Unmasking the
Traveller By Chris Bubash
O
ne of the great mysteries of the bottle collecting universe concerns the identity of the individual on the exquisite (actually, beyond exquisite) Traveller’s Bitters bottle. For years it was thought that the embossed traveler depicted on the front of this bottle was nothing more than a folksy image similar to those on the Pike’s Peak flasks. Subsequent research seemed to indicate that the figure on the bottle could be that of General Robert E. Lee, and that the bitters were named for General Lee’s favorite horse, Traveller. Those arguments were, and still are, very convincing, so I do not discount the possibility that the above identification is correct. That being said, several things have always bothered me about that attribution, each of which I’ll discuss in turn. My first concern is that the figure on the flask is wearing what is clearly, in my opinion, a bowler hat, while General Lee was known to favor slouch hats. While this could be explained away as moldmaker’s license, I’m of the opinion that the mold-maker would have (should have) been able to much more accurately portray the hat so routinely worn by General Lee. My second concern is that the figure is wearing what appears to be elegant civilian clothing. I would think that a mold-maker attempting to portray General Lee would have made at least a modest attempt to portray him in military uniform. My third concern is the in-
ability to explain the 1834 date appearing on the back shoulder panel of the bottle. While 1870 clearly corresponds with the death of General Lee, the year 1834 seems to correspond with no major (or even minor) event in his life. All things considered, I think the latter concern is the one that left me feeling most uncomfortable with the figure’s current identification. After spending some downtime during the holidays researching this mystery, I believe I’ve discovered another possibility for our mysterious figure. This individual, his image, and his life story align perfectly with every aspect of the Traveller’s Bitters bottle, including the overall appearance of the figure, his hat, his cane, the 1834 date, the 1870 date and the name Traveller. Though I’ve yet to discover the proverbial smoking gun, the preponderance of evidence discovered thus far suggests that the figure on the Traveller’s Bitters is none other than the great author, Charles Dickens. Charles Dickens was at the time immensely popular in the United States, and it would make sense that an enterprising glassworks and/or bitters proprietor would wish to commemorate, and perhaps capitalize on, his recent death. To gauge his popularity, we have only to consult several letters he wrote while touring America. In a letter to William Charles Macready from Boston on January 31, 1842, Dickens states: “It is impossible to tell you what a reception I have had here. They
Traveller’s Bitters bottle
cheer me in the theatres; in the streets; within doors; and without…Deputations and Committees wait upon me every day – some have come 2,000 miles – it is nothing to say that they carry me through the country on their shoulders, or that they flock about me as if I were an Idol. Nothing will express their affectionate greeting – I only wish to God that you could see it.” In a letter written to Angela Coutts from Baltimore on March 22, 1842, Dickens states: “The truth is that they give me everything here, but time…That I shake hands every day when I am not travelling, with five or six hundred people…They April 2021
7
