Vol. 17 No. 3
www.FOHBC.com
Summer 2006
The official publication of the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors
Bottles and Extras Bottles, bottles and more bottles, as usual, inside!
www.BottleAuction.com Proudly Presents The Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors’
2006 RENO NATIONAL BOTTLE SHOW
N N O O I I T T C C U A AU T T N N E E L S SIIL
Come and join the Auction fun Saturday August 19th, 2006 in Sparks, Nevada. *FOHBC* Auction festivities begin at 6 pm. You can attend the Auction Live and place silent proxy bids in person (or) Use the Internet and participate online in real time at www.BottleAuction.com. Visit our website and view the FREE ONLINE CATALOG AND DETAILS
With BottleAuction.comʼs Exclusive 5-minute Extension Feature participants will be able to place proxy bids at the Reno Bottle Show Auction in real time. If any lot gets a bid within the final 5 minutes of the auction, that auctionʼs ending time gets kicked out an additional 5 minutes to allow time to place another bid. Our customary 10% buyerʼs premium will apply to this event and be donated to the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors.
The Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors
Bottles and Extras
Vol. 17 No. 3
Summer 2006
No. 167
Table of Contents Bottle Buzz................................................2 Recent Finds..............................................5 FOHBC Officer Listing 2004-2006............6 President’s Message...................................7 Regional Reports........................................8 FOHBC Hall of Fame Bill Baab...................................11 Jar 54 Where Are You? Barry L. Bernas.........................20 Grand Canyon Glass: Arizona’s Best: The Elite Michael Miller...........................24
Chasing The Western Flasks Ralph Van Brocklin........................26
The Dating Game: Whitall, Tatum & Co. Bill Lockhart.............................57
Elisha Waters, More Than Just An Ink Maker Ed and Lucy Faulkner....................35
Callet Nursing Bottles, Unique, But in Many Varieties Charles Harris..........................70
Who The Heck Was Irvin S. Cobb? Jack Sullivan..................................38
John Matthews, Father of the Soda Fountain Donald Yates.............................72
Collecting Owl Drug Store Stuff: Milk Glass Owls Jim Bilyeu......................................42 High Wheeler Bicycle as Used on Bottles J. Carl Sturm..................................44 Random Shots: Shooting Shots Part III Robin Preston................................47
Membership Information.........................76 Classified Ads and Ad Rate Information...77 FOHBC Show-Biz Show Calendar Listings............82
Energy Drink Containers - Bottles and Cans Cecil Munsey.................................53
WHO DO I CONTACT ABOUT THE MAGAZINE? To ADVERTISE, SUBSCRIBE or RENEW a subscription, see PAGES 76-77 for DETAILS. To SUBMIT A STORY, send a letter to the Editor or have comments and concerns, Contact: Kathy Hopson-Sathe, Bottles and Extras Editor, 341 Yellowstone Drive, Fletcher, NC 28732 Phone: (423) 737-6710 or E-mail: kathy@thesodafizz.com BOTTLES AND EXTRAS (ISSN 1050-5598) is published quarterly (4 Issues per year) by the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors, Inc. (a nonprofit IRS C3 educational organization) at 1021 W. Oakland Avenue, #109, Johnson City, TN 37604, (423) 282-5533; Website: http://www.fohbc.com. Periodicals Postage Paid at Johnson City, TN 37601. Pub #005062. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Bottles and Extras, FOHBC, 1021 W. Oakland Ave, #109, Johnson City, TN 37604. Phone: 423-913-1378. The Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors, Inc. assumes no responsibility for products and services advertised in this publication. The names: Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors, Inc., and Bottles and Extras, are registered ® names of the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors, Inc., and no use of either, other than as references, may be used without expressed written consent from the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors, Inc. Certain material contained in this publication is copyrighted by, and remains the sole property of, the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors, Inc., while others remain property of the submitting authors. Detailed information concerning a particular article may be obtained from the Editor. Printed by Central Plains Book Mfg. Co., Winfield, Kansas 67156.
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Bottle Buzz
News, Notes, Letters, etc.
Send Buzz Notes to: Kathy Hopson-Sathe at: kathy@thesodafizz.com or write: Buzz Notes, 341 Yellowstone Drive, Fletcher, NC 28732
Bottles and Extras To the Editor: I was very pleased recently to read Bret Heinemann’s fine piece in the Spring, 2005 issue discussing a number of distillers and wholesalers of whiskey in the years before Prohibition. His information on my Great Grandfather, Jesse Moore (1812-1898) was a helpful addition to the family history in progress. I do have a few small corrections and updates to Mr. Heinemann’s article: Henry Browne Hunt, who was Jesse Moore’s West Coast agent and the “Hunt” of Jesse Moore-Hunt Co., was born in Phillipsburg, New Jersey in 1836. He died in San Francisco on July 20, 1893.
Ralph, Just a quick note about a display at the Oregon B.C.A. show on Feb. 17th &18th. You, having been president of the Federation, can appreciate the declining interest in bottle collecting, especially by young potential collectors because of the increasing cost to compile a collection and the unavailability of the “easy digging” that we experienced in the late 1960s thru the mid to late 1970s, e.g., if I had to start my collection today, I could not afford to start! Anyway, I’m attaching a picture of a fun and relatively inexpensive display of unembossed flasks displayed at the recent O.B.C.A. Show & Sale in Chehalis, Wash. Even thought there was not an embossed
flask in the lot, the display got constant ooh’s and aaah’s from the collectors and drop-ins alike. This is a “Just 4 Fun” note. Red (“whiskeysinger” on eBay) Red, I appreciate your forwarding this to me. From what I gather from the Oregon newsletter, this must have been Shayne Bowker’s display? Definitely a nice grouping with a lot of eye appeal. Thank goodness the unembossed bottles have not gotten to the point of freezing folks out - but, they are going up in price, as well. Ralph (Van Brocklin)
Can anyone give me a clue how to find a picture of an old fruit jar with O.V.G.Co. embossing? I know they are rare, that’s why I’m looking for a picture. Thanks, Frank Swies 230 Andalus Dr., Gahanna, OH 43230 (614) 471-0583 fswies@wowway.com
My som Mitchell has a Mitchell bottle collection - if you ever do little articles on young collectors. He has a nice collection of bottles from around the world - it is fun to get the kids involved. Bruce Pynn, Thunder Bay, Ontario
The Board of the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors was sad to hear of the passing of Tom Moulton on December 3, 2005. Tom was a Vice President in the Federation at the time of our assumption of the periodical, Bottles and Extras. He will be missed by his many friends in the hobby. Our condolences to his wife, Alice.
George Henry Moore, who became a partner with Jesse in Louisville, Kentucky in 1866, was Jesse’s nephew. George H. Moore bought Jesse’s share of the business when Jesse retired in 1892. Cornelius DeWeese Jr. was George H. Moore’s brother-in-law. When C.P. Moorman sued Jesse MooreHunt Co. over the J.H. Cutter barrel design, the Federal Court in San Francisco found that there was no infringement; that a container is not the same thing as a trademark, which remains the law today, in 2006. I have considerable other information on Jesse Moore and his whiskey business which I shall provide to your magazine for whatever use you would care to put it. I shall also appreciate any information any reader can offer on Jesse and his whiskey. Also, are there other articles on Jesse Moore & Co., and Jesse Moore-Hunt Co.? I am most interested in anything I can learn about Jesse Moore’s business, 1853-1864, when he began shipping whiskey from Louisville down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and around the Horn to San Francisoc at the height of the Gold Rush. Jesse was wealthy from that trade by 1864. Anything that can be added to my knowledge would be much appreciated. Sincerely, Gordon E. White gewhite@crosslink.net
Bottles and Extras
I just closed off the last of three auctions selling the second-largest collection of Canadian ginger beers ever assembled, and the Emack bottle from Fredericton, New Brunswick sold for what I believe is a world record - with buyer’s premium, $8,464 USD. Previous best that I knew of was an Aussie bottle that sold for $US 5,360. A bit of the Emack story here: http://ca.geocities.com/ phil.culhane@rogers.com/Emack.html CB and SC Auctions (www.cbandsc.com) will be selling off two smaller collections this autumn, again primarily Canadian ginger beers as they are the one category that is truly “national” in scope. Most other bottle areas are collected regionally in Canada, but ginger beers are collected by the majority of bottle collectors, and most of those are happy to collect bottles from all across the country. Cheers and best wishes, Phil Culhane philculhane@magma.ca My name is Martina Silhava. I am a collector of beer labels from the Czech Republic. I would like to exchange beer labels from some one from your club. I will send Czech and Slovakia beer labels in exchange. Martina Silhava. U Poradny 222 252 61 JENEC CZECH REPUBLIC
Summer 2006
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Dear Kathy, Just a note... I read about your insurance problems and the big loss of your collection - how very awful it must be to come home to a situation like that. Some years ago, I took out a policy with Collectibles Insurance Co. Soon after that, I found a good bottle on my slhelf that had cracked down across the front. I wrote about it to them, received a form to fill out and in days, received a check for the full value of that bottle. Can’t beat that service! I hope I never need them again, but if I do, I am sure they will be there for me. God bless you and keep up the good work, Howard Dean Westernville, New York Back in 1993, I purchased a porcelain whiskey nip in the form of a sorry-looking fellow dressed in rags and wearing a small red hat (which I later learned was a tin can). At the time, I suspected he was supposed to be Happy Hooligan, a newspaper cartoon character who first appeared in March of 1900. Despite the resemblance, I couldn’t imagine why this cartoon character would be used as a whiskey nip. Recently, I found just what might be the answer in the form of a paper labeled whiskey bottle from the Bernheim Distilling Company of Louisville, Kentucky. The whiskey brand name is Happy Hooligan, and the label carries three different views of Happy Hooligan. The bottle is machine made, but it is without a doubt a pre-Prohibition piece. Happy last appeared in 1932, and Frederick Opper, Happy’s creator, died in 1937.
I certainly enjoyed reading Bryan Grapentine’s article “Unusual Bottles” in the Spring, 2006, issue of Bottles and Extras, and appreciate all that he has done to assist the Federation with our periodical! I thought that he might be interested to see a second example of one of the bottles he featured. His was amber — mine aqua. Ralph Van Brocklin FOHBC Past-President True story: Modern technology meets old Anyone who has ever visited Dollywood, or the Smokey Mountains, in East Tennessee as a tourist has seen the many references available as souvenirs to the “little brown jug” and the barefoot hillbilly who filled them. Some may think it is just a joke, but... A friend who is a park ranger was given the job of laying out the road for a logging project. As he was proceeding up the mountain with his crew, just doing his job, he came across a moonshine still - in full production mode. After a moment’s thought, he returned to his truck, got his pack of Post-It notes and wrote, “Please move your still to the next hollow. Road coming through here tomorrow.” Then he stuck it on the still. The next day, the still was gone and the road went on as planned - proving moonshine is still going on, alive and well in the Smokies.
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Mr. Wayne Lowry, Can you give me some information on this (milk) bottle. I have included a drawing of it. Thank you, Bob Baker 52 Kalen Dr., Overland, MO 63114 (314) 429-7315 I received a letter on the Kovels On Antiques and Collectibles letterhead with the subject line: “You were mentioned in our latest issue!” Well, I wasn’t personally, but an author’s article was quoted on page 76 (Vol. 32, No. 7, March 2006): It has long been said by experts (including the Kovels) that you can tell the age of an old bottle by the length of the side mold seam - the longer the seam, we all said, the newer the bottle. An article in Bottles and Extras (Fall 2005) debunks this myth. Too many old bottles with indisputable dates have seams too long or too short to fit the dating myth. The automatic bottle machine, which produced bottles with the seam extending all the way to the top, was invented in 1903 but was not widely used until the 1920s. It is great that information can be shared from one publication for collectors to another to further our education in this hobby. Qudos to Bill Lockhart. and his research gang!
Out-of-print South Georgia Pottery Book Collector-researcher James R. Cormany of Homewood, Ala., self-published a limited edition of 100 copies of “The Pottery of Stockton, South Georgia’s Only Jugtown,” which sold out within a two-year period. The 12-page booklet, which includes four pages of color photos, examines the potteries of Glover G. Foreman and Shimuel Timmerman, Jr., who came to Stockton from the old Edgefield District of South Carolina. It’s an invaluable reference tool for collectors and researchers interested in Georgia pottery. Cormany later turned over his material to the Lanier County Historical Society in Lakeland, Ga., and it has reprinted the booklet. Society members and wholesalers can purchase it for $25, while it will cost non-members $35 plus $4 for shipping and handling. Those interested may order the booklet by making checks or money orders payable to the Lanier County Historical Society. Its address is: 103 E. Main St., Lakeland, GA 31635.
Bottles and Extras
This jug inscribed Timmerman Jug Co. / Stockton, / Ga. is in the Atlanta History Center collection. [Photo by Bill Baab.]
From the Wire The winning bidder was a private Truck packed with Red Bull stolen Dyersburg, Tenn. - A trailer containing collector who wants to remain anonymous, $100,000 worth of Red Bull energy drinks said James Halperin, co-chairman of Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas, seemingly grew wings. A truck driver reported (in May, 2006) which was selling the coin. The bidding began at $750,000. that his 53-foot trailer containing 2,880 cases of the energy drink was stolen. Geoffrey Winchester said he parked the Georgia woman collects outhouses Next time someone looks at you like truck on Old Highway 51. According to the Dyer County (Tenn.) Sheriff ’s you are crazy for collecting “those old Department, another truck must have bottles,” read them this: pulled the trailer away from the truck and Appling, Ga. - They were once a rural hauled off the load. American staple, a necessity for daily life. The truck’s window had been broken Today, outhouses are mostly gone - but and its satellite tracking system disabled, not if you wander into Jamie Peel’s making the thief’s flight untraceable. [See backyard. She has three and might have feature story on current collectibles - two more on the way, one from as far away energy drinks - beginning on page 52 of as Texas. “This is my newest one,” she said, this issue.] gestering toward a vintage double-seater that was moved in its entirety to her farm. Half dime costs a pretty penny Outhouses have always fascinated Peel, Columbus, Ohio - It cost a lot more than a nickel to buy this half dime. an east-Georgia commerical real estate A 1792 half dime, believed to be one broker, who now collects them. “I can’t of the first coins minted by the U.S., was stand to see an old building torn down,” sold at auction for more than $1.3 million she said. (in April, 2006) at the Central States Numismatic Society convention, officials said.
Bottles and Extras
Summer 2006
Recent Finds There have been some really interesting new bitters which have turned up in the last quarter. We will detail three of these below and we certainly would welcome reader comments or additional information regarding them! From a digger in the Midwest arrived photographs of a lovely olive green iron-pontiled rectangular bitters with indented panels. Embossed Lawrence’s // Fever & Ague / Bitters // St. Louis., it is a bottle that would be sure to cause anyone with a St. Louis collection to salivate! This concern is not listed in Carlyn Ring and Bill Ham’s Bitters Bottles. Also out of the Midwest was an amber square embossed C.H. Lohman & Co / Kendallville, Ind. // // Celebrated / Alaska Bitters. This was an offering on eBay, realizing the owner’s reserve of $1500. Again, this bottle does not appear in Ring/Ham. I do not recall ever seeing one at a Midwestern show and would encourage any reader from that area with knowledge of the company and/or the numbers of this bottle that exist to let us know. Rounding out the bitters we will present was a diminutive amber square which attracted the attention of a number of us in the South. Bruce Schad was the lucky procurer of this eBay offering, standing 6" in height and embossed Bitter / Apple Bitters / W.A. Dozier / Hattiesburg, Miss. There is a notation for Dozier’s Apple Bitters in Ham/Ring, but that is all there is— a notation. As far as I can ascertain, this is the first example of this bottle to turn up. Bruce was kind enough to forward a nice photograph of his bottle. He additionally included information about a second unreported Mississippi bitters which is label-only. This bottle sports a rose-colored label with red and gold lettering and a fancy ribbon border. It reads Yellow-Jack Preventive Bitters Preventive Against Yellow Fever, Ague & Fever, Dyspepsia, Affections of the Liver, Nervous Sick – Headache, &c. The Finest Bitters in The World …… Sold By Druggists and By The Proprietors Upshur, Ryan & White Carrollton, Miss. Bruce indicates that on his label the “s” in “Proprietors” has been scratched out and “Upshur” has been altered to “T.H.W. Upshur, MD.” Bruce’s research has only produced that there were two White brothers in business in Carrollton just after the Civil War. He asks that anyone who has information regarding the company or the proprietors contact him (he can be reached at brschad@aol.com ).
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Bottles and Extras
Federation of Historicial Bottle Collectors
Business & News The Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors is a non-profit organization for collectors of historical bottles and related collectible items. Our primary goal is educational as it relates to the history and manufacture of historical bottles and related artifacts.
FOHBC Officers 2004-2006 President : John Pastor, 7288 Thorncrest Dr. SE, Ada, MI 49301; Phone: (616) 285-7604; E-mail: jpastor2000@sbcglobal.net First Vice-President : Gene Bradberry, P.O. Box 341062, Memphis, TN 38184; Phone: (901) 372-8428; E-mail: genebsa@midsouth.rr.com Second Vice-President : Cecil Munsey, 13541 Willow Run Road, Poway, CA 92064-1733; Phone: (858) 487-7036; E-mail: cecilmunsey@cox.net Secretary : Ed Provine, 401 Fawn Lake Dr., Millington, TN 38053; Phone: (901) 876-3296; E-mail: ed.provine@thyssenkruppelevator.com Treasurer : Alan DeMaison, 1605 Clipper Cove, Painesville, OH 44077; Phone: (440) 358-1223; E-mail: a.demaison@sbcglobal.net Historian : Richard Watson, 10 S.Wendover Rd., Medford, NJ 08055; Phone: (856) 983-1364; E-mail: rewatson@bellatlantic.net Editor : Kathy Hopson-Sathe, 341 Yellowstone Dr., Fletcher, NC 28732; Phone: (423) 737-6710; E-mail: kathy@thesodafizz.com Merchandising Director : Kent Williams, 1835 Oak Terr., Newcastle, CA 95658; Phone: (916) 663-1265; E-mail: kent@altarfire.com Membership Director : Fred Holabird, 701 Gold Run Ct., Reno, NV 89511; Phone: (775) 851-0837; E-mail: fred@holabird.com Conventions Director : Wayne Lowry, 401 Johnston Ct., Raymore, MO 64083; Phone: (816) 318-0161; E-mail: JarDoctor@aol.com
Business Manager / Subscriptions: June Lowry, 401 Johnston Ct., Raymore, MO 64083; Phone: (816) 318-0160; E-mail: osubuckeyes71@aol.com Director-At-Large : Ralph VanBrocklin, 1021W. Oakland Ave., Suite 109, Johnson City, TN 37604; Home (423) 913-1378; Office: (423) 282-5533; E-mail: thegenuine@comcast.net Director-At-Large : Sheldon Baugh, 252 W. Valley Dr., Russelville, KY 42276; Phone: (270) 726-2712; Fax: (270) 726-7618; E-mail: shel6943@bellsouth.net Director-At-Large: Carl Sturm, 88 Sweetbriar Branch, Longwood, FL 32750-2783; Phone: (407) 332-7689; E-mail: glassmancarl@sprintmail.com Midwest Region Director : Rick Baldwin, 1931 Thorpe Cir., Brunswick, OH 44212-4261; Phone: (330) 225-3576; E-mail: rsbaldwin@worldnet.att.net Northeast Region Director : Larry Fox, 5478 Route 21, Canandaigua, NY 14424; Phone: (585) 394-8958; E-mail: brerfox@frontiernet.net Southern Region Director : Reggie Lynch, P.O. Box 13736, Durham, NC 27709; Phone: (919) 789-4545; E-mail: rlynch@antiquebottles.com Western Region Director : Bob Ferraro, 515 Northridge Dr., Boulder City, NV 89005; Phone: (702) 293-3114; E-mail: mayorferraro@aol.com Public Relations Director : Mike Polak, PO Box 303258, Long Beach, CA 90853; Phone: (562) 438-9209; E-mail: bottleking@earthlink.net
Bottles and Extras
Summer 2006
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Federation of Historic Bottle Collectors
President’s Message Summer 2006 I must admit, time has a way of slipping by. These past two years as President of the Federation have been both exciting and challenging. It has also been a very rewarding experience. At a time when many hobby and collector organizations have been struggling and witnessing the erosion of their membership, the Federation (and I believe the hobby in general) has enjoyed a rejuvenation of interest and strength in membership. The Federation exists both as an educational organization for its members and to promote the hobby. Two primary ways that we have endeavored to achieve these goals is by offering a high quality, informative, and educational magazine and also by hosting the annual National and EXPO Bottle Shows. The magazine speaks to the educational goals of the organization while the National and EXPO Shows serve both to promote the awareness of the hobby and to foster the educational aspect of the Federation’s mission statement. The shows do this by offering informative seminars and specialty group meetings; a wide array of educational exhibits and by offering a venue to bring collectors together from all walks of life and from all corners of the country. If you have not already made plans to do so, I would encourage you to attend the Federation’s 2006 National Bottle Show in Reno, Nevada, August 19-20. As always, it should be a very exciting event filled with wonderful glass, interesting and informative seminars and a variety of fantastic and educational displays. For more information, please contact show chairman Wayne Lowry, 401 Johnson Court, Raymore, MO 64083. Phone: 816.318.0161. While the Federation has enjoyed some successes in working towards several key goals (enrichment in the quality and content of our magazine; growth of membership,
and the implementation of a liability insurance policy covering all FOHBC Affiliated Member Clubs), there is still much to be done! I have said it before, so at the risk of repeating myself, I firmly believe that the local clubs (and their shows) are the lifeblood of the hobby. Unfortunately, I am all too aware that several local clubs have disbanded in recent times. Their local show often serves as the “glue” that holds the club together and provides the income to help sustain their monthly meetings and other activities throughout the year. While this issue has been touched on before, I would encourage the development of a “Show Assistance Package” for Federation Affiliated Member Clubs. This package would offer helpful tips and ideas on conducting a successful local bottle show and in making the most out of the resources that the club has available. Often there are relatively simple things that can be done that will greatly enhance the enjoyment and the success of the event. Correspondingly, the Federation has begun discussion on developing a set of guidelines to help local clubs who may be interested in playing host to a Federation National or EXPO Show understand the procedures, facilities requirements, logistics and other nuances involved, and how to go about submitting a proposal. In addition, the Federation’s Board continues to explore the viability of the Newsletter and the feasibility of migrating to a more frequent publishing schedule for Bottle and Extras while maintaining fiscal responsibility and ensuring the long-term viability of the organization. With renewed strength and growth in membership, this issue edges closer to becoming a viable option. The importance of having an adequate membership base is key to having a healthy organization. Please encourage a fellow collector to join and introduce a friend to the Federation. I would also like to take this opportunity to again thank Kathy Hopson-Sathe for the
President : John R. Pastor 7288 Thorncrest Dr. SE Ada, MI 49301 (616) 285-7604 jpastor2000@sbcglobal.net
beautiful job that she has done as editor of Bottles and Extras. As I am sure that you will agree, Kathy has done a remarkable job and her dedication and hard work are very much appreciated. In addition to the periodicals, Kathy also maintains and updates the Federation website. We are truly fortunate to have her as a part of this organization. And finally, I would like to extend an invitation for you or your club to participate in the organization. We need dedicated and talented volunteers! We all possess our own unique and individual set of skills. And, we all have something that we can offer to the organization and to the hobby. Please consider sharing your knowledge and contributing an article or series of articles on your particular collecting specialty or an interesting discovery, or recent digging excursion. Sign up a new member to the Federation, introduce a friend to the hobby and become involved in the organization. We would love to hear from you. It has been my privilege to have served on the Federation’s board as President, Vice President, and in the capacity of conducting five National Auctions as well as Show Chairman for the 2005 National Bottle Show. I have witnessed a great deal of change in both the hobby as well as our organization. We are an organization made up of volunteers and I would like to thank each of you for your support. Furthermore, I would ask that you please continue to show your support for incoming FOHBC President, Carl Sturm and to those who have volunteered their time and effort to serve on the Federation’s board for the next two years. I look forward to continuing to work on your behalf as a Director-at-Large. With warm regards,
John R. Pastor
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Northeast Regional News
Larry Fox 5478 Route 21 Canandaigua, NY 14424 (585) 394-8958 brerfox@frontiernet.net
Midwest Regional News
Joe Coulson 10515 Collingswood Lane Fishers, Indiana 46038 (317) 915-0665 jcoulson@leaderjar.com
Hi, everyone! Thanks for passing along those club newsletters and keep ‘em coming! Let’s see what’s going lately… Jelly Jammers Pat Van Dyke was elected as the club president for 2006 at the club’s last meeting. Everyone thanked Janet Lee (outgoing president) for her efforts. The club’s quarterly newsletter, Jelly Jammers’ Journal, always contains many nice color pictures of jelly glasses. The most recent issue contained a very informative article titled “Modern Happenings in the World of Ball Jellies and Fruit Jars,” written by Dick Cole. Dick previously worked for Ball Corporation. Margaret Shaw (editor/ publisher) is always looking for articles and photo contributions – she can be reached at: 6086 W. Boggstown Rd., Boggstown, IN 46110. Midwest Antique Fruit Jar & Bottle Club The club members went to the “theater” to watch a one-hour movie on the life of Edmund F. Ball (of fruit jar fame). Mike
Bill Baab 2352 Devere Street Augusta, GA 30904 (706) 736-8097 riverswamper@comcast.net
Johnny Fletcher’s new book on Oklahoma Bottles, 1889 to 1920, is everything it promised to be and more. He includes a value guide for each category
As warm summer is upon us, and great digging weather makes new finds and adventures available, please remember to send your news to Larry. For those of you who do not hold meetings during the summer, because you are out enjoying the summer, see you in the Fall!
If you have a show in the summer months (or actually, any time during the year), send your reports and photos in to me for this section of the magazine - so all of us can see what a great show you had. Kathy
and Gusty Monaghan brought soda and popcorn for everyone to give them the full theater experience at Minnetrista! The club meets monthly at Minnetrista, which is a modern facility designed to preserve the cultural heritage of East Central Indiana.
cooks in our clubs...”
Minnesota’s 1st Antique Bottle Club Gwen Seeley (editor) and Barbara Robertus (co-editor) put together a really nice issue of The Bottle Digger’s Dope for April with plenty of pictures of their recent annual show. The show had 85 tables and several displays. “Everyone was more than ready for the [show] starting time of 9:30. Gwen Seeley was in a panic as she checked the door at 9a.m. and no one was there. By 9:15 so many were there we opened a bit early. We had such traffic through those doors for hours (what a pretty sight).” It also sounds like the club puts on a good dinner the night before the show too: “We always just know we won’t have enough food for Saturday evening in the Nakomis room. We plan, and call members asking them for food donations or money, so that we can take good care of our dealers and friends. This year was no exception, and as in past years we had such a spread on those tables of great food, and everyone stuffed themselves on items from (Boyd Beccues) corn fed Wilmer...Venison...to triple chocolate brownies. We have such good from sodas to drug stores to miscellaneous. This region editor purchased the book and found seven pages of the state’s known crocks and mini jugs in color and very impressive. A stenciled mini jug – Compliments of / M.R. Shultz / Wagoner, I.T. – sold for 1,138.65 on eBay, according to Fletcher in his club newsletter. The 235-page, softbound book can be ordered from Fletcher, 1300 S. Blue Haven Dr., Mustang, OK 73064 for $25 postpaid.
Southern Regional News
Bottles and Extras
Wabash Valley Antique Bottle & Pottery Club Martin Van Zant (editor) told about his trip to the Columbus, Ohio bottle show in the March issue of The Wabash Cannonball: “The Columbus bottle show is always a fun show to attend with a lot of variety. The show this year was moved to Saturday instead of the normal Sunday show. This was done to coincide with the monthly Scott’s Antique Show also held at the Ohio State Fairground across the street from the bottle show. Scott’s reduced their show to one day only instead of the usual two days. Based upon response from the bottle dealers, the majority clearly preferred the Saturday show over Sunday. Total attendance was estimated to be over 400 people according to Adam Koch, show chairman. There were an estimated 300 normal admissions and 60 early admissions. Many of the early admissions were for a couple. The show had 125 tables, which is about normal.” Martin also described a bottle digging process used by Ron Wood and Jeff Gindling (digging partners). “These two diggers are unusual in the fact that they put all the dirt into 55 gallon barrels, plastic I think? They have a conveyor system and pour the five-gallon buckets into a big barrel and then push it back on the conveyor.” The May issue of Oklahoma Territory News edited by Fletcher, president of the Oklahoma Territory Bottle & Relic Club, illustrates late additions to the book – three straight-sided Coca-Colas from Chickasha, Hollis and Sapulpa plus a Woodward drug store bottle. Fletcher needs to make those available to book buyers for the price of a first-class stamp. Opening to the inside pages proved to be a colorful surprise — 14 color photos illustrated Ed Tardy’s “An Arkansas Dig” story. Tardy and his friends are well-
Bottles and Extras
Summer 2006
equipped to dig, especially if they find a deeper-than-usual privy or trash pit. In this Camden, Ark., dig, the pit went down nine feet and a backhoe with front end loader made the digging and filling easy. A tripod with pulley made it easy on backs, shoulders and arms to haul up dirt from the depths. After finding a pontiled aqua bottle embossed R.R.R./ Radways Ready Relief / One Dollar / New York and side-embossed Ent’d Acc’d To / Act of Congress, Tardy and his digging buddies anticipated finding more from the 1850s. But a clay pipe, broken cross-cannon artillery pin, a nice infantry hat pin (both from the Civil War) and a glass stopper were among their last finds. Broken (and pontiled) light teal master ink and numerous broken pontiled and unembossed medicines and food bottles were found. In the same issue, Mark Wiseman (with Elsie the Pup) contributed digging stories in his regular “Digging Iowa” column. Among his better finds were a Burlington, Iowa Hawk Eye (with bird’s head) Trade Mark pickle from Kansas City, Kan., two amber bottles embossed Actiergesellsschaft / For Anilineabrika / Berlin S.O., and a pair of One Minute Cough Cure / E.C. DeWitt & Co. / Chicago bottles. They were joined by a Healy & Bigelow’s / Indian Sagwa with the embossed Indian chief’s head and a Dr. D.
Jaynes / Tonic Vermifuge / The Strength Giver / Philadelphia, and a rare Hutchinson, Des Moines Steam Bottling Works / Des Moines, Iowa. The State of Franklin (Tenn.) Antique Bottle and Collectibles Association held an auction with a Gregory Drug Co. / Johnson City, Tenn., medicine bringing $50. A Mystic Antiseptic Healing Oil, Mystic Wine of Life bottle from Bristol, Va., highlighted the show and tell session of the April meeting, according to The Groundhog Gazette club newsletter. It was first believed to be unique, but it was brought out that Charlie Barnette of Bristol, Tenn., owned the other, according to newsletter editor Melissa Milner. Seventy-one dealers turned out for the annual show and sale. Bart Long won the People’s Choice award for his Bristol whiskeys display, while Pete Wyatt was the winner of the Most Educational Display with his traps. Other displays included Moore products and smiley faces by Geff and Dolores Moore, violin bottles by Harold Carlton, cigar boxes by Gerry Brown and early 1900s advertising by Mrs. Milner. The Traders’ Post, newsletter of the Tennessee Valley Traders & Collectors, featured antique fishing lures in the May issue. Editor Roberta Knight downloaded two photos from antiquelures.com to complement the article. She also ran a story about historic James White’s Fort in
9 Knoxville being burgled. Porcelain, flatware, plateware and other articles were taken. Member Doug Melvin showed a taped program from the Food Channel’s “Unwrapped” that showed more than 300 soda bottles to other members of the M-T Bottle Collectors Association of DeLand, Fla. Hires Root Beer originated in 1884, Red Rock Cola in 1885, Dr. Pepper in 1891 and A&W Root Beer in 1919, to name just a few. In the April show and tell session, Laton Bare showed a mint Ernest E. Lane, XXXX Ginger Ale, Jacksonville, Fla., Hutchinson, a blobtop blue Louis Lohman, Jacksonville, Fla. soda with vertical embossing, and a one-gallon Chas. Blum & Co. / Liquor Dealers / 517-1519 W. Bay St. / Jacksonville, Fla., jug. Bob Riddick of Lexington, S.C., shared his knowledge with “Bottles 101” at the March meeting of the Horse Creek Antique Bottle Club of Warrenville, S.C., He brought lots of bottles from his own collection, ranging from 18th century onions to 20th century crown tops. This region editor demonstrated the art of preserving ephemera – billheads, letterheads and the like – during the May meeting. A show and tell session was held during the April meeting.
Columbia, South Carolina Show - February 17-18, 2006 < Linda Pridmore of Concord, N.C., with a spectacular display of applied color label (ACL) bottles set up by husband Coleman.
Jim Scharnagel of Gainesville, Ga., shows off a table full of top quality bottles.
Veteran collector-dealer Tom Hicks of Eatonton, Ga., brought American fish decoys and English “winches” (fishing reels) to his table. >
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Summer 2006
Bottles and Extras
Left: A colorful group of insulators covered the table of Doug Williams of Ocean Isle, N.C. Below: Dan Corker (L) of Mechanicsville, Va., and a friend sit behind Corker’s imposing array of highquality fruit jars.
Master potter Marvin Bailey of Kershaw, S.C., sold many of his ceramic creations during the show. Above left: A closeup of one of Bailey’s bizarre forms featuring a candy-striped snake. what can be accomplished in the Western Region. The reason for this letter addressed to club editors is aimed at giving credit to not only the club officers, but to the editors who, like me, have ink in their veins, and make their volunteer work at the typewriters, and computers, as their personal part in supporting our hobby of collecting antique bottles and extras. If this letter finds its way to your editor’s desk, I would appreciate receiving a copy of your newsletter so I can m ake up a current roster from the information your newsletter contains. This roster applies to just our region, but perhaps other regional editors will be advised that we are doing our part to support the FOHBC in a small way. I don’t know how many of you know our Western Director, Bob Ferraro, personally, but Bob and I have known each other for 40 some years and have worked together for our Las Vegas Club since we first were chartered in 1965. Now, here again, 41 years later, we are still plugging away. Like my predecessor, Scott, always reported with the aim to keep the “fun in collecting,” I hope I can report it as such. Hoping to hear from you soon, the old
Western Regional News
Dottie Daugherty 3901 E. Stewart #19 Las Vegas, NV 89110-3152 (702) 452-1263 ddandlv@aol.com
Introduction: My name is Dottie Daugherty and I have been my club newsletter editor for over 35 years. When I read in the latest issue of Bottles and Extras that Scott was stepping down as Western Regional News Editor, I called our Western Director, Bob Ferraro, and asked if he thought I might be a replacement for Scott. Bob accepted my offer as volunteer editor for the regional news from the current 16 clubs in our area. My first request was for a roster of the 15 FOHBC clubs in the western USA and after I received the roster, I was shocked and amazed that this roster, in many instances, had not been updated for nine years! Maybe we can help do something about this. I do not know if any of the other clubs (regions) are in need of updating, but I would like to try and make a start by seeing
editor that hasn’t been put out to pasture yet! The Punkin Seed - Las Vegas AB&CC I am including a bit of news about our annual show. For over 40 years our bottle shows have always been scheduled for February of each year. This year, we ran into difficulties that I have heard other clubs are encountering too. For the past many years, we have held our show at the Plaza Hotel in downtown Las Vegas. New owners took over the hotel, and along with the new owners came new Marketing Managers and they found ways to make more money for the hotel....raise prices! While we always had good working contracts with the Plaza, this new ownership made it impossible for us to stage another show when they raised the convention facilities prices so high. We are in the process of trying to find a suitable convention site to plan for our 2007 show. We hope you readers and our vendor friends understand the delay in advertising our show at this time. We’re hurrying! “Keep the fun in collecting!” Dottie D.
Bottles and Extras
Summer 2006
FOHBC Hall of Fame By Bill Baab Common threads including a love of history and a fascination with old glass containers help tie together the 27 honorees in the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors Hall of Fame. The shrine, for individuals who made outstanding contributions to the hobby of antique bottle collecting, was organized in 1980 through a joint effort of the Federation of Historical Bottle Clubs (as it was first known) and the National Bottle Museum in Ballston Spa, New York. Checking off the names on the Hall of Fame list is like reading a Who’s Who of antique bottle collectors. Less than a dozen remain alive at this writing. The first person to be accorded the honor was Helen McKearin in 1981. She joined her father, George S. McKearin, in researching material on early glass houses, later publishing it as a book called American Glass. The book remains the standard for information on historical flasks. The most recent to be elected were Norm and Junne Barnett of Flat Rock, Indiana in 2003. In 1987, at the suggestion of Dr. Cecil Munsey of Poway, California, the federation established an Honor Roll that complements the Hall of Fame. It honors 36 individuals, including pioneer collectors and researchers like George S. McKearin. In fact, he is the only individual on both the Honor Roll and Hall of Fame, joining his daughter in the latter in 1989. It’s fascinating to learn what attracted some Hall of Famers to the hobby. Dr. Munsey, who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1990, started collecting bottles during the 1960s when some of the students in his gifted elementary school class found a few older bottles and brought them to school. Teacher and students started to talk about the bottles and tried to learn more about them. Soon they started to research their finds and at the end of the term, the kids were promoted and the teacher was left with the bottles. His interest piqued, Dr. Munsey, who earned a Ph.D in leadership and human behavior from Alliant International University in San Diego, California in 1973, became a member of the San Diego Antique Bottles & Collectibles Club soon
after its 1965 founding. Just collecting bottles wasn’t enough. He became editor of the club newsletter, The Bottleneck, and became an expert researcher in trying to extend his knowledge of early glass containers. There were few sources of such information back then. Western Collector magazine donated a small space to the hobby and Dr. Munsey became one of the first contemporary writers to contribute, even later becoming an editor. (Ken and Shirley Asher of Bend, Oregon established Old Bottle Magazine which became the “voice” of and for the hobby. The Ashers later sold the magazine to Jim Hagenbuch of East Greenville, Pennsylvania. He renamed it Antique Bottle & Glass Collector.) One of Dr. Munsey’s most important contributions was The Illustrated Guide to Collecting Bottles. The book, a bottle collectors’ primer whose contents remain invaluable today, was published by Hawthorne Books of New York in 1970. “Sometimes it seems like I have always been an antique bottle collector and don’t I
11 wish that was so,” said Howard Dean of Westernville, New York. In following his profession as a forester and biologist during the mid-1940s and ‘50s, Dean recalled finding many old trash dumps on his hikes in the forests of the northeastern U.S., but “my only thought was not cutting my boots on the glass.” His adventures in the hobby began in 1967 when he asked an old fishing buddy how the fishing was. “Don’t you laugh when I tell you that my new hobby is collecting old bottles and glass insulators,” his friend warned. “I dig in old dumps.” Dean soon joined his friend on a dig and was shown how to tell old bottles from new ones. “My first find was a Dr. Hoofland’s German Tonic and now I was hooked, too. My friend and I walked many miles along old railroad tracks – great places to find old insulators and bottles. “Soon I joined the Empire State Bottle Collectors Association in Syracuse and from that time on, I have been a serious bottle collector. I became a life member of the FOHBC and became interested in the National Bottle Museum in Ballston Spa where my wife, Lillian, and I became museum board members. After retiring in the 1980s, my collecting interests were more focused on the Saratoga mineral
HELEN MCKEARIN, 1981 – Author or co-author of five books and contributor to numerous articles featuring American glass, Helen McKearin (in later life, Mrs. Albert E. Powers of Valley Falls, N.Y.) was nominated by the National Bottle Museum Society of Ballston Spa, N.Y. In 1941 following years of research, she co-authored American Glass with her father, George S. McKearin, and the book remains the authoritative work on American historical flasks to this day. “No other person has contributed more to the creation of all encompassing and dependable reference books for the hobby of bottle collecting than Helen McKearin,” her nominator wrote. CHARLES B. GARDNER, 1983 – Who among present-day collectors of antique bottles hasn’t heard of Charles B. Gardner of New London, Conn., dubbed “The Father of Modern-Day Bottle Collecting?” This writer and his wife were privileged to meet Charley and his wife, Nina, during a visit to their home in 1970. We intended to stay an hour or so and wound up staying four and one-half hours, talking with the personable man and shooting three dozen color slides of his fascinating collection. “Not only did he collect, but he encouraged and guided the beginnings of clubs, aided their spread across our great country, bought and sold and even traded bottles, traveled incessantly to activities and judged exhibits, spoke to many, drank with the hearty and entertained busloads at his New London, Conn., home,” wrote Noel Thomas of Glastonbury, Conn., in the Hall of Fame introduction.
12 waters and I have been after them ever since. I enjoy the Saratogas because they are local items, many made close to my home area and all are very old and very beautiful.” Dean has enjoyed researching the history of his local bottles. He has shared his knowledge by penning articles for club newsletters and bottle collectors’ magazines, as well as set up exhibits and given talks about his hobby. “I have always said that to me, the bottles are great, but the friends we’ve made around the country because of the bottles are really what’s important,” said Dean, elected to the Hall of Fame in 1999. Doc Ford of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio enjoys writing about facets of his hobby almost as much as he does collecting. That much is evident by reading articles penned for the Ohio Bottle Club newsletter – The Ohio Swirl – by Ford, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1997. “When I hold a bottle that I have acquired, a bottle handmade at a time when railroads were just opening America, or from the time when Lincoln was president, or when my great great grandparents first came to this country, it gives me a feeling of my roots in America,” he writes. “This same feeling must be felt by other collectors as well. The bottle collecting hobby is made
Summer 2006 up of people from all lifestyles. Whether they drive a truck, teach college or sell shoes, practice law, or sit on a judge’s bench, they have one thing in common – the enjoyment of collecting antique bottles and the friendship of the people in the hobby.” Ford also wrote about Akron, Ohio’s thriving brewing industry (Akron was once “The Foaming City”), the Mantua Township glass works (Mantua Glass), the Franklin Glass Works (Recovery of the Franklin Glass Works) and many other topics geared to his fellow collectors’ interests. “Old bottles mean fun, knowledge, history and much more. Next time you’re down in the dumps, look for bottles!” “Probably no two people have entered the world of serious bottle collecting in quite the same way,” said Burton Spiller of Pittsford, New York. “My first foray into collecting anything was via glass egg cups. Among the items made in sets of pressed early American pattern glass were single and/or double egg cups. I had admired the small china and glass egg cup collection an aunt had and one day decided I’d like to collect the glass variety. However, the thrill did not last very long. I packed away those I had, and that was the history of collecting anything for me – until I went to live and
JOHN C. TIBBITTS, 1985 – Even though his last name was frequently misspelled (including on the cover of the Hall of Fame book), anyone involved in the hobby mentioning it almost always got a flash of recognition from his listeners. John’s legendary status began in October of 1959 when he invited a group of bottle diggers to his home in Sacramento, Calif. It was then the Antique Bottle Collectors Association of California was organized and John served as president for the first three years. He also edited the group’s newsletter called “The Pontil” for nine years. By 1962, the club (whose name was shortened by dropping “of California”) had 55 California members and 130 from out of state, representing 23 states. He published several books of interest and value to collectors. By 1969, there were 906 member families from 48 of the 50 states and 327 member families from California alone. Also represented were Canada, Canal Zone, Bahamas, Belgium, Bermuda and what is now Belize (British Honduras). Members included many who later were inducted into the Hall of Fame, including the Blaskes, Charles Gardner and Peck Markota. HARRY HALL WHITE, 1985 – A pioneer archaeologist with a penchant for excavating early glass manufacturing company sites, Harry was called “the greatest bottle digger of all time” by his nominator, the Ohio Bottle Club. Authors of books on American glass often referred to Harry’s work and research during the 1920s and 1930s, as he traveled from state to state in a Model A Ford. Among the sites he excavated were Wistarburgh, Keene, Flint, Twitchell and Schoolcraft in New Hampshire, Mt. Vernon, Saratoga and Mountain in New York, Coventry, West Willington and Glastenbury in Connecticut and Mantua, Zanesville, Ravenna and Moscow in Ohio.
Bottles and Extras work in Rochester, New York. “One day my first spring in Rochester, some friends were going to an annual antiques flea market in the region and asked me to join them. I had never been to one and had no desire to go. But they insisted so I was an unwilling passenger in the auto. “While I didn’t see anything at the flea market I couldn’t live without, I did keep returning to one dealer’s table. On it stood a stately barrel-shaped bottle embossed HALL’S BITTERS. The price on the bottle was $5. After seeing me for probably the fourth time, the dealer said if I was interested in the bottle, she could let it go for $4.50. I figured since I was there, I suppose I should get at least one item and bought the bottle. “For the next couple of years, this bottle rested on a window sill where I lived. About the only attention I paid to it was a semiannual dusting. During one such session, I got to wondering, ‘Is this bottle anything I should be keeping?’ So off I went to the Rochester Public Library and Lo & Behold! I found a small, thin book there published several decades ago – I believe in the 1940s – titled Bitters Bottles by a man named Thompson. And my Hall’s Bitters was listed in the book. Indeed a revelation for me! The librarian also introduced me to the book American Glass by McKearin with those hundreds of historical flasks discussed in it. When I returned from the library, my first act was to move the now more respected bitters bottle to a choice location in my living room! “A want ad he had in the popular magazine of the 1960s, Hobbies, introduced me to the legendary Charles B. Gardner. At his invitation, I visited him in Connecticut while still a neophyte in the hobby. Seeing and studying those glorious hunks of glass displayed in his bottle room was a major learning experience for me. “I left his home totally turned on to bottle collecting – and the beat goes on!” Spiller was elected to the FOHBC Hall of Fame in 1998. “In 2002, I was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors,” writes Bob Ferraro of Boulder City, Nevada about “Becoming Involved” with the hobby. “This was truly an honor that I cherish and it also recognizes my involvement in the hobby for more than 50 years. By writing about my being honored hopefully will inspire other collectors to become involved in the Federation and stay involved so we can all
Bottles and Extras improve upon our wonderful and satisfying hobby. “Becoming a member of the Hall of Fame was not a goal I had set for myself, but I saw it as an opportunity to assist others in learning as much as possible about their passion for glass. “My interest in collecting bottles was piqued immediately following graduation from the University of Nevada at Reno in 1959, even though earlier I had been picking up bottles that had turned purple. I was not really captivated until after meeting Ned and Grace Kendrick and Ray and Doris Alcorn who had actively been collecting bottles for about a year. “One afternoon while the five of us were visiting, I was asked if I knew of a place where we might find some bottles. Being a native Nevadan and having spent considerable time roaming around the mountains near Virginia City, I told them I knew of an area between two large churches in Virginia City that appeared to have been a refuse site for the city many years ago. “Immediately they wanted to go, so we piled into the Kendricks’ car with shovels and headed to the site. Within minutes of parking near the two churches, we were finding glass and pottery bottles. This was the very beginning of the famous Virginia City dump that over the next ten years produced something in excess of 20,000 bottles. “With an expanding bottle collection, I had an insatiable appetite to learn as much as possible about the companies or firms that made these bottles, as well as learning something about the history of glass. “In gathering information about these empty bottles and sharing that information with friends, I was being asked to give presentations to bottle clubs, school classes, Farm Bureau, Chamber of Commerce meetings and even on one occasion a Masonic lodge meeting. This diversified audience wanted to know primarily two things: How to tell the age of a bottle and how much is it worth? “Within about a year, I realized that the large volume of information I had gathered should be published to assist others in knowing more about the hobby. In 1963, my first wife, Pat, and I published The Past in Glass. This was so well-received that we followed it in 1964 with A Bottle Collector’s Book. Both are now out of print, but more than 70,000 copies were sold. “Besides writing the text for those two books, I submitted articles to local
Summer 2006
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1985: Judge Edmund Blaske, wife Jayne in background.
1997: Doc Ford
1985: Dr. Cecil Munsey
GEORGE S. MCKEARIN, 1989 – When Helen McKearin was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1981, she was honored, but called it “an embarrassment” to be named before her famous father, George Skinner McKearin. So the Genessee Valley Bottle Collectors Association set it right by its nomination. The McKearins have always been mentioned together because of their association in authoring American Glass, a 622-page book published in 1941. The Hall of Fame book carries a wonderful description of the honoree from his early life as a youngster in Hoosick Falls, N.Y., collecting rocks and minerals, butterflies, stamps and coins. His daughter provided most of the facts in a sketch of her father written when she was 16. She tells of his passion for research, never satisfied until he got it right, and this discipline stood him in good stead when he began to study American glass. His daughter credits him with developing the identification charts still in use today, especially “the McKearin numbers” used to describe historical flasks. George and Helen later co-authored Two Hundred Years of American Blown Glass. “Future generations of Americans will always owe a great debt to Mr. McKearin and his daughter, Helen, for their outstanding work in the field of American glass,” wrote Cedric Larson in the May 1956 issue of The Antiques Journal. newspapers and magazines like Spinning Wheel, The Antique Collector, Old Bottle Magazine, Western Collector and Sunset. “I served as president of the Las Vegas Bottle and Collectors’ Club for two years.
Then I was asked to be chairman of the FOHBC’s Western Region for a two-year period and in 1975-76 served as the federation chairman. The first federation show was held in St. Louis in 1976 and
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Summer 2006
1987: Paul Ballentine
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Once Paul Ballentine of Springfield, Ohio became fascinated with old glass, there was no stopping him from becoming an expert on the subject as it related to his home state in particular and the Midwest in general. In time, Paul Ballentine became one of the most knowledgeable and beloved collectors and historians of our time. His wife, Mary, who is still devoted to the hobby years after her husband’s death, shares some of her memories) By Mary Ballentine “Paul and I first met in the Student Union at Wittenberg in my senior year where we had gotten involved in a bridge game. By the end of the year, we were engaged and a year later married. We had three girls and moved into a larger home in 1960. It had a family room with windows on all sides. Not wanting our neighbors to be able to see into the room, I had African violets on all the ledges. Unfortunately, I sometimes over-watered them and water would seep onto the wooden sills, much to Paul’s frustration. “One afternoon while playing bridge at the home of friends, we noticed they had some colored bottles on the sills of their dining room windows. That’s it, we thought, a solution to our windows! Their bottles were very pretty and we liked the different colors and that’s what led to everything later. “Paul said to anyone who asked about our collecting that it would have been cheaper to have put in stained glass windows!” The Ballentines gradually developed their expertise about bottles and in 1966 were asked to write a bottle column for Antique News, published in Tipp City, Ohio. They obliged until the paper was sold. “After a story on fish bottles (Eli Lily’s
Cod Liver Oil), we were contacted by Cedric Rau of Indianapolis. Mr. Rau was with the Fairmount Glass Co., and had saved the fish bottles from being destroyed when the company ceased using the bottles. He had a basement piled high with cases of fish bottles in all three sizes. We arranged with Mr. Rau to advertise and ship the bottles, so whenever we needed to, we’d load the kids in the station wagon, head to Indy and restock our supply. We sold mostly by the case all over the country. One thing we learned from Mr. Rau was that clear glass sets (of the fish bottles) were made in a limited number and given to the officers of the glass company. He had a set in his kitchen, but refused to part with them. Years later, we bought a set in Columbus, Ohio. Even now, figural fish bitters do not rank high on my list of favorite bottles, because of all those cod liver oil bottles. “Clark Garrett was one of the most respected dealers in the Midwest and used to call us often to come down for a visit. He’d entice us down to see what he had and we’d end up spending Sunday afternoons at his shop. It was like stepping back in time. . .like a visit to the Henry Ford Museum, only you could touch and you’d learn so much from him. . .the ‘good’ stuff was always inside his house. Clark used to wear a black cape and black hat and Mary, his wife, had long, black hair that she wore in a bun. Dressed for a costume party one afternoon, Mary had her hair down. They stopped at a jewelry store where the manager called police because he thought they were gypsies! Clark thought the whole episode was hilarious. We owe him a lot for the best items we have. “Paul bought a really large glass cane, very pretty, and was logging it in the “buy” book and warning the girls to be very careful around it. He got out of his chair and stepped on the cane accidentally. We now had a cane for a midget. The girls went with us on most of our trips and antiquing. Today they have an interesting candy container collection in my basement.” Some of the special memories the Ballentines had over the years included sitting down to dinner with Ed and Jayne Blaske, being house guests at Charles Gardner’s, scouting through California Gold Country with John and Florence Fountain, and judging a show with Burt Spiller, Bob Mebane or Dick Watson. Paul’s biggest thrill of all was “seeing
Bottles and Extras the glow of appreciation on my wife’s face when I bought her a ‘keeper’.” “It’s really amazing how older collectors still remember him after all these years. I have been really lucky to have Margie and John Bartley offer me rides to shows in their van. Many people in the Ohio Bottle Club are helpful to me. I couldn’t still be involved 18 years later (after Paul’s death in 1987) if I hadn’t had lots of help.” John Bartley of the Southwestern Ohio Antique Bottle and Jar Club of which Paul was a founding member, wrote as a FOHBC Hall of Fame nominator: “While the East had Charlie Gardner and the West had John Tibbitts, the Midwest had Paul Ballentine to promote, educate and advance bottle collecting and the appreciation of early American glass. His impact on the hobby went beyond this region and will be felt for years in the lives of all who knew him and benefitted from his knowledge and generous support.” Here are a few other notable quotes from Paul Ballentine boosters: “In the passing of our friend, Paul Ballentine, we lose one of the pillars of our great hobby of bottle collecting. Paul was collecting and studying old glass before most of us realized what the hobby was all about.” – Doc Ford. “Paul indeed was one of the warmest, kindest men I’ve ever known – a real gentleman. . .his knowledge of good, early bottles was vast, and he also willingly shared that knowledge when asked. I feel his enthusiastic writing and speaking about the hobby in its earlier days was a positive factor in helping spread interest in the bottle, flask and fruit jar hobby throughout Ohio and the Northeast.” – Burton Spiller. “The greatest void in our bottle collecting fraternity without Paul will be the loss of Paul’s pleasant, helpful manner, encouragement, enthusiasm, honesty and integrity, stability, knowledge and experience that each of us has come to expect as we met Paul at shows, talked on the telephone or held our own private conversations.” – Norman Heckler. A few months after his death, The Paul Ballentine Collection of Midwestern Pattern-molded and Freeblown Glass was sold at auction.
Bottles and Extras
1988: Bernard Puckhaber
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Bernard C. Puckhaber of Ballston Spa, New York became a Hall of Fame member on June 4, 1988. Had it not been for the adventuresome spirit of his son, Robert, Bernie might have gotten involved in some other hobby. Here’s a fresh look at how it happened, penned by none other than his son.) By Robert J. Puckhaber BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. – It all began in 1963 when, during a family excursion over Hogback Mountain in Vermont, my father pulled our 1960 Nash Rambler station wagon into a rest stop on the top of the mountain next to a tourist/gift/ antique shop. It was during this brief respite that (at 10 years old) I spotted a dusty old brown bottle with the words “Saratoga Springs” inscribed across it. Unbeknownst to us at the time, this seemingly innocent discovery would forever change my family’s life. I gleefully brought this dirty old bottle to my father’s side where he held it in his hands with great interest and respect. Having been born and raised in nearby Ballston Spa, a trip to Saratoga Springs with visitors to “taste” the foul-smelling and vile-tasting spring water was always a highlight on our every “hometown tour.” We loved to witness the reactions of our unsuspecting guests when they took a big slug of water from the spout of the Red Spring. It was because of the combination of the familiarity of an item from Saratoga Springs found in far away Vermont and the fascination of the beautiful reddishbrown Stoddard color of the bottle made the decision to purchase our Saratoga bottle so easy (however, I now also believe
Summer 2006 that the $4.50 price was also a contributing factor!) The Hathorn bottle returned to Ballston Spa where it maintained a solitary place of honor on a bookshelf in our living room in our McMaster Street home for several more years. During the summer of my 12th year, I spent an overnight at a friend’s house on Mann Road on the outskirts of Ballston Spa. The highlight of our visit involved our surreptitious use of my friend’s BB gun while his parents were away at work. I didn’t own a BB gun and was very excited about the upcoming activity. My friend whispered throughout the night about our planned visit the next morning to an old dump he had found behind a nearby farmhouse. Sure enough, as soon as my friend’s mother drove out of the driveway, we snuck out of the house into the woods towards the old farmhouse. Hidden in the trees behind the old barn we quickly came upon the remnants of many years of farm life – implements, wagon wheels, tin cans. . . and, yes, old bottles. From the top of the pile we pulled out several old beer bottles and placed our first victims on a nearby fallen tree. I still recall how laughingly inept my friend and I were at hitting these easy targets. It was amazing how our accuracy dramatically improved as we quickly decided to get closer and closer to our targets. The sounds of shattering glass echoed through the woods, causing us both to experience an overwhelming, yet unspoken, feeling of pride in doing something our parents would obviously regard with great displeasure. Nonetheless, we continued to pull bottles from the dump pile and shoot at them, alternating between being Roy Rogers and John Wayne. It was a very memorable morning! My most significant memory 40 years later, however, is the moment my friend pulled out of the ground a dark green bottle that I immediately recognized as a smaller version of the old brown bottle we had purchased in Vermont a few years earlier. I brushed off the dirt and grime from the front of the bottle with my fingers and saw the words, “Ballston Spa Mineral Water.” I immediately knew I was holding something special. The dilemma I faced, however, was trying to explain to my 12-year-old friend why we shouldn’t destroy this particular dirty old bottle we had just pulled out of the dump. . .sadly, I found myself without
15 the courage to protect this treasure. Within moments it, too, was shattered into a heap of broken glass next to the rotting downed tree. When several more of these same emerald green bottles found their way into the pile of rubble, I feigned hunger and convinced my buddy to return to his home for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. As we walked away from the farm dump, I knew I would be back. . .but not with a BB gun in my hand! At the dinner table that night, I breathlessly described to my father the farm dump that we had found (although conveniently leaving out the part about the BB gun!) And I quickly saw on his face a look of excitement that he rarely exhibited. We returned that evening to the bookshelf and bought down the Hathorn bottle we had purchased in Vermont and I confirmed the similarity, overall appearance and age. A plan was hatched for my dad and me to return to the Mann Road farm dump on Saturday morning. The memories of the next several months are as crystal clear in my mind today as if these events unfolded last week. After receiving permission from the owner of the farm, my father, brother, sister and I spent countless hours over the next several months in our very first bottle dump. It is difficult to describe to others the excitement and fascination of unearthing these beautiful old bottles which became lighted from within with indescribable colors when held to the sun. Our initial digging efforts were disorganized and ineffective. My father soon established the groundwork for what turned out to be a wonderful archaeological effort with unbelievable results. Although we never kept track of the number of bottles we found, I vividly recall filling the back of our Rambler station wagon with overflowing bushel baskets of bottles. By far, the lion’s share of the bottles we found that summer were of a single type – Ballston Spa Mineral Water, Saratoga-type pint bottles. The colors ranged widely from dark emerald green to teal blue to very light aqua. I imagine that we dug in excess of 150 pristine examples of this beautiful mineral water bottle. Before dad passed away, he often reminisced about how quickly we worked at the Mann Road dump, as by then I had confessed that I was truly fearful that my best friend would return with his BB gun! (Continued on Page 16.)
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JEAN MATTHEWS GARRISON, 1990 – Described as “the ideal ambassador of good will” for the hobby since 1969, Jean was one of those who worked behind the scenes in many instances. When she got involved in the hobby, she jumped in with both feet in striving to make it better. “She participated in 17 to 22 shows per year in 21 states,” her nominators write, “and was constantly busy answering questions, making suggestions, taking dues, and supplying materials on bottle collecting as a hobby. She was a member of no fewer than five bottle clubs, serving at various times as secretary, newsletter editor and officer. She became national chairman of the federation in 1980 and served as public relations chairman for eight years. She as always thinking of the overall picture, the goal to make bottle collecting a popular and respected hobby.” DR. GEORGE HERRON, 1992 – Subscribers to Old Bottle Magazine from July of 1969 through 1983 became aware of an interesting and oft-amusing column called “Herron’s Hunches.” While not everyone agreed with his “hunches,” many of his predictions about the hobby and antique bottles have come true. He and his wife, Ruth, were among the founding members of the Iowa Antique Bottleers in 1966. Among his most common practices was to give youngsters a few bottles and encourage them to get involved in the hobby. One of his claims to fame was his appointment by the National Park Service as the official appraiser of more than 6,000 bottles found on the salvaged steamer Bertrand at DeSoto Bend on the Missouri River. His club members thought so highly of “Doc,” as he was known,” that in 1971 they dedicated the first club bottle to him. It was the best kept secret in Iowa and it actually left him speechless. On one side of the amber bottle blown by the Clevenger Brothers Glass Works was the bust of an American Indian and Iowa Antique Bottleers 1971. On the other side was embossed: “Dedicated to Dr. George Herron, Founder IAB, Est. June 1967.” Continued from Page 15: Over the next ten years, my father’s passion for the bottles from Saratoga Springs grew exponentially. The people he met and the friends he made in the bottle collecting world were the BEST! As one who was always very interested in local history anyway (he served as the Village Clerk of Ballston Spa for years prior to his interest in bottles), my father jumped into researching, studying and learning about Saratoga bottles “with both feet.” This labor of love resulted in the publication of a book on Saratoga bottles in 1976 (which was later updated by my mother in 1993). The Saratoga Bottle Collectors Society as formed and through the efforts of many, including my father, those with a specific interest formed a great group which met twice a year to share in the history of Saratoga Springs and, perhaps more importantly, swap stories an bottles and develop lifelong relationships. Kit Barry, a Vermont collector, also contributed to dad’s Saratoga bottle knowledge. Eventually my dad, Gary Stephenson, Dick Watson and many others purchased
the Verbeck House and started the first National Bottle Museum in Ballston Spa. An unbelievable amount of time and effort went into this project and it was with a great deal of satisfaction my father was inducted into the Federation of Historical Bottle Clubs (as it was then known) National Bottle Museum Hall of Fame in 1988. Not surprisingly, one of the last conversations I had with my father before he died 16 years ago was about the wonderful times we had digging the Mann Road dump and how remarkably our lives had changed as a result of shooting a BB gun with my friend on that warm summer morning many, many years ago.
Robert Puckhaber, age 11 or 12
Bottles and Extras what a show that was! “One of the most satisfying rewards for being involved in the hobby all these years has been the opportunity to meet a lot of great people. “My advice to a novice collector is to learn everything you can about your hobby, participate in bottle club meetings and related events. Continue to grow with your hobby and undoubtedly you, too, can become a member of the FOHBC Hall of Fame.” (EDITOR’S NOTE: During May 20-21, 1983, Robert W. Skinner auctioned off the Edmund and Jayne Blaske (pronounced Blaskee) Collection of American Historical Flasks. Norman C. “Norm” Heckler prepared the catalogue. Hal and Vern Wagner of St. Louis penned a fitting tribute to their friends, the Blaskes, that was included in the catalogue. The following excerpts are being reprinted here with Mr. Heckler’s approval) “We have often heard it said that bottle collectors are not just bottle collectors, but people collectors as well . . . that the people in the hobby are as important as the bottles they collect. . . let us tell you about our friends, Ed and Jayne Blaske (who are) as important to us as the flasks they collected. “The Blaske Collection began as simply and unimpressively as most other bottle collections. The Blaske family (Ed, Jayne and their three young children: Pat, Bob and Tom) were out for a drive one day some 24 years ago (1959) when they came upon a very ordinary antique shop. At first they weren’t even going to stop, but Pat said, ‘Oh, come on, Daddy, let’s go look.’ Well, look they did, and they found a differentlooking piece of glass which the proprietor called a ‘vase.’ The price was only $15 and since Pat liked it, her Daddy bought it. It was not a vase at all, but their first flask, a Sunburst VIII-29. “Now that they had one flask, perhaps they should try to find another, and another, and still another – the beginning of a fantastic collection which grew into the most complete collection of historical flasks ever assembled. The 1,115 flasks in the collection include all the molds in the original (George) McKearin charts (including the C Group of Rare Flasks) with the mere exception of about 15 examples. “What began as a family outing continued as a family endeavor. . .they are well known for their perseverance in the search for the flasks in their collection.
Bottles and Extras They were true collectors: interested, aware and knowledgeable about their own collection, about McKearin numbers, rarities, values, all of the things one has to know to be a collector. “Ed and Jayne will always be remembered for their help and enthusiasm in the collections of others.” The Blaskes were elected to the FOHBC Hall of Fame in 1985. Both are deceased. It’s truly amazing how little things can get one started in a hobby in a big way. For example, in 1969, Junne Barnett, who was raised on a farm, went to a farm sale. There she found a quart Mason jar in apple green and outbid another person for it. In 1972, her husband, Norm, joined Roger Emory of Hagerstown, Ind., in organizing the Midwest Antique Fruit Jar and Bottle Club. The inaugural meeting was held in the Barnetts’ hometown fire station in Flat Rock and attracted collectors from Danville, Ill., Exenia, Ohio, and elsewhere in the Indiana area. The club’s first show was held in January 1973 in Richmond, Ind., attracting jar collectors from as far away as California and New York since it was the first show devoted to “fruit jars.” The club began holding two shows a year in 1976 on the second Sunday in January and the second Sunday in July. “On the Saturdays before the shows, we held what was called a ’Fruit Jar GetTogether’ where collectors brought in jars to show and tell or to ask questions about,” Junne said. “This session is still being held.” Norman Barnett served as club president for all but ten years of its existence and was show chairman at the same time. Junne served as club newsletter editor for 30 years, retiring in 2006. He served the federation as Midwest Region chairman and was director at large from 1982 to 2003. She served as Midwest Region newsletter chair and merchandise director. Their club played host to the 2001 region meeting in Muncie, Ind., and they served on committees for the 1976 St. Louis Expo and Toledo Expo, as well as the Cincinnati and Louisville regional shows. Junne did the program books for the Nashville Expo and the FOHBC’s 25 th anniversary show in Cherry Hill, N.J. The Barnetts have attended all of the federation expos and regionals, excepting the one in Syracuse, N.Y. Norm, who is now retired, collects fruit
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STEPHEN “PECK” MARKOTA, 1993 – In nearly every club, there is a nucleus of a few members who do all the work needed to keep it going, while the rest of the membership are content to do nothing. Meet Peck Markota, one of the workhorses of the federation. He got involved in the hobby during the 1960s. Many things stand out about his service: He (1) promoted on individual and non-profit bases the first combination show and sale in the Sacramento area (it took place June 14, 1969 in Folsom), setting the precedent for shows and sales and providing collectors ready access to a wide range of bottles to add to their collections. He was the FOHBC representative at the show; (2) was elected 2nd vice chairman of the first FOHBC board of directors at the federation meeting March 30, 1969 in Berkeley, Calif.; (3) was elected 1st vice president of FOHBC at the federation convention Oct. 10, 1969 in Denver, Colo.; (4) was elected 1st vice chairman at the convention in Rochester, N.Y., July 25-27, 1970; (5) was elected 1st vice chairman of FOHBC at the Aug. 6-8, 1971 meeting in Dallas, Texas; (6) was elected vice chairman and helped create individual guidelines for judging bottle exhibits while at the federation convention in Sacramento June 9-11, 1972, and (7) was unanimously selected as the federation’s first honorary director and a position on the board with voting rights at the Aug. 9-10, 1975 convention in Dallas. There is a lot more, but you get the idea. He also was a member of no fewer than 11 bottle collecting-related groups (including the National Privy Diggers Association) and served those groups in various capacities. He and his wife, Audie, authored Western Blob Top Sodas (now in its third printing). He also has enjoyed 100 percent support from his wife in all his bottle collecting endeavors. She served as co-editor with him of several bottle club newsletters. He has always been willing to share his knowledge with others. VERN WAGNER, 1993, & HAROLD G. “HAL” WAGNER, 1994 – Togetherness helped keep Verna “Vern” Wagner of Saint Louis, who died in 1989, and her husband, “Hal,” who died in 1993, active in the hobby since getting into it by accident in 1961. Vern had gone to the 1865 log cabin (with additions) home of her great grandparents to retrieve some family items before the house was sold. Among the pieces she brought home was an amber Hostetter’s Bitters and a Sloan’s Liniment bottle. Some weeks later, the family including son, Jim, went to Hal’s father’s home. Jim explored an abandoned barn on the property and quickly returned to the house, breathlessly explaining that he’d found a whole box of bottles “just like the ones Mom brought home!” Vern went on to amass a world-class collection of perfume bottles, many pontiled, and Hal put together a world-class collection of historical flasks. Together the Wagners joined the St. Louis Antique Bottle Collectors Association in 1970 and became life members of the federation in 1977. They originated the first St. Louis club show in 1971 and Vern served as club treasurer from 1984 until her death. Hal suggested that the federation hold a national show in 1976, thinking it was a great year to hold it because it was the country’s bicentennial. But the federation was not in a position financially to do so, so Hal volunteered to use his own money until profits from the show came in. While the St. Louis Expo was not the most profitable of the national shows, it did have the finest gathering of quality bottles ever seen before or after; outstanding displays with more than 200. More than 600 people attended the banquet. He joined his wife in writing articles for Antique Bottle World magazine.
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ALICE M. CRESWICK, 1995 – Mention of her name unerringly brings to mind fruit jars, a topic on which she was expert. Her contributions to the hobby were mainly the books she authored over a period of nearly 30 years, beginning in the mid-1960s. Six editions of the Collector’s Guide to Old Fruit Jars, more commonly known as the Red Book, brought to light more than 3,000 varieties of fruit jars. She also found time to contribute monthly columns in Antique Bottle World magazine from 1973 to 1983. In 1987, she completed Vols. I and II of The Fruit Jar Works research editions, which listed, described and illustrated virtually all the known jars to that date. She did all of this quietly, humbly and with no desire for fanfare. It was her simple dream to make a difference – a contribution to the hobby that had been such a source of joy to her. These notes were penned by her nominator, Doug Leybourne, himself no slouch when it comes to fruit jars. JOHN C. FOUNTAIN, 1995 – After becoming interested in old bottles during the late 1950s, John eventually became a veritable “Fountain” of information as one of California’s few real pioneers in the hobby. John became a charter member of the Antique Bottle Collectors Association of California during the early 1960s and opened the first antique bottle store in the nation in Sacramento. The name of the store – “John C. Fountain’s Ole Empty Bottle House” – became familiar to early collectors throughout the West. He expanded in 1963 to include bottle books and soon became the No. 1 source in the country for bottle information and publications. In 1964, John and his wife and partner, Florence, moved to Amador City in the heart of the California 49er Gold Country. Florence established Amador City Antiques, while John continued to write, collect and focus on the bottles, books and bottle clubs. In 1966, he wrote the “Down the Bottle Trail” column for Western Collector magazine. John and his friend, Donald Colcleaser, co-authored the Dictionary of Soda and Mineral Water Bottles, one of the most famous of the early bottle books. He later authored the Dictionary of Spirits and Whiskey Bottles and the Dictionary of Glass and Ceramic Insulators. His greatest achievement was the creation and publishing of his own bottle magazine, the National Bottle Gazette, always seeing to it that a full page was available, free, to the federation. jars with unusual closures and the collection numbers more than 200. One of the more unusual is the R.M. Dalbey Fruit Jar (Patented Nov. 16, 1858) that features nine pieces, including three of leather, in its closure. Other favorites include the Commodore, a bulbous jar with folding fan lid and tightening nuts and screw in the center; Collins & Chapman, which has a metal band fastened to the neck to form a wax seal channel; Thompson, with a ceramic lid; Indicator, with a two-piece lid and the band is umbrella-shaped; an Improved Standard Patented April 17th, 1888; Belle, Patented Dec. 14 th, 1869, which has a domed glass lid and three hollow feet on the base, and The Great Eastern Phila. E.T. Whitehead, a jar made
in a reworked A. Stone mould. Junne, who formed “a little collection if Christmas lights,” and Norm celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on March 19, 2006. He was 80, she 81, and both hoped to continue their collecting activities for some time to come. “Neither of us look our ages,” said Junne, who serves as director of Shelby County Historical Society’s Grover Museum in Shelby, Ind. The first “real” book on antique bottles purchased by this writer and other collectors was Bitters Bottles by Richard “Dick” Watson in 1965 and his Supplement to Bitters Bottles three years later. His talented wife, Elma, contributed the line drawings and edited the texts. “Elma and I were collecting antiques
Bottles and Extras before we married in 1958,” said Dick. “Our object was to furnish part of our home with them. We liked the demijohns she got from college friends for shower gifts. Later, I found a Grape-Eagle flask in an old farm house and while trying to find out more about it, I got really interested as did Elma. “Later, my grandfather told me he had lived on that estate for some time in the 1880s as his father was the farm manager and tenant. We attended local auctions and antique shows with renewed interests. That was about 1959. About 1960, Elma went to an antique show where dealer Sam Laidacker was displaying. He had just gotten the Thiel collection and had lots of bottles for sale. “They were so beautiful they did not seem ‘antique,’ so she asked Sam if they were old or reproductions. He laughed and began to educate her. She was highly excited about it all and promptly made arrangements to visit his shop in Bristol, Pa., with me. What a revelation that was! After the visit, we were really excited and began to visit him and buy all we could afford on a regular basis with our very limited means. We liked all of them, but bitters seemed especially attractive and interesting. “Sam encouraged us to write about bitters. We became so wrapped up in our new hobby that one time we walked out of his shop and got into the car. He asked us if we’d forgotten anything. Our infant son was asleep on a daybed in Sam’s bedroom! “Our enthusiasm about writing a Bitters book was dampened a little bit because many collectors were committed to helping a gentleman named Bart Saalfrank who had been collecting information on Bitters for years. (Saalfrank later turned over his research to Carlyn Ring). About 1962, Elma submitted line drawings of the Fish, Indian Queen and Ear of Corn to Carlyn Ring, who returned them because she had planned to use a different form of illustration and she was not yet ready to publish. “Along the way, we met Clif Blake, a prominent dealer from Connecticut who supplied Carlyn with bottles, but gave us second choice. The seconds were great! At this point, we moved ahead with our book plans and a chance meeting with our neighbor led to his offer to publish what we were getting together. Then we hit a wall as far as new information was concerned, so Sam suggested we contact Charlie Gardner. We did so immediately, driving to New London the next day and explained
Bottles and Extras our mission. Charlie also was reluctant because of his interaction with Mr. Saalfrank and Carlyn, but left the door open. We met him and his wife, Nina, again at a Pennypackers auction in Reading, Pa., They stayed with us and thus began a close, lifelong friendship, with Charlie putting his full influence and help behind us. The books got done. “We had met so many wonderful people and had so many interesting experiences that our collecting was enhanced many fold. We met George Austin, who became a great friend and an important influence on us. He had a Townsend’s Bitters handled jug and 1,000 flasks for sale. The Townsend’s was $75 and the flasks – part of his father’s collection – were quite reasonable and we bought all we could afford. “With Elma’s death in 2002, my retirement life changed. I now use a large table in my main bottle room as my office and see beautiful bottles whenever I raise my eyes. This adds a very pleasant measure to my life today, along with frequent visits to and from other collectors. Through it all, Elma was my constant and enthusiastic companion. It is difficult to condense 46 years of collecting into a few words. My association with the FOHBC, the Wheaton Museum and the clubs and shows have enriched my life beyond all expectations. So many names come to mind of those who have contributed in various ways and at various times to the hobby. I’ve been happy to know them all.” Dick Watson was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1997 and Elma joined him in 2002. Photo credits: Helen McKearin photo courtesy of The Corning Glass Museum, N.Y. Charles B. Gardner, Dick and Elma Watson photos courtesy of Bill Baab. Photo of Judge Edmund Blaske courtesy of Norm Heckler. Paul Ballentine photo courtesy of Ralph Finch.
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CARLYN RING, 1996 – Mention her name and bitters bottles immediately come to mind, and with good reason: She authored For Bitters Only, the most complete and definitive book on the subject since Dick and Elma Watson’s Bitters Bottles in 1965. What began as a whim with her 1951 purchase of two bitters bottles soon became a passion for the collector. Then she met Florida collectors Adelaide and Bart Saalfrank. In addition to buying many bitters from their outstanding collection, she also acquired Bart’s 10 years of research on bitters. She continued the project for nearly 25 years, reaching the point of publishing her book in 1980. It incorporated all of the earlier works on bitters and in 1984 and 1988, she published updates documenting new bitters discoveries. Incredibly, there are more than 3,000 bitters bottles listed in all. Ms. Ring, a life member of the federation, also shared her knowledge and collection with many others. She wrote an article on Centennial Bitters appropriately for the 1976 St. Louis Expo program. Her collecting and collection were featured in national publications and she gave slide shows and talks to bottle clubs and historical groups. She had visited the Corning (N.Y.) Museum of Glass several times “and, as was typical of the times, there were no displays on bitters, no mention of bitters, nothing. So I asked if they would like a display of some and the reply was affirmative. It’s been years since I was there, but I think I gave them Hostetters and Doyle’s (Hop Bitters) and some ephemera like trade cards and private die proprietary stamps.” Late in 1994, she decided to sell the collection she had amassed over the previous 41 years. Four years later, she worked with Bill Ham of Downieville, Calif., in the production of the massive (617 pages) Bitters Bottles, which uses the cataloguing system she developed for her earlier book. JOHN M. EATWELL, 2002 – Pike’s Peak historical flasks had a particular fascination for John Eatwell, a Denver architect who also had a passion for Colorado history. He co-authored two books with his friend, David K. Clint III, with the last titled Pike’s Peak Gold. The text traces the famous peak’s history from its discovery by Zebulon Pike during the 19th century and deals with the early history of Colorado. The story and background of Eatwell, who died Nov. 29, 2005, was well covered in a Bottles and Extras feature article in the Spring 2006 issue.
1997: Dick Watson
1998: Burton Spiller
2002: Elma Watson
1999: Howard Dean
2002: Bob Ferraro
2003: Norm & Junne Barnette
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Summer 2006
Jar 54 Where Are You? By Barry L. Bernas
What’s with the Title? For those of you old enough to remember the so-called golden age of television, the early 1960s series - Car 54, Where Are You? - should be a familiar one. Who can forget the antics of officers Gunther Toody (Joe E. Ross) and Francis Muldoon (Fred Gwynne)? They were a pair of zany New York policemen, assigned to the 53rd Precinct, who, while on patrol, rode in the “…ever-errant Car 54.” 1 What does this situation comedy have to do with fruit jars? The unlikely partnership of the characters Toody, who was “…short, stocky, friendly, and just a bit nosy…” and Muldoon, who was “…tall and quiet…”,2 wasn’t complete without their vehicle - Car 54. In similar fashion, a short pint and taller quart aren’t a set without their companion half-gallon. Many 16- and 32-ounce examples have reported for duty; however, their sixty-four ounce mate remains out there somewhere as “Jar 54.” My metaphor was meant to get you into a pondering mode. One that first wondered what I was attempting to do. But more importantly, I hope your secondary response was one of recognition. If I was successful, then you can help identify those unreported “Jar 54s.” Aim In the following paragraphs, I intend to discuss eleven pairs of containers for which their half-gallon counterpart is absent without leave. Most of these jars aren’t rare. Some are considered to be scarce by one source or another. All but one set are clear in color and accepted by most enthusiasts to be commonplace, regardless of their lineage. These groups aren’t hand-blown. They don’t come with exotic sealing methods or in stunning colors. All were machine manufactured over the past one hundred years or so. As with others, their “claim to fame” is the fact that they are missing a mate.
I don’t know whether a matching container was produced for these pint and quart specimens. In some cases, a fruit jar reference guide lists an example in a halfgallon size but try to find someone who has seen it. For most of the eleven partial sets, one hasn’t been reported. The answer to the rejoinder “why not” could be as simple as the maker didn’t manufacture one. Or it could be that one was turned out but not recorded because the jar is believed to be too common to warrant any interest in it. Let me assure you, the examples I’m going to present aren’t as prevalent as you would first presume. In other words, they aren’t seen on a recurring basis. If you can help get any one of their 64-ounce associates off deserter status and back on active duty by verifying its existence, I for one would be appreciative. ANCHOR MASON’S PATENT. The first group carries the front inscription on individual lines - ANCHOR (in a straight line) MASON’S (arched
lettering) PATENT (in a straight line) with a dot after the “T” in the word PATENT. This arrangement has the company name ANCHOR - composed of either roped or unroped alphabetical characters.3 On the backside of the shoulder seal, clear or sun colored amethyst tinted pint and quart examples, is an embossed fouled anchor. This nautical symbol is a representation of an admiralty style which, in this case, leans to the left.4 First reported by Don Burkett,5 the 32-ounce model can be seen on the left in Figure 1. In June, 1992, Wayne and June Lowry acquired its Toodyesque mate on the right. Was a half-gallon sample ever pressed and blown? Brockway CLEAR-VU MASON The 64-ounce version in this set has escaped my efforts to locate it for nearly five years. Perhaps, I’m looking in the wrong places! This apparently mundane article is listed in Red Book 9 under number 514. 6 But this Jar 54 isn’t round. It is rounded square in shape. The pint and quart examples, depicted left to right in Figure 2, have the following markings in separate lines on the front - Brockway (slanted upward to the right) CLEAR-VU
Figure 1
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Figure 2
(slanted upward to the right) MASON (in a straight line). These screw top, bead seal, clear jars have a distinctive rounded square shape to them. Their stippled bases are similar in design as well. In the center is a dot. To the left is the maker’s logo, a capital B within a circle. On the right of the dot are the digits 48. Above the period are probable mold series numbers. Below are the mold numbers 1297 (pint) and 1298 (quart). Have you seen 1299? It really does emulate the slogan, Jar 54, Where Are You? Unembossed Capstan In May 1926, the Capstan Glass Company advertised for the first and only time a 16- and 32-ounce clear glass set of lightning style, beaded neck, full wire bail jars. 7 These unassuming packers’ containers were unembossed. Seen in Figure 3, their bases contained the only hint as to where they were made. Extremely fruit jar-like in appearance, these samples each have a Capstan trademark embossed in the center of their bases. Above it is a likely mold series number while below is the four digit number for the mold. For the pint, 3995 is present. On its four-cup associate is 3996. With that sequencing of mold numbers, Figure 3
you would think 3997 would be their missing counterpart. However, that number belongs to a Capstan manufactured halfgallon jar with a smaller mouth and a lightning style, beaded neck, half wire bail closure with half moon shaped dimpled bosses. It’s easy to assume that a sealing mechanism modification (full to half wire bail) was made before a 3997 example of the former type (full wire bail) was produced. This would be a plausible explanation for why no full wire bail edition has been located. But don’t be so fast to ascribe to this thought. I say this because I have a pint-size jar with the latter style of closing technique (half wire bail with half moon shaped dimpled bosses) which has the number 3995 on its base. This means two different and successive closure variations exist for the pint model. Both models carry the same mold number. If Capstan officials gave their 16-ounce container with the updated sealing means the exact mold number as the one with the older style, wouldn’t it be logical that the same would follow through for numbers 3996 and 3997? We have already seen the 3997 marked half-gallon version with the more modern method of achieving air tightness. Where is the other rendition? Is it still out on endless patrol in the Precinct 53? Diggers, I need your help in getting this Jar 54 off the unauthorized absence list. GLENSHAW G in a Square MASON If you are a problem solver, here is one for you to tackle. In Figure 4, there is a pint and quart example of a clear fruit jar each embossed with - GLENSHAW (in a banner) G (in a square) MASON - on three different lines. Both have stippled bases with a capital G in a square in the center. When you look at their mold numbers, Figure 4
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Figure 5 though; you should start to scratch your head. Normally, these digits would be consecutive but in this case they aren’t. Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to find out what the mold number is for a half-gallon similarly inscribed home canning vessel. The Toody model has 1955 on its under side. Its mate carries 1255. Find the 64-ounce teammate and the problem is solved. HOM-PAK MASON The fifth set in search of completion was made by two different glass firms. Most prevalent is the clear, rounded square, bead seal, four cup model embossed with HOMPAK (on one line) MASON (beneath on another line). See Figure 5 for a picture of this specimen. I’ve seen 32-ounce examples with the following trademarks on their bases: a capital H inside a triangle and a large S within a keystone form. The former logo was from J. T. & A. Hamilton, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The latter signified the Seaboard Glass Bottle Company of the same city. 8 Decidedly less available is the two-cup edition. I haven’t come across one yet but Red Book 9 lists a sample under number 1262.9 Which firm made the forlorn halfgallon? Continued on next page...
22
Bottles and Extras
Summer 2006 the same size should have been manufactured in the Knox style as well. Jar 54, Where are You?
Figure 6
Knox (in a circle) Genuine MASON The sight of a home canning container with Samco (in a circle) Genuine MASON marked on its front has become a routine occurrence for me. The clear examples in pint, quart and half-gallon capacities seem to me to be almost everywhere I go when I’m “jar hunting.” But there’s an off-shoot of this style that is the complete opposite in its presence. Seen in Figure 6, the 16- and 32-ounce models embossed with - Knox (in a circle) on the top line followed by Genuine on the next and MASON beneath - are the antithesis of their Samco brethren. These aren’t seen very often. Since a colorless rounded square 64-ounce Samco version was produced, it stands to reason one of
Knox Mason In the space of five months during 1990, Dick Roller talked about the pint and quart jars embossed on the front with Knox (on one line) Mason (on the following line).10 To say this partnership is a scarce commodity understates the issue by magnitudes. I’ve been fortunate enough to find a quart model. It is shown on the left in Figure 7. As you can see, the shape of this clear, screw top, bead seal container isn’t noteworthy in any regard. Some like Dick Roller thought it looked like a modern mayonnaise jar. The base on my 32-ounce specimen is stippled. In the center is the maker’s trademark - a capital K inside a keystone outline. Above this logo is the probable mold identifier P-1011. Below the insignia is a solitary digit. In this case, it is a 5. Wayne and June Lowry of Raymore, Missouri were kind enough to provide me a picture and a base description of the pint edition seen on the right in Figure 7. The underneath side of this vessel has a capital K within a keystone form embossed in the center. Directly above the manufacturer’s logo is descriptor P-238. Beneath the trademark is the single numeral 7. Does this set of two containers have a
third relative? If so, its escape and evasion training has so far been superior because it remains at large. Keep a lookout for this Jar 54; it could add to your stash of pin money. Samco SUPER MASON Here’s another one to keep your eye out for when you are getting dirty rummaging through the box lots full of old canning jars at a garage, yard or estate sale. The bead seal domestic container with Samco (slanted upward to the right on the top line) SUPER (middle line) MASON (bottom line) marked on the front is a somewhat familiar site to most of us. But before you jump to the conclusion I’m talking about the examples that are colorless, read a little bit further. Coming without the plate mold impression around the word MASON, the models in Figure 8 are aqua in color. Since two members of the threesome have been located, the tardy team mate needs to be brought back home to roost. Don’t think the search isn’t worth the effort. How often have you encountered any of the specimens in Figure 8? Figure 8
Figure 7
SIMPLEX (in a Diamond) The ninth listing is an all glass container made for the packers of commercially prepared foodstuffs. Both the pint and near quart examples in this grouping are depicted in Figure 9. With a specially designed finish, these jars were sealed by a screw cap made to the May 3rd, 1904 patent issued to William Beach Fenn. In addition, they have the word - SIMPLEX - enclosed within an elongated diamond embossed on the front or, in some cases, the cylindrical vessel can be found without any embossing on it at all. These models were manufactured from June 1903 until some point in 1908 by the Sterling, Perfection and Hazel-Atlas Glass Companies. 11 Fortunately for me, I’ve
Bottles and Extras
Summer 2006 Shown in Figure 10, both examples are alleged to have a mate that has been reported at an earlier date. In Red Book 9, a half-gallon edition is listed.13 But ask an acquaintance or two if they have seen an actual sixty-four ounce specimen. I did and none have. Nevertheless, I’m optimistic that the individual who has one of these jars in hiding will come forward with a photograph of it? That way, I can remove this Jar 54 from my list of the unaccountable.
Figure 9
managed to find the cover for a probable 64-ounce model. This fact suggests that a mate for the duo above was made. But that is as far as I’ve been able to go. Once again, for those diggers reading this article, keep an eye out for this missing member of the SIMPLEX team. SIMPLEX MASON A century or so old, this penultimate duet is in need of a third party to make them a trio. Clear or sun-colored amethyst in tone, these threaded finish, shoulder seal models have the Perfection Glass Company’s supposed trademark SIMPLEX (in arched letters) above the word MASON (in a straight line) embossed on the front. Turned out between 1904 and 1906, these containers are carried under the “…Not generally available.” category in the Fruit Jar Annual.12
SQUARE G (in a Square) WIDEMOUTH MASON This set is the last of my eleven containers in absentia. Rounded square in shape, a sixteen- and thirty-two ounce example appear in Figure 11 from left to right, respectively. Across the front on either version is the following embossing SQUARE (one line) G in a square (one line) WIDEMOUTH (one line) MASON (one line). These screw topped, beaded seal jars come with a stippled base. Right in the center is the Glenshaw Glass Company’s trademark - a capital G in a square. Above the logo is a mold number with a mold series number below the insignia. The pint carries the number 3045. Its quart counterpart has 3046 in the same location. Likely produced in the 1950s or later14, these clear, widemouth models aren’t very common at all. I was told by a retiree from Glenshaw Glass, one who worked during the 1950s and 1960s for this company, that 64-ounce containers with a widemouth
Figure 10
23 Figure 11
were manufactured. As encouraging as this oral history report may seem to be, it is only a rumor, in my estimation, until the last Jar 54 comes forward and is reported to be fit for duty. Postscript I’ve introduced you to eleven pairs of fruit jars that are seeking another member for their team. In some cases, this may prove to be an impossible deliverable because one wasn’t turned out. In others, the half-gallon was probably manufactured but has gone unnoticed. In my opinion, over time the unaccounted for candidate(s) somehow acquired the reputation of being too pedestrian. Thus, they have been relegated to the ordinary bin; doomed to never again garner any attention. Wherever possible, I need your help to turn this situation around. And why is that, you ask? Because I have a soft spot in my collecting heart for these eleven, common but very uncommon, Jar 54s. BLB Endnotes 1 The Great TV Sitcom Book, Rick Mitz, Putnam Publishing Group, 200 Madison Avenue, New York, New York, 10016, 1983, pgs. 177-179. 2 The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (Sixth Edition), Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, Ballantine Books, New York, New York, 1995, pg. 166. 3 This trait was first reported by Dick Roller in his column Fruit Jar News Clearing House which appeared in the December 1979 edition of Old Bottle Magazine. See that article for more information on this unique feature. 4 The following reference has more details on this emblem - Jars of the ANCHOR MASON’S PATENT (dot) Series, Barry L. Bernas, The Guide To Collecting Fruit Jars Fruit Jar Annual Volume 11 - 2006, Jerome Continued on Page 25.
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Bottles and Extras
Summer 2006
NA ZO I AR
GRAND CANYON GLASS
Last summer I received a phone call from a collector in Colorado offering to sell me a mini-jug from Arizona. Though this was a great thing to hear, the excitement of the conversation was tempered initially by the fact that I had been involved in false alarms before involving items for sale. Several questions were already forming in my head, such as: was this really a mini or one of the several half-pint jugs; was there any damage; and if this truly was a minijug, which one was it. Since I was trying to remain calm, I was careful to space these all-important questions throughout our conversation. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the gentleman on the other side of the phone was knowledgeable in jugs and that the one in question was a true mini. Secondly, the jug had no major flaws and was intact with just a glazing buildup on several letters. Finally, only two questions remained: what was the asking price and which jug was it? Since all of the minis accounted for when compiling the book on Arizona bottles and stoneware were from either Phoenix or Tucson, I knew it had to be from one of those two cities, but which one? Our conversation went on for some time before I finally asked if it was a Tucson or Phoenix jug. Much to my surprise the reply was neither and that the mini was from Willcox. At this point I was a bit in shock, and though I was trying my best, remaining calm was no longer a possibility. You see it was in a small town
By Michael Miller
ARIZONA'S BEST just 30 miles from Willcox where I met my wife and our first date was to Willcox of all places. After this, I was told that the jug was from The Elite and advertised Montreal Malt Rye. I was trying to write the information down as we continued to talk but all I could think about was that it was from Willcox and initially the significance of the jug failed to sink in. After another half-hour of talking, a price was agreed upon and I hung up the phone. For about an hour or so I was still in shock and anticipated my wifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s arrival back home from shopping. After all I was paying quite a bit for the jug and I do like to include her on these decisions when that kind of money is to change hands. When she returned I told her of the jug, and when I spoke to her I could see that look of how much did you spend? But when I told her where it was from, she became more excited than I had been. She asked what was stenciled on the jug and it was then that I realized that my phone notes made no sense at all. All I could tell her was that it mentioned something about a type of whiskey from Canada and that it was from Willcox. So much for staying cool. A week later the jug arrived and it was just as described. While I waited for it, its significance began to sink in. Of course I realized that it was the only small town mini from Arizona, but it was also the only saloon mini and it had the added rarity of
advertising a specific brand of whiskey. A day or so after it arrived I spent several hours researching The Elite in the research library at the Arizona State Capitol building. THE ELITE The Elite opened in Willcox as early as 1885 under the ownership of John F. Crowley. By 1893, the name of the establishment changed to Elite Billiard Exchange, and in 1895, Crowley sold his bar to M. C. Cooper. Now listed as The Elite Saloon, the bar changed proprietors several more times. Firstly in 1898 to C. D. Monroe, who had previously operated the Headquarters Saloon, and then to its final owner, T. P. Coleman. Coleman ran the saloon from late 1898 to 1903. No further mention of The Elite is mentioned in 1904 copies of the Willcox paper, nor was it listed in the 1907 Arizona business directory. By 1907 The Eliteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original proprietor, John Crowley, had opened a general store in Willcox. A 1911 directory listing shows Crowley back in the saloon business, but there is no reference to the name of the saloon or to the Elite.
Bottles and Extras
Summer 2006
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25 Jar 54, Where Are You? Continued from Page 23. J. McCann, 5003 W. Berwyn Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. 5 New Reports, Dick Roller, Fruit Jar Newsletter, December 1981, pg. 100 and clarified in Notes & News, Dick Roller, Fruit Jar Newsletter, January 1982, pg. 106. 6 The Collector’s Guide to Old FRUIT JARS Red Book 9, Douglas M. Leybourne, Jr., P. O. Box 5417, North Muskegon, Michigan 49445, 2001, pg. 78 7 The Capstan Glass Company, A Maker of Jars among Other Products, Barry L. Bernas, The Guide To Collecting Fruit Jars Fruit Jar Annual Volume 9 - 2004, Jerome J. McCann, 5003 W. Berwyn Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60630-1501, pg. 28. 8 HOM-PAK was registered as a trademark for the ANCO Corporation of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 20, 1943. The Standard Fruit Jar Reference, Dick Roller, Acorn Press, Paris, Illinois, 1983, pg. 157. 9 The Collector’s Guide to Old FRUIT JARS Red Book 9, Douglas M. Leybourne, Jr., P. O. Box 5417, North Muskegon, Michigan 49445, 2001, pg. 166. 10 The Knox Mason Script Jars, Dick Roller, Fruit Jar Newsletter, April 1990, pg. 515; FOLLOW-UP, Dick Roller, Fruit Jar Newsletter, July 1990, pg. 530 and Report of Another Script Knox Mason Jar, Dick Roller, Fruit Jar Newsletter, August 1990, pg. 533. 11 Perfection Glass Company, One of Many Glass Houses in Washington, Pennsylvania, Barry L. Bernas, 239 Ridge Avenue, Gettysburg, 17325, 2005, pgs. XXX-XLVIII. 12 Perfection Glass Company, One of Many Glass Houses in Washington, Pennsylvania, Barry L. Bernas, 239 Ridge Avenue, Gettysburg, 17325, 2005, pgs. LI and LII and The Guide To Collecting Fruit Jars Fruit Jar Annual Volume 10 2005, Jerome J. McCann, 5003 W. Berwyn Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, pg. 176. 13 The Collector’s Guide to Old FRUIT JARS Red Book 9, Douglas M. Leybourne, Jr., P. O. Box 5417, North Muskegon, Michigan 49445, 2001, pg. 346. 14 The Family of Glenshaw Jars, Dick Roller, Fruit Jar Newsletter, October 1990, pg. 540.
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Bottles and Extras
Summer 2006
Chasing The Western Flasks
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
By Ralph Van Brocklin POTPOURRI Shows and bottles… bottles and mini jugs… friends, wheeling and dealing… what a great hobby! And, what an obsession! I hate flying, but I love my friends and chasing the flasks even more; thus, off to Las Vegas for their February 17-18th show! Las Vegas For those who have never been to this show, it is notable for blending a mixture of bottles, casino collectibles, souvenir china, ashtrays, paper and advertising. One never knows what will turn up and I’ve made some nice additions to my shelves from purchases at this show over the years. This year saw no flasks make it to my collection, but there were a number of nice flasks in the show, primarily on the tables of Bob Hirsch of Whittier, California. Unfortunately, he was back in one of the corners where lighting was bad, so most of my photos of individual flasks did not make it, but the group photo [Figure 1] shows a small portion of the flasks he had. Bob made collectors Ed Kuskie and Henry Guillen mighty happy with new additions of flat flasks H.G. Akin / Star Saloon / 180 Utah Ave / Santa Monica / Cal [Figure 2] and Union Saloon / John Flack / Propr. / San Bernardino [Figure 3], respectively. It is very unusual for me to see two new saloon-embossed flasks at one time and I was unaware of the existence of either of these prior to the show. Other bottles on Bob’s table would have
had me burning a hole in my pocket getting my wallet out a few years ago — alas, I have them at this point! Some of the nicer ones were a half-pint shoofly J K McGinnis / Ramona Bar / 307 So Spring St / Los Angeles, Cal., a half-pint coffin H J Woollacott / Fine / Liquors / Los Angeles. Cal and a half-pint pumpkinseed embossed Henry Koch / Cor Washington / & / Main Sts / Los Angeles, Cal. [Figures 46]. A variety of other flasks from an array of Southern California towns (Anaheim, Redondo, San Pedro, Los Angeles), products of a lot of serious digging by Bob and partner Chuck Erickson, were additionally available. Bob is in the FOHBC directory, should anyone have interest in flasks and other bottles from that region. The one flask Bob has dug recently that lights a fire under me is a pumpkinseed embossed W A Tucker / Santa Ana [Figure 7]. He declined to make that one available, however, sending me home without any new additions to the shelves. But the chances to see some new bottles and to visit with friends always make the trip a worthwhile one. I took advantage of being in town for a couple of days leading up to the show by making the drive up to Randsburg, California, to see Bart Parker and his wife. Friends from the days when we all lived in
Figure 1
the Monterey Bay area, it was nice to get a chance to visit with them again. Apparently both enjoy the warm and arid air of Randsburg over the moist and foggy weather often found in Monterey. Bart is actively involved with procuring items for and the maintenance of the museum in Randsburg, where some of the richest silver and gold mines in the history of the West Fig. 6
Bottles and Extras
Summer 2006 Fig. 7
were located. Should you get the opportunity to visit Randsburg, be sure and check out the museum, where you will see some nice artifacts and photographs of the District [Figures 8, 9]. Bart has been known in bottle collecting circles for an interest in the Louis Taussig Company. While visiting, I took the opportunity to re-photograph some of the rare clear Taussig flasks in his collection for inclusion in my (eventual) book on Western flasks [Figures 10-13]: • Louis Taussig & Co / Importers / S.F. (pumpkinseed) • Louis Taussig & Co / Importers / S.F. (coffin) • Louis Taussig & Co / 26 & 28 / Main St. / S.F. / Cal. (pumpkinseed) • Louis Taussig & Co / 26 & 28 / Main St. / S.F. / Cal. (coffin) Leaving from Randsburg, I made a beeline for Boulder City, where I had an enjoyable dinner with Bob and Connie
Fig. 10
Ferraro and then spent a couple of hours photographing key bottles for the Top 25 Bottles of Nevada, a feature article for the Souvenir Program for the National Show in Sparks. It’s a good thing that I enjoy the Nevada bottles or all of the other great glass would get awfully distracting [Figures 14, 15]! Back at the show, my table put me next to friends Kevin Ishikawa, Derek Espiritu and Ed McCann [Figures 16, 17]. Kevin has a very nice collection of colored Hutch sodas and Cokes (hopefully he will display at the National Show in Fig. 16 Sparks) and Derek is an avid Hawaiian digger and collector. It is always a pleasure to visit with them! And, for those who know Ed McCann— there is no finer fellow to spend two days behind a table next to. A great story-teller and a one-time heavy in the Southern California digging fraternity, Ed is a
27 Fig. 11
Fig. 12
former San Diego resident and a fellow whose name I became very familiar with when my Dad was taking some environmental courses at San Diego State U. in 1968. Everywhere I went scrounging around I kept hearing “Ed McCann already dug there.” I did not meet him until one of the Las Vegas shows many years later, and it was a pleasure to finally meet the fellow who kept me collecting only pieces that summer in San Diego! Another San Diego resident and my mentor in the collecting of Western flasks,
Fig. 13 Fig. 17
Fig. 8 Fig. 9
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Summer 2006
Jon Lawson, was there with his son Matt. Joined by Larry Westfall and his sons, our area of the show turned into a 30-year remembrance of all the great times digging and collecting in the San Diego area. Matt related how he had recently unearthed a nice San Diego pumpkinseed, stimulating an interest in adding local flasks to his collection of Western fifths. I had a nice discussion with Kevin Westfall about the half-pint beers, the area I started collecting in some 35 years ago. It is great to see these new collectors enjoying the hobby! [Figure 18] Stoneware was in short supply, save the mini-jugs I brought out from Tennessee. There was one nice Anna Pottery Pig priced in the $6,500 range and the occasional large jug, but none of the mini jugs I seek. I did get the opportunity to eaves-drop on a conversation between Jim Hagenbuch and a gentleman who was starting a stoneware auction site and I learned more about pottery pigs in five minutes than I had managed to glean in the past ten years! Disappearing from my table were 14 Oklahoma and Indian Territory mini jugs and two New Mexico mini jugs which now grace the shelves of Ken Schwartz of Redding, California, and a nice San Diego Newport Bar / And Grill / A / Merry Christmas / 1911 oversized mini jug that made San Diego’s Mike Bryant a happy show attendee. Territorial Miniature Advertising Jugs Since the show in Las Vegas, Johnnie Fletcher has finished his book Oklahoma Bottles 1889 to 1920, and in it he has a nice section on advertising stoneware from the state. I am unaware of any territorialmarked miniature jugs from the other states with territorial-marked bottles (Kansas, Wyoming, Washington, Arizona, Montana, Dakota, Utah, Hawaii.) Nevada has a piece of territorial-marked stoneware that you will get the opportunity to see if you come to the National Show! On the following pages [Figure 19: series of mini jugs] you will see a significant number of the OT and IT marked minis. Others of which I am aware (most are included in Johnnie’s book) include: • Compliments of / W A Payne / Ardmore IT (scratched) • D A Hunter / Have One With Me / Guthrie, OT (two-tone, stenciled) • Kimbray / Grocery Co / Guthrie OT (scratched)
Figure 19: OT and IT marked mini jugs.
Bottles and Extras
Bottles and Extras
• The Vendome / Buren &/ Mattingly / Kingfisher, OT (cream-colored, stenciled) • Compliments of / W A McAlister / Lehigh, IT (twotone, stenciled) • Compliments Of / J J McAlester / McAlester, IT (two-tone, stenciled) • Compliments Of / R D Steele / Oklahoma City, OT (two-tone, stenciled) • Compliments Of / T A Whetstone / Oklahoma City, OT (two-tone, stenciled) • Compliments / of / S A Hemple / Perry OT (scratched) • Compliments of / Russell Gro. Co / S. McAlester, IT (crème-colored, stenciled) • Compliments Of / Leon Karpe /
Summer 2006
Stroud, OT (two-tone, stenciled) • Compliments Of / Peroy, Wyly / Tahlequah, IT (two-tone, stenciled) If you know of others, I’d love to hear about them and have the opportunity to present them in descriptive or photographic form in a future column! Territorial Flasks In my column in the Spring, 2006, issue of this magazine, I pictured the nine Oklahoma territory flasks in my collection. Johnnie’s book lists an additional 4 strapsided flasks with territorial designation: • J. Weinberger / Pure KY Liquors / Guthrie, OT • T.A. Burnside / Cream Pure Rye / Okarche, OT • Hanning & Childers / Arcade Saloon / Shawnee, OT • Morris & Co / Sample Room / Shawnee, OT Baltimore I agree that Baltimore seems like a
29
strange venue for an article primarily featuring Western flasks. You might get the idea that this section might have more to do with mini jugs, but these were few and far between at this show. Typically a show for nice bitters and Eastern/Midwestern glass, this particular show was no exception. A lot of nice glass, but not much there for the Western collector (a significant change from the pre-eBay days when a number of Western “sleepers” would show up at any given Baltimore show.) A nice Hutchinson soda Bradley / Spring Water Co / eagle / San Diego, Cal. and a mini jug Compliments of / C S Howard / Edgerton, Minn. kept me from going home empty-handed. The news of the show was the purchase of John Eatwell’s Pike’s Peak flasks by collector Bob Curnen. From Bob I learned that the collection of clear flasks went to a family friend and collector from Georgetown, Colorado, a gentleman whom I definitely envy! Bob paid a handsome price for the Pike’s Peak flasks and I have
30 Fig. 20
to assume that the rest of the bottles went correspondingly. For clear flasks, the State of Colorado has some of the best and most pricey, with a number of flat flasks which would eclipse the $800 mark and several coffins and pumpkinseeds that would top $2,000 in price. Among the most choice of the pumpkinseeds in this collection were: • E P Creighton / Arcade Saloon / Manitou [Figure 20] • Pure Old Sour Mash / Whiskey / Thos R Hiebler / Montrose & Ouray / Colo. [Figure 21] • Assembly Club / D G Franklin / Red Mountain, Colo. [Figure 22] Outstanding coffins included: • Th. Crook / The / Sky Light / Black Hawk / Colo. [Figure 23] • P M Layden / Georgetown / Colo. [Figure 24] • Williams & Penberthy / Idaho / Springs / Colo. [Figure 25] • Pioneer Saloon / Leadville / Colo. (Pint) [Figure 26] • Ouray, Colo. / Old Crow / Prevost & Phillips (Quart!) [Figure 27] Truly a great collection that John put together! Asheville, N.C. and Gray, Tenn. Shows Since I collect Tennessee items and bottles/stoneware/ shots from the communities that surround my home, the regional and local shows give me the opportunity to add items to that portion of my collection. Asheville suffered from the scheduling of another show in North Carolina the same weekend. With few dealers in attendance, I was happy that my friend Jerry McKinley was in to do some wheeling and dealing in Knoxville and popped over to the show
Bottles and Extras
Summer 2006 Fig. 21
[Figure 28]. A parking lot deal added two saloon minis to my shelves: • Buffalo Saloon / (buffalo) / F.L. Bauer // LB & CO / Handmade / Paducah Club / Kentucky / Finest Whiskey (cream-colored, stenciled [Figure 29] • C H Godwin / Iron Mountain / Saloon / Monroe, LA. (creamcolored, stenciled) [Figure 30] Hopefully, there will be no scheduling conflicts next year so that Asheville will return to the active show it had become over the two-tothree years prior to this one. I know that the show chair put a lot of work into organizing the show and had to be extremely disappointed with what transpired. The Gray show was up to 70 tables this year, in large part due to a lot of hard work by show chair Melissa Milner. Local bottles and related items were strong sellers for me at this show and I was given the opportunity to purchase a rare small-town Southwestern Virginia mini jug stenciled For High Grade / Wines & Liquors / See M. Kwass & Son / Harry Grass, Sec & Treas / Pocahontas, Va. [Figure 31]. This is a great little show that demonstrates the hospitality of the South— come visit us next year and enjoy our chicken and burger
Fig. 22
Fig. 23
dinner for dealers and early buyers! One of the real treats for me, with the Gray show only being about 15 minutes from my office, is the opportunity to show off my collection. This year Rodney Funkhauser and Sonny Smiley made the drive down from West Virginia and Fig. 24
Fig. 25
Fig. 26
Fig. 27
Bottles and Extras Fig. 28
Summer 2006
31
Fig. 29
Fig. 30
Fig. 31
Figs. 32 Northern Virginia and I also got the chance to show some of my new additions to Ed Herrold, who has been a guest previously. Up from Florida was Mike Stone and in from Memphis Ed Provine. I had too many other obligations to hold the usual open house following the dinner, but at least these folks got to see what I chase after. Hopefully I’ll be able to open the doors to all comers again, next year. I’ve offered to feed you and the opportunity to see some nice bottles — surely that’s enough to entice you come to our show! Why, I’ll even cook your meat to order!!! [Figure 32: various display photos from the Gray show.] Diggings As the rains have subsided out in California, digging has resumed and there have been a few flasks uncovered. Gary Wiebe and Anthony Taylor have had a good run of productive holes, uncovering a half pint amber strap Roth & Co / 214 & 216 / Pine St / San Francisco, an amber pint strap Spruance, Stanley & Co / 410 / Front St / S.F, and an amber pint Phoenix shoofly. Other flasks they unearthed included a broken clear pumpkinseed Gall & Dunne / Resort / No. 1 / Stockton St (San Francisco) and intact pumpkinseeds Hardie & Amos / monogram / Dixon, Cal and Stelling &
Warmbold / Wines /& / Liquors / S. F. Cal, both in the pint size. I am pleased to be the new owner of the Stelling and Warmbold [Figure 33]! In addition to the above noted, Gary has also picked up an amber pint flat flask embossed Tracy Hotel / Goodwin / & / Banta / Tracy, Cal. [Figure 34]. In checking around about the scarcity of the bottle, I contacted Bob Voegtly and he was kind enough to e-mail me a photo of one he and his digging partner had found in a an old house during this past winter. Theirs sports an intact paper label! [Figure 35]. From the Central Coast area of California, Brian Tappeiner reports having dug a pumpkinseed which was listed in Picnics, Coffins, Shooflies, but one which I had about given up hope of finding an
example of to photograph. Embossed “The Hoffman” / Lunch / And / Wine Rooms / S.F. / Sam T. Bernhard / Prop’r, it was promised prior to my hearing about it or I’d have to be giving some thought to letting one of my Montana flasks go out in trade! One of the best digs came out of the North Central Coast of California where a local digger came up with a number of nice clear flasks, including flasks from Ukiah
32
Bottles and Extras
Summer 2006
Fig. 33
Fig. 35
Fig. 36
Fig. 37
Fig. 34 Fig. 38
Fig. 39
41
Fig. 42
and San Francisco. Included among the finds were a half-pint pumpkinseed Russ House / Wine / Rooms / S.F. [Figure 36], a previously unreported pint San Francisco coffin flask E H Hanjes & Bro / monogram / Ellis & Jones Sts / S.F. and pint and halfpint coffins From / Wheelen’s / Sample Rooms / C-B-1878-X-X / Ukiah, Cal. These latter flasks were known with similar embossing in the pumpkinseed style (the pumpkinseeds also include J.G.W & Co in the embossing), but not in a coffin. I understand that the bottles caused quite a stir at the Northwestern Bottle Club meeting! From Dale Mlasko came a report of a
Fig. 40
bottle which s p a r k e d considerable interest in Southern Oregon. Embossed S. Adolph & Co / Salem, O., this third known example in the pint capacity was apparently discovered under a building by a worker. Attempts to purchase this bottle at a considerable sum had not come to fruition, the last I heard. (Further information about Sam Adolph and his bottles can be found in the Winter 2003 issue of Bottles and Extras.) Rumors… rumor has it that there will soon be news of a Colfax, WT, saloonembossed pumpkinseed flask. Hopefully I will have verification and a photo of it for you next issue.
in his Spring Collections auction. Flasks consigned by Will Meysing included an applied top Newmark, Grunberg & Co S.F. amber half-pint union oval, which closed at $3,000 and one of the top five Western flasks, an olive-yellow horizontal Wormser Bros / San Francisco. This latter flask was one of only three examples known with the champagne top and it reached $26,000. I bid on this bottle early, only to see my bid eclipsed and have to admit to having seriously underestimated where it would close out at. Other flasks offered by Glass Works included Lot 507, an amber knife-edge Fleckenstein & Mayer / monogram / Portland, Ogn ($2,000), an amber half-pint union oval Fleckenstein & Mayer / monogram / Portland, O. ($375) and a pint clear pumpkinseed The Log Cabin / motif of cabin / 167 3rd St / Portland / Ore / Billy Winters Pro ($1,600) [Figure 37]. Add to each of these flasks the buyers premium of 12% and you are talking some strong prices realized!
Auctions Usually a consistent source for flasks, Jeff Wichmann did not offer any in his most recent auction. Jim Hagenbuch, on the other hand, had a couple of dynamite flasks up
eBay Now one of the prime sources for the trading of flasks, I’d be remiss not to mention eBay sales in these reports. Not a great quantity of Western flasks were
Fig. 43
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offered in the last quarter, but some of the notable ones are described in the following paragraphs. Pumpkinseeds A rare and choice Northern California half-pint pumpkinseed embossed Del Monte / DJ Proulx / Prop / Willows, Cal [Figure 38] attained a high bid of $516 in a February auction, giving it the distinction of being the top-priced Western pumpkinseed flask sold through eBay over the past three months. For eye-appeal, a miniature pumpkinseed offered during May is hard to beat. ¼-pint in capacity, it has a “Star” embossed on one side and a very colorful label for A Little Jimmie Durkin Bourbon on the other. This Spokane, Washington, flask realized $308 before closing [Figure 39]. Also during May I noted a label-only half-pint with stock label for A P Hotaling & Co’s / Old Kirk / Whiskey. This label is found on both pumpkinseed and coffin flasks [Figures 40, 41] and typically realizes in the $125 range. The fact that this example came from Merced (Bottled By / Hotel El Capitan / Merced Cal) undoubtedly helped it to its closing bid of $169.50. The deal of the quarter came on a halfpint ‘seed embossed Powell & Eddy San Francisco / Newman’s / (football) / College Brands / Cal. In mint condition, it was a steal at $260. Continued on Page 41.
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Figure 14-15: Wall of color, a portion of Bob Ferraroʼs collection of bottles. Figure 18
Figure 44
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Check Out Our Website! If you haven’t seen our latest website, you might want to check it out. We have the latest and greatest finds in our Recent Finds column and a Bottle Detective column where you guess the bottle from a small clue and win $100. We also have a column called Auctioneer’s Viewpoint that is getting people’s attention. The What Is It column asks readers to help us out with identifying bottles we’re not quite sure of and Message In A Bottle is a forum for clubs and individuals to express their own opinions and announce upcoming events. It’s all good fun and in addition, we have a vast database of bottles sold over the years along with a recent bottle news, consigning information, and a resource page that will show you what clubs and other resources are available. Just go to www.americanbottle.com. We think you’ll find something of interest.
We’re Always Updating!
2523 J Street, Suite 203 Sacramento, CA 95816 1800-806-7722 www.americanbottle.com
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35
ELISHA WATERS, MORE THAN JUST AN INK MAKER By Ed and Lucy Faulkner
Elisha Waters, known to bottle collectors as E. Waters, was an amazing businessman with many interests, perhaps the most unusual being the manufacturer of paper boats and paper domes for buildings in the late 1800s. Yes, you read right—paper boats and domes. But let’s start with his early years and background information. Elisha Waters was born in Bennington, Vermont in 1815. He was educated in the public schools of Bennington, but moved with his parents to Troy, New York in 1831. Shortly thereafter, Elisha entered the employ of Oliver C. Hull, a druggist on River Street. When Mr. Hull moved to New York City, Waters got a job with Fassett and Selden, another well known drug company in Troy. He was such a hard worker, the owners of this drug company, offering their support, advised him to start his own business when he turned twenty-one. At first he planned to head west to Ohio to start a business, but after traveling through Ohio and other western states, he decided to return to Troy. Once again he got a job with another druggist before opening his first store, in 1838, at the corner of River and Second streets. He later went into business with a Jared S. Weed and the company was known as Weed and Waters. (Note: This is the spelling in the obituary. An 1850s ad spells the “Weed” name “Wickes.”) This venture at 271 River Street was not successful and Waters again returned to operating his own druggist business. Later, he and John Van Schaick
purchased another drug store and when Mr. Van Schaick retired, he took full control of the business. He made various drug articles, such as Waters Pulmonica (a cough medicine), as well as ink, hair dye, and blacking. The ink bottles are found most often, but blacking and hair dye are known. The pontiled ink bottles are a unique shape and very sought after by ink collectors. The umbrella shown here has a label for the 271 River Street address. The author has not seen the Pulmonica bottle, but it is listed in the Pontil Medicine Encyclopedia by John Odell. By 1852, Waters was a very successful businessman who needed good packing boxes for shipping his ink and drug products. The paper boxes at the time were flimsy and not very good for heavy items. His box manufacturing came about because of this need for good shipping containers. He set to work making a better box and obtained patents for at least two improved boxes, the first in 1855. In the beginning, these were just for his products, but as word spread, other companies wanted to order from him. This led to a box factory in 1857, producing on a large scale for the shirt, collar, and hosiery industries and probably other companies. In the next twenty years, Waters obtained a number of other patents involving paper products. By this time, we believe he had sold his druggist business because an ad by another
Elisha Waters
druggist noted they were the successors to Waters. This ad listed their business at his last location. Records show Mr. Waters was active during the Civil War manufacturing 4,000,000 cartridge boxes and 65,000 saddle trees for the Union Forces. He was also engaged by the War Department to inspect saddle tree manufacturing plants elsewhere. Waters was a strict Northern supporter having been a strong Abolitionist prior to the war. He was a member of the Whig Party until the birth of the Republican Party, becoming a strong supporter of their policies and principles. He never held public office, but was active in a few organizations, including the fire company, and he worked to bring the first steam fire engine to the city
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George Waters, Elisha’s son, originator and inventor of the paper boats.
of Troy. He was also interested in scientific progress and particularly in the field of aeronautics, having taken a balloon ride from Troy to Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Although continuing to manufacture paper boxes, his creative mind helped him make many innovations in the process and methods of paper manufacturing. One of these inventions was a paper can for oil and other liquids in 1877 for which he obtained a patent. Searching for new product lines, he worked with his son George A. Waters, who invented the paper racing shell which attained world wide fame. They obtained a patent for the construction of a paper boat in 1868. This first boat was dubbed “The Experiment.” Elisha had much practical knowledge in the manipulation of paper that helped make George’s boat a success. These waterproof paper boats were lighter and faster and won many races. Waters was selling so many that he had to build a factory to manufacture just these boats. The firm was first called Waters and Balch, later just Waters and Sons. These boats were popular because in the last quarter of the 19th century rowing competitions were a big sport. Waters’ catalog proudly said a total of 14 races were won by his paper boats in 1868 and 26 in 1869. By the 1870s and 80s, many were competing for prizes of several thousand dollars, a big prize in the 1880s. It was scandals resulting from gambling that caused the demise of paper boat racing. The Waters product line grew to include rowing shells ranging from a 28-foot by 9.5-inch single shell to an 8-oared shell 60- feet by 24-inches. A typical 31-foot shell weighed only 22 pounds, compared to about 40 for a similar wood hull. These boats used thick manila paper made waterproof for the hull and deck. An 1878 catalog offered 44 different crafts for sale. His listing in the Troy City Directory was now as a boat, not box, manufacturer. While boat building was the main interest of George Waters, Elisha was always looking for new things to do with paper. In 1878, they built a paper observatory dome at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy. The construction was almost identical to the paper boat construction. They first built a framework which they bolted together and the joints were weatherproofed with cotton cloth saturated with white lead. This dome lasted for twenty years. It was removed when the building
Factory of Waters and Sons.
was converted to other uses, not because of decay. (A patent for paper domes was obtained in 1881.) Several other domes were built, including one for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point (pictured). It contained over 2,000 pounds of paper and was 30feet in diameter. This dome fell into disrepair and was dismantled in 1958/59. According to a publication in Paper World of 1881: “It weighs only 1/10 th as much as a copper dome of equal size. It is expected that the paper will act as a nonconductor of heat and electricity, will maintain a uniform temperature within the building, and will prevent any electrical disturbance from destroying the accuracy of the instruments.” In 1901, a fire destroyed the boat and dome factory and the business never reopened. It was stated at the time, the fire caused $20,000 damage, and they had only $ 5,000 insurance. This plus
The Lusk Observatory. This photo, taken in the 1880s, shows the paper dome and the transit shutters.
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age, health and competition, was probably the reason. Both George and Elisha died within two years of the fire. Another son, Clarence W. Waters, who had worked with them was still living. C. W. Waters is listed on some of the patents obtained by this firm. Waters may have been responsible for the many paper patents obtained by others who tried to emulate his success. Patents included paper stools, a paper casket, and even a paper locomotive wheel. Yes, an actual patent exists for that! Elisha Waters’ obituary says he was genial, pure minded and never lost an opportunity to help his fellow man. In business he was shrewd and determined, but honest, a family man cherishing moments with those he loved. The history of his life and career could be summed up with two words—Well Done. He died January 28, 1904. We wish to thank Ken Cupery for allowing us to use information he has compiled as well as his pictures. He has an amazing website and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the paper industry of the second half of the 19th century. References and credits: Boat Factory picture courtesy of Adirondack Museum, Blue Mountain Lake, N.Y. Website of Ken Cupery—Ken’s Paper Boat Page and other articles. http://kcupery.home.isp-direct.com/ Obituaries courtesy of Ken Cupery: Troy Times, January 28, 1904. Northern Budget, January 31, 1904. Pictures courtesy of Ken Cupery.
Ad from the Gazeteer and Business Directory of Rensselaer County, 1870.
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Who the Heck Was Irvin S. Cobb? By Jack Sullivan (Special to Bottles and Extras) Once he was among America's top celebrities: Author of 60 books, a writer compared favorably with Mark Twain, he was the country's highest paid journalist, a star of radio, motion pictures, and the lecture circuit. More celebrated in his time than Johnny Carson or Jay Leno in ours, he hosted the the Academy Awards in 1935. He received the French Legion of Honor and two honorary doctorates. A bridge over the Ohio River, parks, a major hotel, and a brand of cigars [Figure 1] all were named for him. Yet today, little more than 60 years after his death, almost no one knows who Irvin S. Cobb was or what he did. If by no one else, as we shall see, Cobb deserves to be remembered by collectors of whiskiana. Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb was born in his grandfather's house in Paducah, Kentucky, in 1876. [Figure 2]. Because of the death of that grandfather and the alcoholism of his father, at the age of 16 he was forced to quit school to support his mother and siblings. His native intelligence was soon apparent. By the age of 19 he was the youngest newspaper editor in America, working for the Paducah Evening News. Cobb then went to work for the Louisville Evening News where his interest in whiskey first surfaced as the title of a humorous column he began to write called “Kentucky Sour Mash.” Elated by the success of the column, and encouraged by his wife, Cobb headed out to New York City to make his mark. In the Big Apple, after several false starts, Cobb landed a job with the New York World, and within months was writing a nationally syndicated column, one that eventually boasted a readership of millions of Americans. His popularity was enormous. In 1920 while covering the Democratic Presidential Convention, Cobb received votes for President from the Kentucky and Washington delegations. His fame spread to Hollywood where beginning in 1915 he starred in silent movies. His last, a talkie, was in 1938. Cobb also was a screenwriter for more than a dozen motion pictures. At the height of his reputation and popularity in 1920, National Prohibition was enacted. Although later Cobb would
claim to be only a light drinker, fellow journalist O.O. McIntyre once said of him: “He belonged to that illustrious period when clean-minded newspapermen drank their rye neat...got drunk like gentlemen and took over the lines of the cab driver for a spin up Broadway as a red sun bleared an eye over Manhattan.” As a native Kentuckian, Cobb was steeped in the lore of whiskey Figure 1: From the lid of an Irvin S. Cobb cigar box. making. He once wrote: “While I was growing up, through boyhood, through whiskeys [Figures 3-5] with which Cobb my youth and on to manhood, I had the likely was familiar. Among them are “On example of whiskey-drinking all about me. the Square,” a six-year-old whiskey Many of our oldest and most respected produced by Paducah Distilleries Co. and families owned and operated distilleries. featuring the Masonic symbols of square and Some of them had been distillers for compass, a clear violation of Masonic codes. generations past; they were proud of the Other jugs are from S.P. Gott's, of 117 North purity of their product. Men of all stations 4th St., with its mustachioed man, and Clarks of life drank freely and with no sense of River Whiskey from the H.T. Hessig shame in their drinking...There were Distillery of 118 South 3rd Street. None decanters on the sideboard; there were survived after 1920. jimmy-johns in the cellar; and down at the National Prohibition also fell hard on place on the corner, twenty standard Cobb. At first he dealt with it humorously, varieties of bottled Bourbons and ryes were writing that: “Since Prohibition came in and to be had at an exceedingly moderate price. a hiccup became a mark of affluence instead Bar-rail instep, which is a fallen arch of a social error as formerly, and a loaded reversed, was a common complaint among flank is a sign of hospitality rather than of menace, things may have changed.” And us.” Shown here are some of the Paducah again: “Booze is a bad thing for some people
Figure 2: From a postcard, the birth place of Irvin S. Cobb. The house was torn down in 1914.
Bottles and Extras
Figure 3: “On the Square” Whiskey, Paducah Distilleries.
Figure 4: S.B. Gott jug, Paducah.
Figure 5: “Clarkʼs River” Whiskey, from H.T. Hessig Distillery, Paducah.
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and much too good for many of the others.” That jocular attitude had vanished by 1929 when Cobb wrote the only American novel devoted to the American whiskey industry. Called “Red Likker,” his book tells the story of an old Kentucky family that founded a distillery called “Bird and Son” in the wake of the Civil War. It traces the history of this operation up to the time of Prohibition when it is forced to close. Ultimately the distillery is destroyed by fire and the family is reduced to running a crossroads grocery store. Central to the novel is Cobb’s polemic against Prohibition. Colonel Bird, the fictional founder of the distillery, argues with his sister, Juanita, a teetotaler and Prohibitionist, at great length about the pros and cons of permitting the sale of alcoholic beverages. The Colonel ultimately triumphs: When the Volstead Act reduces the 42% alcohol in Juanita's patent medicine, she is shown to be an alcoholic. She revives only when the Colonel pours her a shot of Kentucky bourbon. Not only did Cobb inveigh against Prohibition in his literary works, he also made it a personal crusade. In 1919, a white-haired former U.S. Navy officer and lawyer named Capt. W.H. Slayton founded an organization called the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment (AAPA). Impelled neither by financial interests in the liquor industry nor by political ambition, Slayton based his opposition on what he viewed as a misuse of national government power over U.S. citizens. With this highly-principled approach he was able to attract a number of prominent Americans to the standard of the AAPA. Among them was Irvin S. Cobb. Cobb became chairman of the Authors and Artists Committee of AAPA. The committee, under his vigorous leadership, ultimately boasted 361 members including some of the leading figures of the day. As chairman, he released statements to the press blaming Prohibition for increased crime, alcoholism and disrespect for the law. “If Prohibition is a noble experiment,” he said in one, “then the San Francisco fire and the Galveston flood should be listed among the noble experiments of our national history.” Espousing the anti-Prohibition cause seems only to have enhanced Cobb’s popularity. On April 30, 1929, the Irvin Cobb Hotel, the largest and most
opulent of its kind in Western Kentucky, had its grand opening in his home town of Paducah [Figure 6]. He attended the ceremony. Several months later a bridge across Ohio River also was named for him. The New York Times on July 29, 1929 reported that Cobb had given his name to “a cigar, a dahlia, a Missouri corn cob pipe, a race horse, a bass bait, a hunting shirt, an Oregon canyon, a Texas street and a pointer dog.” A little about some of those namesakes: * The hotel, which long since has closed its doors, boasted it was “Kentucky's Most Beautiful Hotel.” It was a favorite spot for Cobb when he visited Paducah and featured his image on many of the artifacts used in the facility. * The Cobb bridge [Figure 7] spans the Ohio River from Brookport, Illinois to near Paducah, Kentucky. It’s still in use but has been known for its rough surface and challenge to motorcyclists. * The cigar brand was the product of the Yorkana Cigar Co. of York, Pa. It was an appropriate naming since the rotund Cobb usually had a stogie clamped firmly in his mouth. The picture used was from a photo by Pirie MacDonald, a well-known celebrity photographer of the time. When Prohibition finally ended in 1934, Slayton and Cobb were credited for their efforts. Although many forces combined, the AAPA was a key element because of the strength of its arguments and the many influentials among its members. The first night liquor became legal, Cobb reportedly went to a hotel establishment that once again had begun pouring, pulled out a $20 bill and hollered, “Drinks for everyone!” After Repeal, only a handful of the pre1920 distilleries were able to reopen. Among them was the Frankfort Distilleries. Founded after the Civil War in Atlanta by Paul Jones, a whiskey salesman, the operation was moved to Louisville, Ky. in 1886. It survived during Prohibition by
Figure 6: From a postcard, the Irvin S. Cobb Hotel, Paducah.
Figure 7: From a postcard, the Cobb Bridge over the Ohio River.
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being one of a few firms that received permits to produce “medicinal” whiskey, which it sold as “spiritus frumenti alcoholic stimulant,” omitting the word “whiskey.” [Figure 8] Providing some 25 percent of the national supply, its literature later
Figure 8: Frankfurt Distillery 1920s bottle of “medicinal” whiskey.
Figure 9: Cobb on the cover of the Recipe Book.
boasted that 20,000 doctors during Prohibition bought Frankfort whiskey. When Repeal came, the company, now run by Jones’ grandson, was ready with two plants in Kentucky and two in Maryland. The company quickly began producing liquor for a national market. Immediately after Repeal the whiskey trade was concerned that the buying public no longer knew how to make mixed drinks. A raft of drink mixing booklets resulted. When the newly revived Frankfort Distilleries needed someone to author a “recipe book” for drinks containing its spirituous products, Cobb was chosen for the assignment [Figure 9]. According to the manufacturer, the author of “Red Likker” brought to American literature “the best story of whiskey-making ever written.” Cobb did not let his sponsors down. The 52-page book is an eloquent testimony to the wonders of American whiskey and particularly to the brands produced by the distillery, including Paul Jones Bourbon, Old Oscar Pepper [Figure 10], Antique, Mattingly & Moore [Figure 11], Wolf Creek, Meadville Rye, Old Pirate and Duffy's Malt. Many of these were brand names the company had bought from defunct competitors. The centerfold [Figure 12] of the drink book shows several of these whiskies. It also contained line drawings of black men serving whites that today would be considered racial stereotyping. [Figure 13]. In the pamphlet, entitled Irvin S. Cobb’s Own Recipe Book, the author claims, perhaps fancifully, that his ancestor, one Deacon Henry Cobb, an immigrant from Ireland, was the first English-speaking resident in North America commissioned in 1636 to “draw spirits.” He implies that meant Deacon Cobb “was the pioneer licensed publican and victualer of all the glad New World.” Two centuries later, Cobb adds, his great-grandfather went west to Kentucky and founded “Squire Cobb Tavern” along the Cumberland River in Kentucky, a business which he reputedly abandoned one jump ahead of the sheriff. Cobb's decline in popularity was as a rapid as his rise to celebrity had been. A 1937 movie he wrote was a critical and popular flop. The New York Times wrote: “Mr. Cobb...presents the appalling spectacle of a man who is not merely beyond his depth but insists on showing off as he goes down for the third time.” Increasingly he began to espouse conservative causes and to write demeaningly about Negro
Bottles and Extras
Figure 10: An Old Oscar Pepper jug.
Figure 11: Mattingly & Moore bottle.
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41 Chasing the Western Flasks Potpourri Continued from Page 33:
Figure 12: The centerpiece of the Cobb Recipe Book.
Figure 13: An illustration from the recipe book.
Americans. In 1941 his national column, which had run continuously since 1922, was canceled. In failing health throughout the early 1940s, Cobb, 68, died on March 10, 1944. He was buried in Paducah's Oak Grove Cemetery. The inscription on his stone says simply “Irvin Shewsbury Cobb, 1876-1944, “Back Home” [Figure 14]. Although once compared by critic H.L. Mencken to Mark Twain (Mencken quickly regretted it), Cobb's literary reputation faded rapidly. None of his books are currently in print, though many are available through used book outlets. His style today seems highly dated and out-of-step with contemporary writing. In the 62 years since his death he has become a forgotten man. Yet Irvin S. Cobb can be remembered with honor for his role in ending Prohibition, the “Great Experiment” that became a great disaster.
Figure 14: From a postcard, the Cobb grave site.
******************* The material for this article is drawn from a number of sources. Principal among them was Cobb's only book-length biography, entitled “Irvin S. Cobb” by Anita Lawson (Bowling Green State University Popular Press, Ohio, 1984). Cobb's whiskey novel, "Red Likker," was published by Cosmopolitan Book Corporation (New York, 1929). ********************
Ambers and Others Another bargain was realized by a lucky bidder on a flat flask Pheasey & McLean / Clipper / Telluride / Colo. A good deal at $350 met another bidder on a Colorado flat flask embossed The Sideboard / W. H. Peterson/ Victor, Colo. [Figure 42]. A half pint flat flask from Wyoming, embossed Kerrigan & Leslie / The / Arcade / Cheyenne, Wyo. [Figure 43], received spirited bidding to a close of $560. Rounding out the eBay report, a very nice large circle Millers in old amber with a single roll lip brought $1,375 and an amber high SF Lilienthal union oval climbed to a top bid of $685 [Figure 44]. Until next time…… Photos: Figure 8: Vintage postcard showing the town of Randsburg, California. Figure 9: Bart Parker in front of the Randsburg Museum. Figure 16: Ed McCann left; Jon Lawson right. Figure 17: Derek Espiritu showing bottle to Dennis Rodgers while Kevin Ishikawa looks on. Figures 32: Gray displays. Top two photos: Geff Moore’s display. Middle left: Harold Carlton’s display. Middle right: Pete Wyatt’s display. Bottom right: Bart Long’s display of Bristol bottles and stoneware. Figure 28: Ralph Van Brocklin (L) and Jerry McKinley.
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Collecting DRUG STORE Stuff
By: Jim Bilyeu
bilyeu@cebridge.net MILK GLASS OWLS White milk glass was manufactured many years before it was used by the pharmaceutical companies to package and sell products. The common formula for this glass contained tin, zinc or fluoride to make it white. Many objects from the nineteenth century were made of milk glass, such as doorknobs, insulators, bottles, door pulls, jars, lightening rod fixtures, glass lamps and shades, etc. In the cosmetic and pharmaceutical trade, “milk” was described as a product that is thick and white, such as “cleansing milk.” The old English “milc” meant to “to rub, milk.” In addition, white is a standard for purity. Milk glass is also opaque and protects the contents from sunlight. The Owl Drug Company used milk glass containers (bottles, jars and rounds) to package lotions, cosmetics and balms
along with salves and ointments. Basically there are three categories: bottles, ointment jars and rounds. There are several different varieties of the “cold cream rounds.” These 3 ¼-inch rounds have both a bottom and top. The top has the famous embossed trademark owl figure and the early ones have 1128 Market St., San Francisco. They come in both one-wing and two-wing versions. Somewhere along the line, a blue milk glass version was manufactured and I have heard of, but not seen, rose milk glass and green milk glass versions. The much harder to find embossed ointment jars come in sizes from ¾-inch up to three inches. Some of these are embossed on the bottom and others had metal embossed lids. Because many of the jars were buried in the ground, the tin/aluminum lids are even harder to find because they deteriorated from contact with the soil. Owl Drug collectors generally believe the milk glass medicine bottles come in five
Bottles and Extras sizes: 3 ¼-inches, 4 ½-inches, 5-inches, 5 ½- and 6-inches. The 4-inch and 5-inch bottles have known variants of ½-inch and 3 /8-inch. The photograph included with this article has six bottles in series including a 4-inch. It is unknown by this author whether there are actually six different capacity bottles. All of the Owl milk glass bottles are one-wing. Some are labeled rose water. The photograph showing the “cold cream” rounds has seven, all with a different Owl embossed on them. They generally contained “white rose face cream.” The photograph showing five embossed jars with a cold cream round for comparison shows one with a partial metal lid. The metal lids were not embossed. The photograph showing three ointment jars with metal embossed lids are all of the same size; there are one-wing and two-wing lids. The photograph showing three labeled ointment jars is typical of later Owl Drug ointment jars. The photograph showing the owl figure is only another example of a milk glass jar and is not from the Owl Drug Company. It is an early mustard jar. All embossed milk glass bottles and containers are very collectible and are sought after by different types of collectors. If there is one thing I have learned over the years it is something different will show up from the Owl Drug Company sooner or later. Jim Bilyeu
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Left: Seven Cold Cream â&#x20AC;&#x153;rounds.â&#x20AC;? These generally contained White Rose Face Cream.
Below:These embossed jars had metal lids which were not embossed. A cold cream jar is showon on the right for comparison.
Right: Ointment jars had metal embossed lids. They are found in both the one-wing and two-wing varieties.
Left: These labeled ointment jars are typical of later Owl Drug ointment jars.
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The High Wheeler Bicycle as Used on Bottles By J. Carl Sturm
High Wheeler The second-oldest style of bicycle, the successor to the “bone-shaker,” and the predecessor of the modern “safety” bicycle. Before the use of chain drive, bicycles had direct drive. The pedals were connected directly to the hub of the drive wheel. The larger the wheel, the farther the bicycle would move with each turn of the pedals. The larger the wheel the higher the gear. By the year 1893 high-wheelers were out of production. There are several bottles embossed or painted with the high-wheel bicycles depicted. The first type is an English stoneware, inside screw thread bottle which held stout. Stout was a form of bottle is marked R. EMMERSON, JUNR. NEWCASTLE ON TYNE / TRADE MARK / Picture of man riding a highwheeler with THE DOCTOR’S STOUT on Figure 1
the spokes. [Figure 1] The makers mark is DUCHAM PORTOBELLO. The bottle dates from the 1865-1890 period. The next bottle is a German bottle with a ROOSTER RIDING A HIGH-WHEELER [Figure 2]. It was the trade mark of SOCIEDAD VINCOLA of HAMBURG and is so embossed on the base. This particular bottle is almost blood red in color and is the size and shape of the more common “J.J. W. Peters’ Dog With Bird In Mouth” bottle. It is oval in cross section with a slight push up in the smooth base. I believe that most of those in existence were dug along the site of the Panama Canal. Thus, they would date to the 1886 – 1914 period, corresponding to the dates of the canal construction. American Bottles and Flasks and Their Ancestry by Helen McKearin and Kenneth Wilson lists three flasks which use the highFigure 2
wheeler bicycle as part of their embossed decoration. They are listed as numbers GXIII-1, 2, and 3. All three are pint flasks. GXIII-1 has a small picture of a girl riding a high-wheeler. Above her head is a banner which says, “NOT FOR JOE.” The reverse of this flask is blank. I believe there is an amber variant and at least two in pale green with all others being aqua in the GXIII-1 flask. There was a very popular song written in 1867 by Arthur Lloyd, a Music Hall star in England. The song referred to a bus driver named Joseph Baxter who always spoke in the third person. When he stated that it was “Not for Joe” it was because he was up on any game and could not be tricked by any means. The popularity of this song spread around the world. Many men claimed they had written the song. In fact, Arthur Lloyd had to advertise in papers that it was his song and performers should check with him before using it in their performances. He first stanza was written thusly:
Figure 3
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Joseph Baxter is my name, My friends all call me Joe I’m up you know to every game, And everything I know; Ah; I once was green as green could be I suffr’d for it though. Now, if they try it on with me, I tell them “Not For Joe”. Chorus. “Not For Joe,” “Not For Joe.” If he knows it’s “Not For Joseph,” No, No, No, “Not For Joe,” “Not for “Joseph” Oh, dear no. It is my thinking that the banner on the flask reading “Not For Joe” [Figure 3] was one of the first attempts to show that at least some women of the period were wise to the ways of the world. Like Joseph Baxter they were “up on everything” and not likely to be fooled by anyone’s game. Flask GXIII-2 is very similar to GXIII-1 except the embossed picture of the girl riding the high-wheeler is larger [Figure 4]. The banner “Not For Joe” also appears on this flask. The reverse is blank. I have only seen aqua colors of this variant. Flask GXIII-3 is different in that there is no banner above the rider ’s head [Figure 5]. Other than that omission the picture is of the same size as GXIII-2. The reverse of this flask is embossed Figure 4
45 Figure 5
with an Eagle upon a Shield [Figure 6]. In the oval below the Eagle it is embossed A.&D.H.C. This embossing was used by the A.&D.H. Chambers glass company of Pittsburg, Pa. They were in business from 1841 to 1888. I have heard of a quart-size Figure 6
of this flask in green, but have not substantiated it at this time. The amber flask pictured [Figure 7] is a half-pint, the only specimen known in this size. It turned up about three years ago and is in the collection of the author. Although this article does not prove that the song was the reason for the wording on these flasks, I believe that it is a reasonable assumption based on the time frame. The flasks are late and have smooth bases and would be of the same time period as the song. References: American Bottles & Flasks and Their Ancestry, McKearin / Wilson, Crown Publishers, 1978. Worldwide Bottles, Lawrence/Teal, Printed by Impreesora Panama, Panama, R.P., 1973. h t t p : / / w w w. a r t h u r l l o y d . c o . u k / NotForJoe.htm Although there is no reference to the flasks, the above web site will give much information on the “Not For Joe” song, including audio of a portion of it and a complete rendering of the other verses of the song. You can read about one of the top music men of the stage in the late 1800s, Arthur Lloyd.
Figure 7
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Bottles and Extras
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Bottles and Extras
Summer 2006
47 Fig. 2
Shooting Shots Part III by Robin Preston This is the final installment in a threepart “Shooting Shots” series that discusses some of the issues one faces when attempting to document a shot collection photographically. In this issue, I’ll provide some specific ideas about how to bring out the best in your shots, however photogenic (or not) they might be. I should preface this edition with two disclaimers. First, while I developed some sense of how various lighting conditions affect the final image during my nature photography days, I make no claim of expertise. Don’t be afraid to experiment on your own because it’s more than likely that you’ll produce images that are better and more compelling than any you see here. Second, I’m a cheapskate. I’d far rather spend money on glass than photographic gizmos, so if I can get by with a camera and tripod and a clean background (even if only the sky: see below), then so much the better. I’m assuming that you feel similarly, but if you have the funds, you could probably put together a small photographic studio for just a few hundred dollars and that would add to the convenience and reproducibility of your documentation sessions. Our review of good, bad and ugly images in the last installment taught us that creating a pleasing photo of a glass requires that we mount the camera on a tripod, provide a uniform and contrasting background, and be aware of potential reflections. So what next? Before beginning any photo shoot, you should make it a habit to wash your glasses. Even if kept in a china cabinet, glasses are magnets for airborne dust and grease, so fill a plastic tub with lukewarm water, add a dash of liquid dish detergent, and wash very gently using a new sponge or soft cloth. Under NO circumstances should you use scourer or abrasive pads. If you’re considering putting them in the dishwasher,
Fig. 1 call 1-800-911-SHOTS to receive professional intervention. Rinse and allow them to drain, then pat dry with a lint-free cloth (rubbing weakens the label, even if ever-so-slightly). All this takes time, but if you want a photo you can be proud of, then the glass has to be dust-free and glittering. I’ll cover three different photographic scenarios, 1) shooting indoors with natural light, 2) shooting outdoors with natural light, and 3) shooting indoors with artificial light. Before launching into full documentation mode, I would strongly suggest a period of experimentation using a duplicate Sunny Brook, Rieger’s O! So Good, Kellerstrass, or other expendable glass you have at hand, with the exception of a Hayner. That’s because cylinders bounce reflections at more acute angles than the more common shots: you need to practice with a regular glass before tackling other forms. 1) Shooting Indoors, Natural Light I work indoors almost exclusively because the light is directional and easier to control. It also avoids the need to take along a snow shovel and a hot Thermos during winter months. The indoors/natural light technique is the most difficult to pull off successfully and can be endlessly frustrating, but it does produce exceptionally flattering images with inky, liquid contrast and sun-kissed rims. There are several issues we need to address: suitable backgrounds, the quality of the light source, and how to minimize reflection and achieve maximal contrast between label and backdrop. Background: Because most pre-pro
shots have a white frosted label, they can be shown off to their fullest advantage against a dark background. Black is as dark as it gets, although it sets a somber tone that, while ideal for photo-documentation, can become positively funereal if used to excess. Since writing a short instructional piece for www.pre-pro.com advocating the use of black, eBay has been inundated with white-on-mourning shots and the gloom is almost palpable! Ideal backgrounds include black, navy blue, claret red, and forest green. I periodically visit local craft stores such as Jo-Ann Fabrics or Michael’s and head to their fabric and felt section in search of new backdrops. Buy a piece at least 3-foot square to allow plenty of room for maneuver. You could also use picture-framer’s mat board (more expensive but the fine texture of the surface is difficult to beat) or poster board (patchy and usually has a distracting sheen), and then visit The Home Depot or Lowe’s and buy a couple of spring clamps to lock the sheet on a convenient table top [Figure 3]. The ideal photographic background is seamless: the fabric or board transitions from horizontal to vertical in a smooth three-foot arc that contains no distracting folds or creases. Use a pile of heavy books to provide support for the seamless at the rear. Lighting: If you’ve ever seen a rainbow, then you’ll understand that natural light is a mix of seven different colors that meld into white. Reproducing this mix artificially is not difficult but it does require additional expenditure so, given the cheapskate caveat above, I use natural lighting for virtually all of my photographs. Remembering the tendency for shot
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Figure 3: Setting up for a photo shoot. Mount your camera on a sturdy tripod and create a seamless background using fabric, construction paper, or poster board. Immobilize the leading edge of the seamless with clamps to prevent it moving unexpectedly during the shoot. A pile of books provides a convenient support for the rear of the seamless. The sole source of light is a window immediately above and behind the camera at a distance of 3 or 4 feet. The tripod shown is made by Bogen and has a three-way pan-and-tilt head. I’m using my digital camera to document the set-up: the old Pentax 35 mm SLR is just for demonstration purposes! glasses to concentrate and reflect back light, you need to be vigilant about selecting a working location that produces minimal hot spots. If the sun is shining straight in the window, then seek out a room on the opposite side of the house. If you choose to set up in your home office, then turn off the computer monitor and the desk lamp. Ideally, you need to find a room with south-
facing window and pick a day when there is a thin cover of clouds (bright overcast). If you’re shooting around 9 or 10 a.m., so much the better. The light under these conditions is about as perfect as it gets – a soft natural light that produces muted reflections yet your shots will sparkle and the gilded rims will glow. If the cloud cover is thick or heavy with rain, then your
Bottles and Extras glasses will look muddy and sullen. If waiting for perfect light is inconvenient, then by all means skip to the end of the article and use the artificial lighting set-up described there. Reflections: At this juncture, you should have a camera mounted on a tripod in your window of choice, with you positioned between window and camera, and your shot perched on the seamless background [Figure 3]. Position the camera lens about 9-inches from the glass and zoom in on the label. You’ll immediately notice a reflection of the window behind you, and possibly of you also. That’s because you’re wearing a white T-shirt and creating a hotspot, so go change into something dark! In order to get rid of the reflection of the window, you’ll need to raise the camera position by a few inches and shoot downward slightly. Look through the view finder or view screen as you do this: you’ll see the reflection creep upward and then disappear over the back edge of the rim [Figure 4]. Once you start photodocumenting, you’ll need to repeat this procedure for every glass because the wall angle varies from one shot to another. Contrast: The primary goal of our photographic exercise is to render the glass label as clearly as possible. This means maximizing contrast between label and background. Since the light coming through the window is striking the label head on and the background is dark, it should stand out strongly on the view screen. If it doesn’t, then there are two likely causes. First, you may have so much light in the room that the background is no longer sufficiently dark to provide adequate contrast. Perhaps the sun is bouncing in
Figure 4. Effect of camera height on reflections. The camera was inched upward in this series of images to demonstrate the effect on reflections coming off the back wall of the glass. In the first of the series, the details of Mr. Moore’s face are lost in the glare of the window reflection. By the third image, we have a nice clean label and yet there’s still some sparkle to show that this is indeed a glass.
Bottles and Extras off the neighbor’s siding, or perhaps you have a wash of light entering via a side window. This can usually be fixed by blocking out windows, adjusting blinds, starting earlier in the morning when the sun is less intense or, if necessary, changing the shooting location. Another likely cause is that the label on your glass is so badly faded that there’s nothing left to document. In such cases it may be advisable to try the artificial light option described at the end of the article, since it can make even weak labels readable. 2) Shooting Outdoors, Natural Light Before beginning a photo shoot outdoors, walk out into your yard and find a location that is as far away from anything bright (cars, flowers, sheds, climbing frames etc.) as possible. That’s the place to set up your table and tripod. Having taken steps to minimize potential sources of reflection, the only issue we need to be concerned with is finding a suitable background. The seamless arrangement described above is less effective when used outdoors because the ambient light is no longer directional. While it will still provide a clean, distraction-free backdrop, it will be bathed in the same light as the glass and this limits the ability to create contrast for the label. There are alternatives however. Stand in your shooting location and make a slow 360-degree turn. Can you locate an area of deep shade or, failing that, a stand of shrubs with dark-green foliage? The greater the distance between you and the shaded area the better, since any texture will blur into a pleasantly mottled backdrop once the camera optics are tightly focused on the glass. Figure 5 shows how effective this can be: it’s a rare Royal Stag from AhrensBullwinkel Co. of San Francisco, part of the Rich Lucchesi collection. The practice of holding a glass between thumb and forefinger is generally discouraged because it both introduces distracting digits and causes motion-induced blur. You should use your tripod and raise the shot to a convenient height above the table on a Plexi display stand, an inverted Pyrex baking dish, or perhaps even the base of an upturned tumbler. The sky can also provide a convenient backdrop, although the shooting angle may end up being extreme. Unless you happen to live on a mountain top, you’ll have to create a support for the glass that is above
Summer 2006 your head and then direct the camera lens upwards to avoid ground-level clutter. Figure 6 shows three examples gleaned from internet auctions that demonstrate how well this technique can work. The Birchwood at left has been photographed against the clear blue sky of a summer’s day: the only distracter is the image of a red barn sneaking in at lower left. The shot vs. sky technique works particularly well at high altitude and during the winter months because as humidity levels drop, the closer to an ideal blue-black the sky becomes. The altitude effect is demonstrated in Figure 6 [middle]. This gorgeous photograph of a Cedar Run glass was created by Random Shots penman and Denver, Co. resident, Howard Currier. The image was captured around noon with the label in full sun so that it stands out bright and crisp against the dark mountain sky. The contrast between label and background would have been enhanced even further had Howard inserted a polarizing filter in front of the camera lens. Polarizers are available for around $20 at any camera store, but in a pinch one can also use a Polaroid sunglass lens if it’s not prescription. Hold the sunglass lens in front of the camera lens and then slowly rotate it while observing the effect through the view screen. When you hit the sweet spot, the sky will drop to an inky blue and the shot itself will become much crisper as a result of the filter damping reflected glare. The Julius Raible [Figure 6, right] has been photographed to great advantage against a deeply overcast sky, which is surprising given that this would appear to be an example of “white-on-white” syndrome that I railed against in the last Shooting Shots. The difference here is that the clouds have the sun behind them and hence are acting as a light source. This creates the necessary contrast between background and a label that is in relative shade. 3) Shooting Indoors, Artificial Light If you need an all-weather, 24/7 way to document shots, then this is the most convenient, although it presents its own special challenges related to the light source. You set up the shoot in essentially the same way as described for the indoors/ natural light scenario above. Although you don’t need a room with a window, the addition of daylight to the lighting mix does
49 help make the final image more naturallooking, but remember to be on your guard against reflections. If you’re in windowless room, an overhead light can be safely left on while you work. The main source of illumination for the glass is going to be the clip-on halogen desk lamp that I recommended in the Part I of this series. I prefer a clip-on because it’s easy to position and the pool of light it creates is small and easy to control [Figure 7], but you could substitute any number of alternatives. Position the bulb directly above the glass at a distance of an inch or so, but don’t turn it on yet. Adjust the height of the camera until the lens is on a level with the glass, then inch it close enough to the glass so that it fills the view screen, yet not so close that you lose the ability to focus on the label. Depending on the ambient light and proximity of surrounding objects, you may notice multiple bands of reflection marring the label [Figure 11, left]. Now turn on the desk light on and adjust its head while observing the glass in the view screen. You’ll discover that when the lamp is shining directly down and slightly forward of the glass, the label will light up with surprising intensity [Figure 11, center]. If the base has become a fierce white hot-spot that obscures the lower lines, drop the camera position slightly and it should shrink to a silver sliver. Use of a desk lamp has two advantages. By flooding the glass with light, the background drops into a dark, contrasting pool [Figure 7]. It also has the advantage of providing a highly directional light source that reflects vertically off the base toward the ceiling rather than horizontally off the walls of the glass back toward the camera lens. This allows one to document the label in its entirety, unmarred by reflections. There are two potential downsides to using this technique. The first again relates to reflections, or lack thereof, as shown in Figure 8. The figure shows two images of the same Sunshine Old Reserve glass from L Sonnenshein of Chicago, Ill. The first was created under artificial lighting and while it captures the label fully, the glass appears lifeless. The image on the left made use of natural lighting and, while the reflections make some parts of the label more difficult to read, the glass sparkles with life. Glasses are supposed to be filled with reflections.
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The second issue relates to color cast. I recommended using halogen lamps not only because their output is intense, but also because the color of light emitted by halogen bulbs is closer to daylight than light from a tungsten incandescent. As mentioned above, we perceive daylight as white, but in reality it’s a mix that spans the color spectrum from red to violet. Common household bulbs emit light that is weak in the blue-violet range. The intensity of the light is such that our visual cortex ignores the predominance of orange and red and interprets it as white, yet the strength of the hue is readily apparent when one records it on film or a monitor. The Bull Dog shot glass from Bowen, Goldberg & Co. in Figure 9 is a classic example. This wonderful glass was photographed on a field of black, but an incandescent bulb has rendered it muddy. To my mind, the warm background does nothing to detract from its appeal, but it is something to be aware of. It is possible to anticipate and correct for color shifts using specially-designed filters. One example is shown in Figure 10: they’re inexpensive and easy to obtain online or from a local store: just hold it close to the camera lens when snapping photos. Figure 11 provides a pictorial summary of how a pre-pro glass is rendered by standard lighting, after turning on the halogen desk lamp, and with the inclusion of a color correction filter. Exceptions to the rule. While the techniques described above will suffice for 95-98% of your collection, there are two groups of glasses that won’t give of their best when photographed against a dark background. The first includes picture glasses in which the applied image was been rendered in negative. There aren’t too many of these, fortunately, but the Old Bard shown in Figure 12 is a classic example. It’s clearly a wonderful glass in the white-on-black version [Figure 12, left], but the figure holding the shield doesn’t seem quite right. It’s only when the label is observed against a white background that we understand why: it’s etched as a negative. To create the photo at right, I waited until the sun was shining directly into my home office window and then photographed the glass against a blank piece of printer paper. The second group includes the rare enamel glasses. Enamel labels were hand-applied as thickly as toothpaste, often being embellished with delicate pastels and garnished with hand-painted gold curlicues. The labels are so dense that they bounce back any light falling on them, causing a glare that smothers texture and bleaches out pastels [Figure 13, left]. In order to show these glasses at their best, we have to provide a bright background that competes with the intensity of the enamel. A white background illuminated by soft natural light seems to work well in such cases [Figure 13, right]. Digital fixes One of the supreme advantages to working with a digital camera is that we have the ability to download images to the computer hard drive and then manipulate them with the appropriate software. Contrary to what you might think, however, skill with a mouse is no substitute for good photographic technique. Images that are ruined by motion cannot be corrected, so you’re still going to need the tripod. Colors can be adjusted to compensate for artificial lighting, but only with difficulty and the results never seem quite real. Indeed, while I do have the full version of Adobe Photoshop installed on my computer hard drive, all I ever do to my shot glass
Figure 10: A Cokin P020 correction filter adds blue to the color mix of light emitted by artificial bulbs and creates a more natural palette. A range of different hues are available that complement most light sources. photos is crop them and resize them using a very basic program that came with the camera. Bottom line is that if you’re prepared to spend a little time adjusting camera and lighting angles, you’ll find that pre-pro glasses are so photogenic that they almost click the shutter for you. Happy hunting! Footnote: In the previous issue, I showcased a selection of images notable for their photographic errors. In the interests of fair play, I’d also like to pay tribute to the talents of the many individuals who support their auctions with truly outstanding photographs of shot glasses. The images in the title bar [Figures 1 and 2] were both taken from eBay listings and are as good as it gets anywhere. For more details on how they were created, please visit www.prepro.com. I’d also be interested to hear and share any tips you might have on Shooting Shots, so please drop by and leave comments in our chat room. Thank you! Robin is an enthusiastic collector of shot glasses and maintains the collector’s website www.pre-pro.com. He can be reached at 245 N 15th St., MS#488, Philadelphia, PA 19102, E-mail oldwhiskey@pre-pro.com. Figure 11 : A single glass presented under three different lighting conditions. The first image (left) was created in an everyday setting. Light sources include an overhead fixture with six incandescent bulbs, plus muted light from two side windows. While the label is sharp and clear, the glass is bouncing back reflections from multiple sources in the room. The center image was created after a halogen desk lamp centered over the glass was turned on. The reflections have been banished by the intense light, thereby providing excellent contrast between label and background. Unfortunately the glass looks sickly with a muddy reddish-green pallor. Inserting a color-correction filter between camera lens and glass removes the caste and the black felt background is now reproduced faithfully.
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51
Copyright Rich Lucchesi (2006)
Summer 2006
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Copyright Ken Schwartz (2006)
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53
ENERGY DRINK CONTAINERS - Bottles & Cans By Cecil Munsey Copyright © 2006
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This article can save you from making a mistake similar to one I made 35+ years ago. I look back now with melancholy at the time while completing the manuscript of my popular study of the Coca-Cola Company’s merchandising history – “The Illustrated Guide to the Collectibles of Cola” (Hawthorn Books, NY). – I consciously did not include a chapter on CocaCola cans. Why? I didn’t think that collectors would be interested in “rusty, old tin cans.” I overlooked the entire category except for a few of the early cone-top models and didn’t take into account the successful introduction of aluminum cans and bottles as attractive and long-lasting beverage containers. This article doesn’t make any such mistake; it glorifies a whole, relatively new, category of collectible containers, thus giving collectors the head-start information needed to begin a collection of energy drink cans and bottles. Thanks to eBay and other sources, the current beverages and even those products that didn’t make it in the fastpaced energy drink market, are still available. Some will be featured here. INTRODUCTION: “Dreamy dipsomaniacs have imbued beverages with superpowers since the beginning of time. From the historical - drinking Christ through blessed wine, or the search for the fountain of youth, to fantasy - Alice becoming an amazon in Wonderland after drinking a potion, Charlie floating to the ceiling of the chocolate factory after imbibing a fizzy lifting drink - it’s obvious that we Homo sapiens are ripe for the power of suggestion. Not to mention the notion of a quick fix. It all brings to mind the newest trend sweeping the nation: those small brightly– colored cans and bottles of energy drink that keep us hopped up on caffeine and sugar. And if you go by the beverages’ labels, energy drinks may well solve every problem ever invented. If you’re not getting enough sleep or exercise, or sex, or if your reaction time’s off, concentration’s down, and you’re just not feeling alert, or if you’re stressed, tired, anxious or horny, there’s bound to be a potion with your name on it. You don’t need an apothecary––you just need a convenience store and a small, flashy can of fuel. Welcome back snake oil!” - Kate Silver What’s an energy drink?–– An energy drink is a beverage that contains some form of legal stimulant and/or vitamins which are meant to give consumers a short term boost in energy. If you collect bottles and/or cans answer this: What do kabbalah, a mystical Jewish religion, and Nelly, the hip-hop star have in common? They both have their own energy drink! Energy versus sports drinks: Energy
drinks are different from sports drinks. Energy drinks mostly provide lots of sugar and/or caffeine. Sports drinks are intended to replenish electrolytes, sugars, water, and other nutrients, and are usually isotonic (containing the same proportions as found in the human body). What are the “magical” ingredients in energy drinks? - In general, these drinks have one thing in common. They (except the sugar-free ones, mentioned above), contain a lot of sugar and/or caffeine. These could be considered the “active ingredients.” How are they marketed? - Energy drinks are marketed, in cans or bottles, as being all-natural energy boosters loaded with exotic ingredients that popular culture believes to be healthy. Energy drinks are generally marketed towards younger crowds. As already indicated, people are buying energy drinks in record numbers, even at an incredible $2-3 for a can smaller than an average soft drink can or bottle. The energy drink industry is worth over a billion dollars in sales annually and growing. The container-collectibles market?––Who knows. The mass market was created and revolutionized by the Austrian company Red Bull [Figure 1]. The energy drink business is exploding by catering to the ever-image-conscious youth market, which apparently wants a buzz that neither coffee nor soda is able to provide. Energy drink containers themselves are quickly becoming collectibles as evidenced by activity with thousands of collectors bidding and buying cans on eBay. Energy drinks tend to have “cool” logo colors and
fonts, modern can or bottle shapes, and a “high-energy” feel surrounding them. It’s a marketing company’s dream come true! It is also a collector’s dream come true–– especially for those who get in on the ground floor. Energy drinks typically are chock-full of caffeine, about 80 milligrams for an 8.3ounce can––as much as in a 7-ounce cup of coffee and about twice as much as a 16ounce can of cola. (The only exceptions are two soft drinks–the venerable old products 7-Up and Sprite contain zero caffeine.) The super-sweet energy drinks also contain taurine (an amino acid), which supposedly boosts the effects of caffeine, as well as vitamin B variations, herbs such as ginseng and Gingko biloba (herbal supplements). Despite tasting a bit like cough syrup, energy drinks this year are expected to grow in sales by 50 percent to almost $1.5 billion, according to the Beverage Marketing Corp., an industry research firm. Because of that rapid growth, a slew of brands are flooding the market, from the newly launched Kabbalah Energy Drink [Figure 2] to Nelly’s Pimp Juice [Figure 3] to Who’s Your Daddy [Figure 4] and Nexcite [Figure 5] ––the beverage that inspired the research for this article. Indeed, while walking up a steep hill from an antiques shop in Melbourne, Australia on a recent vacation, I came across a 200 ml. cobalt blue beverage bottle of Nexcite in the gutter. I thought the bottle, while contemporary, was beautiful in color. I stashed it in my wife’s purse and later in my luggage and bringing it home to the U. S. with me for study–– but I digress, we
54 will get back to Nexcite story later in this article. I promise! While there is no exact count, that I could find, of the energy drinks on the market, Beverage Net, a Web site that reviews various beverages, lists hundreds. There are a lot of brands out there for just two reasons––very fast growth and very high profit margins. Note, that while a single, 12-ounce can of Coke or Pepsi sells for about 75 cents, an energy drink retails for $1.99 to $2.49, or sometimes more. The cost to make the energy drink is about 40 to 50 cents a can or bottle, and its wholesale price is about $1. Those economics, in recent years, convinced a number of small companies to get into the energy drink market. But industry watchers aren’t sure that smaller companies have what it takes to compete against the more established competitors such as Monster Energy [Figure 6], Rock Star [Figure 7], Jolt [Figure 8] and Red Bull. It has been said that it’s an easy market to get into and it’s just as easy to fall out of. The energy drink market will certainly be dominated by the big names. Now is really the time to collect those cans and/or bottles from the marginal companies before they fail. One such product - not from a marginal company - that has already failed is one owned by the giant Pepsi-Cola Company. The energy drink, in a bottle no less, was named JOSTA [Figure 9]. Josta contained “exotic” Southern American herbs that didn’t seem to help sales. If you find one still around, full or empty, you will note that Pepsi-Cola is nowhere to be found on the label of the bottle. It’s almost as if Pepsi didn’t want it known that they were the parents of an energy drink! Meanwhile, Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo Inc. has several energy drinks including, Mountain DewMDX, AMP and SoBe Adrenaline Rush. The trend in the food and beverage industry is for functional drinks and snacks, which do more than just slake thirst or sate hunger. Consumers are looking for a functional payoff. With energy drinks, the functional payoff is almost instantaneous. They feel the energy boost, and they think that’s helpful. Energy drinks are along the same line as fashion brands. It’s not just about the product it’s about the brand. For instance, Monster, with its black
Summer 2006 can and fluorescent green logo [Figure 6], targets the 14-to-32 males who are into action sports. Rock Star [Figure 10] goes after both men and women younger than 30 with celebrity placements and more classic packaging. But that’s not the only part of the appeal. Energy drinks sell because of the appeal of the can or bottle– –and lately for their collectibility. Among the most popular energy drinks, some are pictured in this article, are (in no special order): Red Bull, Josta (PepsiCo Inc.), Tab Energy (Coca-Cola Co.) [Figure 12], Monster, XS (get it – excess), Bawls [Figure 13], Invigor8 BOOST [Figure 14], Crunk [Figure 15], Rockstar (Coca-Cola Co.) , Crunk Juice, Full Throttle (Coca-Cola Co.), Gay Fuel [Figure 16], No Fear, Afri Cola, Beaver Buzz [Figure 17], Buzz Water, Pacific Chali, Rooster Booster, Spark, Amp (PepsiCo Inc.), Rush, SoBe, Pimp Juice, Royal Crown Kick (Royal Crown Cola Co.), Shark [Figure 18], Piranha, Red Line, Boo Koo [Figure 19], Socko, Fuze, Hype, Guru, WhoopAss, HEMP [Figure 20], and Atomic X. RED BULL (Red Bull GmbHCo., Salzburg, Austria) There is no name more dominating in the energy drink business than Red Bull. It originated in Austria, and essentially created the market for energy drinks with its 1997 U. S. launch. Beverage Marketing Corp. estimated their privately held company producing Red Bull features current U. S. sales of more than $595 million. The company, which had been around since 1987, was able to get a foothold in the U. S. market by the atypical approach of selling Red Bull to bar patrons looking for an energy-infused mixer. Red Bull struggled and struggled with sales because they were trying to appeal to the healthconscious consumer, then they had bartenders mix it with vodka or other alcohol and it took off. Some of the many energy drinks have grown beyond their bar roots by introducing, first, 16-ounce cans and then 25-ounce “Reseal-able Reusable Batteryshaped Cans.” The recent energy drink phenomenon in North America seem to follow the
Bottles and Extras popularity of Red Bull, which has roughly 70 percent of the market. As we will see further on, Jolt Cola was the first in the U. S. market (1985) but it was not the first energy drink: In Japan, the energy drink phenomenon dates at least as far back as March 1962, with the release of the Lipovitan-D drink from Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. It was the firstever nutrient drink offering fast and convenient nutritional support for fatigue after work, housework and sports. It is still being marketed and bears little resemblance to soft drinks as we know them –LipovitanD, every bottle collector should note, is sold in small brown glass medicine bottles [Figure 21]. These “genki” [a Japanese word meaning friendly, lively, vigor, energy (or vitality) and healthy] drinks [Figure 22] are marketed primarily to office workers to help them work long hours, or to stay awake on the late commute home. Right from the start, Red Bull the Thai edition looked, and still does, quite different than its U. S. or European counterpart. Packaged in a 150ml amber glass medicine bottle [Figure 23] and labeled as a liquid vitamin supplement, the packaging definitely presents the product in a different light than the stock 8.2-ounce can or bottle that energy drinks usually come in. Red Bull is the invention of Dietrich Mateschitz who in 1982 learned about the so-called “tonic drinks,” which enjoyed wide popularity in Asia. While he was sitting in the bar at the Mandarin Hotel in Hong Kong he got the idea of marketing those particular functional drinks outside Asia. So it was that in 1984, Mateschitz founded the Red Bull GmbH Company in Salzburg, Austria. He began selling Red Bull in Austria in 1987. The first country after Austria to get Red Bull was Hungry (1992). He fine-tuned the product, and further developed the marketing concept of selling Red Bull in Bars, first as an energy drink and then as a mixer with vodka. Today the energy drink is sold in over 100 countries. More than a billion cans of Red Bull are consumed each year. Mostly the product is sold in 8.3-ounce cans and there is a sugar-free version [Figure 24]. JOLT COLA (West Planet Beverages, Rochester, N.Y.) Jolt Cola is a highly caffeinated cola made in the U. S. It was created in 1985 by C. J. Rapp and originally came in a red
Bottles and Extras aluminum can with blue horizontal stripes encircling the can [Figure 25]. It was made originally by the Jolt-Company, Inc., headquartered in Rochester, NY. The company’s name has since changed its name to Wet Planet Beverages. Originally, Jolt was fairly controversial, especially among parents. Its early advertisements tended to use a fair amount of sex appeal to attract potential young (presumably male) customers. Early production of Jolt Cola may have had more sugar than the current formula, but the current formula still contains as much sugar as other popular brands of cola. It has about the same amount of caffeine as regular coffee but not as much as espresso. A “Diet Jolt” was briefly available in the mid-1990s, but was dropped because of poor sales. No wonder, Diet Jolt removed the sugar from the cola, but didn’t replace it with any artificial sweetener. It is a lucky collector who finds a Diet Jolt can or bottle. Some of the important brands of cola on the market today are: Afri-Cola; Barr Cola; Breizh Cola; Bubba Cola; Cherry Coke; China Cola; Coca-Cola; Cola Turka; Count Cola; Cricket Cola; Cuba Cola; Diet Rite Cola; Double Cola; Evoca Cola; Faygo Cola; FujiCola; Inca Cola; Jolly Cola; Jolt Cola; Kola Real; Mecca-Cola; OpenCola; Pepsi; Premium-cola; Quibla Cola; Red Kola; R.C. Cola; Rola Cola; Rutto Cola; Shasta Cola; Tab; Thums Up; tuKola; Virgin Cola; Cita-Cola; Zam Zam Cola; Zelal Cola While the company still utilizes some cans, it has both regular and longneck ACL (Applied Color Label) bottles [Figures 26]. In 2005, Jolt Cola revamped their product line. Jolt Cola is now found in “battery bottles” (a 23.5 oz / 700 ml. resealable aluminum bottle). The battery bottle flavors are Jolt Cola –similar to Pepsi and CocaCola; Jolt Blue [Figure 27] –raspberry flavor; Jolt Cherry Bomb [Figure 28] –Dr. Pepper flavor; Red Eye –Fruit punch flavor; and Ultra, (which is a diet drink, utilizing Splenda as its artificial sugar, also containing Guaranc, Ginseng, Taurine, and Vitamin B complex). In Australia Jolt has been available in the traditional cola flavor, as well as black cherry, root beer, cream soda, and orange flavor. The Jolt Cola logo has the word “JOLT” in jumbled white capitals with a colored outline and a yellow or gold lightning bolt
Summer 2006 going through the letter “O” [Figure 29]. Various Jolt Cola Slogans Are: “The world’s most powerful cola”; “An alternative to coffee”; “All the sugar, twice the caffeine”; “Twice the caffeine of ‘normal’ colas”; “Twice the caffeine and all the taste” [the most popular slogan]; “Caffeine X2”; “The black sheep of colas”; “The espresso of colas”; and “The soda that pops.” JOLT GUM (West Planet Beverages, Rochester, N.Y.) There is another product using the Jolt name –Jolt (Caffeine Energy) Gum [Figures 30 and 31]. Like the Jolt energy beverages, the gum has been enhanced with caffeine, vitamins, herbs, and other supplements. Of what interest is Jolt Gum to collectors? One should remember that the Franklin Manufacturing Company of Richmond, Virginia produced Coca-Cola Pepsin Gum from 1908 to 1916. On the collectors’ market sticks of that gum, according the August 9, 1995 issue of The Antique Trader Weekly: “. . . [Coca-Cola] gum brought three times the pre-auction estimate of $1,000 per stick. Prices for the sticks were $3,061; $3,080 and $3,703.” And I personally witnessed Phil Mooney, the Archivist of the Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta, appraised a stick of the gum as being worth $7,000 to $8,000 on 8-16-03 at Harrah’s Rincon Casino in Valley Center, California. Admittedly, the Coke gum is almost 100 years old and Jolt Gum is new but it still stands to reason that some contemporary Jolt Gum will be of some value when it reaches its one-hundredth birthday. If that turns out to be true, a few packages of the gum would make a fine gift for a grand– or –great-grandchild. [Order via the Internet– – Item#10062: ww.backpackinglight.com/ cgi-bin/backpackinglight/ jolt_caffeine_energy_gum.html ] A similar collecting scenario, in 100 years, could apply to an extant stick of “Stay Alert” chewing gum [Figure 32]. Since some GIs have taken to chewing Jolt Gum; the Army recently created and tested their version of a caffeine-enhanced gum at Fort Detrick, Maryland. And after successful results, decided to make it available through military supply channels as National Stock Number 8925-01-530-1219. The U. S. Army started issuing caffeine-
55 enhanced Stay Alert gum to troops in the Special Forces who often go more than 48 hours without sleep. The gum is five times stronger and faster than coffee and issued to maintain alertness and as a countermeasure for fatigue. ENERGY–ENHANCED CANDY TINS (Vroom Foods, Inc.) Anyone who accepts the practicality and sense of collecting energy drink cans and bottles and caffeinated enhanced chewing gum will undoubtedly have a positive reaction toward collecting and saving a few tins of candy enhanced with Caffeine. There are at least two currently on the market. From Vroom Foods, Inc. there is “FOOSH Energy Mints” [Figure 33] and “Buzz Bite” [Figure 34]. Both contain a powerful blend of caffeine, ginseng, taurine and 5 B vitamins. Buzz Bite is a chocolate energy chew. FOOSH is a mint-flavored chew. Both contain 25 percent more caffeine than an entire can of Red Bull. The two caffeine-enhanced candies come in small aspirin-shape tins. For the collector it would be a simple thing to gather a few and place them in the closet for the future. In 1996, Vroom Foods, Inc. founder, Jason Kensey was attending graduate school in Boston. He, like most graduate students, recalls pulling a few all-nighters and chugging down gallons of coffee or soda. He didn’t like coffee and he didn’t like energy drinks. So as any creative MBA candidate would do, he invented FOOSH and Buzz Bite to solve his problem. The part of his story that I like the best ––when he ran out of money to develop his new candy, he turned to eBay and sold his Bose Radio, Bionic Man and GI Joe. He may one day note that he just traded one collectible for another. NEXCITE “SEX WATER” ENERGY DRINK (Nexcite Drinks AB, Stockholm, Sweden) Press Release: “STOCKHOLM, Sweden/ January 10, 2006/FPSnewswire/ – Swedish beverage manufacturer Nexcite Drinks AB announced today the official United States re-launch, beginning February 14th, 2006 of its Swedish Love Drink: Nexcite, the sparkling blue effervescent beverage that is an all-natural blend of powerful and
56 proven herbal aphrodisiacs formulated by Michael Wallen of Nexcite Drinks AB. Arriving nationwide just in time for Saint Valentines Day, Nexcite will be the first non-alcoholic adult beverage offering consumers a clean tasting and refreshing energizing romantic drink. In addition, Nexcite is a perfect herbal passion tonic mixer for those spirited libations, setting the mood for more intimate moments.” Please recall that near the beginning of this study of energy drinks and their containers, I wrote about: “Nexcite ––is the beverage that inspired the research for this article. Indeed, while walking up a steep hill from an antiques shop in Melbourne, Australia during a recent vacation, I came across a 200 ML cobalt blue beverage bottle for NEXCITE in the gutter. I thought the bottle, while contemporary, was beautiful in color. I stashed it in my wife’s purse and later in our luggage and brought it home to the U. S. with me for [subsequent study]–– but I digress, we will get back to Nexcite story later in this article. I promise!” Well, it’s time to keep that promise. When my wife unpacked from the Australian trip she handed me the blue bottle. I was curious enough to punch the word “Nexcite” into eBay. It came as quite a shock that there, indeed, was a listing. “LIQUIDATION LOT OF NEXCITE SEX WATER ENERGY DRINK” (item #5667798362). Starting bid $10,638.00. Location of item: Little Rock, Arkansas. A more careful reading of the listing revealed that a lot consisting of: “. . . two truck loads (1,728 cases) of 24.5 ounce bottles (Fig. 35) of Nexcite Sex energy drink with ‘love herbs.’ Nexcite drink, with herbs, reportedly contains an erotic recipe that jump– starts the female libido. It meets all FDA requirements as a dietary supplement. It’s got [sic] Damiana Extract (from South America), Ginseng Extract (from East Asia), Schizandra Extract (from China), Mate Extract (from South America), Guarana Extract (from East Asia), and Caffeine – as much as an eight-ounce cup of Coffee. The nonalcoholic drink has a clean, clear, berry taste to it. People report feeling its effects in about 20 minutes. It generates a sense of warmth and a sense of wanting to feel romantic that lasts about four hours. Customers say the Nexcite drink makes their sexual
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Summer 2006 feeling seem more intense and more sensitive. This water is blue.” Nexcite in its cobalt blue bottle was introduced in Sweden in 2001 as “Niagara” [Figure 36] - same bottle but different name. Niagara first became popular at Sweden’s Ice Hotel’s Absolute Ice Bar where they would mix it with Absolute vodka, on ice, or rather in a glass made of ice called the “From-Sweden-with-Love” arctic martini. They sold 7 million bottles in a short time. Following a trademark dispute with Pfizer Corp., the manufacturer of Viagara, the brand’s name was changed to Nexcite [Figure 37]. Collectors currently search for the cobalt glass bottle with both the original Niagara label and subsequent Nexcite labels. (The seller in eBay auction #5667798362 mentioned above was aware of the value of the product bearing the original name as evidenced by the Sentence: “I also have up for auction a liquidation of Niagara.” While one can still locate and acquire an original paper-labeled Niagara bottle and/or Nexcite with a paper label, the new Nexcite bottle is being produced with an Applied Color Label (ACL) [Figure 38]. The Nexcite Drinks, AB brags that their labeling was designed by the famous design bureau in Sweden, Amore, and the bottle was designed and produced by the wellknown can and bottle manufacturer, Rexam PLC. A recent AriveNet press release was headlined: “Swedish Love Drink; Nexcite Offer’s New Way To Get Motivated This Valentines Day – February 14 th, 2006" followed by, “Overnight the Swedish made honeymoon elixir became a world-wide phenomenon, especially among women, as it was touted back then by the international press as the Female Viagra, today this refreshing herbal love fizz is enjoying a smorgasbord of success, beyond the Land of the Midnight Sun.” ENTERTAIN YOURSELF: (1) To view a table of energy drinks, with a few coffee variants listed for comparison, go to “Energy Fiend” (http://www.energyfiend.com/thecaffeine-database/). (2) To see how many cans of soda with caffeine it would take to kill you, go to “Death by Caffeine” and enter your weight: (http:// www.punkasspunk.com/caffeine.php) (3) To check current collector can and/or
bottle prices go to: (http:// www.ebay.com/) and enter “energy drinks” SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY AND RESOURCES Resource: To check current collector can or bottle prices, go to eBay and enter “energy drinks” - www.ebay.com/ Photograph Credit: Courtesy to BEVNET: www.bevnet.com Books: Munsey, Cecil. The Illustrated Guide to the Collectibles of Coca-Cola. New York: Hawthorn Books, Inc., 1972. Munsey, Cecil. The Illustrated Guide to Collecting Bottles. New York: Hawthorn Books, Inc., 1970. Wahlquist, M. L. Food and Nutrition – Australia, Asia and the Pacific. New South Wales: Allen and Unwin. Pty. Ltd., 1997.
Cecil Munsey 13541 Willow Run Road Poway, CA 92064-1733 (858) 487-7036 cecilmunsey@cox.net
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THE DATING GAME: WHITALL TATUM & CO.
By Bill Lockhart, Carol Serr, David Whitten, Bill Lindsey and Pete Schulz
One of the best-known manufacturers of prescription glassware was Whitall Tatum & Co. Once perhaps the largest producer of flint container glass in the world, the firm produced a large variety of bottles and jars over a long time span. In addition, most Whitall Tatum bottles were clearly marked with the company initials in a variety of styles from the last third of the 19th century until near the end of the 20th century. Company History
Whitall Tatum & Co. Whitall Tatum & Co. has a long and involved history that goes back to the cylinder window-glass house of James Lee, established in Millville, New Jersey, in 1806. 1 Although many writers have referred to the evolving ownership of the operation, Toulouse (1971) and Pepper (1971:225-228) seem to provide the most systematic chronologies based on primary sources - and they contradict each other on several points. According to an ad in The Glass Packer (November 1925), the company itself traced its existence to 1836. It is clear, however, that from 1845 to 1848 the firm was styled Whitall & Bro., and from 1848 to 1857 it was Whitall, Bro. & Co. In 1857 the partnership became Whitall, Tatum & Co., and remained so for the rest of the century. On January 2, 1901, the firm incorporated as the Whitall Tatum Co. (Moody Manual Co. 1914:1200). It was purchased in June, 1938 by the Armstrong Cork Co., who owned the operation until April of 1969. Although the factory originally made window glass, by 1820 it produced “carboys, demijohns, vials, druggists’ bottles, snuffs, chemicals, and the like” (Toulouse 1971:545-546). The company bought a second Millville factory about 1853. Allegedly the second plant was not wanted by the Whitalls, but its purchase was necessary in order to secure rights to timber needed for fuel but controlled by the second plant’s owners. Regardless, the company thereafter operated both factories (Lefebvre 1949:89; Pepper 1971:225-228). The original plant became known as the
Glasstown plant or the Upper Works; the newer plant was called the South Millville plant or the Lower Works. That the operation specialized in glassware for druggists, chemists and perfumers probably reflects the fact several of the early owners were Philadelphia pharmacists (Shoemaker 1890; Toulouse 1971:545). This was not true of the Whitalls and Tatums. It did, however, provide them with a business compatible with their religious beliefs. Both families were devout Quakers, who “did not believe in war, nor in litigation, nor in the manufacture or sale of intoxicating liquors.” As a result they refused to manufacture liquor bottles of any kind – then one of the mainstays of most bottle makers (Anonymous 1896). Since an important element of their trade consisted of bottles embossed to identify local druggists, some background on that market is worth discussion. Pepper (1971:230) noted that “as early as 1868 Whitall Tatum began making lettered plate ware.” She explained that “some customers could not afford an individual mold cut for about $400, [so] Whitall Tatum devised an inset lettered plate that cost only about $2 to $10.” This suggests that Whitall Tatum adapted the use of plate molds on bottle bodies, but the story is more complex than that. In 1867, James J. Christie patented a “glass bottle mold fitted with a removable panel that was inscribed with the name and address to be molded in the bottle.” Christie made flint glass bottles in Baltimore, Maryland. Whitall Tatum began using the plates in 1868 (Griffenhagen & Bogard 1999:36). Tatum (1900:20330) supported the date from a perspective only 23 years removed. After discussing the introduction of the French Square,2 he noted that: this was followed about 1867 by the appearance on the market of lettered bottles, that is bottles bearing on one side in raised letters the name and address of the pharmacist, accompanied in some cases by devices, monograms, etc. The lettering was known as a plate mold.
57 This consisted of a metal plate made of varying sizes to fit the various molds used in casting bottles of different shape [he noted the American Druggist as his source]. According to Griffenhagen and Bogard (1999:36), bottles with embossed letters had been used in the United States since at least 1809. Donut-shaped plate molds around the outside edges of bottle bases were invented by Henry Ricketts in 1821 (Jones & Sullivan 1989:48-49). Jones and Sullivan also noted that “an official starting date for plate moulds in the United States is a patent of 1867” – obviously referring to the Christie patent noted above. Although peripheral to this study, there is empirical evidence that plate molds were used on the bodies (rather than the bases like Ricketts-type molds) of soda water bottles at least as early as 1850. We have seen bottles produced by the Union Glass Works of Philadelphia, for example, that were embossed with plate molds for the San Francisco soda water firm of Lynde & Putnam that operated only in 1850 and 1851 (Markota and Markota 1972:53). There are numerous other examples of soda bottles with embossed plate molds prior to the 1867 patent. Boley & Co., Sacramento, California, for example used bottles with plate molds during the 1849-1862 period. Delahanty, Skelly & Co., San Francisco, used similar bottles from 1854 to 1864 (Schulz et al. 1980:125, 136). Pepper (1971:228) claimed that Whitall Tatum began making “flint glass” (i.e., colorless glass) in 1863 and built a “new flint glasshouse at South Millville” in 1864. However, she claimed that the company used “William Leighton’s formula for lime glass” which actually used no decoloring chemicals. Pepper stated (1971:232) that “the flint glass was of extraordinary clarity and brightness, especially considering its intended use for fairly expendable bottles. . . . Sand for the flint glass was brought in by rail from Ohio where washing was done on a large scale and more economically than Whitall Tatum could have done at the time.” Despite her claims, all identifiable bottles we have seen were solarized purple, a sure indicator of manganese used as a decolorizer in the glass. Horner (1985:98) placed the date of Whitall Tatum’s first flint glass manufacture at 1862 (almost certainly the process described by Pepper) and noted that it met with “only partial success.” The lack
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of complete success led to the building of the new flint glass house in 1864. It was not until 1870, however, that “the progress in that branch of the business has been quite rapid.” “Glass formulae” used by Whitall Tatum included ten ounces of Manganese Dioxide for a 500-pound batch of “Lead Glass” and four ounces for a 200-pound batch (Horner 1985:101). This is more in keeping with observed Whitall Tatum colorless pharmacy bottles. In addition to pharmacy bottles, the company manufactured laboratory ware for chemists and druggists, perfume bottles, nursing bottles and other druggists‘ sundries, as well as various glass and rubber implements used by physicians. Toward the end of the century the operation was touted as “probably the largest flint- bottle works in the world,” having “thirteen flintfurnaces, in addition to five green-glass furnaces and a green-glass tank.” The firm employed “from 1500 to 1900 employees, according to the demand for their goods” (Depew 1895:282) Whitall Tatum had developed a semiautomatic machine for wide-mouth containers by 1904 and had one for narrowmouth bottles operational by 1912 (Toulouse 1971:544-547). However, the plant also continued to make bottles by hand. In 1913, the company was listed as using both mouth-blown and semiautomatic processes (Anonymous 1913:953). The use of both hand-blown and machine-made bottles continued at least until 1924, the company’s catalog of that year still listing a large component of specially-embossed hand ware. When hand production was dropped at the Whitall Tatum plants is currently uncertain. However, a 1925 news report implies that the transition was well underway if not complete (Anonymous 1925), and it is likewise interesting that from 1925 onward, the company’s ads tout “full automatic machine process” but no longer mention lettered ware. By 1932, the ads mention amber “beverage” bottles, and
after Repeal it is clear that those bottles – in a departure from the company’s 19thcentury tradition – were meant to hold beer. Wine and liquor bottles soon followed. This was evidently part of a major effort at diversification, which had already led to production of glass insulators beginning in 1922. W. T. & Co. and W. T. Co. Manufacturer’s Marks on Pharmacy Bottles Toulouse (1971:544) claimed that the W T & Co manufacturer’s mark was used by the company “until 1935.” As shown below, this is incorrect. Other dating methods are more realistic. For example, any specific bottle with a mark that includes a patent date could not have been used prior to the patent date. However, many patents were used for years, so the patent date does not necessarily reflect a valid initial date for the bottle’s use. According to Griffenhagen and Bogard (1999:38), Whitall Tatum & Co patented at least ten designs for medicine or pharmacy bottles alone during the 1878-1898 period. Until this time, Bethman (1991:78-79) has been the best source for dating Whitall Tatum bottles. Indeed, we have used his dates as a baseline for this study. We examined a total of 228 Whitall Tatum marks on bottle bases in our initial study and have observed literally dozens since. Our sources included eBay auctions, our personal collections, archaeological databases, and entries in books that either illustrate or thoroughly describe marks by the company (Elliott & Gould 1988; Miller 1999; Pollard 1993; Ring 1980). Each of these researchers provided date ranges for the use of individual drug store bottles or, in some cases, for the specific drug stores. By consolidating these date ranges for individual bottles, we can get a better picture of the overall use range of a specific variation of the Whitall Tatum marks. In addition, the Whitall Tatum catalogs from 1880, 1892, 1896, 1898, 1900, 1902, 1909,
and 1937 were helpful in establishing the relationship between catalog numbers and embossed digits as well as related data. This sample gave us a good look at bottles in use between at least 1880 and the early 1920s. Marks on these bottles are sometimes embossed horizontally and sometimes slightly arched depending on the shape of the bottle base. On drug store bottles, all marks are found on bases. Many of the colorless bottles are solarized (often artificially by collectors) to a light amethyst color, and it may be that all of them would change color if exposed to ultra-violet radiation. It is clear that the use of manganese extended for the full time period when the W. T. & Co. or W. T. Co. marks were used. A few generalizations provide a basic guideline (see Table 1 for a basic dating guide to Whitall Tatum pharmacy bottles): 1. A major division between marks occurs with mouth-blown vs. machinemade bottles. Mouth-blown bottles are marked with either the “W. T. & Co.” or “W. T. Co.” logo. Machine-made bottles are marked “W/T” in an inverted triangle. 2. The ampersand (&) was used in the mark during the pre-incorporation period from the 1870s to 1901. Bottles following the 1901 incorporation lack the ampersand. 3. “U. S. A.” may have become part of the mark in the 1880s, but it was not generally used until sometime after 1890. This may reflect a Whitall Tatum entry into the international market. 4. Three stars accompanying the mark were used infrequently. If they had any specific meaning, we have yet to discover it. These were generally used between ca. 1890 and ca. 1901, although a few examples exist with the “W. T. Co” mark, indicating a manufacture after 1901. 5. The use of a capital or lower-case “o” in “Co” was apparently a random variation at the whim of the engraver. The lower case appears a bit more commonly in earlier bottles, while capitals are overwhelmingly dominant in later ones.
Figure 1: Whitall Tatum Mark – mid1870s-late 1880s (Bethman 1991:811)
Figure 2: Whitall Tatum Mark – ca. 1880-1895 (Bethman 1991:810)
Figure 3: Whitall Tatum Mark – 1891-1894 (Bethman 1991:533)
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Table 1: Chronology for Whitall Tatum Prescription Bottles MARK
DATES / PATENT
W. T. & Co.
1880, 1881, 1888
mid-1870s-ca. 1890
(letter or number) W. T. & Co.
1888
ca. 1880-ca. 1895
W. T. & Co. (letter or number)
1878
ca. 1880-1895
Bethman (1991:79); Elliott and Gould:196)
W. T. & Co. (letter) U.S.A.
1881
ca. 1890-1894
Bethman (1991:79); Miller (1999:87)
W. T. & Co. U.S.A.
1898
ca. 1896-1901
Bethman (1991:79, 730); Pollard (1993:255)
W. T. & CO. (letter or number) U.S.A
1878, 1891, 1892, 1894
ca. 1890-1901
Bethman (1991:79); Elliott and Gould (1988:190)
(letter) W. T. & Co. U.S.A.
DATES
SOURCE Bethman (1991:79); Elliott and Gould (1988:205) Bottle Research Group (BRG)
1890-1896
Bethman (1991:79)
Bethman (1991:79); BRG
W. T. & Co. U.S.A. (letter)
1878
1889-1890
*** W. T. & Co. (letter) U.S.A.
1892, 1894
early 1890s-1901
Bethman (1991:79); M. Miller (1999:72); Elliott and Gould (1988:206); T. Miller (n.d.:16)
mid-1890s-1901
Bethman (1991:79); Preble (2002)
early 1890s-1901
Bethman (1991:79); Preble (2002)
*** W. T. & Co. (letter) U.S.A.
early 1890s-1901
Preble (2002)
Logos with Stars to One or Both Sides
mid-1890s-1901
Preble (2002); Miller (1999:72)
W. T. & Co. *** (letter) U.S.A. *** (letter or number) U.S.A.
1892, 1894
W. T. Co. U.S.A.
1892, 1898
1901-ca.1905
W. T. Co. (letter or number) U.S.A.
1892, 1894
1901-1924
Pollard (1993:243, 251, 255) Bethman (1991:79); Elliott and Gould (1988:198; BRG
Preble (2002)
*** W. T. Co (letter or number) U.S.A.
1901-ca. 1905
W. T. Co. (letter or number)
1901-1924
BRG; Pollard (1993:277)
(letter) W. T. Co.
after 1901
Bethman (1991:735)
(letter) U.S.A.
ca. 1912-ca. 1915
Miller (1999:67, 97)
59
60 6. Letters and single-digit numbers accompanying the marks are probably mold codes or identifiers of production groups. It is worth noting that in the 1937 Whitall Tatum catalog, single- and double-letter codes are used to identify all models of pharmacy bottles. Although that system may have been used at earlier dates, it was never recorded in the earlier catalogs. We have not been able to detect a notable pattern for letter/number use, nor are they helpful for dating purposes. An Important Note About Sources Virtually all the sources (except catalogs and ads) used to date the Whitall Tatum marks are books about local/regional drug store/pharmacy bottles written for collectors. They were never intended as vehicles to date manufacturer’s marks. Each of these sources has compiled the available data to produce date ranges for the individual businesses in a specific state or region. These date ranges are usually intended to reflect the length of time a business was open based on existing sources. In cases where the authors found more than one bottle used by a business, they have usually attempted to determine a range for that type of bottle – not for that type of mark – using a variety of characteristics such as embossed addresses or name of the proprietor, local advertising, and other bottles with similar styles. In all cases, these date ranges should be considered approximate. It is important to note that the best information available does not necessarily reflect the entire date range for a business. Thus, for example, an unusual date range (i.e., one that does not fit in with other known ranges for a mark) most likely indicates that historical information for the drug store in question is incomplete. It usually does not indicate that the date range for the mark needs to be questioned. A hypothetical example might better explain. Let’s say a drug store was in business from 1885 to 1907 with a total of two known owners, and two different types of bottles, both mouth blown, have been discovered by the author of the study. The author might date one bottle from 1885 to 1891, based on the proprietor’s name embossed on the plate mold. The other one, he or she would date 1892 to 1907 because no owner’s name appears. If this second bottle had the “W. T. & Co.” mark (used before 1902), then a date range of 1892 to
Summer 2006 1907 would not indicate that the bottle was made after 1907. It is, of course, also possible that W. T. & Co. marks extended for the first few years into the corporation era. This may have been caused by the employees continuing to use the older molds until they wore out (a common practice in the glass industry). Thus, occasional W. T. & Co. marks may have extended to ca. 1903 or so. Possibly future research will clarify this possibility. W. T. & Co. [mid-1870s-ca. 1890] According to Bethman (1991:79), “This embossing dates from mid-1870s-1890.” It was certainly the earliest mark used by the company [Figure 1]. Griffenhagen and Bogard (1999:130) dated the mark 18681903, but they did not address the variations. Their beginning date is probably too early, while the end date is a mistaken date for the company name change at incorporation. Bethman (1990:649, 672, 681, 736, 774, 811, 835, 850) illustrated ten examples of this mark. His date ranges varied from 1880 to 1890. Two examples of W. T. & Co. marks, unaccompanied by other markings, were also listed by Elliott and Gould (1988:205). They dated the bottles ca. 1880. None of our sources extend back to the 1870s, but a large post-1880 sample indicates that the unaccompanied mark was probably not used much after 1880, although the mark was still used some after that date. Preble (2002) listed numerous examples of bottles bearing the mark with date ranges for the companies using them extending from the mid-1870s to ca. 1900 or later. We have seen examples with “PAT. NOV. 17, 80” below the logo and “PAT. APLD. FOR/W. T. & CO.” on a second bottle. A single example in Pollard (1993:246) included a patent number above the logo (“PAT. JAN. 24 88”). Bethman (1991) noted a patent of “JAN. 18 ‘81.” Ring (1980:52, 113, 144, 150, 451) listed five bitters bottles with the “W. T. & CO.” mark, but none included patent dates. Although most usage of this mark probably ceased by the mid-1880s, the 1888 patent extends the range to mid-1870s to late 1880s. (letter or number) / W. T. & Co. [ca.1880-ca. 1895] Elliott and Gould (1988:195) listed a single example of a slight variation – “A/ W. T. & CO./U. S. A.” – which they dated
Bottles and Extras
Figure 4: Whitall Tatum Mark – 1896-1901 (Bethman 1991:730)
Figure 5: Whitall Tatum Mark – 1890-1901 (Bethman 1991:839)
Figure 6: Whitall Tatum Mark – early 1980s-1901 (Bethman 1991:825)
Figure 7: Whitall Tatum Mark – mid- to late 1890s (Bethman 1991:813)
Figure 8: Whitall Tatum Mark – 1901-ca. 1924 (Bethman 1991:388)
Figure 9: Whitall Tatum Mark – ca. 1912- ca. 1915 (Miller 1999:67)
Bottles and Extras ca. 1880-1881. Bethman (1991:735) illustrated two examples of this variation, both with a “P” above the logo. He dated the bottles ca. 1887 and ca. 1892. He also included a variation with the patent date (“PAT JAN 24 ‘88") embossed above the letter A, both above the logo. He dated this variation ca. 1888. Preble (2002:485, 598, 633) also showed examples of the mark with date ranges extending from 1883 to 1888. In one case, however, he noted a range from 1894 to 1900. We have also observed two examples (N and 1) with the letter/number above the “W. T. & Co.” Preble (2002:458) showed an interesting variation on this mark. His example had a single star below “W. T. & Co.” He dated the drug store using the bottle as having been in business between 1895 and 1900. Although a series of three stars was used on marks dating from the early 1890s to 1901 (see below), this is one of only two examples we have found with a single star. W. T. & Co. / (letter or number) [ca. 1880-1895] Bethman (1991:79) dated this mark “1889-1893” and only found letters included in his sample [Figure 2]. He illustrated 34 examples of the mark that generally ranged in date from ca. 1885 to ca. 1895 with occasional outliers on both ends. Outliers ranged to extremes of 1879 or 1880 to 1903. All of Bethman’s marks were shown with a capital “O” in “CO”. Elliott and Gould (1988:196, 205), however, listed 15 bottles marked W. T. & Co. above a letter or a number and dated them ca. 1880 or ca. 1881. We have found letters ranging from A-O and AA-AO with numbers from 1-9 (including one marked “9.”). Miller (1999:87) also showed the mark with AJ below the logo. All but two of the marks we have found contained the lower-case “o”; the remaining two used capitals. Ring (1980:146) listed a single bitters bottle marked with “W T & CO/1” on the base. Schulz and Schulz (1990:311, 319) reported two bottles with the letters “A” and “P” from California pharmacies that can be dated 1873-1898 and 18861889, respectively. We found an interesting engraver’s error when we examined the Tucson Urban Renewal collection at the Arizona State Museum in Tucson, Arizona. This bottle base has “W. T. & Co./AO” embossed on the base in mirror form. Elliott and Gould (1988:196) showed an interesting variation with “PAT. JAN.
Summer 2006 22 78” between the W. T. & CO. and the accompanying letter. The letters included C, E, and F, although one example is marked C N, the only case we have found with two letters that were not in the “A” series. Bethman (1991:597, 608) also showed the patent number variation. Along with the date shown in Elliott and Gould, he added “PAT. 5 MO 7 78.”3 He dated his examples 1885-1888. Based on the above, we amend the date range to ca. 1880-1895 but suggest that the middle-to-late end of the range (1885-1895) is the most likely. Preble (2002:578) illustrated the only known example of this mark with a single star embossed above the logo. He dated the bottle ca. 1881. A series of three stars in conjunction with the “W. T. & Co.” logo were found on bottles that dated from the early 1890s to 1901. Only one other example of a single star associated with the mark is known, also from Preble (see previous). Since all other published examples of Whitall Tatum marks with stars date to the ca. 1890-1901 period, this mark likely does also. It is possible that the mark was intended to have three stars, but two were bad “strikes” and were too indistinct to be noticed. W. T. & Co. / (letter) U. S. A. [ca. 1890-1894] For this mark, we rely mostly on Bethman (1991:79) who noted that “this marking dates from about 1891-1894.” Bethman (1991:533, 612, 734-735, 737, 775, 804) illustrated eight examples of this mark [Figure 3]. His dates ranged from 1889 to 1892. Miller (1999:87) showed a single example of this mark with an “I” to the left of U. S. A. He dated the bottle 1891. In our collections, we have examples with a “1” and “K” to the left. Bethman (1991) illustrated marks with the letters B through K and AM. He also showed one example with a patent date of JAN 18 81. Preble (2002) included numerous examples of this mark with date ranges from 1889 to the mid-1890s. W. T. & Co. / U. S. A. [1896-1901] Although Bethman (1991:79, 730) did not note this configuration in his discussion of the marks, he illustrated a single example that he dated ca. 1896 [Figure 4]. Three examples of the mark were recorded by Elliott and Gould (1988:196, 207), and we have observed the mark. Elliott and Gould dated one example at ca. 1880 and the other
61 two ca. 1911. We do not accept the 1911 date because all other dated examples we have seen of the mark with the ampersand (&) were from the pre-incorporation period (i.e., pre-1902). The U. S. A., however, was not generally used until the 1890s. Pollard (1993:254) showed this bottle with neither a letter nor a numeral. These were likely made between 1896 and 1901, although the style could have been used earlier. Griffenhagen and Bogard (1999:130) dated the inclusion of USA from 1890 to 1903 but did not address the variations. Ring (1980:420) listed a single bitters bottle with this mark embossed on its base. W. T. & Co. / (letter or number) / U.S.A. [ca. 1890-1901] Bethman (1991:79) included this with the mark discussed below. However, we have listed it separately because it is a notable difference, even though both marks date to the same period. The mark was likely introduced ca. 1890 and used until Whitall Tatum incorporated in 1901 [Figure 5]. Bethman (1991) illustrated 31 examples of this mark on Washington drug store bottles. Inclusive date ranges for the bottles stretched from ca. 1887 to 1896 with two outliers dated ca. 1900. The bulk of the examples fell within the 1890-1896 range. Elliott and Gould (1988:190-207) showed numerous bottles with this pattern embossed on the bases and generally included similar date ranges. It should be noted that Elliott and Gould date occasional marks of this type to the ca. 1910 period, although other sources suggest that the ampersand (&) was not used after the company incorporated in 1901. Most marks contained a capital “O” in “CO.,” but a single example had a lower-case “o” and the number “4.” Those with capital “Os” included letters from A to O or the number 1. Bethman (1991) added B and J along with 1-4, 6, and 8. Ring (1980:84, 198, 487) listed two bitters bottles with this mark. Schulz and Schulz (1990:311, 313314, 319, 329) reported eleven bottles with this mark (seven including patent dates), all made for California pharmacies. Letters and numbers include A, H, J, Y, 8 and 901. Dates assigned for the bottles were 18891893, 1892-1901, 1894-1901 and 18981901. Bottles marked with this logo included several patent dates (although bottles with no patent dates are common with this
62 pattern): “PAT. JAN. 22 78;” “PAT. FEB. 24, 1891;” “PAT. JAN. 5 1892;” or “PAT. DEC. 11 1894.” Patent dates were usually embossed below the “U. S. A.,” but Elliott and Gould (1988:196-197) listed four examples with the patent date between the “W. T. & CO.” and the single letter. In three of these, the pattern is “(letter) U. S. A.,” a format previously unrecorded. In two other examples, the patent date is between “W. T. & CO.” and “U. S. A.” with a “J” at the very bottom. All of the variations noted in this paragraph carry a patent date of “JAN. 22 78.” All of the exceptions are dated between the 1880s to early 1890s [we suggest late 1880s]. It is notable that some bottles used during the late 1880s-1890s carry a patent date for 1878. While patent dates provide an absolute not-used-before date, they may also not be reliable as initial use dates. (letter) / W. T. & Co. / U. S. A. [1890-1901] Although Bethman (1991:79, 618, 327) did not list this as a variation, he illustrated two examples with AD and AE above the logo and U. S. A. below it. He dated the bottles 1890-1896. Schulz and Schulz (1990:323-324) report this mark (below “PAT JAN 27 88”) on three bottles from a California pharmacy that began operation in 1892 and continued into the 20th century. Letters included were “B” and “C.” W. T. & Co. / U. S. A. / (letter) [1889-1890] This is another subvariation that was unlisted by Bethman (1991:79, 755), although he showed a single example of the mark with “PAT JAN/22 78” between the “U. S. A.” and the letter “A.” He dated the bottle 1889-1890. * * * / W. T. & Co. / (letter) / U. S. A. [early 1890s-1901] Bethman (1991:79) stated, “This base embossing was used from the mid-1890s to 1901. The same embossing exists without the ‘stars.’”4 Bethman (1991:567, 580, 618, 626, 731, 762, 825, 847) illustrated 10 examples of the mark on Washington drug store bottles [Figure 6]. All but two of these fell into a date range of 1898-1903. One outlier was dated ca. 1890; the other was 1892-1895. Preble (2002:e.g., 461, 602) noted date ranges from the mid-1890s to 1904 with an outlier range from 1886-1890. Elliott and Gould (1988:206) listed two
Summer 2006
Bottles and Extras
bottles with this mark, both patented January 5, 1892. Pollard (1993:278) also showed the mark but offered no date range. At least one minor variation exists on this theme. Letters under the W. T. & Co. logo in Bethman (1991) include A-D, G, and R. Patent dates illustrated were only “JAN 5 1892” and “DEC. 11 1894.” Miller (n.d.:16) added another slight variation, this one with stars, “W. T. & CO./U.S.A.” but no capital letter below “W. T. & CO.” He dated the bottle 1890s.
* * * / W. T. & Co. / (letter) U.S.A. [early 1890s-1901] Preble (2002:e.g., 694) showed three examples of this mark. He dated the range of two drug stores using the mark at 18911909 and the third at 1905-1909. Since the “W. T. & Co.” mark could not have been used after 1901, a reasonable date range is early 1890s-1901. Preble (2002:467) also illustrated two examples of a variation that had the same configuration without the “W. T. & Co.” with a date range of 1890-1896.
W. T. & Co. / * * * / (letter) / U. S. A. [mid-1890s-1901] Bethman (1991:666) included a single example of this configuration with the letter B. He dated the bottle ca. 1899. Preble (2002:e.g., 629, 687) offered five more illustrations of the mark with date codes ranging from 1895 to 1915. The end date, of course is too late for the W. T. & Co. mark. It should be noted that the date ranges are for individual drug stores and were not intended as ranges for the marks.
Logos with Stars to One or Both Sides Miller (1999:72) noted a single bottle with the stars embossed vertically to the left of “W. T. & Co./A/U.S.A.” The date range for the bottle was 1898-1900. Preble (2002) listed four variations with stars beside the marks, including the configuration illustrated by Miller: 1. “W. T. & Co./(letter)/U.S.A.” with three vertical stars to the left – Preble (2002:465,503, 505) listed three examples of this mark. He dated them between 1894 and 1898 with one example dated 1908 to 1909. The latter date range is too late for the mark. This mark should be dated from the mid- to late 1890s. 2. “W. T. & Co./(number)” with “U.S.A.” vertically to the left and three stars in a vertical line to the right – Preble (2002:430, 634) showed two examples of this mark with date ranges of 1898-1899 and 1894-1909. We assign the mark a range of late 1890s-1901. 3. “W. T. & Co./(letter)” with three stars in a vertical line to the left and “U.S.A.” vertically to the right – Preble (2002:485, 493, 519, 581) illustrated four examples of this mark. The combined date ranges extend from 1894 to 1902 with a single outlier to 1915. Our suggested date range for the mark is mid-1890s-1901. 4. “W. T. & Co./(letter)” with three stars in a vertical line to both the left and right sides. Preble (2002:442) showed only a single example of this mark with a date range of 1900-1906. Since the ampersand was only used until 1901, we assign this mark a date range of ca. 1900-1901. This mark may be an engraver’s error, in which case, the logo was probably intended to have “U.S.A.” on one side.
* * * / (letter or number) / U. S. A. [early 1890s-1901] Bethman (1991:79) noted that “a few bottles produced by Whitall Tatum & Co. had this style of base marking, which date (sic) to the mid-to-late 1890s.” Although he did not include the letter or number in his discussion, he almost certainly meant the mark that included those digits [Figure 7]. Elliott and Gould (1988:194) and Pollard (1993:244, 252), however, showed this style along with a patent date of January 5, 1892. The patent date was always below the U. S. A. Bethman (1991) illustrated 11 examples with four letters: A, B, F, and J. He dated these marks between 1895 and 1902 and showed patent dates of “JAN 5 1892” and “DEC. 11 1894.” We found no examples of the mark without letters or numbers in his book. Miller (n.d.:6) showed a single example of this mark with the January 5 patent date. He dated the bottle 1890s or later. Preble (2002:e.g., 676, 713) illustrated numerous examples of this mark. His dates ranged from 1890 to 1907. Preble (2002) also showed a single example with a series of three stars in a row replacing the letter or number above the “U.S.A.” He dated the drug store that used the bottle bearing the mark from 1894 to 1901, the approximate date range for other starassociated marks.
W.T.C. Ring (1980:338) listed a single bitters bottle with this mark embossed on its base. She identified the bottle as Muller’s Genuine Bismark Bitters but offered no
Bottles and Extras other information about it. W.T.C. was either a misreading of the bottle, a typographical error (of which she had many), or the mark of a different company. We have found no other source that mentions such a mark. W. T. Co. / U. S. A. [1901-ca. 1905] This mark appeared in Pollard (1993:243, 255). Because of its similarity to the final W. T. & Co. mark, we have assumed it was the earliest of the new corporations marks. It was probably only used during the first few years, possibly 1901-ca. 1905, although a later use is possible. One example was marked “PAT. JAN. 4, 1898” below the “U. S. A.” Pollard (1993:251) also showed a single example with a letter (E) to the left of the “U. S. A.” W. T. Co. / (letter or number) / U. S. A. [1901-ca. 1924] Although he only noted a letter beneath the company initials, Bethman (1991:79) explained, “After the company was incorporated in 1901, this base marking was used throughout the rest of the operations that produced hand-blown prescription bottles.” [Figure 8] He provided an end date by saying that “the production of hand-blown prescription ware was discontinued in the 1920s” (Bethman 1991:78). Although Elliott and Gould (1988:198-199) date bottles with this mark to the mid- to late 1890s, we agree with Bethman’s post-1901 date. This is the most common mark we have found. The mark was ubiquitous in Bethman’s work. Date ranges on illustrated bottles varied from 1904 to 1922 with a single outlier with a 1900 date. It is notable, however, that the number of examples made after 1918 noticeably decreased. Although production dramatically decreased after 1920, the change to machine-made bottles (and a different mark) probably did not occur until ca. 1924, a date confirmed by Griffenhagen and Bogard (1999:40). The accompanying letters could include virtually the entire alphabet (A-X), and double letters up to AJ have been observed. The letters could also be replaced by singledigit numbers (3-8 that we have seen so far). By far the most common in the literature are letters A-C. This pattern was shown in Pollard (1993:245-246, 250, 253-254, 256-259, 263, 268, 270, 280-282) and was often accompanied by patent dates, including:
Summer 2006 “PAT. JAN. 5, 1892;” “PAT. DEC 11, 1894.” The patent date was always below the U. S. A. Similar patterns were recorded in Miller (1999:57-58, 60,64-65, 70-72, 74, 78-79, 82, 86, 89, 95, 97, 100, 104-105, 106-107, 112). In addition to the 1892 patent, Bethman (1991) recorded patent dates of “JAN 22 78” and “DEC 11 1894.” Ring (1980:84, 338, 487) listed four bitters bottles with this mark on the base. * * * / W. T. Co. / (letter or number) / U. S. A. [1901-ca. 1905] Preble (2002) showed three examples of this mark. The date ranges for drug stores extended from 1892 to 1915. All other known examples of the star-series marks were in conjunction with the “W. T. & Co.” logo and were dated between ca. 1891 and 1901. It is likely that these marks were used only during the first few years after the change to the “W. T. Co.” logo. W. T. Co / (letter or number) [1901-ca. 1924] Pollard (1993:277) recorded this variation, and we, too, have seen a single example. It, too, postdates 1901. This system may have been used in conjunction with the “letter/number” system or may have followed it. Until further evidence is uncovered, this variation must also be dated 1901-ca. 1924. (letter) / W. T. Co. [1901-?] Bethman (1991:735) illustrated a single bottle with this mark. The letter on the example was “P.” He dated the bottle ca. 1892, but this is problematical. The ampersand (&) was dropped in 1901, so the bottle was either made later than Bethman suggested, or the logo was miscopied. (letter) / U. S. A. [ca. 1912-ca. 1915] Although these marks cannot be positively identified as belonging to Whitall Tatum, they follow a very similar pattern. Miller (1999:67, 97) noted three instances of the mark’s use on Arizona pharmacy bottles [Figure 9]. The date range for Miller’s bottles, 1912-1915, is currently our best estimate for the use of the mark. A Note on the End Date The 1924-1925 Whitall Tatum catalog makes it clear that hand-made, plate-mold
63 prescription bottles were still being offered by the plant as of September 1, 1924. Thus, the W. T. Co. mark may have been used on mouth-blown bottles for a few more years. Dating by collectors, however, indicates that few of those bottles were actually being ordered by drug stores. Paper label identification had taken over, and the era of embossed, proprietary drug store bottles was at an end (Whitall Tatum Co. 1924). Design Patents Bethman (1991:89-91, 93) reproduced some of the pages from the 1895, 1898, and 1904 Whitall Tatum catalogs. Other patent dates came from the Whitall Tatum 1902 catalog [Figures 10 - 11]. Some of the drawings and descriptions include patent dates for specific styles [Table 2]. Many of these (including Millville Rounds, Knickerbocker Ovals, Manhattan Ovals, Seal Ovals, and Penn Ovals) were shown in the 1902 catalog. Many others (including Kinckerbocker Ovals, Manhattan Ovals, Manhattan Ointment Pots, and Bronx Ointment Pots) also appeared in the 1909 Whitall Tatum catalog. The implication is that bottles embossed with patent dates of 1878 and 1888 were being used 15-25 years later, and dates of 1892 and 1894 were still listed fifteen years later. Thus, patent dates, while providing absolute beginning dates may not be even close to reflecting the year of manufacture. Other Markings, Colors, and Other Container Types Whitall Tatum made cobalt blue glass bottles from at least 1876 (Pepper 1971:230). According to bottle collectors advertising on eBay (who dug bottles at the Whitall Tatum factory), cobalt blue bottles found at the site contained no markings on the bases. However, at least one cobalt blue bottle was marked “W. T. Co./U. S. A.” (eBay). Although Toulouse (1971:544-547) claimed that Whitall Tatum began making “opal [milk] glass” at the Glasstown plant in 1893, Pepper (1971:230) cited the Whitall Tatum catalog from 1876 as including opal in its list of colors. This indicates that the company was making white opaque glass by at least that date. By 1934 (ad in the Glass Packer), the company stated, “W.T. bottles come stocked in Crystal Clear Flint, Rich Amber, Light Green, and Emerald Green.”
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Summer 2006
Figure 10: Patent January 22, 1872 (Bethman 1991:755)
Figure 11: Patent January 5, 1892 (Bethman 1991:724)
Figure 12: Etched Mark on Beaker (eBay)
Figure 13: Etched Dose Glass (eBay)
Other Druggist Ware The company expanded its line to include larger bottles for druggists’ supplies (known as shop furniture) in 1870. A department for druggists’ sundries was opened in 1876, and the company added perfume bottles in 1878 (historical addendum to 1880 catalog). The company began production of glass insulators at the Glasstown plant in 1922 (McDougald & McDougald (1990:133). It is currently unknown whether any of these (except insulators and laboratory glass – discussed below) were marked with a company logo. An unusual trademark was used by Whitall Tatum for laboratory glassware. The mark, consisting of “NONSOL” above “W.T.Co.” in an oval, was registered on September 19, 1916, although it had been used since 1904. Used on “glassware for chemical laboratories, namely, flasks and beaker glasses,” the mark was “usually displayed by burning it directly into the goods, although it may be stenciled thereon, printed upon labels to be attached to packages containing the goods, or otherwise displayed.” It is highly likely that the trademark was applied to wooden crates, cardboard boxes, and tags that accompanied the glass objects rather than being embossed, etched, or otherwise directly applied to the glass surfaces. According to collectors, few, if any, perfume bottles were marked with makers’ logos. It may have been an unofficial policy of Whitall Tatum as well as others, to leave perfume bottles unmarked, as in the tradition of most ‘fancy’ glassware, cut glass, and tableware items. From the point of view of most of the earlier glass companies, it seems to have been considered undesirable from an esthetic standpoint to clutter up the “grace” and “beautiful design” of this type of glass with
Bottles and Extras a mark or lettering on the base. It is also possible that the small size of the bottle played some part in the decision to leave the base unmarked. Two graduated beakers (offered on eBay) had “WHITALL TATUM CO., PHILA. GUARANTEED ACCURATE. N.Y. CITY APPROVED TYPE III SERIAL A-9” etched into the glass on one side [Figure 12]. The absence of the ampersand (&) dates this mark after 1901. A variety of graduated beakers were offered in the 1880 catalog. Although the 1892 catalog listed a large variety of wares, no graduated beakers were listed. Numerous dose glasses were offered in the 1902 catalog (including a goblet-shaped beaker), but graduated beakers were again absent from the listings. At some point, however, beakers must have been offered again in the 20th century for this style to have been available. Graduated beakers also did not appear in the 1937 catalog. A final, different mark is on an etched dose glass. Etched on the side of the glass is COMPLEMENTS/1928/WHITALL TATUM COMPANY [Figure 13]. While embossed dose glasses (similar to shot glasses – called medicine glasses in the catalogs) were available in 1880 and 1892, it was not until the 1902 catalog that “engraved” medicine glasses were available. Engraving appears to be what we would now call etching. Whitall Tatum dose glasses are reported by collectors all over the world – as far away as New Zealand. Occasional pieces were simply marked with the Whitall Tatum name. Apparently, during the 20th century, the corporation had figured that free advertising was to its advantage. Although we are unable to positively date some of these, all were made after 1901 (as shown by the lack of the
Table 2: Patents Recorded by Whitall Tatum & Co.
Figure 14: Dose Glass Mark – ca. 1890-1901 (Lockhart)
January 22, 1878 Millville Round Prescriptions May 7, 1878 Double Philadelphia Ovals January 24, 1888 Seal Ovals April 2, 1889 Rounded Square Recessed Ware January 6, 1892Manhattan Ovals June 7, 1892 Manhattan Ointment Pots June 21, 1892 Bronx Ointment Pots December 11, 1894 Knickerbocker Ovals May 28, 1895 Tooth Powder Bottles with Composition Caps January 18, 1898 Penn Ovals
Bottles and Extras ampersand). An eBay seller describing a milk-glass apothecary jar noted that “text on the bottom of the jar forms a circle. The text reads Whitall Tatum Co. Phila & N. Y. At the center of the circle is the letter ‘B.’” A similar piece with identical marking on the base was described by McKearin and McKearin (1941:165; plate 62). Numerous eBay apothecary jars have been reported with similar markings. The Philadelphia and New York sales offices are of little help in dating as they were in place by at least 1880 (Whitall Tatum catalog). MANHATTAN OVAL [after 1891] Giarde (1980:136) attributed this mark to Whitall Tatum and dated it “from 1891.” He offered no further information except that the mark “may not have been used at all on milk bottles,” and it certainly was not. The 1892 catalog called the Manhattan Oval a “new prescription bottle” and claimed that the bottles were “of a new and very handsome design, and are so shaped that no angles are presented, all the corners being rounded. The Moulds are arranged to take the same lettered Plates that are used for French Square Prescriptions and Philadelphia Ovals.” Sizes ranged from ½ ounce to 32 ounces. The bottle design was patented on January 5, 1892 (Bethman 1991:88, 91). However, Whitall Tatum claimed the mark had been used since September 1891 (Griffenhagen & Bogard 1999:38). Thus far, we have not actually seen this mark on Whitall Tatum bottles. It is important to note that the “use” of the mark does not necessarily indicate that it was embossed on bottles. This “use” probably indicates that “Manhattan Oval” was used in ads or catalogs. W. T. & Co. / (single or double letter) / U. S. A. [ca. 1890-1901] Miller (1999:88) showed a dose glass with this mark and an “AN.” Dose glasses with the mark (and letters B, S, Q, AH, AN, and AM) have been offered on eBay [Figure 14]. The mark was likely used from about 1890 to 1901, the same time period as similarly-marked prescription bottles. W. T. Co. / (double letter) / U. S. A. [1901-at least 1913] When Whitall Tatum incorporated in 1901, it slightly altered its markings for dose glasses in a similar way to its new markings for prescription bottles [Figure
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15]. All examples from Miller (1999:66, 104, 112) and our collections have double letters from AL to AN. These were used from 1901 to at least 1913. Food, Beer, and Milk Bottles Whitall Tatum also made a limited line of food bottles. These included catsup bottles, pickle jars, honey jars, mustard bottles, and maple syrup bottles. Although these may have often been unmarked, Zumwalt (1980:436) showed photos of pickle jar bases marked “W. T. & Co./1”, a mark used by the company prior to 1901. Although Zumwalt dates the jars as “circa late 1860’s to early 1870’s,” the mark is similar to that claimed by Bethman (1991:79) as being used from 1886 to 1893. Bethman’s mark, however, used a letter instead of a number. It is possible that the company used single-digit numbers to mark food bottles prior to the use of numbers on pharmacy bottles about 1890. Marks found on ware other than pharmacy bottles are consolidated in Table 3. Pepper (1971:421) claimed that Whitall Tatum began beer bottle production in 1927, so some of those bottles should have the W/T in a triangle mark on them. However, this date makes no intuitive sense as it occurs in the middle of Prohibition when beer was legally forbidden in the U.S. She may have misunderstood certain Whitall Tatum ads. For example, an ad in the December 1933 Glass Packer (p. 774) illustrated a bottle type that was ubiquitous during the latter Prohibition era and has often been mistaken for beer bottles (Gershman 1990:153; Lockhart 2005:6970; Pendergrast 1993:196). The ad calls the style an “amber beverage bottle.” Later ads (e.g., p. 471, July 1934, p. 8, January 1938 Glass Packer) showed both export-
Figure 15: Dose Glass Mark – 1901-ca. 1924 (Lockhart)
Figure 16: Household Fruit Jar (Creswick 1995:86)
Figure 17: Phenix Ointment Pot (Whitall Tatum 1900 Catalog)
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style and “Esslinger” beer bottles. These appeared in ads along with the W/T-in-aninverted-triangle mark, although we have not seen any actual examples of beer bottles embossed with the logo. The Crystal Milk Jar, patented September 11, 1888, was offered in the 1892 catalog. The jar came complete with a glass lid that used tension in a wire arrangement (similar to the lightning stopper) to seal the lid. The jars were available in pint and quart sizes. By 1902, the more modern “common sense” milk bottles were listed, although Whitall Tatum continued calling them “milk jars.” The drawings, however, depict the cap seat style of the common sense milk bottle developed by Hervey Thatcher. Milk bottles were obviously not a targeted item – the entire copy read, “All styles and sizes, furnished with Paper Tops or Metal Fittings. Prices on application.” Although Giarde (1980:136) suggested that the W. T. & Co. mark was used to 1924, it is much more likely that W. T. Co. was used from 1901 to 1924, followed by the inverted triangle mark (see below), used until the company sold to Armstrong Cork in 1938 (Griffenhagen & Bogard 1999:40). Fruit Jars and Other Jars Fruit jars were also a part of the company’s offering from an early date. Creswick (1995:158) and Roller (1983:380) both showed a grooved-ring wax sealer fruit jar embossed on the front with WHITALL’S PATENT (downward arch)/JUNE 18 TH 1861 (upward arch). The accompanying lid was embossed WHITALL’S PATENT
(downward arch)/MILLVILLE NO. 3. (upward arch) on the top. Creswick dated the container “circa 1884 based on a separate patent (#292,386) assigned during that year. Another example was the HOUSEHOLD FRUIT JAR (Creswick 1995:86) embossed with W. T. CO. in the front center, produced ca. 1857-1938 [Figure 16]. The W. T. CO. embossing, however, was more likely used during the 1901-1924 period. According to Caniff (2001:6-8), the 1861 patented jar was embossed on the side with “MILLVILLE ATMOSPHERIC FRUIT JAR.” He showed variations of the jar through time, usually with the full name embossed on the front. Some smaller jars were only embossed “MILLVILLE.” One style was completely unembossed, and another only had “W. T. & CO. U. S. A.” on the base. The last known advertisement for the jars was in 1891. Creswick (1995:226) listed a half-gallon jar embossed “W. T. & CO. 2” on the base. Roller (1983:251-253), apparently unaware of the 1891 ads, also included several of these jars, but dated them to the ca. 1860-1880s period. Whitall Tatum & Co. also made three other fruit jars, but these were only marked with the company name (plus “PHILADELPHIA NEW YORK”) on the glass lids. These included the “museum jars” available from 1879 to as late as 1924 (Caniff 2001:8-9). Another fruit jar had “J. M. WHITALL’S PATENT APRIL 11 1865" embossed on the underside of its glass stopper. The jar, itself, was unmarked. The patent number was 540,890 (Creswick
Table 3: Chronology for Other Whitall Tatum Marks MARK
BOTTLE TYPE Pickle Jars
1886-1893
Zumwalt (1980:436)
W. T. & Co. (3- or 4-digit number) (letter)
Jars and Ointment Pots
early 1890s1901
Bottle Research Group (BRG)
W. T. & Co. (single or double letter) U.S.A.
Dose Glasses
ca. 18901901
BRG
W. T. Co. (double letter) U.S.A.
Dose Glasses
1901-1913*
Miller (2000)
W. T. & Co. (number)
W. T. Co. (number) (letter)
DATES
Jars and 1901-1924? Ointments Pots
* All of these that we have seen have threaded finishes.
SOURCE
BRG WT Catalog, 1902
Bottles and Extras 1995:220-221; Roller 1983:280). Whitall Tatum also made a variety of other fruit jars (see Creswick 1995:158-159) and other jars including pickle jars and ointment pots. W. T. & Co. / (number) [late 1870s-ca. 1890] As discussed above, this mark is found on pickle jars from Whitall Tatum and may grace other food jars made by the company. It may have been used as early as the late 1870s until about 1890. Pickle jars and other food containers were offered in the 1880 catalog. W. T. & Co. / (3- or 4-digit number) / (letter) [ca. mid-1890s-1901] We discovered this variation on a Phenix5 Ointment Pot marked “W. T. & Co./681/D/PAT JAN 1 1889.” The marks included patent dates (below the other markings) of “JAN 1 1889” on an amber jar and “APR 15 1890” on a jar made of opal or milk glass. Both of these are salve jars with non-continuous-thread finishes. In both cases, the mold line continues to the top of the finish, indicating a machinemade jar. The numerals indicate catalog numbers. Whitall Tatum’s 1880 catalog (pp. 25, 68) only shows jars with fitted lids – none with continuous thread finishes. Unfortunately, the 1890 and 1892 catalogs were limited in scope and did not show short jars, such as the one described above. However, specimen jars had no threaded lids, and the only fruit jars listed were “for corks.” Glycerine Jelly jars were the only items listed with continuous thread finishes and “nickel-plated screw caps” (Whitall Tatum catalog 1892). By 1896, however, Phenix ointment pots (with the patent date “JAN 1 1889”), Millville ointment pots, and Manhattan ointment pots were offered (Whitall Tatum catalog 1896). These jars and ointment pots, therefore, probably became available from Whitall Tatum sometime between 1892 and 1896. Opal or milk glass jars could have been made at least as early as 1876 [Figure 17]. Jars of this type were made by press molding, a technique used as early as the late 17th century. In this technique, glass is dropped into a mold, and a plunger is depressed into the center to force the glass to conform to the molded sides. The plunger is withdrawn, and the two (or more) part mold is opened to remove the final product. In this technique, the inside of the container does not conform to the
Bottles and Extras outside (unlike blown bottles). External mold lines often resemble those of machinemade bottles, even in hand-pressed products (Jones & Sullivan 1989:33-35). The process, of course, advanced from hand pressing to semiautomatic to fully automatic machines, although we have not found a specific chronology for this. Presumably, it follows the same broad dates as other machine development. Although neither Toulouse, the historical section of the 1880 catalog, nor Bethman address pressed-glass machines in connection with Whitall Tatum, empirical evidence shows that the technique was used to form this type of jar. In 1905, Whitall Tatum used five semiautomatic machines “making Mellon’s (sic) food, Horlick’s malted milks, Eskays, Wanamaker’s candy jars and morphines” (Anonymous 1912:1). This supports the Toulouse (1971:544-547) assertion that Whitall Tautum developed an automatic machine for wide-mouth bottles by 1904. W. T. & Co. / (3- or 4-digit number) / (letter) U. S. A. [ca. mid-1890s-1901] Elliott and Gould (1988:192) showed a single example of a Hawaiian bottle that was embossed 1020/A. The authors dated the bottle “late 1890’s or early 1900’s.” Bottle No. 1020 in the 1902 Drug, Perfume & Chemical Bottles catalog from Whitall Tatum is a two-ounce tooth wash bottle that sold for $6.25 per gross. The drawing in the catalog exactly matches the photo in Elliott and Gould. It is safe to say at this point that three- or four-digit numbers embossed on Whitall Tatum bases are catalog numbers. Bethman (1991:680) illustrated three tooth powder bottles with this type of mark. The central number was 902, and he dated the bottles 1898-1903 [Figure 18]. The bottle is shown in the Drug, Perfume & Chemical Bottles 1902 catalog put out by Whitall Tatum. The bottle was described in two variations, both twoounce. One had an “Acorn Cap,” the other an “L. 4 Slip Cap” (although the meaning of the designation is currently unknown). Two other tooth powder bottles with threedigit numbers (453, 491) and the same pattern of logo have been offered on eBay. Again, both matched the shape shown in the catalog. No. 453 is 2 ¼ ounces; No. 491 is 6 ½ ounces. They are otherwise identical.
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W. T. Co / (number) / (letter) [post-1901] We have also noted this variation on an amber base that cannot as yet be identified. It postdates 1901 and was probably used until the next change of logo in 1924 (Griffenhagen & Bogard 1999:40). This is the only case we have found where a multi-digit number (600) on a base does not match up with the corresponding number in the 1902 catalog. Number 600 in the catalog is a sulfuric acid reagent bottle. The rounded base we observed does not match the squared-corner reagent base shown in the catalog. The base, however, matches the Bronx ointment pots, made of amber glass, in the 1937 Whitall Tatum catalog. The ½-ounce size is number 700. Later Whitall Tatum Marks W/T in an inverted triangle [ca. 1922-1969] Toulouse (1971:544) dated this mark “1935 to 1938” and included a WT monogram in an inverted triangle with the same date range. The date of final change is just prior to the sale to Armstrong Cork Co. According to McDougald & McDougald (1990:134), the W/T variation was used on insulators between 1924 and 1938. In support of the earlier date, the first triangle marks begin to appear in Whitall Tatum advertisements in 1925. That is ten years earlier than Toulouse has the mark on bottles, indicating yet another probable Toulouse typo. Giarde (1980:136) dated both marks at 1924 to 1938 but admitted that the time period was unsure. Griffenhagen and Bogard (1999:40) placed the W/T mark firmly in the 1924-1938 period. The 1924-1925 Whitall Tatum catalog makes it clear that non-plate mold, pharmacy or medicine bottles were being made by machine and sold in large quantity lots by September 1, 1924 (the publication date). This suggests that the conversion to machine manufacture began by at least 1924. However, the catalog also offered many varieties of “hand made ware” in plate-mold prescription bottles. While the catalog did not specifically show marks, the presence of machine-made bottles suggests a use of the Triangle-W/T mark by 1924 (Whitall Tatum Co. 1924). In support for the transition date, a January 1924 ad in the American Druggist is the last ad for a “Lettered Prescription Bottle” we have found. The ad noted that
Figure 18: Marks on Tooth Powder Bottles (Bethman 1991:680)
Figure 19: Whitall Tatum Mark – ca. 1924-1969 (Whitall Tatum 1938)
Figure 20: Whitall Tatum Logo (Whitall Tatum 1938)
68 the bottles were used by “druggists who appreciate a distinctive message to their patrons.” Based on the decreasing frequency of accounts about plate mold pharmacy bottles in collectors’ literature (see e.g., Bethman 1991 or Elliott & Gould 1988), druggists who wanted the “distinctive message” embossed on bottles had been progressively declining since ca. 1908. Ads from 1925 use phrases such as “machine made” or “full automatic machine process,” suggesting that hand manufacture had completely ceased by that time. A 1925 article (Anonymous 1925:35) noted that “the automatic machine has ousted the men.” Pepper (1971:244) erroneously set the inverted triangle marks as beginning in 1902. The W/T mark is shown extensively in the 1937 Whitall Tatum Glassware Price List [Figures 19 - 20]. The company went as far as to brag, “When you find [the W/T in an inverted triangle] on the bottom of a glass container you recognize the symbol of highest quality” (Whitall Tatum & Co. 1937:4). Although Pepper (1971:244) did not specify exactly when, she stated that date codes accompanied by mold numbers appeared “in the 20th century” (1971:244). Likely, the use of date codes began sometime during the 1924-1938 period, although the exact date is currently unknown. Scholes (1941:129) showed both the W/T inverted triangle mark and Circle A as used by Armstrong Cork Co. in 1941. Berge (1980:83) illustrated a chart from Owens-Illinois showing glass marks used in 1964. The chart showed both the W/T in an inverted triangle mark and the Circle A mark (see below) as being used in that year (1964). The McDougalds also noted that “eight years passed before the venerable Whitall Tatum name began to be replaced by Armstrong embossings” on insulators (1990:138). This body of evidence suggests that the W/T invertedtriangle mark was used in conjunction with the Circle A mark during the entire tenure of Armstrong Cork (1938-1969) which extends the entire use of the triangle mark from ca. 1924 to 1969. However, bottles shown in Colcleaser (1965; 1966) show the W/T-in-an-invertedtriangle marks accompanied with numbers and, in one case, a letter: A, 22, 25, 26, 31. If our dating is correct, these marks were not used until 1924. The last three numbers fit perfectly into the scheme for date codes. However, the “22” would
Summer 2006 be two years too early – unless we are incorrect by two years – or Colcleaser miscopied the mark. The “A,” of course, is a mystery. Jones (1965:[22]; 1966:18) only showed the W-over-T variation of the invertedtriangle mark (but no monogram mark) as did Colcleaser. At this point, we have seen well over 100 of the W-over-T variation but not a single example of the WT monogram in an inverted triangle as shown by Toulouse. The monogram mark is likely bogus. It should be noted that Toulouse (1971) received information from a large number of bottle collectors (probably the May Jones network) and sometimes reported non-existent marks either because of misinterpreting a description (the likely cause in this case) or because the collector misread the mark on the bottle. Thus far, we have found no machinemade Whitall Tatum bottles with marks earlier than the inverted triangle form. This suggests that prescription bottles were all mouth blown until about 1924. The inverted triangle marks also could have been used slightly earlier on machine-made glass bottles (as the “22” code on one bottle suggests). There may also have been a slight overlap (apparently at least two years) between the use of the W. T. Co. and inverted triangle marks. Acknowledgments We would like to thank George L. Miller for providing us with a photocopy of the 1937 Whitall Tatum Glassware Price List and numerous eBay sellers for unintentionally providing large amounts of empirical data. The Bottle Research Group (BRG) began on March 6, 2003, when Bill Lindsey e-mailed Bill Lockhart to discuss bottles. Carol Serr joined in the discussions on August 8, 2003, and the group became formalized when David Whitten became involved on March 19 of the same year. David withdrew from the group in August 2005 but continues to contribute information. Pete Schulz, the most recent member, joined us on October 21, 2005. References:
Bottles and Extras Anonymous 1913 “The Present Status of the Glass Bottle and Hollow Ware Industries in the United States.” Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry 5(11):951954. Anonymous 1925 “Passing Years Bring Changes at Old Millville, N. J., Factory.” Glass Worker 44(27):34-35. Berge, Dale L. 1980 Simpson Springs Station: Historical Archaeology in Western Utah. Cultural Resource Series No. 6. Bureau of Land Management, Utah. Bethman, David 1991 The Pioneer Drug Store: A History of Washington State Drug Stores and Their Bottles. Privately printed, n. p. Cannif, Tom 2001 “Fruit Jar Rambles.” Antique Bottle & Glass Collector 17(9):6-9. Colcleaser, Donald E. 1965 Bottles of Bygone Days. Privately Published, Napa, Cal. 1966 Bottles of Bygone Days, Part II. Privately Published, Vallejo, Cal. Creswick, Alice 1987 The Fruit Jar Works, Volume II, Listing Jars Made Circa 1900 to Modern. Privately printed, Grand Rapids, Michigan. 1995 The Fruit Jar Works, Vol. I, Listing Jars Made Circa 1820 to 1920’s. Douglas M. Leybourne, N. Muskegon, Michigan. Depew, Chauncey M. 1895 One Hundred Years of American Commerce. D.O. Haynes & Co., New York. Elliott, Rex. R. and Stephen C. Gould 1988 Hawaiian Bottles of Long Ago. Hawaiian Service, Inc., Honolulu, Hawaii. Gershman, Michael 1990 Getting It Right the Second Time: How American Ingenuity Transformed Forty-Nine Marketing Failures into Some of Our Most Successful Products. Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts. Giarde, Jeffery L. 1980 Glass Milk Bottles: Their Makers and Marks. Time Travelers Press, Bryn Mawr, California.
Anonymous
Griffinhagen, George and Mary Bogard 1999 History of Drug Containers and Their Labels. American Institute of the History of Pharmacy, Madison, Wisconsin.
Anonymous 1912 “Changes Wrought in 7 Years.” National Glass Budget November 30.
Horner, Roy 1985 Tempo, the Glass Folks of South Jersey. Privately printed. Revision of the 1969 edition. [includes a reprint of the 1883 Cushing and Sheppard history of the Whitall
1896 “A Quaker Firm’s Rules.” Friends’ Intelligencer October 10, 1896: 687.
Bottles and Extras Tatum & Co. Glass Works] Jones, May 1965 The Bottle Trail, Volume 5. Nara Vista, New Mexico. 1966 The Bottle Trail, Volume 6. Nara Vista, New Mexico. Jones, Olive and Catherine Sullivan 1989 The Parks Canada Glass Glossary for the Description of Containers, Tableware, Flat Glass, and Closures. Parks Canada, Ottawa. Knittle, Rhea Mansfield 1927 Early American Glass. AppletonCentury, New York. Lefebvre, Marcel 1949 Glass in the Indian Country. Glass Industry 30(2):88-91, 117. Lockhart, Bill 2005 Fourth Street, Near Manzanares: The Carbonated Beverage Industry in Socorro, New Mexico, 1880-1967. Socorro County Historical Society, Socorro. Markota, Peck and Audie Markota 1972 Western Blob Top Soda and Mineral Water Bottles. Highlands Printing and Publishing Co., North Highlands, California. McDougald, John and Carol McDougald 1990 A History and Guide to North American Glass Pintype Insulators. Volume 1. The McDougalds, St. Charles, Illinois. McKearin, Helen and George McKearin 1941 American Glass. Crown Publishers, New York. 1949 Two Hundred Years of American Blown Glass. Bonanza Books, New York. McKearin, Helen and Kenneth M. Wilson 1978 American Bottles & Flasks and Their Ancestry. Crown Publishers, New York. Miller, Michael R. 1999 A Collector’s Guide to Arizona Bottles & Stoneware: A History of Merchant Containers in Arizona. Privately Printed, Peoria, Arizona. Miller, Thomas n.d. “St Clair Co., Illinois Blown-in-the-Mold Prescription and Medicine Bottles, 18701920.” Unpublished manuscript for the Metro-East Antique Bottle and Jar Club. Moody Manual Co. 1914 Moody’s Manual of Railroad and Corporation Securities. Vol. 2. Moody Manual Co., New York.
Summer 2006 Moulton, Tom T. 2002 “Kissin Cousins: A History of Insulator and Fruit Jar Manufacturers.” http:// w w w. i n s u l a t o r s . c o m / a r t i c l e s / fruitref.htm#KERR
69 Whitall, Tatum, & Co. or Whitall Tatum Co. 1880 [1971] Whitall, Tatum, & Co. 1880. American Historical Catalogue Collection. Pyne Press, Princeton. 1892 [n. d.] Edited Reprint 1892 Annual Price List, Whitall, Tatum & Co. Edited by Shirley R. Bailey, Milleville, New Jersey.
Pendergrast, Mark 1993 For God, Country, and Coca-Cola: The Unauthorized History of the Great American Soft Drink Industry. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York.
1896 Whitall Tatum & Co. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. {Lloyd Library & Museum} 1898 Whitall Tatum & Co. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. {Lloyd Library & Museum}
Pepper, Adeline 1971 Glass Gaffers of New Jersey. Scribner’s Sons, New York.
1900 Price List of Laboratory Glassware and Sundries. Whitall, Tatum & Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. {Lloyd Library & Museum} 1902 [1967] Drug, Perfume and Chemical Bottles, 1902. (Whitall Tatum Company) Edited by D. James, Antiques Research Publications, Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Pollard, Gordon 1993 Bottles and Business in Plattsburgh, New York: 100 Years of Embossed Bottles as Historical Artifacts. Clinton County Historical Association, Plattsburgh. Preble, Glen R. 2002 The Rise & Demise of Colorado Drugstores 1859-1915 - A Prescription For The Bottle Collecting Habit. Antique Bottle Collectors of Colorado, Inc., Denver, Colorado.
1909 Annual Price List. Whitall Tatum & Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 1924 Price List 1924-1925. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Ring, Carlyn 1980 For Bitters Only. Nimrod Press, Boston. Roller, Dick 1983 Standard Fruit Jar Reference. Acorn Press, Paris, Illinois. Scholes, Samuel R. 1941 Handbook of the Glass Industry. Ogden-Watney, New York. Schulz, Jeanette K. and Peter D. Schulz 1990 Embossed California Bottles from the IJ89 Block, Sacramento. Papers in Northern California Anthropology 4:307-369. Schulz, Peter D., Betty J. Rivers, Mark M. Hales, Charles A. Litzinger, and Elizabeth A. McKee 1980 The Bottles of Old Sacramento: A Study of Nineteenth-Century Glass and Ceramic Retail Containers, Part I. California Archaeological Reports, No. 20. Department of Parks and Recreation, Sacramento, California. Shoemaker, Robert 1890 “The Olden-Time Apothecary.” Pharmaceutical Era 4(23):21. Tatum, C. A. 1900 “One Hundred Years of Achievement in American Glass Manufacture. Scientific American Supplement 1208:20329-20330. Toulouse, Julian Harrison 1971 Bottle Makers and Their Marks. Thomas Nelson, New York.
1937 Glass Ware Price List. Whitall Tatum & Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Zumwalt, Betty 1980 Ketchup Pickles Sauces: 19th Century Food in Glass. Mark West Publications, Fulton, California.
Footnotes Virtually all early dates connected with the glass operations in Millville are disputed among the earlier researchers. 1
The French Square was introduced sometime after 1850, and many were made by William McCully & Co. (Griffenhagen & Bogard 1999:35). 2
The meaning of this strange patent date is unknown. 3
Please note that the stars accompanying the Whitall Tatum logo are actually five pointed, although we are showing them as asterisks (*). 4
5
This is the Whitall Tatum spelling.
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Bottles and Extras
Summer 2006
Callet Nursing Bottles
Unique, but in Many Varieties By Charles Harris Ooltewah, Tenn. 37363
I know, the title of this article doesn’t make sense. How can something be unique and yet still have many varieties. Well, it can surely happen and the Callet line of nursing bottles is just such an example. The Callet bottles are unique in the fact that they are nearly the only baby bottles designed with the intent of becoming advertising bottles with a definite final use — that of being infant feeding bottles with a dairy, furniture company, children’s clothing and jewelry store’s name or logo pyroglazed on the front panel. I know, you are going to throw the argument in my face that Hygeia and Evenflo also did this, especially with insurance company advertising. The difference is that Hygeia and Evenflo did this on a very limited basis and strictly as an afterthought after their bottle designs had been on the market for decades. The Callet Nursing Bottles were also designed to be marketed as single units or in sets of differently designed bottles, sold or given to the final user — the mother and her baby. This is also unique in that the Callet Manufacturing Company, in conjunction with the Knox Glass Company, had this intent from the very get-go. They 1
Figure 1: Two of the original Knox Glass Company set of Nursery Rhyme Baby Bottles. Note the small neck for the pullon nipples, the line-ribbed sides and the icicle type design on the shoulder area. The Scotty Dog design (right) was not carried into the Callet set of Nursing Rhyme bottles.
went into the baby bottle manufacturing business with these two intents in their business plan. It all began in 1947 when Samuel Callet contracted the Knox Glass Company of Parker, Pa., to supply his Canonsburg, Pa., plant with the nursery rhyme nursing bottles. These were the small mouthed ones of which there were only six different designs or nursery rhymes — the Circus Train (orange), three Scotty Dogs (black), Da-Da Clown (dark blue), Robbie Yum Yum (brown), Goosey Gander (yellow) and Peter Rabbit (light blue). The small-necked bottle took the black pull-on nipple that had been popular since the 1920s. Of the 13 plants that Knox Glass Company owned, only the Oil City and the Parker plants produced the nursing bottles. The pryoglazing was originally done at the Oil City plant and later moved to the Parker plant. In the early 1950s the wide mouth screw neck baby bottles were becoming more popular and the Knox Glass Company designed a bottle exclusively for Callet. The bottle was designed to be easily held by the mother because of the horizontal ribs on the sides and they also had flat fronts and 2
Figure 2: The Three Little Pigs set of the wide mouthed Nursery Rhyme bottles. The most common color of the pyroglazing is dark green, but they have also been seen in orange, yellow and black. These examples have the Evenflo plastic collars, not the Callet collars, mounted on the bottles. If you look carefully, you can also see the different sizes of lettering and that on the first bottle the design is slightly cockeyed.
backs that made it easy to pyroglazed the designs on the individual bottles. The flat sides also kept the bottles from rolling. These different nursery rhyme designs were originated by Samuel Callet, sometimes on napkins, sometimes scrap paper or just ideas cut out of magazines. He must have been a heck of a doodler, one with a wonderful resource base to pick from. All of these designs were given to Hunter Silves to finalize the artwork for the silk screens. Five of the original six designs were carried over onto the newly designed nursing bottles. Only the three Scotty Dogs didn’t make the changeover. From what us members of the ACIF (American Collectors of Infant Feeders) have been able to accumulate and catalogue, we have found out that a complete collection of the Callet Nursery Rhyme bottles would be mindboggling. So far there have definitely been 73 different designs located, some with only one example known. Each of these 73 can be found in anywhere from one color to as many as 6 different colors. Some of these designs have a white panel behind the design and can also be found without the white panel. Just a simple mathematical multiplication indicates that there could be as many as 438 different bottles as a basic complete collection — WOW! Granted, some of the designs have been found in only one color so the total will be a little lower. A couple of these are Little Red Riding Hood is only found in red and Baby Bear, Mama Bear and Papa Bear set of bottles are only found in black. Also, we have noticed that lettering 3
Figure 3: Progression of the Callet bottles — from the oldest to the newest. The left drawing is the original bottle designed for Callet about 1950. The other drawings show the progression up to the final design. Drawing compliments of Don Gifford, ACIF.
Bottles and Extras styles actually change within parts of the nursery rhymes on some of the bottles. Heavier lettering, lighter lettering, different styles of the letter “O,” for example. No one has really made note of this before, but it does exist. Having worked in the silk screen industry for a few months in my earlier days, I would say that this was due to the silk screens wearing out and being repaired at a later date with a slightly different font of lettering. The majority of the designs are line drawings of the nursery rhyme characters and plain block lettering of the words of the rhyme below. As mentioned earlier they have been found in the range of one to six different colors for each bottle. Within the set is what one might call a sub-set, most of which have a blue cloud background with a more detailed fine line drawing on it. This sub-set seems to be where the scarcer bottles are found. Some of them are known to exist but have never been seen by club members. They are designs created by Hunter Silves, who is sure that Knox Glass Company filled orders with them, but doesn’t know how many Samuel Callet actually used. There are also three different bottles within the wide mouth screw tops. Most likely all of the different nursery rhyme designs are not available on all three-bottle types because the designs were continuously evolving. The differences are minor but definite. (1) The earliest has about 50 raised dots on the bottom, “SAMUEL CALLET CO. PGH, PA.” in block letters running vertically on the right side of the reverse of the bottle. The ounce scales are calibrated in ½ ounces with raised horizontal slashes and a raised vertical line runs down the center of the slashes. (2) The dots were dropped from the bottom and the “SAMUEL CALLET CO. PGH, PA.” was moved to the bottom along with a mold number. (3) The raised vertical line down the center of the ounce scale slashes was dropped. The dates of these changes are not known. Samuel Callet must have been quite a salesman because the variations of his packaging vary greatly depending on the interests of his clients. They could buy a single bottle of their choosing and put a “Congratulations” card to the mother in the box with it on the low end of the price range. For the high end they could buy a specially boxed set of three to five bottles. The center one was normally a bank bottle with a slotted metal cap held tightly on by
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a band of heat shrink plastic. This bank bottle normally had a white panel with a blue drawing of a king boy and “To His Majesty” or a red drawing of a queen girl and “To Her Highness” printed on the panel. This bottle may also have the name of the dairy, furniture, clothes or jewelry company printed on it. The other two or four bottles were of the sponsors’ picking. Another common bank bottle was the illustration of a boy jumping over a lit candle and labeled in various colors “Jack Be Nimble.” Other simpler packaging were just a plain pasteboard box or sets of one, three or five in a fancy yellow box with red or blue bows printed on it and a congratulations card inside. The Callet business thrived until 1958 and dwindled throughout the 1960s. This was primarily due to a singular fact — the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Milk Control Commission created a regulation that would not allow a dairy to have a promotional give-away item which cost that dairy more than $.35. The special boxed set of five bottles with the dairy’s name pyroglazed on them cost the dairy $1.30. Since the majority of Callet’s business was in Pennsylvania and the eastern U.S., the hurt was put on him and his company by this regulation. After the passage of this regulation he continued to sell to the furniture, jewelry and children’s stores, but 4
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this was an ever-decreasing business and Knox Glass Company did not want to handle small orders. Also about this time the larger dairies began buying up the smaller ones, creating conglomerates. Then these conglomerates began installing refrigerated milk cases in the grocery and convenience stores, delivering the final blow to Samuel Callet’s business. What this left us was a wonderful collectible of possibly 400 different baby bottles that the collector can organize in just about any fashion that he wishes, whether it just be one of each design (a collection of 73 bottles), a collection of just certain colors, or even a collection of the different periods. If you are into advertising, you can also make a wonderful collection. So how variable can unique be? Much of this information was obtained by Don and Joann Gifford in their interview with Mrs. Samuel Callet and son, Richard, in 1986 and published in the ACIF’s newsletter, Keeping Abreast.
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Figure 4: One of the Bank Bottles. This one is printed in blue on a white panel for the boy child. The girl version was a queen girl printed in red on a white panel. Both styles are also found without the white panel. The blue slotted top for the boy and the pink slotted top for girls were held tight by a band of heat shrink tape. Figure 5: Three of the advertising Callet Nursing bottles. The left one shows Baby Bear and BUPP’S Milk. The center one is one of the Bank Bottles — Jack Be Nimble on a white panel, for Brokhoff’s Dairy Products (it still has the heat shrink seal), one of Callet’s largest clients. The right one, Little red Riding Hood is for Rutter Bros. Milk. Figure 6: The “Pilot” or “Plane” showing a very early version of a jet fighter, designed by Hunter Silves, is one of the scarcer of the Callet bottles with three known to ACIF members. It is a line drawing printed on top of a blue cloud panel. Most of this type design bottle fall into the scarce category.
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John Matthews Father of the Soda Fountain by Donald Yates
Since the dawn of history, naturally carbonated mineral water has been bubbling out of springs and spas and tickling Man’s curiosity. One of the many proclaimed benefits of some of these springs was their use as a cure for obesity; I would guess that if you drank enough, it could work! Europe had world-famous soda water springs in England, France, and Germany. In the United States, thousands of springs and spas had also been developed into desirable destinations for the celebrated medicinal and healing attributes of their various waters. Saratoga Springs in Upstate New York had several artesian geysers which were naturally effervescent or bubbly. These were similar to the Old Faithful geyser, except they were continuously spouting, never taking a break. Early scientific thinkers in Europe, like Paracelsus back in the 16th century and Lavosier and Dr. Joseph Priestly in the 18th century, studied and experimented with these mineral waters. Lavosier of France identified carbonic acid and stated that it was composed of carbon and oxygen. In 1772, Dr. Joseph Priestly first recognized that soda water was impregnated with carbonic acid gas; he also tried to use the aerated water to produce a cure for scurvy. The next phase in the history of soda water was for Man to produce it artificially. Top scientists from many nations were trying to produce carbonated soda water, which would imitate the natural mineral waters and still be safe, palatable, and profitable. The first attempts at manufacturing soda water was done by men named Thurneisser in 1560, Hoffman in 1685, and Geoffroy in 1724; their success was less than remarkable. Von Helmont in 1630 first explained carbonic acid gas. In 1750 progress was made and Venel produced carbonic acid by combining muriatic acid in a solution of carbonate of soda. Dr. Black, in 1757, isolated carbonic acid from all other gasses and called it “Fixed Air.” Similarly in the United States, Professor Benjamin Silliman of Yale University
began manufacturing and bottling small quantities of mineral water in New Haven Connecticut, in 1806. A few years later, in 1810, an early New York City soda fountain began dispensing various homemade Vichy, Kissingen, and Apollinaris seltzer waters for the thirsty public. The first carbonation patent in the U.S. was granted to Simmons and Rundell of Charleston, SC in 1810. Acid + Marble = Soda Englishman John Matthews sailed over the briny Atlantic waters to find his fortune with soda water in the United States. The greatest soda fountain development at the time of his arrival in 1832 was occurring in New York City. Like their European cousins, Americans had developed a great passion and thirst for mineral water. Spas had been built at many of the great springs, where many gladly paid for the opportunity to drink and bathe in the mineral waters. Taverns were very plentiful across the nation, serving rum, beer, and all manner of libations, but for the first time, John Matthews offered them some competition with his soda fountain. In addition to selling the air-charged waters to retail stores and drug stores, he also sold them full-sized soda fountains. He established his soda water manufacturing plant at 55 Gold Street, in New York City. His first equipment was quite simple: a cast iron box, lined with lead, where carbonic acid gas was formed by the chemical reaction of sulfuric acid on marble dust. (Sulfuric acid was called oil of vitriol at that time.) The gas was then purified by passing it through water, and transported into a tank partially filled with cool water. An employee rocked the tank for half an hour until the water became impregnated
Bottles and Extras with the gas and was bubbly. Salts were then added to imitate the popular mineral waters of the world. The introduction of marble dust was an American invention. A man named Bramah had used whiting and chalk – calcium carbonate in Europe – but marble was easier and cheaper to acquire in New York City. At one point, the enterprising John Matthews acquired all of the scrap marble from the construction of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City for use in his soda fountain factory. As might be expected, some of the church’s faithful complained about Matthews’ use of the marble. Undaunted by their objections, Mathews’ factory created about twenty-five million gallons of soda water before the supply of marble remnants from the cathedral ran out. One of the most common hazards in the creation of carbonated water in those early days was the high pressure created in the generator and in the bottles and siphons. Explosions were, of course, not desired, and several of John’s competitors had bottle and siphon explosions. The Matthews Soda Fountain Company, however, had a special, unique device for preventing the pressure in the fountain from exceeding the desired 150 pounds per square inch (PSI). The safety valve was provided by an exslave named Ben Austen, one of Matthews’ earliest employees. Austen was a man of intelligence and, above all, strength. When the force of a new batch of soda water needed to be measured, the job fell to Ben, who simply placed his powerful thumb over the pressure cock. When it blew his thumb away, the Matthews people estimated that they had reached 150 PSI and that the water Matthews Compressor with Generator
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was fully charged. “Ben’s Thumb” was long a term in the jargon of the soda fountain trade. During the Civil War draft riots, when angry Irish mobs roamed the New York streets seeking to hang any Negro they could find, John Matthews was obliged to ship Ben out to safety in a packing case, as though he was a charging cylinder of the product. Water, Water Everywhere The manufacture of soda water required a pure source of water, since it was to become a beverage. The water must be selected with great care and purified with equal thoroughness. The ideal water source for this soda water should come from a deep, cool, sparkling well, in a good location, without contamination. Cool spring water could also be used as a source of soda water. The spring water had to be filtered to achieve an acceptable degree of purity. As rain water falls on the earth’s surface, it absorbs the soluble particles found there, and gradually becomes more and more contaminated, percolating through the different layers of the ground and dissolving out mineral compounds found locally. Due to these dissolved compounds, these waters were called “Natural Mineral Waters.” Carbonic Acid Gas Carbonic acid gas is the most important ingredient in the manufacture of soda water, besides pure water. All effervescent drinks depend for their refreshing attributes, their sparking, prickling and excellent taste, on the carbonic acid gas incorporated into them. Carbonic acid gas must be perfectly pure, free from air, and should not contain Matthews Bottling Table
any disagreeable odors, such as sulfur compounds. An ideal gas pressure for glass bottles is 45 PSI. Higher pressures present no advantage and are dangerous to the apparatus and the bottles. Siphons are pressurized to 130 PSI. Carbonic acid gas was obtained by combining ground marble dust with sulfuric acid. The gas was then collected and purified by passing it up through a column of water. Chemical purification such as bicarbonate of soda was also very effective. A Frenchman’s Revolutionary Idea A dramatic soda water development to stimulate business was created in the shop of a Pennsylvanian perfumer in 1838. Frenchman Eugene Roussel, was selling plain soda water at his perfume shop in Philadelphia. With the ingenuity that characterizes Frenchmen when dealing with the opposite sex, Roussel decided to add flavors to his customer’s drinks. Voila! Despite the enormous interest in and competition over soda water business, no one had thought of flavored soda water until then – and just like that the soda industry experienced its own French Revolution! Soon the crude soda fountains of Matthews and his competitors were now keeping on hand many syrup flavors such as Orange, Cherry, Lemon, Ginger, Peach, and Teaberry. If you remember the Teaberry Shuffle, then you are definitely interested in American history. “The Teaberry Shuffle” was a song and dance promoted by the Adams Chewing Gum Company. According to the advertisements, after popping the gum in your mouth you would get so excited by the exhilarating teaberry flavor that you were supposed to spontaneously and uncontrollably start dancing the Teaberry Shuffle! Teaberry is also known as Wintergreen and Checker Berries; it is also the predominant flavor in root beer. Chemically it is methyl salicylate, but root beer clearly sounds much more delicious! Root Beer, Birch Beer, and Sarsaparilla Beer also made their appearance as carbonated soda flavors and were available in bottles or made at the store’s soda fountain. Attempts were made to imitate the flavors of wine and mead, but were not very successful. Ginger was probably the most important flavor. Brewed Ginger Beer was the most popular small beer from England for over two hundred years. The early soda
73 fountains had a spigot for both Ginger Beer and Ginger Ale. There were international Ginger Ale competitions, often with medals given as prizes. You may remember the unique flavors of Canada Dry Ginger Ale and Verner’s Ginger Ale. Generations of Generators In the first half of the nineteenth century, carbonated gas was manufactured in the U.S. by a standard array of machinery that consisted of a vertical carbonate feeding generator, in which the gas was produced under moderate pressure; a large, round cylindrical iron gasometer, into which the gas was received, and a beverage carbonating compressor, which pushed the carbonic acid gas and the liquid into a condenser, where they were thoroughly mixed. From the condenser the carbonate was drawn to furnish the bottling machines or siphon fillers. Steam power was desired to operate the carbonating compressor. The Matthews Generator – Matthews improved on the manufacture of sodamaking with a generator of his own design. This machinery consisted of two horizontal acid feeding generators to produce the gas, three stationary fountains, and a force pump for injecting the fountains with liquid, when they were charged with carbonic acid gas. Its operation was almost continuous because each generator was operated independently of the other. The generators and fountains were made of gun metal iron and tested to 500 PSI. Heading toward the end of the century, several strong competitors to Matthews entered the soda fountain market: John Lippincott of Philadelphia; A. D. Puffer of Boston; and James W. Tufts of Somerville, Massachusetts. (The Tufts Arctic Soda Fountain prospered quickly and they purchased prime land in North Carolina. This was the famous Pinehurst Country Club, which was originally developed to treat patients with tuberculosis.) Each man had his own favored design of carbonation generator: The Lippincott Generator – The Lippincott equipment consisted of two generators at each end, and three stationary fountains, constructed of copper. The generator was acid-proof with a lead lining. The fountains were sanitary with a tin lining. The purifiers were controlled at the sides of the generators. The agitators were operated with wheel cranks manually and also to start the agitators before shifting the
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belt for automatic operation. There was a gas bell on top of the generator into which the gas rose and to which the pipes and safety relief valves were attached. This would preclude the blocking of the pipes by the foaming of the carbonate. The acid valve was raised and locked by a wheel and screw conveniently located near the operator. Puffer’s Generator – This gas generator consisted of two generators and three cylinders, with two sediment traps, two gas domes, two automatic valves, one patent regulating valve, and a double acting pressure pump. Each valve could be set to take the gas from the generator, which was charged to 200 PSI. This was the proper pressure for charging soda water fountains. Tuft’s Generator – The Tuft’s gas generator consisted of two generators with three purifiers at the side, an equalizing valve, three cylinders with water gauges, a pressure gauge, and an injection pump. Gas was developed in the normal manner in one of the generators, and the desired volume of water was pumped into the cylinders. The equalizing valve of the first generator was set at the proper pressure by means of the pressure gauge. In 1891, Tuft’s Arctic Soda Fountain Company consolidated with A. D. Puffer and Sons of Boston, John Matthews of New York and Charles Lippincott of Philadelphia into THE AMERICAN SODA FOUNTAIN COMPANY. James W. Tufts was the President. The Centennial Exhibition was held in Philadelphia in 1876. On display were the latest inventions, gadgets and machinery. There was a Corliss Steam Engine huffing and puffing that was larger than a residential home. If you carefully looked Matthews Soda Water Cart
around, you would have discovered a Tufts Artic Soda Fountain. James Tufts and Charles Lippincott paid $50,000 for exclusive rights to sell soda pop and ice cream sodas. They displayed an ornate, thirty foot high soda fountain. It was fabricated from different colored marble, and had elaborate spigots, a hanging chandelier and hanging ferns. Bottling Machinery In the late 1880s the process of bottling carbonated beverages was almost universally performed by means of a bottling apparatus that made the bottling process much more cost-effective. The filling machine could be conveniently located near the bottling machine by simply increasing the length of the soda pipe. This connecting pipe was best manufactured from pure tin for sanitary considerations. On American bottling machines, the unit was attached by a flexible rubber hose, which needed to be of high quality to withstand the bottling pressure. The Matthews filling machine was used for bottling with corks. It had a syrup gauge attached to the cork gauge, allowing all of the corks to be driven in uniformly and to the proper depth into the neck of each bottle. When the cork was well in, the bottling ledge could be raised enough to permit the cork to be properly secured with the cork swing fastener. Syrup tanks were the necessary reservoir units of the bottling machine. They contained the ready-made flavored syrup which fed the syrup pump and was intended for flavoring the carbonated water. It was required, where different beverages by continuous bottling processes were being produced, to have each kind of flavored Matthews Apparatus with Pump
Bottles and Extras syrup in a separate syrup tank, which could be immediately connected with the syrup gauge and bottling machine. The tanks were usually constructed of tin-lined copper. Typical 1880 Soda Bottling From a period instruction manual comes this step-by-step procedure for filling soda bottles: • After the bottling machine is properly charged, the syrup is ready, and the bottling machine is in order, also after the corks have been previously well prepared according to the instructions for corks. • Place the bottle in the filler rack and press down the foot pedal until the filling head is firmly on the mouth of the bottle… • With your right hand, raise the hand lever, and grab a cork with your left hand, and place it evenly in the cylinder. Drive the cork about half way through the filling head and hold it there in order to close the mouth of the cylinder tightly. • With your left hand on the syrup gauge lever, make a single stroke, holding open until the bottle fills, thus injecting the required amount of syrup into the glass bottle and allowing it to be filled with soda pop. • The syrup gauge is pre-set to gauge exactly the required amount of syrup. Then push back the gauge lever and drive the cork into the bottle with the hand lever. • Release the foot pedal sufficiently, allowing the bottling cylinder to rise, meanwhile holding down the cork with your hand, and put the wire bail securely over the cork.
Bottles and Extras • Remove your foot from the pedal and you can remove your filled bottle from the filling machine. American Soda Fountains Where large stationary counters were established, soda fountains were directly connected with the required generating equipment. It was highly recommended that a special carbonating unit be installed. It would have had two stationary fountains with agitators. Dispensing fountains were quite adapted for populous places of resort, in the main thoroughfare, or where traffic was great. Ideal locations included major cities, sea shores, amusement parks, and railway stations. Summer boardwalks were ideal. The demand for soda water was greatest during the summer. Cooling the soda drink with ice was a new innovation that contributed to the soda business boom. Some of the most delicious drinks were supplied by means of these fountains. The typical fountain might have a half-dozen tumblers that could be washed quickly and reused. They were simply rinsed in cold water because no one understood about bacteria at the time. Large profits were the result of repeat customers who craved the sweet bubbly beverages. Since the demand for non-intoxicating drinks was so much on the increase, the opportunity to cash in on the temperance-minded public was perfect for shops and drug stores with a good counter trade that were willing to give the soda fountain experiment a trial. It was one of the most beneficial additions to an existing business – such as an apothecary shop, candy store, hotel, or café – being ornamental and at the same time profitable. The experiment entailed no risk beyond the purchase of the apparatus, because soft drinks were not subjected to excise tax.
Summer 2006 entrepreneur to get into the soda business. Others took the Matthews model and developed it into a fine art. The master of the dramatic, eye-catching soda fountain was G. D. Dows, of Lowell, Massachusetts, who tried to improve the appearance of the crude soda fountain in his brother’s store and wound up with a combination fountain and ice shaver housed in white Italian marble. This new fountain quickly became so popular that Dows opened his own marble shop in Boston. This first marble fountain was called the “Cottage Fountain” and took over the industry. It was basically constructed of boxes resting on a counter and they ran the full range of design. Popular styles included Gothic, Roman, Byzantine, Egyptian, and in any combination. They were given names like: The Frost King, The Ice Floe, the Egyptian, and The Cathedral. Ornate spigots projected out of tombs and temples and chalets decorated with sphinxes, lions, nymphs, and knights. The
75 names of famous mineral waters would appear on the larger models. Some of the springs included Saratoga, Deep Rock, Kissingen, and Washington. John Matthews died in 1870 and is buried in the Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. His marble grave site has an ornate Gothic architectural monument with carved illustrations showing different activities throughout his life. Ironically, this elaborate edifice is slowly dissolving in the sulfuric acid rains that soak the marble – the destruction of his grave is undergoing the same process that made him a soda water giant in life. References:
Charles Herman Sulz, A Treatise on Beverages (New York: Charles H. Sulz Publishers, 1888) Druggists Circular, New York; June 1902. Joseph L. Morrison, “The Soda Fountain,” American Heritage Magazine, August, 1962. Audrey Moriarty, Pinehurst Beginnings, 1979.
Portable Fountains When a portable cylinder was employed instead of stationary carbonating apparatus, it was attached by its connections to the draught machine and then was ready for use, remaining in its position until empty, when it would be replaced by a full cylinder. These portable cylinders were always fabricated to be strong, testing to twice the working pressure. Fancy Fountains and Final Monument For a reasonable amount of capital, John Matthews had enabled any druggist or other
1890 ad showing a Matthews Soda Fountain. Ad reads: “The apparatus above illustrated is made at our Matthews factory and all corespondence relating to this construction should be addressed to the American Soda Fountain Company, 449 First Avenue, New York City, N.Y.”
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Classified Ads FOR SALE For Sale: Advertising jugs: one gal. Old Bourbon Jugged By T.O. Smythe, Distiller, Paris, Ky., $260. Quart F.W. Pfortner, Pure Wines and Liquors, Madison, Ind., a UHL pottery piece, $195. Quart bail handle, Emsing Gagen Co., “High Gap,” LaFayette, Ind., $180. Quart, Established 1882, Largest Mail Order House In New England, Parkwood Club, Haverhill, Mass., $45. Mini, Pure Corn, The Real Stuff, Souvenir, Lincoln’s Birthplace, Kentucky, made by UHL pottery, $145. Mini, Chas. S. Grove Co., Liquor Merchants, Boston, Mass., $55. Mini, solid white, The O.L. Gregory, Vinegar Co., Paducah, Ky., $80. Contact: THOMAS NOEL, 1385 Norsworthy Rd., Kirksey, KY 42054, Ph: (270) 489-2440, E-mail: jugging@mchsi.com. For Sale: Shipwreck blacks $70-$125. Dutch case gins $45-85. Send inquiry via E-mail for photos with descriptions and price! E-mail: tblair@social.rr.com. For Sale: Mini jugs - Scratch: 1) The Midway Chas. Mahan, Elwood, Ind., lip roughness, $150. 2) Forsler & Thompson Gen’l Mdse, Edmund, Okla., lip roughness, $500. Stencils: 3) Brown/ tan Compliments of Prospect Market, 2604 E. 18th St. (front) O.I. Vinegar Co., Paducah, Kentucky (Kansas City, Mo.), lip rough, $150. 4) Brown/tan, nice lip, Compliments of Mosley Bros., 206 E. Marshall (Douglasville, Ga.), $250. Consider swaps. Contact: R.J. KEIFFER, Box 1325, MacClenny, FL 32063, Ph: (904) 259-7775. For Sale: Beggs Dandelion Bitters, $45. Greers Eclipse Bitters, small fold in lip, $120. Dr. Herbert Johns Indian Bitters, dug bottle, clean with a few scuffs, $240. Chattanooga Ice & Beer Co. Hutch, cleaned, small crack on base, 1 1 / 2 ” ground wear, $35. Call DENNIS, Ph: (209) 339-2290. For Sale: Cobalt soda, Clyde Glassworks, glassblowing tools, demijohn in wicker, all pontils mint condition, blacksmith produced iron pieces, clay pipes dug in Albany, N.Y. circa 1860. Contact: JOHN SPELLMAN, P.O. Box 61, Savannah, NY 13146, Ph: (315) 365-3156, E-mail: spellmanjc@tds.net. For Sale: Circa 1780 green chestnut flask, approx. 5 1 / 2” high, pontil scar (lion’s paw), string glass top, American,
good wear on the bottom, found in the woods, hole area of Cape Cod, Mass. Similar flask sold at auction in summer of 2005 for $700. Price $675 + extra shipping/insurance. Contact: MICHAEL SHEA, P.O. Box 241, West Falmouth, MA 02574, Ph: (508) 274-4708.
For Sale: Newman Drug Co., Louisville, Ky., 7-Up green Citrate of Magnesium type bottle w/closure, $500. Paper label Cal-Sino Veterinary bottle, Distemper, Cough & Heaves Remedy, Royal Mfg. & Dis. Co., Chattanooga, Tn. & Baltimore, Md., $100. Rare 5-gal. (?) white w/blue bands, stoneware drink dispenser with “ears,” stenciled in large shield, “Drink Cherryine Ice Cold Trademark” on both sides, $1,100. Rare Darrow & Sons, Baldwinsville (?), N.Y., 2-gal. blue & gray stoneware jug, large cobalt flower spray & 2” decoration, $900. Call with any questions after 7pm. Contact: LEE BAUMGARDNER, P.O. Box 13, Cartersville, VA 23027, Ph: (804) 3753704. For Sale: Chicago Advertising Jugs. The collection consists of 9 pieces: 7 jugs, 1 crock with lid and an ad plate. All jugs have complete handles and no cracks. Most are from the Al Verley collection auctioned in Red Wing, Minn., on Nov. 7th, 1981. A catalog will be included for the buyer. 1) “Lord Stoutenburgh & Co / “2” / (gallon) / Wholesale / Druggists / Chicago” Circa 1860, Verley collection #223, 13” tall, 16” dia. Blue stencil, salt
glazed. 2) “VAN SCHAACK / STEVENSON & CO. / 92 & 94 LAKE ST. / CHICAGO” Circa 1860, Verley collection #222, 11” tall, 6 1/4” dia. Blue stencil, salt glazed. 3) “ (3 petals) PETER (3 petals) / VAN SCHAAK / (3 petals) & SONS (3 petals) CHICAGO” Circa 1860-1870, bought in 1984, shallow missing piece on left side, but protruding clay just above it, so may have been done in the kiln, no holes or cracks. 11” tall, 7 3/8” dia. Blue stencil, salt glazed. 4) “Wm. Radam’s / MICROBE KILLER / Chicago / No. 2” Circa 1870-1900, bought in St. Louis, 2002, perfect, black stencil and shiny Bristol cream glaze. 5) “FULLER & FULLER / Wholesale Drugs / CHICAGO, ILL” Circa 1870-1880, fully debossed, 2-gal., Verley collection #225, 111/2” high, 8” wide, band around middle area halfway down, dark brown shiny glaze, probably Peoria Pottery, but not marked. Ex Carl Malik collection. 6) “FULLER & FULLER ... identical to above, except smaller. 1-gal size, 9” high, 7 1/ 4 ” dia., debossed, probably Peoria Pottery, Verley collection #226, Ex Art Montgomery collection. 7) “ELKHORN BRAND CAFE CHEESE / NET WEIGHT 3 LB. 8 OZ. / TRADEMARK REGISTERED / U.S. PAT. OFFICE / J.L. Kraft & BROS. CO. / CHICAGO - NEW YORK / GUARANTEED ABSOLUTELY PURE” Blue oval transfer with an elk head also. Straight-sided Bristol cream color, original complete bail and correct
The Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors
Bottles and Extras Advertising Rates Ads: Ralph Van Brocklin 1021 W. Oakland Ave., #109, Johnson City, TN 37604 Phone: (423) 913-1378 E-mail: thegenuine@comcast.net Makes checks payable to: The Federation of Historic Bottle Collectors ALL ADS MUST BE PAID IN ADVANCE 50% Discount for FOHBC Club Show Ads
CLASSIFIED ADS 10-cents a word 15-cents a bold word. $2.00 MINIMUM
DISPLAY ADVERTISING RATES AMT
PAGE
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COL. 4”
COL. 3”
COL. 2”
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Next Stop Deadlines: August 15th for Fall Edition (Oct.-Dec. 2006) November 15th for Fall Edition (Jan.-Mar. 2007)
78
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lid. 73/4” tall to top of lid, 53/4” dia., 1/2” lip chip on side near bail wire, Verley collection #217. Ex Alice Creswick collection. 8) S. LEDERER & CO. / WINE & LIQUOR / DEPT. / 91ST & COMMERICAL AVE / SO. CHICAGO, ILL.” All this in stencil within a beaded oval in blue, 81/2” tall, 6” dia., cream Bristol glaze. Ex Verley #133. 9) Advertising plate for S. Lederer with multicolored transfer of their four-story bldg. Says “S. Lederer & Co. South Chicago” below the bldg. Edges have a scallop effect with oak leaf motif. Plate is painted a medium emerald green along the edges with gold leaf hand painting. The background in the center is white behind the transfer. 6” dia. $3,500 for all. I will not split the collection up. Call me or come look at them. Contact: KEITH LEEDERS, Elmwood Park, Ill., Ph: (708) 453-2085. For Sale: Two stamps on a SASE will get you a list of Hutchs and other soda bottles from AUSTRALIA-ALABAMACOLORADO-IDAHO-ILLINOISMAINE-MARYLAND-MINNESOTANEW HAMPSHIRE-NEW JERSEY-
NEW YORK-OHIO-PENNSYLVANIAWASHINGTON-WISCONSIN. Contact: ZANG WOOD, 1612 Camino Rio, Farmington, NM 87401, Ph: (505) 32371316.
BOOKS / PERIODICALS FOR SALE: CD-rom for computer users. Contents: almost 200 pages of inventory / research for Dr. Hatchett’s Drug Store Museum of Lumpkin, Georgia. Patent medicines & other drug store products 1870s to 1950s. Research on products, history, composition of medicines, company histories, medical uses, costs of products, etc. Products can be searched by their names or manufacturers. Price: $12.00 for mailing to U.S. addresses. Order from Stewart County Historical Commission, P.O. Box 818, Lumpkin, GA 31515 or contact: ALLEN VEGOTSKY, 2215 Greencrest Dr., Atlanta, GA 303462629; PH: (770) 270-1034; E-mail: Vegotsky@earthlink.net. FOR SALE: A limited number of 2002, 2003 and 2004 Federation Auction catalogues with prices-realized lists are avail-
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able at $5.00 each plus $2.00 postage. Full color and beautifully photographed they make a handy reference! Contact JOHN PASTOR, 7288 Thorncrest Drive SE, Ada, MI 49301; Phone: (616) 2857604 or RALPH VAN BROCKLIN, 1021 W Oakland Avenue, #109, Johnson City, TN 37604; Phone: (423) 913-1378. FOR SALE: A COLLECTOR'S GUIDE TO ARIZONA BOTTLE & STONEWARE - A HISTORY OF MERCHANT CONTAINERS IN ARIZONA 124 pages of very detailed sketches of bottles and stoneware from the state of Arizona (1999) Spiral bound, $25.00. Contact: MICHAEL MILLER, Miller Antiques, 9214 W. Gary Road, Peoria, AZ 85345, PH: (623) 486-3123 or by E-mail: gramike@earthlink.net. FOR SALE: GINGER BEER & ROOT BEER HERITAGE, 400 pages, all Photos are in full-color. $30.00 + $4.00 S/ H. Contact: DON YATES, 8300 River Corners Road, Homerville, OH 44235; Phone: (330) 625-1025.
2001 EDITION ... “The Fruit Jar Collectorʼs Bible”
RedBook
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Reflects Recent Price Influences of Auctions and the Internet, as well as Current Price Trends Soft Cover, 432 Pages Over 10,000 Entries $35 US - $40 Non-US - Post Paid Order from Author : DOUGLAS M. LEYBOURNE, JR. P.0. BOX 5417 - NORTH MUSKEGAN, MI 49445
Bottles and Extras
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Classified Ads
FOR SALE: Can you tell the “Real” from the “Repro”? Now you can with Tippecanoe & E. G. Booz Too! A book about cabin bottles, by Thomas C. Haunton. Detailed info on 57 different bottles, with new “McKearin” numbers, over 140 photos, and new information on E. G. Booz - the man! A price guide and free CD with 200 color photos are also included. Send $32.95 postpaid to: TOM HAUNTON, 48 Hancock Ave. #1, Medford, MA 02155-5621. E-mail: tchaunton@comcast.net
FOR SALE: GEORGIA CROWN TOP BOTTLE BOOK. 260 pages with over 1400 bottles. Includes Georgia Bottling Works, 263 different Script straight-sided Coca-Cola bottles from Georgia, 236 different Georgia Chero-Cola bottles. Many others also listed. All Color! $39.95 + $3.95 Shipping. Send to: Georgia Soda Bottle Book, 1211 St. Andrews Drive, Douglas, GA 31533. FOR SALE: Two books on whiskey jugs by Bottles and Extras writer Jack Sullivan. THE AMERICAN WHISKEY JUG features 200 richly illustrated pages with index. $20 plus $5 postage. THE WHISKEY CERAMICS OF SCOTLAND, IRELAND and ENGLAND features 100 pages with index. $10 plus $3 postage. Or buy both for $25 plus $5 postage. Contact: JACK SULLIVAN, 4300 Ivanhoe Pl., Alexandria, VA 22304; PH: (703) 370-3039; E-mail: jack.sullivan9@verizon.net. FOR SALE: Breaking 2006 news! - 5th Edition BOTTLES: IDENTIFICATION & PRICE GUIDE - THE “BOTTLE BIBLE FOR ALL COLLECTORS! All in color - 600 stunning photographsTwo New Chapters: “Patriotic/Political Bottles” and “Perfume Bottles”; Comprehensive Price Guide: 51 Chapters; Comprehensive Research Guide: History & Origin, Age Identification, Digging Methods, Determining Bottle Values, Trademark Identification, Dealer & Club Guide, Glossary of Terms, Bibliography, Auction Houses, and much more. Send Check or Money Order To: MIKE POLAK, P.O. Box 30328, Long Beach, CA 90853, Ph: 562-438-9209, E-mail: bottleking@earthlink.net. FOR SALE: Now, finally available! BIG BOB BEST BITTERS is a comprehensive price guide for collectors of bitters bottles reporting auction prices realized for the last 17 years. This printingcontains nearly 4000 accurately
described bitters in a convenient, easy to read format. Listing bottle description and condition, Ring/Ham number, sale date and realized auction prices, this reference is a must-have for the collector or dealer of bitters bottles. To encourage your attendence at bottle shows, the price is an affordable $10. Price postage paid is $15. Send check or money order with your mailing instructions to: BOB STRICKHART, 3 Harvest Drive, Pennington, New Jersey 08534. FOR SALE: The American Poison Bottle Book, presented by the Antique Poison Bottle Collectors Association, full-color poison bottle work book. Updated
KETCHUP, PICKLES, SAUCES 19th Century Food in Glass 498 pages of pictures & research of glass containers the early food industry utilized. Smyth Bound - $25.00 to: MARK WEST PUBLISHERS PO BOX 1914 SANDPOINT, ID 83864
information on sizes, colors and new listings. Contains the Kuhn ID system and is dedicated to him. $50 + $4.95 s/h. Printing limited so get yours now! Check to: JOAN CABANISS, 312 Summer Lane, Huddleston, VA 24104.
WANTED Wanted: Virginia bottles & mini jugs from Culpeper, Orange, Rapidan, Gordonsville, Madison and other small towns in Virginia. Especially strap-sided whiskeys. Also, advertising items from these areas. Looking for mineral water bottles from Virginia. I also have lots of bottles for trade. Contact: LEE BAUMBARDNER, P.O. Box 13, Cartersville, VA 23027, Ph: (804) 3753704. Wanted: Oregon sodas, beers & whiskies. Also local bottles from Medford, Ashland and Jacksonville area. Contact: DAVE SCAFANI, 416 Greenbrae Dr., Medford, OR 97504, Ph: 541) 773-6503, E-mail: scafanind@cs.com. Wanted: Flasks: Scroll w/embossed letter “A” & w/hearts and flowers & pint-sized “McCarty & Torryson” & colored scrolls. Contact: MERLE & ROSE MARIE SLAY, 6425 149th St. Ct. N.W., Gig Harbor, WA 98332, Ph: (253) 858-2267, E-mail: merleslay@aol.com. Wanted: Sharon Springs or Sharon Sulphur Water bottles from N.Y. Also any bottles or stoneware from Cobleskill, Sharon Springs or Schoharie, N.Y. Contact: JEFF ULLMAN, Ph: (518) 2341288 or E-mail: jullman@midtel.net. Wanted: Stoneware: Pre-prohibition advertising jugs, crocks, pitchers, churns, rolling pins from all states and all sizes. Will pay premium prices for jugs from small towns and saloons. Also want preprohibition shot glasses, signs, corkscrews, tokens and back bar bottles. THOMAS NOEL, 1385 Norsworthy Rd., Kirksey, KY 42054, Ph: (270) 489-2440, E-mail: jugging@mchsi.com. Wanted: Early Heinz bottles, Arkansas
medicinals or food, Memphis (Tenn.) medicinals or food, cures and a Suffolks Bitters, mint or near mint preferred. Please contact: T. LINDQUESTER, 1923 Brooks Bend Rd., Collierville, TN 38017, E-mail: tel@midsouth.rr.com. Wanted: $50 Reward! At the Reno, Nevada, show held July 23, 2005, there was a box of dug bottles, including some New Mexico Hutchs, brought in and sold. The buyer was supposedly from Arizona. I am seeking his name, address and phone number. I would appreciate getting in touch with him in regards to obtaining information about the New Mexico Hutchs so that they may be included in my revised NEW MEXICO BLOBS, HUTCHS AND MINERAL WATER book now being edited. Should you have information, or know this individual, please contact: ZANG WOOD, 1612 Camino Rio, Farmington, NM 87401, Ph: (505) 327-1316. Wanted: California diggers: Does anyone have a Santa Barbara Drug Store “Columbia Drug” (Miratti & Sons)? I would pay up to $250, depending on size and condition, to finish my collection. Also, a T&A Goux clean whiskey fifth from Santa Barbara. Contact: BRIAN TAPPEINER, Ph: (805) 963-2279 or (805) 969-3701; E-mail: taps60@cox.net. Wanted: The following bottles from Upper Michigan: Squat Sodas: T.B. Rundle, Marquette or Negaunee; T. Smith, Houghton; S&S, Houghton; J. Snell, Hancock. Blob beers: L’Anse Brewing Co., Clifton Bottling Works, Keweenaw Co., Meeske & Hoch or Hoch & Heinemann, Marquette and Root & Mackin, Soo, Mich. Contact: BRAD CUYLER, 1140 Northland Dr. #17,
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Marquette, MI 49855, Ph: (906) 2502696, E-mail: upbottles@miuplink.com.
Wanted: John A. Scott & Co. whiskey items from Owen Co., Ky. and Findlay & Toledo, Ohio. Contact: JOE FREY, 1144 Tap Rd., McComb, OH 45858, E-mail: odants@bright.net. Wanted: Scruggs & Scruggs Silver Eagle Sour Mash, Dallas, Texas cyl. whiskey, Corsicana Bottling Works Hutch, Wooten Wells Mineral Springs Hutch, Paneled Petal, pottery wax seal fruit jars, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas bottles, tokens, stereoviews, real photo postcards, photos, early souvenirs. Swap or buy. Contact: RALPH KEIFFER, BOX 1325, MacClenny, FL 32063, Ph: (904) 2597775. Wanted: Dr. Kilmers bottles from Schoharie, N.Y.. Also, clasping hands flasks. Leave message and I will call you back. Contact: JIM BENDER, P.O. Box 162, Sprakers, NY 12166, Ph: (518) 673-8833, E-mail: Jim1@frontiernet.net. Wanted: Square mini jugs with pouring spouts from any state. Top prices for items I don’t have. Also, jugs from Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Contact: TOM JOHNSON, 224 Cherry Creek Rd., Marquette, MI 49855, Ph: (906) 2495176, E-mail: mwaytom@chartermi.net. Wanted: Flag Salt Remedy Co., Savannah, N.Y., Savannah, N.Y. postcards, Warners, Kilmers, iron pontil soda, Savannah Creamery Co. crocks, Savannah, N.Y. milk bottles, TownsendWaterman-Welch-Maple Dairy. Also, trade cards and give aways. Contact: JOHN SPELLMAN, P.O. Box 61, Savannah, NY 13146, Ph: (315) 3653156. E-mail: spellmanjc@tds.net. Wanted: College, University and Delaware milk bottles. Contact: ROWLAND HEARN, 10 Wordsworth Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Wanted: St. Louis and Illinois bottles. Colored St. Louis bottles: 1) C. Abel, St. Louis, olive green/citron/cobalt. 2) R&J Adams Druggist, cobalt/citron. 3) Beck & Zeisler, citron/green. 4) P. Bermingham & Co., citron/green. 5) Brandon & Feasby Camp Spring, citron/green. 6) J. Cairns & Co., cobalt/ teal/citron/robin egg blue. 7) J. Cairns Block & Co., blue. 8) C. Timmerman & Block, citron/teal/blues. 9) D. Colver, all
colors. 10) Mineral Water by Hassinger & O’Brien, green/citron. 11) Hassinger & Petterson, green/citron/blue. 12) W. Hassinger & J. Petterson, teal. 13) D.H. Hedges, black glass. 14) E. Lester, cobalt/ teal/robin egg blue. 15) McCloud & Wheaton Druggist Chemists, cobalt. 16) M&W, St. Louis, ten pin shape, aqua/ teal/green. 17) G. McLean, citron/teal. 18) Mineral Water by John or J. Petterson, citron/teal. 19) C.W. Schliper Soda Water, teal/citron/blues. 20) C. Schields, citron/ green/blues. 21) Sinnott & Smyth, cobalt. 22) C.H. Timmerman & H. Grone, teal/ cobalt. Aqua St. Louis sodas: 1) Allen & Co. Champion Bottling Co. 3) Doerner & Scharding South St. Louis. 4) Doerner & Scharding, Carondalet, Mo. 5) Henry Froegg’s Italian Lemonade. 6) H. Grone gravitating stopper w/John Matthews on base. 7) B.R. Lippincott gravitating stopper. 8) Arch D. Matthews gravitating stopper. 9) T.I. Reighenbach. 10) Enno Sanders gravitating stopper. 11) St. Louis Bottling Co. 12) Wake & Co. 13) Jno. Weaver. 14) Wetter & Christen. 15) S&J Zeisler. 16)Mass & Schlisler. Illinois Sodas: 1) A. Yoerger & Bro, Alton, Ill., paneled/teal/citron. 2) A&F.X. Joerger, Alton, Ill., aqua/blob top. 3) H.E. Ruppert, Alton, Ill., aqua/blob top. 4) J. Weisbach, Alton, Ill., pontil & smooth base blob. 5) G.N. Clark, Belleville, Ill., pontil blob. 6) J.N. Clark, Belleville, Ill., pontil blob. 7) Joseph Fischer, Belleville, Ill., blob top. 8) J. Fisher & Rogger, Belleville, Ill., blob top. 9) Fisher & Abegg, Belleville, Ill., blob top. 10) A. Koob, Belleville, Ill., blob top/amber/aqua. 11) F. Stolz, Belleville, Ill., blob top pontil. 12) L. Abegg, Belleville, Ill., blob top. 13) L. Abegg’s Soda Manufactory, Belleville, Ill., blob. 14) H.l Baierlein, Collinsville, Ill., blob top. 15) John Gundlach, Columbia, Ill., blob top. 16) Gross & Fleischman, Darmstadt, Ill., blob top. 17) Christ Gross, Darmstadt, Ill., blob top. 18) J.H. Sanders & Co., DArmstadt, Ill., blob top. 19) E. Schroeder, East St. Louis, Ill., cobalt/robin egg blue. 20) Darmstatter, Freeburg, Ill., blob top. 21) H. Burger, Frogtown, Ill., blob top. 22) C.H. Heiligenstein, Freeburg, Ill., blob top/Hutch. 23) Mueller & beck, Highland, Ill., blob top. 24) J. Amsler & S. Amsler, Highland, Ill., blob top. 25) Weber & Mueller, Highland, Ill., blob top. 26) F. Herrold, Mascoutah, Ill., blob top. 27) A. Koob, Mascoutah, Ill., blob top. 28) Chas. Fischer, Millstadt, Ill, blot top. 29) Bayet & Williams, O’Fallon, Ill., amber/aqua/blob top. 30) St. Jacob Bottling Works, St. Jacob, Ill., blob top. 31) St. Jacob b/w Wm. Noelsner Hutch, blob top. 32) L. Abegg, Waterloo, Ill., pontil/green/aqua. St. Louis Pontil Inks: 1) Snow & Quirk. 2) J.S. Dunham, St.
Louis, pontil round. 3) R.B. Snow. Miscellaneous Bottles and Jugs: 1) Korf & Zeisler, St. Charles, Mo., blob top. 2) N. Holder Saloon, Brooklyn, Ill. 3) J.D. Freeman, pontil medicines. 4) St. Louis pontil medicines. St. Louis Ales and Ciders: 1) Levan’s & Bro., amber/teal/aqua. 2) Call with other ones for sale. Illinois Ales and Ciders: 1) C. Lutt & Co., East St. Louis, Ill., olive green. 2) E. Schroeder, East St. Louis, Ill., green/aqua. 3) All bottles from Venice, Madison, Brooklyn & Granite City, Ill. Contact: THEO ADAMS, 3728 Fair Oaks Dr., Granite City, IL 62040, Ph: (618) 451-5622 or (618) 781-4806, E-mail: hutchsoda@aol.com. Wanted: Face pipes - reed insert and short stem. Especially looking for pipes marked Washington, Henry Clay, Lewis Cass, Filmore, Pierce, Rough and Ready. Also looking for 2-piece belt buckles from the Gold Rush era - Eagles, miners, stars, anchors. Buying all buckle parts, inners and outers (does not have to be a complete buckle). Contact: MAX BELL, Ph: (530) 823-3315. Wanted: Alaska embossed bottles. Highest prices paid for Pharmacies, Milks, Beers, or any Embossed bottles. Contact: RICHARD, Ph: (559) 289-9418. Email: Randomacts372@msn.com. Wanted: Prices realized lists for the following auction catalogues: The Samuel J. Greer Collection of Important Antique Medical Advertising, Oct. 3, 1990. Absentee Auction XXXV, Featuring Selections from the Samuel J. Greer Collection, May 3, 1990. Absentee Auction XXXVIII, Nov. 8, 1990. Important Americana, Bottles and Advertising, Dec. 17, 1990. Absentee Auction of Important Historical Flasks, Bottles and Glass, Sept. 12, 1990 (Millicent Holmberg Figural Bottle Collection, Charles and Vinette Just Collection of Salt Shakers, The Selchow Collection of Bottles and Glass and an Important West Coast Collection of Historical Flasks). (All from Harmer Rooke Galleries). Kit Barry Ephemera Auction No. 7, Feb. 22, 2000. Absentee Auction 74, Bottles, Glass, American Stoneware, Antiques, Folk Art and Vintage Posters, April 10, 1996. Absentee Auction 88 of Important Americana, Antique Bottles, Ethnographic Art, June 18, 1997 (both Charles G. Moore Americana Ltd). Excelsior Gallery, 4223 North Marshall Way, Suite 2, Scottsdale, Arizona 85251, Absentee Auction 100, March 4, 1998.
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Classified Ads
Will be glad to pay $5 per copy plus postage. Contact: BILL BAAB, 2352 Devere St., Augusta, GA 30904, E-mail: riverswamper@comcast.net.
Wanted: Peppermint bottles, H.G. & L.B. Hotchkiss (Lyons/Phelps, N.Y.), A.M. Todd (Kalamazoo, Mich.), Hale & Parshall (Lyons, N.Y.), Peirson & Perkins (Newark, N.Y.), Peppermint Producers (Lyons, N.Y.), M.H. Dillenbeck (Lyons, N.Y.). Tins, books, paper, postcards, bottles (other), signs pertaining to essential oils. Contact: DICK KELLEY, Ph: (315) 946-6316, E-mail: kelleye@redsuspenders.com. Website: www.mintstills.com.
Wanted: Paducah, Ky., items especially pre-pro paper label whiskey bottles, advertising stoneware, signs, trays, medicines, paper goods, milk bottles, souvenir items, spoons, corkscrews, thermometers, calendars, special emphasis on Friedman, Keiler & Co., and Geo. H. Goodman Co., Irvin Cobb items, just about anything dealing with Paducah, Ky. Been collecting over 30 years. Contact: B.J. SUMMERS at bjsummers@mchsi.com.
SHOPS AND SERVICES JAR DOCTOR (for all your cleaning supplies) 2006 shows: Muncie, Indiana - Columbus, Ohio Baltimore, Maryland - St. Joseph, Missouri - Bloomington, Minnesota Mansfield, Ohio - Shupp’s Grove (Adamstown) Pa. - Reno, Nevada - Tulsa, Oklahoma - Richmond, Virginia - Keene, New Hampshire - Springfield, Ohio Auburn, Ohio Keep wathing JarDoctor.com for updates (should be updated soon). For more information, contact: R. Wayne Lowry, the Jar Doctor: (816) 318-0161, Fax: (816) 318-0162 E-mail: JarDoctor@aol.com
SPRING STEEL PROBES
Montana Sodas - Embossed - ACL - Paper Label -
Poison Bottles Especially Cleo Cola Billings, Mont.
Joan C. Cabaniss jjcab@b2xonlinel.com (540) 297-4498 312 Summer Lane Huddleston, VA 24104
est. 1979
R.J. Reid 1102 East Babcock St. Bozeman, MT 59715 (406) 587-9602 rjkreid@msn.net
Full Colour BBR
The world’s first full color bottle magazine simply got BETTER and BIGGER PACKED FULL of all the information you need on the UK & worldwide scene Well-researched articles & All the latest finds Upcoming sales & Full show calendar “the classified ads alone make a subscription worthwhile, but the color pictures make it absolutely ESSENTIAL. Heck, what
1 year Air Mail subscription still just $20 - 2 years $40 Personal Check, MasterCard/Visa, even $ bills!
BBR, Elsecar Heritage Centre, Barnsley, 2, Yorkshire, S74 8HJ, England Tel: 011-44-1226-745156; Fax: 011-44-1226-361561
Length 36” to 48” Diameter 1/4” to 5/16” “T” Handle 1” Dia. x 12” and Ring 4” above tip, both welded. $37.50 includes S/H $3 Extra for Rush Shipping Cashier Check or M.O. R. L. Wilcox 7422 Park Drive Mechanicsville, VA 23111 Phone: (804) 746-9854 or E-mail: Wilcox7422@aol.com
Churchillʼs Antique Bottle Cleaning Service Introductory Offer: Will clean one bottle at no charge ! (minus postage) Try me fee free! Less than 10 bottles: $15 each. 10-14: $12.50 each. More than 15: $10.00 each.
MARK CHURCHILL
PO Box 7023 Grand Rapids, MI 49510
(616) 248-3808 E-mail: mdiscoidalis@netzero.net
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Summer 2006
FOHBC SHO-BIZ FOHBC Sho-Biz is published in the interest of the hobby. Federation affiliated clubs are noted. Information on up-coming collecting events is welcome, but space is limited. Please send at least four months in advance, including telephone number, to: FOHBC Sho-Biz, c/o Kathy Hopson-Sathe, 341 Yellowstone Dr., Fletcher, NC 28732, or E-mail: kathy@thesodafizz.com. Show schedules are subject to change. Please call ahead before traveling long distances. All listings published here will also be published on the web site at http://www.fohbc.com.
JULY 9 MUNCIE, INDIANA The Midwest Antique Fruit Jar & Bottle Club Summer Show & Sale (Sun. 9 AM 3 PM, Adm. $2; Set-up, 6 AM for Displayers, 7 AM for dealers) at the Horizon Convention Center, 401 S. High Street, Muncie, Indiana. Accommodations at the Hotel Roberts across the street. Call (765) 781-7777 for reservations & mention the Show for discount. INFO: NORM BARNETT, P.O. Box 38, Flat Rock, IN 47234; PH: (812) 587-5560; Email: thebarnetts@mach1pc.com or DICK COLE, 2904 W. Moore Rd., Muncie, IN 47304; PH: (800) 428-5887, Ext. 117; E-mail: dcole@netdirect.net; Website: www.fruitjar.org. JULY 15-16 ADAMSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA The 5th Annual Shupp’s Grove Bottle Festival (Sat. & Sun. 6 AM - dark, Early Buyers Fri. 5 PM) at Shupp’s Grove in Adamstown, Pennsylvania. INFO: STEVE GUION, PH: (717) 560-9480, E-mail: affinityinsurance@dejazzd.com or JERE HAMBLETON, (717) 393-5175, E-mial: jshdetector@webtv.net. JULY 22 LEADVILLE, COLORADO The Antique Bottle Collectors of Colorado Show (Sat.) at the National Mining Hall of Fame & Museum Convention Center, 117 10th Street, Leadville, Colorado. INFO: JIM & BARB SUNDQUIST, PH: (303) 674-4658; E-mail: barbsund@msn.com. JULY 29 DES MOINES, IOWA The Iowa Antique Bottleers 37th Annual Show & Sale (Sat. 9 AM - 2 PM) at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, Tourism Bldg., Des Moines, Iowa. INFO: TOM SOUTHARD, 2815 Druid Hill Drive, Des Moines, IA 50315, PH: (515) 282-6901. AUGUST 11-12 NORCROSS, GEORGIA The Atlanta Antique Bottle Show (formerly Southeastern Antique Bottle Club Show) presents its 36th Annual Antique Bottle Show & Sale (Sat. 9 AM 4 PM, Adm $3: Set-up Fri. & Sat. 12 PM - 6 PM, Admission $10.00) at the North Atlanta Trade Center, 1700 Jeurgens Ct., Norcross, Georgia. The famous Slotin Folk Fest 2006 will be held in the same building. Free bottle & pottery appraisals. INFO: JACK HEWITT, 1765 Potomac Ct., Lawrenceville, GA 30043, PH: (770) 963-0220 or JOHN JOINER, PH: (770) 502-9565. E-mail: propjj@numail.org.
AUGUST 12 VICKSBURG, MISSISSIPPI The 9th Annual Vicksburg Antique Bottle Show and Sale (Sat. 8 AM - 4 PM) at the Battlefield Inn, 4137 I-20 N. Frontage Rd, Exit 4-B, Vicksburg, Mississippi. INFO: CASON SCHAFFER, 107 Eastview Drive, Vicksburg, MS 39183, PH: (601) 638-1195. AUGUST 12 MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA The Chesapeake Bay Insulator Club’s 6th Annual Shenandoah Valley Insulator Show & Sale (Sat. 9 AM - 2 PM; Dealer set-up 7 - 9 AM) at the Calvary United Methodist Church, 220 W. Burke St., Martinsburg, West Virginia. INFO: JEFF HOLLIS, 56 Corning Way, Martinsburg, WV 25401, PH: (304) 263-6140, E-mail: wvacampfire@cs.com. AUGUST 18-20 - RENO, NEVADA The Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors 2006 National Show (Sun. 9 AM - 3 PM; Early Adm. Sat. 1 - 5 PM and Sun. 8 - 9 AM) at John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Ave., Reno/Sparks, Nevada. Hosted by the Reno Antique Bottle & Collectibles Club. INFO: WILLIE YOUNG, 80 Promontory Point, Reno NV 89509, PH: (775) 746-0922, Email: FireGrenades@aol.com or R. WAYNE LOWRY, 401 Johnston Ct., Raymore, MO 64083, PH: (816) 3180161, E-mail: JarDoctor@aol.com. For information available online, click here. AUGUST 20 POUGHKEEPSIE, NEW YORK The Hudson Valley Bottle Club 19th Annual Show & Sale (Sun. 9 AM to 3 PM, Early buyers 8 AM) at the Elks Lodge 275, 29 Overocker Rd, Poughkeepsie, New York. INFO: ART CHURCH, 411 Hillside Lake Rd., Wappingers Falls, NY 12590, PH: (845) 221-4259. AUGUST 19 WESTON, WEST VIRGINIA The West Virginia Museum of American Glass presents W. Va. Bottle & Fruit Jar Collectors Day (Sat. 10 AM - 4 PM; Setup 8:30 AM) at the West Hall, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 2nd St. & Center Ave. (easy access off I-70), Weston, West Virginia. Sales, trading, exhibits of collections. Free set-up! INFO: PH: (304) 269-5006 or E-mail: Mhillbillygirl@aol.com. AUGUST 20 MOOREFIELD, WEST VIRGINIA The Potomac Highlands Antique Bottle
& Glass Collector Club’s Antique Bottle & Glass Show (Sun. 9 AM - 3 PM, $1) at the Moorefield Fire Co., Auxiliary Bldg., Jefferson St. (between the 2 traffic lights on Rt. 220 in Moorefield, Jefferson St. goes to east, look for green bldg on right side along the railroad tracks), Moorefield, West Virginia. Bottles & glass, jars, stoneware, advertising items, go-withs & table top antiques. INFO: RODNEY FUNKHOUSER, 1968 Brants Teets Rd., Baker, WV 26801, PH: (304) 897-6910, E-mail: rfmfg@harvardnet.com. SEPTEMBER 9 TULSA, OKLAHOMA The Tulsa Antiques & Bottle Club’s 30th Annual Antiques, Collectibles, Bottle Show & Sale (Sat. 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM) inside the Tulsa Flea Market, Tulsa Fairgrounds, 21st & Yale, Tulsa, Oklahoma. INFO: RICHARD CARR, 4 Gawf Place, Muskogee, OK 74403, PH: (918) 687-4150 or JERRY CALLISON, P.O. Box 582251, Tulsa, OK 74158, PH: (918) 834-4895. SEPTEMBER 9 ARCADIA, CALIFORNIA The Los Angeles Historical Bottle Club’s Annual Show & Sale (Sat. 9 AM - 4 PM, Early buyers 8 AM) at the Arcadia Masonic Temple, 50 Water Duarte Road, Arcadia, California. INFO: DON WIPPERT, PH: (818) 346-9833 or JOHN SWEARINGEN, PH: (805) 492-5036 or DICK HOMME (818) 362-3368. Website: www.lahbc.org. SEPTEMBER 10 LEWES, DELAWARE The Delmarva Antique Bottle Club’s 14th Annual Show & Sale (Sun. 9 AM - 3 PM, Early buyers 7:30 AM) at the Cape Henlopen High School, Lewes, Delaware. INFO: PETER BEAMAN, 28947 Lewes Georgetown Hwy., Lewes, DE 19958, PH: (302) 684-5055, E-mail: oldngnu@comcast.net. SEPTEMBER 10 PEKIN, ILLINOIS The Pekin Bottle Collectors Assoc.’s 37th Annual Show & Sale (Sun. 8 AM - 3 PM) at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 715 N. 11th. St,. Pekin, Illinois. INFO: JIM SEARLE, 1003 Illinois St., Pekin, IL. 61554, PH: (309) 346-7804 or JIM MORGAN, PH: (309) 649-1946. SEPTEMBER 15-20 HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA The 9th Annual All-Dairy Bottles & Collectibles Show & Sale (Fri. 2 - 7 PM,
Bottles and Extras all other days 8 AM - 5 PM) at the Farm Show Complex, 2300 North Cameron St., Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. INFO: CHARLES A. ITLE, PH: (717) 423-6789 or LOLLY LESHER, PH: (717) 787-2905. SEPTEMBER 9 MERRITT, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA The Insulator Ranch Insulator Show (Sat.Sun.) at the Insulator Ranch, 3045 Spanish Creek Pl. (Exit 286 for MerrittSpences Bridge from the Coquahalla Hwy. #5 heading toward Merritt, turn Left / South on Coldwater Rd., proceed to Spanish Creek Pl., follow the signs), Merritt, B.C. Lots of parking, even for RVs plus a separate set-up area for those with tents. Bring your own table, if possible. If you want to arrive a couple of days early, or stay for awhile after the show, that is fine. Chili & Rolls lunch Sat.; Bacon & Eggs breakfast on Sun. at no charge. International guests from Hungary & France are expected to be able to make this meet. INFO: BOB SCAFE, PH: (250) 378-2787, E-mail: bobscafe@telus.net. SEPTEMBER 16 MUSKEGON , MICHIGAN West Michigan Antique Bottle Club’s 6th Annual Summer Show and Sale (Sat. 9AM-2PM) at Select Auditorium, 1445 E. Laketon (just West of U.S.-31), Muskegon, Michigan. INFO: ELMER OGG, 1591 Hendrick Rd., Muskegon, MI 49441, PH: (231) 798-7335, E-mail: eogg@nortonshores.org or STEVE DEBOODE, 1166 Corvette Dr., Jenison MI 49428, PH: (616) 667-0214, E-mail: thebottleguy@comcast.net. SEPTEMBER 16-17 THERMOPOLIS, WYOMING The Hot Springs Greater Learning Foundation’s Big Horn Basin Bottle Bottle & Jar Show & Swap Meet (Sat. 9 AM - 4 PM; Sun. 10 AM - 3 PM) at the Greater Learning Foundation, Thermopolis, Wyoming. INFO: ED CAPEN, 526 Clark St., Thermopilis, WY 82443; PH: (307) 921-8120, E-mail: mrtrain@bresnan.net. SEPTEMBER 17 KIRTLAND, OHIO The Ohio Bottle Club’s 38th Annual Show & Sale (Sun. 9 AM - 2 PM, Early buyers Sat. 7 - 9 pm) at the Lakeland Community College, South of I-90 on Route 306, Kirtland, Ohio. INFO: ROBERT SMITH, PH: (440) 285-4184, E-mail: rts2ride@adelphia.net or TIM KEARNS, PH: (440) 285-7576, E-mail: tkearns4@aol.com. SEPTEMBER 17 WINCHESTER, VIRGINIA The Apple Valley Bottle Collectors Club, Inc.’s 32rd Annual Show & Sale (Sun. 9 AM - 3 PM, Adm. $3 Donation; Early Adm. 7:30 - 9 AM, Adm. $10, Seniors
Summer 2006 65+ Free) at the Hampton Inn, 1204 Berryville Ave. (I-81 Exit 313), Winchester, Virginia. Over 40 dealers in antique bottles, milks, Coca-Cola, White House vinegar, postcards & table top collectibles. INFO: RICHARD M. VENSKOSKE, 4496 Martinsburg Pike, Clear Brook, VA 22624, PH: (540) 2474429. SEPTEMBER 23 SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH The Utah Antique Bottle & Collectibles Show & Sale (Sat. 9 AM - 1 PM, Early buyers 8 AM) at the Redwood Multipurpose Center, 3100 South Redwood Road, Salt Lake City, Utah. INFO: BOB CAMPBELL, 1123 E. 2100 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84106, PH: (801) 467-8636 or RICK HOLT, E-mail: rckholt@netscapenet. SEPTEMBER 23 JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA Antique Bottle Collectors of North Florida 39th Annual Show & Sale (Sat. 8 AM 3 PM, Early Buyers Fri. 6 PM - 9 PM) at the Fraternal Order of Police Building, 5530 Beach Blvd., Jacksonville, Florida. INFO: WAYNE HARDEN, 3867 Winter Betty Road, Jacksonville, FL 32210, PH: (904) 781-2620, E-mail: abcnf@juno.com. (Show info and app is available to print from www.waynesbottles.com/show.) SEPTEMBER 24 LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS The Merrimack Valley Antique Bottle Club’s 32nd Annual Lowell Antique Bottle & Post Card Show with 100 dealers (Sun. 9 AM - 2 PM, $3; early buyers, 8 AM, $15) at Lowell Elks Club, 40 Old Ferry Road (Exit 32 off US Rte. 3 & follow the signs), Lowell, Massachusetts. INFO: JOHN GALLO, PH: (978) 256-2738 or GARY KOLTOOKIAN, PH: (978) 2569561; Website: www.erols.com/choyt/ mvbc. OCTOBER 1 AUBURN HILLS, MICHIGAN The Huron Valley Bottle & Insulator Club and Metropolitan Detroit Bottle Club’s Annual Show & Sale (Sun. 9 AM - 3 PM) at the Holiday Inn, Auburn Hills, Michigan. INFO: MIKE BRODZIK, PH: (586) 219-9980 or PAT YOUNG, PH: (517) 223-3461, E-mail: ichelek@mac.com. OCTOBER 1 DRYDEN, NEW YORK The Finger Lakes Bottle Collectors Association Annual Fall Show (Sun. 9 AM - 3 PM, Adm. $1, Early Adm. 8 AM, Adm. $5) at the Dryden Fire Hall, Neptune Hose Company, Rt. 13, Dryden, New York. INFO: GEORGE BLAASCH, PH: (607) 589-6436 or ERIK HERZ, E-mail: eh227@cornell.edu.
83 OCTOBER 6 MORRISTOWN, TENNESSEE The Tennessee Valley Traders & Collectors Club and the Morristown Parks & Recreation Department present their 3rd Annual Antiques, Bottles, Glass & Collectibles Show & Sale (Sat. 8 AM - 3 PM; Fri. 12 - 6 PM) at the Morristown Hamblen East HIgh School, South James St. (From I-81, take right onto Exit 8, go approx. 6.5 mi. to Ramp 2 A, Morris Blvd., turn Left, travel west 7 lights, turn left at South James St., 1st brick bldg on right directly from Morristown Hamblen East High School), Morristown, Tennessee. 75 tables of collectibles, antiques, bottles, milk bottles, frut jars, coal mine tokens, old coins, license plates, post cards, arrowheads, JFG items, old toys, political, and more. Buy, sell, trade. Free adm. Free parking. INFO: BILL HENDERSON, PH: (423) 581-8386, E-mail: ShowProBill@charter.net. OCTOBER 7 RICHMOND, VIRGINIA The Richmond Area Bottle Collectors 35th Annual Show & Sale (9 AM to 3 PM, Early Buyers 7:30 AM) at the Showplace Annex, 2003 Mechanicsville Turnpike, Richmond Virginia. INFO: ED FAULKNER E-mail: faulkner@antiquebottles.com, PH. 804739-2951 or MARVIN CROKER 4718 Twila Lane, Richmond, VA 23234, PH: 804-275-1101. OCTOBER 7 HAMBURG, NEW YORK The Greater Buffalo Bottle Collectors Annual Show & Sale (Sat. 9 AM - 3 PM, $3 Adm.) at the Hamburg Fairgrounds Exposition Hall, Hamburg, New York. Free appraisals. For Dealer Contract & INFO: ED POTTER, Ph: (716) 674-8890 or E-mail: ecp103130@worldnet.att.net or PETER JABLONSKI, PH: (716) 4407985 or E-mail: psjablon102@cs.com. OCTOBER 7 POINT PLEASANT, WEST VIRGINIA The West Virginia State Farm Museum Bottle Show (Sat. 9 AM - 3 PM) at the West Virginia Sate Farm Museum (take Rt. 62 North 4 miles of Pt. Pleasant, turn right on Fairgrounds Rd., go 1 mile to Museum on right), Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Held during the Farm Museum’s Fall Festival. INFO: CHARLIE PERRY, 39304 Bradbury Rd., Middleport, OH 45760, PH: (740) 992-5088, E-mail: charles.perry@charter.net. OCTOBER 13-14 PHOENIX, ARIZONA The Phoenix Antiques, Bottles & Collectibles Club’s 2006 Show & Sale (Fri. 1 - 6 PM; Sat. 8 AM - 4 PM, $3; Early Adm. Fri. 10 AM - 1 PM, $10) at the North Phoenix Baptist Church, 5757 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, Arizona. Over
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Summer 2006
10,000 sq. ft. available for set-up. Displays, raffles, dealer appreciation dinner on Fri., professional appraiser on site Sat. and more. INFO: CHARLES or JULIE BLAKE, 4702 W. Lavey Rd., Glendale, AZ 85306, PH: (602) 938-7277, E-mail: dig632@hotmail or jblake523@hotmail, Website: www.phoenixantiquesclub.org. OCTOBER 14 - SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA The Northwestern Bottle Collectors Association 40th Annual Antique Bottle & Collectibles Show & Sale (9 AM - 3 PM) at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds, Finley Hall Building, Santa Rosa, California. INFO: BEV SIRI, PH: (707) 542-6438 or NBCA, PO Box 1121, Santa Rosa, CA 95402. OCTOBER 15 - SCRIBA, NEW YORK The Empire State Bottle Club Association’s 8th Annual Fall Antiques, Bottles & More Show & Sale (Sun. 9 AM - 3 PM, $2 Donation; Set-up, 7 - 9 AM) at the Scriba Fire Hall, US Route 104 East (2 mi. East of Oswego), Scriba, New York. Free appraisals, free parking, food, approx. 50 tables. INFO: BARRY HAYNES, P.O. Box 900, Mexico, NY 13114, PH: (315) 963-3749; or JOHN GOLLEY, E-mail: ByGolley@msn.com. OCTOBER 15 - BEDFORD, PENNSYLVANIA Bedford County Antique Bottle Club’s 29th Annual Show & Sale (Sun. 9 AM - 1 PM, Early buyers 7 AM) at the Bedford County Fairgrounds, 4H Building, Bedford, Pennsylvania. INFO: LEO McKENZIE, PH: (814) 623-8019 or CHARLES HAZLETT, PH: (814) 695-0128. OCTOBER 15 - FINDLAY, OHIO The Findlay Antique Bottle Club’s 30th Annual Show & Sale (Sun. 9 AM - 3 PM) at ‘The Old Barn’, I-75 to Exit 159, West on Rt. 224, Findlay, Ohio. INFO: FRED CURTIS, 1635 Washington Ave., Findlay, OH 45840, PH: (419) 424-0486.
ANTIQUE BOTTLE COLLECTORS OF COLORADO SHOW Antiques
OCTOBER 28 - ALBANY, NEW YORK The Capital District’Antique Bottle & Insulator Club’s 10th Annual Show & Sale (Sat. 9 AM - 2:30 PM) at the St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church, 440 Whitehall Road, Albany, New York. INFO: BOB LATHAM, PH: (518) 463-1053, E-mail: blath@capital.net or FRAN HUGHES, PH: (518) 377-7134, Email: fhughes3@nycap.rr.com. NOVEMBER 5 - MADISON, WISCONSIN Madison Antique Bottle & Advertising Show & Sale (9 AM - 3 PM, Early Buyers 6 AM), at the Rodeway Inn, 4916 E. Broadway, Hwy. 12-18, exit 142-A), Madison, Wisconsin. INFO: BILL MITCHELL, 703 Linwood Ave, Stevens Point, WI 54481. PH: (715) 341-6860 or (727) 319-2875. NOVEMBER 5 - ELKTON, MARYLAND The Tri-State Bottle Collectors and Diggers Club’s 34th Annual Antique Bottle & Collectibles Show & Sale (Sun. 9 AM - 3 PM, Adm. $2) at the Singerly Fire Hall, Routes 279 & 213 (I-95, Exit 109A), Elkton, Maryland. Table top antiques, advertising. INFO: DAVE BROWN, PH: (302) 738-9960. Send your showʼs information to: FOHBC Show Biz Kathy Hopson-Sathe 341 Yellowstone Drive Fletcher, NC 28732 E-mail: kathy@thesodafizz.com or use the online form at: www.fohbc.com The Finger Lakes Bottle Collectors Association Presents their
Glassware
Old Bottles
Bottles and Extras
Collectibles
Paper
Photo Courtesy of Chris Buys: Historic Leadville in Rare Photographs & Drawings
HISTORIC LEADVILLE JULY 22
ANNUAL FALL SHOW SUNDAY OCTOBER 1st, 2006 9 AM - 3 PM $1 Adm. Early Bird 8 AM $5 Adm. at the Dryden Fire Hall Neptune Hose Co., Rte. 13 DRYDEN, NEW YORK
9 AM to 4 PM $2 Adm. Dealer Setup: 6 AM
National Mining Hall of Fame & Museum Convention Center 117 10th Street
INFO: Jim & Barbara Sundquist (303) 674-4658 E-mail: barbsund@msn.com
INFO: George Blaasch (607) 589-6436 or Erik Herz E-mail: eh227@cornell.edu
Bottles andExtras
FOHBC c/o Ralph Van Brocklin 1021 W. Oakland Avenue, Suite #109 Johnson City, TN 37604
Pottery Inks PERIIODICALS
POSTAGE PAID
Johnson City, Tenn.