Letters to the Editor

to the Editor

Montana Harry Bottle

Hi, John,

I hope you are doing well. As coincidence would have it, this past week I was in New Hampshire and stumbled across the attached bottle (below). I had noticed the Montana Harry bottle you had in your most recent auction. Obviously this one appears somewhat newer.

I attached a little article I found on Montana Harry as well. Sounds like a load of B.S. put together to promote someone/ something, but you never know.

The other interesting thing about the bottle is that the label is slapped over a label for a liquor dealer in Nashua, New Hampshire. Makes me wonder a bit if “Montana Harry” was really dealing medicine in the East under false pretenses. Note that the bottle label is partly in French, which makes sense for New Hampshire in the late 1800s/early 1900s but doesn’t make much sense for Montana during that time period. Anyways, I thought I would share.

Best Regards,

Brandon DeWolfe, P.E. Spring, Texas

P.S. I picked it up at an antique shop in Meredith, New Hampshire.

Editor’s note: Brandon’s discovery is very timely and certainly helps to validate the authenticity of the mysterious “Montana Harry” labeled medicine. Some folks, rightly so, thought the label was “too good to be true.” Perhaps a fake or forgery. For a quack medicine collector, it has so many great bells and whistles. It references the Apache Indians (who were not in Montana), a cure for syphilis, as well as female complaints. It references a reservation and a great eye-catching town name, Big Timber, Montana. It may just be the ultimate labeled quack medicine!

Lot 206, American Glass Gallery Auction 29, July 27.

to the Editor

Here’s Looking At You!

Hi, John,

Meet “The Bottle People.” This image (shown at right) is of an original watercolor painting by my wife, artist Mary Blackman. It will be on display very soon at the Key West Art Center.

The idea came to us when we were talking about bottle people and laughed about the thought of a bottle with a personality and a face. The image is really eye-catching and would be a conversation piece when friends come to visit.

Giclee reproductions have been made and will be on display at some of the Florida bottle shows at the table of our dear friend and bottle dealer, Larry Smith. The original painting image is 22 by 30 inches, but the giclees can be produced in any size of the same proportions.

For more information or to order by phone, call (305) 295-9187, or online from me at islandalex@comcast.net

Alex Okinczyc Key West, Florida

Hires Bottle Closure Inquiry

Hi, John,

The August 2021 issue of AB&GC includes Mike Connolly’s inquiry about a Hires bottle closure. Information detailing the introduction of the “Hires Expansion Bottle Stopper,” including magazine advertisements explaining and illustrating exactly how the stopper functioned and close-up images of different versions of this stopper, are posted at HiresBook.com starting with the 1916 chapter. FYI: HiresBook. com now includes over 2,700 images.

Ron Fowler Rochester, Washington HiresBook@yahoo.com

Do You Want the Really Good Bottle Book(s)?

Hi, John,

Great articles this month (August issue of AB&GC). We liked the one about stocking a glass collecting library. I’d like to add a comment to that.

Here at the National Bottle Museum in Ballston Spa, N.Y., we have been going through our library and pulling out duplicate books. We have many that were mentioned in this article for sale. All one needs to do is contact the National Bottle Museum at (518) 885-7589 between Wednesday and Sunday from 10-4, and they will be able to read you the list of available titles.

Thanks, Phil Bernnard Vice President, National Bottle Museum, Wynantskill, New York D