Antique Bottle & Glass Collector by Ferdinand Meyer V

$4.00

June 2021

A LITTLE Older But A LOT More Bottles! w PAGE 7

T h e Ma g a z i n e T h at Ke eps Yo u I n fo r m e d!

Presenting the Robert Irons collection of Mystic, Connecticut

American Glass Gallery

Coming, July, 2021 – American Glass Gallery is pleased to offer the Robert Irons collection of Mystic, Connecticut. This pioneer collection features an outstanding group of New London Flasks, colorful early colognes and hair bottles, as well as other rare and interesting items. These fine items from the Robert Irons collection will be included in our July, 2021 Auction.

American Glass Gallery • John R. Pastor • P.O. Box 227, New Hudson, Michigan 48165 phone: 248.486.0530 • www.americanglassgallery.com • email: jpastor@americanglassgallery.com

VOLUME 38, #2 • June 2021 FRONT COVER:

Vince Martonis of Gerry, N.Y., with his Fenner display at home and at the 1978 Memphis National Bottle Show 43 years earlier. Vince is a collector, historian, and expert on all things Dr. Fenner. He shares his incredible 50+ year collection of Dr. Fenner's bottles, advertising, and go-withs with us beginning on page 7.

Publisher John R. Pastor

In This Issue:

Editors: Ralph Finch Bill Baab Jodi Hall

Letters to the Editor........................................................................... 2

Managing Editor Libby Smith The Medicine Chest John Panella Joe Widman New England Review Mike George Bitters Columnist Bob Strickhart Spouting off on Mineral Waters Donald Tucker Contributing Writers: Ralph Finch Kevin Sives

Heard it through the Grapevine......................................................... 4 Fifty Years of Fabulous Fenners.......................................................... 7 Fruit Jar Rambles: Collins, Wheaton & Luhrs................................ 17 Classified Advertisements................................................................. 22 Show Calendar.................................................................................. 27 The Holy Grail of Western Whiskeys .............................................. 30 Collecting New York City Slugplate Strap Flasks............................ 32 Boston Hop Bitters?......................................................................... 38

Design, Layout & Production Jake Pluta

Medicine Chest: House of Fahrney, Part 3....................................... 41

ANTIQUE BOTTLE & GLASS COLLECTOR (ISSN 8750-1481) is published monthly by Antique Bottle & Glass Collector, P.O. Box 227, New Hudson, MI 48165-0227. Annual Subscription $35.00 at periodical rates, $49.00 at First-class rates and $4.00 per single copy. Canadian (First-class rate available only) $54.00 (in U.S. Funds). Overseas rates please inquire. Published by Antique Bottle & Glass Collector, PO Box 227, New Hudson, MI 48165-0227. Periodicals Postage is paid at New Hudson MI and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to ANTIQUE BOTTLE & GLASS COLLECTOR, PO Box 227, New Hudson, MI 48165-0227. PH: 248.486.0530; Fax: 248.486.0538, Email: jpastor@americanglassgallery.com, Website: www.americanglassgallery.com.

Coming in July:

Three Cheers for the Red, White & Blue (and Green too!), by Bob Strickhart History in a Name, by Jeff Mihalik Mother Siegel's Curative Syrup, by John Ault Fruit Jar Rambles: 1930's Jar Closures, by Tom Caniff Medicine Chest, by John Panella and Joe Widman And other very cool stuff! June 2021

LETTERS

to the Editor

RIGHT: Image of a rare Dr. Kilmer's Ocean - Weed Heart Remedy bottle sent by John Savastio. BOTTOM: Two views of Andy Agnew's rare Dr. Fahrney's German Liniment / Boonsboro bottle. BELOW: Page of a 1951 sales cataloque for Bols display bottles sent in by Johan Soetens.

More Information on the Bols Bottle Dear John, To further expand on Ralph Finch’s article (in the March 2021 AB&GC, p.37), on the Bols bottle that was offered as an antique by Catawiki, I contacted my good friend Ton Vermeulen, curator of the Bols Historical Collection. During the whole of 2006 I went there weekly to photograph all the bottles, paintings, etc., because we had planned to publish a book about all the old distilleries that had, in the course of the years, been taken over by Bols. Alas, the plan was never excecuted because the new owners were not interested in it. Nevertheless, thanks to our efforts, we do have a pretty complete documentation of the Bols collection and in the coming weeks I will go through it to see how many of these display bottles I can find. Here is a picture of a 1951 sales cataloque that advertises display bottles to decorate the shop windows. Although described as ‘antique’ they most likely would have been made sometime in the 20th century. Time to go, as Joan calles it ‘down the rabbit hole again!’ Asap I will send you more information by We Transfer. Kindest regards, Johan Soetens Rotterdam, Netherlands

Rare Fahrney Bottle Hi, John, I’ve been following and enjoying the Fahrney story by John Panella and friends. I obtained a rare, possibly oneof-a-kind, Fahrney bottle in a collection I purchased many years ago and thought others might enjoy seeing it. It is amber,

Antique Bottle & Glass Collector

LETTERS

to the Editor

about six inches tall, and embossed “Dr. FAHRNEYS GERMAN LINIMENT BOONSBORO MARYLAND.” Can’t wait for the next installment! Andy Agnew Cockeysville, Maryland

Rare Dr. Kilmer’s Bottle Goes for Big Bucks Hello, John, Terry McMurray, well known for his incredible collection of labeled medicine bottles, and Warner’s and Kilmer’s in particular, recently put a very rare Dr. Kilmer’s Ocean-Weed Heart Remedy bottle for sale on eBay that I thought my fellow readers of AB&GC would appreciate, especially with the price realized for a damaged example. Following are Terry’s description of the bottle, along with a picture from the eBay posting: “Offering for sale here is a Super Rare Dr. Kilmer’s Ocean-Weed Heart Remedy bottle. I believe this to be one of Dr. Kilmer’s earlier bottles in that it is embossed on three sides: DR. KILMER’S / OCEANWEED HEART REMEDY / BINGHAMTON, NY. USA. (Note: the smaller size Heart Remedy bottles are typically embossed only on the front panel). This is only the third example I have seen in over 40 years collecting. I have also seen similar versions for Swamp Root and Indian Cough Cure Consumption Oil that are embossed on three sides of the bottle. All of these are extremely rare and come in several sizes. Many collectors have probably never seen these different style embossed bottles nor knew they existed. This example has obviously been dug, and exhibits some ground imperfections, light interior staining and dirt and has a 1” flat chip off the top lip and side. No other chips or cracks and the bottle could be professionally cleaned if desired. Early

double ring top neck and measures 6 ½” tall x 2 ¼” wide with indented panels on all four sides. Don’t let the chip stop you from purchasing this bottle. If you collect Dr. Kilmer’s, it may be a long time before you’ll have the chance at another!” If anyone is wondering, no, it was not me that bought the bottle for $611 plus buyer’s fee and postage. It did have me thinking, though, that I wish someone would write a comprehensive book on the history of Dr. Kilmer and all the bottles and advertising his company put out over many decades!

that the entire display could very well approach a quarter of a million dollars! One may never have an opportunity again to see such a gathering as that in the future. It was very likely a once-in-a-lifetime display. By the way, it’s hard to believe that it has been 20 years since we put that event together! Where do those decades go? Sincerely, Andy Lange Plymouth, Massachusetts

Another Vote for Dickens

Thank you,

Hi, John,

John Savastio Latham, New York

Just got your current issue and was very impressed by the article on the “Traveler” bottle by Chris Bubash. I think he nailed it on Dickens, an author favorite of mine.

Correcting the History of Bottle Collecting Hi, John, I am writing this to correct a minor error with the article by Michael Seeliger in the March issue of Antique Bottle & Glass Collector, p.34, “The History of Bottle Collecting.” The photo taken of the “Collectors putting together the most complete collection of Warner bottles at the Genesee Valley Bottle Club Show in Rochester, N.Y.” was in 2001, not 2008. All of us in the photo wanted to put the display together for the new millennium in the year 2000, but, try as we may, it took over 18 months to get us all in that one place at the same time in Rochester due to prior commitments, etc. Nevertheless, in the end, it was all worth it. There were many items shown where only a few were known to exist (less than six) and there even were several one-of-akind examples. We estimated at that time

Hope that you and family members have been able to get the anti-Covid shots. My wife and I have had them both plus waiting time and are slowly busting out to the world around us. It feels great after more than a year in lockdown. All the best, Jack Sullivan Alexandria, Virginia CORRECTION: In the May issue of Antique Bottle & Glass Collector, an article titled, “A Dump of Epic Proportions,” an error was made in the second paragraph stating that Joe Senese, aka the Train Man, provided the tip for this dump. That information was incorrect. Joe Senese did not provide the information regarding this dump. We apologize for this error. - John Pastor, Publisher June 2021

Heard it through the

Grapevine Having a Fit? Then … A: Stop watching daily news channels or B: Try Pleis’ Fit Powders, the cure for imbeciles A non-rant by Ralph Finch The Pleis’ Fit Powders and Liver Pills firm of Philadelphia seemed to focus on healing someone with a unique combination of ailments: Epilepsy, *Vitus Dance and Neuralgia. Then Pleis’ expanded its “cure” to include “ALL nervous Affections,” even people who can’t “walk without assistance” or have a “bad taste in the mouth.” Even for those who have “50 spasms per day.” Ouch! And it’s good for people who have to be tied down (that’s kinky?) or “have become an imbecile or demented.” And it’s good for infants two months old or people up to 75 years. (I guess that if I have a fit, at 81, this won’t help me.) But how about my Vitus Dance? But for all this cure for only 80 cents a box? Sounds like a bargain. One trade card claimed that the powders “have been tested by over 40,000 Cases.” Hmmmm. I put on my cutest bonnet and tried to dress up this story on John M. Pleis Jr. of 860 N. Third St., Philadelphia, and found … very, very little. After a few hours of searching, all I had gained was a small fit. FYI: Wikipedia reveals (edited): In July, 1518, residents of Strasbourg (modern-day France) were struck by an uncontrollable urge to dance. The hysteria kicked off when a woman, Frau Troffea, stepped into the street and began to silently twist, twirl and shake.

Antique Bottle & Glass Collector

She kept up her solo dance-a-thon for nearly a week, and before long, some three dozen other Strasbourgeois had joined in. By August, the dancing epidemic had claimed as many as 400 victims. With no other explanation, local physicians blamed it on “hot blood” and suggested the afflicted simply gyrate the fever away. Many dancers collapsed from sheer exhaustion, while some died from strokes and heart attacks. The strange episode didn’t end until September, when the dancers were whisked away to a mountaintop shrine to pray for absolution. And how about this, um, “wry” idea: Other theories have suggested the dancers were members of a religious cult, or even that they accidentally ingested ergot, a toxic mold that grows on damp rye and produces spasms and hallucinations. (This “disease” is also called “choreomania.”) Today, we might say it sounds like a flash mob, but back then, it was a dangerous social phenomenon.

If a woman looked like this, I think she’d need more than a pill. Whatever the connection, Memorial Hall in Philadelphia is shown on the reverse of this card.

None of this could be blamed on Chubby Checker, whose original version of “The Twist” didn‘t peak at No. 16 until 1959. For those who aren’t — or are — imbeciles, please tell Ralph Finch what ails you at rfinch@twmi.rr.com

If you see dancing rabbits — even if one is named “Harvey” — you need Pleis' Fit Powders.

PLEIS' FIT POWDERS & LIVER PILLS, PHILA. A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Pleas’ Fit Powders - the perfect Christmas gift?

Heard it through the

Grapevine Another Auction House Sucks Ready, aim … and misfire Another rant by Ralph Finch For an auction upcoming May 22, the Raynor's Historical Collectible Auctions firm of Burlington, N.C., offered:

I asked the firm: “Have you ever seen a Bogardus ball? An N.B. ball? Totally different balls, totally different countries. Whoever did the listing should be fired. Good luck. You obviously will need it.” I emailed the Raynor firm on April 25, and I’m still waiting for a response.

“Lot 440: READY, AIM FIRE,” saying that the ball is “An (sic) blue glass target ball with a diamond pattern, marked Bogardus' Glass Ball Pat. April 10 1877.” The ball was estimated at “$200-$300,” with an (sic) minimum bid of $100.

Excited to announce the Summer 2021 opening of the Royal Crown Cola Museum in Columbus, GA, home of Royal Crown's founder Claud A. Hatcher! Looking for artifacts (signs, display pieces, etc.) from the following: Chero-Cola, Royal Crown Cola, Nehi, Diet Rite Cola, Upper 10, Par T Pack Ginger ale! Please contact Allen Woodall at 706-332-6378.

Good luck, I thought. Even Helen Keller could look at the photo and see that the embossing does NOT say “Bogardus,” but “N. B. Glass Works.” The entire embossing on this common U.K. ball is: “N. B. GLASS WORKS PERTH.” And the “N. B.” initials stand for the “New British” glass firm. This is in no way, shape or form a Bogardus target ball

Speak up? A Great Idea Echoed by Ralph Finch The other day I was reading the Rochester (N.Y.) bottle club’s newsletter and I didn’t want to keep a good idea to myself so I decided to speak up and pass it on. The item talked about collectors who know things, but who keep the knowledge to themselves.

To encourage club members to share information, a bribe was made. Regarding dues, the club suggested this: “Keep in mind that as a member, if you have given a talk at one of our meetings in the last year, you are given another year membership. In addition, if you joined the club after September, your membership dues are good through the following year.” Maybe it’ll work at your club?

June 2021

AN EXCEPTIONAL GROUPING OF EARLY AMERICAN GLASS, BOTTLES & FLASKS AT AUCTION

June 23 - 30, 2021

860.974.1634

www.hecklerauction.com 6

Antique Bottle & Glass Collector

Vince Martonis surrounded by his remarkable Dr. Fenner collection.

Fifty Fabulous

Years of Fenners

By Vince Martonis

he year was 1985. We were scheduled to dig for seven hot and sweaty July days behind Dr. Fenner’s impressive home in Fredonia, New York. This was a large brick mansion he bought in 1883, after ten successful years selling his remedies. We were mostly an enthusiastic but amateur crew called the Canadaway Creek Anthropology Project, investigators of historical sites, supervised by a newly graduated PhD archaeologist from the University of Buffalo and a Fredonia State Anthropologist.

Introduced to the students as a local historian, I was there mostly in the role of a glass and pottery expert. Or so they thought. Because the day before, a digger had unearthed a 2” shoulder shard showing some design and a star from an aqua scroll flask, and this day I had brought the exact half pint flask to show everyone, a GIX-31, ironically the only flask I possessed at the time. It was beyond luck that I had just that flask. The student diggers were quite im-

pressed with what they judged as my vast knowledge of glass, and I was thereafter shown every fragment we found. I myself was completely overwhelmed with the serendipitous thought that Fenner and I owned the same version of a scroll flask, only 100 years apart! Fenner and the Fates had to be smiling down on me. A couple of days earlier, we had located Fenner’s barn foundation. This day, we hit a long shed next to the barn and began to unearth some shards of 1880s Fenner June 2021

bottles. Most were unembossed, but three DR. FENNER’S/SALT RHEUM/ OINTMENT 2 ½” bottles did surface pretty much unbroken, along with a cast iron mini mixing vessel with a handle and three little feet. Also, a case for what was most likely his personal pocket watch. As a Fenner bottle collector, I was in heaven. There I was, on my knees, trowel in hand, scraping away the dirt in the very area where Dr. Fenner made his medicines a century earlier. Talk about being in touch with history! In 1992, when the anthropologist left the college and headed to Maine to retire, he turned over to me all that we had excavated behind the Fenner house. Those three bottles, mixing vessel, and watch case are now in the Barker Museum in Fredonia where they belong. Many years before his life in his mansion, Milton Fenner lived in the very rural Fennerville. Doesn’t sound like much of a settlement. It wasn’t. But it was near the land where Christopher Fenner — descendant of a Puritan Divine and three THIS PAGE: TOP LEFT: GIX-31 flask with outline showing the shard found during the Fenner Site dig. Note: the design curves in the flask are reflecting portions of the iron pontil. TOP RIGHT: This photo of Dr. Fenner belonged to his son, Milton. In 1977, he gave it to a writer who published an article about his father. She gave the photo to me, and I donated it to the Barker Museum in Fredonia, N.Y. I forged his signature under the photo. BOTTOM: These three DR. FENNER'S SALT RHEUM OINTMENT bottles, a mixing vessel, and a watch case were excavated behind Dr. Fenner's house in Fredonia in 1985. FOLLOWING PAGE: TOP: In 1885, Fenner bought an 1839 Methodist Church and converted it to use for his People's Remedies production. In 1971, I lived in the house which shows on the far left. My landlady gave me a Fenner bottle she dug in the yard and that began my Fenner odyssey. Photo courtesy of the D. R. Barker Museum, Fredonia, NY. Retouching by Niles Dening Photography. BOTTOM: Here are 15 variations of Fenner's wellknown KIDNEY & BACKACHE CURE/REMEDY medicine. The clear and yellow amber sample size examples are very scarce.

Antique Bottle & Glass Collector

June 2021

Rhode Island Governors — settled in 1817, so it took on the family name. On a picturesque road overlooking Cassadaga Creek in South Stockton, Chautauqua County, the westernmost county of New York State, the Fenners experienced the simplicities and complexities of a challenging life. They were mainly farmers, also makers of the Fenner Churn. Nothing much notable there today, except Fenner Road, named after the industrious family. Milton M. Fenner, son of Christopher, was born July 28, 1837, the seventh of nine children. Losing his father at age 13 no doubt aged him and taught him to fend for himself to a great degree, and fend he did. A teacher in local schools. Medical college in Cincinnati. Three years in the Civil War, rising to the rank of 1st Lieutenant as Assistant Surgeon U.S. Navy. Battle hardened as a commander and a surgeon. Medical practices in Flint, Michigan, and Jamestown, New York. An unsuccessful oil speculator near Drake’s Titusville. Publisher of a medical journal. County Physician to the Poor. Physician to the County Insane Asylum. Chairman of the N.Y. Committee on Public Health. All this before he turned 32 and moved a medical practice from Jamestown to Fredonia in early 1869. But already he had been mixing up the medicine. As noted in an 1868 Jamestown directory ad, THIS PAGE: TOP: The two pint CAPITOL BITTERS are rare. The four in the top row are embossed CAPITOL BITTERS but have other medicine labels on them. LIFE ROOT is a unique example. CAPITOL BITTERS trade card with stag. BOTTOM: My first major Fenner display at the incredible St. Louis National Bottle Show in 1976. FOLLOWING PAGE: TOP: A variety of Fenner's medicines. The sample size of the GOLDEN RELIEF is the only one known (on its side on the right). BOTTOM: Very rare merchant's COUGH HONEY store sign – E.H. Mills Brookton, N.Y. My one-of-a-kind broken embossed COUGH HONEY bottle at center.

Antique Bottle & Glass Collector

June 2021

four medicines were formulated and sold by Dr. Fenner: Specific Lung & Throat Remedy; Specific for the Itch; Liver and Blood Alterative & Tonic Compound; and Liver & Blood Pills. And hear this. In fifty years of searching, I was never able to find even one of these four elusive Jamestown Fenner medicines. If you have one, you may hold me up — slightly. So what have I found in fifty years? About 140 variations of his Fredonia Fenner medicines, along with hundreds of advertising items and other paper rarities, mostly dating from 1872 to about 1914. Dr. Fenner’s most popular seller was his reliable and well-named GOLDEN RELIEF, though there are no bottles embossed with the name. This was one of the seven original Fredonia Fenner medicines he began selling in 1872. Fenner’s 1873 formula notebook shows a 60-pint result using 40 pints of alcohol, white tea tree oil, ether, camphor, oil of hemlock, sassafras, German Liver Bitters, and more. It was 138 proof. Over 100 years later (1977), I bought a bottle of it in a Fredonia drug store, still the same old formula, that is, until 1964 when a tax on alcohol forced Brown Mfg. Co. to denature the alcohol, making it “for external use only” for the first time. S. C. Wells & Co. bought the Fenner business in 1914 and later Wells itself was bought out by the Brown Mfg. Company, which continued to sell Fenner medicines past the 1970s. Fenner’s Kidney & Backache Cure comes in a variety of embossings, sizes, and colors. After the Pure Food & Drug Act of 1906, the word Remedy replaced Cure. Besides sample sizes in amber, honey amber, and clear, the Cure can be found in rare variations of green and a near yellow. The Remedy is in a standard amber, except for three very rare examples known in a yellow olive shade. Another money-maker, his BLOOD & LIVER REMEDY & NERVE TONIC,

Antique Bottle & Glass Collector

TOP: GOLDEN RELIEF was Fenner's hottest selling medicine, lasting from 1872 into the 1980s. The labels on the two bottles in the top row are on CAPITOL BITTERS bottles and are quite scarce. BOTTOM: Very rare 9 x 12 Dyspepsia Cure poster, a scarce box, and a bottle with contents.

used these roots: sarsaparilla, yellowdock, turkey corn, stillingia, bitter, Indian physic, mandrake, licorice, sweet flag, and more. A 40-gallon result used 100 lbs. of sugar, 36 gallons of water, and 4 gallons of alcohol. It was a long, percolating process taking up to seven days. The known bottles show a variety of labels but no embossed medicine name. Bottle collectors have all seen his embossed CAPITOL BITTERS bottles. This impressive aqua, sometimes clear, bitters is almost always found in the 10 ½” size. Few realize that it also comes in a RARE 9” size in aqua and clear. Again, a plant-based medicine, it used columbo root, cloves, orange peel, and allspice in a weeks-long percolating process. Eclectic medicine, which Fenner studied in Cincinnati and followed, strongly promoted the use of plants, roots, and barks to cure the patient. Clearly, this is on the mark when we examine today’s remedies. Let nature do its work and get plenty of exercise — the philosophy of health Fenner promoted. An early botanical supplier for Fenner was Eber Pettit who owned a nearby supply business across the creek from the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation. Pettit’s rapport with the Indians helped him learn about the curative properties in nature’s remedies. He used this knowledge when he mixed his own medicines as the American Eye Salve Company in Fredonia. Another popular Fenner medicine was his COUGH HONEY, later changed to COUGH-COLD SYRUP after the Pure Food & Drug Act of 1906. Once again, a number of roots and herbs, and the addition of skunk cabbage, became the curative agents. PHOTOS (from top left): DR. FENNER'S KIDNEY & BACKACHE REMEDY. I own 2 of the 3 known in this yellow olive color, both mint. 1 of the 2 will be auctioned by AGG in July. The third known is highly stained. Two DR. FENNER'S KIDNEY & BACKACHE CURE bottles in very rare colors. Very few like these are known. To promote my interest in Fenner medicines, I asked a Fredonia pharmacist if I could set up a display in his store window in 1977. This photo was published in a local newspaper and later is a magazine article. Fenner's BLOOD & LIVER REMEDY & NERVE TONIC medicine was a strong seller for 42 years and even after that when S.C. Wells owned the business (bottle on left).

There is only one bottle I know of embossed with the words COUGH HONEY. In three indented panels are the words DR. M. M. FENNER FREDONIA, N. Y./IMPROVED/COUGH HONEY. In 1978, my 4-year-old son, no June 2021

doubt imitating daddy’s bottle arranging, reached into the back of my showcase and pushed that bottle down onto a labeled BLOOD & LIVER REMEDY & NERVE TONIC bottle, breaking both. I glued the COUGH HONEY back together, only having a slight idea of how rare it was. Since then, I have never been able to find another — and neither has any other collector to my knowledge. Other Fenner medicines were SOOTHING SYRUP, SENNATORIA/SENNA CONFECTION, PLEASANT WORM SYRUP, ST. VITUS’ DANCE SPECIFIC/MEDICINE, BACKACHE PLASTER, FIT REMEDY, VEGETABLE BLOOD & LIVER PILLS/PELLETS, LIFE ROOT, SALT RHEUM/FAMILY OINTMENT, CATARRH REMEDY and GERMAN EYE SALVE. The last two are the only ones I was never able to add to my collection. Fenner col-

lector Doug Lehman of Weirton, West Virginia, has the last one, but no one I know has the CATARRH REMEDY. In 1885, to adequately develop all aspects of his business, Dr. Fenner bought an old Methodist church building where on three floors he had all he needed, including his own printing press in the basement. He became wealthy and influential to the extent that he was able to become a two-term New York State Assemblyman, Town Supervisor, a director at two banks, part owner of the Columbia Hotel, President of his own insurance company in Buffalo, developer/part owner of a street railway, and savior of the Chautauqua Co. Fair. He also had a fire company and a veterans organization named after him! And what did he enjoy in any spare time he had? One simple pleasure was touring the countryside on a bicycle with his son Milton. I learned this in 1977 when I sat down with 90-year-old Milton M. Fenner

Jr. to see what he could tell me about his father. Dr. Fenner’s first wife died young and he married an attractive 22-year-old at age 47, the result being the birth of Milton in 1887. Milton also told the story of his father’s “model farm” behind the house, 12 acres, including a deer park which became a local attraction. He also reminisced about their travels to visit his grandmother and uncle in California. I look back now at that 28-year-old Vince and wish that I had been wiser with my selection of questions. What a very rare opportunity I had to talk to the son of the man who started and managed one of the largest and most successful medicine companies in the United States!

r Look for Part 2 of this article in the July issue of AB&GC.

WANTED! "LITHIA NYE SPRINGS" WYTHEVILLE, VA Aqua with Standing Indian

½ Gallon Size

Larry Veneziano

27W115 Vale Rd. West Chicago, IL 60185 Email: LarryHH@Comcast.net Please let me know if you have one! 14

Antique Bottle & Glass Collector

WE’RE PROFESSIONALS —

and it shows in everything we do.

From pre-press/graphic design and printing, to bindery and mailing — your project is in-house and under control. tel 517.372.0268

| fax 517.372.4922

912 W. Saint Joseph, Lansing, MI 48915

BRDPrinting.com

Seeking Seeking quality quality consignments consignments for for our our 2021 2021 auction auction schedule! schedule!

American Glass Gallery

TM TM

As Asaaconsignor, consignor,consider considerthese thesebenefits benefitstotohelp helpensure ensureyour yourvalued valued items itemsreach reachtheir theirhighest highestpotential: potential: ww Competitive Competitiveconsignor consignorrates ratesand andlow lowbuyer buyerpremiums premiums ww Broad-based Broad-basedand andextensive extensiveadvertising advertising ww Experience, Experience,knowledge, knowledge,honesty honesty and andintegrity integrity ww Attention Attentiontotodetail detailand andcustomer customer service service

These Thesefine fineitems, items,and andmany manymore, more,will willbebeincluded includedininour ourAuction Auction#29. #29.

American AmericanGlass GlassGallery Gallery• •John JohnR.R.Pastor Pastor• •P.O. P.O.Box Box227, 227,New NewHudson, Hudson,Michigan Michigan48165 48165 phone: phone:248.486.0530 248.486.0530• •www.americanglassgallery.com www.americanglassgallery.com• •email: email:jpastor@americanglassgallery.com jpastor@americanglassgallery.com June 2021

BBR AUCTIONS

Europe’s ONLY Bottle, Pot Lid & Antique Advertising saleroom giving: LIVE sales, LIVE online bidding, LIVE absentee & telephone bidding FULL COLOUR catalogues PLUS pdf cat’s PLUS online cat.

Tried Tested Trusted

ALL catalogues online click any image to enlarge

BBR gives you MORE charges LESS Speedier pay outs MORE sale MORE often Sunday 13 June Advertising & Breweriana Cat’s £10 inc p&p LIVE VIDEO STREAMED 11am GMT Enamel signs, showcards, whisky water jus, related bar top material, cabinets etc

Sunday 4 July 11am BBR’s special ‘Summer Spread’ LIVE VIDEO STREAMED 11am GMT

Cat’s £10 inc p&p

The

Alan Blakeman Collection 00th Month 2021

the Alan

Blakeman Collection A very special offering, presenting a unique 40+ year lifetime collection across all areas, something for everyone.

Cat’s £20 inc p&p Must be pre-ordered

LIVE videostreamed 11am GMT Date t.b.c.

BBR

AUCTIO NS

Tried Tested Trusted

BBR Auctions, Elsecar Heritage Centre, Nr Barnsley, S. Yorks, S74 8HJ

01226 745156 www.onlinebbr.com

Antique Bottle & Glass Collector

sales@onlinebbrcom

Fruit Jar Rambles Extra By Tom Caniff — Photos by Deena Caniff

COLLINS, WHEATON & LUHRS Collins, Wheaton & Luhrs was first found listed in the1868 San Francisco city directory. Indeed, on Jan. 18, 1868, the company, consisting of Albert F. Collins, George Henry Wheaton, and Nicolas C. Luhrs, started running the ad in Figure A in the SANTA CRUZ [California] WEEKLY SENTINEL. The ad describes them as “Commission Merchants And Wholesale Dealers In Butter, Cheese, Lard, Hams, Bacon, &c. 219 Front Street.” There were some mistakes, however, and the ad was later corrected in the PETALUMA [California] WEEKLY ARGUS, June 4, 1868, to show A. F. Collins and N. C. Luhrs as being the two partners “Late with Dodge Bros. & Co.,” one of the precursors to Dodge, Sweeney & Co., 406 Front St., dealers in the same basic commodities as Collins, Wheaton & Luhrs. George W. Wheaton had previously been listed as a deputy city and county assessor.

FIGURE A: 1868 Collins, Wheaton & Luhrs advert.

Nine years later, the April 1877 billhead in Figure B reads “Collins, Wheaton & Luhrs, Commission Merchants and Wholesale Dealers in Provisions, 219 Front & 307 Sacramento Streets.”

FIGURE B: 1877 Collins, Wheaton & Luhrs billhead.

The aqua, ground-lip, wide-mouth, straddle-lip top-seal jar in Photo 1, embossed PACKED BY COLLINS, WHEATON & LUHRS S.F. across the front, with the base embossed MARCH 10th 1870, has been reported as identical to the 2 lb. and 4 lb. MASON’S IMPROVED BUTTER JAR. The jar’s lid, secured by a zinc screw band, is embossed MASON’S IMPROVED PAT MAY 10 1870. The jar is half-gallon in size. In 1999, a well-known auction house is reported to have sold one of these jars from the Alex Kerr collection for $2,750. Support for assuming the company’s use of this particular style of COLLINS, WHEATON & LUHRS S.F. jar as a butter container may lie in the association of Collins and Luhrs with Dodge Bros. Dodge, Sweeney & Co. was founded in San Francisco by L. C. and Henry Lee Dodge in 1855 (or 1856), under the title of L. C. Dodge & Company. Over the years the company was also known as Dodge Bros.; Dodge & Shaw; Dodge Bros. & Co.; Dodge & Sroufe; and Sroufe, Sweeney & Co.; culminating in Dodge, Sweeney & Co., which was formed in 1875 (or 1876), and located at 406 Front Street. The company survived until at least 1921. Figure C illustrates a jar used by Dodge, Sweeney & Co. for their butter. Em-

PHOTO 1: PACKED BY COLLINS, WHEATON & LUHRS S.F.

bossed DODGE, SWEENEY & CO’S CALIFORNIA BUTTER, this widemouth, aqua glass jar has a ground lip, and its straddle-lip top-seal glass lid is also embossed MASON’S IMPROVED PAT MAY 10 1870 around two concentric circles. June 2021

Fruit Jar Rambles Extra By Tom Caniff — Photos by Deena Caniff

FIGURE D: 1882 billhead from WHEATON & LUHRS.

With Dodge, Sweeney & Co. using this jar for their California Butter, something with which Collins and Luhrs might well have been familiar, it seems quite possible that Collins’ and Luhrs’ new company might well have used the same style jar for their own butter.

FIGURE C: DODGE SWEENEY & CO'S CALIFORNIA BUTTER jar.

Another jar used by Collins, Wheaton & Luhrs is shown in Photo 2. This jar, embossed PACKED BY COLLINS, WHEATON & LUHRS S.F. has a regular-size glass straddle-lip top-seal lid with three concentric circles around a mold number, and it is said to be identical to the VICTORY jars made in San Francisco, California, and as far as I know has only been reported in a half-gallon size. The last directory listing for Collins, Wheaton & Luhrs was in 1878, and on Sept. 1, 1878, the DAILY ALTA CALIFORNIA, of San Francisco, reported a: “Change of Firm. The copartnership heretofore existing under the firm name of Collins, Wheaton & Luhrs is this day dissolved by mutual consent. Geo. H. Wheaton and N. C. Luhrs having purchased the interest of A F. Collins, will... continue under the firm name of Wheaton & Luhrs... San Francisco, August 31st, 1878.”

PHOTO 2: VICTORY-style COLLINS, WHEATON & LUHRS jar.

Antique Bottle & Glass Collector

Figure D shows an 1882 billhead from Wheaton & Luhrs, Importers & Jobbers

Of Provisions, 219 Front & 307 Sacramento Streets, San Francisco, Fine Grades Of Butter, Cheese, Hams, Bacon, Lard, &c. Undated Photo 3 of Front Street, San Francisco, shows on the right, next to Castle Brothers, a partial view of a fairly unimpressive two-story building lettered near the top, “Butter & Chee__... Collins, Wheaton & Lu__.” But the groundstory has signage reading “Wheaton & Luh__ Hams Bacon Butter 219 [Front Street] Cheese Pork Lard.” Possibly it was just too much trouble for Wheaton & Luhrs to correct the upper sign, since Wheaton & Luhrs was, in a way, just a continuation of the founding firm. Wheaton & Luhrs appears to have still been operating in September 1894, when the SAN FRANCISCO CALL announced the engagement of Miss Bessie Wheaton, “Daughter of George H. Wheaton of the firm of Wheaton & Luhrs, the well-known San Francisco commission merchants.” But things had changed by March 3, 1896, when the SAN FRANCISCO CALL listed them as “Wheaton, Luhrs & Co.,” consignees of goods on a steamship. The company line progressed by August 1900 to Wheaton, Breon & Co., then in 1901 to Wheaton, Pond & Harrold.

Fruit Jar Rambles Extra By Tom Caniff — Photos by Deena Caniff

THE GLAS-BAREL JARS Our offering, in Photo 4 shows an attractive clear (light amethyst) glass, smoothlip, barrel-shaped quart jar, 5 3/4” tall, base-embossed (Photo 5) GLAS-BAREL OLIVES FINEST QUALITY. The jar has a clear, 3” diameter, top-seal, glass lid (Photo 6), embossed EVERY BITE A DELIGHT GLAS-BAREL OLIVES SEVILLE SPAIN, and it is secured to the jar’s four quick-lock threads by a metal screw band, the threads of which are engaged by four metal lugs pressed in from the cap’s rolled bottom edge.

PHOTO 3: WHEATON & LUHRS building at 219 Front Street.

PHOTO 4 (above): GLAS-BAREL OLIVES jar. PHOTO 5 (above right): Base of GLAS-BAREL OLIVES jar. PHOTO 6 (above right): Base of GLAS-BAREL OLIVES jar.

As far as I can find, the words “Glas-Barel” could be a brand or trademarked name, as it translates to nothing more than what sounds like in English, “Glass Barrel.” This creates a bit of a problem in researching this piece, as I can find no listings of “Glas-Barel Olives” anywhere. There are a number of listings for “Glass Barrel Olives,” which may relate to this jar, or they may just be describing unknown brands of olives sold in glass barrel-shaped containers. The earliest pertinent newspaper ad found in the Newspapers.com archives of over 18,400 newspapers was found in the Oct. 23, 1925 edition of the EVENING NEWS, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, which offered “$1.50 Glass Barrel Fancy Olives, special... $1.00.” But a potentially more likely candidate appeared about three years later, on Aug. 25, 1928, when the TAMPA BAY TIMES, of St. Petersburg, Florida, carried an ad by Nolen’s that included a “Quart Glass Barrel Spanish Olives... 49¢.” Of course, neither of these ads may cover our “Glas-Barel” jar, but the time period appears right. The last ad appeared in the Jan. 22, 1932 LINCOLN (Nebraska) JOURNAL STAR, offering a “Quart Glass Barrel Spanish Olives... 49¢.” There was not a wide time span for glass barrel olive jars. June 2021

WANTED

Greer #s of the mint state #1265 United States Syrup #1685 United States Syrup #1383 Dr. Perkins’ Syrup #5 Arthurs Renovating Syrup #778 Halls / Palingenesia / Or Regenerator

Also non Greer bottles of the mint state Dr. C.W. Robacks Scandinavien Blood Purifier Cincinnati, O, IP

Write, Call or Email

John Keating P.O. Box 13255 Olympia, WA 98508 360-628-9576 johnkeating473@yahoo.com

LITTLE RHODY BOTTLE CLUB SHOW JUNE 20, 2021 An outdoor show at the Blackstone Valley Vocational Regional High School 65 Pleasant St., Upton, MA

Free Admission! For info, please contact: BILL or LINDA ROSE 508.880.4929 Email: sierramadre@comcast.net 20

Antique Bottle & Glass Collector

WANTED: Clarke’s Vegetable Sherry Wine Bitters, Sharon, Mass. All bottle sizes & variants…pontil/smooth base. Also, ANY ephemera..newspaper ads, invoices, letterhead, etc.

THANK YOU. Charlie Martin Jr. 781-248-8620, or cemartinjr@comcast.net

Excited to announce the Summer 2021 opening of the Royal Crown Cola Museum in Columbus, GA, home of Royal Crown's founder Claud A. Hatcher!

Remember: Advertising doesn’t cost,

Looking for artifacts (signs, display pieces, etc.) from the following: Chero-Cola, Royal Crown Cola, Nehi, Diet Rite Cola, Upper 10, Par T Pack Ginger ale!

IT PAYS! A display ad this size costs only $35.00 for one month. What are you waiting for? Call us today!

Please contact Allen Woodall at 706-332-6378.

CORRECTIONS —

WANTED! "LITHIA NYE SPRINGS" WYTHEVILLE, VA

Antique Bottle & Glass Collector wants to correct mistakes appearing in our magazine. If you believe we have made a mistake, please call us at 248.486.0530, or e-mail us at: jpastor@americanglassgallery.com

Aqua with Standing Indian ½ gallon size I'm from Wytheville and really want this bottle. My family knew some of the Nye family! Will pay a "good price". Larry Veneziano 27W115 Vale Rd. West Chicago, IL 60185 Email: LarryHH@Comcast.net

I would like to hear from anyone who has one, even if not for sale - thanks!

June 2021

Buy TradeClassified Ads

SELL

ADVERTISING

FOR SALE - SHOWS & SHOPS - WANTED - CLASSIFIED ADS

RATES

20 cents a word. 25 cents a word FOR BOLD TYPE. $3.00 minimum monthly charge. Each word, abbreviation, initial, and price count as one word.

AB&GC Magazine

All ads must be received by the 30th of the month for the next issue. Example: Ads received by June 30th will be in the August issue. Copy should be typewritten, printed, or sent via e-mail. AB&GC will not be responsible for errors in an ad due to poor quality copy. AB&GC reserves the right to refuse any advertising.

Phone: 248.486.0530 Fax: 248.486.0538 Email: jpastor@americanglassgallery.com

Near the deadline? FAX us your ad: 248.486.0538

Box 227 New Hudson, MI 48165-0227

Remember: Advertising doesn’t cost,

IT PAYS! A display ad this size costs only $30.00 for one month. What are you waiting for? Call us today!

All classified ads must be paid in advance.

DISPLAY ADS One column x 2 inches One column x 3 inches One column x 4 inches One-fourth page One-third page One-half page Two-thirds page Full page

1 time

3 times*

6 times*

$30.00 $35.00 $40.00 $65.00 $80.00 $120.00 $160.00 $250.00

$75.00 $90.00 $110.00 $180.00 $220.00 $330.00 $450.00 $675.00

$130.00 $180.00 $210.00 $340.00 $420.00 $630.00 $825.00 $1,300.00

Rates for longer periods available.Write, e-mail, or call. Maximum copy size (full page) 7.5” X 10”. One column 2.3” wide. Two columns 5” wide. Camera-ready copy preferred but not a requirement. One time $12.00 additional charge for photos.* *Consecutive issues with NO changes.

For Sale d

FOR SALE: Cobalt Phcy Bottle mint - 8 & 1/4 tall Purcell & Littlejohn - Physicist - Leesburg, VA. BILL SIMMS, 443-235-0114. 7/21

FELLOW COLLECTORS/DEALERS: Please, if at all possible, include a name and phone number with your advertisements. Not everyone has a computer, and a physical address does help. Thank you for your consideration. 12/21

FOR SALE: .75 cents SASE for a large list of bottles, coins, postcards and all types of paper. TIMOTHY HART, 20 Masten Road, Victory VT 05858. 6/21

FOR SALE: 100 Year History of the J.C. Ayer Co. of Lowell, MA. Contains bottle dating guide, medical standards 1840-1906, advertising: trade cards, signs, pamphlets and more. Hardbound, 500 pages, and 750 color images. $49.95 plus $6.50 media shipping. Purchase securely at: cliffhoyt.com OR mail check to CLIFF HOYT, 35 Showers Lane, Martinsburg, WV 25403. 6/21

Antique Bottle & Glass Collector

FOR SALE: Bottle Collection. Bitters, Whiskies, Western Whiskies, Sarsaparillas, Flasks, Inks, Medicines, Sodas, and Black Memorabilia. What are you looking for? Leave message and phone number; will call 6/21 back. CARL, 434-242-5863. FELLOW COLLECTORS/DEALERS: Please include a name and phone number with your ads. Not everyone has a computer, and an address does help. Thanks. 12/18

Shows, Shops & Services d VISIT THE MUSEUM OF THE MOUNTAIN WEST, MONTROSE, CO to view one of the largest collections of embossed and labeled patent medicines in the U.S. museumofthemountains.org Phone: 970-240-3400. 6/21 CALLING ALL NEW ENGLANDERS!! Come join The Little Rhody Bottle Club. Three swap meets and one show every year. BILL ROSE, sierramadre@comcast.net, 508-880-4929. 8/21

Buy TradeClassified Ads

SELL

ALWAYS INTERESTED IN MAKING NEW ACQUAINTANCES in the Fruit Jar hobby. Visit our website: Redbookjars.com to order the latest edition of the Collectors Guide to Fruit Jars, Red Book #12. I look forward to hearing from you! 8/21 THE NATIONAL BOTTLE MUSEUM is announcing our 2021 museum show taking place on the first Sunday in June. Outdoor spots will again be available as well as indoor tables. Social distancing will be observed as well as masks, unless otherwise notified. Tables will be $40.00 and admission will be $5.00. Early admission is again at 8am and will be $15.00. Food will be available on the grounds, as well as free parking. We look forward to seeing everyone again, for a great time. If there is inclement weather shelter for outside dealers will be provided. Contact the museum at 518-885-7589. 6/21 THE CAPITAL REGION ANTIQUE BOTTLE CLUB has announced their show will take place in the summer instead of October. July 18th is the date we chose. This will be an outdoor show with 25ft. spaces and ample parking. The show will be at the Mabee Farm along the Mohawk River, Exit 1 (rt.5s) off of 890. The cost per space will be $30.00. There will not be food but it can be procured if enough people want it. We hope to see you all there. Our contacts are: ADAM STODDARD, 518256-7663; email: acstoddard63@gmail. com, or: PHIL BERNNARD, 518-4297641; email: explomar@hotmail.com 7/21 ALWAYS SOME BOTTLES AND COLLECTIBLES AT OUR STORE SHORE ANTIQUE CENTER, 413 Allen Ave, Allenhurst, NJ 07711. Open 7 days Come visit 14,000 square feet of stuff. Fresh plunder arriving daily. CHRIS MYER, GLEN VOGEL usually around. 8/21 SAVE THE DATE: BALTIMORE ANTIQUE BOTTLE CLUB'S new Show Date: September 26, 2021. 8/21

ANTIQUES ON FIRST - 919 FIRST ST. BENICIA, CA. When visiting the S.F. Bay Area or Napa Wine Country, be sure to stop in nearby historic downtown Benicia; a nationally designated small town “Main Street” with shops, restaurants and magnificent Bay views. Also location of the Gold Rush era brick State Capitol museum, Civil War Camel Barns military/ local museum, and legendary former waterfront Bottle Digging bonanza of the West (“Benicia Glass”, Balto torpedoes, cathedrals, sodas, bitters, pontiles). ANTIQUES ON FIRST has a rotating selection of locally dug Bottles, Clocks, Militaria, Railroadiana, Art, Advertising and more. Open Wed thru Sun 12:00 (often earlier) to 5:30. 9/21

Wanted d WANTED: Hobbleskirt embossed Coca-Cola bottles: 1915's, 1923's, D-Patent's 6oz's and 6 1/2 oz's. Collector will buy or trade. JIM GEORGES, georges77@twcny.rr.com or 315-662-7729. 7/21 WANTED: Better Albany N.Y. bottles and flasks, L.Q.C. Wisharts in rare colors / all variants. Guilderland, N.Y. Stoneware. DON KELLY, dmebottles@aol.com, Phone: 518365-3783. 12/21 WANTED: George Ohr Pottery Cabins. Or Cabin Inks. BOB TERRY, 303-5692502, llterryualusa@yahoo.com 9/21 WANTED: Clevenger North American Log Cabin Commemoratives GVII-25-A GVII-25-I and GVII-25-Q Clevenger Commemoratives GVII-16-A GVII-16-C and GVII-16-E. Phone or write. STEVE GRAY, 440-279-8381, 7533 Clay St., Thompson, OH 44086. 6/21 WANTED: OWL DRUG bottles, tins, boxes, paper, anything from the Owl Drug Company. MARC LUTSKO, Email: letsgo@montanasky.net, 406-293-6771, Box 97 Libby, MT 59923. 1/22

WANTED: EMBOSSED CURES WANTED: Including these pontils: Avery's, Benson's, Bernard's, Brown's, Bull's, Burt's, Cannon's, Flander's, Frambe's Geoghegan's, Hamilton's, Jacob's, Lay's, McAdoo's, McElroy's, Parham's, Rhodes' Prov. R.I., Rohrer's, Rudolph's, Star-in's, Stone's, Toledo, Woodman's. ALSO BIMALS: Anchor, Bavarian Bitters, Beesting, Bixler's, Bliss, Boot's Indigestion, Bowanee, Bower's, Bradford's, Bromo Mineral, Bronson's, Bull's (Baltimore), Carey's CholiCura, Clement's Certain (green), Collins' Opium (aqua), Cowan's Certain, Davis Indian, Detchon's Infallible, Edelweiss, Electrofluid, Ewer's Arcanum, Forest Pine (unpontiled), Francisco's, Frog Pond 8", Green's King's Cure, Large Handyside's (chocolate amber), Helmer's, Hilleman's, Hinderman's, Holden's (green), Hungarian, Indian Mixture, JBF, Kauffman Phthisis, Keeley's (opium, neurotine, solution), Large Kellum's, Kid-Nee-Kure, Lenape's, Lindley's, Long's Malaria, Loryea (green), Marsden, McConnon Cough, Amber McLean's (8"), Miniotti's (clear), Morning Glory, Murphy K & L. Pageapfel's, Park's (clear), Peck's, Pennock's, Peterman's (green), Rattail, large River Swamp, Scott's (bird), Streetman's, Tremaine's, Vosburgh, Wadsworth (goat), Warner's K & L Rochester (green, aqua, clear), Wildwest, Wilkinson's, Wilson Footrot, Winan's (no Indian), York Corn Cure. Looking for many others, especially embossed with label, contents, box. Also would like data on unlisted cures for future Cure Book. JOHN WOLF, ohcures@yahoo. com, 937-275-1617, 1186 Latchwood Ave., Dayton, OH 45405. 2/22 WANTED: U.S.A. Hospital Dept. and any pre-1866 embossed food bottles, mustards, early Baltimore, Wheeling, D.C., Alexandria sodas, beers (stoneware or glass) damage free. BRUCE, cwaddic@yahoo.com, Phone: 703-307-7792. 12/21 WANTED: Colored Illinois and Missouri Sodas. Also Colored Fruit Jars. Top $$$ Paid. Call, text or email. STEVE KEHRER, kehrer00@gmail.com, 618-410-4142. 3/23 June 2021

Buy TradeClassified Ads

SELL

WANTED: BUYING Pre-Pro etched & amp; embossed beer brewery glasses; whiskey shot glasses; pre-pro brewery mugs, steins including souvenir steins mugs; souvenir china; old advertising material: signs, trays, mirrors, saloon material; back bar whiskey bottles; other early American bottles, flasks, bitters, especially from Kentucky. PAUL VanVACTOR, Phone: 502-533-2693, email: pvanvactor@aol.com P.O. Box 221171, Louisville, KY 40252-1171.

WANTED: Looking for Mason Jars, Fruit Jars, Lids, inserts, etc. Please email me. AtoZbottles@gmail.com 6/21

WANTED: Harley bottles of West Chester, Pa. and Philadelphia, Pa. The West Chester bottles (3) display either J. Harley, James Harley or E.M. Harley. The Phila. Bottles (3) display Edwd. Harley, Schul (Schuylkill) 4th & Market St., Philada or E. Harley, 802 Market St. or E. Harley, West Market St. These bottling business operated in the late 1840s through the early 1880s. BOB HARLEY, rwh220@Yahoo.com, Phone: 215-721-1107. 12/21

WANTED: FRUIT JARS. Collect rare pints, unusual closures and colored jars. Looking for cobalt blue Canton Domestic, J.C. Baker pint, Peerless pint and sale sample jars. Need closure for A.E. Bray, small mouth Trademark Advanced pint, Commodore and Flaccus brands. JERRY IKEDA, ikeda.jerry@gmail. com, 916-424-7204. 6/21

WANTED: GIV-35 Masonic Flask. CHUCK BUKIN, 1325 Cypress Drive Richardson, Texas 75080-4721. 6/21 WANTED: Glass Lid (insert) and Zinc Ring for Quart Ball Fruit Jar (BBGMCo.) RB #195-1. Will buy insert, ring or both. MIKE BEARDSLEY, casketeer@aol.com, 315-3455094. 6/21 WANTED: In search of bottles from Bennington County VT. JIM CHATTERTON, vtdigger05262@yahoo.com 6/21 WANTED: Rare Figural Bitters, Rare American & English Poisons, Scents & Colognes, Small Pontiled Medicines. BOB BARBOUR, bwbcsr@gmail.com, Phone: 913-248-1478. 6/21 WANTED: Soda Henry C. Hall Manchester, N.H. RAYMOND TROTTIER, 603-9343839, Flaghole Road, Franklin, NH 03235. 6/21 WANTED: Historical Flasks - one or a collection. MATT LACY, mlacy28@yahoo. com, Phone: 440-228-1873. 6/21

Antique Bottle & Glass Collector

WANTED: Syracuse Syracuse Syracuse Syracuse Syracuse Syracuse - J.F. Barker / Syracuse, H. Lakes Indian Specific Soule's Pills / Syracuse, Mariah Mellen / Spafford NY. If you have one of these bottles you just might be able to retire early! Please call. ED KANTOR, 315-706-5112. 6/21

WANTED: Interested in bottles and memorabilia from the Dotterweich Dunkirk and Olean, New York Breweries. Top prices paid for bottles, equipment, advertising and ephemera. DREW, 678-523-5482. 6/21 WANTED: FRUIT JARS and CLOSURES. I buy-sell-trade all scarce and rare jars, lids, metal parts. Strong prices paid. Currently looking for unusual closure jars - especially pints, colored Mason 1858s. Need Peerless pint, Lafayette Profile pint, Keystone iron ring pint, any Keystone jars in colors. DAVE EIFLER, EIFLERS@comcast.net, 269-3621302, Buchanan, Michigan. 6/21

WANTED: Bennett Pieters & Co / 21 River Street / Chicago, in olive green. Also wanted, One Quart / You Bet / Jewet & Ely / Omaha. LANSON RECKNOR, 308-940-0370. 6/21 WANTED: Anything from Hightstown or Cranbury New Jersey that I might not have. Rue Bottles, especially a M.A. RUE. Silvers bottles or tins etc. KEVIN KYLE, bottlediggerKev@aol.com, 609-209-4034. 7/21 WANTED: Warner Safe Bottles and gowiths. Buy-Sell-Trade. MIKE & KATHIE CRAIG, 408-591-6511. 6/21 WANTED: McHenry Bros Whiskey, Shamokin, PA crocks. M. Markle's Eagle Run Brewery Shamokin, PA. Trays, Signs, Glasses, Bottles. Fuhrmann & Schmidt Brewing Company Pre Pro items, trays, bottles, etc. Thos Maher crocks, Shamokin, Feldhoff Zimmerman, Feldhoff & Co. crocks, bottles. C. YODER, su76@ptd.net, 570-898-5553. 6/21 WANTED: "Artesian Bottling Works, Mont(a)zuma (sic), Ga.", crown top. Also, any bottle embossed "Oglethorpe, Ga." JIMMY BRAY, landrut60@gmail.com, Phone: 478-952-6706. 7/21

WANTED: Onions, blobs, codd bottles, soda's and beers, Antiques, Unusual collectibles. JOANNE, Phone: 269-9301200, rollingron81@gmail.com 6/21

WANTED: Seeking bottles and advertising from Avon, New York. Bottles in many categories - milks, bitters, Saratogas, cures, druggists, beer, soda, etc. Especially looking for a REXALL bottle from F.H. Cooper The Rexall Store - Avon, N.Y. Also, half pint strap side flasks in colors I don't have. JIM BARTHOLOMEW, barthology@frontiernet. net, 585-705-8106. 7/21

WANTED: Embossed bottles and colorful advertisements with the name RATHJEN. Some are: Rathjen Wine Merchants, Rathjen Mercantile Co. S.F. Cal. Also any info. on the owners between 1883-1915. Even if items are not for sale. Please call or write. No texts, no internet. LES RATHJEN, 701-301-9483, 408 N. 2nd Street, #8 Bismarck, ND 58501. 6/21

WANTED: Galveston and Houston, Texas pharmacy, medicine, soda and beer bottles as well as any stoneware. Also, New Hampshire pharmacy bottles, soda bottles, stoneware jugs and crocks, medicine bottles, and beer bottles. Seeking any US Lighthouse Service or US Life Saving Service items as well. BRANDON DeWOLFE, brandondewolfe@ hotmail.com, 713-247-9555. 6/21

Buy TradeClassified Ads

SELL

WANTED: Blobtops, Hutches, jugs, flasks from Hazleton, Freeland, Audenried, Sheppton, Weston, Nuremberg, Hopeville, Seiwelsville, Yorktown, Weatherly, Shenandoah, Tamaqua, Summit Hill, Ashland, Eckly, Girardville, Locust Gap, Silver Brook Station. Also looking for 19381939-1940-1941 Ford Truck Parts! TED KAPES, 570-788-2158. 6/21 WANTED: Pontiled Sarsaparilla Bottles of quality condition. Email or call. dumondmd55@gmail.com, 207-607-0058. 7/21 WANTED: Pontiled medicines from Midwestern states & Louisville. SCOTT GARROW, 630-450-2524. 7/21 WANTED: Any New Bedford (MA) Bottles, Stoneware, Trade Cards, 1. Brownell & Brownell & Wheaton Cobalt Sodas, Charley Ross Bottles. RON TETRAULT, arjaytee777@gmail.com, 508-999-0275. 7/21 WANTED: 26-Ogival Stiegel bottle. JAMES DUGUID, 540-937-4727. 7/21 WANTED: Harpers Ferry or Charlestown West Virginia bottles or go withs. Also Brunswick Maryland and Loudoun County Virginia bottles. I have bottles for sale or trade. fitzh20s@aol.com, 703-929-8144. 6/21 WANTED: HG 'Clyde Mason's Improved' RB-622; mason's base embossed = 'E.R. & CO. 1' RB-1879-1; 'MS (S W)' RB - 1888-1 paying book price; Paper goods and bottles of 'Fire Grenade Extinguishers' (buying/selling); Clyde Glass Works, Clyde NY items; any size aqua OP / smooth base 'Klinks Nerve And Bone Elixer.' CHARLIE BETTS, 315-5879614, cpb55@rochester.rr.com 6/21

WANTED: Jar Lid for Cohansey 2 1/2 Gallon R.B. #628. EDDIE DeHAVEN, 609-390-1898, 23 W. Golden Oak Lane Marmora, NJ 08223. 8/21 WANTED: For research project: Two Vermont drugstore bottles: Dr. W.S. Nay / Underhill, VT. and Jericho Drugstore / Jericho, VT. Mint condition, please. DON FRITSCHEL, donfritschel@gmail.com, 970-477-4643. 7/21 WANTED: L. Brownell Cobalt Blue pontiled New Bedford Soda. Nice, clean example, no ground staining, chips or cracks please. I am NOT a dealer and wish to add to my personal collection. scorey291@comcast.net 6/21 WANTED: Washington County, MD bottles ARLIE GIFFT, 301-432-6473. 7/21 WANTED: For Collection: Pre-1880 Albany NY bottles and flasks, also related ephemera, broadsides, labels, etc. BUYING FOR RESALE: a wide range of North American historical paper, advertising and ephemera, e.g. broadsides, pamphlets, trade catalogs, travel brochures, maps, manuscript items, pre-1880 newspapers, sheet music, etc. PETER LUKE, 518-756-6492. 6/21 WANTED: Looking to buy rare and unusual pint fruit jars. Top dollar paid. DAVE, dbrown3950@comcast.net 6/21 WANTED: Cleveland Ohio Color Drug Stores and Medicines. Painesville and Chardon Ohio Bottles. Howdy to the Dover boys, Steve and Tim. Thanks! BOB SMITH, 440-318-4143. 7/21

WANTED: Old metal signs in excellent condition. Whiskey, Beer, Tobacco etc. Beautiful graphics. Porcelain and tin just as good. ED, 530-795-0360. 7/21

WANTED: Cox's Stomach Bitters, Tootle & Charles (square bitters shape), Kennedy's East India Bitters (medium size), Royal Bodega 4th & Pearl (aqua Beer), Alpine Bitters Hartwigs Celebrated Brew & Bemis Omaha. MARK WATERBURY, 712-898-7583, mwater51@siouxland.com 7/21

WANTED: Amazon Bitters, Liquor Bottles from Utica, NY. PETER McQUADE, 802695-3393. 7/21

WANTED: Buy, sell, trade Mississippi Gulf Coast bottles. ONDIE LADNER, 228-6699850. 7/21

WANTED: Florida Strap-sided Flasks! I also collect Florida Drugstore Bottles. Also, wanted Florida Bottling Works that I don't have. RONNIE McCORMICK, oldflabottles@gmail.com, Phone: 352-2628672. 7/21 WANTED: Top prices paid for Baltimore colored sodas and ales, especially Ten Pins & Torpedo's. GREG SMITH, 443-417-3916. 8/21 WANTED: Midwestern Bottles and Flask. SODA - Akron Ohio, "T.H. Wyatt-Proprietor Akron, Ohio" Squat. Iron pontil. Cobalt blue. JIM, 330-699-0580. 7/21 WANTED: Looking for a square Bitters bottle - Farrar's bitters. Amber Coca-Cola from Lynchburg, VA with OBLo - 1292 on base. Drugstore clear 8 1/2" tall Faukner & Craighill Lynchburg, VA with monogram E&C on front. 434-969-8257. 6/21 WANTED: Embossed Maine Druggist / Pharmacy / Apothecary bottles. Phone: 207409-4135, nostrebor@comcast.net 7/21 WANTED: Indiana Blob Beers and Sodas. ChicagoLand Blob Beers and Sodas and embossed milk bottles. CHRIS JORDAN, 219-299-7582. 6/21 WANTED: 1940 Sumter County Florida license plate. This would be the "44" County designation prefix number. Good to better condition. Please call and leave message; all calls screened. Thank you. GENE, 352-2889450. 7/21 WANTED: Scarce medicines with crudeness and character, hinge mold or pontiled. Also wanted, scarce poison bottles, American or foreign. Especially want "Clarke's Embalming Fluid/Springfield, Ohio" with the word POISON embossed on the back. Also, other embalming bottles with the word POISON. Also wanted, H.K. Mulford Chemists poison bottle in amber, with the word POISON embossed on it. Thank you. MARC STOLZER, 732-572-9554, 613 Village Drive, Edison, NJ 08817. 8/21 June 2021

Buy TradeClassified Ads

SELL

WANTED: Simonds Embossed or/and Labeled Bottles and Stoneware. RAY SIMONDS, tsimo123@comcast.net, 41 Mason Farm Road, Ringoes, NJ 08551. 8/21 WANTED: Rare Dr. Kilmer examples (such as sample bottles of Cough Cure or Female Remedy) or any examples with contents/ boxes/circulars. Also, rare cobalt "Extract of Witch Hazel, 8" (see Adams' Bottle Collecting In New England, page 30). Also, if anyone has the prices realized list from the 1976 Charles Vuono auction, I would greatly appreciate if it they would scan it and email it to me. MIKE, maleect@aol.com, 623-825-2791. 7/21

Remember: Advertising doesn’t cost,

IT PAYS! A display ad this size costs only $30.00 for one month. What are you waiting for? Call us today!

CORRECTIONS — Antique Bottle & Glass Collector wants to correct mistakes appearing in our magazine. If you believe we have made a mistake, please call us at 248.486.0530, or e-mail us at: jpastor@americanglassgallery.com

WANTED: Good reward paid for 5 inch aqua bromo-seltzer bottle. Looking for Bel Air MD and Delta PA items. STEVE CIBOROWSKI, cobaltbot@yahoo.com, 410-459-7610. 7/21 WANTED: Looking for Michigan Milk Bottles - embossed and pyroglazed - war slogans, nursery rhymes, etc. Also pre1900 Michigan Bottles of all types - one or a collection. STEVE DeBOODE, thebottleguy@comcast.net, 616-667-0214. 7/21 WANTED: Madison WI - Cobalt Lindstrom, Stocton & Co, Dr. Bourbon's Aromatic forest bitters or Pumonic Balsam; Dr. W.C. Abaly: J.& A.L.; Adolph Wagner - John Rodermund. Also Fond duLoc, WI Indian Blood Bitters, Warner's Log Cabin Sarsaparilla. DICK BOOSTED, 920-566-2513. 7/21 WANTED: Antique jug (any size) with name of MORTON on it. Contact me by email or phone. dfurda@roadrunner.com, Phone: 818889-5451. 8/21 WANTED: Clarke's Vegetable Sherry Wine Bitters, Sharon, MA & Rockland, ME. All sizes, variants, smooth/pontil base. Especially need labeled Clarke's any size. Also, any Clarke's ephemera - trade cards, almanacs, news ads, etc. CHARLIE MARTIN, cemartinjr@comcast.net, 781-248-8620. 8/21

Antique Bottle & Glass Collector

Show CALENDAR JUNE 6

JUNE 26

AUGUST 6 & 7

BALLSTON SPA, NEW YORK

TULSA, OKLAHOMA

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK

The National Bottle Museum presents the Annual Saratoga Springs Show & Sale, (9 AM to 2:30 PM; early adm. 8 AM, $15), at the Saratoga County Fairgrounds, 4H building, 162 Prospect St, Ballston Spa, NY. Adm. $5, Children 12 and under free. Info: NATIONAL BOTTLE MUSEUM, 76 Milton Avenue, Ballston Spa, NY 12020. PH. 518.885.7589; Email: info@nationalbottlemuseum.org.

The Tulsa Antiques & Bottle Club 43rd Annual Antique Advertising and Bottle Show, (8AM to 4PM; Dealer set-up 10AM to 6PM Friday, and 6 to 8AM Saturday), at the Tulsa Flea Market in the River Spirit Expo Building, Tulsa Fairgrounds at 21st St. and Pittsburgh Avenue. Free Adm! Info: HENRY TANKERSLEY, PH: 918.663.3218, Email: henrytankersley@gmail.com, or: RICHARD CARR, PH: 918.687.4150 or 918.616.3273, Email: privy1964@yahoo.com

FOHBC 2021 National Antique Bottle Show, OnCenter Civic Center, Syracuse, N.Y. View and download info. packet & contract at fohbc.org. Additional info: JIM & VAL BERRY, Email: jhberry10@yahoo.com, or: JIM BENDER, Email: jbender@millservicesinc. com. FOHBC National Show – Eastern Region.

JUNE 12 CAMBRIDGE CITY, INDIANA Cambridge City Jar & Antique Show, (9 AM to 3 PM, dealer set-up 7:00 AM), outdoors at Crietz Park, 150 N. Foote St, Cambridge City, IN. Info: MARTY TROXELL, PH. 765.478.3800. JUNE 19 JOHNSTON, IOWA The Iowa Antique Bottleers 51st Annual Antique Bottle & Collectibles Show and Sale, (8 AM to 2 PM; Early buyers 6 AM), at the Johnston Lions Club, 64th Place and Merle Hay Road, Johnston, IA. Adm. $2, Children Free. Info: MARK WISEMAN, 3305 Sheridan Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50301. PH: 515.344.8333, or JOYCE JESSEN, PH: 515.979.5216. JUNE 20 (Rain date June 27) UPTON, MASSACHUSETTS The Little Rhody Bottle Club Show & Sale, (Admission 8AM to 2PM), outdoors in the front parking lot of the Blackstone Valley Vocational Regional High School, 65 Pleasant Street, Upton, MA (Exit 21B off 495). Tables will be provided. Info: WILLIAM ROSE, 508.880.4929; Email: sierramadre@comcast. net

JULY 17 RICHMOND, RHODE ISLAND The Little Rhody Bottle Club tailgate swap meet, (9AM to 2PM) at the Jules Antique Center, 320 Kingstown Road, Richmond, Rhode Island (3 miles East of Route #95 on Route #138). Free set up for all! Bring your own tables. Info: WILLIAM ROSE, 508.880.4929; Email: sierramadre@comcast.net JULY 17 & 18 ADAMSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA The 21st Annual Shupp's Grove Summer Bottle Festival, (Sat. & Sun. 6 AM to dusk, early buyers Friday, 3 PM), at the famous 'Shupp's Grove', 607 Willow Street, Reinholds, PA 17569. Info: STEVE GUION, PH: 717.626.5557, or: 717.371.1259, Email: affinityinsurance1@windstream.net

JULY 18 ROTTERDAM JUNCTION, NEW YORK New date, New location! The Capital Region Antique Bottle Club outdoor Show & Sale, at the Historic Mabee Farm along the Mohawk River, 1100 Main Street, Rotterdam, NY (exit 1, Rt. 5S off 890). Info: ADAM STODDARD, PH: 518.256.7663; Email: acstoddard63@ gmail.com, or: PHIL BERNNARD, PH: 518.429.7641; Email: explomar@hotmail.com

AUGUST 15 POUGHKEEPSIE, NEW YORK Hudson Valley Bottle Club 34th Annual Mid Hudson Bottle Show & Sale, (9AM to 2:30PM, early buyers 8AM), at the Poughkeepsie Elks Lodge 275, 29 Overocker Rd., Poughkeepsie, NY. Info: MIKE STEPHANO, 27 Rogers Rd, Hyde Park, NY 12538, PH. 845.233.4340; Email: mjsantique@aol.com AUGUST 16 – 22 BOUCKVILLE, NEW YORK 50th Annual Madison-Bouckville Antique Show, outdoor antiques and collectibles including two huge bottle tents! Over 2,000 dealers and vendors located on scenic Route 20, Bouckville, NY. Info: JIM BURNS, 315.527.3269 or JIM BARTHOLOMEW, 585.705.8106. AUGUST 22 FLORENCE, KENTUCKY New Location! 3rd Annual Northern Kentucky Antique Bottle & Small Antiques Show, (9AM to 2PM; Early Bird, 8AM, $10) at the Florence Lions Club, 29 LaCresta Drive, Florence, KY. Adm. $3. Info: ED MORRIS, PH: 859.414.4693; email: ed@morristreasures. com, or: RANDY DEATON, email: nkyfinds@gmail.com

June 2021

Show CALENDAR AUGUST 28

SEPTEMBER 19

NOVEMBER 14

BRIMFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS

CHEEKTOWAGA, NEW YORK

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA

New date, New Location! 51st Annual Somers Antique Bottle Club Show & Sale, (9AM to 2PM) at the Brimfield Auction Acres, 35 Main Street, Brimfield, MA. Adm. $5 (Free parking). Info: DON DESJARDINS, 22 Anderson Rd., Ware, MA 01082. Ph: 413.687.4808, Email: dondes@comcast.net

The Greater Buffalo Bottle Collectors Association 22nd Annual Show and Sale, (9:00 AM to 2:00 PM), at the Polish Falcons Hall, 445 Columbia Avenue, Depew, NY. Info: TOM KARAPANTSO, 716.487.9645, email: tomar@stny.rr.com, or: PETER JABLONSKI, 716.440.7985, email: peterjablonski@roadrunner.com; or JOE GUERRA, 716.207.9948, email: jguerra3@ roadrunner.com

New Location! The Pittsburgh Antique Bottle Club’s 51st Annual Show & Sale, (9 AM to 2 PM, early buyers 7 AM), at the Elizabeth VFD Event Center, 107 Market Street, Elizabeth, PA. Info: BOB DeCROO, 694 Fayette City Rd., Fayette City, PA 15438. PH: 724.326.8741, or, JAY HAWKINS, 1280 Mt. Pleasant Rd., West Newton, PA 15089, web: www.PittsburghAntiqueBottleClub.org PH: 724.872.6013.

SEPTEMBER 19

JULY 28 - AUGUST 1, 2022

WESTFORD, MASSACHUSETTS

RENO, NEVADA

The Merrimack Valley Antique Bottle Club’s 46th annual bottle show, (9AM to 2PM, early buyers at 8AM), at the Westford Regency Inn, 219 Littleton Road, Westford, MA. Just five minutes off Exit 32 of I-495 follow the signs. Adm. $4. Info: KEVIN CANTRELL, PH. 978.551.6397; Email; kmcantrell86@gmail. com Website: www.mvabc.org

FOHBC 2022 National Antique Bottle Convention & Expo, Grand Sierra Resort & Casino. Information: RICHARD SIRI, email: rtsiri@sbcglobal.net, or FERDINAND MEYER V, email: fmeyer@fmgdesign.com. FOHBC National Convention – Western Region.

SEPTEMBER 11 & 12 ADAMSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA Special Shupp's Grove Fall Bottle Festival, (Sat. & Sun. 6 AM to dusk, early buyers Friday, 3 PM), at the famous 'Shupp's Grove', 607 Willow Street, Reinholds, PA 17569. Info: STEVE GUION, PH: 717.626.5557, or: 717.371.1259, Email: affinityinsurance1@ windstream.net SEPTEMBER 12 PEKIN, ILLINOIS Pekin Bottle Collectors Assoc. 51st Annual Show & Sale (8:00 AM to 3:00 PM), at the Moose Lodge, 2605 Broadway Street, Pekin, IL. Admission $2, Free Appraisals. Info: DARYL WESELOH, PH: 309.264.9268. SEPTEMBER 17 & 18 AURORA, OREGON Oregon Bottle Collectors Association Bottle, Antiques, & Collectibles Show & Sale, (Friday 12 - 5PM, dealer set-up & early admission $5; Sat. 9AM - 3PM general adm. by donation), at the American Legion Hall, 21510 Main St. N.E., Aurora, OR. Info: WAYNE HERRING, Ph: 503.864.2009; or: BILL BOGYNSKA, email: billbogy7@gmail.com, Phone: 503.657.1726. SEPTEMBER 18 RICHMOND, RHODE ISLAND The Little Rhody Bottle Club tailgate swap meet, (9AM to 2PM) at the Jules Antique Center, 320 Kingstown Road, Richmond, Rhode Island (3 miles East of Route #95 on Route #138). Free set up for all! Bring your own tables. Info: WILLIAM ROSE, 508.880.4929; Email: sierramadre@comcast.net

Antique Bottle & Glass Collector

SEPTEMBER 26 BALTIMORE, MARYLAND Rescheduled from March! The Baltimore Antique Bottle Club's 41st Annual Show & Sale, (9 AM to 3 PM), at the Physical Education Center, CCBC-Essex, 7201 Rossvile Blvd. (I-695, Exit 34), Rosedale, MD. Info: Show Chairman RICK LEASE, 410-4589405, email: finksburg21@comcast.net. For contracts, call: ANDY AGNEW, 410-5271707 or email: medbotls@comcast.net. Website: baltimorebottleclub.org. OCTOBER 23 MACUNGIE, PENNSYLVANIA New Date - New Location! Forks of the Delaware Bottle Collectors Association 47th Annual Show & Sale (9AM to 2PM, early buyers 7:30 AM), at the Macungie Park Hall, Macungie, PA, Info: BILL HEGEDUS, PH: 610.264.3130; email: forksofthedelawarebottles@hotmail.com.

D ATTENTION READERS: Due to COVID-19 precautions, a number of upcoming bottle shows have been postponed or cancelled. Please check with local show chairperson to see if your favorite shows are affected. We will have further updates in future issues as new information becomes available. Thanks.

Buy Trade Classified Ads

SELL

Subscribers -

Please don't forget to use your 60-Word FREE classified ad credit in the magazine. Email, or "snail-mail" your ad to us! Libby@AmericanGlassGallery.com P.O. Box 227 New Hudson, MI 48165

Join us August 16th - August 22nd at New York State’s largest antique show,

Madison-Bouckville, NY, on scenic Rt. 20 Dealers - Buyers - Friends Collectors What do we sell and collect? Bottles and milk bottles, stoneware, advertising, kitchen collectibles, political, furniture, antiques, just about everything!

What do we expect? For all to have a good time, for you to come and converse, buy from, sell to, with some of the most knowledgeable bottle and antique collectors in the area.

How many days do I have to set up? Set up 1 day, set up 7 days... whatever works for you!

For table information, contact: Jim Burns: 315-527-3269, or Jim Bartholomew: 585-705-8106

June 2021

The Van Bergens

and “The Holy Grail” of Western Whiskeys By Jack Sullivan

hown here is just a portion of a labelunder-glass Gold Dust Whiskey back-of-the-bar bottle that has been termed “The Holy Grail” of Western whiskeys (Figure 1). Some speculate this bottle may be one-of-a-kind while knowing that at one time others certainly did exist. The Van Bergens, whose San Francisco liquor house issued the “Grail” circa 1880, would be stunned at the current value of a bottle that originally was given away. If one were found it might well sell for five figures at auction. The Van Bergens were among the earliest pioneers in liquor sales in San Francisco. John Van Bergen, who had emigrated from Hanover, Germany, as a youth in the 1830s, settled initially in New York. He is recorded surfacing in San Francisco in 1851 selling general merchandise. The following year he opened a wholesale liquor business he called “John Van Bergen & Co.” Joining John on the West Coast was Nicholas Van Bergen (Figure 2). He was born in Hanover in August 1821, likely a younger brother. From a passport document we know that at the age of 17 Nicholas arrived in New York from Germany in the summer of 1838 aboard the steamship Isabella out of Bremerhaven. Over

Antique Bottle & Glass Collector

the next decade, he established himself as a New York grocer and married. His bride was Rebecca, also from Hanover and six years his junior. Their first three children would be born in New York. Five more would follow. When John beckoned in 1856, Nicholas responded, bringing Rebecca and his young family across the continent to San Francisco. Future events indicated that he would find the environment there more cordial than his brother. By 1867 John Van Bergen was recorded in business directories as having returned to live in Germany, apparently leaving day-to-day management of the liquor business to Nicholas. The latter soon found lifelong friends among leading citizens of San Francisco and gained a reputation as a canny businessman. Nicholas pursued a marketing strategy somewhat different from his competition. Rather than blending his own proprietary brands of whiskey, he bought the rights to established labels. One was a whiskey called “Gold Dust.” The brand came from Kentucky, bearing the name of a nationally famous horse. The trotting stallion is shown here in a Currier & Ives print (Figure 3). Barkhouse Brothers, distillers in Louisville, trademarked the name in January 1872. Seeing Gold Dust Whiskey as a natural for the San Francisco drinking public, Van Bergen contracted with the Barkhouses to become the sole distributor for the bourbon on the West Coast (Figure 4). The brand proved so successful in California that in 1880 he purchased all rights to the label and became sole proprietor. He used the same style of bottles as the Barkhouse Brothers, sometimes peening out the old name and adding their own. Those glass containers came in both aqua and shades of amber (Figures 5-7). A number of variations exist in both colors, some more rare than others, sparking considerable interest in the collectors of Western whiskeys. All are considered rare

2 3

and fetch fancy prices when upon rare occasion they come up for sale. Several years ago an aqua Gold Dust bottle sold for $38,000, a record. As a result, the highly elusive Van Bergen Gold Dust back-of-the-bar bottle that opens this post is believed to be even more valuable and the “Holy Grail.” Some have seen it as “one of a kind” but the economics of creating a label under glass would indicate that more were made by Nicholas Van Bergen, whose name was attached. In 1874 John Van Bergen had sold his share of the company to Nicholas who wasted no time in changing the name to N. Van Bergen & Company, a name that also graced shot glasses advertising Gold Dust whiskey (Figure 8).

Not all of Van Bergens’ selections apparently proved profitable. During the 1870s the company also gained the rights to “Old Woodburn Whiskey” (Figure 9). This was a brand of the Cook & Bernheimer Company of New York City who trademarked the name in 1870. The bottle also is considered one of the most desirable of Western whiskeys since only three specimens, one shown here, are known. Because the bottle is so rare some assume the brand did not do well on the West Coast and was produced by Van Bergens for only one or two years. The mid-1870s were a period of change for Nicholas. Not only was the liquor house now under his major ownership, he brought into the business his eldest son, John W. Van Bergen. As he aged, Nicholas increasingly turned the business over to him and spent his time fraternising with other San Francisco “pioneers.” Nicholas died on November 10, 1898 at the age of 77. He was buried in Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma, California, just outside San Francisco.

politically as a California Republican and hailed as “one of the leading citizens of San Francisco.” With John W.’s death in 1916 at age 64, the N. Bergen Company came to an end, disappearing from city directories, along with Gold Dust Whiskey. Diggers in California regularly seem to unearth Van Bergen bottles. Others have been found squirreled away in attics and basements. Each new find sends a tremor of anticipation through the collector community. Convinced as I am that the Gold Dust back-of-the-bar bottle was not “one of a kind,” I anticipate news someday that a second or perhaps more examples of the Van Bergen “Holy Grail” have surfaced and big bucks are on the table.

Note: This post has been drawn from a wide range of sources, as have the images shown. In addition to the references provided in the text, the genealogy and city directories available from ancestry. com were particularly valuable, as were information and images from the Western Whiskey Gazette website and the FOHBC Virtual Bottle Museum. My appreciation goes to both.

Shown here in a caricature (Figure 10) from the 1912 book, Men Who Made San Francisco, John W. Van Bergen carried on the liquor house his uncle and father had founded 32 years earlier. He also was active June 2021

Antique Bottle & Glass Collector

Collecting New York City

Slugplate Strap Flasks

There is a whole world of color, diversity and history around these ‘orphan’ bottles By Mark R. Smith

ard to say exactly when it all began, but safe to say it was a long time ago, at least 45 years, likely a few more.

east of where I reside. I found this flask to be quite fascinating, given the large amount of embossing on it, along with the interesting shape.

As a young digger and collector, in my region local bottles such as blob tops, Hutchs, druggists and milk bottles were quite popular, and remain so to this day. However, rarely did anyone encounter embossed flasks.

Sometime after this, prowling the shops helped me add several embossed flasks from the town of Greenport, located at the end of Long Island’s North Fork. To me these were most interesting, and these flasks, along with several from another Long Island town, Huntington, followed me home.

I believe the first flask I ever owned, and still do, is a half-pint coffin flask from Patchogue, a town about five miles to the PHOTOS (previous page): Meyer’s Hotel (Harry D. Meyer): "WARRANTED / MEYER’S HOTEL / 119 SOUTH STREET / COR. PECK SLIP / NEW YORK" Half pint; clear / SCA; strap side. Listings found: 1902-15: Harry D. Meyer Retail Wine & Liquor dealer at 119 South St. No listings for 1916. The Old Homestead: "THE OLD HOMESTEAD / H. DITTMER / COR. WYTHE AVE. & / SO. 5TH ST. / BROOKLYN, N.Y." Half pint, clear, strap side flask. Listings found 1902-1905, Liquors and Lager Beer saloons at 57 S. 5th St. In 1906, Henry Dittmer is now at Norstrand Cor, Clarkson Ave. Peter Dittmer is listed at 57 S. 5th St. Retired Champion (Ernest Roeber): "WARRANTED / E. ROEBER / RETIRED CHAMPION / 499 SIXTH AVE / COR. 30TH / NEW YORK" Half pint, clear, strap side. Listings found 1902 - 1906. Note: Mr. Roeber was in fact one of the fathers of today’s professional wrestling. He was a professional wrestler, and the holder of the European Greco-Roman heavyweight title, 1894-1900, 1900-1901. He also held the American championship from 1887-1890.

One thing that intrigued me from quite early in the bottle hobby was that these flasks seemed to be, for lack of a better word, orphans. Many in the hobby were looking for local blob tops, milks, and Hutchs, yet these flasks could be had at shops, club meetings and shows for what was, in my mind, a song. I would add variants as they would appear, but just from Long Island. The flask collection grew slowly, but steadily. Now this is not to say that I did not collect other bottles. I certainly had my share of local blob tops, Hutchs, and milks. Oh, and how could I forget local pottery, principally from the Huntington, Long Island area. About 1991 or ’92, a long-time friend and mentor in the hobby was retiring and

downsizing their formidable collection and gave me a call. Would I have an interest in his flasks, both from Long Island, and Brooklyn? I was quite honored that he would think of me, and naturally an enthusiastic YES was my reply, and a deal was quickly struck. There were examples from New York City that he threw in. So I now had a few dozen of each, Long Island and Brooklyn strap flasks. The amber examples from Brooklyn really caught my eye, as prior to this I had only seen clear examples from out here on Long Island. With my collection of Long Island stoneware growing, and a collection of flasks expanding, something needed to give to make some space, and my local blob tops and Hutches were sold, reserving only those very, very near to my town of Sayville. It was a master stroke on my part, as I gained much needed shelf space for more flasks and stoneware. Attending bottle shows in the tristate area I would continue to pick up Brooklyn flasks as I saw them. The prices were quite reasonable, yet rarely was a duplicate seen, which was an added attraction. Chatting with the diggers in the bottle club revealed that they did not find many of these flasks either. While scanning tables for Brooklyn flasks, I could not help but June 2021

Angelbecks Hotel: "ANGELBECK'S HOTEL / 2274-8TH AVE /COR. 122ND ST. / N.Y." Pint, amber, strap side, c. 1902-1906.

Ford's Hotel: "FORDS / 620 8TH AVE / COR 4OTH ST / NEW YORK" Half pint, amber, strap-sided. Listings found: 1885 - 1895: Liquor Dealer, 620 8th Ave; 1902 1903: Retail Wine and Liquor Dealer, 620 8th Ave (no listing in 1904.)

Forster House: "FORSTER HOUSE / W.D. GARLICHS / PROPR. / 138-140 EAST 59TH ST. N.Y." Half pint, amber, strap side flask.

Antique Bottle & Glass Collector

Hotel Borough: "HOTEL / BOROUGH / JULIUS SIMON / 98 LEXINGTON AVE. / SW COR. 27TH ST. / N.Y. CITY" Half pint, amber, strap side. Listings found: 19021906, retail wine and liquor dealer. 1910: Retail Wine & Liquor Dealer at 98 Lexington Ave. and at 200 St. Nicholas Ave.

Continental Hotel - MERRIFIELD, E. L. (Edward L.): CONTINENTAL HOTEL / 20TH St & BROADWAY / N.Y. / E. L. MERRIFIELD" Half pint, amber, strap side, threaded neck with ground lip. Note; retains the original cap marked: "Hastings & Hahn / Glass Manfrs / 55 Murray St. NY." Listings found 1875 - 1903.

The Owl: "HENRY KLINKER, JR / THE OWL / 748-10TH AVE / S.E. COR. 51ST ST / NEW YORK / ONE HALF PINT / FULL MEASURE" Amber, strap side. Note: Base embossed: “L. & M. G. / 182 FULTON ST./ N.Y.” Listings: 1875 - A Henry Klinker is listed in the grocery business at 748 10th Ave; 1880 - Listed as a feed dealer at 456 W. 15th St. and liquor dealer at 78 10th Ave. Possible typesetting error on the 748 10th Ave. address.

June 2021

The Franklin - (SCHUMACHER, AUGUST F): "A. F. SCHUMACHER / THE / FRANKLIN / 237 WILLIS AVE. / COR. 138TH ST. / NEW YORK" Half pint, amber, strap side. Listings found 1902-1905.

Park & Tilford (Joseph Park & Charles Tilford): "PARK & TILFORD / NEW YORK" Half pint, amber, picnic style, private mold, applied top. Listings were found from 1875 through 1895 at various addresses on Broadway, as well as on 5th and 6th Avenues. While no further listings could be found after 1915, the Park & Tilford name did exist on whiskey bottles into the 1940s or 1950s. Note: some of the listings were found under Grocer, others in Wine & Liquors. Even though the bottle may be embossed, "Hotel", it may not appear in the hotel section.

Central Hotel (WILKING, HERMAN): "CENTRAL HOTEL / 272 & 273 / WEST ST. N.Y. / HERM. WILKING, PROP." Half pint, amber, strap side, threaded neck, ground lip. Listings found 1885 - 1902.

Antique Bottle & Glass Collector

notice that there were all manner of flasks from New York City: pumpkinseed, shoofly, coffin and strap-sided examples, and like the Brooklyn examples, rarely was a duplicate spotted. My wife and I could attend a show, and bring home ten or fifteen new flasks at a time. Man, this was awesome in my mind. I would constantly notice that there were very few duplicate flasks seen, as I did not want every one I saw, but only what was different. Many mental notes were made.

Hotels and theaters had their names embossed on flasks, sometimes even former professional athletes. Other flasks are tied in to either railroads, such as the Central Rail Road or railroad stations, such as Grand Central Terminal (which are among my favorites). It seemed that in New York City there was a business of some kind selling liquor on every street corner, and in the middle of each block as well. Some clever names were created too, such as “The Owl.”

I found the flasks absolutely fascinating. Sizes ranged from one half ounce to quart, and there were a wide variety of colors, from clear and aqua to shades of amber and citron. The variations in the form of the flasks were also eye-catching. There is a noticeable range in the size of the flasks, thicker, wider, taller, shorter. There are drippy applied tops, refired tooled tops, and even the occasional oddity, such as a citrate or whiskey finish on a flask. Perhaps the glassblower grabbed the wrong lipping tool a century ago. In 1998, we purchased a computer and went online. Oh, what fun that was, learning how to search on eBay in the early days for flasks and to research them. Learning about them is just as interesting and rewarding as collecting them. I could learn that this address was on the waterfront, or that another was where the World Trade Center used to stand in lower Manhattan. This firm was a grocery store, a tea merchant, another a saloon. Not all who used these flasks were liquor stores or bars. Some were in business for many years, a few survive to this day, others just one year and were never seen again. Others changed addresses every few years, and some addresses hosted multiple owners over the years.

Some flasks read like a menu, offering brandy, whiskey, cordials, wines, imported and domestic, all on a slug plate. The craftsmen who cut some of these were amazing to get all of this information on, and make it look good to boot. There are others where either it was Friday at 4:59 and the craftsman was rushing, or it was 8:01 on Monday morning after a very rough weekend. Others were in script, and some are cut on an angle. The diversity and quantity of slugplate flasks from New York City is perhaps unparalleled anywhere else in the country. Having collected and researched them for now a good thirty years, it is both fun and a learning experience with every new example added. Oh, and that reminds me. I have to visit the home center for some wood, as I need some more shelf space.

Central Rail Road House: "CENTRAL R.R. HOUSE / COR. LIBERTY & WEST STS. / HERMAN RAUB / NEW YORK" Pint, amber, strap side. Listings found: 1902 - The Central R.R. Hotel at 146 Liberty St; 1902-03: A listing for the Raub Hotel Co. a retail wine and liquor dealer at 38 E. 14th St. & 41 Franklin. Subsequent listings at other addresses through 1910.

Others are “The Two Owls” and “Gee Whiz It’s Good” (what a name!). As part of the embossing other flasks offer “1 cent for return.” Our deposit laws of today seem more like a flashback than an advance, and that penny was a heck of a lot more at that time than a nickel is today.

Editor’s note: Per Wikipedia: Greenport was a major port for its area, having developed a strong fishing and whaling industry in the past, although currently there are only a handful of commercial fishing vessels operating out of Greenport. The village port, settled in 1682, was called Winter Harbor, Stirling and Green Hill and was incorporated in 1838. Greenport, since 1844, has been the eastern terminal station on the north fork for the Long Island Rail Road. During Prohibition, rum running and speakeasies became a significant part of Greenport’s economy. Many of the village’s older structures are included in the Greenport Village Historic District, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. June 2021

Boston Hop Bitters? Ralph doesn’t know beans. This bottle is via Australia Notes compiled by confessor Ralph Finch

ecently, I came across Lot 867, an interesting bottle, and one that always garners the same response when an American collector first finds one: “Huh?” It was offered a few months ago by the ABCR auction house of Travis Dunn, editor of the Australian Bottle and Collectables Review. This sale, from Victoria, Australia, was ABCR’s 43rd auction, and contained 969 items! Lot 867 has a good American name, and then we learn… Embossing: “Boston Hop Bitters (within a flag). Around shoulder: Boston Hop Bitters. No base mark. Semi-Cabin, indented panels, applied top, dark amber. 26 oz. A good example of this very rare Australian bitters bottle, this is the earlier amber Boston bitters which is darker and has the chamfered base corners. This is a lot rarer than the later amber Bostons.” Opening bid was $50 Aussie. (All items have a 10 percent buyers fee.)

I initially thought that the Boston Hop Bitters wasn’t a super-rare bottle. But if you wanted one it could take you awhile to find it. Perhaps go to an English bottle show once we are allowed into the country. While usually found in amber, it is also found in cobalt blue and pale green.

The ABCR’s amber Boston Hop Bitters

Antique Bottle & Glass Collector

In the old days, when the Finches went to England at least once a year, Glass Works Auctions’ Jim Hagenbuch would go several times a year, visiting most of the

big British markets, and would buy any Hop Bitters he could find. They seemed to have but modest interest there, but Jim knew the “Boston” and “Hop Bitters” words had appeal on this side of the pond. When Jim got back to the States, they went into his auctions. I’m sure they paid for his trips. (NOTICE: This paragraph is somewhat incorrect!) Then Alan Blakeman, England’s No. 1 bottle magazine man and show promoter, suggested that I was wrong again. He simply said: “Not seen a Boston Hop Bitters for years.” To make it worse (for me) Travis Dunn sent the following information, and also suggested that I am way wrong. (Boy, that has never happened before. LOL) Travis writes: “Hi, Ralph. As for the Boston Bitters, they are quite a rare and sought-after Australian bitters. There are a couple of types available; Lot 868 is an amber example which is very hard to get, but the most available of the types. This one is in poor condition with repaired holes to the corners; these have quite thin glass at the corners and often have damage in these locations. “Lot 867 is an earlier variety, a darker amber colour with chamfered base edge corners. These early varieties are very rare. “Lot 880 is also quite rare, the aqua glass example, but without the lovely colour it will not sell for as much as the amber variety. Would you believe there exists an

example of Boston Hop Bitters in dark cobalt blue glass! An exceptionally rare bottle, if one were to ever come up for sale it would likely be one of the dearest bottles ever sold in Australia!

troubles so that you can buy something scarce for yourself, such as toilet paper maybe?”

“As to why these Australian bottles bear a U.S. flag trade mark and the name Boston Hop Bitters is up for debate.

The January amber sold for $10,000, with 52 bids. With the 10 percent buyer’s premium that’s $7,310 in U.S. dollars. And shipping all the way up from Down Under can be impressive.

“In Australia we have a range of bitters brands including Boston, New York and St. Louis bitters, which all have similar U.S. flag branding to them, then we also have similar shaped Milwaukee bitters with the American Eagle as a trade mark.

The auction had a green version, too. Lot 880, in rather sad condition, sold for $410 (Aussie). Bitters man Bob Strickhart added: “I do think the green one is more attractive somehow. Maybe someday I’ll find one.”

“All are Australian bottles, but are clearly trying not to be Australian! Mostly they date from around the 1880s, a time when industry in Australia was in its infancy and often thought of as being inferior to U.S. or U.K. industry.

Travis Dunn commented (amusingly) on the Boston: “Lot 867 finished at an even $10,000. I knew it was a rare and sought-after variant, hence the estimate of $2,000-3,000. There is a slight possibility that maybe I didn’t realise how sough-after it would be?”

“Bitters being a popular drink in the United States had a good reputation out of that country, and so when some Australian companies decided to produce bitters, they likely attempted to cash in on the popularity of the American bitters by coming up with these distinctly American brands which, in fact, had nothing to do with the U.S. “There was also a large contingent of United States migrants in Australia after the gold rush in the mid-1800s, with some thoughts being that the American names were created to cater for this influx of migrants. Who knows for sure the reasoning as there is very little information available on these products. “One thing is certain though. A collection of Australian bitters is a very impressive sight, as there is a large range of colours available and most are quite rare as well. “Oh, and please when next at shows and you see Boston Hop Bitters bottles by the box lot for next to nicks, buy them for me, and I will gladly buy them from you and may even donate a bit extra for your

For more information, reach Travis Dunn at travis@abcrauctions.com, or call (0417) 830-939.

r And on February 7, Jim Hagenbuch added: “The bitters bottles that I found in England are the Dr. Soule’s Bitters, and they look like a Doyle’s Hop Bitters. In the 1980s-1990, I would bring back as many as 10-12 every show. I could buy them for 10-15 pounds each and get $125 on average here. They don’t sell for much more today, but you can’t get more than $40 in the U.S. now. “The Boston Hop, New York Hop and Philadelphia Hop Bitters are of Australian origin. I don’t recall seeing any in England, and I know I didn’t bring any back. “The common color is shades of aqua, they don’t sell for much, maybe $150-200 or so. They are rare in various shades of amber, deep green and teal blue, but very hard to get them out of Australia.”

Is it a DR. SOULE'S? Maybe a DOYLE'S? Want to be hip about hop bitters? Don’t confuse a Dr. Soule’s Bitters with a Doyle’s Hop Bitters. In the recent ABCR auction there was a green Bairnsdale / Hop / Bitters that sold for $5,150 Aussie. Also, a green Frisco went for $285 Aussie.

FYI (from Wikipedia): “Bitters is an herb-infused alcoholic mixture. Named for its bitter taste, the liquid was originally developed as a medicinal tonic to help soothe stomach complaints or other digestive disorders. During the late-19th and early-20th centuries, patent medicine dealers bottled and sold the elixir. Americans purchased bitters in simple moldblown bottles or ones shaped like drums, barrels, or cabins.” For complaints, bitters or sweet, email rfinch @twmi.rr.com. June 2021

Antique Bottle & Glass Collector

By John Panella and Joe Widman

HOUSE of FAHRNEY, PART 3

The business is “a-movin and a-shakin” The Evolution of his Grandfather’s Traditional Practice In the year 1864, Peter Fahrney returned to Waynesboro from Blair County. He was twenty-four, equipped with his degree and ready to work with his uncle, John Burkholder. This may be when he began to think about mass producing his grandfather’s recipes. The Blood Medicine was already being bottled in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, per advertising from 1868. His brother, Jacob Jr., was at least twenty years Peter’s senior and had been practicing in Philadelphia. This product may have been available for sale in Waynesboro. At some point in time prior to 1870 there was a labeled bottle from Waynesboro, “Dr. J. Fahrney’s Panacea,” that was incorporated into Peter and the Brothers company. Another piece of advertising shows a date of 1869, the time that Jacob Jr. decides to come home to Quincy and work in the Fahrney and Brothers company with Peter. One of the David Burkholders worked out west in some capacity as a co-traveler or a point of contact/companion when Peter in Chicago starts his move west. They tried first working in Ogle County, Ill. There was John’s son, David, and his brother, David, who both practiced in Boonsboro with Daniel Sr. and Old Peter. John Burkholder eventually steps down and sells his interest to Fahrney and the Brothers. He and his brother David were the last of the second generation who practiced with Old Peter, practicing after Daniel senior’s death.

Waynesboro postal advertising envelope for Dr. Fahrney's Celebrated Blood Cleanser.

Waynesboro and Times of Change The postage stamp used on the envelope above was discontinued in 1868, so it may give a clue as to when Jacob and Peter were in charge in Waynesboro. It was clearly in use during a transitional time as far as the Fahrneys go. Before this, Waynesboro Peter lived away from that part of his family, away from the Fahrneys, until he was old enough to learn about practicing and came back to an unfamiliar place that was being run by the Burkholders. He never had much contact with his namesakes, meeting his brothers upon return when he was fifteen, and only hearing about the Boonesboro part of the family. Daniel, on the other hand, grew up with his father and mother in charge of the large practice created by his grandfather, at the original Fahrney homestead in Maryland. Nothing much had changed and they doctored about the same way as Peter Sr. had. Jacob and Peter built a new laboratory in Waynesboro to produce the medicine. After this was completed, Waynesboro Peter moved out west in quick order

to peddle medicine. There was the attempt in Ogle County, Ill., before he decided to move on to Chicago, a grand metropolis. Here, Peter would sell to a much larger market for greater sales and profitability.

Moving Around, Competing Interests, and Exploring New Horizons As far as doctoring, it was probably the same situation in Waynesboro. Jacob Jr. was doctoring with the patent medicine in Philadelphia around the time his father died. He tried selling his son’s bottled product rather than the dry herbal teas. Burkholder was hesitant about selling Jacob’s boozy concoctions and stuck with the teas he had been selling for decades. The addition of alcohol to the mix created a new group of “patients” almost overnight. There was a considerable age difference between the two groups in Waynesboro and Boonsboro, which is significant and helps to establish a timeline during the embossed bottle era. Fitting them in as to age and ability was a straightforward comparison. Peter D. Fahrney, born in 1843, was twenty-four in 1867. Daniel Jr. born in 1851, was only fifteen. June 2021

By John Panella and Joe Widman

Memoirs say that after Daniel’s death, John Burkholder went to assist Daniel’s wife, Amy, restitute herself after her loss. Amy had become part of the practice and had a reputation as a healer. Burkholder was also a brother-in-law, married to her sister. P.D. Fahrney states in his literature that Burkholder was one of the many teachers in Boonesboro, and this would apply to Daniel Jr. as well. Even if he was off in medical school, it is safe to say that most of the students had been influenced by their predecessors. Waynesboro Peter and Hagerstown Daniel had differing views of the practices created by the famous reputation of their common grandfather. In introducing a bottled product to the market, the Waynesboros were first and beat them to the punch. In 1868, the Boonesboro faction placed advertisements in many local papers stating that the Fahrney medicines being sold are none of their making. The Dr. Fahrney’s and Brothers Co. in Waynesboro ran many ads stating that they needed to protect themselves and the public from misrepresentations being circulated by the Boonesboro faction. They stated that Old Dr. Fahrney left his practice to two sons and they were not the Fahrney’s practicing in Waynesboro. Internal turmoil ensued, dividing the family. They printed, “It must be humiliating to those that are mere ‘babes’ in the profession to come out and imitate the same, when they are not able to hold their father’s lucrative practice.” PHOTOS: TOP: Wooden crate for Fahrney's Blood Cleanser or Panacea. John Panella collection. MIDDLE: One of the last of the Fahrney advertisements when they were located in Chicago and Winnepeg. Ernie Dimler collection. BOTTOM: A later ad for Fahrney when Dr. Peter was based in Chicago.

Antique Bottle & Glass Collector

By 1870, Daniel Fahrney has a bottled product and it is advertised in the local newspapers. He’s also accusing someone of counterfeiting their medicine, causing a ruckus after being humiliated by their diligent cousins from Pennsylvania. There is a lot of back and forth between the two companies. By the end of the decade the dust settles, and the cousins became content because of their individual lots. And then: • P.D. Fahrney purchases the Victor Remedies Company in Frederick, Maryland. • Daniel moves the Dr. D. Fahrney & Sons Company to Hagerstown, Maryland. • The Dr. Fahrney’s Waynesboro, Chicago and Brothers Company sold their Pennsylvania interest to S.E. Dubbel in 1883, who continued to manufacture P. Fahrney’s Panacea in Waynesboro. These developments all happened at about the same time. Peter of Chicago changed the name of his medicine to Blood Vitalizer, Daniel in Hagerstown changed the name of his medicine to Health Restorer and P.D. Fahrney created a “new product” named Victor’s Liver Syrup, all based on the recipe created by Peter Senior.

The End of the Line, Next Stop Oblivion Prohibition was now becoming a reality in America. One by one bankruptcy and many other issues seemed to collide with the Fahrney family and other pursuits. The two companies in Maryland were quite successful financially going in, but did not survive Prohibition due to the ban on alcohol in their products. The Dr. Peter Fahrney & Sons Co. of Chicago did stand the test of time. Skating around legislation, their marketing technique changed almost overnight.

By John Panella and Joe Widman

The Dr. Peter Fahrney & Sons company was founded in 1869, and incorporated on July 19, 1889 by Peter Fahrney in Keedysville, Maryland. The Chicago operation started off as a branch of Dr. D. Fahrney & Son, a firm operated by his uncle, David Fahrney in Hagerstown, Maryland. In late 1870, Dr. Fahrney moved to Chicago and established a laboratory. Its products consisted of “medicines” and “laxatives” with boozy contents, all produced in their large factories in Chicago, Keedysville (1869-70), as well as a Canadian plant in Winnipeg, Manitoba. All these facilities operated under the name of Dr. Peter Fahrney (1869-89), and then Dr. Peter Fahrney & Sons Co. (1889-1977). Yes, that’s correct, the Fahrney name on patent medicines remained as a viable marketing method until 1977. They were always skipping rope fast with the FDA, as well as with the other regulatory agencies right on their tail. A series of especially well-advertised and total quack-boozy products emerged during this time frame, as well as other chemicals and medications sold under the Fahrney name. These products contained alcohol as well as dangerous drugs, and were sold with impunity to the public over the counter. The production facilities were in place and the consuming public anxiously consumed many intoxicating and plainly poisonous nostrums. Extensive advertising media was employed to sell such products as Dr. Fahrney’s Teething Syrup, Dr. Peter’s Blood Vitalizer, Dr. Peter’s Gomozo, Dr. Peter’s Hoboko, Dr. Peter’s Kuniko, Dr. Peter’s Lozogo, Dr. Peter’s Novoro, Dr. Peter’s Zokoro, Forni’s Alpenkrauter, Forni’s Heil-Oel Liniment, Forni’s Magolo, and Senamed. Yet, time was running out on total quackery.

All of these patent medicines claimed to provide various cures and really contained no other product except alcohol. The public had a no complaint. Temperance and Prohibition devotees imbibed, clerical and secular also, every age group as well, all basically seeking intoxicating relief of their symptoms. Looking for panaceas, yup, you bet, greed promoted this, hand in hand with addiction. Like birds of a feather they all worked together and ka-ching, there was profit for all. All these Fahrney “look-alike relatives” had lost sight of the Doctor’s compassion and integrity, his knowledge and abilities. His formula, basically an herbal tea, had evolved into an evil booze for hypocrites and boy-o-boy did it sell. All of them, in one manner or another, were laughing all TOP: Another example of one of Fahrney's late advertisements. Ernie Dimler collection. RIGHT: "Couldn't Sleep - Couldn't Eat", FORNI'S ALPENKRAUTER testimonial for Dr. Fahrney when they were located in Chicago.

June 2021

By John Panella and Joe Widman

the way to the bank. Alcohol was cheap. The patent medicines of the era, due to legislation or inefficient/bogus regulation, prospered by pushing alcohol to the innocents, often in combination with dangerous or ineffective drugs. Anything for a temporary cure!

The Savior Arrives Of all the companies of the era, the surprise ending here is that, in 1966, the Fahrney name was sold to the Perdue Frederick Company. That’s right, the makers of oxycontin, maybe one of the world’s most abused and misused drugs. On October 21, 2020, the United States Department of Justice announced a historic $8.3 billion dollar settlement with Perdue Pharma, capping a long-running federal investigation into the company that, for critics, became the leading symbol of corporations profiting from America’s deadly addiction to plentiful opioid painkillers.

Summary After the arrival of Jacob Fahrney from Germany in America in the late 1700s, through God knows how many family transactions, Peter Fahrney from Chicago became one of the most successful businessmen of the Toadstool Millionaires. Due to the evolution of the patent medicine trade and good old fashioned greed and lack of regulation, who would have guessed the business would have ended up as it did? Generations of legitimate Fahrney’s were simultaneously rolling over in their graves in disgust.

Now That’s the End of the Story

Note from John Panella: This has been a collaborative effort utilizing artifacts and materials gathered over forty years by Phil Edmonds. His dedication and hands-

Antique Bottle & Glass Collector

TOP: Wooden crate printed with "Prepared by Dr. Peter Fahrney, Chicago, Ill's." ABOVE: Late advertising envelopes for Dr. Peter Fahrney & Sons Co. in Chicago. Ernie Dimler collection.

on assistance have made this all possible. Information and advertising of every kind was researched. Online assistance came through various media blogs, such as Patent Medicines of the 19th century, Antique Medicine Trade Cards And Advertising, Medical Quackery, Antique Bottle Collec-

tors, California Antique Bottles (C.A.B), 19th Century Bottles & Go Withs, Long Island Antique Bottle Association, Antique Bottle & Glass Collector Magazine and collectors worldwide too numerous to mention. I thank you all.

June 2021

Pekin Bottle Collectors Association 51st Annual Antique & Collectibles Show & Sale

Sunday,

September 12, 2021

8:00 A.M. — 3:00 P.M.

PEKIN

MOOSE LODGE 2605 Broadway Street, Pekin IL 61554

WANTED!

Irresponsible collector willing to pay reasonable prices for:

Info: Daryl Weseloh Admission: $2.00 1-309-264-9268 FREE APPRAISALS Email: darylweseloh@gmail.com Fruit Jars Insulators

Pottery Marbles Milk Bottles Advertising Stoneware Brewery Items Antiques Collectibles

Antique Bottle & Glass Collector

Attractive, bubble-filled snu f jars, pretty snuff jars, or unusual snuff jars Ralph & Janet Finch, 34007 Hillside Ct., Farmington Hills, Mich. 48335 or e-mail rfinch@twmi.rr.com, or janloik@yahoo.com.

3rd Annual Northern Kentucky Bottle Show / Small Antiques

Sunday August 22nd 2021 Florence Lions Club 29 LaCresta Drive, Florence, KY 41042 Early Bird 8am $10.00 - Open to all 9:00 to 2:00 $3.00

Looking for vendors and buyers of antique bottles, advertising, small related antiques. The show is perfect for those old bottles found in barns, basements, attics or old abandoned buildings. Come out and bring your bottles, do some buying, selling and trading! Must be 18 or accompanied by an adult For vendor Information or other inquiries – Contact: Ed Morris: 859-414-4693 or email: ed@morristreasures.com Or Randy Deaton: email: nkyfinds@gmail.com

www.jeffnholantiquebottles.com

Always buying and selling quality bottles, flasks and early gla s. Please check back often - we are regularly updating the site with fresh material! Jeff and Holly Noordsy jeffnhol@gmail.com June 2021

Antique Bottle & Glass Collector

“The worlds 1 st full colour bottle mag. simply got...

BETTER & BETTER revitalised, reinvented & reinvigorated!”

BBR130 Incorporating No 130 January - March

rt Collectors Ma

2012

Slabtastic digging tales & new finds

Dr Webster’s

& pieces

Cordials

Pots • Quack Cures • Breweriana • Cream • Inks Lids • Ginger Beers Doulton • Guinness Antique Bottles • Pot • Baby Feeders • Early Mineral Waters Clay Pipes • Wine Bottles • Enamel Signs • Poisons • Eyebaths • • Pharmacy Antique Advertising

latest finds collectors & thier

er James Rog

All the pieces, bits

Researched articles, Fakes focus, special features, upcoming sale items, Show calendar, Classified ads. Every page in glorious full colour.

Essential reading since 1979.

• Paypal £42 as personal payment • Ch $66, credit card split email • Even send $ bills!

BBR, Elsecar Heritage Centre, Barnsley, S Yorks S74 8HJ, England Int tel: 0044 1226 745156 email: sales@onlinebbr.com

Antique Bottle & Glass Collector

Articles inside

Letters to the Editor

Medicine Chest: House of Fahrney, Part 3

Fruit Jar Rambles: Collins, Wheaton & Luhrs