBC had their annual August Ice Cream Social and Picnic at Rev. Phil Robinson’s Jar Museum in Muncie, Indiana. A great time was had by all, and the weather was wonderful. The club’s September club program was on Indiana bottles and jars and items. Colleen Dixon brought several bottles and paper items relating to Pluto Water products sold in French Lick, Ind. Jean Harbron brought several products jars made by Pennsylvania Glass Co. at their Anderson, Ind. plant (a distinguishing mark is the octagon-shaped neck). Tom Sproat told everyone about the collection of letters that were found in his grandfather’s store, which had been closed up many years ago. One of those letters was from Ball, and it talked about how great the Sure Seal jars were and the fact that they were made on an Owens machine.

According to the original invoice, the jars were literally “a dime a dozen” at that time!

Tom told us that the collection of letters got him started in the hobby by talking to great fruit jar helpers like Dick Roller, Dick Cole and Phil Robinson. Phil Robinson brought a couple of nice kerosene oil cans: an Upland and a Dandy. Phil has 51 cans in his collection, possibly the largest collection of its kind.

The MAFJBC announced at their October meeting that there would be a change in hotel accommodations for their January 14th Show and Sale in Muncie, Ind. [See their ad on page 68] The Hotel Roberts will not be available for lodging due to an ownership change and extensive remodeling period (closed November 2006 to June 2007). The new hotel (show headquarters) will be The Signature Inn, located at 3400 Chadam Lane on the north side of Muncie (phone: 765-284-4200).

Dave says the rooms have lots of table space for jars (better than the Hotel Roberts).

There are two floors, and there are 46 rooms on the first floor. Get your reservations in early, since there is no elevator to the second floor. The cut off date is 30 days prior to the Jar Show to get the club rate. Dave indicates it is about ten minutes or three and a half miles to the Horizon Convention Center (where the show will occur) from the Signature Inn. It is better to call the Signature Inn’s local phone number (listed above) rather than the hotel chain’s 1-800 number—so that you make sure you get the MAFJBC room rate.

Bottles and Extras Minnesota’s First Antique Bottle Club In the October issue of The Bottle Digger’s Dope, the club indicated that the date for their 2007 bottle show will be Sunday, March 25th. The event will take place at the Days Inn in Bloomington. The newsletter also had coverage of their annual Fall get-together at the Jax restaurant. Here is what they had to say…

“Our club sponsored ‘Free GetTogether’, dawned at the most beautiful Sunday. Temps in the upper 70s, and for Minnesota in the fall that is a real plus.

We arrived in the parking lot the same time that Southward’s pulled in. Barb and Dave had spent three and a half hours driving down from Osage Minnesota to be with their bottle friends. Dave was carrying an unidentified bottle in hand, knowing someone would be able to help from the club. We had a great group of 16 (we sure wish more of you out-of-state members would come) some coming as early as 12 noon. It sure was not long before the table was buzzing with conversation. It’s amazing we found the time to eat. We sat facing the old world garden, which is enchanting, watching as people decided to eat outside! The food this year was as great as in the past, how do they do it? There was not one person that didn’t go back for at least three fill-ups! The conversation covered everything, but mostly bottles.

Steve Ketcham was able to help Dave Southward with identification on his bottle.

Pontil scarred satin glass with small flowers applied, turned out to be a scent, or perfume bottle. Dave had picked it up at a garage sale in Osage. Barb told us of their bottle display set up in church!! Members were urged to bring their hobbies… Barb hoped they understood the beer bottles!!”

Ohio Bottle Club The program for the OBC’s August 30th meeting was “Perfume Bottles,” introduced

by Adam and presented by Jim Cady and Brian Gray. Jim said that his interest in perfume bottles began when he got an 1876 centennial bottle from Don Dzuro. He has not found much information or material on pontiled perfumes. However, perfumemaking goes back at least three thousand years to Egypt. Perfume was made to accompany people into the next world;

January-February 2007 ingredients were plant oils, resins, flowers boiled in water, and scents such as cinnamon, geranium, lavender, and rosemary.

Most of the bottles Jim brought are thin and fragile, with flared and rolled lips; he purchased most of them at an auction.

Many are aqua-colored or clear, ranging in size from 3 3/4 inches to 6 1/2 inches.

Examples included a nautical theme bottle, with a full-mast ship, five guns and rope, 1840-1860; a cathedral bottle with arches; a heavier glass aqua perfume with trees and rolled lip; one with tendrils and flowers; one with a bouquet of roses; another with a soldier guarding a building; one with an 1830s label, pontiled; another with tree or flower on front, musical instrument on back; cobalt, with painted flowers, pontiled; and a milk glass with original stopper, 1840-1850, pontiled. All of the bottles have a place for a label. Most of these perfume bottles are made in the U.S.A.; some are made in France.

Brian said most of his bottles are American-blown, and date from 1820 to 1860. Some bottles were made in New Jersey, Boston, or Dyottville (a village of glassblowers) in Philadelphia. There are no identifying marks. In the 1800s, perfume was shipped in large wickercovered bottles to drug stores, where the small bottles were filled and sold to customers. All the perfume bottles had corks.

Adam Koch remarked that he has hardly ever dug a pretty perfume bottle.

Why? People kept these special bottles, and didn’t throw them away. Some were made of colors such as cobalt, amber, milk glass, and colored milk glass.

The program for the OBC’s August 30th meeting was “Akron, Ohio items”, introduced by Ron Hands and presented by Bob Newnham and Wayne Buchanan, along with Dave Rotile and Russell Farkas.

Bob Newnham showed the club a part of his extensive collection of Akron, Ohio memorabilia. A member since the beginning of the bottle club, and club president a couple of times, Bob collects Akron bottles, paper ephemera, stoneware, and anything related to Akron. Included in his display were items from many companies, such as Burkhardt’s Beer and

9 Mug Ale, a Quaker Oats bag, an O’Neils hat box, a jug from Steinbacher and Company Wholesale Druggists, signs from Colonial Quality Salt, a fan from Summit Banking Company, and Norka (Akron spelled backwards!) soda bottles. Club members especially liked the approx. 18" x 28" M. Burkhardt Brewery Company, Akron, Ohio pastel-colored print, featuring a beautiful lady with hat and roses.

Wayne Buchanan, born and raised near an air dock, has had an interest in airships all his life. The huge Goodyear-Zeppelin Dock, where the airships were made, measured 1,175 feet; seven football games could be played simultaneously under its roof! Built in 1931, the U.S.S. Akron was the world’s largest airship at 785 feet overall length. It was built by the Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation for the U.S. Navy; in 1933 it crashed in the Atlantic. An aluminum alloy, duralumin, was used for the girders of the airships, and many of the airship souvenirs are made of this metal.

Wayne showed items such as air dock replicas, ash trays, bookmarks, letter openers, combs, a necklace, compact, and a medallion worn by dignitaries at the opening ceremonies. He also showed a 1931 lithograph “Queen of the Air,” and a rare paperweight.

Dave Rotile presented some of the 200 stoneware bottles which were dug in downtown Akron at the site of the M. O’Neil building. Dave strongly encouraged all club members to visit the museum exhibit at Lock Three in downtown Akron.

A huge amount of beer bottles, pottery, and marbles are featured there.

Russell Farkas showed salesman samples of little glove molds, a Kline Motor Sales Packard sign, an Akron sign for a Model T or A, a BF Goodrich sheet (rubberized material), Adam Pamer Steamship, S. Main Street, 1912, and other Akron company collectibles.

Club member Jack Sullivan also wrote nice research articles on “Thuemler: Ohio Valley Pottery ‘Under The Radar’” (September issue of Ohio Swirl), and “Three Ohio Whiskey Barons” (October issue).

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January-February 2007 other. Both were shown by member Geff Moore. J.C. Harrison showed a 1977 Mountain Dew in green glass with wording in a foreign language and a rare ginger ale bottled by the Yorktown, Ohio Pepsi-Cola Co. Editor Milner featured black-andwhite photos from the club picnic and others were featured on a story on mechanical banks.

Show and tell at the September meeting yielded a Princess Beverage with an Indian girl on front, a Tulip Beverage and a New Yorker Beverage from member Sam Crowder. A club project is to get a checklist of Unicoi County, Tenn., bottles. Mrs. Milner also published a short history of Dr. Kilmer’s in her October issue.

The MT Bottle Collectors Association of DeLand, Fla., is in trouble. An aging membership isn’t being replaced by new blood and club meetings are averaging only six to ten members each month. Florida’s lone still-active group needs a transfusion of younger blood and quickly.

Bill Marks came out of retirement to edit the club’s Diggers Dispatch newsletter and made this statement: “Six to eight people cannot continue to run the club and bottle show. . .our club needs newsletter editors, chairpersons for committees. . .have to stop rotating all positions by the same personnel each year. . .a lot of us are 75 and over in years and age and sickness has hit us hard. . .”

Marks reprinted an Ocala Star-Banner feature about two of the DeLand club’s members – William Brand and Laton Bare – who exhibited some of their collections at the Marion County Public Library.

“Our local newspaper carries notices of our monthly club meetings, but no one new is showing up,” Marks said.

Friends of the Markses have sent Bill their condolences after hearing about the unexpected death of his wife, Sally, who died in her sleep during the night of Sept.

14-15. She had been hospitalized and was being treated for a stroke that affected only her left leg, Bill said.

The 76-year-old wore many hats in the MT Bottle Collectors Association, joining husband Bill as co-editor of the newsletter while holding down the jobs of club secretary and publicity chairwoman.

This regional editor and his wife had the pleasure of meeting Sally and Bill during a visit to their home a few years ago.

Maenwhile, Harlan Pallasch was elected

Southern Regional News Bill Baab 2352 Devere Street Augusta, GA 30904 (706) 736-8097 riverswamper@comcast.net

“Civil War Night” was the theme at the July meeting of The State of Franklin (Tenn.) Antique Bottle & Collectibles Association.

Artifacts dating to the 1861-65 period were put on display, according to Melissa Milner, editor of the club’s Groundhog Gazette, in the August issue. Included was the Louisville (Ky.) Weekly Journal from 1861 and a May 13, 1862 newspaper detailing the battle of Spottsylvania.

Member Gerry Brown’s great grandfather was captured during the battle. A branding iron used by Wade Cox’s great great grandfather to brand the latter’s name on whiskey barrels and a Eureka fruit jar (pat.

Dec. 27, 1864) was shown by the editor.

Warrants, deeds and indentures and a wide variety of Confederate money also were on display, prompting club members to wax enthusiastic about holding other thematic meetings. Show ‘n tell session revealed a glazed crock sporting zebras on the side and an elephant-handled lid from Max Bare. Carl Bailey showed a 1920s straight-sided Pepsi-Cola from Kingsport, Tenn., and Paul Ward displayed an Old Mill Meal feed sack produced by Hacker Martin of Gray, Tenn. Geff Moore brought a Dr. Panhorst’s Indigestion Powders bottle featuring two paper labels and embossing, too. That company hailed from Gray, Tenn.

The August meeting featured John Burnette, a collector of phonograph records and coins. His first record featured Kitty Wells’ “Honky Tonk Angel.” He has a 78 rpm recording of Elvis with “Hound Dog” on one side and “Don’t Be Cruel” on the other. His collection of 78s numbers between 7,000 and 8,500 including all of the Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and Roy Acuff that were produced.

The show and tell session produced a rare Big Victory Chief soda from the Dixie Bottling Company in Morristown, Tenn., and a Johnson City, Tenn., hotel glass inscribed “John Sevier, Governor, Lost State of Franklin, First Governor of State of Tennessee” on one side and “John Sevier Hotel, Johnson City, Tennessee” on the

Bottles and Extras club president during the September meeting. Vice president is Maureen Pallasch, secretary June Bower and treasurer Laton Bare. Directors are George Scott, William L. Dreggors and Charles Ben ton. Alternate director is Whitey McMillan.

Mr. Pallasch appointed Mrs. Pallasch as show chairwoman, Bill Marks as news editor, Irene Dreggors as historian, June Bower in charge of publicity, Wade Driggers as raffle chairman and George Scott digging chairman.

The Raleigh Bottle Club has discontinued publication of its newsletter which only a couple of years ago won a federation award. That’s not good.

Newsletters are designed not only to educate club members, but to keep the membership as a whole informed. It is hoped that someone will step forward and revive the newsletter.

Johnnie Fletcher, president of the Oklahoma Territory Bottle & Relic Club, keeps publishing his Oklahoma Territory News despite the club taking a late summer break during July and August. He chose to run some year-old Digging Iowa stories by Mark Wiseman (with Elsie the Pup) in the September issue.

Fletcher also keeps up with Oklahoma bottles and stoneware sold on eBay and territorial bottles are going as strong as ever. An El Reno Bottling Works, El Reno, Oklahoma Territory crown top brought $150, while a Tulsa, Indian Territory Hutchinson loaded with multiple cracks and bruises brought $68.78.

In the October issue, Fletcher viewed with suspicion a two-toned (Albany slip top, Bristol glazed bottom) jug stenciled HARM’S BAR / 300 P.I. AVE n/ EL RENO / OKLA. TERR. Fletcher had in an earlier issue noted an etched pumpkinseed flask from the same place. The inscription on the jug differs from that on the flask by having the apostrophe between the “M” and “S” on the pottery piece while it was after the “S” on the flask. The abbreviation of territory on the latter was spelled with one “R” as opposed to the two on the jug.

“It is difficult to determine whether the jug was stenciled during its manufacture (in that case, the stencil would be beneath the Bristol slip) or added later,” said Fletcher, who doubts the authenticity of the items. The flask sold on eBay for $261.59, the jug for $1,740.69!

In a story titled “A Three-Time Cistern Dig” by Ed Tardy in the October issue,

Bottles and Extras among the finds was a clear glass Mexican Kidney and Liver Cure from Atlanta, Ga. His story did not mention where the cistern as located, nor who participated in the dig.

Cure expert John Wolf of Dayton, Ohio was contacted by this regional editor. His e-mail response: “I have the Mexican Liver and Kidney Cure (all in a circle), Linderman Medicine Co., Atlanta, Ga., in a clear, rectangular bottle 7-1/2 inches high and the variant that’s the same except The H.G. Linderman Co., etc. Both are very scarce, if not rare. I know of at least three others. I guess a mint one could bring $150$300, maybe more these days depending on who’s interested. I’d pay $200 for a mint one, less if less-than-mint.”

That cistern was loaded with stoneware jugs, many Hutchinson sodas with more than 75 from Chicago, ginger beers, a dozen aqua blobtop sodas with three from Memphis, Tenn, a green, triangular-shaped Sanitorium Bitters, a Columbo Peptic Bitters, two broken and previously unknown Arkansas Hutches embossed Vencenzo Policastro / Bottling Works / Marianna, Ark., three sealed wines and many crude beers and whiskeys....about 225 items in all.

Fletcher featured yet another suspicious jug bearing the stencil Harm’s Bar / 200 / R.I. Ave / El Reno / Okla. Terr., on the cover of his November issue. The jug is machinemade and is the third item that’s turned up with the same stenciling or etching. It sold for $182.25 on eBay, a far cry from the previous one’s $1,740.69. He feels there’s something not right about it. If it’s a fake, then a judicious scratching of the stencil will prove if it was stenciled before the Bristol slip glaze or afterward. If the latter, the ink will come off, unmasking the item as spurrious.

In that same issue, Mark Wiseman (with Elsie the Pup) featured a year old Iowa digging story and Fletcher wrote a story, “Kenny Had Another Dream,” about digging buddy Kenny Burbrink. The latter said he dreamed a rare bottle would be found during the St. Joseph, Mo., dig and,

January-February 2007 sure enough, he dug a rare Louis Fuelling / St. Joseph / Mo., blob soda. Fletcher recalled Kenny said the same thing after a rare bottle was dug during an Atchison, Kan., dig. Later, Fletcher uncovered another blob top embossed Joseph Andriano / St, Joseph, Mo. / FREL on its front and A & D.H.C. on the reverse.

The Horse Creek Bottle Club of Warrenville, S.C., featured Alexander C. Haskell III and his wife, Joyce, during the October meeting. Haskell’s grandfather established Haskell’s Dairy near North Augusta, S.C., in 1912.

The dairy milk bottles are unusual because from the 1930s onward, each featured a rhyme or jingle extolling the virtues of Haskell’s milk.

Here’s one example: “Pale and skinny – it’s a crime The way some girls are wasting time.

Drink Haskell’s milk and he’ll not falter to lead you blushing to the altar.”

The dairy was in business until February of 1965 when it merged with Better Maid Dairy Products Co., of Athens, Ga. Member Bob Riddick of Lexington, S.C., gave the September meeting program.

No meeting was held in August.

Riddick spoke about his first bottlecollecting love – containers from Aiken, South Carolina where he grew up. He showed different varieties of Hall’s Pharmacy bottles dating from the 1870s through the 1950s and other drug store bottles from Platt’s Aiken Pharmacy, Dr. C.C. Johnson and H.H. Harper.

Riddick’s outstanding collection includes a Mosley’s Pine Elixir bottle from Aiken and a rare Staake’s Vital Tone Bitters, the last manufactured by the Aiken Chemical Co., as well as one of four known Aiken Bottling Works crown-top sodas and an Aiken Vigor-Vim crown top.

Aiken Beverage Company bottles included the firm’s Nickel Drink, a silkscreened, red-on-yellow A-B-C label, a Buffalo Rock Ginger Ale and Old Colony grape or strawberry sodas.

Aiken County milk bottles in his

Western Regional News Dottie Daugherty 3901 E. Stewart #19 Las Vegas, NV 89110-3152 (702) 452-1263 ddandlv@aol.com

11 collection hail from the Vale of Montmorenci, Palmetto Farms Dairy, Aiken Guernsey, J. Goldman Dairy, Holley Guernsey Farm, Hollyberry Farm and a George’s Dairy with a blue applied color label reading “You Can Keep ‘Em Flying,” a World War II slogan.

Some of this editor’s talk about Koca Nola and other “Ola” soft drinks during the July meeting was included in the September issue of the club’s Probe & Plunder newsletter. He displayed some of the bottles from the collection of Charles Head and others from his own collection. Those include Rye-Ola (Atlanta), Gay-Ola (Charleston, S.C.) and AmeriCola (Fitzgerald, Ga.).

Member Harvey Teal of Columbia, S.C., spoke about South Carolina’s nonCharleston beers at the club’s June meeting.

He owns many of the 16 varieties of those beers, including those of Columbia brewers Charles Narey, A. Stork and W.H. Griffin, R.Q. Strangemann of Anderson, C.F. Burk of Florence and D.J. Crowley of Georgetown.

The Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia opened to the public over Labor Day weekend at the Sautee Nacoochee Center, about four miles southeast of Alpine Helen. You can “visit” the museum at sauteenacoochee.org/ main.html, or folkpotterymuseum.com, but it’s worth a personal visit if you ever travel to Georgia. Several hundred pottery collectors and their families attended the grand opening.

This editor wishes to express his appreciation to FOHBC Hall of Fame members and their families who sent thank you notes regarding his Hall of Fame feature stories published in the Summer issue of Bottles & Extras. It was entertaining and educational to do the research and the writing. He also was humbled to receive the President’s Award for the second time in a row, this time from John Pastor for contributions to the federation. The first came from Ralph Van Brocklin in 2004. Thank you.

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January-February 2007

Bottles and Extras

A Remedy For Every Ill: Hatchett’s Drugstore and the Evolution of American Pharmacy

By Mike Bunn and Allen Vegotsky

Dr. James Marion Hatchett

Hatchett’s Drugstore, circa 1940. Samuel Hatchett at right.

This article was generated from research compiled for an exhibition at the Columbus Museum in Columbus, Georgia.

“A Remedy for Every Ill: Hatchett’s Drugstore and the Evolution of American Pharmacy” was on view from February 26 – July 16, 2006. Hatchett’s Drugstore Museum and Soda Fountain in Lumpkin, Georgia, is open Monday through Friday from 10-4 and Saturday by appointment.

For more information, call the Stewart County Historical Commission at 229-8386419.

This exhibition was made possible by generous funding from the Historic Chattahoochee Commission.

Hatchett’s Drugstore was founded in the late 1870s in Fort Gaines, Georgia by Dr.

James Marion Hatchett’s druggist license.

James Marion Hatchett, and closed in 1957.

The store’s contents, an amazingly intact inventory of an early 20th century drugstore, were donated by the Hatchett family to the Stewart County Historical Commission in 1973. With the exception of a small portion, currently on loan to the Historic Columbus Foundation, the collection is housed in Hatchett’s Drugstore Museum and Soda Fountain in downtown Lumpkin, Georgia, which operates as a museum and luncheonette. Appropriately, the collection’s current home once housed Barr’s Drugstore, a long-time Lumpkin establishment.

The Hatchetts Dr. James Marion Hatchett, founder of Hatchett’s Drugstore, was born in 1824 in

Map of west Georgia showing Harris County and Fort Gaines.

Card announcing the death of Dr. Hatchett

James Marion Hatcheett’s medical book.

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This engraving, entitled Salutis emporium, from Johann Michaelis’ Opera medica chirugica (Nuremburg, 1688) depicts the annual inspection of a European pharmacy’s stock.

[Courtesy National Library of Medicine]

Hatchett’s Drugstore, circa 1915. Samuel Pope Hatchett at left.

Tennessee. Hatchett is believed to have apprenticed to become a doctor in the 1840s and served in the Confederacy as a physician during the Civil War. Afterwards, he pursued certification as a pharmacist, working for a short time as both a pharmacist in Whitesville and West Point, Georgia. He later moved to Fort Gaines in Clay County, Georgia, where he opened a drugstore in the late 1870s.

Hatchett’s son, Samuel Pope Callaway Hatchett (known as Mr. Pope), ran the store after his father’s death in 1894. Though he learned much from observing his father,

The Max Morris School of Pharmacy in Macon.

Image of Samuel Hatchett’s class at the Max Morris School of Pharmacy; Samuel can be seen at far right (circled).

Samuel enrolled in the Max Morris School of Pharmacy in Macon, Georgia in 1906 to prepare for the State examination in Pharmacy. Upon his return, he operated the store until his death in 1957 when his wife literally locked the door with the contents intact until an agreement was reached with the Stewart County Historical Commission to house the approximately 5000 products and pharmaceutical artifacts in Lumpkin.

Drugstores of the Late 19th and Early Twentieth Centuries Drugstores were a relatively new phenomenon in America at the time Hatchett founded his store. Although forms of “pharmacy shops” had existed as far back as the eighth century, the development of stores like Hatchett’s can be traced more directly to late medieval Europe.

Apothecary shops, or drugstores, became relatively common at that time, and over the following centuries gradually started to take the shape they would become closely associated with in American history: a store

Perhaps the items most closely identified with the profession of pharmacy are the mortar and pestle. Used in the mixing of drugs since ancient times, especially ones that had to be ground to a powder, mortars and pestles were a recognized symbol of pharmacy as early as the 13th century.

Der Apotecker, from Oeconomus prudens et legalis, by Franciscus Florinus (Nuremberg, 1722). This image shows what a typical European apothecary shop of the early 1700s looked like.

[Courtesy National Library of Medicine]

with a glass front and a large rectangular interior space featuring rows of shelves and drawers in which medicinal ingredients were stored. As American drugstores began to develop, they emulated well-established European traditions.

The first drugstore in Georgia was opened in Savannah by Dr. Samuel Nunez in the 1730s. It was not until after the Civil War, however, that large numbers of these shops could be found in the state.

First Hospital Pharmacy in Colonial America, ca. 1750. Image from Great Moments in Pharmacy (Detroit, 1966).

[Courtesy of Pfizer Incorporated]

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January-February 2007

Glass bottles similar to the ones shown here lined most drugstores during the 1800s. They had both practical and decorative functions, as they stored ingredients the pharmacist used in compounding medicines, and by their orderly arrangement served as an advertisement conveying a sense of professionalism. The bottles slowly began to disappear from American pharmacies as chain drugstores came on the scene.

The Profession of Pharmacy During the early years of Hatchett’s Drugstore, the practices of medicine and pharmacy were much more interconnected than they are today. Far from being simply the dispenser of drugs, pharmacists played a vital role in diagnosing and treating illnesses, and they were usually the best

The Hatchetts used equipment such as shown here to produce medicines: hand balance and weight for measuring ingredients; cork press used to cap bottles of medication; and pill tile.

To produce pills, pharmacists would mix the ingredients into a thick paste and roll it out on tiles such as this one. The roll would then be cut into pills; the markings on the tile enabled the pharmacist to make pills of the same size and control the dosage of the medications.

source of information for their customers on the potentially dangerous incompatibility of drugs. Respected in the community for their knowledge, pharmacists were generally viewed as professional equals of doctors despite the fact most had only apprenticeship, rather than academic training.

Pharmacists not only sold and compounded pre-packaged drugs, they often developed, produced and marketed their own remedies. This long-standing custom dated to the beginnings of pharmacy, as mass-produced medicines were unknown until the late 1800s. Largely “vegetable” drugs, utilizing parts of plants such as roots and barks, most of the

Though it became increasingly rare for pharmacists to make the majority of their own medicines during the years of Hatchett’s operation, Samuel Hatchett did develop and market some of his own remedies. The items shown here are believed to be Hatchett’s version of popular medications of the day: Hatchett’s Chill and Fever Tonic, Hatchett’s Baby Bowel Remedy and Hatchett’s Sage Sulphur,

Bottles and Extras

Many of the common dosages of medicines we know today were developed by pharmacists.

They dispensed drugs and medicines as powders, pills, capsules, lozenges and wafers.

Liquids were dispensed as tinctures, emulsions, ointments, liniments and lotions.

pharmacist-created medicines contained from one to five ingredients. For many years, pharmacists were judged by their skill at compounding these items.

Patent Medicines Beginning in the 1880s, American drugstores increasingly carried massproduced medicines on their shelves. These proprietary, or “patent,” medicines were products whose ingredients were generally kept secret before federal legislation prohibiting the practice in 1906. Despite their name, very few of these products were actually patented. Often featuring sensational and exaggerted claims as a result of lax regulation and trademark rights, these products were sometimes effective, but often dangerous by contemporary standards.

Legislation passed after the turn of the 20th century eventually led to the end of many of the patent medicines. The Food and Drugs Act of 1906 was the first national

Common ingredients the Hatchetts used in compounding medicines.

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As interesting as proprietary medicines themselves were the marketing campaigns that accompanied them. Manufacturers’ claims were sometimes outrageous but chosen carefully to reach a wide audience, and drastically different language was sometimes employed in marketing the same medication for men and women.

legislation aimed at regulating the production and advertising of medicines and ensuring they contained no poisonous ingredients. A series of federal, as well as state, laws passed in the ensuing decades, coupled with advances in synthetic drug manufacturing, radically altered the formulation of industrially-produced drugs and greatly curtailed outrageous advertising. Though most eventually disappeared, some medicines, with altered formulas and claims, survived the period and are still popular today.

Types of patent medicines sold at Hatchett’s Drugstore.

long-standing tradition for pharmacists to sell a variety of sideline items, or “sundries,” to increase their store’s profitability. Some of these items, including perfumes, cosmetics, spices and flavorings, became the province of druggists because chemicals used to create them were often exclusively sold in pharmacies.

One of the sideline enterprises most closely associated with American

Pills, Potions, Soda and Ice Cream Drugstores like Hatchett’s, especially those in small towns such as Fort Gaines, sold a wide variety of items. Because for many years it was difficult to sustain a business selling medicines alone, it was a

Surviving medicines and health foods from the era of patent medicines.

drugstores is the soda fountain. The first soda fountains opened in the 1820s, and

Above and below: The variety of sideline items sold in drugstores such as tobacco and spices and flavorings such as vanilla, peppermint and ginger, helped make drugstores identifiable as much by their aroma as their appearance.

Medical advertising from the turn of the century sheds light on the state of pharmaceutical science. An emphasis on maintaining balances of fluids in the body for good health, which dates back to the time of the ancient Greeks, is evidenced in the labeling of some of the products. One of the most common treatments involved dealing with specific organs to cure illness. It was widely believed that certain organs, such as the liver and kidneys, were the main source of common maladies. Accordingly, many medicines alleged that they specifically targeted those organs.

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Bottles and Extras

Typical soda fountains in 1900 and the 1940s.

[Courtesy of the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy]

Hargis Hall at Ashburn University first housed the School of Pharmacy.

[Courtesy of Auburn University]

by the 1920s, an estimated 60 percent of American drugstores featured them. These enterprises, a natural fit for pharmacists given their knowledge of complicated flavor mixes and carbonation, gradually expanded to offer menus including sandwiches and ice cream. Fountains reached the height of their popularity during prohibition when they replaced bars as community gathering spots. Hatchett’s did not contain a fountain, though it probably did sell ice cream. An old ice cream scoop is among the artifacts in the Hatchett’s Drugstore Museum.

The End of an Era Several significant developments occurred around the turn of the 20th century that had a profound impact on drugstores such as Hatchett’s. Increasingly stringent federal regulation regarding the content and compounding of drugs limited the manufacture of medicines by pharmacists.

Coupled with mass production of medicines and the growth of advertising by drug companies, a central component of the pharmacist’s traditional job was steadily

reduced, and the pharmacist became as much a business operator as a health professional.

During the time these changes were occurring, pharmacy began to become more standardized. Colleges and universities began to expand pharmacy curriculums, resulting in more stringent educational requirements for pharmacists. Perhaps most importantly, though, drugstore chains such as Walgreen’s and Liggett’s presented established drugstores with competition for which they were unprepared. Stores like Hatchett’s could not compete with the lower prices and unparalleled selection of products the chain stores offered, and they were forced to expand their sideline businesses or risk failure. These factors, as well as the economic pressures associated with operating in a small southern town and Samuel Hatchett’s deteriorating health, contributed to Hatchett’s eventual decline.

Schools of Pharmacy began to develop at universities in Alabama and Georgia during the early years of Hatchetts’

Interior of a pharmaceutical plant, ca. 1940s.

[Courtesy of Pfizer Incorporated]

Hatchett’s today. Soda fountains became so common in American pharmacies that even certain types of furniture are identified with them. These tables and chairs, once common in drugstores with soda fountains, are still referred to as “ice cream chairs” and “ice cream tables.”

The Southern School of Pharmacy’s first home, in downtown Atlanta.

[Courtesy Mercer University Southern School of Pharmacy]

Students at the Southern School of Pharmacy, circa 1920. [Courtesy of Mercer Univ.

Southern School of Pharmacy]

operation. Alabama’s first school opened in 1885 at Auburn University. In Georgia, the Southern School of Pharmacy and the University of Georgia’s school opened in 1903.

By preserving the store’s tremendous collection of nearly 5,000 artifacts, the Stewart County Historical Commission provides a unique window into American pharmacy during an important period of transition.

Bottles and Extras

January-February 2007 Sources Bender, George A. Great Moments in Pharmacy. Northwood Institute Press: Detroit, 1966.

Cowen, David L. and William H. Helfand. Pharmacy: An Illustrated History.

Harry N. Abrams, Inc.: New York, 1990.

Kremers, Edward and George Urdang.

History of Pharmacy: A Guide and a Survey. J. B. Lippincott: Philadelphia, 1951.

Moye, Andy. The Square: A Modest History and Walking Tour.

Richardson, Charles G. and Lillian C. Richardson. The Pill Rollers: Apothecary Antiques and Drug Store Collectibles. Old Fort Press: Harrisonburg, Virginia, 2003.

Sonnedecker, Glenn, David L. Cowen, and Gregory J. Higby. Drugstore Memories: American Pharmacists Recall Life Behind

17 the Counter, 1824-1933. American Insitute of the History of Pharmacy: Madison, Wisconsin, 2002.

Southern Research. Living in Columbus, Georgia 1828-1869: The Lives of Creeks, Traders, Enslaved AfricanAmericans, Mill Operatives and Others as Told to Archaeologists. Southern Research: Columbus, Georgia, 2005.

Vegotsky, Allen. “Dr. Hatchett’s Drug Store Museum: A Time Capsule.” Bottles and Extras, Vol. 15, No. 1.

Vegotsky, Allen. Dr. Hatchett’s Drug Store Museum: An Inventory and Analysis.

Stewart County Historical Commission: Lumpkin, Georgia, 2003.

Wilson, Robert C. Drugs and Pharmacy in the Life of Georgia, 1733-1959. Foote and Davies: Atlanta, 1959.

The Jacobs Pharmacy Company, opened in Atlanta in 1890, was the first chain drugstore to open in Georgia.

Mike Bunn Asst. Curator of History The Columbus Museum 1251 Wynnton Road Columbus, GA 31906 (706) 748-2562, Ext. 14 Allen Vegotsky, Ph.D. 2215 Greencrest Drive Atlanta, GA 30345-2629 (770) 270-1034

Above: Hatchett’s Drugstore Museum and Soda Fountain in Lumpkin.

Left: The original Hatchett’s Drugstore building still stands in Fort Gaines. It is privately owned and rented out for special events. [Courtesy of Ken Penuel]

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HEROIN® and ASPIRIN® The Connection! & The Collection! - Part I

By Cecil Munsey Copyright © 2005 Between 1897 and 1914 Heinrich Dreser (1860-1924), a chemist, worked for Friedrich Bayer & Company, a dye factory in Wuppertal, Germany that was to eventually become the world’s first pharmaceutical giant.

As head of Bayer’s pharmacological laboratory Heinrich Dreser was responsible for the launch of two drugs that have shaped the way we live: aspirin, the world’s most successful legal drug; and heroin, the most successful illegal drug.

The stories of aspirin and heroin are intertwined through Dreser: HEROIN® was brought to market in November 1898

by Bayer and was registered as a trademark in various countries, most lucratively in the United States.

ASPIRIN® [acetylsalicylic acid (ASA)] was first introduced in 1899 as a loose powder in a small paper-labeled generic bottle with a cork closure [Figure 1]. The drug was sold under the Bayer trademark “Aspirin.”

Figure 1 The German company named the pain reliever after the medicine’s active ingredient – “a” from acetyl, “spir” from the spires plants (which yields salicin) and “in,” a common suffix for medications.

Heinrich Dreser Born in 1860, in Darmstadt, Germany the son of a physics professor, Heinrich Dreser [Figure 2] showed promise as a chemist from an early age. After receiving his doctorate from Heidelberg University, he worked in various Figure 2 laboratories before becoming a professor at Bonn University in 1893.

Four years later he joined the Bayer Company (originally a dye-producing firm), where he was placed in charge of testing the efficacy and safety of new drugs.

Dreser was admired for his thorough, methodical approach, and his innovations in testing. The credit for originating new

products for Bayer belonged, strictly speaking, to the researcher Arthur Eichengruen and chemist Felix Hoffman, but Dreser had the power within the company to decide which new products would be developed. He had also negotiated a special deal with the company that guaranteed him a share of profits from products he launched.

I. History of Opium, Morphine, and Heroin® Use of opium dates back further than there is history. Archeological digs in Switzerland have found opium poppy seeds and pods, dating from the Neolithic age – the “New Stone Age,” a period running from 5500 B.C. to 8000 B.C. This makes opium the oldest known drug.

As long ago as 3400 B.C., the opium poppy was cultivated in lower Mesopotamia (now western Iraq). The Sumerians called it Hul Gil, the “joy plant.” The Sumerians (best remembered as the culture that invented writing) had knowledge of poppy cultivation and passed it to the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and ultimately, the Egyptians.

By 1300 B.C. the Egyptians were cultivating opium thebaicum, named for their capital city of Thebes. From Thebes, the Egyptians traded opium all over the Middle East and into Europe. Throughout that period, opium’s effects were considered magical or mystical.

Some eight hundred years later, the Greek physician, Hippocrates [Figure 3], dismissed the idea that opium was “magical.” Instead, he noted its effectiveness as a painkiller and a styptic (a drug used to Figure 3 staunch bleeding).

Around 330 B.C. Alexander the Great [Figure 4] introduced opium to the people of Persia and India, where the poppies later came to be grown in vast quantities. By A.D. 400, Figure 4

opium thebaicum was first introduced to China by Arab traders.

During the Middle Ages in Europe, when anything from the East was linked to the Devil, opium went unmentioned and unused in Europe. However, the surge of seafaring and exploring re-introduced the drug in the late 15th and early 16th centuries.

Portuguese sailors are thought to have been the first to smoke opium, around 1500. As with any drug, smoking has an instantaneous effect, contrasted with eating or drinking the drug.

The early scientist, Paracelsus [Figure 5] first compounded laudanum, an alcoholic solution of opium, about 1527. The preparation was widely used up through the 19th century to treat a variety of disorders.

The addictive Figure 5 property of opium (or laudanum) was not yet understood. A leading brand of laudanum, Sydenham’s Laudanum, was introduced in England in 1680.

Purely recreational use of opium gained some prevalence in the early 1600s in Persia and India, where it was either eaten or drunk in various mixtures. The heavy traffic of trade and exploration by sea continued to spread the traffic of opium around the world during this period. Opium was traded everywhere from China to England. In fact, in 1606 ships chartered

by Elizabeth I [Figure 6] were instructed to purchase the finest Indian opium and transport it back to England.

The eighteenth century saw greater incursions of the Figure 6

Bottles and Extras

January-February 2007

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

opium trade into China, along with the practice of smoking the drug in [collectible] pipes [Figures 7, 8, 9, and 10]. The British undertook creating a demand for opium in China in order to create a trade balance for all of the tea from China they required. The opium problem became widespread enough to inspire a Chinese ban, in 1729, of opium for anything other than licensed medical use. Beginning in the second half of the eighteenth century, the British East India Company dominated the opium trade out of Calcutta to China.

The amount of opium sold into China was approximately two thousand chests of opium per year by 1767, and by 1858, that number had risen to 70,000 chests of opium. By the end of the century, the British East India Company had a complete monopoly on the Indian opium trade. In 1799, all opium trade was banned in China, but by then millions of Chinese were addicted. In some coastal provinces, 90% of Chinese adults were opium addicts by the mid-1830s.

Not to be outdone, the British Levant Company began, in 1800, to purchase nearly half of all of the opium coming out of Smyrna, Turkey for export to Europe and the United States.

In 1803, Friedrich Sertuerner [Figure 11] of Germany synthesized morphine (principium somniferum) from opium for the first time, and discovered the active ingredient of the opium poppy, which Carl Linnaeus (Swedish Figure 11 botanist, physician, zoologist), [Figure 12] had first classified in 1753 as papaver somniferum. The

discovery of morphine was considered a milestone. It was from opium, morphine (named after the Greek god of dreams, Morpheus), a derivative, was developed as a painkiller in Figure 12 approximately 1810. By the mid-1850s, morphine was available in the U. S. The medical community declared that opium had been “tamed.” Morphine’s reliability, long-lasting effects, and safety were extolled. In fact, despite its potential for addiction, morphine is still the premier drug used for extreme pain in hospitals and for end-of-life care.

Following the 1799 ban on opium in China, opium smuggling began to be a crowded industry, with several well-known Americans entering the trade. Charles Cabot and John Cushing, of Boston, worked separately to amass opium-smuggling wealth. John Jacob Astor of New York City smuggled ten tons of opium into China under his American Fur Company banner, but later confined his opium selling to the English trade.

English artists, writers, and other luminaries were famously experimenting with and becoming addicted to opium in the early 19th century. By 1830, British use of opium for both medicinal and recreational purposes was at an all time high. 22,000 pounds of opium were imported from Turkey and India that year.

Laudanum continued to be popular, and was actually cheaper than beer or wine.

Patent medicines (non-prescription “cures”) of all descriptions, and opium preparations such as Dover’s powder, were readily available.

Dover’s powder, first developed by the English physician and buccaneer Thomas Dover (16601742) [Figure 13], contained opium, salt peter, tartar, licorice and ipecacuanha (South American shrub). In addition to producing his o p i u m - c o n t a i n i n g Figure 13 “sweating powder,” Dover was the assistant captain aboard the privateer Duke that rescued Alexander Selkirk (Robinson Crusoe) from one of the Juan Fernandez Islands in 1709.

The incidence of opium dependence grew steadily in England, Europe, and the

19 United States during the first half of the 19th century by means of these treatments.

Working-class medicinal use of products containing opium as sedatives for children was especially common in England. Those using opium for recreational purposes seem to have been primarily English literary and creative personalities, such as Thomas de Quincey, Byron, Shelley, Barrett-Browning, Coleridge and Dickens.

The First Opium War between China and England began in 1839 as a result of a Chinese ban on opium traffic, and an order for all foreign traders to surrender their opium. In 1841, the British defeated the Chinese and took possession of Hong Kong as part of their bounty – it was returned to China 156 years later in 1997. The Second Opium War of 1856 finally made the importation of opium into China legal again, against the wishes of the Chinese government.

Dr. Alexander Wood of Edinburgh discovered the technique of injecting morphine with a syringe in 1843. The effects of injected morphine were instantaneous and three times more potent than oral administration.

During the Civil War in the U. S., the numbers of people exposed to morphine in the course of being treated for their warrelated injuries skyrocketed. Tens of thousands of northern and Confederate soldiers became morphine addicts.

Figure 14

From the late 1800s to the early 1900s, the reputable drug companies of the day began manufacturing over the counter drug kits [Figure 14]. These kits contained a glassbarreled hypodermic needle and vials of Figure 15 opiates (morphine or heroin) and/or cocaine packaged neatly in attractive engraved cases [Figures 15

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January-February 2007

Figure 16

and 16].

Heroin (diacetylmorphine) was first synthesized from morphine in 1874 by English researcher C. R. Wright. The drug went unstudied and unused until 1895 when Heinrich Dreser, working for the Bayer Company of Germany, found that diluting morphine with acetyls produced a drug without the common morphine side effects.

Heroin was considered a highly effective medication for coughs, chest pains, and the discomfort of tuberculosis. This effect was important because pneumonia and tuberculosis were the two leading causes of death at that time – prior to the discovery of antibiotics. Heroin was touted to doctors as stronger than morphine and safer than codeine. It was thought to be nonaddictive, and even thought to be a cure for morphine addiction or for relieving morphine withdrawal symptoms. Because of its supposed great potential, Dreser derived his name for the new drug from the German word for “heroic.”

After decades of promoting the consumption of opium, Britain in 1878 passed the Opium Act to reduce opium consumption in China, India, and Burma.

Under the new regulation, the selling of opium was restricted to registered Chinese opium smokers and Indian opium eaters.

In 1886, the British acquired Burma’s northeast region, the Shan State.

Production and smuggling of opium along the lower region of Burma thrived despite British efforts to maintain a strict monopoly on the opium trade. To this day, the Shan state of Burma (now known as Myanmar) is one of the world’s leading centers of opium production.

During the early years of the 20 th century, the Chinese leadership worked in a variety of ways to stop the flow of opium into their country. In 1910, after 150 years of failed attempts to rid the country of opium, the Chinese were finally able to convince the British to dismantle the IndiaChina opium trade.

Despite the 1890 U.S. law-enforcement legislation on narcotics, which imposed a tax on opium and morphine, consumption of the drugs, along with heroin, grew

rapidly at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20 th centuries. Various medical journals of the time wrote of heroin as a morphine step-down cure.

Other physicians argued, on the other hand, that their patients suffered from heroin withdrawal symptoms as severe as morphine withdrawal.

Heroin, morphine and other opiate derivatives were unregulated and sold legally in the U. S. until 1920 when Congress recognized the danger of these drugs and enacted the Dangerous Drug Act. By the time this law was passed, however, it was already too late. A market for heroin in the U. S. had been created. By 1925 there were an estimated 200,000 heroin addicts in the country.

In the mid to late 1800s, opium was a fairly popular drug. Opium dens were scattered throughout what we know today as the “wild west.” The opium influx during this period was due in large part to the drug (mostly in collectible glass bottles, [Figures 17, 18, and 19]), being brought into the country via Chinese immigrants who came here to work on the railroads.

Accurate American history tells us that famous names of the period like “Wild Bill” Hickok [Figure 20] and Kit Carson [Figure 21] actually frequented opium dens more often than saloons. The stereotyped picture we have of the cowhand belly up to the bar drinking whiskey straight after a long hard ride on the dusty trail is only part of the story of the old west. Oftentimes the cowhand was not belly up to a bar at all.

He was in a prone position in the dim candle-lit room smoking opium in the company of an oriental prostitute. It was not uncommon for some of these cowhands to spend several days and nights at a time in these dens in a constant dream-state, eventually becoming physically addicted to the drug.

In 1905, the U.S. Congress passed a law banning opium. The following year, Congress passed the famous Pure Food and Drug Act, which required pharmaceutical companies to label their patent medicines with their complete contents. As a result, the availability of opiate drugs in the U.S. significantly declined. In 1909, Congress banned the import of opium entirely. In 1914, Congress passed the Harrison Narcotics Act, which aimed to curb drug abuse and addiction. It required doctors, pharmacists, and others who legally prescribed narcotics (cocaine and heroin) to register and pay a tax.

Bottles and Extras

Figure 17

Figure 18

Figure 20

Figure 19

Figure 21

In 1923, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Narcotics Division (the first federal drug agency) banned all legal narcotics sales, under the Dangerous Drug Act of 1920, forcing addicts to buy from illegal street dealers. Soon, a thriving black market opened up in New York’s Chinatown and other places.

Discovery of Heroin® Like aspirin, the drug that Bayer launched under the trademark Heroin® in 1898 was not an original discovery.

Diacetylmorphine, a white, odourless, bitter, crystalline powder derived from morphine, as previously indicated, had been invented in 1874 by an English chemist, C. R. Wright.

But Dreser was the first to see its commercial potential. Scientists had been looking for some time for a non-addictive substitute for morphine, then widely used as a painkiller and in the treatment of respiratory diseases. If diacetylmorphine could be shown to be such a product, Bayer – and Dreser – would hit the jackpot.

Diacetylmorphine was first synthesised in the Bayer laboratory in 1897 – by Felix Hoffmann, two weeks after he first synthesised ASA (aspirin). The work had been initiated by Dreser.

By early 1898 Dreser was testing heroin on animals, on some Bayer’s workers, and on himself. The workers loved it; some

Bottles and Extras saying it made them feel “heroisch” (heroic). The diacetylmorphine (heroin) was four times stronger than morphine.

Creating the brand name “Heroin®” was easy.

In November 1898, Dreser presented the drug to the Congress of German Naturalists and Physicians, claiming it was ten times more effective as a cough medicine than codeine but had only a tenth of its toxic effects. It was also more effective than morphine as a painkiller. “It was safe.

It wasn’t habit-forming.” In short, Dreser claimed it was a wonder drug.

What we forget now is that heroin met what was then a desperate need – not for a painkiller, but for a cough remedy. As already stated, tuberculosis and pneumonia were then the leading causes of death, and even routine coughs and colds could be severely incapacitating. Heroin, which both depresses respiration and, as a sedative, gives a restorative night’s sleep, seemed a godsend at the turn of the 20th century.

The initial response to its launch was overwhelmingly positive. Dreser had already written about the drug in medical journals and studies had endorsed his view that heroin could be effective in treating asthma, bronchitis and tuberculosis. As would later be done with Aspirin®, flyers and free samples were sent out by the thousands to physicians in Europe and the U.S. (For the information of collectors, the label on the samples showed a lion and a globe.)

By 1899, Bayer was producing about a ton of heroin a year, and exporting the drug to 23 countries. The country where it really took off was the U.S., where there was already a large population of morphine addicts, a craze for patent medicines, and a relatively lax regulatory framework.

Manufacturers of cough syrup were soon lacing their products with Bayer heroin.

There were heroin pastilles, heroin cough lozenges, heroin tablets, water-soluble salts and a heroin elixir in a glycerine solution.

(The containers for these various products are what hundreds of collectors seek today.)

Habit-forming Nostrums The following preparations were some of those that contained habit-forming drugs other than alcohol. They were such drugs as opium and its derivatives, morphine, codeine, and heroin; cocaine; cannabis indica; et cetera (all containers of these products are very collectible).

Agnew’s Powder (cocaine)

January-February 2007 Anglo-American Catarrh Powder (cocaine) Dr. Seth Arnold’s Cough Syrup (morphine) Boschee German Syrup (opium) Brou’s Injection (morphine) Carney Common Sense Cure (morphine) Children’s Comfort (morphine) Coca-Cola (cocaine) Coco-Bola (cocaine) Colwell’s Egyptian Oil (opium) Crossman’s Specific Mixture (opium) Dr. Drake’s German Croup Remedy (opium) Dr. Fahrney’s Teething Syrup (morphine) Godfrey Cordial (opium) Gowan Pneumonia Cure (opium) Habitan (morphine) Harrison Opium Elixir (opium) Hooper Anodyne – the infant’s friend (morphine) Dr. James’ Soothing Syrup (heroin) Jain’s Expectorant (opium) Maugre Compound Extract Benne (morphine) Mexican Oil (opium) Dr. McMunn’s Elixir of Opium (opium) – [Figure 22] Figure 22

Dr. Might’s Tethyan Teething Powders (opium) One Day Cough Cure (cannabis indica and morphine) Petit’s Eye Salve (morphine) Pierces Smart Weed (opium) Piso’s Cure (cannabis indica) Rectal Cholera Cure (opium)

21 Shiloh’s Cure (heroin) Taylor Sweet Gum & Mullein Compound (morphine) Touselly’s Sneezeless Snuff (morphine) Tubercine (opium) Tucker Asthma Cure (cocaine) Victor Lung Syrup (opium) Watkin’s Anodyne (heroin) Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup (morphine) Wright’s Instant Relief (opium) Bayer never advertised heroin to the public but the publicity material sent to physicians was unambiguous [Figure 23]. One flyer described the product this way: “Heroin: the Sedative for Cough . . . order a supply from your jobber.”

“It possesses many advantages Figure 23 over morphine,” wrote the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal in 1900. “It’s not hypnotic, and there’s no danger of acquiring a habit.”

But worrying rumors were surfacing.

As early as 1899, researchers began to report patients developing “tolerance” to the drug, while a German researcher denounced it as “an extremely dangerous poison.” By 1902, when heroin sales were accounting for roughly five percent of Bayer’s net profits, French and American researchers were reporting cases of “heroinism” and addiction.

Between 1899 and 1905, at least 180 clinical works on heroin were published around the world, and most were favorable, if cautious. In 1906, the American Medical Association approved heroin for medical use, though with strong reservations about a “habit” that was “readily formed.”

In 1913, Bayer decided to stop making heroin. There had been an explosion of heroin-related admissions at New York and Philadelphia hospitals, and in East Coast cities a substantial population of recreational users was reported –some supported their habits by collecting and selling scrap metal, hence the name “junkie.” Heroin had, and has, a number of street names: It is sometimes called smack, skag, dope, H, junk, hammer, slow, Continued on Page 35.

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by Robin R. Preston Meet The Collector: Kevin Wade The name “bluroc” will be familiar to any collector who hunts glass regularly on eBay, not only because he has an uncanny knack for finding the most desirable glasses even before many of us have had time to take the first sip of coffee in the morning, but also because he usually ends up winning them despite fierce competition. The man behind the bidder id is Kevin Wade, one of the online community’s old timers.

Kevin’s eye for the rare is coupled with a laudable — some would say impossible — restraint. He limits himself to the pristine, seldom bidding on a glass with so much as a nick in the rim, let alone anything with a thin or worn label. I later discovered that he also prunes his collection mercilessly on a regular basis, discarding anything he considers mundane or tainted.

The result of this constant winnowing is a collection that is relatively small (a hundred or so glasses) but that is equaled by few others in the country in terms of quality. It includes an impressive number of glasses with highly-prized colored labels, many of which can be seen in the final page of this article.

Kevin does not limit his collection to shot glasses. Click on a link to his eBay bidding history and you’ll find jugs, mirrors, flasks, photographs, signs, cigar boxes; anything and everything old. It didn’t take me long to recognize that this was someone to keep an eye on and get to know.

Kevin was one of the first collectors who graciously agreed to be interviewed by Howard Currier for Random Shots. In preparing for this feature, Kevin took it upon himself to photodocument his entire collection. As you can see from this and the following pages, the results of his efforts are nothing short of breathtaking. The text that accompanies the images was provided

by Kevin in response to a list of questions compiled by Howard and myself some time ago.

Here, in his own words (and images), is the story of the Kevin Wade collection.

An old coffee can full of arrowheads.

Gumball charms. A shoebox of quartz crystals. I came to shot glass collecting late, but I’ve been a collector as far back as I can remember. When I was a child my dad, working at the time for the Missouri Highway Department, would bring home fossil shells from roadcuts. Every job he worked on held some fascinating object. In New Mexico, it was Indian pottery and obsidian. The gold rush country in California yielded pieces of Chinese rice bowls and sun colored glass. Ancient metates (stones for grinding grain) were still in place in areas of the dam site.

Excavating the foundation meant rerouting the river in order to remove the gravel and boulders. I heard stories of employees being told to either work or be fired, as gold appeared as bedrock was reached. One engineer showed me a bottle full of nuggets he had picked up.

My collecting was on hold while I was in the Navy. After my discharge I moved to Albuquerque, decided I liked purple glass, and started buying bottles. There wasn’t much to be had, here and there at tourist and antique shops. I read the classifieds religiously, but was usually disappointed by what I found. One day I saw an ad for a large collection so I went to check it out. I got to the house and was stunned by what I saw. The seller had gone to many of the old fort locations in the southwest and detected for uniform buttons.

As he came across bottles he would pick them up and bring them back. The garage

was stacked floor to ceiling with glass, all covered with a nasty black fuzz, from buffing brass buttons and insignia. He wanted to sell it all at once. I decided to consult my fiancé. She said under no circumstances did she want dozens of boxes of filthy bottles in our apartment. So, I did what any collector would do, I bought the whole collection. We spent weeks going through it.

There were no bottle shows at that time in New Mexico; I finally made it to my first one when we moved to the Seattle area in 1985. I felt a rush as I walked in and saw the sales tables, the displays, and the people. People with the same affliction as me! One display in particular caught my eye. On a large, butcher paper covered table were an assortment of tumblers, dose glasses and similar items. Some appeared to have writing on them, and as I got closer I could see whiskey brand names. I liked small, obscure, ornate old stuff, and here was something I could sink my teeth into.

The glasses belonged to Mark Nelson, premier Washington Territory collector. He had an S. Hyde glass from Seattle on his table, but all I could do was look at it. I was unemployed and too broke to buy anything. It took awhile, but I finally got it [Figure 1].

I don’t remember the first time I met Bob Barnett, at another show, I’m sure. I got on his mailing list and was soon buying glasses from him. For a long time this was my main method of acquisition. The best place to buy glasses, especially if you want a deal, is at shows. Unfortunately, many of the larger shows are in California, a long ways off. Two states over is no big deal in

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23

the Eastern U.S.; out here it’s a full days drive or more. So, my collection grew, but slowly. Competition for the better glasses was fierce, and could be frustrating. Even though I would grab the list from the mail carrier, dialing the phone as I did so, I couldn’t seem to get thru first. I often settled for glasses that weren’t as desirable.

Bob had told me that most collectors started out trying to get everything under the sun, until they realized how much was out there.

I didn’t believe him, not at first. I finally noticed that the Western glasses sold quickly, while many of the Eastern glasses, as nice or nicer, languished. So, I decided to buy from anywhere in the U.S., but only what I found attractive.

I made it to a couple of National bottle shows and bought quite a lot, especially from Paul Van Vactor, one of the biggest dealers around, and a true Southern Gentleman. I also got to meet Barbara Edmonson at a show in her hometown of Chico, California. Barbara’s books were (and are) the bible for pre-pro collectors.

I’ve read them over and over again. I also did some buying/selling with Ken Schwartz and Ralph Van Brocklin, two prominent members of the collecting community, as well as people I met through bottle mags.

I still didn’t have any hand enameled or L.U.G.’s.

I finally picked up the DOUBLE EAGLE WHISKEY [Figure 2] from a local antiques dealer after I bought a couple of

glasses and she casually mentioned that her father had collected them. This was a definite coup for me. I’m not much at networking (something that all great collectors are good at); it’s a must for ferreting out scarcer pieces. Shoulda been here earlier dept...I contacted a dealer in a depression glass sales rag about two prepros she had listed. She told me that they were the last two of a 300+ collection she had accumulated. Ouch!

What’s different about pre-pro? It seems to me that in most collecting hobbies, there is a base of common to scarce items, which collectors can find, and then a few rarities, which are fought over. The prepro glasses seem to be upside down. There are a few common glasses, the Hayners, Zimmermans, Riegers. Everything else is scarce to rare. I think that most collectors want local items, primarily as go withs. To collect nationally means going after glasses that were made for small, localized markets, so there aren’t very many of them to begin with, and the locals compete strongly. It’s not like bottle collecting on a national scale, where you can usually acquire the piece you’re after with enough patience. The scarcity factor also means values are not fixed; an unlisted glass comes up virtually weekly. There are probably more unlisted than listed. So, there is still plenty of appeal there, the great unknown.

It can get discouraging, so I would have to say go where the glass is, the bottle shows.

Decide on what you like and buy accordingly. You won’t be disappointed if it appeals to you. Condition wise, most collectors, myself included, will tolerate damage if confined to the rim of the glass, but a strong, unfaded etching is a must. It helps to carry a picture or an example, because there are still many people who don’t know what you’re after.

Reproductions haven’t been a problem; I have yet to see a credible replica.

So it went until... ...eBay! I began seeing glasses I had only dreamed of.

Problem was, I had no computer, just a hotmail address, so I couldn’t register. For a while I phoned in my bids to a friend, but this became too cumbersome. Another friend I work with offered to register for me, and he created the account and user ID “bluroc” (he’s a guitar player). Things really took off after that.

Have eBay and the internet ruined the hobby? It has been great from my point of view (except I’m still all over the road when it comes to buying); I have access to rarities that are seldom seen. The information available is staggering. Robin Preston’s website, pre-pro.com, is unprecedented in gathering data for collectors, and getting them together. On the flip side, I fear that as Google and other information technology takes hold, antiques will become another commodity. This is a ways off. I would hate to see the day when the thrill of finding a rare or unusual item is gone. As much as

Figure 1: Hyde was a wholesale and retail liquor dealer who listed in the years leading up to Washington state Prohibition.

Photograph copyright Ken Schwartz, 2006: from the Ken Schwartz collection, available online at www.pre-pro.com.

Figure 2: The DOUBLE EAGLE WHISKEY picked up from a local antiques dealer. After the purchase of a couple of glasses, she casually mentioned that her father had collected them.

Figure 2: One of Kevin’s favorite glasses, Morning Joy. He imagines the lady illustrated on the glass enjoying her morning “break” after the husband is gone and the kids are off to school.

24 I have benefited from the internet, hunting, researching and spending time with friends are really the worthwhile aspects of collecting. I think my bigger concern is whether enough replacement collectors are in the pipe. Let’s face it, there are a lot of graying heads out there. The things that drew me, the reminders of the past and the places to roam and explore freely, are disappearing. With new technologies

January-February 2007 changing our daily lives and the way we spend our free time, I hope there is always room for collecting.

My favorite glass? The one I haven’t found yet. Looking forward to the next great thing is what keeps it fun. I do like the Morning Joy glass from Chicago [Figure 3]. Yep, the husband’s gone to work, kids are off to school, and the breakfast dishes are cleared away. Time

Bottles and Extras for my morning break, and a big glass of Morning Joy! You can view all of Kevin’s collection online in “Collector’s Corner” at www.prepro.com. Questions and comments can be directed to Robin Preston at 245 N 15th St., MS#488, Philadelphia, PA 19102, email oldwhiskey@pre-pro.com.

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BATTERY INSULATORS, OIL INSULATORS and CHLORIDE ACCUMULATORS

Figure 2: “Birdfeeder” battery insulator.

Figure 4: USL No 2, light aqua

Figure 6: Gould Battery (R) Patented Dec. 1. 1896, light green

Figure 7a: Chloride Accumulator / The E.S.B. Co., aqua

Figure 7b: Chloride Accumulator / The E.S.B. Co., battery rest, green.

Figure 9: CD-29 no embossing, light-green

Figure 10: CD-20 E.S.B. Co.

Figure 11: CD-24 embossed The United States Light & Heating Company, aqua

Figure 13: CD-22.5 embossed: (F) Gould Battery (R) Pat. Dec.1.1896, yellow-green

Figure 15: A CD-22 with no embossing in deep violet cobalt blue.

Figure 12: CD-30 embossed Chloride Accumulator / The E.S.B. Co., emerald green

Figure 16: CD-40 with no embossing in dark aqua.

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By Charles and Sandra Irons, Milford, Delaware First Place - Writer’s Choice Contest - Research Info The Delmarva Blowpipe newsletter; Delmarva Antique Bottle Club From the first time that a cell or battery was used to supply electricity, a way was needed to prevent or reduce the leakage of electric current. This leakage occurred when the surface of the cell or battery (and the support that it was placed on) became coated with a fine deposit of acid-laden moisture and dust.

It was found that electric leakage was reduced if each cell or battery (a series of cells) was isolated from the support on which it sat.

Wood framing was used, but it was discovered that over time the wood would absorb the acid-laden moisture. This created a direct path for electrical leakage and eventually the acid moisture would cause the wood to rot.

Battery insulators were used with DC electric systems as low as 1-2 volts and up to 600 volts and greater.

Lower DC voltage was used for a short time with telegraphs, alarms, and railroad signals. Higher voltage was used for lighting, motors, pumps, etc. Originally, plain glass battery insulators were placed between wooden stringers and the battery tank. This proved to be insufficient ... so, glass insulators were added between the wood stringers and the floor. This combination became known as “Double Insulation.”

However, this did not prevent the decay of the wooden stringers, so the Electric Storage Battery Company (E.S.B. Co.) designed and developed the combination of an oil insulator and an earthenware pedestal that solved the problem of the wood decaying. This earthenware pedestal / oil insulator became the standard for the industry and made it possible to finally do away with the wooden stringers.

Figure 3: Glass tray.

Illustrated on the right [Figure 1] is a complete Pedestal / Oil Insulator unit consisting of the cupped lead washer, alloy cap, Y lead washer, oil insulator and the insulator pedestal. It can be seen how the insulator and the pedestal lock together. It is believed that this is a one-of-a-kind, complete unit. The patent for this invention that was granted to Cornelius Ambruster of Roslywn, Pennsylvania on July 13, 1915.

The oil insulator / earthenware pedestal was used to support a battery tank with lead.

The exterior was coated with asphaitum.

Four to six CD-35s or CD-36s were used to support this style of battery tank.

Please notice the base of the pedestal.

The uneven design of the base of the pedestal allowed water and foreign material to pass under the support when flushing the battery room floor.

Birdfeeders The nickname “birdfeeder” was given to the CD-35 and CD 36 around 1969. The collectors at that time thought they resembled a bird feeder. There is an example of an aqua CD-36 embossed “The E.S.B.. Co. (R) Made in U.S.A. B-159933” illustrated on the right [Figure 2].

These battery insulators were very unique because they used a nonconductive oil that was put in the circular trough and was then covered by a lead-alloy cap. The purpose of the cap was to exclude, as far as possible, all spray or other foreign matter from getting into the oil space and to protect it from being splashed when flushing the Battery Room floor.

Glass Tray Jars that were not sealed were set

Figure 5: Gould Battery (R) Patented Dec. 1. 1896, aqua

Figure 1: Pedestal oil insulator.

on seperate glass trays [Figure 3] or boxes filled with sand. This was necessary due to the absense of a sealed cover which allowed acid-laden moisture to run down the outside of the jar and attack the wooden support (susceptible to rot) that the battery sat on.

Glass Thread Screw Battery Insulators This type of Battery Insulator has a very fragile male glass thread screw. It is believed that the thread was used to secure the insulator in the wooden stringers that supported the battery so that the insulator and support could be moved as a unit.

Several are illustrated [Figures 4-6].

What Is A Well?

The wells (circular trough) that are a part of some of these insulators were used to collect Chlorides that would seep down the sides of the cell (battery jar). This type of battery insulator is known as a “Chloride Accumulator” and some are embossed with that information [Figure 7a and b].

United Kingdom Battery Insulators British battery insulators are different from battery insulators that were made in the United States.

The British battery insulators are in two parts: a base unit and a top. The smaller size bases have a round bump in the center that matches a depression in the top’s center to locate and secure the two pieces together.

Four two-part styles are known. Until

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Figure 8 British battery insulators are in two parts.

a year ago, the only colors known to exhist in the in the two-part battery insulators were light green and light aqua. Illustrated [Figure 8] is a clear base battery insulator that is believed to be the only one known at this writing.

The only known light-green “unipart” in the U.S.-style has a solid center instead of hollow center and has a corrugated base.

The style numbers and letters of the United Kingdom battery insulators were assigned by Ian Mackey and are not “officially” recognized numbers by the insulator-collecting community at this time.

Colors for Battery Insulators Colors of battery insulators range from various shades of aqua to green, clear, smoke, lavender, 7-Up green, emerald green, yellow-green, cobalt blue, blue and amber.

What Are Glass Battery Plate Spacers?

It is believed that the “U” shaped glass bars were part of a failed attempt to insulate the positive and negative plates from each other in a cell.

At this writing, no proof has been found to support this theory.

The only reference found was to “rods” being used in a patent issued to Stanley C.C. Currie of Philadelphia, Pa., October 14, 1890, #438,532... “insulated from one another by means of rods.”

“Plate spacers” have been found in various shades of aqua, blue and green.

Manufacturers Some of the manufacturers known to have produced battery (rests) insulators are: Brookfield Glass Company, Old Bridge, New Jersey; The Elmer Glass Co., Elmer, New Jersey; Hemingray Glass Co., Muncie, Indiana.

Dumps that were used by these companies have been excavated by collectors. Battery insulators, shards of, and warming pours of battery insulators were found at some of the manufacturer’s dumps.

The following is a list of battery insulator (or pieces of such) that have been found in some of the manufacturer’s dumps: Brookfield Dump - Old Bridge, New Jersey: CD-20, Gould; CD-29, no embossing [Figure 9]; CD-53, U.S.L. [Figure 4] Hemingray Dump - Muncie, Indiana: CD-24, U.S. Light & Heating Co. [Figure 11]; CD-24, National Battery Co.; CD-33, no embossing Elmer Glass Co. Dump - Elmer, New Jersey: CD-35, no embossing; CD-36, E.S.B. Co. [Figure 2] Earliest Patent Date The earliest known patent date for a glass battery insulator is July 12, 1870. The patent number 105,252 was granted to Orris W. Robertson of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The E.S.B. Co. The Electric Storage Battery Co. (E.S.B. Co.) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was founded in 1888 by W.W. Gibbs. By 1908 they were using glass for their battery (rests) insulators.

The information is supported by copies of various patents.

Figure 10 illustrates an E.S.B. Co. CD20 in aqua. Figure 12 is an emerald green example CD-30 embossed “Chloride Accumulator / The E.S.B. Co. Gould Gould Storage Battery Co. was founded in 1898 by Charles Gould of New York.

Their first patent for a battery insulator is 1913.

Figures 5 and 6 illustrate two Gould insulators. Figure 13 is a beautiful example of a yellow-green CD-22.5 patented Dec. 1, 1896 while Figure 14 features another CD-22.5 in light lavender.

Figure 14: Another CD-22.5, this one light lavender in color.

Bottles and Extras U.S.L. In 1898 the National Battery Company was formed. Electric Autolite later gained control of National Battery Company and operated it under the name of U.S.L. Battery Company.

Figure 4 illustrates an example of a U.S.L. CD-53 insulator in light aqua.

No Written History The collecting of “battery (rests) insulators” is a specialty within the hobby of insulator collecting. Although we are learning more about how the battery insulators were used and who made them, the history of the battery insulators has yet to be written. More written documentation is needed.

At this time, there are still unlisted styles with no history [Figures 15 and 16 ] and others just waiting to be discovered.

As Collectors, Our Goal Hopes are that as you read this article you will become more aware of the different styles (CD numbers) and the range of colors, as well as some basic history of the battery insulators, oil insulators and chloride accumulators.

Resources: John and Carol McDougald, History & Guide to North American Insulators.

Judy Kokal, Gould Electronics Inc. Deb Burkhart, EnerSys (Exide).

Glenn Drummond, patent information.

Ian Mackey, American / British Battery Rest Gallery website.

Elton Gish, patent information.

E.W. Allen, storage batteries.

NIA (National Insulator Association) website.

Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C., research.

Bill Meier, ICON. Dann Cochran, Hemingray dump info.

Bob Stahr, Hemingray dump info.

David Sztramski, Brookfield dump info.

This article came from a brochure created as part of Charles and Sandi’s display of battery insulators, oil insulators and chloride accumulators that won three awards: Best of Show, Most Educational and People’s Choice during the Lewes, Delaware show in Sept., 2005.

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Patents Issued to William Beach Fenn Part 1 of 2

By Barry L. Bernas Overview Available records show William Beach Fenn was born on December 7th, 1858 in Brookfield, a small municipality within Litchfield County, Connecticut. His parents were William Alexander Fenn and Clarissa (Clara) D. Beach. A little over seventy-one years later, he died in Port Washington, New York on March 9th, 1930. 1 According to his obituary, one of the primary pursuits throughout his lifetime involved inventing “…machines to cut down the waste of human labor.”

In excess of two-hundred patents were attributed to him in a fifty year segment of his life.2 My review of the records of his innovations at the United States Patent and Trademark Office turned up at least four periods of time which encapsulate his primary creative themes. Initially, William B. Fenn was concerned with improvements to carpentry tools. Except for some brief excursions, his next focus seemed to deal with the glass industry. These enhancements occupied Mr. Fenn’s mind from 1896 through 1906.3 Between 1907 and 1914, his center of attention shifted to the sterilization of food for its proper preservation. For a short timeframe before the United States entered World War I, he sought to make the harvesting of corn or coring and peeling of fruits by machine much easier. And finally, his sights returned once again to food sterilization by the1920s.

It is the second segment, or the one that ran from 1896 through 1906, that will be the center of attention for this article.

Whether it was designing tableware that came apart or closures for containers used by food packers, Mr. Fenn left us with a multiplicity of patented items to admire, collect, display and discuss.

To tell this intriguing tale, I will first present a drawing of the patent issued to William B. Fenn. Beside this sketch, a picture of an actual production model will be shown, if one has been reported. In the event a specimen hasn’t been found, an extract from an advertisement or product catalog will be substituted instead.

Thereafter, I intend to list a brief description

of the innovation using the words of Mr. Fenn. These excerpts were taken from the text of the actual letters patent paperwork he forwarded for approval. I’ll close out the discussion on a specific patent with data about when the article was first marketed for sale, again if I could determine whether it was promoted at all. This approach will enable you to see how Mr. Fenn’s original concept was changed or modified, if it was, by the manufacturers who produced and sold it.

Water Bottle - Patent Five At the age of thirty-eight, William B. Fenn was living outside of Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania in the hamlet of Dorranceton.

From there several days before November 10th, 1896, he sent off his fifth application for a patent. This one was for a water bottle that came apart. A drawing of his idea can be seen on the left in Figure 1.

Figure 1

This utilitarian container had a simplistic appeal. As Mr. Fenn stated in his application for letters patent, “…This invention relates to waterbottles…the object thereof being to provide an improved device…which consists of a plurality of parts…being detachably connected and adapted to be separated whenever desired for cleaning and other purposes…”

The feature of detachability would be a central theme of his for years to come. As you will see, he would apply it to a successful line of tableware early in the next decade.4 The left-hand container in Figure 1 was held together by a “…annular coupling ring or band…provided on its inner surfaces

with…inclined shoulders or projections…”

As you can see from the extract, the slanted features on the band met corresponding ones on the finish of the water bottle at the top of the bowl. A tight fit was supposedly achieved by bringing the inclined lugs together over and under one another.5 However, over time, this cumbersome mechanism for closing was simplified. As opposed to the slanted projections on the exterior of the bowl’s top section and the inside of the ring, a continuous thread was applied to both parts of the water bottle.

This change enabled the band to fit over a corresponding feature on the finish of the bowl and more easily tighten down.

The right-side picture in Figure 1 shows how William B. Fenn’s 1897 idea evolved over a six year period to become a Royal patterned separating water bottle with a paneled neck. This example was advertised for sale in late 1903 by the Perfection Glass Company of Washington, Pennsylvania.6 William B. Fenn remained in the Dorranceton area up through the first week in May 1897 and possibly a bit longer. Next, he moved to New York City. The 1898 City Directory there listed him as a carpenter.

The following year, his occupation was carried in the same document as a pattern maker. At the turn of the century, the new edition of the City Directory showed him as the secretary for the Perfection Bottle Company.7 Water Bottle - Patent Eight A bit before February 7th, 1900, Mr. Fenn requested his eighth patent. The topic of this submission was once more a water bottle. A sketch from the application can

Figure 2

30 be seen in Figure 2.

In the write-up, William Beach Fenn penned the purpose for his new request. It read. “…The present invention is in the nature of some specific improvements in the line of the invention shown and claimed in my Patent No. 579,867, dated March 30, 1897. The improvements consist, essentially, in a new and useful coupling device between the neck and the bottle proper and also in a novel ice-receptacle to be used in connection with the bottle…”

One factor to note about the far left bottle in Figure 2 is that it still didn’t have a continuous thread on the bowl’s finish or on the interior of the coupling ring. Here is how Mr. Fenn’s patent application described the “…new and useful coupling device…” on this innovation. “…Connecting the neck with the bottle proper is a coupling composed of a band, having at its upper end an inwardly-tapering flange, which engages the lower outer portion of the neck. Mounted inside this band is an expansible ring, having three peripheral spirally-inclined surfaces, which engage the inner sides of the band above mentioned. This ring is further provided with three outwardly-projecting studs, which project through three slots, cut through the sides of the band…(A)n outer ring (is) mounted on the outside of the band and provided with three vertical slots, adapted to engage the studs on the expansible ring. The lower edge of this ring is bent under the lower edge of the band in order to remain a permanent fixture thereon…”

If this was the actual upgrade that was produced, the new coupling device seemed to me to be several levels more complex than the original 1897 edition itself!8 Of note, the screw band on the Royal motif water bottle seen on the right in Figure 1 didn’t appear in a sales promotion until February 7th, 1901. So it took William B. Fenn another year or so to realize one more enhancement was needed to the closure for his carafe.

I couldn’t find an advertisement for the left-hand bottle in Figure 2. Nonetheless, a February 21st, 1900 sales pitch did mention it in the textual portion.9 Based on this information, I presume William B. Fenn’s eighth patent was produced for sale.

Unfortunately, an example of one hasn’t

January-February 2007

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Figure 3

been identified as of yet.

The decanter on the right-side in Figure 2 was promoted by the Perfection Glass Company in their initial sales advertisement and in a later product catalog.10 Called a chilling bottle, it appears to have been modeled after Mr. Fenn’s February 7th, 1900 patent request.

Water Bottle Designs - Patents Nine, Ten and Eleven Early in the following month, William B. Fenn submitted three new designs for a carafe from Winfield, New York. Personnel at the United States Patent Office began to process each of these on March 7th, 1900.11 The motifs can be seen in Figure 3.

The far left model has the same profile as the similarly positioned example in Figure 1. In addition, the connecting band carries outer features (two rows of beads) which suggest it held together the water bottle by the original closure methodology explained in William Beach Fenn’s 1897 patent.12 Why this design was considered to be a new one remains a mystery to me.

The middle version in Figure 3 has the same top section as its mate to the left but shows a different outer shape (bell or domed) to the bowl. The coupling band on this version appears to be the improved edition with a continuous thread. I say this because the outer motif looks just like the one on the right-hand specimen in Figure 1. If accurate, his factor would make this example a new design.

The final rendition on the right looks like an adaptation of its left-side cousin.

The neck is a little thinner and the bowl is elliptical or oval in contour. However, the joining mechanism is without external features. How it coupled both halves of the water bottle together is unknown.

Other than my observations, I have no

other information to indicate these profiles were ever produced.

Tableware - Patent Fourteen On December 23rd, 1902, workers at the United States Patent Office started to process another patent submission by William B. Fenn. This one was for a sectional molded vessel. Now living in Washington, Pennsylvania, here is how he described this concept in the application.

“My invention is applicable to all kinds of vessels made by molding or blowing and particularly to vessels which for one reason or another are preferably made in parts to be joined together. Among the objects of my invention are the following; first, to provide a vessel having a small orifice or orifices in the head thereof, which head may be made integral with the neck; second, to provide means by which one part of a vessel may be packed inside of the other part for convenient and safe transportation; third, to provide means by which vessels having small openings may be thoroughly cleaned from the inside. Other objects of my invention are to provide special means for joining the sections of a two part vessel in such a way as to dispense with rubber or other soft packing, and to provide superior means for attaching the two parts of a sectional vessel. The invention also consists in various improvements in the construction of the parts and the mode of handling and assembling the same…”13 Four different separating pieces of tableware were depicted in the above application for letters patent. The first one, described simply as a glass vessel by Mr. Fenn, can be seen on the left in Figure 4.

Clearly a cruet, this item was first advertised for sale by the Perfection

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Figure 4

Manufacturing Company of Washington, Pennsylvania on October 23rd, 1902.14 On the right in Figure 4 is an actual example of the patented article.

Of interest, this model was used by William B. Fenn in his patent request to satisfy objective number two in the opening quotation. By unscrewing the band, the top part of the cruet could be inverted inside the bowl, resting on the top edge of its annular bead. The coupling ring could then be tightened down, preparing the vessel for shipment. Many of the detachable tableware pieces made by the Sterling and Perfection Glass Companies of Washington, Pennsylvania had this same capability.

Another household essential was sketched in the same application. Seen on the left in Figure 5, this syrup jug was held together by a bayonet fastening device vice a screw band. On the right in the same box is a picture of one pattern (Royal) of a syrup container made to the specifications of patent fourteen. It appeared for the initial time in the same October 23 rd , 1902 promotion as the cruet in Figure 4.15 The last two pieces of domestic ware from William B. Fenn’s first December 23rd, 1902 patent request were identified by him as a salt or pepper box and a sprinkling bottle for liquids. These can be seen in Figure 6 from left to right, respectively.

Figure 6

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Figure 5

Both items weren’t advertised and most likely were never produced.

Tableware - Patent Fifteen On the same day patent fourteen was requested, William B. Fenn sent off his next application for another sectional glass vessel. A drawing of this concept can be seen on the left in Figure 7.

In his own words, Mr. Fenn outlined the purpose of this invention in the next excerpt.

“My invention relates particularly to the form of vessels for containing liquids which are practically closed and have small squirt orifices, or spraying openings, for discharging the liquid in small quantities. The principal object of my invention is to provide a vessel of this kind which may have an integral top or discharge end, and yet have convenient means of filling the vessel.

Another object is to allow of {sic – for} convenient manufacture of the article, and convenient access to the entire inside of the vessel for purposes of cleaning, etc…”16 Called a squirt bottle in sales pitches, one style that was manufactured is shown

Figure 7

on the right in the same Figure 7 box.

The Perfection Manufacturing Company sponsored ads for this bottle as early as October 23rd, 1902. It also appeared in the first Perfection Glass Company promotion on August 20th, 1903.17 Glass Pressing and Blowing Machine Patent Sixteen Personnel at the United States Patent Office filed William Beach Fenn’s sixteenth patent request on January 20th, 1903. It was for a glass pressing and blowing machine.

In that document, Mr. Fenn presented the principal objects of his invention in the following manner. “…The principal objects of my invention are, first, to provide a machine which is automatic or semi-automatic in action to remove the glass from the press dies to the blowing dies or molds and automatically introduce the blast of air necessary for the blowing process as the glass is placed therein; second, to make a machine which carries on the two processes of pressing and blowing a quantity of glass at one and the same time; third, to make a machine which automatically removes the blown article from the mold when finished; fourth, to produce a machine which is easily and economically operated by means of compressed air or other fluid, to operate the pressing and blowing molds; fifth, to provide a machine which itself insures a proper pressure upon the glass and the proper introduction of a regular air pressure in the blow mold; sixth, to make a machine of automatically regulated speed and means for preventing too heavy pressure on the glass through carelessness of the workmen; seventh,

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to provide for the automatic introduction and cut-off of the air blast during the blowing process and the correct timing of the introduction of the blast; eighth, to provide a machine which requires no manual handling of the material after it is placed in the first mold; ninth, to provide for the automatic and continuous placing and removing of a succession of blowing molds in place to receive the glass, and the automatic release of the vessel when finished; tenth, to provide means for insuring a gradual application of pressure and the ready and rapid return of the presser head afterward…”18 As early as October 25th, 1902, word of William B. Fenn’s mechanical invention was being circulated in glass trade journals.19 But it wasn’t until five months later that a more extensive description of it was carried in a daily newspaper from Washington, Pennsylvania. According to the drafter of this report, Mr. Fenn’s glass machine was made in the machine shops of the Northrup and Washington Manufacturing Company of Washington. It could turn out ware in capacities from one pint to two quarts, making fifteen to twenty articles per minute. This device was tested in the local Sterling Glass factory and then shipped to the Republic Glass Manufacturing Company’s plant in Moosic which is situated in the northeastern part of the Commonwealth between the cities of Wilkes Barre and Scranton. Other similar machines were being built for installation at the Sterling Glass works.20 The front elevation of this machine can be seen on the right in Figure 8. On the left is a close in, cutaway view of the blow

Figure 8

Bottles and Extras

Figure 9

Figure 10 head and the blow mold from the same mechanical device. You will note that this section of the machine blew the spherical bowl for tableware pieces made to William Beach Fenn’s patented ideas.

Cruet Design – Patent Seventeen Another submission by Mr. Fenn began the approval process at the United States Patent Office on April 21st, 1903. It was a design for a cruet.21 The profile of this item is depicted in Figure 9 on the left. The Colonial motif on the right-side model was how this item looked when it was offered for sale.

The earliest promotion for this style of cruet appeared in the May 28th, 1903 edition of Crockery and Glass Journal.22 Jar Closure - Patent Eighteen A few days before June 1 st, 1903, William B. Fenn forwarded to the United States Patent Office the design in Figure 10. According to him, this concept “…relates to means for closing and sealing jars, bottles and other like vessels and particularly to the kind of jars used for preserving fruits, etc., requiring an easily removable seal. Its objects are to provide a closure which avoids any contact of metallic parts with the contents of the jar, to provide for the use of a glass or non-metallic parts to provide means for inducing differential pressure upon the packing or seal and a closure easy of manipulation and accurate in its working, and without liability of getting stuck in place.”23 An air tight seal was achieved by placing a packing ring on the lip of the container shown in Figure 10. The channel or groove on the bottom of the insert fits over the ring. A metal clamp with two sets of prongs on the inner skirt held the insert in place and engaged two inclined lugs on the outer finish of the container. By turning

the clamp, the insert pressed down on the ring creating the “differential” pressure needed to close the jar.

Unfortunately, I’ve found no data to suggest this patent was ever used on a product jar.

Jar Closure - Patent Nineteen Nine days later on June 10 th, 1903, employees of the United States Patent Office started to process Mr. Fenn’s second patent request for a jar closure. The top diagram in Figure 11 was taken from the above paperwork.

Figure 11

Instead of sealing on the lip or shoulder of the container, his innovation achieved air tightness on the outside of the jar’s finish. A vertical packing ring which was internally and externally threaded was screwed down onto the vessel’s threaded area. Next, an all glass internally threaded cap was tightened down over the rubber ring. This process plus the inclined inner skirt of the cover and the same feature on the jar’s finish acted in unison to achieve the seal. 24 The bottom picture in Figure 11 is the initial production model of this screw cover.

First noted in a June 11th, 1903 report, this type of cap, in at least six other outer designs, would be made continuously through 1908. At a minimum, this all glass

Bottles and Extras cover sealed the machine made SIMPLEX in a diamond and FLACCUS BROS. STEERS HEAD FRUIT JAR embossed packing containers.25 Jar Closure - Patent Twenty-One William Beach Fenn sent off another jar closure idea about a month and a half before he departed the Borough of Washington. Displayed in Figure 12, it is best described in his words. “…My invention relates particularly to means for closing glass bottles, fruit jars and the like, and for effectually sealing the same, and the provision of a glass closure cap easily removable from and attachable to the jar. The principal objects of the invention are, to provide a closure in which the contents of the jar are not brought in contact with any metal or any packing which is pervious or may be attacked by acids, etc., and to provide simple and cheap means for attaching the jar cap in such a manner as to create considerable pressure on the packing and to avoid any contact between the cap and glass of the jar…”

Using many of the now familiar phrases from his June 1st and 10th filed requests; I believe William B. Fenn was moving toward an all glass internally threaded screw cap that would fit on a Mason jar with a standard screw type style of finish.

However, this prototype model of sealer was far from simple as the below description from the patent submission reveals. “…The neck of the jar is…made with a taper form, that is, slightly conical, and is provided with the circumferential spiral groove arranged in the form of a female screw thread, and in this groove I place a wire ring, which is made normally of less diameter than the jar neck, and provided with slightly downturned {sic - down turned} ends, which being sprung over the jar neck snaps into the groove therein, the ends of the groove in the neck being sunk

January-February 2007

33

below the general contour of the neck so that the ends of the wire do not project to catch on anything, and the wire ring forming a taper thread progressively of greater diameter as it proceeds downward on the neck of the jar. The cap is provided with a similar screw thread groove to engage the wire, and at the top is provided with an annular retaining groove in which the packing, composed of lint and some form of impervious wax is seated…(T)he screwing of the cap on the ring will compress the packing in its place and that the cap is not in contact with any glass portion of the jar but only with the packing and the ring and it will be evident that because of the sloping form of both the cap and the neck, the cap is easily placed in position and provides a very secure and powerful fastening and heavy pressure upon the packing.” 26 To the best of my knowledge, this concept was never manufactured.

Salt Cellar - Patent Twenty-Two The last idea from Mr. Fenn’s Washington period was forwarded to the United States Patent Office just a few weeks before be left the Borough without notice.

On October 9 th , 1903, government personnel in the City of Washington, District of Columbia started to process his mailed application for a patent on a salt cellar. According to the article’s description from this package, it could be applied to “…vessels for containing ground or granulated material such as salt, pepper, sugar, etc., and particularly to means for readily emptying the contents from such vessels and preventing them from caking inside the same…”27 Figure 13 has a drawing of a salt shaker on the far left. Looking closely at the sketch, I direct your attention to the two panels adjacent to the interior walls of the container. These downwardly pointing appendages are attached to the bottom of the top section of the vessel. By rotating

the glass top in place, these curved parts swivel as one inside of the shaker, breaking up the caked or lumpy contents into smaller granules so that each can pass through the holes in the top. This is how William Beach Fenn accomplished one of his objectives for this patent.

Grouped together in the middle is a picture of an actual pepper and salt shaker made to the specifications of patent twentytwo. You will note that the salt model on the left is slightly shorter than its pepper counterpart to the right.

Next to the middle group on the rightside is a sketch of a sugar sifter from Mr. Fenn’s patent request and subsequent ads for it. Aside from the attached handle, it used the same design techniques as the salt shaker (left-side and middle left).

The first advertisement for all of the examples in Figure 13 was carried in the September 17th, 1903 issue of the Crockery and Glass Journal. Submitted by the Perfection Glass Company, the same sales pitch appeared in the next four editions of the Journal.28 Part 2 of 2 will follow in another issue of Bottles and Extras.

BLB

Endnotes: 1 www.familysearch.com, Compact Disc #62, PIN #7629; Family History Library Film 1254838, NA Film Number 0838, Page Number 438B and Port Washington News, March 13, 1930. The second source indicated the first name of Mrs. Fenn was Clara and not Clarissa as was stated in the first reference above.

Regrettably, I couldn’t locate a photograph of William Beach Fenn for this article.

2 Port Washington News, March 13, 1930. In the United States Patent and Trademark office, I was only able to find evidence of sixty-four patents being issued to William Beach Fenn between 1883 and 1929. The figure of two hundred patents was mentioned prominently in Mr. Fenn’s obituary from the above source. This total

Figure 13 Figure 12

34 may have been a simple eulogistic embellishment on the part of the grieving drafter. If it wasn’t, I cannot account for the remaining one hundred and thirty-six or so patents.

3 During the timeframe for this article, there were other patents requested by William B. Fenn. These weren’t mentioned in this article because I considered them to be exceptions to his glass industry oriented interests. These outside of the norm concepts were for: two raisin seeders; two handles for sad-irons; a sheet glass making apparatus; a metallic can; a machine for making fibrous packings; lath and facing tiles; building brick or block and facing thereon; a machine for exhausting air from preserving vessels and a ring for sealing jars and the like. These innovations plus the ones shown in this article were all submitted to the United States Patent Office between November 10, 1896 and April 16, 1906. In addition, there are references to at least three other patents being requested during the same period. However, I’ve not been able to locate any other records on them.

4 “The William B. Fenn Patented Water Bottle, Made For Perfection,” Barry L. Bernas, Bottles and Extras, Summer 2004, pgs. 17-19 and “More Tableware from Fenn,” Barry L. Bernas, Bottles and Extras, Fall 2005, pgs. 59-62. Both articles discuss other pieces of separating tableware made to patents issued to William Beach Fenn.

5 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. WILLIAM B. FENN. OF DORRANCETON, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO DUANE HOWARD, OF CORTLAND, NEW YORK. WATER-BOTTLE. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 579,867, dated March 30, 1897.

Application filed November 10, 1896.

Serial No. 611,617. “Granny Kath’s Kitchen,” Vivian S. Kath, Antique Bottle & Glass Collector, June 1994, pgs. 50-52.

In her column, carried in the second reference, Mrs. Kath asked a mechanical engineer to review the coupling mechanism on William B. Fenn’s water bottle patent of March 30, 1897. He indicated the band and inclined flanges would be cost prohibitive. In his opinion, a better means of fastening the neck and bowl together was by “…A flat flange and flat gasket on the top section, a threaded neck on the jar; and a rolled band with full threads for fastening the two together…” Eventually, Mr. Fenn came to the same conclusion.

January-February 2007 6

“The William B. Fenn Patented Water Bottle, Made For Perfection,” Barry L. Bernas, Bottles and Extras, Summer 2004, pgs. 17-19 and “More On Perfection,” Barry L. Bernas, Bottles and Extras, December 2000, pgs. 10-11. Workers at the Perfection Glass factory weren’t the only ones to have turned out a water bottle in the pattern shown on the right in Figure 1.

Starting as early as December 1901 and continuing up to August 1903, hands from the Novelty Glass Works and then Sterling Glass Company made the same style of carafe. Both of these Washington, Pennsylvania-based firms were predecessor organizations to the Perfection Glass Company. The water bottles made by these two glass makers were marketed by the Perfection Bottle Company, originally of Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania and later of Washington, Pennsylvania. After relocating to the Borough of Washington, the name of this jobber was changed to the Perfection Manufacturing Company. This newly titled organization continued to advertise the same article until it was absorbed also into the Perfection Glass Company.

7 Trow’s Directory of the Boroughs of Manhattan and Bronx, City of New York, Trow’s Directory, Printing and Bookbinding Company, 21 University Place, Manhattan, City of New York, 1898 (for the year ending July 1, 1899), pg. 397; Ibid, 1899 (for the year ending July 1 1900), pg. 383 and Ibid, 1900 (for the year ending July 1, 1901), pgs. 406 and 1050.

There is evidence that William B. Fenn was associated with E. D. Beckwith in a venture called the Perfection Water Bottle Company in late 1899 and early 1900. This firm was initially located in Little Falls, New York before moving to New York City.

Regrettably, I could find no record of this company in the Little Falls newspaper - The Evening Times - between September 14, 1899 and January 8, 1900. Likewise, the Perfection Water Bottle Company wasn’t carried in the 1899-1900 Little Falls Directory. The Perfection Water Bottle Company and Perfection Bottle Company of New York City were likely one and the same firm. As I’ve interpreted the data, it was the predecessor to the Perfection Bottle Company of Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania.

8 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. WILLIAM B. FENN, OF WINFIELD, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO EZRA D. BECKWITH, OF LITTLE FALLS, NEW YORK. WATER-BOTTLE. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters

Bottles and Extras Patent No. 664,472, dated December 25, 1900. Application filed February 7, 1900.

Serial No. 4,335. I can’t account for William B. Fenn requesting this design patent from Winfield, New York vice New York City.

9 The Jewelers’ Circular-Weekly, February 21, 1900, pg. 62.

10 Crockery and Glass Journal, August 20, 1903, pg. 4 and The Evolution of Table Glass, an undated but circa August to October 1903 publication by the Perfection Glass Company of Washington, Pennsylvania.

11 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. WILLIAM B. FENN, OF WINFIELD, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO EZRA D. BECKWITH, OF SAME PLACE, DESIGN FOR A WATER-BOTTLE. SPECIFICATION forming part of Design No. 32,426, dated April 3, 1900.

Application filed March 7, 1900. Serial No. 7,727; UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. WILLIAM B. FENN, OF WINFIELD, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO EZRA D. BECKWITH, OF SAME PLACE. DESIGN FOR A WATERBOTTLE. SPECIFICATION forming part of Design No. 32,427, dated April 3, 1900.

Application filed March 7, 1900. Serial No. 7,728 and UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. WILLIAM B. FENN, OF WINFIELD, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO EZRA D. BECKWITH, OF SAME PLACE. DESIGN FOR A WATERBOTTLE. SPECIFICATION forming part of Design No. 32,428, dated April 3, 1900.

Application filed March 7, 1900. Serial No. 7,729. I can’t account for why William B. Fenn requested these design patents from Winfield, New York vice New York City.

12 Crockery and Glass Journal, February 1, 1900, pg. 26. This announcement carried a sketch of a separating water bottle made to Mr. Fenn’s March 30, 1897 patent. The coupling band had two rows of beads on its outer surface.

The textual comments about this feature indicated it unscrewed. However, the drafter’s words didn’t mention a continuous thread on the bowl’s outer finish or on the inside skirt of the band as the technique.

Thus, I believe, but can’t yet prove, that the inclined protrusions from William B. Fenn’s 1897 patent were still on the advertised water bottle drawn in the above reference.

13 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. WILLIAM B. FENN, OF WASHINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA. SECTIONAL

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MOLDED VESSEL. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 755,223, dated March 22, 1904. Application filed December 23, 1902. Serial No. 136,414.

14 Crockery and Glass Journal, October 23, 1902, pgs. 16 and 25.

15 Crockery and Glass Journal, October 23, 1902 pg. 25. I’ve never come across a piece of Mr. Fenn’s patented separating ware that was coupled by a metal band with a “bayonet fastening” device on it.

16 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. WILLIAM B. FENN, OF WASHINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA. SECTION GLASS VESSEL. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 768,440, dated August 23, 1904. Application filed December 23, 1902. Serial No. 136,415.

17 Crockery and Glass Journal, October 23, 1902, pg. 16 and Ibid, August 20, 1903, pg. 40.

18 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. WILLIAM B. FENN, OF WASHINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA. GLASS PRESSING AND BLOWING MACHINE. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 767,807, dated August 16, 1904.

Application filed January 20, 1903. Serial No. 139,852.

19 Commoner and Glassworker, October 25, 1902, pg. 5 and China, Glass and Lamps, October 25, 1902.

20 The Washington Reporter, March 26, 1903, pg. 1.

21 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. WILLIAM B. FENN, OF WASHINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA. DESIGN FOR A CRUET. SPECIFICATION forming part of Design No. 36,876, dated April 12, 1904.

Application filed April 21, 1903. Serial No. 153,711.

22 Crockery and Glass Journal, May 28, 1903, pg. 29.

23 Fruit Jar Patents Volume III 19001942, compiled by Dick Roller, Acorn Press, Paris, Illinois, December 1996, pgs.

150-152. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. WILLIAM B. FENN, OF

WASHINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA. JARCLOSURE. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 758,515, dated April 26, 1904. Application filed June 1, 1903. Serial No. 159,398.

24 Fruit Jar Patents Volume III 19001942, compiled by Dick Roller, Acorn Press, Paris, Illinois, December 1996, pgs.

154-156. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. WILLIAM B. FENN, OF WASHINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA. JARCLOSURE. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 759,168, dated May 3, 1904. Application filed June 10, 1903. Serial No. 160,830.

25 Crockery and Glass Journal, June 11, 1903, pg. 26; Perfection Glass Company, One of Many Glass Houses in Washington, Pennsylvania, Barry L. Bernas, 239 Ridge Avenue, Gettysburg, PA 17325, 2005, pgs. 45-46, III-XVIII and XXX-L. 26 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. WILLIAM B. FENN, OF WASHINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA. JAR-CLOSURE. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 769,600, dated September 6, 1904. Application filed September 16, 1903. Serial No. 173,420. “Cataloging a Russell UHL-Patented Glass Screw Cap,” Barry L. Bernas, Bottles and Extras, Spring 2004, pgs 29-33. In this article, I speculated that this patent was the inspiration for one issued later on December 5, 1905 to Russell Uhl, a former partner of William Beach Fenn.

27 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. WILLIAM B. FENN, OF WASHINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA. SALT-CELLAR. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 768,439, dated August 23, 1904.

Application filed October 9, 1903. Serial No. 176,382.

28 Crockery and Glass Journal, September 17, 1903, pg. 40; Ibid, September 24, 1903; Ibid, October 1, 1903; Ibid, October 8, 1903 and Ibid, October 15, 1903.

Barry L. Bernas 239 Ridge Ave. Gettysburg, PA 17325 barryb6110@aol.com

35 “Heroin and Aspirin - The Connection!

- The Collection! Part I” by Cecil Munsey Concluded from Page 21. gear, harry, piss, shit and horse. Prohibition seemed inevitable and, sure enough, the next year the use of heroin without prescription was outlawed in the U.S. (A court ruling in 1919 also determined it illegal for doctors to prescribe it to addicts.)

Had heroin been Dreser’s only pet project, this disappointment could have spelled career disaster. Luckily, although his first “baby” was showing signs of turning into a monster, he had belatedly adopted another: aspirin. Researcher Arthur Eichengruen, refusing to accept Dreser’s rejection of ASA (acetylsalicylic acid), had continued to investigate it and to lobby for its development. Eventually, Dreser, recognizing which way the wind was blowing, tested ASA on himself and finally published an enthusiastic scientific paper recommending it, particularly for the treatment of rheumatism – but calculatingly omitting to mention the contributions of Eichengruen and chemist Felix Hoffmann.

In February 1899, the Brand name “Aspirin®” was registered, and in June, was launched by Bayer.

Like heroin, aspirin more or less sold itself. As a painkiller without undesirable side effects, it was unique. By the end of 1899 it was being used all over Europe and the U.S., and by the time the heroin bubble burst, aspirin had more than filled the gap.

The Bayer company was on its way to becoming an industrial giant.

Hoffman and Eichengruen do not seem to have received any special compensation for their efforts. For Dreser, though, the rewards were spectacular.

Cecil Munsey 13541 Willow Run Road Poway, CA 92064-1733 (858) 487-7036 cecilmunsey@cox.net

36

January-February 2007

Bottles and Extras

Enjoying the West - Montana and Idaho

By Ralph Van Brocklin Dawn is coming… and I am an hour north of Boise on Highway 21. The blur of the dark gives way to the shape of the big trees whose aroma I have enjoyed in the brisk early morning air and I’m reminded of why I so love the West. It becomes increasingly light and now I can appreciate the rising fog off of the highland meadows.

Streams abound and I can imagine the trout just waiting for me to dangle a line! But, I must stay focused… Missoula is six hours away and I am to meet Ray Thompson, one of Montana’s pre-eminent bottle collectors, at noon to make a run for the Flathead Lake region of Montana and the opportunity to visit with a collector who has amassed the finest collection of Montana flasks and jugs ever assembled.

The sky begins to take on the pink tones of a sun about to rise and I crest a hill to behold a view so spectacular that it does not matter if I am hours late to my destination— I just have to stop. Misty valleys preceding the ridges of the Sawtooth Mountain Range unfold in front of me and my gaze follows them through the mountain crags and into the sunrise beyond.

Reflection follows and I know deep in my soul that the collector in me, who understands that we must honor our history and preserve the past, is at one with this unspoiled part of the West. We must never allow our children to lose the connection to our history and we must never allow those who would exploit these natural treasures to take it from them.

I continue through Banner Summit (7056 feet) and Sunbeam, taking Highway 75/93 to Clayton and then to Challis. The countryside changes from swift flowing rivers, canyons and mountains to fields of hay and spectacular ranching country. I continue on Highway 93 through Salmon (home of Sacajawea) and on into Montana.

I have to confess that the reason for taking this route, which yet lay ahead of me, was not in anticipation of the beauty that I encountered, but to have the opportunity to travel though four Montana towns from which I hold mini jugs. In order, traveling north, they are Hamilton, Corvallis, Victor and Stevensville.

For any collector, learning what the area your prized possessions come from lends a different appreciation. My view of what

these towns would look like was markedly different than what I found, particularly in the case of Victor! I guess that to my imagination any town named “Victor” will always be similar to Victor, Colorado. Flat lands, with the mountains to the West, characterized all of these towns and my images of the life led by those who operated the concerns the mini jugs were from has modified, considerably.

The Trip To Flathead Lake Amazingly enough, I made it to the Conoco Station in Florence, where I was to meet Ray and K.C. Thompson, within a few minutes of when they arrived. Their car was laden down with boxes, having made the trip back from Helena that morning following two days at the Montana Bottle Show. Since I totally screwed up my travel arrangements and did not coordinate with attending the show, I took the opportunity to paw through some of the boxes to see what “had to haves” they might contain. I did not get very far before Ray diverted all thought of what I might find by pulling out a bottle he had recently acquired – a pumpkinseed flask embossed GEO C FITSCHEN & BRO / MAIN STREET / BUTTE CITY, MONT. [Figure 1].

Although cracked, it was a considerable step up, condition-wise, from the one pictured in the “Recent Finds” section of

Figure 1

the Winter, 2003, Bottles and Extras.

K.C. had some obligations near home with a rental property she and Ray own, so she declined the offer to ride north with Ray and I (then again… perhaps she had heard about my driving! Ask any of my good friends in the hobby and they can all tell you a story about one thing or another I have subjected them to! Thank God for friends— they forgive even if they do not forget!)

Road construction could have made the two-hour trip miserable, were it not for having such good company! Ray and I had never had a chance to visit prior to this and bottles, areas we have lived, family and information about the areas we were traveling through made the journey very enjoyable. No matter how much we talked about the collection we were headed to see, however, I did not have a grasp of the scope I would soon find.

The Montana Collection Greeting Ray and I at the door was a gentleman I had met at the Montana Collectibles Show, in Helena, some six to eight years prior. We had pretty much lost contact with one another until some eBay dealing beginning a couple of years ago, and it was certainly a pleasure to get the opportunity to visit again.

I was only a couple of feet into the house and was getting an idea that this would be an amazing collection to view— Montana advertising signs and stoneware were everywhere! A walk into the kitchen revealed stenciled stoneware topping every cabinet. Early photos and drawings graced the walls. After a short talk, the awaited invitation… ‘I guess that you’d like to see the collection?’ Well… You Bet! Montana hutches, drug stores, beers, crocks, jugs… and the object of my photography quest— flasks! What a collection awaited my eyes! I knew that our host had been able to consolidate a number of significant collections and had even gleaned a couple of choice pieces from my shelves, but I had no idea what a significant portion of the available Montana items he had been able to acquire.

After a general period of looking around, I set up my photography apparatus and flask after flask was captured by my lens. One day the majority of these bottles

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January-February 2007

will be seen by a wider array of collectors.

But, for the time being, my book on Western flasks is still a work in progress. The progress this trip… photography of a number of embossed flasks I had never seen, snaps of dozens of labeled flasks I had never imagined and comprehensive researching of the firms associated with Idaho and Montana liquor endeavors.

next hour making notes on firms of interest while he grilled lamb chops. As many of my friends know, I have a weakness for lamb and these were cooked medium rare and just plain delicious! Now just how much is enough to compliment someone who opens their house and their collection to you and then cooks you your favorite meal???! What a wonderful host!

Rolling to Ray’s After a nice dinner at a restaurant overlooking Flathead Lake, Ray and I headed south for Missoula. I was thankful for his gift of conversation, for I was 20 hours into my day by the time we arrived at his house. I was even more thankful for his hospitality in putting me up for the night!

Morning gave me the opportunity to photograph a number of Ray’s flasks and then I was off to Belgrade, Montana, to visit with another Montana friend, Sonny Cranson.

On to Helena After a couple of hours drive back to Helena and a decent night sleep, I headed over to the Montana Historical Society Research Center for their 9:00 a.m. opening. The reception at this facility was outstanding and the staff, under Reference Historian Zoe Ann Stoltz, went out of their way to be helpful both prior to and during my visit to their library.

One of the things you quickly come to understand on research trips is that you need to be prepared and focused. My period to research in Montana was limited to two days this trip and that included covering 175 firms in 56 cities over a span of 40 years of directories and gazetteers. Flow charts have to be at the ready and the approach has to be very organized if one is to make enough progress to justify the cost of visiting research facilities far from home.

Following a very productive first day at the Historical Society, I spent the evening

Sonny’s Sonny and I first met at the Montana Collectibles Show previously mentioned.

We’ve chased the same bottles and enjoyed the occasion to visit and swap stories in the years since and I had always hoped to get the chance to see his collection. This trip finally gave me that opportunity and I timed it well, getting to see his beautiful new log home as well as his collection. Perched on a hill, with huge windows overlooking a valley below, you just could not ask for a prettier spot to put a home.

Sonny has recently branched out into collecting some of the California flasks and he bought a number of the ones I offered in my flask auction at the Reno National. His timing on buying has been right on target, of late, including the eBay purchase of a pumpkinseed flask from near my boyhood home (The Bismark – Monterey, California) that it took me twenty years to acquire! But, the true love in his collecting is the Montana flasks, of which he has a sizeable collection and some specimens which are unique. The basket-base shoofly flask embossed PURE LIQUORS / AT / M. B. RADEMAKER / BILLINGS, MONT. certainly would be any Montana collectors favorite! [Figure 2] Following an afternoon of photographing stoneware, flasks, saloon photos and shot glasses, Sonny pointed me in the direction of the best collection of Kalispell directories known and I spent the

Figure 2

37 at the Helena Public Library, where I found a very nice collection of early Helena Directories. I did not get through all of their directories that evening, which was just as well, because only a couple of hours into research at the Historical Society the next morning the smell of gas began to waft through the library and the library and entire State Capitol complex had to be evacuated! It seems that a work crew had ruptured a main gas line right outside of the library building! Minus my car, which could not be moved from the adjacent lot, I hoofed it back down to the Public Library, where I spent a couple of hours finishing up what was available from Helena.

By the time I got back to the Capitol area, the buildings were being re-opened and I was immediately back to my research.

The couple of hours lost kept me from finishing everything I needed to do, but I guess I just need to look at it in a positive fashion — it does give me an excuse to go back!

And Then… To Boise The drive south to Idaho took me through Butte and then down through Dillon. In Idaho I passed through Blackfoot, made a side foray into Pocatello and then continued through American Falls, Glenns Ferry Mountain Home and then into Boise. These cities represent six of the seven Idaho communities with known embossed flasks (the other being Weiser.)

Researching at the Idaho State Historical Society Library was a more sedate experience than in Montana, with a staff that was quite reserved, but the directories were easily accessed and a total of 45 firms in 19 cities were searched.

Directories from this state are more scarce than in Montana and the records of the firms I looked at will have corresponding gaps when I later report them.

Wedding Bells The sun is setting as I now fly to Medford, Oregon for the wedding of friends (and fellow collectors) Dale Mlasko and Melissa Dotson. A new beginning… a new occasion to visit and enjoy the company of others in this wonderful hobby!

The Results of Research The history might be a little dry, but I hope that you will enjoy knowing what exists in the way of Montana miniature advertising jugs!

38

(in an oval border): Compliments of / The Atlantic / BUTTE, MONT. This mini jug is an oversized mini produced by the Red Wing Stoneware Company.

The first listing I have for a saloon at 56 W. Park is in 1900. The listing does not specify the name of the saloon, but it is under the proprietorship of Arthur Schimpf and Augustus Reichele. Schimpf and Reichele are specifically noted as proprietors of the Atlantic Saloon at this address in the 1907 directory. They are not found in the 1894 directory and I do not have the intervening years directories available to me.

This proprietorship perseveres into at least 1913. 1914 through 1916 directories were not available. In 1917, the listing is for the “Atlantic Saloon and Lunch Room” with the ownership listed as Reichele and Keppler. In 1918, the proprietors are specifically identified as Adolph Keppeler and Paul A. Reichele. (I am not sure when Paul Reichele took over from Augustus Reichele and that will be a matter for later research.)

COMPLIMENTS OF / P.J. BROPHY, / BUTTE, MONT. P.J. Brophy and Company are first found in the 1889 directory (they are not listed in 1888) in the business of wholesale and retail groceries. Although listed as “and Company”, Patrick J. Brophy is the only owner noted in the 1890 directory and the business locale is 32 N. Main Street. The next directory available, 1894, lists him similarly, but at 28 N. Main Street.

In the 1900 Montana Gazetteer, P.J.

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Brophy and Company (again listing only Patrick as owner) are denoted as in the business of wholesale and retail groceries, wines and liquors at 28 N. Main. With minor changes in listing, Patrick J. Brophy remained in business at this address through at least 1918.

(No photo available; Marc Lutsko listing.) COMPLIMENTS OF / CARR & POSS / COLUMBIA FALLS, MONT. This is a very interesting miniature jug in that Oswald M. Carr and Charles H. Poss also put out a mini jug for their store in Pelican Rapids, Minnesota.

Carr and Poss are not found in the 1894 directory and there is no directory available for 1895. In 1896, they are noted as in the business of hardware and furniture and in 1904 they are listed as having a general store which is a branch of their Pelican Rapids business. By 1907, they are no longer listed as in business in Columbia Falls.

In the 1910 directory, Oswald Carr’s name again appears, this time in the general merchandise business with Thorvold O. Elsethagen. Their endeavor continues at least through 1918.

COMPLIMENTS OF / J.E. SKYLES / COLUMBIA FALLS / MONTANA John E. Skyles is first noted in Columbia Falls in 1900 (he is not found in the next earlier directory, 1896). At that time, his business is listed as bakery, groceries and meats. He continues in business through 1902. There is no directory available for 1903 and he is no longer listed in the 1904 and subsequent directories.

COMPLIMENTS OF / JOSEPH BOWDEN / CORVALLIS, MONT The 1894 directory does not list Joseph Bowden and I do not have any directories available between that and the first listing I have for him in 1900. He is listed as operating a general store through at least 1918.

W W Higgins / Deer Lodge / Montana Agency / Old Continental Whiskey This is the only scratched mini jug from Montana that I am aware of.

William W. Higgins is not found in 1889, but is listed in the 1890 Montana Gazetteer in the grocery business.

He continues to be listed through at least 1896. Directories for the period 1897-1899 are not available and he is no longer found in 1900 and following years.

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specified as grocers.

L. C. Fyhrie and Company is noted as being wholesale and retail grocers, dealing in liquors and as agents for Val Blatz and Milwaukee Beer in 1890. No listings are found in the 1892 and 1894 directories. No 1895 directory is available.

In 1896, we find the first listing for Fyhrie Grocery Company. The business is listed as “fancy grocers� with Louis C. Fyhrie as President. The business continues through at least 1900, but has disappeared by 1902.

COMPLIMENTS OF / DILLON CASH / GRO. CO The Dillon Cash Grocery Company, dealing in groceries, etc., is first found in the 1896 directory. T.W. Poindexter is listed as President and Manager. This listing continues through 1902.

The business is not found in the 1894 directory or the 1904 directory. Directories are not available for 1895 or 1903.

COMPLIMENTS OF / FYHRIE GRO. CO / DILLON, MONT The earliest Montana Gazetteer that I have available to me is 1884 and L.C. Fyhrie and Company are already listed in the general store and hardware business.

In 1886, the business is listed as general store and in 1888, the partners are specified as Louis C. Fyhrie, John H. Burfeind and Christopher Burfeind. Their business is

COMPLIMENTS OF / THE SEASON / J. MENGELKOCH / DEALER IN / FINE WINES / LIQUORS & CIGARS / GILT EDGE, MONT. This is an oversized mini, rectangular in form and with a pour spout.

John Mengelkoch is not found in the 1896 directory. The next directory available to me is 1900 and he is noted as operating a saloon at that time. He remained in

39

business through at least 1914. 1915 and 1916 directories are unavailable and he is no longer listed in 1917.

COMPLIMENTS / OF CREAM CITY This is an oversized rectangular mini jug.

I have no information other than that this mini jug is reportedly from Great Falls.

COMPLIMENTS OF / C.T. GROVE / GREAT FALLS, MONT There is no listing in 1889, but Carl T. Grove is listed as a grocer starting in 1890.

He is found at 323 3rd Avenue South in the 1891 and 1892 directories and 901 3 rd Avenue North in 1896 and 1899 through 1902. There is no directory available for 1903 and in 1904 he is listed as C. T. Grove Mercantile Company without an address specified.

In the 1907 directory he is again simply listed as C.T. Groves, grocer, and in 1910

40 the listing is for Carl T. Grove, grocer, at 901 3rd Avenue North. He is present in the 1913 directory but not in 1914.

JOHN HELLER / (eye pictured) / OPENER Another unusual mini jug is one from John Heller of Great Falls. It is cream in coloration, with bright blue stenciling. As most mini jug enthusiasts will recall, the “Eye Opener” motif is prominently used in the marketing of the Ames Company of Owensboro, Kentucky.

In Great Falls, John Heller does not appear in the 1896 directory , but does in 1899, the first directory available to me, thereafter. He is listed as operating a saloon at 114 Central Avenue in that year. He continues to operate a saloon at that location through 1918. In 1911, the saloon is listed by name— The Central Saloon.

COMPLIMENTS OF / J.J. McDONNELL / GREAT FALLS, MONT John J. McDonnell is not found in the

January-February 2007 1896 directory, but does appear in the Montana Gazetteer of 1900. His listing that year is as a dealer in groceries and grain at 1810 6th Avenue North. This listing is also found in 1902. There is no 1903 directory available and the 1904 directory lists the grocery business as McDonnell and Kneeland Company.

In 1907, J.J. McDonnell is still in the grocery business, this time as J.J. McDonnell and Sons. The firm is listed at 1826 6th Avenue North and the firm includes John J., George E., John L. and Jos. P. McDonnell in 1910.

In 1911, the address becomes 2nd NW and Great Northern Railway tracks, the firm is now J.J. McDonnell and Son (John J. and George E.) and the business is brick and coal. In 1912, 1913 and 1914, they were dealers in fuel. 1917 saw McDonnell and Smith in the hotel business.

Bottles and Extras Avenue. 1914 sees a change to Sarah R. Strain and William J. Strain as proprietors and by 1917 the business has become incorporated. There is a shift to only the Central Avenue site by 1918.

COMPLIMENTS OF / FRED BOLLINGER / HELENA, MONT Fred Bollinger first appears in the Montana directories as a clerk in 1897. The next listing I have for him is in 1900, when he is listed as a grocer at 15 East State Street. The directory for 1901 is not available and he is not listed in 1902.

In 1903 Frederick Bollinger is listed as the manager of the Rodney Street Grocery Company at 203-205 N. Rodney.

Thereafter, he is listed as a grocer at 208 and/or 210 N. Rodney Street through at least 1918.

COMPLIMENTS OF / STRAIN BROS / GREAT FALLS, MONT Herbert and Joseph H. Strain do not appear in the 1890 Montana Gazetteer.

With no directories available between, the first year I note the the firm Strain Brothers in business is 1894. That year the business is listed as groceries and dry goods and it is located at 301 Central Avenue. In 1894 and 1896, the firm lists only Herbert Strain as an owner. The next year available is 1899 and both Herbert and Joseph are listed as owners in the general merchandise business. Their business is situated in the Phelps Block of Great Falls. This listing continues into the directory of 1904, which also denotes them as proprietors of Choteau Mercantile Company.

In 1913 the listing becomes Herbert and Joseph H. Strain with department stores in the Phelps Block and at 400 Central

(in rectangular border): DRINK / OLD PEPPER SPRING / 1889 / COMPLIMENTS OF / LOUIS BOSSLER, Helena, - - Mont.

Bottles and Extras

January-February 2007

41

The first listing for Louis Bossler in the Helena city directories is 1897, as a driver for the Helena Brewery. In 1898, Louis Bossler and Frank Wise are listed as proprietors of a saloon at 112.S. Main. In 1900 Louis Bossler, only, is listed as proprietor and this continues through at least 1904. The next directory available, 1907, lists the saloon as under the ownership of Bossler and Miller.

In 1908 and 1909 Louis Bossler is listed as a saloon owner at 120 S. Main and this continues into 1910. In 1911, Louis Bossler is found in residence, only.

Son in 1900 may actually have been as early as 1899. In 1900, David is listed with Benjamin Pizer in the grocery business at 345 N. Broadway. This continues through 1907. In 1908 Benjamin Pizer is listed in residence, only, and David is now Deputy Secretary of State at the State Capital.

(in rectangular border): DRINK / OLD PEPPER WHISKEY / 1889 / COMPLIMENTS OF / CHAS. GABISCH, 138 S. Main St. / Helena, - Mont.

The initial listing I find for Charles Gabisch in the Helena city directories is 1888 as a baker for May Brothers. In 1890 he is listed as the proprietor of Turnverein Hall . From that point he is variably listed as a resident, deputy sheriff and bartender until the listing for 1897, when he is listed as a saloon owner at 138 S. Main Street.

(The pertinent pages from 1896 were missing from the directory.)

Charles Gabisch continued in business at the 138 S. Main Street address through at least 1918. In the 1909 directory, the business was identified by name – the City Hall Billiard and Pool Room and Saloon.

COMPLIMENTS OF / PIZER & SON / HELENA, MONT In 1897, Benjamin Pizer is found in the grocery business at 345 N. Broadway with Bernard Hirschfield. This endures at least through 1898.

The directory for 1899 is not available, so the initial listing I have for Pizer and

(No photo available; Marc Lutsko listing.) COMPLIMENTS OF / M. REINIG / HELENA, MONT. The first Montana directory available to me is 1884 and Michael Reinig is listed in that directory as a grocer, baker, and seller of wines, liquors, glassware, etc. at the corner of Bridge and Jolliett. The Bridge Street address is specified as 201 and 203 Bridge Street through 1888. In 1889, the address changes to 101 E. Bridge.

The name Bridge Street changes to State Street in 1891.

Michael Reinig remains at the 101 E. State Street address until his death in 1911.

The business, which became Reinig and Company in 1904, was then continued with C.N. Reinig as president through at least 1918.

COMPLIMENTS OF / L.H. SCHAEFFER / HELENA, MONT Lincoln H. Schaeffer is first noted in the Helena directories as a clerk for William Weinstein and Company (see following mini jug) in 1892. In 1893, he becomes part of the grocery firm Schaeffer and (Jacob D.) Tietjen and in 1895 the listing becomes L.H. Schaeffer successor to Schaeffer and Tietjen. The 1883 business address of 101 N. Rodney continues through at least 1904.

There is a gap until 1908, at which time the listing becomes L.H. Schaeffer Grocery Company, with Lincoln listed as the only

owner. At this time, the wholesale grocery business has been moved to Montana Avenue at the NW corner of Helena Avenue.

The business remains thus through at least 1918.

COMPLIMENTS OF / BEN W. TOOLE, / BILLINGS, MONT. The first listing I have for Ben W. Toole is in the 1896 Montana Gazetteer, at which time he is listed as being in the hay business. He is not found in 1894 and there is no directory available for 1895.

The next available directory is 1900, at which time he is listed as having a general store and feed business. By 1902 he is no longer listed.

Part II will conclude the listing of known Montana mini jugs, beginning with the rest of the city of Helena, Montana.

42

January-February 2007

Bottles and Extras

Charles Matzen Near to His Goal: Completing Savannah Collection

By Bill Baab SAVANNAH, Ga. — Mention Savannah and most collectors of antique bottles conjure up visions of cobalt John Ryan sodas.

But collectors who are willing to dig a little deeper into the port city’s records of the past will learn that as far as potential Savannah bottle collections go, Ryan sodas are just a small part of what’s out there.

Acquisition of four varieties of bitters, some whiskeys, lots of medicines, drug store bottles and stoneware merchants’ jugs has been challenging to Charles Matzen.

“My goal has always been to form the most complete collection of Savannah bottles,” the 46-year-old construction company owner said.

He was bitten by the bottle collecting bug in 1972, although his interest in old glass collecting came earlier.

“I grew up with a plumber’s son whose dad paid us two or three bucks to help dig ditches and we’d find bottles. We used to walk around the barrier islands and find bitters and soda bottles. I remember the first Savannah soda I found — a Henry Kuck dated 1878. Ryan and Von Harten sodas and a Lippman’s bitters were found later after I had gotten into my teens.”

Matzen took a hiatus from collecting until he reached his 20s. He and another veteran Savannah collector, Mike Brewer, worked at Intermarine USA, and after work and on their days off would travel to the Frogtown area of the city. “That’s where I met Gene Autry who headed a bunch of diggers calling themselves the ‘Ryan Excavators’ after famed Savannah soda bottler John Ryan,” Matzen said.

“There was a school under construction and contractors had exposed privy holes.

We dug lots of bottles there until the contractor told us we could no longer dig.

It was then I asked Gene what it would take for me to join the group and he said to find some places where they could dig.

“I was able to line up some lots and joined that group. One of our best digs was an old dumping ground on Norfolk Southern Railroad property on Boundary Street. Bob Simmons (Atlanta collector) and I worked hard to obtain permission and secure the property. We had to fence it in and maintain security on it for nearly 24/7

because there were other diggers in Savannah who would have loved to come onto the property. We used a high hoe and a back hoe during 1991-92 and dug hundreds and hundreds of bottles. It was great!”

Despite his goal of collecting examples of all of his city’s antique bottles, Matzen likes soda bottles best.

“My favorite is a rare, pink-colored Ryan I dug myself. I also was able to purchase a super-rare, amber roundbottomed Ryan, just one of two perfect ones in existence. Some damaged examples are out there.”

Matzen led visitors into a corner room of his spacious Savannah home where shelf after shelf are lined with his eclectic collections of stoneware, bottles, sharks’ teeth (some are 60 million years old, give or take a few years) and other fossils. Just for laughs, he dons the connected jaws of a 16-foot blacktip shark he caught years ago like a toothy necklace.

In another corner of the room hang photos of the late Peyton Youmans, one of Matzen’s closest friends and a super collector in his own right.

Let’s check out just a small part of it all: In one section, Savannah merchants’ jugs, including mini jugs, share space with others from Crawford County, the latter located below Bibb County and Macon, Ga. Crawford County pottery was made for the thriving Macon spirits market during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Most of the jugs are signed with potters’ initials on the handles and the pots enjoy ever-growing popularity as collectibles.

On another shelf, a row of Lippman’s Great German Bitters bottles ranges in colors from honey to dark amber.

Savannah’s only cobalt bitters – Solomon’s Strengthening and Invigorating Bitters – share space with Lawrence & Weishkelbaum’s Arabian Bitters and Deutenhoff’s Swiss Bitters.

Pharmacist C.M. Heidt, who manufactured the Swiss Bitters, also put out some stuff called Phosphatique, and an example of that joins the others.

A D.B. Lester cylindrical bottle – a more scarce form than the Savannah grocer’s

amber strap-sided flask – keeps company with a four-leaf clover-embossed Belsinger & Co., Distillers. On one leaf is the word Clover, on another Whiskey and on the last two Est’d and 1874, respectively. The company was pretty lucky until statewide prohibition began in 1908.

An aqua B.F. Ulmer / Druggist / Savannah, Ga., heads a wide array of other drug store bottles. Interesting medicines include a Clay’s Rheumatic Remedy for Rheumatism in clear and amber bottles and a Clay’s Medicine, Beneficial in Treatment of Lumbago and Gout. Both were manufactured by E.J, Kieffer and are joined by the Columbia Drug Company’s RU TO NA, which claimed to cure just about anything.

Eighty-six different examples of the famous John Ryan soda bottles sparkle from shelf to shelf. The tough ones are pink, red and gray. Matzen also owns a lone example of Savannah’s rarest soda, an iron-pontiled, cobalt L. Glinde about whose 1840s history little is known. Many other of the known brands of Savannah sodas are on the shelves, too.

“My friend, Tommy Mitchiner, made it possible for me to acquire the rare John Ryans from his collection,” Matzen said.

Mitchiner, from Gordon, Ga., had assembled probably the greatest collection of the Ryan sodas over more than 40 years.

In fact, he is known as the “King of John Ryan Soda Collectors.”

While his impressive collection may now be the most complete of any Savannah collector’s, Matzen is still lacking a few varieties.

His heart’s desires include an aqua James Ray XXX Ale, a Persse & Lindsey bottle (it could be either a Hutchinson or base-embossed Matthews’ Gravitating Stopper), a John Ryan seltzer bottle with wooden crate, and a 1790s black glass bottle bearing the seal of pioneer Savannah apothecary G. (for George) Harral. The only known whole example is in a private collection. Another seal was found and glued to another black glass bottle.

Anyone turning up those treasures can reach Matzen at (912) 355-6781.

Bottles and Extras

January-February 2007

Just a small portion of the results from one dig by the Ryan Excavators. [Courtesy of Charles Matzen]

Reddish amber to honey amber marks Lippman’s Great German Bitters quartet. [Bea Baab photo]

43

An array of eagle sodas from the port city.

[Courtesy of Charles Matzen]

Dark red John Ryan (left) appears almost black. Sodas sport a wide array of colors. Owner is in the background with his dog, Princess. [Bill Baab photo]

Bill Baab 2352 Devere Street Augusta, GA 30904 (709) 736-8097 riverswamper@comcast.net

One of the rarest of the rare Savannah bottles. Amber John Ryan roundbottom, one of the two perfect ones known. [Bea Baab photo] Lippman’s (top) and Solomon’s are Savannah’s famous bitters.

[Courtesy of Charles Matzen]

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January-February 2007

Three-gallon crock, c.1839, impressed makers mark: D MC LEES BROOKLYN POTTERY / COR SANDS & NAVY STS. Note the classic style of the decoration showing the Hudson Valley influence on the potters.

Stoneware 6-ounce capacity bottle with impressed makers mark: “WALLABOUT/ POTTERY / BROOKLYN.”

A 5-gallon jar from Cornelius Vaupel marked: C. VAUPEL / POTTERY / 388 WALLABOUT ST / BROOKLYN.

Bottles and Extras

Two-gallon ovoid crock, c. 1846, impressed makers mark: G. S. ANDREWS / NO 80 FURMAN ST BROOKLYN N.Y.

Here are three items from Cornelius Vaupel, from the left to the right: 1 ½-gallon crock marked: C. VAUPEL/ NO 11 UNION AVE. / Wms BURGH; center, rear is a 2-gallon jar marked: C. VAUPEL /1 1 UNION AVE. / WILLIAMSBURG; 1 ½-gallon jar marked: C. VAUPEL / POTTERY / 388 WALLABOUT ST / BROOKLYN. Again, the designs on these pots are right out of the Hudson Valley.

Here are five items from the Charles H Graham Chemical Pottery Works.

All are marked “CHAS. GRAHAM / CHEMICAL / POTTERY / WORKS /BROOKLYN, N.Y.”

Here we have three examples from Thomas Boone, from left to right: Half-gallon jar marked: T. G. BOONE & SON, POTTERS/NAVY ST BROOKLYN; a 2-gallon jar marked: T. G. BOONE & SONS/ NAVY ST BROOKLYN; and a half-gallon ovoid crock marked: T. G. BOONE & SONS/ POTTERS/NAVY ST BROOKLYN. Note: The very small ½-gallon size is very rarely seen in signed potters wares.

Bottles and Extras

January-February 2007

Brooklyn Potteries

By Mark Smith Now, this article will not deal with the liquor jugs one sees frequently at shops, shows, and online, as these are in a different category of collecting. While it is true that dozens of potteries operated over the period of the 19 th Century, the vast majority produced items such as roof tile, drain tile, sewer pipe, fire brick, stove linings, chimney linings, and such. While it seemed to be easy to enter the potting business, remaining in the potting business was another story. The average lifespan of these potteries was around two years. This piece is about the potters who produced and signed their ware, such as jugs, crocks, and what ever was required of them, so that it is identifiable to a potter or pottery, and collected as such today.

The stoneware industry in Brooklyn, at least in terms of the potters producing marked wares and remaining in production, did not have the early start or the long term longevity of firms as did the Manhattan potters, such as Crolius, Remmy, Morgan and Commeraw. While potters are known to have operated in Brooklyn in both the 17 th Century, and the 18 th Century, the operations tended to be very short lived, and to date, no marked examples of their wares have come to light. Perhaps this was due to the intense competition from the established Manhattan kilns, or the expense of importing much of the raw materials required to operate. In spite of being the industrial heart of the N.Y. area even in the 19th century, no marked stoneware is known from any Brooklyn pottery until we reach the year 1839, where we will begin.

In the year 1839 the Brooklyn City Directory lists two men employed in the potting trade, a William Beach, and a Dennis McLees. Current research indicates that William Beach was a potter employed in Poughkeepsie, and that Dennis McLees operated a pottery in South Amboy, N.J. Pottery with the impressed mark “D. McLees Potter/S. Amboy NJ” is known. I am blessed with a pot in my collection which is marked “D MC LEES BROOKLYN POTTERY/COR SANDS & NAVY STS.” It should be noted that this pot was recovered by Mike Hoffman on a dig in Brooklyn many years ago, only a very few blocks from the corner of Sands and Navy Sts. Now, there is some speculation

in the hobby on the following point.

We do not know for sure if, as it is believed by some, Mc Lees came to Brooklyn under the guidance of Thomas Boone to build the pottery for Thomas Boone. On the flip side, William Beach could have been sent to Brooklyn to build the kiln. There is a third possibility, which the presence of this pot bears some weight to, that being Dennis McLees built the Pottery for his own use, and William Beach was his partner/employee, he ran into unforeseen problems, and with the potential for William Beach to know of Thomas Boone, Dennis McLees then sold the kiln to Thomas Boone. This thought does have some historical backing, as it was common practice for potters to leave from the Hudson Valley pottery works, and go establish a kiln on their own. In addition, several potteries which operated in Brooklyn had very short, or even unknown, life spans, e.g. The Wallabout Pottery and George. S. Andrews / 80 Furman St. We will most likely never know for sure. I tend to subscribe to the third line of thought.

Since the pot bears Mc Lees name, and not Beach’s, Mc Lees was in all likelihood the principle in the operation. Having operated a pottery in South Amboy, he would have some capital to invest into the new kiln.

Along with being the principle in the operation, if he was building the kiln for use by Thomas Boone, why would he produce pots with his name on them?

However, if he was building it for his own use, he would most certainly put his name on the pots. The decoration used on this example in my collection is a classic Hudson Valley floral design, which he most likely learned at his employers business, where he learned the potting trade. Potters would as apprentices learn decorations, and where ever they would set up shop, they would employ these decorations, since it is what they know. This line of thought is supported by how many of the Hudson Valley and upstate N.Y. ovoid pots and jugs from the 1820-1850 period bear similar designs. Nathan Clark of Athens, N.Y. was perhaps the most prolific in terms of training potters, and sending them out to set up potteries. Now, it is also very likely that this pot was decorated by William Beach, who was also employed as a potter

45 in Poughkeepsie. This too would explain the fine Hudson Valley floral decoration.

In any event, this is the only example known to me at this time that is signed by Dennis McLees.

Poughkeepsie was one of the premier potting cities on the Hudson River, and Morgan’s Bank, in South Amboy, New Jersey, was perhaps the premier source of stoneware clay in the area. Thomas Boone operated a pottery in Poughkeepsie from 1836 until he came to Brooklyn in 1840.

Current research of the 1840 era indicates that both Dennis Mc Lees and William Beach were then employees of Thomas Boone. Thomas Boone, as I stated above, hailed from the upstate New York city of Poughkeepsie (now, where have I heard this before, oh yes, both the Brown Brothers, and Frederick Caire are from there. They were active at Huntington L. I.). Thomas G. Boone was the first potter to set up shop in Brooklyn, producing marked pottery, and to be successful. His sons joined the firm, Benjamin R. Boone in 1842 and Thomas E. Boone in 1843. As a family business, the Boone’s were able to survive until 1846, when the firm was dissolved. Yes, I know that six years are really not much of a long life, yet it is pretty good compared to the average life span of a pottery in Brooklyn. The production of the Boone firm was in some respects ahead of its time. In the 1840-1850 time period potters were still producing the more traditional shaped ovoid and semi-ovoid wares, the straight-sided forms we know had not yet become popular yet we see a strong percentage of the straight-sided examples in the Boone’s production. Jars, jugs and crocks are found with the straight sides of the later post-1850 period. The cobalt decoration as a rule is simple and somewhat primitive, even by the standards of the time. However, the family did not quit the potting business when they closed the kiln in 1846, quite the opposite! Both sons remained active in the industry, producing drainpipe, roof tile, fire brick off and on into the 1860s, when their names no longer appear related to the potting industry. To date, no items bearing the marks of any of the firms they formed, or worked for has come to light.

Now, this brings us to one of Brooklyn’s many short lived potteries, the Brooklyn Salamander Pottery. In the year 1846, one George S. Andrews started up stoneware production at 80 Furman St. Not very much is known about the firm due to the very

46 short time of operation. Here is a very interesting situation. It appears that George Andrews was only the owner, as in 1846 only William Beach, and Benjamin Boone are listed in the City Directory as potters.

Perhaps they were employed by Andrews.

This could well be the case, as with the Boone operation closing up, the men would be available for employment. The Brooklyn Salamander Pottery did advertise a sales office in New York City, but the firm closed up the same year it opened! I am very lucky to have an ovoid crock in my collection with the mark “G. S. Andrews/No 80 Furman St Brooklyn NY.” I know of less than five examples from this firm.

Now, we are at the year 1847. While there are firms in Brooklyn producing stoneware, no one had marked them to our knowledge today. As such, this makes it very difficult to study them! The potting industry was relatively simple to enter in Brooklyn, and the capital required to set up a pot works was also low, and small shops came and went with abandon. It appears that while it was easy to get into the business, making a go of it was a far different matter. The vast majority of them produced drainpipe, stovepipe, chimney or flue pipe, firebricks, sewer pipes, and a device called a portable furnace, which was a rather clever device. Portable furnaces were stoneware buckets or pots, with some sort of metal handle, generally having a tripod base, or legs, to hold it up off the floor. They would be filled with hot coals from the stove or fireplace, and brought to another room to provide heat. The original portable space heater!

Some of these firms were very successful and remained in business for many years, while others would open and close the same year. Among the more successful was the firm of F. ROOS & SON. They operated the Williamsburg Pottery, located at 56-60 North 11th St. in Brooklyn for almost 20 years, 1875 to 1892. I am lucky to have in my collection a letter or flyer for this firm, with a date from the 1870s. Another was the Hamilton Pottery, which operated from 1868-1894. Located at the corner of Bush and Hamilton Sts (later Hamilton became Smith St) the production consisted of flowerpots, stove pipe, drain pipe and the like. Operated by a John Badum, it must have been profitable, since he sold the pottery in 1885 to Henry Bieg. Henry Bieg owned the Central Pottery, located at 52-66 Wallabout St. While these firms list in their

January-February 2007 advertisements stoneware, no marked examples have yet to surface. The typical products were the ever present sewer pipe, drain pipe, stench traps, fire brick and the portable furnace. These firms while long lived, are just a few of the dozens of potteries who operated in Brooklyn at this time period.

Now we are up to the late 1870s to the early 1880s. At this late time period, the potting industry was already past its prime, but we find a potter who would produce marked and decorated stoneware for the longest time of any potter in Brooklyn!

Cornelius Vaupel founded the Brooklyn Pottery, first being located in Williamsburg, at No. 11 Union Ave. This address is the site of a pottery operated by Joseph Hetticher, who began operation in 1864.

Cornelius Vaupel began production in 1877 with a partner by the name of Anton Boss.

It is likely Vaupel was using Hetticher’s kiln either “on shares” or a rental agreement.

This partnership lasted just one year.

Vaupel remained at the 11 Union Ave. address until 1881, when he moved to 388 (previously known as 366) Wallabout St. There are also marked pots from Vaupel bearing the address 444 Broadway.

Whether he produced pottery at this address, or used it as a store front, is unknown at present. He produced the traditional ware of jugs, jars, crocks and decorated them with designs typical of the Hudson Valley potters. Perhaps he learned his trade in the lower Hudson Valley, we may never know. He closed the Brooklyn Pottery in 1895.

Just in case you, the reader think that there is nothing left to know about the Brooklyn potting industry, think again.

There are a very few stoneware bottles in collectors hands, which are marked on the lower sides “Wallabout/Pottery/Brooklyn”.

Who was this? Where were they located?

What time frame did they operate in?

Currently we have no clues or information on this mysterious pottery. Many potteries did operate near the Wallabout Canal, located in the Eastern District, or E.D. As no information has come to light on this pottery, currently we can only speculate that this was a potter using a kiln either on shares, or after hours, perhaps he was associated with the Central Pottery, which was on Wallabout St? Or perhaps this potter built the kiln that Cornelius Vaupel moved to in 1881 at 388 Wallabout St? With a known output of a few bottles, it would appear the operation did not last very long,

Bottles and Extras or amount to very much.

Next we have the Charles Graham Chemical Pottery Works. Founded by Charles Graham in 1882, the firm was located on Metropolitan Ave in Brooklyn.

This was a specialty potter, as they supplied the industrial pottery required by the chemical works located throughout the city.

The product line featured items such as sinks, strainers, traps, valves, pipe, acid jars or receivers, pumps, pitchers and so on, all of which were required by the vast chemical industry present in Brooklyn at the time.

Stoneware has fairly high acid resistance and as such was a good choice at the time for the chemical industry. All their ware was marked, and you can find it today, generally with reasonable prices. I have seen a number of examples from the Charles Graham firm on eBay, even the sinks! While the products are not decorated, and having just a plain tan glaze, the valves, are quite lovely to see. Carefully molded and fitted they are quite something to behold. The firm was in business at least until 1913, and perhaps longer. Of all the pottery produced by the Brooklyn potters, the wares of the Charles Graham firm are the most available, and are very reasonable in price. Prices for examples of this firms output range from 20 to about 100 dollars, very reasonable prices for signed stoneware today.

Well, there you have it, my summation on the potting industry in Brooklyn. The pottery produced by the craftsmen in Brooklyn is really no different in form or decoration than that produced by the other potters in the region. While no doubt large amounts of stoneware were produced, due to the potters not marking the bulk of the ware, signed examples in general are uncommon. However, as the decoration is simple or crude, this has held down the prices, and the prices are affordable relative to other signed and decorated stoneware for the most part. I hope you have enjoyed it, and find it interesting. If you have any questions or can add information to it, please feel free to contact me at libottle@optonline.net.

References: Useful Art: Long Island Pottery written by Cynthia Arps Corbet and published by the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities.

Potters and Potteries of New York State, 1650-1900 written by William C. Ketchum Jr. and published by the Syracuse University Press.

Bottles and Extras

January-February 2007

47

The Dating Game: The American Bottle Co., A Study in Contracts and Contradictions

By Bill Lockhart, Pete Schulz, Carol Serr, Bill Lindsay and David Whitten As the title suggests, the American Bottle Co. was unique. An outgrowth of the Ohio Bottle Co., it was the first of the large conglomerates, setting a tone that would be followed two decades later by giants like the Knox Glass Bottle Co. and the Owens-Illinois Glass Co. American Bottle set the standard for small-mouth bottle production in the beer and soda bottle field and forced competitors to invent or adopt semiautomatic machines (and eventually gob feeders to make them fully automatic) to try to keep up. The company pioneered the use of date codes to establish the year a bottle was produced, but their markings were so cryptic that many of them have been misidentified, misunderstood, or ignored by researchers for decades.

Ironically, most of the marked bottles associated with American Bottle are the result of hand – not machine – production, and the company refrained from using date codes on machine-made bottles until 1916.

The American Bottle Co. initiated the placement of date codes on the heels of bottles, a device for tracking the number of round trips that a soda or beer bottle makes.

Because these bottles were intended to be returnable, the number of trips between the bottling plant and the consumer affects the profit margin. As financial planning became more important to the beverage industry, attention to the number of round trips became more important. By the mid-1920s, most returnable bottle manufacturers used date codes; by the 1950s, it was a standard throughout the industry. American Bottle initiated the practice in 1906.

History Ohio Bottle Co. (1904-1905) On October 11, 1904, a group of glass factories combined under the direction of Edward H. Everett to form the Ohio Bottle Co. Although Everett’s company, the Edward H. Everett Glass Co., Newark, Ohio, was to be the flagship factory, the combine also included the Massillon Bottle & Glass Co. and Reed & Co., both in Massillon, Ohio, and the Wooster Glass

Co., Wooster, Ohio, the latter two owned

by J. F. Pocock (see sections on each of these for more information on the companies prior to the formation of Ohio Bottle Co.).

The purpose of the new company was to monopolize the use of the new Owens automatic machine in making beer and soda bottles. On November 1, barely three weeks after its formation, Ohio Bottle signed a contract with the Owens Bottle Machine Co. for an exclusive license to do just that (National Glass Budget 1904e:10; 1904f:1; Scoville 1948:104; Walbridge 1920:72).

The new machines could not be built and installed immediately, however.

Initially, while continuing to make its own bottles by hand, Ohio Bottle Co. Served merely as the selling agent for the Northwestern Ohio Bottle Co. Northwestern was a wholly-owned subsidiary corporation of the Owens Bottle Machine Co. The National Glass Budget (1905:11) noted that Ohio Bottle “had recently taken both the large orders of the Liquozone Company, of Chicago, and the immense order of the Emerson Drug Company, Baltimore, Md., manufacturers of Bromo Seltzer” – a strange circumstance if they were intended to be machine-made, since Ohio Bottle’s license didn’t include medicine bottles. Due to subsequent events, the orders reverted to Owens.

To make the scheme even more complex, Everett incorporated the Newark Machine Bottle Co. of Toledo in May 1905 and built a new plant to house the Owens machines at the Newark property (Chessman & Abbott 1991:26). The Ohio Bottle Co. (and later the American Bottle Co.) was the exclusive selling agent for the Newark enterprise (National Glass Budget 1905c:1). Although we have no direct evidence for the date this arrangement dissolved, it clearly lasted into the American Bottle Co. era.

Apparently, Everett had some inside knowledge from Owens. When he built the new Newark plant for the Owens machine, Ohio Bottle was only a sales agent for Northwestern, and the only Owens machines were still in the Owens factory.

It was not until November 1, 1904, that

Owens granted the Ohio Bottle Co. the exclusive license to make “beer, porter, ale, and soda-water bottles” with the new Owens Automatic Bottle Machine, only the second license to be issued1 (National Glass Budget 1904e:10; 1904f:1; Scoville 1948:104; Walbridge 1920:72). Even then, the Newark Machine Bottle Co. had no Owens machines, and Ohio Bottle was making containers by hand.

By September 1904, it was clear that other beer bottle makers were concerned about the sale of beer bottles by the Ohio Bottle Co. Much of the early speculation centered around how much the Owens machine would depress prices. “One who has made a special investigation of existing conditions” claimed that Ohio Bottle would only sell the Owens-made containers in Mexico. The argument went that, since Ohio Bottle plants made their own bottles by hand, selling containers made by Northwestern’s Owens machines would hurt them as well. The Mexican connection would thus protect all U.S. plants (National Glass Budget 1904i:1). It soon became obvious, however, that the Ohio combine would sell to all comers.

The National Glass Budget (1904b:6) noted “a sort of stagnated condition” in the Massillon factories in late 1904. Although both Ohio Glass Co. plants were in “partial operation,” they were “well stocked with bottles made last year, although practically all have been sold.” This seems to have been a common situation during company changeovers. When a new company took over, it also acquired the responsibility to fill all the existing orders of the old company. Existing evidence (e.g., see Smith 1989 about Three Rivers Glass Co.; or Pacific Bottler 1930:24 about Southern Glass Co.) suggests that the transition took about a year. This, coupled with the short time in business, may be why bottles with the OBCo logo are comparatively uncommon.

The first Owens machine arrived at Newark in May 1905 (Chessman & Abbot 1991:26) and was operational by September (National Glass Budget 1905e:8). The additional plants at Massillon (as well as

48 the Newark shops) continued to produce mouth-blown beer and soda bottles. The Ohio Bottle Co. was short lived due to the acquisition of two newcomers (see below) to form the American Bottle Co. in 1905 (Toulouse 1971:30-31; 399-400).

The Wooster plant did not survive. The factory closed down at the end of October 1904 (National Glass Budget 1904c:4). By November, there was “little prospect of reopening” (National Glass Budget 1904d:10). Charles Blair, an American Bottle Co. representative at Wooster explained that “our effort last season to operate this plant cost us so much money that we do not care to repeat the experiment unless we are assured that sufficient boy labor at the same price we are paying at our other plants can be secured” (National Glass Budget 1905f:9). A year later the plant was sued by local investors for failure to operate according to its contracted schedule (National Glass Budget 1906:10).

We have found no evidence that the plant was ever again in operation.

American Bottle Co. (1905-1929) In 1905, the combine was strengthened with the addition of two factories owned

by Adolphus Busch (in Belleville, Illinois, and St. Louis, Missouri) and the Streator Bottle & Glass Co., Streator, Illinois. With this strong influx from Illinois and Missouri, “Ohio” was no longer appropriate, so the name was changed to the American Bottle Co.2 The new merger took place between August and September of 1905 and increased the number of plants in the conglomerate to seven (Scoville 1948:104; Toulouse 1971:31). 3 The National Glass Budget (1905g:1) reported the new combine on August 26 and noted that the Owens machine had “been giving perfect satisfaction; the product, owing to its uniformity in structure and fluid capacity, has been finding a ready market.”

American Bottle had maintained the same arrangement for selling Owens-made products as its predecessor. The Newark Machine Bottle Co., now equipped with two Owens machines at its Newark plant, actually made the bottles, and American bottle marketed the product. AnheuserBusch was one of the largest customers (National Glass Budget 1905h:1). Again, like its predecessor, the American Bottle Co. also manufactured bottles with mouthblown production at all of its plants.

The Owens Bottle Machine Co. acquired control of the majority American

January-February 2007 Bottle Co. stock (more than 80%) in 1916, but the plants continued to operate under the American Bottle name.

The management made that position clear by stating: the present officers of The American Bottle Co. will continue in charge of its operations; that The Owens Bottle Machine Co. has simply acquired a majority of the American company’s stock, and that the transaction will in no manner change the personnel of The American Bottle Co. and its Management (National Glass Budget 1916:1).

It was not until the merger that created Owens-Illinois Glass Co. in 1929 that American Bottle officially lost its standing as an independent company (Moody’s 1932:2209).

Individual Plants Each plant also developed its own history. Although the factories all belonged to the same firm, they were treated quite differently, and different ones were gradually eliminated.

Wooster The former Wooster Glass Co. was only open from 1900 to 1904. It was the first casualty of the Ohio Bottle/American Bottle combine. Although the Wooster plant remained in the possession of American Bottle, it never reopened. A labor problem (see above) closed the factory in 1904, and it was never resolved.

St. Louis Busch’s St. Louis plant was only a part of the combine for a short time. According to Toulouse (1971:30), “eventually Busch withdrew his St. Louis operations from the merger.” Toulouse (1971:400) also placed the withdrawal “after a few years.”

However, a 1908 article showed that the Adolphus Busch St. Louis plant was operating under the Adolphus Busch name

by October 1908 (Commoner & Glassworker 1908:1). Empirical evidence (see AB-Connected-plus-Co below) suggests that Busch may have withdrawn the plant by 1907 or even by late 1906.

The plant had burned in early 1905, but it was being rebuilt by August. Although rumors circulated that the plant might get Owens machines, there is no indication that it ever happened (National Glass Budget

Bottles and Extras 1905g:9). It is possible that the plant was probably not back in service prior to 1906.

Belleville Early, there were rumors that the Belleville plant would receive automatic machines (National Glass Budget 1905b:6), but we have found no documentary evidence that the plans materialized.

However, we have hypothesized that the AB-connected mark was used exclusively by the Busch plants.

We have observed very few machine-made, 11- or 12-ounce beer bottles embossed with the AB-connected mark. While not conclusive, these suggest that perhaps a single machine was operating prior to the closing of the Belleville plant.

In fact, Belleville was American Bottle’s third casualty. According to the Belleville News-Democrat (12/27/1998), “Walkouts and strikes by American Bottle workers in other places resulted in closure of the Belleville plants in 1909. They never reopened.” These “walkouts and strikes” may have been in reaction to a serious reduction in production by beer bottle manufacturers. American Bottle noted that the effects of state and local prohibition had resulted in a 40% reduction in production.

According to the company, payroll, normally $300,000, was reduced by $180,000 (Commoner & Glassworker 1909:2). Possibly, problems with “small help,” such as was experienced at Wooster, contributed as well.

Toulouse (1971:423) is contradictory about the closing date for the Belleville plant. He noted (page 32), “In 1916 the company was purchased by the Owens Bottle Machine Co.4 ...It was then operating five plants ...Belleville, Ill. ...the following year three were closed, leaving Streator and Newark.” This suggests that the Belleville plant was in operation until 1916.

However, on page 27, he stated that “Busch had been a hand plant all these years, which is one reason why the American Bottle Co. immediately closed the Belleville plant.”

The word “immediately” suggests the plant was closed in 1905. Finally, on page 423, he noted that “in 1909 . . . with the Adolphus Busch plant, now American Bottle Co., also shut down, most of the glassblowers of the area left for other fields.” This places the closing about 1908 or 1909. Both empirical and documentary evidence (see Who Used Which Marks?: Empirical Testing below) support a closing date of 1909.

Bottles and Extras Massillon Apparently, all three plants of Reed & Co. survived into the Ohio Bottle Co. era, although they were discussed as “furnaces, Nos. 1 and 3” (National Glass Budget 1904d). The article added that “the No. 1 furnace at the Reed & Co. plant is the largest in the city.” A follow-up article noted the lighting of the furnace in No. 2 (National Glass Budget 1904h).5 David Reed, former owner of Reed & Co. became manager of the Massillon plants (National Glass Budget 1904d:10; 1904h:5).

However, the Massillon plants (both the former Reed & Co. and the former Massillon Bottle & Glass Co.) all closed in 1913. A major flood damaged the former Reed & Co. plant so badly that it never reopened (Reed & Co. n. d.) and destroyed the former Massillon Bottle & Glass Co. factory as well (Kane 1978:84; Reed 1980).

All of the Massillon plants continued hand production and never operated machines.

Newark Newark (Everett’s original plant) became the flagship factory for the combine and eventually converted entirely to machine production. At least partly because of Edward H. Everett’s commanding position in the firm, his original factory received the greatest transformation. The first Owens machine arrived at Newark in April 1905 (National Glass Budget 1905a:6), although it was not in actual production until September.6 An interesting and connected event also occurred in late 1905. The training of apprentices was a long tradition among glass factories. Skilled gaffers (blowers) were the backbone of the glass industry.

Machine production destroyed the tradition, and Everett made the first move. By December 1905, he had virtually eliminated the apprentice program at Newark.

Although he retained very few apprentices in the “western factories” (i.e., Massillon, St. Louis, and Belleville), he abolished the practice at Newark, stating that “he would be ashamed to put a boy on the bench to learn to blow because there would be no trade before his apprenticeship was ended” (National Glass Budget 1905i:4; also see Chessman & Abbott 1991:26).

In 1907, Everett built a “huge new addition that would cover seven acres” at the Newark factory. Although the sources are unclear, at some point, the Newark Machine Bottle Co. dissolved, and American Bottle became the direct

January-February 2007 producer of machine-made bottles, rather than the selling agent. This may have been connected with Everett’s major construction move at Newark in 1907.

In 1907, the plant had 15 Owens machines that produced six railroad carloads of bottles per day, yet orders demanded almost 17 carloads per day. The new operation included furnaces for mouthblown bottle production (Chessman & Abbott 1991:32). The number of machines had grown to 27 by 1909 (National Glass Budget 1909:1). Hand manufacture, however, was on its way out. “The Company started to phase out its handblowing furnaces, until by 1914 there were just 34 Owens machines doing all the work in its remaining plants at Streator, Illinois[,] and Newark, Ohio” (Chessman & Abbott 1991:36).

In 1916, the Owens Bottle Co. became the majority stockholder of the American Bottle Co., thereby controlling its operation. American Bottle did not actually lose its identity until the merger of the Owens Bottle Co. and Illinois Glass Co. On May 1, 1929. The Newark plant operated under Owens control until the merger that created the Owens-Illinois Glass Co. on May 1, 1929, but it was closed the following year (Chessman & Abbott 1991:37; Toulouse 1971:32).

Streator Streator also became a machine plant, but the conversion was more gradual. The number of machines, however, continued to grow, and it, too, abandoned hand manufacture by 1914 (Chessman & Abbott 1991:36). The Streator factory remained a production center for Owens-Illinois, although the “lower works” ceased glass making in 1918. The remaining Streator plant (an Owens-Illinois factory after 1929) burned in 1938 and was never rebuilt (Toulouse 1971:32).

Bottles and Marks The Ohio Bottle Co. was licensed to produce beer, porter, ale, and soda bottles on Owens automatic machines (Miller & McNichol 2002:6). Empirical evidence, however, shows that export beer bottles were the single most important product produced by hand. While Hutchinson and crown-finished soda bottles were also manufactured, they appear to all have been made by hand. This situation apparently continued after the American Bottle reorganization, with beer bottles

49 dominating production until prohibition.

Manufacturer’s marks used by the Ohio/ American combine fall into three temporal categories: 1) those used by the Ohio Bottle Co. from 1904 to 1905; 2) those used by American Bottle from 1905 to 1916; and 3) those used by the American Bottle Co. under the control of the Owens Bottle Co. for products made at Streator and Newark (1916-1929). It is important to note that virtually none of the American bottle marks appeared on machine-made containers (see Who Used Which Marks?, AB-connected).

Ohio Bottle Co. (1904-1905) O.B.C. (1904-1905) Toulouse (1971:30) claimed the only mark known for the Ohio Bottle Co. was O.B.C., and the company was only in business from October 11, 1904, to September 7, 1905 (Toulouse 1971:399).

Kroll (1972:3) also suggested this mark for the Ohio Bottle Co., but his recording was not reliable, and he probably parroted Toulouse. Thus far, we have not located an example of this mark aside from the references by oulouse and Kroll. Rydquist (2002:4), too, noted that he had not seen this mark.

O.B.Co. or O.B.CO. (1904-1905) The Ohio Bottle Co. only used this mark, always with punctuation. The mark is found usually embossed on bottle heels.

Basemarks occur, usually in a downward arch and always with a lower-case “o” in “Co.” [Figure 1]. All heelmarks we have seen used an upper-case “O” in “CO.” [Figure 2]. Heelmarks are generally unaccompanied by any codes, but basemarks often have a single-digit number in the center. All marks should be dated to both years (1904-1905) that the company was in business. All marked Ohio Bottle Co. containers we have examined were mouth blown into molds. The very few produced by the Owens machine prior to the end of the company must have b e e n unmarked.

Mobley (2004)7 listed twelve beer bottles, all embossed on Figure 1: Ohio Bottle Co the heels with – Basemark [Lockhart] O B CO along

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Figure 2: Ohio Bottle Co – Heelmark [eBay] with numbers in two lines (with one exception) on the base. The numerator (top line) was a two- to four-digit number, but the denominator (bottom number) was always a single digit (in one case, an “A”).

Denominators ranged from 1 to 7, but numerators ranged from 37 to 1239. All were on mouth-blown bottles with a variety of finish styles. The numerators were probably catalog numbers; two identical markings (1109/2) were found on virtually identical bottles embossed on the sides with markings from two different breweries.

American Bottle Co. (1905-1916) [According to Johnson (1971:128), there was another American Bottle Co. in business in Vineland, New Jersey, from 1893 to an undisclosed date. It is not known if this American Bottle Co. marked its bottles, or, if so, what with. In any event, the plant was not connected with the Ohio/ Illinois American Bottle Co.] Timing is important. Few bottles were probably produced during 1905. The merger that formed American Bottle Co. did not take place until August-September.

There was almost certainly some administrative delay, so production under the American Bottle name is unlikely to have commenced prior to October and possibly began later. If any bottles were made using American Bottle marks in 1905, they were not date coded. The earliest date codes we have seen are “6-B” and “6-S.” We have included 1905 in the date ranges below, although it was probably the least likely year of production.

Date Codes The American Bottle Co. appears to have been the first glass manufacturer to offer date codes to its customers. There was a possible exception in 1901-1903, when Hutchinson-style soda bottles from the Illinois Glass Co. were embossed with “‘01,” “‘02,” or “‘03.” If these were date codes, they were abandoned after 1903 and never again used by Illinois Glass.

It seems that American Bottle got the idea for date codes from the brewers.

Bottles from the Rochester Brewing Co., Boston Branch, were embossed with script

January-February 2007 “93,” “95,” “96,” and “97” under the name (also script) on the body. These are almost certainly date codes for 1893-1897. The Harvard Brewing Co. had the word “REGISTERED” at the heel, along with “98,” “00,” “1900,” and “1901” embossed on the body (in quotation marks) below the company designation – again references to 1898-1901. Some of the bottles for each of these breweries were made by Everett.

Similarly, W.H. Jones & Co. (a distillery, not a glass house) used a four-digit date code on its whiskey bottles from 1896 to 1915 (Samuelson 2006:11-12.

Chessman and Abbott (1991:flyleaf) show codes of E1, E2, E3, E4, and E5 that they attribute to Everett’s factory.

Unfortunately, they offered no explanation for the marks nor any indication of what they were used on. However, Creswick (1995:50) listed grooved-ring wax-sealer jars with “E1,” E2,” and “E5” embossed on the bases. Although Creswick made no attempt to identify the maker, these are obviously the marks referred to by Chessman and Abbott. These may or may not be date codes. An E4 mark was also used by Essex Glass Co. on milk bottles, but that cannot be confused with Everett, who never made milk containers.

AB-connected (1905-1909) Toulouse (1971:26-27) attributed the AB-connected manufacturer’s mark to the Adolphus Busch Glass Manufacturing Co., Belleville, Illinois, and dated its use between about 1904 and 1907. Ayres et al.

(1980), however, noted cases where the mark was followed by “Co.” – a configuration that is much more in keeping with the American Bottle Co. name. We concur with the Ayres group and further assign the mark to the Belleville, Illinois factory (see Who Used Which Marks?). For more discussion of the background of the mark and research leading to the identification, see Lockhart (2004a; 2004b).

The ABconnected mark is generally f o u n d embossed on the bases of Figure 3: AB-Connected beer bottles Mark on Beer Bottle Base [Figure 3].

Additionally, [eBay]

Bottles and Extras we have yet to find it on body embossed beer bottles. All known examples of the mark on beer bottles have two common characteristics: 1) the bottles have no embossing on the body – they were made for the addition of paper labels; and 2) they are of the export style bottles with crown finishes. In addition, all but a very few examples were blown into a mold.

Whereas beer bottles with the ABconnected mark are ubiquitous, soft drink bottles bearing the logo appear to be scarce.

The few known soda bottles marked with AB-connected follow a different pattern.

M i l l e r Figure 4: AB(1999:21, Connected 36), for Mark on Soda example, Bottle showed two [Miller examples, 1999:21] both of which included circular plate molds on the front embossed with the names of local Arizona bottlers [Figure 4].

These were a crown-finished bottle embossed AB (connected) 170 on the reverse heel, and a Hutchinson bottle marked AB (connected) 32, also on the reverse heel. Miller dated the bottles 19051906 and 1906-1907, respectively. The numerals following the marks may be catalog numbers.

The AB-connected heelmarks also occasionally appear on beer bottles. In two cases, we have also found basemarks on machine-made beer bottles. Although we have observed literally hundreds (possibly even thousands) of bottles with the ABconnected mark, we have only seen two with machine characteristics [Figure 5].

We found no other American Bottle Co. marks on machinemade bottles (with two possible exceptions discussed later in this study).

Date codes that we have seen Figure 5: AB-Connected a s s o c i a t e d Mark on Machine-Made with the ABconnected Beer Bottle [Lindsey]

Bottles and Extras mark range from “6-B” (identifying the Belleville plant and the year, 1906) to “9B” (1909). It is, however, possible that bottles were made with no date codes during the September to December period of 1905.

We therefore suggest a date range of 1905ca. 1909 for the mark. For a discussion of factory identification and date codes, see Who Used Which Marks?

AB-connected-plus-Co (ca. 1906) This mark is rare, and we have only seen two examples, both on bases accompanied by a “6-B” date code on the heels [Figure 6].

There is also a letter/ n u m b e r combination below the mark and a Figure 6: AB-Connected n u m b e r Mark with “Co” below the [Lockhart] letter/number combination. Because the mark seems to be limited to this single year, and because of the factory code, we hypothesize that the mark was used by the St. Louis plant that Busch withdrew from American Bottle by 1908 (see Who Used Which Marks? for a more detailed discussion). This hypothesis suggests two additional propositions. First, the St. Louis factory may have been withdrawn as soon as early 1907 (no date codes after 1906).8 Second, the “B” in the code might indicate “Busch” rather than “Belleville.” Unless we find new evidence, we consider a date of ca. 1906 the best choice for this mark.

ABCo in an arch (ca. 1907) We have only seen a single example of this configuration on the base of an export beer bottle. Because the accompanying heelcode was “7-B,” the producing factory was probably Belleville, and the date was 1907. However, this may also be the 1907 mark of the St. Louis plant.

ABCo horizontal across the base (19051914) The ABCo mark was embossed on beer and some soda bottles across the center of the base [Figure 7]. The logo was used in two main variations, large and small, although we have not been able to correlate the differences with specific plants or date codes. The mark was often accompanied

January-February 2007 by date codes but was also frequently by itself. It was used with the “B” series codes (“6-B” through “9-B”) and the “S” series (“6-S” through “11-S” and “S-11” through S-14"). Feldhaus (1986:77, 84) also showed the 0-S, 12-S, 13-S, and 14-S codes on ABCo beer and soda bottles. The 0-S indicates a manufacture date of 1910, and this has been misidentified in the literature as O-S (indicating an alphabetical combination rather than a number/letter combination).

Feldhaus data also show that both 12S, 13-S and S-12, S-13 were used by the company.

Unless these Figure 7: ABCo marks are Basemark confirmed by [Lindsey – TUR] other sources, however, they should be questioned.

Feldhaus is riddled with typographic errors, so these may actually reflect the S-12, S13, etc. series.

Variations include A B CO (large letters), A B Co (large letters), A. B. Co. (large letters), and A B CO (small letters) on bases. All may appear with or without numbers or letter/number combinations.

Occasional odd heelmarks occur with ABCo bases, including 0-3, B9-S, 8-5, and 3-9, although these may all be mis-readings of indistinct embossing.

As noted with the AB-connected mark above, the ABCo mark was also likely used with no date code in 1905. Thus, the mark was probably used from 1905 to 1914 and possibly until 1916. For more information about date/factory codes, see Who Used Which Marks?

A.B.CO. horizontal on heel (1905-1914) The A.B.CO. heelmarks we have seen all used an upper-case “O,” usually included punctuation, and frequently were followed by three- or four-digit numbers that were probably model or catalog codes [Figure 8]. Sometimes a single numeral or letter was placed under the other

Figure 8: ABCO Heelmark – Note S12 Date Code [eBay]

51 numbers. However, we have only found the heelmark in conjunction with a single date code (0-S) indicating a manufacture in 1910. One other exception had a “7-8” code to the left of the logo (Mobley 2004).

It is possible that this is a misreading of a “7-S” or “7-B” date code. Although less common than the basemark, the heelmark was probably used during the entire tenure of the company’s hand production (19051914).

“SABCo” Although this mark was listed by Mobley (2004 – two examples), Miller (1999:17 – one example), Fowler (1998:21, 26, 41, 69 – four examples), and Clint (1976:194 – one example), this is actually the same ABCo heelmark described above with a typical American bottle date code instead preceding the logo and lacking any spacing. For example, 7-SABCo means the bottle was made by the Streator plant of the American Bottle Co. in 1907. Date codes range from 6-S to 11-S (including “0” for 1910). Although these are listed with both a capital and lower-case “o,” we have not examined enough examples personally to state that as certain.

S Peters (1996:9) claimed that an “S” mark was used by the American Bottle Co. for bottles made by the Streator plant.

Unfortunately, he did not justify his assertion, and he may have been referring to the 16 S series (below). Circumstantial evidence from Arizona Coke bottles suggests that the “S” may have been used on Coca-Cola bottles only by Southern Glass Co. (Personal communication, Mike Miller 9/19/2006).

American Bottle Co. (1916-1929) When the Owens Bottle Co. bought the controlling stock in the American Bottle Co., there were only two factories still in operation, Streator and Newark. Both of these were equipped with Owens machines and had eliminated hand production.

16 S Series (1916-1929) Beginning in 1916, the former American Bottle Co. plant at Streator, Illinois, began marking its bottles with twodigit date codes, followed by the letter “S” – then a one-or two-digit “mold” code [Figure 9]. The marks are always embossed horizontally on the heel of the bottle, and we have only seen them on soda

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January-February 2007

Figure 9: 16 S Date and Plant Code [Lockhart] or beer bottles, usually the former. The preponderance of soda bottles is hardly surprising, since most of the life of the mark was during Prohibition. All bottles bearing the mark are machine made and have what looks like a later Owens scar (with virtually no “feathering”) on the base.

The mark was most prevalent during the earliest seven or eight years of its use (see S 20 series below). Toulouse (1971:455) noted that “it is rare to find a year designation by a number higher than 21, 22, or 23.” However, we have recorded date codes as high as 29 (“29 S 2”), although the most common codes are 1618. We have yet to find a date code of 19 or 20, a phenomenon possibly related to Prohibition (although we are unable to present a complete explanation).

While we concur with the Toulouse observation about the date codes becoming less common after 1923, he failed to explain the phenomenon. The explanation requires another observation: Most bottles with the 16 S series marks are also embossed on the body with information identifying the bottler or brewery. The company devised a completely separate marking system for “slick-sided” bottles (i.e., those without side or body embossing – see 20 S series below).

All bottles connected with American Bottle during this period were machine made.

The gradual disappearance of the 16 S series of marks corresponds with a national trend in the soft drink industry toward bottles with paper labels. From the earliest development of embossed body labels in the early 1800s (Lockhart et al. 2006a:in press), the style had become increasingly popular with beverage bottlers in the U.S. Beginning about 1916, however, an increasing tendency toward the use of paper labels on soft drink bottles swept the industry (see Lockhart 2003:24-25). Paper labels had been the industry standard for beer bottles in the West since AnheuserBusch first used Pasteurization to enable the sale of bottled beer at long distances (although there were exceptions). Eastern and Midwestern bottles were made in both embossed and paper-label patterns, but near-beer bottles during Prohibition were

primarily paper labeled. As the trend toward paper labels increased, the use of the 16 S series of marks (associated with embossed bottles) decreased.

Toulouse (1971:454) reversed the order of the mark and was confused about the configuration, listing it as S17. Although we have examined literally hundreds of bottles with the 16 S series of marks, we have yet to find a single bottle with the S17 configuration.

16 N Series (1916-1929) Similar to the 16 S series, the 16 N series identifies the product as being made at the Newark, Ohio, plant. These bottles are much less common than those embossed with the 16 S series of marks. Again, Toulouse (1971:373) presented the configuration as N17, but we have never seen the mark in this form.

In other aspects, the 16 N series mirrored the 16 S series, except that it was much less common. The marks appeared on machine-made, embossed beverage bottles. The 16 N series seems to have disappeared with the final 1923 date code, but this may be related to the small sample observed. The Newark plant either continued to make unmarked bottles or shifted to the manufacture of other bottle types. The plant may have only made beverage bottles when demand exceeded the production capabilities of the Streator factory.

Oddly, Mobley (2004) listed a “15N 1” (with no space between the 15 and the “N”).

This may have been a typographical error; we have found no “15S” or “15 S” marks.

It is, of course, possible that Newark used the mark a year earlier than Streator.

Mobley also illustrated examples marked with “16 N 5”, “17 N 10”, and “18 N 6.” A final interesting mark was “23 N” (with no final numeral). The numeral to the right may have been very indistinct. It seems as if the Newark factory did not use the mark as much or for as long as Streator. Casi’s Coke Collection (2006) showed a “17 N 1” mark.

Earlier “N” Marks Members of our group have examined bottles with marks (e.g., 13 N) that do not seem to fit into the above chronology.

Another example (14 S) is listed by Mobley (2006). All that we have seen, however, are very faint, and there is a (good?) chance that these are actually later marks. Until we actually observe good “strikes” of the

Bottles and Extras codes, we remain skeptical of the exceptions.

Another problem with these earlier “exceptions” is that they do not fit with historical or other empirical evidence. In 1916, there was a major shift as the Owens Bottle Co. acquired the majority stock in American Bottle Co. Empirically, there follows a large influx of machine-made soda bottles with the 16 S 1, etc. marks and fewer with the “N” code. These large numbers of examples continue until 1918, when they decline (as Prohibition began in many states). Early (and unclear) examples simply do not fit well.

One possible explanation, however, is that these heelcodes either appeared with very lightly marked ABCo bases or that such bases were intended to go with the bottles, but plain bases were used. Our single example of 13 N and Mobley’s 15N would still remain the only known marked bottle from the Newark factory during the period and is thus unlikely.

AB on Clicquot Club Bottles Markings on Clicquot Club bottles add an intriguing dimension to the discussion.

Clicquot Club sodas began in 1881 and added the Eskimo logo in 1913. See Hopson (2000) for more information on the company. On at least one style of Clicquot Club bottle, the Eskimo logo on the base is flanked by the letters “A” and “B” [Figure 10] and at least one of the those has a Figure 10: AB Eskimo small “26” on Clicquot Club Soda embossed Bottle [Schulz] below the “A.” This is likely a date code for 1926.

It is entirely possible that Clicquot Club restricted its bottle makers as to how they could mark products destined for Clicquot.

This was not unusual.

Both CocaCola and Pepsi-Cola Figure 11: Fleur-de-Lis (Lockhart with AB Mark 2003; 2004l) [Lindsey – TUR] required

Bottles and Extras specific markings from bottle manufacturers. Thus, the “AB” split around the Eskimo logo may have indicated the American Bottle Co. However, it is also possible that the bottles were made by Adolphus Busch.

Another odd anomaly is an amber base with a fleur-de-lis in the center flanked by an “A” and “B” mark [Figure 11]. Since the mark is similar to those on the Clicquot Club bottles, it may have been used by the same company.

17 • B • 174 The 17 • B • 174 mark has been observed on the heels of two squat, amber bottles of the type used for Bevo, the nearbeer or cereal beverage made by AnheuserBusch from 1916 to 1929 (Plavchan 1969:159, 616). Although this mark is similar to those used by the American Bottle factories during the 1916-1929 period, the font size is slightly larger, and the dots have never been noted in American Bottle marks [Figure 12]. The “B” is also problematical, if the “17” is a date code (which is almost certain from the type of bottle). The Belleville plant had closed in 1909.

Figure 12: 17 • B • 174 Heelmark [Lockhart] The “B” is sans serif, similar to those used by the Buck Glass Co. (see Lockhart 2006). Buck was certainly open during the period, and the plant made beer bottles. We know little about the Buck configuration, however, so this may indeed be the mark of Buck during 1917. Although the Brockway Glass Co. and the Charles Boldt Glass Mfg. Co. both used simple “B” marks, both used marks with serifs (although Brockway used a sans serif “B” mark much later). Although the company was not known for using such a mark, this “B” may have been used experimentally by Adolphus Busch.

54B Ayres et al. (1980) noted the 54B mark embossed on the heels of amber and aqua, export beer bottles in the Tucson Urban Renewal (TUR) Collection.

The researchers attributed the mark to the Buck Glass Co. (see above) and noted additional numbers of “19,” “37,” and “41” along with

January-February 2007

Figure 13: 41B Heelmark [Lindsey – TUR] the “B” on other bottles [Figure 13].

However, when the BRG examined the TUR collection in early 2006, we also discovered heelmarks of the same configuration (large, two-digit number; smaller capital letter) with letters “R,” “N,” and “C” replacing the “B” (e.g., 245R; 54C; 10N). Thus, it is unlikely that the “B” or any other letter in the sequence indicates a glass company and equally unlikely that the numbers are date codes. All these marks were found on crown-finished, machinemade bottles.

26 S Series (with or without underline) Although this mark is occasionally enumerated in archaeological reports, it has yet to be addressed in print. This is actually a group of date/plant codes embossed on the bases of Select style soda bottles (cf.

Lindsey 2006 for a discussion of the bottle style) between 1920 and 1930. The marks are found mostly (possibly only) on emerald green (or forest green) and amber bottles, and all are machine made with probable Owens scars.9 Although there are some exceptions, the majority of these marks are underlined.

Although more data are needed, and a larger sample would be helpful, we may nonetheless make some general statements about this series of marks. As with the 16 S series, the “S” marks in this group are the most common. Bases of these bottles are consistently marked with a two-digit number followed by a single letter, although the marks in the S series fall into four configurations: 1) number - letter, underlined; 2) number letter (no dash, still underlined); 3) number letter (no underline); and 4) number letter (no underline). Our recorded S Figure 14: 29S Under- series marks lined Basemark extend from [Lockhart] 26 (1926) to

53 30 (1930), and, as noted above, these are far more likely to be underlined than not [Figure 14]. The S series marks are horizontally embossed across the center of the base. The “S” almost certainly represents the Streator plant.

The N series marks are usually in the #4 configuration with no dash and no underline, although there are exceptions [Figure 15]. These range from 1925 to 1930 with a single exception that was recorded as N 20. The Figure 15: 25N Underlined apparent 1920 date Basemark may simply be an [Lindsey – anomaly or it may be a Bottle House] case of misrecording.

Like the S series, N series marks are usually embossed across the center of the base. The “N” indicates the Newark plant. As with the previous series, these are much less common than the “S” marks.

A.B.Co. / X / 30N We have seen a green base embossed with A.B.Co./X/30N [Figure 16].

Although it would be nice to find a complete bottle, this one may be a transition bottle from the older ABCo logo to the newer {numeral} Figure 16: ABCo with { n u m e r a l } X and 30N Date Code [Serr] {letter} mark (see 16 S Series below). It may also be a case where an old baseplate was reused with a new mark added to it.

A similar base was used by the Root Glass Co., also with a 1930 date code [Figure Figure 17: Root Mark 17]. By that time, with X and 30 Date Root, too, was Code [Lindsey] under Owens control. Whether these “X” marks are connected in some way is currently unknown.

Who Used Which Marks?

Chessman and Abbott (1991:26-28) presented compelling evidence that Edward H. Everett was the primary power behind

54 American Bottle. While Adolphus Busch was a powerful figure (as Chessman & Abbott also noted), his focus was on beer; bottles were only important as a mode of conveyance to move his brew from the brewery to the customer. As a result, Everett converted his home factory in Newark, Ohio, into the primary plant of the company devoted to manufacturing bottles with the new fully automatic machinery.

Although machine production did not begin until 1905, by 1909, the Newark plant operated 27 machines. The Streator plant only had a dozen machines during the same year with two others being installed (National Glass Budget 1909:1). The Streator plant already maintained a few semiautomatic machines acquired prior to the merger. Both factories included some hand shops prior to 1914 (Chessman & Abbott 1991:32). It is unlikely that these hand units contributed a significant amount of production in the later years of their use.

The remaining plants, with the exception of a possible machine at Belleville, Illinois, were operated by hand.

Even though Toulouse (1971:32) indicated that hand blowing continued for the entire tenure of the company (noting, for example, 12 tanks for hand blowing in 1915, a year prior to the sale of the factories to Owens), that was refuted by other information (see history section). All the plants except Streator and Newark (and Busch’s St. Louis factory, withdrawn by at least 1908) had ceased operation no later than 1913.

We may extrapolate answers to some heretofore unexplained quandaries from the above information, although other questions will probably remain unanswered. We will probably never discover, for example, why virtually none of the pre-1916 machine-made bottles from American Bottle were embossed with any sort of company identification. Although members of this group have examined literally hundreds (probably thousands) of beer bottles, we have only discovered two that were machine made and contained the AB-connected mark. We have found no machine-made bottles with the ABCo mark (with the possible exception of the Clicquot Club and “X” bottles discussed above).

With those very few exceptions, all bottles marked with logos from American Bottle were mouth blown.

It is well known that molds on the Owens machines were difficult to change;

January-February 2007 therefore, it was not profitable to make small quantities of bottles. Thus, smaller companies ceased having their names embossed on bottles. Most bottles made

by Owens machines in the first half of the 20th century were generic. This, however, does not explain why American Bottle failed to mark baseplates with their logo.

It is possible that the bottles were originally unmarked because of the rush to begin production, and the practice, once set in motion, may merely have continued.

A previously unexplained phenomenon centers around why we find date codes in the 6 - S (probably indicating the Streator plant) and 6 - B (probably indicating the Belleville factory) series, but we have yet to find a single coded bottle from the 19051915 period, embossed with an “N” mark that would indicate Newark.10 It is certain that the Newark included hand production in its inventory, and virtually all known bottles with the “S” and “B” codes were hand made. Why the flagship plant neglected to mark its bottles is currently unknown.

Another quandary centers around the marks, themselves. Why did American Bottle use two marks, with one subvariation? To date, we have only discovered the ABCo mark, embossed horizontally across the central or upper section of the base (or in a single case, in an arched format) or on the heel and the ABconnected mark that is usually either embossed across the central or upper basal sections or occasionally on the heel (the latter, usually on soda bottles). A scarce sub-variation of the AB-connected mark includes the abbreviation “Co.” We suggest a new hypothesis that explains the variation and distribution of the marks. This explanation is based on the well-known ego of Adolphus Busch (see Hernon & Ganey 1991:1-83). Although this is speculation, it is possible that Busch demanded a slightly different mark for his two factories. Even though it would be the mark of the American Bottle Co., it would still clearly identify his plants. In addition, the AB-connected mark would also signify Adolphus Busch.

The hypothesis that the AB-connected mark belongs to the former Busch factories also explains the Toulouse misidentification of the mark as belonging to the Adolphus Busch Glass Mfg. Co. Toulouse belonged to the bottle research network established

by May Jones during the 1960s. Jones wrote letters to glass manufacturers and

Bottles and Extras bottle makers throughout the world and solicited information from virtually every bottle collector she could find.

Jones (1963:[7]) published a letter she received from a Mr. Carroll of Anheuser Busch. Carroll warned Jones that their records had been “destroyed in a fire early in the 1900s.” In answer to her question about the AB-connected mark, he stated, “It is my assumption, and this is not based on actual fact that the brand [ABconnected] refers to the Adolphus Busch Glass Co. rather than the American Bottle Co.” Many of the Toulouse identifications of marks were based on the best opinions of people in the glass industry and the Jones collector network. In the case of the ABconnected mark, Carroll’s guess was the best one known. However, based on our current information, it is much more likely that Carroll’s ideas about the mark were from the successor to the Adolphus Busch plants, the Belleville and St. Louis plants of the American Bottle Co. This hypothesis also identifies the Busch St. Louis plant as the user of the ABconnected Co mark. Because the plant was only a part of the American combine from 1905 to ca. 1908, we would expect to find few bottles with the mark. Indeed, bottles with the mark are quite scarce. Shortly before Busch joined the American Bottle group, the St. Louis factory burned. The fire damage was so extensive that Busch had to rebuild the plant. Thus, the St. Louis factory may not have been in production until 1906.

This still leaves unexplained why we find date codes in the 6 - B series with ABCo marks. If the Busch plant used the AB-connected mark, then 6 - B date codes should only be found in conjunction with that mark. At this point, we have little solid evidence. Few studies have matched the date codes with the manufacturer’s marks.

We need more evidence. However, 6 - B date codes are also found with ABCo marks.

The only explanation (assuming the hypotheses are correct) is that the Belleville plant concurrently used both manufacturer’s marks. Marks with the “S” code do not follow this pattern; they are only associated with the ABCo mark. This area needs more study.

We have also discovered a bottle with A B Co on the base and 11-S on the heel.

What makes the mark interesting is that the S is superimposed over a B. This may indicate that different plants traded molds when needed. It is also possible that the

Bottles and Extras original mold maker produced the error.

These explanations fail to address one pertinent issue: Where are the marks from the Massillon factories? Both Reed & Co (R&Co) and Massillon Bottle & Glass Co. (MB&GCo) used manufacturer’s marks prior to their inclusion in the Ohio Bottle Co. If the “B” marks equal Belleville (or Busch), and the “S” marks indicate Streator (as we have assumed), why are there no marks for the Massillon plants? We have no answer. It is likely that many, possibly all, the ABCo marks with no accompanying date/plant codes were made at the Massillon plants.

Table 1 below combines the above information into a composite.

Empirical Testing From March 20 through March 24, 2006, the BRG examined thousands of bottles (140 boxes) from the Tucson Urban Renewal (TUR) collection at the Arizona State Museum. A total of 69 bottles in the collection were marked on the base with one of the American Bottle Co. logos and accompanied by a date code on the heel.11 We recorded both attributes.

Recording the TUR collection revealed a previously undocumented variation of the ABCo mark, this one in an arched format on the base, accompanied by the heelmark (date code) “7-B.” Date codes associated with the horizontal ABCo mark included 6-B through 9-B; 6-S through 11-S (including 0-S, the 1910 mark); and S11.

Elsewhere, Lockhart (2004c:51) recorded

January-February 2007

55

the shift in 1911 to the letter “S” preceding the two-digit date code. This was only practiced by Streator (the Belleville factory had long since closed) and ceased in 1914 with the elimination of hand production at the remaining two plants (Streator and Newark). Although a few of the later date codes were recorded with no dash (-), the majority include dash (“S-12”) rather than the “S12” format.

In contrast, the AB-connected mark (with one exception) only appeared with a “B” series, heel code extending from 6-B through 9-B. We listed a single “8-5” code in conjunction with the mark. This, however, was probably a mis-recording of a heel code that was very indistinct. The “5” could have been either an “S” or a “B” – although the “B” fits in better with the other recorded date codes for the mark. The single example of the AB-connected-plusCo mark in the TUR collection had a “6B” date code on its heel. The only other available example of the AB-connectedplus-Co mark we have observed also bore the “6-B” code on its heel.

All this brings to the fore some interesting ramifications. First, the ABconnected mark is only associated with date codes to 1909. This supports a 1909 closing date for the Belleville plant. The ABconnected mark is the only American Bottle mark found on machine-made bottles.

Even though we have found no historical evidence to support machine production, we hypothesize that the former Busch plant in Belleville actually used some form of

machine technology and embossed the ABconnected mark on some of those bottles.

The virtual exclusion of “S” codes associated with the AB-connected mark supports the idea that the logo was used at the Belleville plant. That identification is even further supported by the rarity of the AB-connected-plus-Co mark, in our sample only associated with a “6-B” date code.

This is consistent with a use by the Busch St. Louis plant and the withdrawal of that plant from the combine as early as 1907 (certainly by 1908). Thus, the ABconnected series is only present with “B” codes, almost certainly indicating Belleville.

However, both Belleville and Streator appear to have used the ABCo mark. This mark is found with both the “B” series and “S” series date codes. As with the ABconnected mark, the “B” series only extends from “6-B” to “9-B.” However, the “S” series extends from “6-S” to “11-S” as well as one marked “S11.” As indicated above, we have evidence that the numbers were reversed in a series that extended from “S12” to “S-14.” Findings from the TUR collection indicate that the reversed number/letter series began in 1911. This suggests that Streator used the “S” date/ plant codes from 1906 to 1914.

It is strange that the company that originated the idea of date codes never used it on machine-made bottles until 1916. The Root Glass Co., for example began using date codes in 1909. Others picked up the idea in the teens. However, the Belleville

Table 1 – American Bottle Co. Plants, Marks, and Dates (1905-1916) Plant Location

Dates

Mark

Date Code Style

Newark, Ohio (former Edward H. Everett Co.)

1905-1916

None

None

Streator, Illinois (former Streator Bottle & Glass Co.)

1905-1914

ABCo (on mouth-blown bottles)

6-S to 11-S; S-11 to S-14

Streator, Illinois (former Streator Bottle & Glass Co.)

1905-1911

ABCo Heelmark*

6-S to 11-S

Belleville, Illinois (former Adolphus Busch Glass Mfg. Co.)

1905-1909

AB-connected and ABCo

6-B to 9-B

St. Louis, Missouri (former Adolphus Busch Glass Mfg. Co.)

ca. 1906

AB-connected Co.**

6-B

Massillon, Ohio (former Reed & Co.)

1905-1913

ABCo

None

Massillon, Ohio (former Massillon Bottle & Glass Co.)

1905-1913

ABCo

None

Closed in 1905

None

None

Wooster, Ohio (former Wooster Glass Co.) * These have been frequently recorded as SABCo mark. ** This identification is hypothetical.

56 factory seems to have abandoned the practice in 1909, and the Streator plant phased out the date codes more gradually.

“S” codes become less common after 1911.

This may be connected with the lack of embossed labels on the machine-made bottles. Breweries and soda bottling works may only have been interested in the number of round trips for bottles that were distinctly theirs. The more generic, paperlabel bottles could have been reused by any company; therefore, the plants may have been uninterested in tracing round trips through date codes.

An Alternative Possibility One other connection may be salient.

We found a Reed & Co. base in the TUR collection marked R&Co (arch)/38/087. A similar configuration showed up on a bottle marked AB(connected). Co./B 21/05. The TUR collection also contains one bottle embossed A. B. CO. (in an arch)/088/43 and one with A B CO (horizontal) /3/088.

From their rarity and the crudity of manufacture, we deduce that the ABconnected-plus-Co. marks were only used for a short time. Therefore, the former Reed & Co. plant at Massillon, Ohio, possibly used the AB-connected-plus-Co. mark during the 1905-ca 1907 period, then switched to the ABCo mark.

Machine-Made Beer Bottles A possible explanation for the lack of machine-made bottles with American Bottle Co. marks requires a bit of background information. According to Krebs and Orthwain (1953:24, 26), Anheuser Busch was annually bottling about 100,000,000 bottles of beer by the mid-1890s. Even allowing about 30 round trips per bottle, that equals more than three million individual bottles used per year by a single (albeit the largest) brewery. A decade later, when the American Bottle Co. emerged from the Ohio Bottle Co., bottle sales were greatly increased. Most beer bottles were generic and used paper labels for product identification.

Although we cannot (at this time) produce direct evidence, it is very likely that American Bottle used its automatic machines to produce an enormous quantity of unembossed beer bottles. It is important to remember that the Owens machine had one dramatic flaw: it was only “successful in large production runs” (Miller & Sullivan 1984:86). The entire machine had to be shut down to change the mold on a

January-February 2007 single arm. Thus the machine was at its best when producing generic bottles – such as unembossed export beer bottles.

With such a large market for generic beer bottles, the company likely concentrated its machine efforts to filling the demand. Since the bottles, themselves, were generic, American Bottle did not waste the effort required to emboss marks on either the heel or the base. The demand for mold codes, embossed catalog numbers, and date codes to track bottles would not be felt until many years in the future. The much smaller market for the more expensive embossed beer and soda bottles was filled by mouth-blown products. To test this would require examining a large number of unembossed bottles to see if they showed the distinct Owens scars on their bases – which only American Bottle was licensed to produce, at least until 1916.

However, this fits with other styles of early bottles made by the Owens machine and may even have been an early hallmark.

Charles Boldt Glass Mfg. Co., the Owens Bottle Co., and the Illinois Glass Co., the only three licensees allowed to make whiskey bottles, produced primarily unembossed bottles (i.e., no embossing on the sides of the containers) during the early years of the 20th century. The same may be said for catsup and grape juice bottles made by the Owens company. Thatcher, however, made embossed milk bottles with Owens machines, and Illinois Glass applied embossed labels to its medicinal bottles.

American Bottle certainly had the capacity to manufacture machine-made bottles. The Newark plant had 28 Owens machines that made “beer, malt and water [i.e., soda] bottles.” Every 24 hours, the machines made “210 gross of pint beer bottles and 165 gross of quart beer bottles.”

The Streator plant had 24 machines.

According to the 1914 report, the 17 sixarm machines “each . . . produces 140 gross of quart beer bottles and 170 gross of pint beer bottles in 24 hours.” The seven tenarm machines “make 150 gross of quarts or 230 gross of pints in 24 hours” (Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry 1914:864).

Conclusion The American Bottle Co. was a major producer of beer bottles and a lesser manufacturer of soda bottles during the 1905-1916 period. When the Owens Bottle Co. became the majority stockholder in American Bottle in 1916, changes in style

Bottles and Extras of production occurred. Probably due to impending National Prohibition, beer bottle production declined (dramatically after 1920, when such bottles were primarily used for near-beers), and soda bottle production increased.

Only two plants used the Owens Automatic Bottle Machines (the former Everett factory in Newark, Ohio and the former Streator Bottle & Glass Co. operation at Streator, Illinois), although all plants maintained hand production. All but the Newark and Streator plants had closed (or, in the case of St. Louis, been withdrawn from the combine) by 1913. Hand production decreased at the two major plants until it ceased in 1914.

The plants used two major manufacturer’s marks, AB-connected and ABCo. Empirical evidence suggests that the AB-connected mark was used exclusively by the former Adolphus Busch plants at Belleville and St. Louis. Upon the withdrawal of the St. Louis plant ca.

1907, only Belleville used the mark. The ABCo mark was used by Belleville and the other plants, except Newark, which apparently used no manufacturer’s marks.

American Bottle Co. retained its identity after the Owens Bottle Co. became the majority stockholder in 1916. Although the other plants were closed, Streator, and Newark used a new heel code to identify individual factories, combined with date codes (e.g., 16 S 3 for Streator). The plants used the new system, primarily on sideembossed bottles, until 1929, although use of the mark dramatically decreased after ca.

1918 due to the adoption of paper labels by the soda industry and the reduction (and eventual end) of beer bottle production during Prohibition.

A final basemark style (e.g., 26 S – with or without an underline) was used on otherwise unembossed bottles from ca.

1925 to 1930. Letters in these marks identified surviving American Bottle Co. plants (Streator and Newark), and the twodigit codes indicated the date of manufacture. These marks are found almost exclusively on Select-style soda bottles in emerald green and amber colors.

Use of the mark extended into the first year of production (1930) of the new OwensIllinois Glass Co. References: Ayres, James E., William Liesenbien, Lee Fratt, and Linda Eure 1980 “Beer Bottles from the Tucson

Bottles and Extras Urban Renewal Project, Tucson, AZ.” Unpublished manuscript, Arizona State Museum Archives, RG5, Sg3, Series 2, Subseries 1, Folder 220.

Belleville News-Democrat, December 27, 1998.

Casi’s Coke Collection 2006 Casi’s Coke Collection. http:// www.cokebottles.de/homer2.htm Chessman, G. Wallace and Curtis W. Abbott 1991 Edward Hamlin Everett: The Bottle King. Robbins Hunter Museum, Granville, Ohio.

Commoner & Glassworker 1908 “Pith of the Week’s News: All the New of the Glass Trade Compiled on Condensed form for Quick Reading.”

Commoner & Glass Worker 26(48):1.

1909 “Effect of Prohibition Movement.”

Commoner & Glassworker 27(38):2.

Feldhaus, Ron 1986 The Bottles, Breweriana and Advertising Jugs of Minnesota 18501920, Volume 1: Beer, Soda, Household.

North Star Historical Bottle Collectors Association, Minneapolis, MN. Fowler, Ron 1998 Ice-Cold Soda Pop 5¢: An Illustrated History of Oregon Soda Pop Bottling. Privately published, Seattle, Washington. [Revised version of the 1981 edition] Hernon, Peter and Terry Ganey 1991 Under the Influence: The Unauthorized Story of the AnheuserBusch Dynasty. Simon & Schuster, New York.

Hopson, Kathy 2000 “Company Profiles: The Clicquot Club & Frostie Rootbeer.” Soda Pop Dreams Magazine 3(3).

Jones, May 1963 The Bottle Trail, Volume 3. Nara Vista, New Mexico.

Johnson, Virgil S. 1971 Millville Glass: The Early Days.

Delaware Bay Trading Co., Millville.

Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry 1914 “The Present Status of the Glass Bottle Industry in the United States.”

Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry 6(10):864-865.

Kane, Ruth 1978 Wheat, Glass, Stone and Steel: The

January-February 2007 Story of Massillon. Privately published, Massillon, Ohio.

Krebs, Roland and Rercy J. Orthwein 1953 Making Friends is Our Business: 100 Years of Anheuser-Busch. Cuero Press, n. p.

Kroll, Wayne, L. 1972 Wisconsin Breweries and Their Bottles. Privately Published, Jefferson, Wisconsin.

Lindsey, Bill 2006 “Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website.” http:// www.blm.gov/historic_bottles/index.htm Lockhart, Bill 2003 “Exploring the Chronology of Soft Drink Bottles from El Paso, Texas, Part 2: Embossed, Machine-Made Bottles from El Paso’s Three Largest Bottlers.”

The Artifact 41:21-45.

2004a “The Dating Game: The ABConnected Mark.” Bottles and Extras 15(2):16-17.

2004b “New Insights: The Adolphus Busch Manufacturing Mark.” SHA Newsletter 37(1):34-35. (Society for Historical Archaeology) 2004c “The Dating Game: Liberty Glass Co, Lamb Glass Co., and Updates.”

Bottles and Extras 15(4):48-51.

2006 “Buck Glass Co.: A Manufacturer of ACL Soda Bottles.” The Soda Fizz 4(4):12-15.

Miller, George L. and Tony McNichol 2002 “Dates for Suction Scarred Bottoms: Chronological Changes in Owens Machine-Made Bottles.” Paper presented at the 2002 SHA meetings, Mobile, Alabama.

Miller, George L. and Catherine Sullivan 1984 “Machine-made Glass Containers and the End of Production for MouthBlown Bottles.” Historical Archaeology 18(2):83-96.

Miller, Michael R. 1999 A Collector’s Guide to Arizona Bottles & Stoneware: A History of Merchant Containers in Arizona.

Privately Printed, Peoria, Arizona.

Minton, Lee W. 1961 Flame and Heart: A History of the Glassblowers Association.” Merkle.

Mobley, Bruce 2004 Dictionary of Embossed Beers. http://brucemobley.com

57 Moody’s Investors Service 1932 Moody’s Manual of Investments: American and Foreign. Moody’s Investors Service, New York, New York.

National Glass Budget 1904a “Massillon’s Bottle Industry.”

National Glass Budget 20(8):9.

1904b “Glass Business Slow in Massillon.” National Glass Budget 20(23):6.

1904c “Wooster Factory Shut Down.”

National Glass Budget 20(24):4.

1904d “Additional Fires Lighted at Massillon.” National Glass Budget 20(28):10.

1904e “Big Bottle Company Organized.”

National Glass Budget 20(8):10.

1904f “The Owens Bottle Machine.”

National Glass Budget 20(15):1.

1904g “The Ohio Bottle Combine.”

National Glass Budget 20(19):8.

1904h “Increasing Beer Bottle Output.

National Glass Budget 20(32):5.

1904i “The Blowing Machine as a Depressor of Prices.” National Glass Budget 20(18):1.

1905a “An Owens Machine at Newark.”

National Glass Budget 20(50):6.

1905b “Busch Factory Idle.” National Glass Budget 20(39):6.

1905c “Valuable Properties Acquired by the $10,000,000 Trust Just formed.”

National Glass Budget 21(16):1.

1905d “The Owens Bottle Machine.”

National Glass Budget 20(45):11.

1905e “Owens Machines at Newark.”

National Glass Budget 21(9):8.

1905f “The Wooster Bottle Plant.”

National Glass Budget 21(28):9.

1905g “The American Bottle Company.”

National Glass Budget 21(15):9.

1905h “The American Bottle Co.” National Glass Budget 21(16):1.

1905i “Apprentices Not Wanted.”

National Glass Budget 21(30):4.

1909 “Steady March of Progress.”

National Glass Budget 9:1.

58 1916 “Status of American Bottle Co.” National Glass Budget 31(40):1.

Pacific Bottler 1930 “Southern Glass Company Liquidated, Plant Dismantled.” Pacific Bottler 48(11):24.

Peters, Roger 1996 Wisconsin Soda Water Bottles, 1845-1910. Wild Goose Press, Madison, Wisconsin.

January-February 2007 Riley, John J. 1958 A History of the American Soft Drink Industry: Bottled Carbonated Beverages, 1807-1957. American Bottlers of Carbonated Beverages, Washington, D. C. Rydquist, Peter 2002 “Common Glasshouse Maker’s Marks on Beer and Soda Bottles.” The Patomac Pontil. September:2-5.

Plavchan, Ronald J. 1969 “A History of Anheuser-Busch, 1852-1933.” Doctoral dissertation, St. Louis University.

Samuelson, Peter 2006 “Established 1851, W. H. Jones & Co., Boston, Massachusetts, and Their Walking Bear.” Antique Bottle & Glass Collector 23(5):10-11, 14-16.

Reed, David W. 1980 Interview on November 18 at Massillon Historical Society.

Scoville, Warren C. 1948 Revolution in Glassmaking: Entrepreneurship and Technological

Footnotes: 1 The first license went to BaldwinTravis, a firm that almost immediately merged with Thatcher Mfg. Co. – to make milk bottles.

2 Note that this is an inference by the authors.

3 Toulouse (1971:399) placed the date at September 7, 1905.

4 This is not quite correct. Owens acquired the controlling stock in 1916.

5 Another article, however, stated that the Reed plant had only one furnace (National Glass Budget 1904g:8).

6 The timing is interesting. The earliest known American Bottle date code is 1906, and all known American Bottle Co. date codes are on mouth-blown bottles. Thus, we have no way of empirically dating the beginning of production for Owens-

machine bottles. Clearly, the machine was operational in late 1905, but 1906 may be a more practical beginning date for Owens machine use. According to Riley (1958:106), machine production of soda bottles did not actually begin until 1907.

Since beer bottles were the main production output from the Owens machines, Riley may be correct, and soda bottle manufacture

by Owens machine was delayed.

7 Mobley updated his website at some point and revised his search system. We were unable to duplicate the results in 2006.

A bit of spot checking Mobley’s site showed that many marks that still exist in his current system do not show up in the same search parameters that we used in 2004.

Accordingly, we have left the data in this report. We do not know whether or not the Mobley bottles actually contain periods

Bottles and Extras Change in the American Industry, 18801920. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachutts.

Smith, Michael David 1989 Texas Glass: An Illustrated History of the Three Rivers Glass Company 19221937. Atwood Printing, New Braunfels, Texas.

Toulouse, Julian Harrison 1971 Bottle Makers and Their Marks.

Thomas Nelson, New York.

Walbridge, William S. 1920 American Bottles Old & New: A Story of the Industry in the United States.

Owens Bottle Company, Toledo, Ohio.

with the mark.

8 This should be taken as it is intended – speculation. With such a small sample, a 1907 date code could surface in the future.

9 As the Owens system became better developed, the distinctive scars lost their distinctiveness. The “feathering” gradually disappeared, leaving no way to tell the Owens scar from that of other automatic machine marks on narrow-mouth bottles.

10 This changed after the Owens Glass Co. gained control of the American Bottle Co. stock in 1916. After that point, Streator, and to a lesser extent, Newark, embossed date and manufacturer’s codes of 16 S 1 or 16 N 1 formats on the heels of returnable bottles.

11 Others were embossed with one of the logos but no accompanying numbers or letters.

Bottles and Extras

January-February 2007

59

ULYSSES S. GRANT His Whiskey History

By Jack Sullivan Special to Bottles and Extras Much has been said and written about Ulysses S. Grant, the great Civil War general and later two-term President. In his story the subject of whiskey comes up frequently. History tells us that he had a considerable problem with alcohol throughout much of his life.

Despite that affliction, he clearly was the Union’s most effective military leader and he remains one of the most interesting and impressive figures of American history. [Figure 1] Grant’s Particular Brand Grant’s particular brand of whiskey has become a matter of historical interest because of a purported comment by President Lincoln during a crucial point in the Civil War. The story appears first to have been told by Col. Alexander K. McClure, a Lincoln friend, in his 1901 book, “Abe Lincoln’s Yarns and Stories.” It goes this way: Lincoln was not a man of impulse, and did nothing upon the spur of the moment; action with him was the result of deliberation and study. He took nothing for granted; he judged men by their performances and not their speech.

If a general lost battles, Lincoln lost confidence in him; if a commander was successful, Lincoln put him where he

Figure 1: Ulysses S. Grant as President

would be of the most service to the country. ”Grant is a drunkard,” asserted powerful and influential politicians to the President at the White House time after time; “he is not himself half the time; he can’t be relied upon, it is a shame to have such a man in command of an army.” ”So Grant gets drunk, does he?” queried Lincoln, addressing himself to one of the particularly active detractors of the soldier.

“Yes, he does, and I can prove it,” was the reply.

Well,” returned Lincoln, with the faintest suspicion of a twinkle in his eye, “you needn’t waste your time getting proof; you just find out, to oblige me, what brand of whiskey Grant drinks, because I want to send a barrel of it to each one of my generals.”

That ended the crusade against Grant, so far as the question of drinking was concerned.

While the validity of the Lincoln story has been challenged by more recent historians, the controversy has not dampened speculation through the years about what type of strong drink Grant actually did favor. It is clear that he was partial to whiskey. In Grant’s day, however, whiskey was a potable that covered a wide spectrum of flavors, ingredients, and differing alcoholic content. Moreover, at that time brand names were just beginning to be advertised and known. Among the earliest was Old Crow, a Kentucky bourbon.

Old Crow makes a claim In his book, The Social History of Bourbon, Gerald Carson recounts that during one night during the long and stressful siege of Vicksburg, General Grant said to his aides: “See here, before we go to bed, let’s have a nightcap. Stewart [an aide] has got some prime Old Crow whiskey around here somewhere.” Stewart got the bottle and then watched as Grant filled a large goblet with Old Crow whiskey and tossed it down. ”It was a whopping big drink...”

Figure 2: 1955 Old Crow Ad: Houston & Webster Old Crow has always trumpeted its historical connections including depicting important figures as customers. The ad shown here [Figure 2] purports to show Texas hero Sam Houston sharing its bourbon with famous orator Daniel Webster.

Old Crow also claimed Grant as a customer. Most biographers of Grant are skeptical about such claims and have decided that it is impossible to know what brand of whiskey Grant as general or President actually favored. Biographers similarly are unsure about the role Grant as President may have played in what came to be known as “The Great Whiskey Ring.”

A National Scandal The exposure of the Great Whiskey Ring of 1875 rocked Washington D.C. and indeed the entire country like few national scandals before or since. On May 10, Federal agents stormed into the offices of nine St. Louis distilleries, seized illicit whiskey and box loads of records, and arrested their proprietors. Simultaneous arrests occurred in Cincinnati, Milwaukee and Chicago. Ultimately, indictments were issued against 240 whiskey-makers, government officials and others; 110 were found guilty. Most of them went to jail.

Thus ended a massive scheme to defraud the U.S. of excise taxes on distilled spirits.

The fallout from the raids would roil the Nation for months and reach right into the White House. Shown here is a bottle shaped to look like a two story log cabin with a

60

January-February 2007

Figure 5: General Orville Babcock Figure 3 (L): Old Cabin Bitters Bottle Figure 4 (R): Kelly’s “Proprietary” Revenue Stamp peaked roof. It is a Kelly’s Old Cabin Bitters [Figure 3]. Examples have sold to bottle collectors in recent months at prices approaching $2,000. Kelly was James B. Kelly of New York, a whiskey man, who is shown on a self-produced “proprietary” revenue stamp [Figure 4]. This is an ironic touch since it was an attempt to evade federal revenues on alcohol that lay at the heart of the Great Whiskey Ring.

Kelly also had a St. Louis address and a partnership there with a man named John H. Garnhart (sometimes spelled “Garnhard”). Garnhart began a wholesale liquor business in about 1854. He was a “rectifier” who took raw spirits, added other ingredients, and sold them as whiskey.

Among the spirituous products he apparently concocted with Kelly’s collaboration was Old Cabin Bitters. When the May 10 raid occurred, Garnhart was one of those arrested. His company disappeared forever from St. Louis city directories. For one year, Adler, Furst & Co. was listed in directories as “successor to J. H. Garnhart & Co.”, then it too disappeared. My research has failed to determine the fate of Kelly but his Cabin Bitters brand vanished about the same time.

General Babcock and “The Sylph” The “femme fatal” of the Great Whiskey Ring was a St. Louis woman of easy virtue named Louise “Lou” Hawkins, who ultimately would become known to millions of Americans simply as “The

Sylph.” This was the name given to her by one of the conspirators, General Orville E. Babcock [Figure 5], who also happened to be a White House aide, personal secretary to President Grant.

A contemporary observer described Ms. Hawkins this way: “Her form was petit and yet withal, a plumpness and development which made her a being whose tempting luscious deliciousness was irresistible.... She was the essence of grace, distilled from the buds of perfection, and with a tongue on which the oil of vivacity and seduction never ceased running; she was indeed a sylph and a siren, whose presence was like the flavor of the poppy mixed with the perfumes of Araby.” While she might not have lived up to this extravagant description, one of her few extant likenesses [Figure 6] indicates a certain appeal.

Figure 6: Louise Hawkins, aka “The Sylph”

Bottles and Extras Certainly General Babcock found her enchanting. In St. Louis to collect a share of kickbacks from local whiskey men, he met her through a friend and the two almost immediately began an affair.

Babcock’s visits to St. Louis to pick up graft payments for himself and, some have alleged, the Republican Party, became more frequent. He may even have gathered a few bottles of contraband whiskey and given them to the President. Back in Washington, he repeatedly referred to “The Sylph” in messages to cronies that eventually became public through court records and titillated the Nation.

Because Babcock was a close colleague of Grant, the press and public began to ask: “What did the President know and when did he know it?” — the same questions that later would fuel speculation about Richard Nixon in the Watergate scandal.

President Grant Testifies Grant was in his second term as President when news broke about the Whiskey Ring. His Secretary of the Treasury, Benjamin H. Bristow [Figure 7] discovered that in St. Louis alone at least $1.2 million in tax revenues annually were not accounted for. The total cost of the scam to the U.S. approached $3 million a year at a time when fifty cents would buy a hefty meal.

Knowing that the corruption involved Republic political appointees, Bristow discussed the investigation with Grant who told him to proceed with vigor without regard to party labels or government positions.

Grant’s response likely occurred before he was aware of Babcock’s involvement in the Great Whiskey Ring. Always loyal

Figure 7: Secretary Benjamin Bristow

Bottles and Extras to his staff, Grant later agreed to be deposed in Babcock’s graft case. He was willing to go to St. Louis to testify but was persuaded by presidential advisors to answer questions from prosecution and defense lawyers only in the White House.

Even so, it was the first and only time in American history that a sitting American President has testified in a criminal case.

Grant’s usually good memory seemed to fail him at times during the examination but he was strong in his defense of General Babcock’s character and conduct.

The President’s testimony clearly influenced the St. Louis jury, which ultimately acquitted Babcock and then adjourned to a nearby saloon to celebrate. Grant subsequently appointed his erstwhile secretary to the post of inspector of lighthouses in the South.

Babcock later drowned while on an inspection tour in Florida. Grant never admitted any involvement in the Great Whiskey Ring.

January-February 2007 was a Southern product, from the H. Myers Company of Savannah, Georgia.

Northern General Philip Sheridan could claim his name on three whiskeys: In 1876 the Bryce Smith Company of New York City registered its Sheridan Whiskey brand. Subsequently the Joseph Davis Co. of Minneapolis applied to the U.S. government in 1906 for exclusive use of the general’s name for “Sheridan Rye,” apparently ignoring the Sheridan Rye brand being merchandised by M. Goldsmith Company of Louisville. Even the ill-fated General George Custer was honored with “Custer’s Reserve Whiskey” by the Herrscher-Samuel Co. of San Francisco.

“Grant 63” Whiskey Perhaps because of Grant’s checkered whiskey history, distillers did not rush to name one after him. I can find only one.

That was “Grant 63,” a brand of the Joseph P. Spang & Co. of Boston. The company first appears in Boston city directories in 1892 and from the first American Heroes on Whiskey Spang had an eye to naming his If Grant had lived just a little longer, whiskey after famous people. Among his however, he could have imbibed a numerous brands were “Revere” for the whiskey with his own name on it. famous Revolutionary War rider and American whiskey distillers and “Queen Wilhemina.” for the reigning distributors commonly have applied the monarch of Holland. Spang also saw the names of famous national figures to their possibilities in naming a whiskey after products. Among such “name” brands have Grant, one that also would celebrate the been Ben Franklin, Daniel Boone, Henry year 1863 when the General won some of Clay, Sam Houston, Daniel Webster and his most impressive victories.

Paul Revere.

Unfortunately, Grant died in 1885 and was After the Civil War, both Southern and not around to taste “his” whiskey.

Northern generals were honored with The label on the bottle and items such their names on whiskey bottles. For as Spang’s give-away shot glasses example, General Stonewall Jackson, a featured Grant, one of the best horsemen Confederate leader killed in battle, had two America ever produced, astride a prancing whiskeys named for him. One, as steed [Figure 9] There are loops of braided shown in an ad here, [Figure 8] was rope on either side and curlicues on the “General Stonewall,” a product of the B.B. base. The glass also shows a frosted shield Davies Company of New York City. that holds a JPS monogram — representing “Stonewall Jackson” whiskey by contrast Joseph P. Spang. A Spang tip tray [Figure 10] in bright red and green replicated a similar motif, adding the words “Highest...Grade.”

A particularly interesting ad for “Grant 63” appeared on a blotter given away by the company.

It Figure 8: Stonewall Jackson whiskey ad Figure 9: Grant 63 shot glass shows a bellhop

61

Figure 10: Grant 63 tip tray with a bottle of the whiskey on a tray with two shot glasses and praises the product as “The Perfect Whiskey.”

[Figure 11] The blotter also contains a quote from Mark Twain about Prohibition: “They have just invented a method of making Brandy out of sawdust! Now, what Figure 11: Grant chance would 63 ink blotter prohibition have when a man can take a ripsaw and get drunk with a fence rail or with the shingles on his roof or with the leg of his kitchen table....”

The admixture of Twain and Grant is appropriate since the two were close friends and the author published the former President’s autobiography. The spoof on Prohibition, however, failed to stem the temperance tide in the U.S. and in 1918 the Joseph P. Spang Company was forced to close its doors. With its demise “Grant 63” became one of hundreds of forever extinct whiskeys — thus leaving us no closer to learning what really was Grant’s preferred brand. ***** NOTES: Material for this article has been gathered from a number of sources, both published and the Internet. The quote about “The Sylph” is from “Secrets of the Great Whiskey Ring” published in 1880 and written by Gen. John McDonald, one of the co-conspirators who served time and blamed Grant. The picture of the lady is from his book. Illustrations of the “Grant 63” shot glass and tip tray are courtesy of Robin Preston.

62

January-February 2007

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63

Classified Ads FOR SALE

The Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors

For Sale: From Red Book 9 Fruit Jars: # 51-2 aqua silver off outside rim, quart, $1750. #2387 aqua, three lines of embossing, quart, $850. Contact: James Dennis, 1625 E. 9th, The Dalles, OR;

Bottles and Extras Advertising Rates Ads: Kathy Hopson-Sathe 341 Yellowstone Dr., Fletcher, NC 28732 Phone: (423) 737-6710 E-mail: kathy@thesodafizz.com

BOOKS / PERIODICALS FOR SALE: CD-rom for computer users. Contents: almost 200 pages of inventory / research for Dr. Hatchett’s Drug Store Museum of Lumpkin, Georgia.

Patent medicines & other drug store products 1870s to 1950s. Research on products, history, composition of medicines, company histories, medical uses, costs of products, etc. Products can be searched by their names or manufacturers. Price: $12.00 for mailing to U.S. addresses. Order from Stewart County Historical Commission, P.O. Box 818, Lumpkin, GA 31515 or contact: ALLEN VEGOTSKY, 2215 Greencrest Dr., Atlanta, GA 30346-2629; PH: (770) 2701034; E-mail: Vegotsky@earthlink.net.

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Bottles and Extras

Classified Ads FOR SALE: A limited number of 2002, 2003 and 2004 Federation Auction catalogues with prices-realized lists are available at $5.00 each plus $2.00 postage. Full color and beautifully photographed they make a handy reference! Contact JOHN PASTOR, 7288 Thorncrest Drive SE, Ada, MI 49301; Phone: (616) 285-7604 or RALPH VAN BROCKLIN, 1021 W Oakland Avenue, #109, Johnson City, TN 37604; Phone: (423) 913-1378.

FOR SALE: A COLLECTOR'S GUIDE TO ARIZONA BOTTLE & STONEWARE - A HISTORY OF MERCHANT CONTAINERS IN ARIZONA 124 pages of very detailed sketches of bottles and stoneware from the state of Arizona (1999) Spiral bound, $25.00. Contact: MICHAEL MILLER, Miller Antiques, 9214 W. Gary Road, Peoria, AZ 85345, PH: (623) 486-3123 or by E-mail: gramike@earthlink.net.

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The book has 185 pages with 800 items illustrated. A separate price guide is included with the book price. The glossary includes information to help identify pharmaceutical artifacts including an extensive listing of names to help identify drug jar and apothecary bottle inscriptions. The price is $37.50, including shipping, and can be ordered from: CHARLES RICHARDSON, 1176 South Dogwood Drive, Harrisonburg, VA 22801.

FOR SALE: Two books on whiskey jugs by Bottles and Extras writer Jack Sullivan. THE AMERICAN WHISKEY JUG features 200 richly illustrated pages with index. $20 plus $5 postage. THE WHISKEY CERAMICS OF SCOTLAND, IRELAND and ENGLAND features 100 pages with index. $10 plus $3 postage. Or buy both for $25 plus $5 postage. Contact: JACK SULLIVAN, 4300 Ivanhoe Pl., Alexandria, VA 22304; PH: (703) 370-3039; E-mail: jack.sullivan9@verizon.net

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Patent medicines & other drug store products 1870s to 1950s. Research on products, history, composition of medicines, company histories, medical uses, costs of products, etc. Products can be searched by their names or manufacturers. Price: $12.00 for mailing to U.S. addresses.

Order from Stewart County Historical Commission, P.O. Box 818, Lumpkin, GA 31515 or contact: ALLEN VEGOTSKY, 2215 Greencrest Dr., Atlanta, GA 303462629; PH: (770) 270-1034; E-mail: Vegotsky@earthlink.net.

FOR SALE: Can you tell the “Real” from the “Repro”? Now you can with Tippecanoe & E. G. Booz Too! A book about cabin bottles, by Thomas C. Haunton. Detailed info on 57 different bottles, with new “McKearin” numbers, over 140 photos, and new information on E. G. Booz - the man! A price guide and free CD with 200 color photos are also included. Send $32.95 postpaid to: TOM HAUNTON, 48 Hancock Ave. #1, Medford, MA 02155-5621. E-mail: tchaunton@comcast.net FOR SALE: GEORGIA CROWN TOP BOTTLE BOOK. 260 pages with over 1400 bottles. Includes Georgia Bottling Works, 263 different Script straight-sided Coca-Cola bottles from Georgia, 236 different Georgia Chero-Cola bottles.

Many others also listed. All Color! $39.95 + $3.95 Shipping. Send to: Georgia Soda Bottle Book, 1211 St. Andrews Drive, Douglas, GA 31533.

FOR SALE: Breaking 2006 news! - 5th Edition BOTTLES: IDENTIFICATION & PRICE GUIDE - THE “BOTTLE BIBLE FOR ALL COLLECTORS! All in color - 600 stunning photographs- Two New Chapters: “Patriotic/Political Bottles” and “Perfume Bottles”; Comprehensive Price Guide: 51 Chapters; Comprehensive Research Guide: History & Origin, Age Identification, Digging Methods, Determining Bottle Values, Trademark Identification, Dealer & Club Guide, Glossary of Terms, Bibliography, Auction Houses, and much more. Send Check or Money Order To: MIKE POLAK, P.O. Box 30328, Long Beach, CA 90853, Ph: 562-438-9209, E-mail: bottleking@earthlink.net.

FOR SALE: Now, finally available! BIG BOB BEST BITTERS is a comprehensive price guide for collectors of bitters bottles reporting auction prices realized for the

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Classified Ads last 17 years. This printingcontains nearly 4000 accurately described bitters in a convenient, easy to read format. Listing bottle description and condition, Ring/ Ham number, sale date and realized auction prices, this reference is a musthave for the collector or dealer of bitters bottles. To encourage your attendence at bottle shows, the price is an affordable $10. Price postage paid is $15. Send check or money order with your mailing instructions to: BOB STRICKHART, 3 Harvest Drive, Pennington, New Jersey 08534.

WANTED Wanted: Fruit jar collector always looking for rare fruit jars w/oriental closures and colors. Wish list: 2-inch Willoughy stopple, Haines combination lid, Buckeye clamp, Myers test jar original closure, Puritan clamp, Thompson ceramic top. Jars wanted: JJ Sqjire pint, Chief pint, Ravanna pint, Bloeser pint, sm. mouth Crowleytown pint.

Contact: Phil Smith, 2201 Clarkston Ln., Union, KY 41091, E-mail: smith@insight.bb.com.

Wanted: New Almaden Cichy Water bottles or Napa Soda Springs bottles and advertising, Jackson’s Napa Sodas in rare varients, colors, crudity and advertising go-

KETCHUP, PICKLES, SAUCES 19th Century Food in Glass 498 pages of pictures & research of glass containers the early food industry utilized.

Smyth Bound - $25.00 to: MARK WEST PUBLISHERS PO BOX 1914 SANDPOINT, ID 83864

withs. Highest prices paid for specimens I do not have. Contact: John O’Neill, 1805 Ralston Ave., Belmont, CA 94002, Ph: (650) 619-8209; E-mail: joneill@croins.com.

SPRING STEEL PROBES

Montana Sodas - Embossed - ACL - Paper Label -

Poison Bottles Joan C. Cabaniss jjcab@b2xonlinel.com (540) 297-4498 312 Summer Lane Huddleston, VA 24104

est. 1979

Especially Cleo Cola Billings, Mont.

R.J. Reid 1102 East Babcock St. Bozeman, MT 59715 (406) 587-9602 rjkreid@msn.com

Full Colour BBR

The world’s first full color bottle magazine simply got BETTER and BIGGER PACKED FULL of all the information you need on the UK & worldwide scene Well-researched articles & All the latest finds Upcoming sales & Full show calendar “the classified ads alone make a subscription worthwhile, but the color pictures make it absolutely ESSENTIAL. Heck, what

1 year Air Mail subscription still just $20 - 2 years $40 Personal Check, MasterCard/Visa, even $ bills!

BBR, Elsecar Heritage Centre, Barnsley, 2, Yorkshire, S74 8HJ, England Tel: 011-44-1226-745156; Fax: 011-44-1226-361561

Length 36” to 48” Diameter 1/4” to 5/16” “T” Handle 1” Dia. x 12” and Ring 4” above tip, both welded. $37.50 includes S/H $3 Extra for Rush Shipping Cashier Check or M.O. R. L. Wilcox 7422 Park Drive Mechanicsville, VA 23111 Phone: (804) 746-9854 or E-mail: Wilcox7422@aol.com

Churchill’s Antique Bottle Cleaning Service Introductory Offer: Will clean one bottle at no charge ! (minus postage) Try me fee free!

Less than 10 bottles: $15 each.

10-14: $12.50 each.

More than 15: $10.00 each.

MARK CHURCHILL PO Box 7023 Grand Rapids, MI 49510

(616) 248-3808 E-mail: mdiscoidalis@netzero.net

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FOHBC SHO-BIZ FOHBC Sho-Biz is published in the interest of the hobby. Federation affiliated clubs are noted. Information on up-coming collecting events is welcome, but space is limited.

Please send at least four months in advance, including telephone number, to: FOHBC Sho-Biz, c/o Kathy Hopson-Sathe, 341 Yellowstone Dr., Fletcher, NC 28732, or E-mail: kathy@thesodafizz.com. Show schedules are subject to change. Please call ahead before traveling long distances.

All listings published here will also be published on the web site at http://www.fohbc.com.

JANUARY 7 - ELSECAR, ENGLAND Elsecar Heritage Center 'Coddswallop' Winter Show (10 AM - 2 PM, Early Buyers 8:30 AM) at the Elsecar Heritage Center, Building 21, Elsecar, England. INFO: ELSECAR HERITAGE CENTER, Nr. Barnsley, S. Yorks, S74 8HJ, England, PH: 011-44 1226 745156, E-mail: sales@onlinebbr.com.

JANUARY 13-14 - ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA The Suncoast Antique Bottle Collectors Assoc.

38th Annual Show and Sale (Sat. 9 AM - 5 PM & Sun. 9 AM - 3 PM) at the St. Petersburg National Guard Armory, 3601 38th Ave. South, St. Petersburg, Florida. INFO: GEORGE DUEBEN, PO Box 4141, Seminole, FL 33775, PH: (727) 393-8189.

JANUARY 14 - MUNCIE, INDIANA The Midwest Antique Fruit Jar & Bottle Club Winter Show & Sale (Sat. 9 AM - 3 PM) at the New Headquarters Location, Signature Inn, 3400 N. Chadam Ln., Muncie, Indiana 47304, Ph: (765) 284-4200 (just off of W. McGalliard in the shopping center). INFO: NORMAN BARNETT, PO Box 38, Flat Rock, IN 47234, PH: (812) 587-5560 or DAVE RITTENHOUSE, 1008 S. CR. 900 W., Farmland, IN 47340; PH: (765) 468-8091.

JANUARY 14 - SOUTH ATTLEBORO, MASSACHUSETTS The Little Rhody Bottle Club Show & Sale (Sun. 10 AM - 2 PM; Early Entry 9 AM) at the K of C Hall, 304 Highland Ave., South Attleboro, Massachusetts. INFO: JULIE CAMARA, Email: narcovich@aol.com.

JANUARY 19-20 - LAS VEGAS, NEVADA The Las Vegas Antique Bottles & Collectibles Club 42nd Annual Antiques & Collectibles Show & Sale (Sat. 9 AM - 4 PM, Adm. $5; Fri. Dealer Set-up, 7 - 11 AM; Early Bird, 11 AM - 5 PM, Adm. $15). INFO: JIM SHARBAUGH, 9409 Darwell Dr., Las Vegas, NV 89117, PH: (702) 254-1110.

JANUARY 20 - JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI The Mississippi Antique Bottle Show (Sat. 9 AM - 4 PM; Dealer set-up, Fri. 3 PM - 9 PM & Sat. 7 - 9 AM) at the Mississippi Fairgrounds, Jackson, Mississippi. INFO: JOHN SHARP, P.O. Box 601, Carthage, MS 39051, Cell: (601) 507-0105, E-mail: johnsharp49@aol.com.

JANUARY 20 - MAITLAND, FLORIDA The Central Florida Insulator Collectors & Antique Telephone Collectors Association's Annual Show & Sale (Sat. 8 AM - 4 PM) at the Maitland Civic Center, 641 Maitland Ave.,

Maitland (Orlando), Florida. INFO: PAUL MIKULA, 650 E. Chapman Ct., Oviedo, FL 32765, PH: (407) 365-4686.

JANUARY 27 ANDERSON, CALIFORNIA The Superior California Antique Bottle Club's 31st Annual Show & Sale (Sat. 9 AM - 4 PM) at the Shasta County Fairgrounds, Anderson, California. INFO: MEL HAMMER, PH: (530) 241-4878 or PHIL MCDONALD, PH: (530) 2436903.

JANUARY 27 - ROME, GEORGIA The Rome Bottle & Collectables Club will host its 34th Annual Show & Sale. INFO: JERRY MITCHELL, PO Box 475, Bremen, GA 30110, PH: (770) 537-3725, E-mail: mitjt@aol.com or BOB JENKINS, 285 Oak Grove Rd., Carrollton, GA 30117, PH: (770) 834-0736.

JANUARY 28 - BLETCHLEY, ENGLAND The 31st Annual Winter National Show & Sale (Sun. 11 AM - 3 PM, Early Buyers 9 AM) at the Bletchley Leisure Center, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Bucks, England. INFO: PAM BALL, 2 Pound Cottage, Blackthorn, Bicester, Oxon, OX25 1TE, England, PH: 011 44 1869 241107.

FEBRUARY 4 - SOUTH RIVER, NEW JERSEY The New Jersey Antique Bottle Club's (NJABC) 11th Annual Show & Sale (Sun. 9 AM - 2 PM, Adm. $3) at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 88 Jackson St., South River, New Jersey. INFO: JOE BUTEWICZ, 24 Charles St., South River, NJ 08882-1603, PH: (732) 236-9945, E-mail: botlman@msn.com.

FEBRUARY 9-10, 2007 - CHEHALIS, WASHINGTON The Oregon Bottle Collectors Association Winter Show & Sale (Sat. 9 AM - 3 PM; Early Admission Fri. 1 - 7 PM & Sat. 8 - 9AM) at the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds, Chehalis, Washington. INFO: SCOTT SLOWTER, PH: (503) 645-0560 or MARK JUNKER, PH (503) 231-1235 or BILL BOGYNSKA, PH: (503)6571726, Email: billb@easystreet.com FEBRUARY 10 - SARASOTA, FLORIDA The Sarasota-Manatee Antique Bottle Collectors Association's 21st Annual 'Tail-Gators' Show & Sale (Sat. 9 AM - 4 PM, Early Buyers Fri. 5 PM) at the Florida National Guard Armory, Sarasota County Fairgrounds, 2890 Fruitville Rd., Sarasota, Florida. INFO: PERRY HOUSTON, PO Box 17516, Sarasota, FL 34276, PH: (941) 925-1020.

FEBRUARY 16-17 - COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA The South Carolina Antique Bottle Club's 34thAnnual Show & Sale, including Small Antiques & Collectibles, (Fri. 12 - 6 PM; Sat. 9 AM - 1 PM; Adm. Donation to Boys & Girls Club Requested) at the Meadowlake Park Center, 600 Beckman Rd., Columbia, South Carolina. 150 Dealer Tables Available. INFO: MARTY VOLLMER, PH: (803) 755-9410; Email: MartyVollmer@aol.com or ERIC WARREN, PH: (803) 951-8860.

FEBRUARY 24 GRANDVILLE , MICHIGAN The West Michigan Antique Bottle & Glass Club's 18th Annual Show & Sale , (Sat. 10 AM - 3 PM) at the Fonger American Legion Post, 2327 Wilson, S.W., Grandville, Michigan INFO: ELMER OGG, PH: (231) 798-7335, E-mail: eogg@nortonshores.org or STEVE DeBOODE, PH: (616) 667-0214, email: thebottleguy@comcast.net.

FEBRUARY 25 ENFIELD, CONNECTICUT The Somers Antique Bottle Club 37th Annual Show & Sale (Sun. 9 AM - 2 PM, Early Buyers 8 AM) at the St. Bernard's School West Campus, 232 Pearl Street, Exit 47W, 191, Enfield, Connecticut. INFO: ROSE SOKOL, 164 Elm Street, Enfield, CT. 06082, PH: (860) 745-7688.

MARCH 3 MARYLAND LINE, MARYLAND The Chesapeake Bay Insulator Club's 19th Annual Show & Sale (Sat. 9 AM - 2 PM) at the Fire Hall in Maryland Line (just south of I-83), Maryland. See website for directions and dealer contract. INFO: CHARLES IRONS, PH: (302) 422-5712, E-mail: ironsjrc@verizon.net; Website: www.insulators.com/clubs/cbic.

MARCH 4 - BALTIMORE, MARYLAND The Baltimore Antique Bottle Club's 27th Annual Show & Sale (Sun. 8 AM - 3 PM) at the Physical Education Center, Essex Campus, Community College of Baltimore County, 7201 Rossville Blvd (I-695, Exit 34, Baltimore, Maryland. INFO: BOB FORD, PH: (410) 5319459, E-mail: bottles@comcast.net; Website: www.baltimorebottleclub.org.

MARCH 9-10 - CHICO, CALIFORNIA The 41st Annual Bidwell Bottle Club Show & Sale (Sat. 9 AM - 4 PM, Free Adm.; Fri. Early Birds, 9 AM - 7 PM, Adm. $3) at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds, Chico, California. INFO: DON AYERS, PH: (530) 891-4931 or RANDY TAYLOR, P.O. Box 546, Chico, CA 95927, PH: (530) 345-0519, E-mail: rtjarguy@aol.com.

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SODAS I N S U L A T O R

FRUIT JARS

67 MEDICINES A D V E R T I S I N G

THE OHIO BOTTLE CLUB’S 29TH

MANSFIELD ANTIQUE BOTTLE & ADVERTISING SHOW & SALE

M A R B L E S

S M A L L

TRIMBLE ROAD EXIT U.S. RT. 30

C O C A

A N T I Q U E S

SATURDAY, MAY 12th, 2007

C O L A

RICHLAND COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS MANSFIELD, OHIO HOURS 8 A.M. to 2 P.M. DONATION $3.00 Dealer set-up Friday, May 11th, 2-6 P.M.

M I L K

EARLY ADMISSION $25.00 I N K S

CONTACT: Bill Koster - (330) 690-2794 INFO: O.B.C., P.O. Box 585, Barberton, OH 44203 FLASKS

DECORATED STONEWARE

BITTERS

B O T T L E S

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MARCH 10 - ST. JOSEPH, MISSOURI The Missouri Valley Insulator Club's 5th Annual St. Joseph Insulator / Bottle Show & Sale (Sat. 9 AM - 3 PM, Free Adm.) at the American Legion Post 359, 4826 Frederick Ave., St. Joseph, Missouri. Featuring antique insulators, bottles, telephones, porcelain signs and related collectibles (many St. Joseph, Mo. items). Buy - Sell - Trade. INFO: DENNIS WEBER, 3609 Jackson St., St. Joseph, MO 64507, PH: (816) 364-1312, Email: dennisrweber@aol.com.

MARCH 17 - DELAND, FLORIDA The Deland M-T Bottle Collectors Association's 37th Annual Show & Sale (Sat. 9 AM - 3 PM) at the Volusia County Fairgrounds, Deland, Florida. INFO: M. PALLASCH, 7 Monroe Ave., DeBary, FL 32713, PH: (386) 668-4538.

MARCH 18 - FLINT, MICHIGAN The Flint Antique Bottle & Collectibles Club's 37th Annual Show & Sale (Sun. 9 AM - 3 PM) at the Don Polski Hall, 3415 N. Linden Rd., Flint, Michigan. INFO: TIM BUDA, 11353 Cook Rd., Gaines, MI 48436, PH: (989) 271-9193 or E-mail: tbuda@shianet.org.

INFO: NORMAN BARNETT - (812) 587-5560 P.O. Box 38, Flat Rock, IN 47234 or DAVID RITTENHOUSE - (765) 468-8091 1008 S. CR. 900 W., Farmland, IN 47340

THE STATE OF FRANKLIN ANTIQUE BOTTLE & COLLECTIBLES ASSOCIATION PRESENTS ITS 8TH ANNUAL SHOW

MAY 6th, 2006 APPALACHIAN FAIRGROUNDS GRAY, TENNESSEE (Northeast Tennessee Area) Friday, May 4th 9 AM - 6 PM Setup for Dealers Early Buyers: Adm. $10

Saturday, May 5th 8 AM - 2 PM Free Admission

Fellow Collectors and Dealers: Our show will be in the Farm & Home Buliding at the Appalachian Fairgrounds in Gray, TN. We have over 200 tables available, plus unlimited room at the fairgrounds to grow. We are centrally located, close to I-81 and I-26, with reasonably priced accomodations within a few minutes. When you purchase your first table at $25, you get a meal and all the fun you can stand! This is the perfect place for northern & southern dealers to get together to sell, trade or buy; but we need YOU - the dealers & collectors, to make this show great. On eBay, you can buy and sell, but you can’t see old friends, meet new people and get a wealth of information. Don’t miss the opportunity to be part of this show.

For more information, contact: Melissa Milner Phone: (423) 928-4445 or E-mail: mmilner12@chartertn.net

Send your show information to: FOHBC Show Biz, 341 Yellowstone Dr., Fletcher, NC 28732 kathy@thesodafizz.com or use the online form at: www.fohbc.com Also, the Show Calendar is always up-to-date on the website.

38th Annual

Bottle Table Top Antiques & Postcard

Show & Sale Adm. $4

Sunday, April 15, 2007 9 am - 3 pm

We’re Going Home!

Monroe Co. Fairgrounds Minett Hall, Rt. 15A & Calkins Rd. FOR INFORMATION, CONTACT: Show Chair Larry Fox (585) 394-8958 Dealer Chairs Aaron/Pam Weber (585) 225-6345 Exhibit Chair Chris Davis (315) 331-4078

www.gvbca.org

brerfox@frontiernet.net dealerchair@gvbca.com exhibits@gvbca.com

Wanted: Colored Hutchinsons Have Penn. Colored Hutches in trade for ones I need

Buy or Trade Highest Prices Paid California • Eastern Cider Co. (Amber) • Paul Jeenicke, San Jose (Emerald Green) Colorado • C.A. Montag, Buena Vista (Amber & Green) Connecticut • Perkins Root Beer, Bristol (Amber) • W.H. McEnroe, New Britain (Amber) • Moriarity & Carbross, Waterbury (Amber) Georgia • Augusta Brewing Co., Augusta (Amber) Il l i n o i s • Independent Bottling Works, Chicago (Green) • Miller & Kluetsch, Chicago (Amber) • Chicago Consolidation Bottling Co., Chicago (Amber) • Peoria Seltzer Water (Cobalt) • Chas. Singer, Peoria (Amber) • Lohrberg Bros, Red Bud (Green) Indiana • K&C (Cobalt) • Wyeth & Wyeth, Terre Haute (Amber) Kansas • H.E. Dean, Great Bend (Amber) Kentucky • The City Bottling Works, Louisville (Cobalt) • Geo. Stang, Louisville (Cobalt) Michigan • M Jos De Guise, Detroit (Amber) • Michigan Bottling Works J.W. Koch, Detroit (Amber) • Quackenbush Bros., Grand Rapids (Green) • C.O.D. Bottling Works, Jackson (Cobalt) • Property of Sprudel Water Co., Mt. Clements (Amber) • The Twin City Bottling Works, Chas. Klein, Prop. (Cobalt) Nebraska • Pomy & Segelke, Omaha (Amber) New Jersey • N. Masington, Camden (Amber) New York • F.H. Berghoefer, Binghamton (Amber)

• F.A. Jennings, Hudson (Cobalt) • Manor Bottling Works, New York (Lime Yellow) • Sand Altamont, N.Y. (Cobalt) • Thompson & Stebbins, Rochester (Amber) • D.J. Whelan, Troy (Cobalt) • Lavender & Co., Pennyan, N.Y. (Green) Ohio • A. Dalin Ashtabula, Harbor (Amber & Cobalt) • J.I. Marsh, Portsmouth (Amber) • Jos X Laube, Akron (Amber & Cobalt) • M.J. Tyrer, Newark (Apple Green) • The Consolidated Bottling Co., Lima (Cobalt) • Lake Erie Bottling Works, Toledo (Amber & Cobalt) • Miller Becker & Co., Cleveland (Olive Green) • Voelker Bros., Cleveland (Cornflower & Cobalt) Oklahoma • O.K. City Bottling Works, C.G. Frost (Amber) Pennsylvania • Jno. J. Bahl., Allentown (Green) • Goudie Mol & Co., Allentown (Green) • P.H. Reasbeck, Braddock (E. Green) • Johnson & Bros., Delta (Green) • J.C. Buffum & Co. City Bottling House, Pittsburgh (Cobalt) • Royal Bottling House, J Ungler, Pittsburgh (Amber) • J.W. Reis Ginger Ale, Laurel Street, Pottsville (Cobalt) • Ridgeway Bottling Works, R. Power (Cobalt) • F.J. Brennan, Shenandoah (Yellow) • Ashland Bottling Works, Ashland (Amber) • Johnson & Bros., Delta (Amber) • Phil Fisher, Pittsburgh (Citron) • Eagle Bottling Works, York (Amber) • Seeters Vighy & Carbonated Beverages, L. Cohen & Sons Pittsburgh (Amber & Citron) • Laffey & Harrigan, Johnstown (Cobalt) • Turchi Bros., Philadelphia (Citron) • J.F. Deegan, Pottsville (Various colors) • Union Bottling Works, Pittsburgh (Citron) South Carolina • Claussen Bottling Works, Charleston (Amber) • P.J. Serwazi, Manayunk (Olive Green) Texas • Kennedy Bottling Works, Kennedy (Amber) Wisconsin • Jos. Wolf, Milwaukee (Amber & Cobalt) • M. Gondrezick, Tomah (Green)

R.J. BROWN 4119 CROSSWATER DRIVE TAMPA, FL 33615 (813) 888-7007 RBROWN4134@AOL.COM

FOHBC c/o Ralph Van Brocklin 1021 W. Oakland Avenue, Suite #109 Johnson City, TN 37604

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Memphis, Tenn.

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