Coming next issue or down the road: The Saltsburg Glass Works•ACL #15 Cowgirls•Privy Digger’s Dream•What Do You Collect?•Another Adventure of the Bottle Thief: Dead Chickens & Barking Dog•A Clinton Physician Dr. Carl Gruber•M. A. Rue of Cranbury, New Jersey•Early Pittsburgh Glasshouses•Keystone Coffee Jar•Soda City’s Only Two Earliest Colored Sodas: H. Deming & Co. and C.C. Habenicht•Probst & Hilbs German Bitters Little Rock, Ark.•Pressed Stoneware Bottles•Whites Prairie Flower•Caswell Hazard Druggists•Smith & Jones–Brazil, Indiana Bottlers•An Unusual American Liberian Dual Embossed Jar•Peter Bisso Soda Water Manufacturer, Corsicana, Texas•Steamboat Arabia Museum•From Ashes to Ashes, A Tragic Bitters Story•Rick Carney & Maine Antique Glass and so much more!
So you don’t miss an issue of Antique Bottle & Glass Collector, please check your labels for expiration information.
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To Submit a Story, send a Letter to the Editor or have Comments and Concerns, contact:
Elizabeth Meyer
FOHBC Business Manager
P.O. Box 1825
Brookshire, Texas 77423-1825
phone: 713.504.0628
email: fohbcmembers@gmail.com
Fair use notice: Some material in Antique Bottle & Glass Collector has been submitted for publication in this magazine and/or was originally published by the authors and is copyrighted. We, as a non-profit organization, offer it here as an educational tool to increase further understanding and discussion of bottle collecting and related history. We believe this constitutes “fair use” of the copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this material for purposes of your own that go beyond “fair use,” you must obtain permission from the copyright owner(s).
Postmaster: Send address changes to Elizabeth Meyer, FOHBC Business Manager, P.O. Box 1825, Brookshire, Texas 77423-1825; 713.504.0628, email: fohbcmembers@gmail.com
Annual subscription rate is: $40 for Standard Mail or $55 for First Class, $85 to Canada, $120 other countries, $25 Digital Membership [in U.S. funds]. Life Membership: Level 1: $1,000, Level 2: $500. The Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors, Inc. (FOHBC) assumes no responsibility for products and services advertised in this publication. See page 72 for details.
The Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors is a non-profit organization for collectors of historical bottles, glass 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 2024–2026
President: Michael Seeliger, N8211 Smith Road, Brooklyn, Wisconsin 53521, phone: 608.575.2922, email: mwseeliger@gmail.com
Vice-President: Position Open
Secretary: Alice Seeliger, N8211 Smith Road, Brooklyn, Wisconsin 53521, phone: 608.575.1128, email: AliceSecretaryFOHBC@gmail.com
Special Projects Director: Ferdinand Meyer V, P.O. Box 1825, Brookshire, Texas 77423, phone: 713.222.7979 x115, email: fmeyer@fmgdesign.com
Director-at-Large: Stephen R. Jackson, P.O. Box 3137, Suffolk, Virginia 23439, phone: 757.675.5642, email: sjackson@srjacksonlaw.com
Director-at-Large: John O’Neill, 1805 Ralston Avenue, Belmont, California 94002, phone: 650.619.8209, email: Joneill@risk-strategies.com
Director-at-Large: Richard Siri, PO Box 3818, Santa Rosa, California 95402, phone: 707.542.6438, email: rtsiri@sbcglobal.net
Northeast Region Director: Charles Martin Jr., 5 John Hall Cartway, Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts 02675, phone: 781.248.8620, email: cemartinjr@comcast.net
Midwest Region Director: Henry Hecker, W298 S10655 Phantom Woods Road, Mukwonago, Wisconsin 53149, phone: 262.844.5751, email: phantomhah@gmail.com
Southern Region Director: Tom Lines, 1647 Olivia Way, Auburn, Alabama 36830, phone: 205.410.2191, email: Bluecrab1949@hotmail.com
Western Region Director: Eric McGuire, 1732 Inverness Drive, Petaluma, California 94954, phone: 707.481.9145, email: etmcguire@comcast.net
President Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors
N8211 Smith Road, Brooklyn, Wisconsin 53521
608.575.2922
mwseeliger@gmail.com
I hope you enjoyed reading the November-December issue of Antique Bottle & Glass Collector, even after seeing me on the front cover! Reading the after-Expo comments, Andy Rapoza’s recap, and Ferd’s pictorial, it felt like I was right back at the big event. I am glad so many of you joined your fellow bottle enthusiasts in Houston. Those of you who did not attend can get a good flavor of the event just reading about it and seeing all the photos—in the magazine and on the website— and no doubt you have heard from others who attended how great it was.
If you would like a memento from the event, we have some fantastic H24 shirts (see ad after show listings at the back of this issue), FOHBC denim shirts and other memorabilia, let Elizabeth know. And if you have not yet purchased the two exhibition books: American Antique Glass Masterpieces, and the Wilber and Gugliotti Barber Bottle Collections, they are specially priced for FOHBC members and make great gifts.
Our next national event, Reno 25, is just around the corner and there are many things planned to make it worth setting up your plans to attend. Just getting together with old and new friends to talk bottles and glass is a real pleasure and well worth the trip. But, of course, there will be many bottles to see and events to attend. The venue, The Silver Legacy Resort, is an upscale casino with great meeting and convention accommodations. Please make your reservations now to ensure we meet the minimum nights requirement. Info on FOHBC.org.
We are still looking for a host, preferably in the East, for a 2026 convention. This is a region that has had some fantastic conventions in the past and some of my most enjoyable. We would really like to get the Federation event back in that part of the country, so if you have any leads on a potential host, rattle their cage and let us know.
Post H24 has included instituting changes that have been in the works for quite some time. We are operating under an updated set of Bylaws approved by the membership at H24 which includes a revised Board of Directors with duties much more clearly delineated. (See Bylaws and Organizational Chart on FOHBC.org). We have increased the compensation for the Editor of AB&GC and set up compensation for the webmaster and social media positions (Peachridge Collections/Ferdinand Meyer V). We are getting the Auction Price Report updated including some preliminary photo entries. This was one of the most-requested items from Federation members and we put it high up on the “to-do” list. Very exciting for 2025 will be a new website to include automatic renewals, easier merchandise sales, advertising widgets, links to seminars and conventions, archived magazines, and, of course, the Virtual Museum, on an overall cleaner, more efficient platform.
Our Awards Banquet in Houston was a remarkable success. It was a pleasure to honor the creativity of members and associates in seven distinct categories. We are changing the entry process so nominations can be submitted by anyone as well as maintaining the self-nomination component. Many very worthy entries were missed because the creators felt uncomfortable nominating themselves (or did not know that process). (I often wondered why my many articles never received any recognition…only to find out I should have been submitting them for consideration myself.) Now, members, the Awards Committee, and the Board of Directors have been asked to nominate articles, show posters, websites, and social media sites throughout the year (June 2024 to June 1, 2025) to be considered before the June 1 deadline. So anytime you come across something you think should be considered, let the Awards Committee know so that we can consider it for the Reno 25 awards contest. (See Awards Contest promotion on page 31 of this issue for details.)
The 2027 Convention, hosted by the Tennessee Area Bottle Collectors/Nashville club, at a great big exhibition space in Lebanon, Tennessee, is on the tracks and gaining steam. The folks down there are so excited to be hosting a national convention. They have so many ideas including having a major liquor distiller as a sponsor. We have foregone the Sunday component of the show and sale, but events will still start on Wednesday and include all Federation activities such as the membership meeting and awards banquet. We will have an event on Saturday evening so you will be ready on Sunday for the world’s longest garage sale that continues through the week, covering hundreds of miles. Event information and contacts will be available on FOHBC.org soon.
January 2025 brings us to Seminar #18. If you have been able to join us for the seminars series showcasing members’ collections, you probably realize that I am making good on my first “big idea” that got me involved on the Board—archiving some of the great collectors and their collections. Please help me by encouraging others to participate in a future presentation, live if possible. If you know of a collector and collection that deserves to be remembered, let me know and we will do the rest. Each presentation is archived on our website and available at any time. Check them out, I think you will find them very enjoyable.
A late development is that Brian Bingham, our Membership Director, has had to resign his position. So, we are looking for someone to fill this position on the Board of Directors. Please let me know if you are at all interested and I can explain what this would entail. We would love to have you on board. It’s a really exciting time for the Federation and I am pleased to continue leading this great organization. Alice and I especially want to thank the Board for the recognition they gave us during the Awards Banquet at Houston 24.
Shards of Wisdom
“Heard
it Through the Grapevine”
A great article from the past
Bill Baab submits the following: “Why I Collect Empty Bottles” by Edwin LeFevre from the October 19, 1929 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. Edwin LeFevre is listed on the FOHBC Honor Roll. Read the entire article on FOHBC.org, Editors’ Picks.
A Short Story About Long Island
Woof! Ralph Finch (finally) chases a good time. One of my favorite stories happened...45(?) years ago. It started as a bad day on bad Long Island, New York, our first visit. The people we met were terrible, RUDE, and reinforced the image many meek, mild-mannered Midwesterners have of Long Islanders. We were planning to attend a Long Island bottle show, at the encouragement of the impressive Jean Harrison who, at the time, was one of the Federation’s No. 1 promoters.
When I stopped at a motel I walked into the office and suddenly was met by what I call two huge, howling, screaming, vicious German Shepards! For a moment, I thought they were coming over the counter—and for a moment, had I carried a pistol, I would have drawn it. I also knew that this was an incident I would never forget (assuming I survived it). So I got a room, not happy about it at all, and even when I got into it I was thinking about turning around to seek sanctuary in the peaceful land of the Midwest—“where all the women are strong, all the *men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.” (*Some are short and pudgy.)
But, in a moment, everything changed when the phone rang... no, it wasn’t the governor. I answered, and it was a stranger who
had heard we were somewhere on Long Island. It was John Feldmann, a man I didn’t know, but who had gotten a call from Jean. It turned out that John had phoned local motels until he tracked me down. He invited us to his home for a tour of his great glass, a shared dinner, and a big serving of bottle collecting hospitality.
The next day? Fun at the bottle show, meeting other old and new collectors. Did I mention that I love Long Island...and bottle collecting hospitality? (But I’m still not big on meeting the Hound(s) of the Baskervilles.)
[Editor Note] This communication from Ralph came in after he received the “The John Feldmann Collection” FOHBC Webinar #17 invite. FOHBC president, Michael Seeliger, presented photos from the past collection of John Feldmann with special commentary by Jeff Burkhardt, Ferdinand Meyer V and Bill Taylor. If you missed the webinar you can see it at FOHBC.org. Webinars occur on Tuesday evenings during the first or second week of each month at 7:00 pm Central. RSVP at FOHBCseminars@gmail.com
Glass gladiator cup
Alice Seeliger submits this Roman glass souvenir cup bearing the images and names of gladiators popular in Rome at the time, ca. 50–80 CE. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 168. Described as translucent greenish yellow, everted, unworked, knocked-off rim; slightly irregular and oval-shaped body with vertical sides; convex undercurve with low base ring; flat but uneven bottom. A continuous mold seam runs from rim, down sides (concealed by palm fronds), and across bottom. On body, two friezes run around the sides; the upper and narrower frieze contains four names, widely spaced; the lower frieze, flanked
Shards of Wisdom
“Heard
it Through the Grapevine”
above and below by a horizontal ridge, is broader and comprises two scenes divided by vertical palm fronds, each containing two pairs of gladiators in varying stances with four names inserted between them at the top of the scenes. The scene around the cup depicts four pairs of gladiators fighting. Each man is identified by name in the Latin inscription above him. Some of the names match those of known gladiators who became famous in games held in Rome during the Julio-Claudian period, suggesting that such cups may have been made as souvenirs.
24 December 1838 in Texas
On this day in 1838, the pioneer community of Zavala was incorporated. Zavala, also known as Muster Point, was twelve miles northwest of Jasper and eighty-five miles north of Beaumont in northwestern Jasper County. The town was founded in 1834 and named for the empresario Lorenzo de Zavala, the original grantee of the land that was to become Jasper County. The town of Zavala, situated on land owned by Thomas B. Huling, was probably laid out by George Washington Smyth, a prominent Jasper County surveyor. Zavala was on the Old Beef Trail but was dependent on the Angelina River for trade.
The town became a depot for surplus agricultural crops and imports. It also served as the seat of government for Bevil’s Settlement and home of some thirty to forty families. A courthouse was built in 1838. A disastrous fire swept the town during the 1840s, and the courthouse, homes, and almost all records were destroyed. Huling sold most of his interest in the town, plus almost 5,000 acres of Jasper County land, to Jerich Durkee of London, England, in 1847. In return, Huling received $1,000 in cash and 5,000 tin boxes of Green Mountain Vegetable Ointment. The little community declined rapidly thereafter. A marker erected in 1936 at Hamilton’s Cemetery commemorates the abandoned settlement. Submitted by Kim Kokles
Vintage Cookie Jars worth a fortune
Cookie jars have been kitchen staples for decades. Most of us grew up with one—the kitschier the better—and have fond memories of what could be found inside. While these family favorites don’t necessarily blend in with today’s modern kitchens, for retro kitchenware collectors they are more desirable than ever. In a December 2, 2024 article written by Erin Kuschner for AOL, Kuschner identifies “11 Vintage Cookie Jars Worth a Fortune.” Are any of these in your pantry? Pictured is a RRP Co. The Cow Jumped Over the Moon Cookie Jar. This adorable cookie jar is a 1950s collectible from RRP Co., a Roseville, Ohio pottery company. Featuring a smiling moon, a cat and a fiddle, a dish and a spoon, and a lid that depicts a cow jumping over the moon, this cookie jar is a true ceramic representation of the “Hey Diddle Diddle” nursery rhyme. The collectible can fetch upwards of $300.
FOHBC News
From & For Our Members
Cobalt Drake’s Plantation Bitters
I noticed something unusual after setting my Drake’s on a table facing the morning sun. It appears that the bottom and corners of the base are colorless, yet when held at normal eye level, there seems to be color, almost like the ruby red flashing used to mimic more costly red batch glass often used for cheap souvenirs at world fairs back in the day. If the Drakes hadn’t been sitting at a certain angle, it’s doubtful I would have noticed. I used a modern fantasy “Perrine’s (apple) Ginger” cobalt bottle for comparison and an old 1870s cobalt square with the same result. I then reflected on the presentation by Treg Silkwood and how the Drakes were created, and I remembered his description of a new method they came up with for coloring the glass, which was brilliant. Anyhow, I would like to know if I have an oddity or if all the others show the same anomaly. It’s rather cool, like a hidden signature, if you will.
Jack Klotz Louisiana, Missouri
Bitters Bottles Supplements 1 and 2
Ferd & Elizabeth, Thank you! Santa Claus brought me the Bitters Bottles Supplements 1 and 2. They are fabulous!! I know this was a passion of yours and is quite evident. The color plates are spectacular and I suspect many, if not all of the bottles are yours. Thank you for your contributions to this hobby! I daily look at my cobalt Drakes and must say it is one of my favorites despite being a new bottle. If the original Carlyn Ring was updated with all of the materials noted in Supplements 1 and 2, I would be interested in adding it to my collection. LMK. Merry Christmas! I hope that 2025 brings you joy and good health!
Bernie Bach Keswick, Virginia
Jimmy Carter was a collector of antique bottles
Dear glass collector. On the occasion of President Jimmy Carter’s death at the age of 100, I wanted to take a moment to tell you about a lesser-known aspect of this person. Ever since his youth, he had been an avid collector of historic 19th century utility bottles, which made him a pioneer in collecting antique utility bottles in the United States and far beyond. On this, see an article published in the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors (FOHBC) magazine Bottles and Extras, March-April 2008, pp. 20-22. [Editor: Cover pictured below. You can also read on the FOHBC.org website Editors’ Picks and in the archived magazines and articles in the members portal.] Bottles were also made in the United States to commemorate Jimmy Carter as president. As you can see, any bottle collector can become President. With kind New Year’s greetings.
Willy Van den Bossche Schoten, Belgium Jimmy Carter and his bottle collection.
President Jimmy Carter 8” bottle.
Wheaton First Edition
“Perrine’s (apple motif) Ginger” base detail.
“Drake’s Plantation Bitters” base detail.
Commemorative soda bottles.
FOHBC News
From & For Our Members
Commemorative Drake’s Christmas
Ferdinand, Merry Christmas. This is our son Danny, pictured at the FOHBC 2016 National Antique Bottle Show in Sacramento and another in 2024 where he added the blue Drakes to his collection. One of his gifts, he loves it. I wish I took a picture of him opening it as he was smiling from ear to ear. Then we watched the video of how it was made. He is very proud to own one.
Sheryl Anderson
Castle Rock, Colorado
Barber Bottles
Hello, I am a barber bottle collector from Pennsylvania and am interested in the book that I saw you post about on Facebook! I am always looking to purchase barber bottles if you know anyone that may be selling. I have attached some photos of my collection to give you an idea of the bottles I am into! Thanks so much. [Editor note: See both pictures in Member Photos this issue]
Trevor Reed Pennsylvania
Big Jim & Me
Jim Burns, a native of Warsaw, New York, and a Greater Buffalo Bottle Club member, has been persistent and adamant about digging a privy with me. Well, the opportunity finally arrived. I met Jim the day after Thanksgiving, aka Black Friday, in Waterloo— halfway between his residence in Oneida and mine in Akron, New York. We were meeting at an 1840 Antebellum brick house. Jim hadn’t even entered the backyard, and I had already probed the privy. “There’s no way you already found it,” Jim said in disbelief. “See for yourself doubting Thomas,” I rebuked. “You’re right—it sure feels like a privy,” Jim remarked. I then stuck the probe in and showed him the black ash on the tip. It’s not rocket
science, gang; there was standing water at the top in a low spot. I got out the garbage cans and asked Jim to start bucketing the water while I got out all the digging tools. We laid out two tarps, one for sod and one for the dirt. Once I cut out the sod, we began digging. It was a mix of ash, clay and water.
The first bottle out was a slick (no embossing ) squat soda, followed by another and yet another. Ugh. Next was a gorgeous crude blob beer from Buffalo, “George Roos Excelsior Lager” embossed on both sides. Wow! Roos was in business from 1874 to 1887, and then the concern became Iroquois Brewery. Jim hopped in and pulled out a Philadelphia squat soda. Jim, a retired corrections officer, is a muscular, big guy you wouldn’t pick a fight with. As I dug, Jim talked about his wrestling career, winning sectional titles. He had been recruited by several colleges and wrestled for Alfred State. He went on to compete in the Pan American Games competing in El Salvador and Germany.
As I dug, I had to stop and bucket water, which Jim dumped into the garbage cans. You want to save the water because it takes up space, and if you dump it in the yard, you will end up dirt shy when you go to fill it. When the water level was lowered, out came a “Spencer” fruit jar from Rochester, New York—followed by a “Coe’s Dyspepsia Cure.” Jim shouted, “Look out, Pete!” as one wall started to slide in. We had dug the whole square but were fighting a losing battle due to the moisture content and soil conditions. The mix of ash, clay and water created quicksand. Both of my feet were buried, and I had to dig them out. Even though I had just dug out a broken Drake’s Plantation Bitters, we had to cease operations and fill in the hole. No bottle is worth an injury. No sooner had I gotten out of the hole when one of the garbage cans fell in. We will revisit this yard when it’s drier and try to find the elusive pontiled pit.
Peter Jablonski Akron, New York
Peter Jablonski
“The Hole”
Jim Burns
FOHBC Regional News
Please visit FOHBC.org for expanded coverage.
Northeast Region [Charlie Martin, Jr., Director]
First, let me wish you and your family a Happy New Year! I trust that 2025 will be the year you add that long-soughtafter bottle to your growing bottle collection. We all have a “nemesis bottle” that got away or “you just missed it, I sold it five minutes ago…sorry.” Well, make up your mind that this is the year you will prevail. In order to increase your chances of success, you will need to make a plan to visit as many bottle shows as you can. Please keep me updated on your success. I would love to hear your story of how you finally acquired the bottle of your dreams.
It has finally happened!! Not writer’s block, but the absence of copy to write about. I’ve been telling the story of the Northeast region bottle shows, going on for two years, and for the first time, I have no reports submitted to me to inform you about. Suffice it to say, I am wordless! Yet, I feel compelled to fill my allotted space every two months with information about local bottle club activity. So, failing bottle show talk, let me take this opportunity to tell you about some of the digital newsletters that I have received from bottle clubs in our region over the past year.
I want to mention two newsletters, both of which come from bottle clubs in New York. First, the Greater Buffalo Bottle Collectors Association’s newsletter is named the Traveler’s Companion. The second newsletter is entitled Applied Seals. It is the newsletter of The Genesee Valley Bottle Collectors Association, Inc. I am fortunate enough to receive their digital newsletters. One thing I notice about both publications is their balance of articles. For example, there are interviews with club speakers, show and tell (or, as a kid, we used to call it “bring and brag”). They publish bottle show information, feature articles about collections their club members have acquired, provide the minutes of the previous club meeting, and many more interesting tidbits of information related to bottle collecting. Every issue of both newsletters is chock full of a plethora of information for their club membership. Even if you cannot attend a club meeting, you are able to stay current and connected with your club activity via these newsletters. Kudos to both newsletter editors, Craig Means, Traveler’s Companion, and Jim Bartholomew, Applied Seals. They do an excellent job connecting their membership physically and digitally throughout the year. It is no wonder they have received so much notoriety for their efforts. I trust and hope that your bottle club uses its newsletter further to strengthen the bonds of its membership within the club. Until next time, happy bottle hunting!
Midwest Region [Henry Hecker, Director]
The Milwaukee Antique Bottle and Advertising Club is making final preparations for the annual show on Sunday, February 2, 2025, at the Waukesha Expo Center. This show typically features about 125 tables, and attendance approaches about 400 attendees.
This time of year, the temperatures in the Midwest make it just about impossible to dig, except maybe during a prolonged warm spell. However, Peter Maas and I have found a way to beat the weather in our continued research of the many potters who served Wisconsin households in the 19th century. We are currently working on a site occupied by two German immigrant potters from 1859 to 1866. Unlike our outdoor dig of the Pointon pottery in Baraboo, Wisconsin, chronicled in our article in this magazine in 2022, this site is inside and out of the elements. Inside, as in an exposed cavity under a house with access via a sixteen-foot crawl space. (Yes, we have owner permission!) We are finding some amazing “crier” pottery sherds that will greatly expand our knowledge of the pottery. I guess we can add spelunking to our resumes. Stay tuned; our discoveries will make for a very interesting future article.
Southern Region [Tom Lines, Director]
Our Collector Profile this issue focuses on Louisiana’s Jim Corvin. At 86 years young, Jim is one of the most energetic bottle collectors and diggers I’ve had the pleasure of knowing in my nearly 50 years in this wonderful hobby we share. And he’s been at it for over a decade longer than me. Jim is a long-time Baton Rouge, Louisiana resident and is a fixture on the Southern bottle scene, setting up shows for over 50 years. I spent a very pleasurable hour and a half talking with Jim and hearing his digging stories one after another.
Pottery shards dug by Henry Hecker and Peter Maas.
The bottle bug first hit him after he left the Navy in 1961. Thank you for your service, my friend! Jim’s brother got him interested in looking around an old building lot that had been demolished in New Orleans. They found multiple pieces of broken glass, which Jim said was neat. Later, his brother and another friend were searching the banks of the Mississippi River and ran into a gentleman cleaning out a building. Seeing some bottles in a trash pile caught their attention, and they ended up getting the bottles. Apparently, there were a number of “Brown’s Iron Bitters” included, so his brother gave one to Jim. That started his life-long quest for bottles.
Jim hooked up with Sidney Genius, also from Baton Rouge, early on and became digging partners. Together, they made their first trip down to New Orleans in the mid-1960s to a bottle club meeting. After meeting some members and talking, they got a feel for the area. Jim said back then, if you found an empty lot, you just went out, probed, and started digging—no special permissions required! Unheard of nowadays!! Jim and Sidney dug together for four to five years. Around this time, Shank Gonzales also joined in with him. When the New Orleans Superdome was announced, a large area in the city was opened up for digging. Jim said they dug pits and privies there for nearly three years.
As Jim met other diggers, he began traveling to distant locations, including Philadelphia, Baltimore, Brooklyn, Covington (Kentucky), and along coastal North and South Carolina. Some of his digging buddies included Mike Kolb and Terry Gillis. He remembered the I-95 dig through Philly as amazing, saying that very little probing was necessary because the black circle pits just stood out on the ground. He recalled one of the most productive “travel digs” was in Baltimore, where they dug over 170 bottles in one large brick-lined pit!
Although the travel digs were fun and usually quite worthwhile, New Orleans was always his digging home. One of his more notable finds included the elusive black glass pontiled “M. A. Micklejohn, N.O - Washington. - Purifier” in mint condition. Another gem was a “pink” Dr. Townsend’s…yes, PINK! I had the privilege of examining this one personally, and WOW, what a color! Jim also mused about the number of “Udolfo Wolfe’s Aromatic Schnapps” they dug in NOLA, saying, “We dug so many, we just got tired of digging them!”
So what does Jim collect? He said he amassed three different collections of NOLA pontiled sodas over the years…selling a whole collection and then starting over again. He loves black glass and has a few pontiled medicines as well. He also loves painted marbles, and he still adds to their number as he continues to dig. Yes, that’s right! At 86, he still digs every chance he gets.
As we wound down our call, Jim reflected on his many years in the hobby and the hundreds of people he’s met, saying, “I’ve never met anyone I didn’t like or had anyone do me wrong. Bottle collectors are just a good bunch of people.” Jim’s an inspiration to us all. I bet if you ever met him, you would agree! He’s always at the Daphne, Alabama show, Jackson and Biloxi, Mississippi shows, plus a scattering of other regional shows.
Please let me know if you have any Southern news to pass along to our readers. Happy New Year, y’all! May the bottle gods fulfill your every wish in 2025!
Western
Region [Eric McGuire, Director]
The Western Region is again honored with hosting another national event in Reno, Nevada, this year. Our team is already hard at work in making this a memorable event and I am confident in stating it shouldn’t be missed. The heart of our conventions is the show/sale event, which promises to be a highlight this year. As I write these few lines, we are already working to present you with the best bottle show/sale event of the year.
I want to remind you of some of the benefits associated with the FOHBC. The articles in the Antique Bottle & Glass Collector, and its predecessor editions, are the single most comprehensive collection of information on bottles in existence that can be accessed. This is a huge resource that is available to our members.
Our Auction Price Report is also the largest accessible database covering past bottle auctions, to be found anywhere. And we are constantly adding new information as time permits. Of course, our “flagship of knowledge” is our unique and ever-growing Virtual Museum, which far outstrips any knowledge base about bottles anywhere in the world!
Please excuse me for going beyond what might be expected of the usual Region Report. However, I am a strong believer in the FOHBC mission and what we have to offer. You will find even more information on these subjects throughout our journals. And there is even more to come.
Speaking of how the FOHBC can give to its members, I am reaching out to all and requesting comments about how we can best serve you. Going forward, it is important to know if there are opportunities we are missing. Please don’t be shy about commenting. You can respond with your comments and suggestions by emailing any of our board members listed in this issue, including mine, etmcguire@comcast.net.
Henry Hecker (left) and FOHBC president, Michael Seeliger, at the Houston 2024 Dinosaurs Banquet.
Virtual Museum News
By Richard T. Siri, Santa Rosa, California
Announcing the FOHBC Virtual Museum “25 from 25 in 25” ($25 monthly from 25 members in 2025) Fundraising Campaign
$25 from 25 in 25
An important notice to FOHBC members.
Please don’t skip this note, as we are starting 2025 and we need your help. Think how often you’ve visited the Virtual Museum and how valuable this Museum is to the future of our hobby. We are asking if you will donate at any level immediately to help us get out of the cash bind we’re presently in. We rely solely on donations and have never taken any FOHBC bank account or membership money. We’re looking for grassroots donations, and we have a special campaign called “25 from 25 in 25” ($25 monthly from 25 members in 2025). We also have a donor who has put up $5,000 if we can find a matching $5,000 donation—so please help us continue moving forward with the greatest project in the hobby world!
For gift information: Alan DeMaison, FOHBC Virtual Museum Treasurer, 1605 Clipper Cove, Painesville, Ohio 44077, a.demaison@sbcglobal.net
The FOHBC Virtual Museum was established to display, inform, educate, and enhance the enjoyment of historical bottle and glass collecting by providing an online virtual museum experience for significant historical bottles and other items related to early glass.
Please help us fill our PHASE 4 “Wishart’s Pine Tree Tar Cordial” bottle.
Phase 4
Please help us with our Phase 4 fundraising capital campaign to continue development of the FOHBC Virtual Museum. The FOHBC and the Virtual Museum team thank our many donors who have helped us raise over $115,123 to date. We have $3,148 in available funds to continue development to build our galleries, exhibition hall, research library and gift shop. Donations are tax deductible. All donors are listed on our Virtual Museum Recognition Wall With one salaried website technician averaging $1,200 a month, we need help. We are continually traveling to collections, so more costs are incurred. All other time is donated by the Virtual Museum team out of our love and passion for the hobby and the FOHBC. Thank you!
Donations to the Museum are always needed to ensure we continue. We are a 501(c)(3) educational organization, so your donation is tax deductible. Please confirm with your tax attorney.
CORNER #14
[Mike Dickman]
[Right] Assorted licorice candies on black seamless background stock illustration.
[Below]
Papaya plant, from Koehler’s Medicinal Plants (1887). Papayas proved to be too strange of a flavor for the tastes of rural West Virginians in 1940, and Poya soda was a bust.
In an article about collecting antique bottles, Time-Life books characterized them as “containers that outlive their contents.” Most collectors are more interested in the glass containers than whatever was inside them. But the contents can be interesting too—for example, I’m intrigued by the fact that the liquid inside the common Hostetter’s Stomach Bitters bottles was 88 proof, which probably explains its popularity! Some applied color label (ACL) soda bottle contents were unusual or downright odd. Let’s look at a few of these containers and their contents.
Poya was a drink made in 1939 by the Kramer Bottling Works of Elkins, West Virginia, a city in the Allegheny Mountains with a population of just 8,133 people in the 1940 U.S. Census
(shrunk down to 6,950 in 2020). The soft drink was “made from ingredients from the papaya melon” and was touted as “a dry beverage,” meaning it wasn’t sweet. The bottle’s back label asserted that Poya was “an exhilarating, sparkling beverage” and was “good for old and young alike!” Papayas are native to the rain forests of southern Mexico and Central America, where the fruit was used as a medicine for digestive and abdominal disorders. Papayas must have seemed exotic to the coal miners and lumberjacks living in mid-century West Virginia. Apparently, the flavor was too exotic since less than half a dozen of the bottles are known today. The lack of sweetness probably didn’t help sales. Poya’s colorful applied label depicts a silhouette of two palm trees, a setting sun, and a parrot saying, “It’s Good Foya!” [Fig. 1].
Neeco Coffee Soda was a soft drink that sounded tastier than papaya soda, to me, at least. Bottled by the Atlantic Extract Company of Boston, Massachusetts in 1940, it contained six
[Fig. 1] Poya “It’s Good Foya!” and “A Dry Beverage” Elkins, West Virginia, 1940 [Below] Poya crown cap, 1939, a bottle closure patented by William Painter in 1891 and still in use today.
F l a v O r s
[Fig. 2]
Neeco Coffee Soda, Boston, Massachusetts, 1940
[Fig. 3]
Lic-Rich, “The Licorice Drink” Columbus, Ohio, 1948. Photo courtesy of Chris Weide
[Left]
Neeco crown cap. In procuring a custom-made crown cap, the Atlantic Extract Company must have had high hopes for their product but Neeco was another commercial failure.
ounces and was made with “freshly roasted coffee” and carbonated water, cane sugar, and “other natural flavors.” It was touted as “Delicious 3 Ways, With Cream, Ice Cream, or Plain” [Fig. 2]. While it’s strange to think of pouring chilled soda pop into a glass and then adding cream, that’s the way many of us drink our brewed hot coffee. Neeco bottles are rare today, although more easily found than Poya.
Both Poya and Neeco were put up in bottles made of amber glass, which was uncommon for ACL soda bottles. FOHBC member Chris Weide has analyzed the thousands of ACLs in his vast collection and has found that only 2% of the bottles were made with amber glass. Historically, amber and other dark-colored glass were believed to protect a bottle’s contents from the destructive effects of sunlight, but I have no idea whether that’s accurate from a physics point of view.
Does licorice soda sound good to you? Generally, folks either love or hate licorice, and there must have been more haters than fans in Columbus, Ohio, in 1948, when the Lic-Rich Company bottled its Lic-Rich, “The Licorice Drink” made from “licorice root extraction” and carbonated water, sugar, essential oils and citric acid. The soda was also bottled in Cleveland, but the brand lasted only a short time, and the bottles are rare today [Fig. 3]. Licorice is a sweet, aromatic extract made from the roots of a plant native to western Asia and the Mediterranean and has been used for thousands of years as a medicine, a candy, and a flavoring for foods and beverages. But in mid-century Ohio, at least, licorice-flavored soda was a commercial bust.
[Right]
Celery growing in California. Possibly the source of the vegetables used in Lake’s Celery.
[Fig. 4]
Genuine Lake’s Celery, “A Great Drink” Jackson, Mississippi, 1937. Photo courtesy of Chris Weide
[Above Left] Author Eudora Welty receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980. Ms. Welty was a fan of Lake’s Celery. She wrote that after buying a bottle of Lake’s from her local grocer, “You drank on the premises, with feet set wide apart to miss the drip, and gave him back his bottle.”
If you’re not fond of licorice, what about celery? Unlike LicRich, Lake’s Celery was a staple of Jackson, Mississippi, for many years, from 1887 until the early 1960s. The soda was created and manufactured by W. W. Lake, an Englishman who emigrated to America and settled in Jackson, starting the Jackson Bottling Works. Lake’s early bottles were blob tops, followed by embossed crown tops blown in bright green glass. In 1937, Lake switched to ACL bottles with blue-and-white labels proclaiming Lake’s Celery was “Genuine” and “A Great Drink.” Lake never listed his ingredients, but the back of his bottles stated, “Made From the Same Formula for Fifty Years” [Fig. 4]. Eudora Welty (1909-2001), a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi, wrote about the soda in her short story set in 1919 and entitled The Little Store. She wrote about a local grocery store that had a “cold-drinks barrel” filled with bottles of different kinds of sodas in “ice water that looked black as ink.” Ms. Welty wrote that the proprietor “plunged his bare arm into the elbow and fished out your choice, first try.” In her words, “I favored a locally bottled concoction called Lake’s Celery. What else could it be called? It was made by a Mr. Lake out of celery. It was a popular drink here for years but was not known universally, as I found out when I arrived in New York and ordered one in the Astor bar.” Although nobody seems to know how Lake came up with the idea of celery soda, it was later copied by Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray Soda, which, surprisingly, is still made today and apparently is still popular in New York’s Jewish delicatessens (but sold in aluminum cans rather than glass bottles). They say that Dr. Brown’s is the perfect drink to accompany a hot pastrami sandwich on rye bread.
An unusual bottle opener (“Pat Apl’d For”) advertising Lake’s Celery
listed on the back label say “flavor or artificial flavor,” so that’s unhelpful when figuring out the actual flavor, and nothing I’ve read tells us one way or the other. A potato soft drink seems odd, but who knows? After all, Idaho is called “The Potato Capital of the World,” and potatoes are its official state vegetable. And vodka, which is made from potatoes, is very popular!
Ginger Mint was bottled by the Ginger Mint Julep Company of Baltimore, Maryland, in 1946, containing seven ounces of liquid in a green glass bottle with a red and white ACL depicting a glass of sparkling soda with two straws and a swig of mint [Fig. 5]. The back label described “a pleasant drink made of a blend of Ginger and Mint” plus sugar, fruit acid and carbonated water. It doesn’t sound like a bad combination, but the bottles are very rare today, so the brand was obviously not successful.
I’ve been unable to determine whether Idaho, with an ACL showing a large brown potato that was “Tastiest of Them All,” was a potato-flavored soda. The 10-ounce bottle was made in 1948 by the Canyon Bottling Company of Caldwell, Idaho, owned by three Kallusky Brothers. One brother ran the bottling plant, another handled sales and distribution, and a third was a dentist who supplied the investment capital for the company, which went out of business in 1955 [Fig. 6]. The ingredients
[Fig. 5]
Ginger Mint, Baltimore, Maryland, 1946. Photo courtesy of Chris Weide.
[Fig. 6] Idaho, “Tastiest of Them All,” Caldwell, Idaho, 1948.
[Left] Ginger root, a spicy medicinal herb native to Southeast Asia and used to make Ginger Mint. Judging from the rarity of the bottles, Ginger Mint was another unpopular drink.
[Left]
Another odd type of soft drink made during the ACL era were ones using chunks of real fruit in the liquid. Odd because the fruit would naturally settle to the bottom of the bottle and thus need to be shaken. However, soda is a carbonated beverage, and shaking a sealed bottle creates an obvious problem when the bottle is opened. Perhaps that explains the rarity of bottles such as Sunsweet Fruit Ade, a brand manufactured by Rice’s Bottling Company of Roanoke, Virginia, in 1941. With its pebbled, beveled texture, the bottle was the subject of a U.S. Design Patent and used a three-color ACL. The label stated that the drink was made with “citrus fruit equal to 15%” and told consumers to
“Shake Up Fruit” [Figs. 7 & 8]. A similar product, the bottles of which are equally rare, was Califruit, which was bottled in various cities in California. The bottle pictured is from San Diego, California, and was put up in 1936 [Fig. 9].
American businessman Harry Gordon Selfridge (1858-1947) famously said that “the customer is always right in matters of taste.” Flavors such as papaya, coffee, licorice, celery, ginger, and potato, or a soda pop filled with little hunks of fruit, are certainly not to everybody’s taste. But they embody the individuality, experimentation, and inventiveness of America’s shortlived ACL era. The author welcomes comments, questions and suggestions at mikedickman@yahoo.com.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
[Fig. 9]
Califruit, A Beverage of Distinction from California, San Diego, California, 1936.
Sweeney, Rick, Collecting Applied Color Label Soda Bottles (3d ed. 2002, PSBCA). VintageSodaCollector.com by FOHBC member Tom Petitt, a great resource containing hundreds of color photographs as well as interesting, useful articles about all things ACL.
Weide’s Soda Page (ca-yd.com), by FOHBC members Chris and Catherine Weide, is another outstanding, useful resource for ACL bottles. Wikipedia entries for Cowgirl, Belle Starr, Lulu Bell Parr, Mary Fields and the Mormon Migration.
[Fig. 8] Close up of the Sunsweet neck telling consumers to “Shake Up Fruit” which may have created a tricky situation when the sealed, carbonated drink thereafter was opened
[Fig. 7] Sunsweet Fruit Ade, Roanoke, Virginia, 1941.
[Above] Rare quart-size bottles of Idaho, a possibly potato-flavored soda, in a proprietary crate.
[Above] Idaho Potato Museum in Blackfoot, Idaho, celebrating Idaho’s official state vegetable.
A SERIES BY ANDY RAPOZA
Close-up of the oil scene on a box of Carboline Natural Hair Restorer. “A Deodorized Extract of Petroleum.”
Hair-Raising Stories: the Bear, the Coconut & the Oil Well
The Oil Well
IPART 3 of 3
“Kennedy knew as much about medicine as a horse does about astronomy”
’ve only lived down here in East Texas for the most recent few decades of my life, but there has never been a question about where I was. We have Arizona’s heat and the Amazon’s humidity. Some of our bugs are the size of a hand…with eight hairy fingers. Alligators lurk in some rivers and ponds like leftover dinosaurs, silently waiting for their next victim. Then there are the big metal pumpjacks, or “thirsty bird” pumps, bobbing up and down in one spot, silently sucking the ground below. I’m not sure which creature unnerves me more—the alligators or the giant thirsty birds.
Finally, there are the oil derricks, usually surrounded at their base by a sizable number of life forms scurrying about in brightly colored hard hats. At nighttime, glowing spotlights illuminate them—from miles away through the vast darkness of the Texas countryside, the brightness looks like a star has crashed into the earth; get closer, and the derrick scene at night looks like an alien invasion. Texas is, first and foremost, Oil Country USA.
(Kennedy’s friend and chemist, 1882)
Carboline looks Texan (top image): In a close-up of the design on its 1877 box, oil wells can be seen standing in an oilfield, with busy workers doing all the things that oil workers did. A large drum labeled “CARBOLINE” is at the center, with the derrick’s pipe shooting oil right into the drum, ready to make the next big batch of Carboline. The scene screamed Texas, but it wasn’t—not even close.
Different Place & Time
Texas wouldn’t have its day for a while yet—the great Texas Oil Boom wouldn’t begin until Spindletop gushed all over about its black gold in 1901. Pennsylvania was the country’s big oil play in the 1870s, not Texas.
Oil wasn’t as important in 1877 as it was in 1901. It was mostly being used in the form
of kerosene to light lamps because it was a cleaner, cheaper lamp fuel than the oil from slaughtered sperm whales. Oil wells were starting to be found more easily than the constantly moving leviathans of the deep in their rapidly thinning pods.
As lamp wicks across western Pennsylvania started lighting up with the kerosene byproduct of oil, an enterprising Pittsburgher had a flash of brilliance—oil didn’t need to just go up in smoke—he was going to turn it into medicine—to grow hair.
Robert Monroe Kennedy wasn’t a petroleum engineer or a doctor, or even a chemist; he was an entrepreneur whose skills were creativity, vigor, and making money—a great mix for a businessman. In his hands, black, stinky, sticky goo from the ground was just another opportunity waiting to happen.
He got into business as a boy, peddling cheap jewelry. He made enough money at it to expand his business. In 1867, a few years after the Civil War was over, the 24-year-old went by R. Monroe Kennedy and created a network of salesmen far and wide to sell his “Mammoth Prize Stationery Packages,” as well as silverware, photographs, and what he openly called “cheap Jewelry.” The sole qualification he required of his recruits was for each to be a “LIVE man”—full of energy to do a great job— in other words, they needed to follow their leader.
In 1871, after four years in general goods sales, he changed his moniker from R. Monroe Kennedy to simply R. M. Kennedy. He undertook a new venture, proprietorship of a line of remedies he called Dr. Radcliffe’s, headlined by Dr. Radcliffe’s Seven Seals or Golden Wonder (It was actually the flagship of a whole line he developed under the Dr. Radcliffe’s name, including Elixerene or Favorite Panacea, a nervine & blood purifier; Expectoral, a cough and lung balsam; Favorite Pills, for dyspepsia and liver complaints, and Positive Cure for Catarrh, to relieve congestion. But these were all weak stepsisters to Seven Seals and were rarely advertised.). With a completely fabricated backstory as to the origin of Seven Seals, Kennedy promised the medicine had, “in cases of the most intense, excruciating and agonizing pains, aches, cramps, spasms, etc...absolute power to subdue and extinguish pain almost instantaneously...IT LITERALLY DEMOLISHES PAIN.”
No surprise; an analysis two years after it was introduced revealed it contained ether and chloroform (two strong and po-
tentially lethal ingredients that were being used to knock people out before surgery), camphor and capsicum (two more pain-killing ingredients), and oil of peppermint (probably for flavor), all in a whopping 90% alcohol. Simply put, it was a powerful and dangerous brew that could “demolish pain” and potentially the patient. Kennedy advertised the Seven Seals robustly across the country for the next half dozen years, in dozens of newspapers and with many trade card designs (which he called show cards), but then he suddenly shifted his advertising to his newest creation, Carboline.
Greasy Hands & Hairy Heads
Kennedy named his product Carboline, apparently by blending “carb-” from carbon, the stuff that makes oil black, and “-oline” the Latin suffix for oil. It seemed effective for 1877—“carbon oil” was the common term for the black crude that was starting to change America’s financial landscape.
The story Kennedy wove for Carboline was at least as imaginative as his claim that Dr. Radcliffe’s Seven Seals was named after a British physician who was the seventh son of a seventh son (popularly believed to be the sign for having the gift of healing, possibly with psychic skills mixed in). Kennedy’s advertising copy claimed a practical chemist in Pittsburgh had become very interested in a paragraph he read in one of the city newspapers about a government officer in southern Russia who had amazing success when using petroleum on some cattle and horses that had lost their hair as the result of a cattle plague.
He recollected that a former servant of his, prematurely bald, had got the habit, when trimming the lamps, of wiping his oil besmeared hands in the scanty locks which remained [on his head], and the result was a much finer head of black, glossy hair than he ever had before.
Use Carboline for the Hair advertising trade card depicting Lillian Russell in Mr. J. M. Hill’s play “Pepita.” Courtesy of Done Fadely’s hairraisingstories.com, a great website focusing on hair care products from the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The chemist then experimented on this claim and found that vigorously rubbing the head with a palmful of highly-refined American oil over the space of three days had the same desired results: it invigorated the scalp as well as strengthened the hair and returned it to its original dark color.
Kennedy then claimed all that remained to converting crude oil into the perfect hair-growing medicine was, oddly, the same
Dr. Radcliffe’s Great Remedy “Seven Seals of Golden Wonder” advertising trade card.
challenge that Joseph Burnett had with his coconut-based hair oil—getting rid of the strong smell. Thinking back to the last time I put oil into my car, I am convinced that Kennedy’s deodorizing mission must have been more critical than Burnett’s.
Neutral paraffin oil, another distilled version of petroleum, was by far the main ingredient (93%) in the formula for Carboline; among other purposes, it is used today as the basis for baby oil—a very gentle moisturizer to the skin that can be helpful for the relief of dry skin and dandruff. In addition to the pint of paraffin oil, the formula called for four drams of cantharides (“Spanish Fly” or more accurately, soldier beetle, ground up and saturated in alcohol, probably used to stimulate the scalp), 20 grains of euphorbium (resin from a Moroccan cactus-like plant), and oils of rosemary, cassia, and cloves, all likely added for fragrance. Kennedy definitely accomplished his goal of deodorizing the oil, and its color (as shown in the bottle pictured on the opening page) is as mild a shade of yellow as a slice of banana cream pie.
Kennedy’s new hair-growing oil seems pretty innocent, especially compared to his earlier venture with Dr. Radcliffe’s Seven Seals. Perhaps complaints about bad results with Seven Seals or Golden Wonder was the reason for R. M. Kennedy’s quick product change to the fairly benign Carboline. The only thing bold about it was the promise, “RESTORES THE HAIR ON BALD HEADS.” From “demolishing” every pain to growing hair on bald heads, there was nothing R. M. Kennedy’s medicine couldn’t do, at least according to R. M. Kennedy. One of his ads promised in 1882,
A CHANCE FOR BALD-HEADS
Their day of deliverance has dawned. This is the age of wonders: wonders in science, wonders in mechanism, wonders in everything. ...
The Merchant Prince of Pittsburgh
R. M. Kennedy advertised the heck out of Carboline, reaching almost every state in the country once again by using newspaper advertising and show cards. He ran a contest in the New York Times for children to see how many words they could make from the letters in “Carboline” and another contest for adults to write songs praising the healing properties of Carboline.
He came to be known by his friends as “Carboline Kennedy” and “The Merchant Prince of Pittsburgh.” Whether the light-yellow liquid grew hair on bald heads or not, sales were brisk, and Kennedy made a lot of money. Then, just as his hair grower sales were peaking, he sold out his rights as sole agent in late 1878 to Geo. W. May & Co. of Staunton, Virginia. He still did some limited promotions of the product in a small number of newspapers over the next few years, but they weren’t the same size or frequency as what he had run in its banner year, 1878. Maybe he detected that sales were weakening, and perhaps he knew this was coinciding with an escalating number of consumer complaints that their bald heads had not, in fact, returned to luxuriant billows and waves of dark, strong
hair. Whatever the reason, he suddenly took his earnings and started investing in real estate. He purchased farmland on the outskirts of Pittsburgh and transformed them into beautiful villages, erecting many cottages that he then sold. He laid out the city of Homestead, Pennsylvania, on the northeast side of Pittsburgh (complete with a glass-making factory), and it was said he had made more money in Pittsburgh real estate than any man up to the end of the century.
The Prince of Pittsburgh was well-known, wealthy, and popular because he frequently helped out his friends with needed cash. His largesse, mixed with a little naivete, almost got him
Medicine Revenue stamp featuring the image of R. M. (Robert Monroe) Kennedy. His advertising never claimed he personally needed to use Carboline, so the hair shown was probably all his, right down to the handlebar mustache and Van Dyke-styled soul patch. Courtesy of
Notice the proliferation of oil wells in the image, compared to the early image on the box; this suggests a later design, possibly 1878; it may have been a visual metaphor for the fact that Carboline sales were booming, just like the petroleum industry. Courtesy of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
killed. Not a gambler himself, in 1882, he watched a poker game in a hotel room at the pleading of the friend of a friend, who was soon borrowing small amounts from him—and losing them in the game. Things escalated out of control when Kennedy was asked for $500, saying he would only fund the card player $300 and only if the man signed an IOU for repayment. He was then attacked by the crowd of gamblers and thieves at the game and severely beaten, and “he is now lying at the point of death as a consequence of the injuries inflicted by the scoundrels.”
The 39-year-old Kennedy did recover, but more tragedies followed. His young wife died
in 1884 of heart disease after she retired early to her room, suffering from a severe headache. Kennedy had moved on from real estate to speculating in oil investments and made great money again, but while on an extended trip to England, he was one of several investors who was convicted of conspiring to manipulate the oil market prices, and in so doing he overdrew his account by $66,059 (over $2 million in 2023 USD). His personal effects were sold by the sheriff. But his friends were convinced he would bounce back because he was R. M. Kennedy. He had some bad luck throughout his business career, but then he would “rapidly regain all he had lost,” and his devoted friends were convinced that he picked up another fortune when he returned home from Europe, although they didn’t know what it was.
R. M. Kennedy traveled and lived in both England and Pittsburgh until his death fifteen years later, in 1899. His heavy investment and push of Carboline in 1877-1878 turned out to be little more than a tryst with the hair grower, an affair he ended shortly after it had begun. It would have been heady news if his medicine really did grow hair on bald heads, but it could not and did not. In fact, a friend admitted that, as early as 1886, “Kennedy knew as much about medicine as a horse does about astronomy.” The friend, who was probably also his chemist for the medicines, continued: He used to get an idea that a medicine for some particular ailment would sell well, and he would come to me to get up something. I’d always do it for him, making up a medicine that would be as harmless as possible. Then Kennedy would go into the most extravagant advertising and tell the world of some remarkable discovery.
The old business associate and friend waxed philosophical in his closing remarks about patent medicines in general, “There is no business so uncertain as the patent medicine business; the shores of time are strewn with their wrecks.” Maybe so, but the patent medicine ships of R. M. Kennedy, when he was their captain, flew like Yankee Clippers, fearless and with great energy. Undaunted by life’s setbacks and the flimflam of his own swindles, he only changed course when he wanted to, and most everyone in Pittsburgh seemed to admire the cut of his jib.
This segment is the last of my three-part series on hair-growing products I bought at Houston 24. With installments on Bear’s Grease, Cocoaine, and Carboline, we’ve traveled through animal, vegetable, and mineral medicines for growing hair on bald heads, and I, for one, can now be at peace over losing my hair. It was meant to be, and I’m good with the new old me.
Randall Chett; see his excellent website, Match and Medicine.com
By Henry Thies
Pair of standard six-ounce Coca-Cola bottles each with a front-embossed mark signifying Glasgow Bottling Works.
Glasgow
TheMontana Directory of Manufacturers, published in 1963, lists the Coca-Cola, Seven-Up Bottling Co. at 139 1st Avenue South as having been in business since 1920. However, the Glasgow Bottling Works was established in June 1912 under the management of Hugh Dunn. The plant was established in the building one door east of what was formerly known as the Hagen Lodging House. On June 28, 1912, they had already been doing a thriving business for two weeks, producing summer drinks such as lemon soda, cream soda, sarsaparilla, strawberry, ginger ale, seltzer, cola, and other flavors of “pop” but not at that time Coca-Cola or Seven-Up. George F. Burke was also interested in this new enterprise.
Twenty-four bottles to a case were delivered to your door for $2, with a refund of $1 when the case and empties were returned. Flavors could be mixed to suit household demand. The orders could be promptly handled by any of the saloons or at any soda fountain if you wished or by ordering directly from the Glasgow Bottling Works. Their phone number at that time was 61. The August 2, 1912 issue of Valley County News mentioned that the Glasgow Bottling Works had moved during the week from its location on Chestnut Street to the G. I. Burke place, three miles north of Glasgow. The reason for the change was to make use of the excellent local spring water. The author assumes that George F. Burke and G. I. Burke may be the same person.
Coca-Cola bottles have two different typographic layouts embossed on the bottom.
In November 1913, there was a change in ownership as Rollin L. Wornson became the proprietor. He said he could furnish everything including soda and mineral waters, ginger ale and phosphates. Soon, he was calling on trade in the towns west of Glasgow in hopes of making a success of the bottling works. In January 1914, he built a new factory on the north side because of his growing business. It is probable but uncertain that the bottling works moved to the Burke farm because of the statement above. Also, from May through August 1914, Wornson advertised that they sold the famous Nelson Spring Water, shipped to them directly from the spring—the price per case, delivered to your door, was $1.
In 1908, Glasgow, Montana, was a thriving Great Northern Railway railhead of about 1,000 residents. The economy of the northeastern Montana town, which was founded in 1887, remains centered on ranching and farming today. It also serves as a gateway for tourists following the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail as well as outdoor recreationists drawn to the scenic Missouri River and Fort Peck Lake. Courtesy Valley County Historical Society
Somewhere between August 1914 and late February 1916, Alfred Ostrum became proprietor. Ostrum came to Glasgow from Williston, North Dakota. He then sold the business the week after February 22, 1916, to J. O. Hauge, associated with the fruit department of the Lewis-Wedum store. The address for the Glasgow Bottling Works was now Eighth Street South, one door north of the Glasgow Steam Laundry. Evidence shows that the business was also known as the “Big Chief” bottling plant during this time. Soon after, J. O. Hauge advertised a trial order of a 24-bottle case of his soda and carbonated water for 85 cents. Business increased gradually, but he mentioned that as soon as he could get local concerns to order from the home factory, he would have all he could handle instead of sending away to St. Paul, which was around 400 miles by rail. Hauge probably had most of the business west of Glasgow up to Havre as he transacted business at Saco, Montana.
Bottling WORKS
J. O. Hauge loved to extol the virtues of carbonated soda, which used pure water and sugar—which had nutritional value. When taken into the stomach on an empty stomach upon arising in the morning, carbonated water dissolves mucus. It removes it, leaving the stomach clean and fresh for the morning meal. The soda had a proper combination of acidity, and adding a bit of table salt greatly aided digestion. Hauge used the highest grade of flavors for his delicious drinks. They made Concord grape, blackberry, raspberry, and wild cherry soda, and they were also the leader in sales for “Liquid Sunshine,” an orange cider-flavored drink. Hauge held a competition for this interesting name as he put a notice on a local motion picture screen in March 1917, offering a case of orange cider to the person suggesting a suitable name. A few days later, Charles Johnson, son of C. C. Johnson of the Johnson Farm Loan Company, suggested “Liquid Sunshine.” He received a whole case of Liquid Sunshine that afternoon, and that name was used on every bottle of the new orange cider after that. Soon, the name “Cherry Blossoms” joined his named soft drinks.
On Wednesday, October 24, 1917, the Glasgow Bottling Works moved from Eighth Street South to enlarged quarters at 135 First Avenue South. This was about halfway between where the
Standard seven-ounce 7-Up bottle marked with Glasgow Bottling Works. See reverse image on next page.
Two standard six-ounce Coca-Cola bottle details. The little “C” on the bottom or side designates Chattanooga Glass Works as the bottle origin.
Magruder Motor Company and the Grossman Motor Company garages were located back then. A Merry Christmas advertisement in December 1917 mentioned the bottling works had added something entirely new and different to their repertoire, “Golden Glow Ginger Ale,” suggesting that people objected to their original ginger ale’s bitter, tangy taste. The Cliquot Club Co. manufactured extracts used in making this Ginger Ale.
During World War I, there was a shortage of sugar, which was needed elsewhere, so J. O. Hauge voluntarily closed his plant for an entire year while he went to the west coast and worked in wartime shipyards. If available, Coke was shipped from the Havre plant to Glasgow during the war. The Glasgow Bottling Works reopened for business in June 1919 in response to requests of the soft drink trade. T. A. and John Hauge operated the plant evenings until the stock again reached demand. Prohibition became effective in Montana on January 1, 1919, a year ahead of national Prohibition, which went into effect on January 1, 1920. In May of 1920, H. M. Shea, director of the Food and Drug Department of the State Board of Health, issued an order to county health officers to make rigid inspections of the 24 bottling works in various parts of Montana at that time. Therefore, we know Glasgow Bottling Works was one of the bottling works that was rigorously inspected.
It is interesting to reflect on the statistics relating to the national consumption of soft drinks in 1922. There were 12,000 bottlers that put up approximately eight billion bottles of soft drinks and mineral waters, which the public bought at 150,000 locations at a cost of three hundred and fifty million dollars. These bottlers employed 120,000, to whom they paid $125,000,000 in wages, and they operated 60,000 motor trucks for delivery purposes. Jeff Hayword, a latter owner, mentioned that he thought there were 56 bottlers in Montana at one time.
J. O. Hauge invested heavily in the bottling works upon reopening. He installed a new boiler to make distilled water needed to manufacture pop. In 1923, he ordered an additional half-train carload of new bottles. I wonder how long the bottles lasted. In 1923, the Glasgow Bottling
Works manufactured 20 different drinks, including ciders, limes, ales, and root beer.
In April 1926, J. O. Hauge purchased the Wolf Point Bottling Works plant from E. M. Tone. The Wolf Point equipment was dismantled and shipped to Glasgow. The Glasgow Bottling Works was now the only soft drink manufacturing concern between Havre, Montana, and Williston, North Dakota. He also employed William Schroeder again, an experienced soft drink maker who had worked for him a number of years previously. With the consolidation of the two bottling operations at Glasgow, John Hauge bought a new automatic bottle washing machine and remodeled and painted the interior of
Three examples of Sun-Rise Beverages ACL bottles used only by a consortium of CocaCola bottling companies. No Glasgow name is found on the bottles.
Reverse side of standard seven-ounce 7-Up bottle marked with Glasgow Bottling Works identification. See front image on preceding page.
the business. In April 1926, John Hauge resigned as the courthouse clerk and recorder’s officer to devote his entire time to the bottling works.
W. W. Cassell, a Great Northern trainman, took over the Glasgow Bottling Works business in December of 1929, which he had purchased recently from John O. Hauge. Hauge had gone to the Pacific coast, where he had expected to engage in business. A December 1933 ad mentions Chief of the West Brand of Ginger Ale, Lime Rickey, and grapefruit soda as being sold by Glasgow Bottling Co. with C. C. Cassell, proprietor. While continuing business at the same location and with the same person-
nel, the name of the Glasgow Bottling Works was changed to the Coca-Cola Bottling Company in May 1935. They held exclusive distribution rights for Coca-Cola in the area but continued to make their other products as in the past. In April 1933, the Williston Bottling Works had the Coca-Cola territory consisting of Roosevelt, Daniels, Valley, and Sheridan counties in Montana.
Reverse side of one of the adjacent SunRise Beverages ACL bottles reading “Buy with Confidence. Drink with Pleasure. Contents 10 Fl. Oz.”
An article in the January 1956 issue of the Glasgow Courier mentions Cassell as holding the Coca-Cola franchise in Glasgow since 1929. 1935 may represent the first year of the company bottling Coca-Cola, as the author could find no earlier advertisements. It was being put up in the classic-shaped six ounces at five cents bottle, as were all their other soft drinks at five cents per bottle. 1935 is also the first year that references 7-Up being bottled by the company. The phone was 81 at this time. A later owner, Jeff Hayword, mentioned that the Coca-Cola company had made them. After 86 years of bottling 7-Up, they quit as it was not a Coke product—and then went to bottling Sprite.
In November 1936, the Coca-Cola Bottling Works was adding another addition to its quarters. The new addition was on the east side of the plant and was to be 20 by 54 feet. The plant started out small under the proprietorship of W. W. Cassell but was enlarged several times with all new modern equipment and a water softener added by 1936. The plant in 1935 showed an increase of 141 percent over the previous years business. More than 40,000 cases of Coca-Cola were turned out in 1935 besides other products. They employed 13 men at the factory during the summer, while six were kept on the steady payroll.
Cassell announced in November 1936 that a new branch office had been opened by him at Havre, with the erection of a new $1,500 stucco building. The extensive increase in business necessitated the opening of the plant at Havre as the plant in Glasgow could not supply the demands for the products during rush months. Installation of a complete automatic washing, filling, and bottling unit in the plant of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company in Glasgow was to be completed in about 10 days— the approximate cost to be around $10,000. When the unit was finished, it was expected to wash, sterilize, fill, and cap bottles at a case per minute. At that time, the consumption of beverages in the company’s territory was the largest in the West. The company distributed as far west as Chester and east as Oswego. A new truck was also purchased to aid in rapid distribution.
Buell Hayward first came to Glasgow in 1935 from Lincoln, Nebraska. Buell C. Hayward became local manager of the Coca-Cola company of Glasgow in 1936 and served until 1941 when he went to the Havre plant of company owner W. W. Cassell. Cassell moved to Havre in 1937, shortly after opening the new branch office. In Havre, Buell Hayward was advertising and sales manager for both the Havre and Glasgow plants. He entered the Air Force in 1942 and was honorably discharged at war’s end, having served more than four years. In March 1946, he was appointed general manager of the Glasgow plant and territory of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company by W. W. Cassell of Havre, company owner. Hayward was in charge of the Glasgow plant and the highline territory west to Dodson and east to Oswego. Cassell was also contemplating constructing a new building in Glasgow at that time.
In September 1946, the sale of the Glasgow plant of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company to Buell C. Hayward was announced by W. W. Cassell. The plant sale at 139 First Avenue South involved the bottling plant machinery and equipment, trucks, bottles, and merchandise but excluded the Coca-Cola franchise.
Hayward bottled Coca-Cola products and distributed them in Phillips and Valley Counties and a part of McCone County but did not hold franchise rights. Sugar was still in short supply at this time, but additional flavors were planned to be bottled at the Glasgow plant when the sugar supply was sufficient. Seven-Up service to the Glasgow territory was limited for a period of time until supplies arrived. Also, the Glasgow plant had been modernized with the installation of the latest production and bottling equipment. In 1949, there was still a sugar shortage, but Coke was proud to advertise that their price had never gone up. It was still five cents for the six-ounce bottle, 25 cents for a six-bottle carton (plus deposit), and $1 for a 24-bottle case (plus deposit). In May 1950, a wooden case of 24 six-ounce coke was $1.10 plus a deposit in Glasgow.
In July 1954, the company was bottling Dad’s Root Beer in no-deposit, no-return bottles. In April 1955, they were bottling Sprig, a Sprig Sales Company of Los Angeles soft drink product. Sprig was available in six-ounce returnable applied colored label (ACL) bottles in various fruit flavors. None of these bottles are known with the Glasgow name on the glass. Sprig was bottled through at least July 1959. Full Flavor was bottled in six-ounce
returnable ACL bottles with various fruit flavors, and the bottles do have the name of the Glasgow Coca-Cola Bottling company on the reverse side and are much more common.
Jeff Hayword mentioned that they quit bottling Flavor beverages in the early 1960s. They had problems obtaining bottles and flavors, which is why many changes occurred. They bottled not only Sprig first but also Big Chief later, then Full Flavor and finally went to Sunrise flavors. The Big Chief bottles had the embossed Indian but no place name origin on the bottles. They went to Sunrise Flavors in 1948. Sunrise was still being bottled by them in July 1959. Sunrise was a consortium of 26 independent Coke bottlers formed for the very reason of not being able to get bottles or flavors at multiple times from other companies. Sunrise Flavors, a proprietary product, came out of California, but the company was located elsewhere. The Glasgow Coke bottling used Sunrise ACL bottles in both the squat ten-ounce size and the taller ten-ounce size, but once again, the bottles did not have any location indicated on them. Sunrise bottles from Billings, Havre, and Missoula, Montana, have the location applied to the bottle.
A turnaround occurred in January 1956. Effective Tuesday, January 3, 1956, Cassell of Havre took over the Glasgow Coca-Cola Bottling Company plant. The purchase included all buildings, trucks, equipment, and bottles of the concern. Hayward previously owned and operated the Glasgow business as a “sub-plant” with the franchise in the name of the Coca-Cola Bottling of Havre, which Cassell owned. Hayward continued as owner of a local trailer court and residence under the name of the Glasgow Realty Company. Besides operating the local bottling plant, Hayward served as mayor of Glasgow for two terms. He was a member and chairman of the school board. He also served as a past president of the Glasgow Junior Chamber of Commerce and was president of the Glasgow Kiwanis club in 1957 as well as being a member of many, many other community clubs.
Another turnaround occurred in January 1957 when the purchase of Coca-Cola and Seven-Up franchises by Buell C. Hayward, owner of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Glasgow from W. W. Cassell of Havre, was announced. The franchises included Valley County, Phillips County east of Malta, and northern McCone County. Cassell had only recently purchased the 7-Up plant and franchise in Havre.
On May 23, 1957, Buell C. Hayward announced that the new 26-ounce family-size bottles of Coca-Cola, the first packaging change in 41 years, were to go on sale in area food and beverage stores. Shoppers in Glasgow would be seeing the new size bottle in advance of most of the rest of the country as it would be at least several months before it would be sold on a national scale. More cities did not have it because certain plant equipment had to be converted to handle the new size. In some cases, this was a relatively simple change; in others, it was a major job. Also, many plants had to install completely new machinery.
Ten years previously, most soft drinks were sold in drug stores, luncheonettes, ballparks, offices, and factories. In 1957, over 50% of soft drinks were consumed at home. Take-home sales, for example had increased every year since 1948. More and
Two Coca-Cola Bottling Co. seltzer bottles labeled as “Glasgow.Montana” and “GlasgowHavre Montana.” The bottle on the left was used first though uncertainty exists.
more people where buying their groceries one day a week. It was hoped that by offering a bigger size, sales would increase. In 1973, Missoula Montana was bottling the 26-ounce in a screw top resealable, returnable bottle but with no location name indicated on the bottom. They mentioned that this size made the Coke cheaper at four cents for six and ½ ounces than the original six and ½ ounces at five cents. Glasgow, Montana, is the only known Montana location to have its location embossed on the bottom of the bottle, although other locations in the United States can be found. It was bottled in Glasgow through at least 1963. It was bottled in the regular six-ounce, 16-ounce king-size, and 26-ounce regular bottles. They never bottle the 12-ounce bottle except for a nonreturnable trial run for the Glasgow air base. Glasgow never bottled any Coca-Cola in screw tops, which are reusable, returnable bottles. The example pictured is what the owner, Jeff, called an abnormality produced by the glass companies and sent to another Coke bottler for use.
The national headquarters sent them 80,000 cases of 12-ounce nonreturnable, one-time-use bottles with 24 bottles to a case for a total of 192,000 bottles. The only known example is in the hands of Jeff Hayward, the current owner of the Glasgow Bottling Works. These bottles were light green in color, and much lighter, so many more broke during the bottling process. After this test run, only 10-ounce nonreturnable bottles were used anywhere in the United States.
Another interesting fact about the Glasgow Coca-Cola Bottling Company was that they sold Coca-Cola in cans in 1962. 7-up was being sold in cans as early as June 1959 by them. Dad, A & W, and Barq root beer were also carried by them in cans. Hires root beer was never one of their products. They also received awards from Coca-Cola and 7-Up for production efficiency in the 1960s. The phone number at this time was AC 8-4541.
They started bottling Dr. Pepper in 1962 or 1964. Their last order of 6.5-ounce Coke bottles was received in 1952 and was purchased from the Chattanooga glass bottle plant. They sent their order in 1951. When received, they were told it was the last six and 1/2 ounce Coke bottles Chattanooga Glass Works would be producing. The order was for a whole train carload, the smallest amount they could order. When received by the train carload, only about half the order had Glasgow Montana embossed on the bottom. The other half contained many different place names and states, almost all different. Whenever Coca-Cola bottlers used bottles with a different place of origin, they were supposed to inform national headquarters.
After 1989, their Coca-Cola came out of St. Cloud, Minnesota, as the water at Glasgow had too much sodium for the Coke headquarters. They continued to bottle other brands. Coke changed its water standards in 1989. In 1946, they were still ordering dry ice from Billings to make carbonation for their sodas. Shortly after that, they got the carbonic acid in tankers from South Dakota, 88,000 pounds at a time.
They are still operating today, August 2024 but not as a bottling plant, only a distributer. Over the years, they have also produced distilled water, “treated water,” and a line of chemicals. They have also distributed candy, cigarettes, popcorn, and bulk ice in
the past. They quit bottling Coca-Cola on September 23, 2000. A canning expansion would cost over $500,000. Jeff Hayward, Buell Hayward’s son bought the firm in 1976 and is still owner and active manager at 71 as of August 2024. In recent years, Monster Energy and BodyArmor franchises were added in addition to a full line of coffees, teas, juices, energy drinks, and bottled water. The business no longer has candy or cigarette vending machines but still produces cubed ice. An 11th addition was added in 2020 for additional product storage and a loading dock. They also hope that they will be in business for many years to come.
Later Coca-Cola Bottling Co. one pint bottles labeled “Coke” on one side and “Coca-Cola” on the other.
Originally, all bottles were hand-washed, scrubbed with a brush, and turned upside down to dry in 24 shells. The first filler was a “Shields” hand-and-foot powered unit. The first automatic was a “Dixie” filling a single bottle at a time. In 1952, a 12-spout liquid Red Diamond was purchased, and a Hydro washer was added to the “line.”
Blake Lutz was an employee in the early 1970s during a couple of summers in high school. He mentioned one of his jobs was observing and working with the automatic bottle-washing machine. All bottles were put through nine cleaning steps— twice if needed. If, after this, they still were not clean and had impurities or garbage in the bottle, they were broken. This is a crying shame to bottle collectors of today!
The FOHBC is conducting monthly 1-hour online Zoom webinars with presentations and imagery on a broad range of topics relating to antique bottle and glass collecting. Join us for an exciting series by leading authorities in their fields discussing antique bottle and glass collecting, history, digging and finding, ephemera, photography and displaying, and so much more.
Webinars occur on Tuesday evenings during the first or second week of each month at 7:00 pm Central. Time will be left for questions and answers. FOHBC president Michael Seeliger moderates all webinars, which are recorded and available in the FOHBC Members Portal within a week after the event. Webinars are FREE for FOHBC Members and *$15 for non-members. *For a short time only, all webinars are free to all!
When you RSVP at FOHBCseminars@gmail.com you will receive a Zoom email invitation with a link for each event. Simply join us at the noted time, sit back, relax, and enjoy. Attend via desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone if you prefer. Attend them all or a la carte.
Webinar #7: Classic & Zany Trade Cards
Webinar #17: The Feldmann Collection
Webinar #5: Collecting ACL Sodas
Webinar #2: Foreign Bottles in
Webinar #18: Display Cases
Webinar #4: Show & Tell
Webinar #3: Warner’s Patent Medicine Empire
Penistone?
That was a day. Ralph Finch remembers music…back in time.
Alan Blakeman’s auction of his great collections ended in England on September 11, 1997, but...the memories linger. Of the many great (or simply unusual) items sold, one in particular caught my eye. It was described as:
Lot 13: A *PENISTONE STOCKSBRIDGE & HOYLAND NEWSPAPER ENAMEL SIGN. 19 by 4 inches. Blue background with yellow lettering and border. Small amount of edge rusting. Estimate £80-£120
I don’t know how many people in England were interested in this, but I can assure you that at least one Yank liked it: Me! Let me time-travel back—and back again—and explain.
In the summer of 1997, this newspaperman was on vacation in England and sitting in a pub in a tiny village in rural Penistone, where my thoughts were then suddenly linked to a 1950s cultural icon of America and a moment of reverie in a cold barracks on a snow-covered military base near Ayer, Massachusetts, in 1959. (FYI, the base has been erased from the face of the earth, but my memories last.)
First, let me continue the story of my search for old glass. It was 10:45 in the evening of Wednesday, July 9, 1997, and I was in the rustic pub in Penistone, near Barnsley. Before that night I had never heard of the village, let alone the pub.
Penistone, which dates to before 1086, is now known (barely) for two things, said Alan Blakeman, the publisher of the British Bottle Review (BBR) magazine and one of my four companions that evening.
A: The local adolescent males refer to the town as “penis-stone” and …
B: The village was once the center of the wooden crate industry, supplying the pop bottle companies of Barnsley. (“Around the 1870/80s, Penistone was THE place making wooden crates,” explained Blakeman.)
Now, let me continue…It was 10:45 in the evening, and with us in the pub was a small crowd of locals and ruddy-faced Brits laughing, smoking, and drinking and hardly listening to a bald-headed man in his late ’60s playing a guitar and singing a slow version of Buddy Holly’s 1957 hit, That’ll Be the Day
The hobby has given me many great memories. As I’ve often mentioned, the six degrees of separation in the world of glass collecting—and target balls—have constantly amazed me. In my always-expanding world, fueled by my experiences and travels, I often cross the path of someone—or something—I have read about in my research for Target Ball and Bottle magazine articles.
Budddy Holly ca. 1957. Born Charles Hardin Holley September 7, 1936 Lubbock, Texas. Died February 3, 1959 (aged 22) Cerro Gordo County, Iowa. Cause of death
Blunt trauma as a result of a plane accident
Ira Paine Target ball poster. Courtesy Paris Musées
Colored lithograph, portrait of S.F. Cody and his war kite. Courtesy science museum group
Once in Paris, for example, I visited the hotel where target ball shooter Ira Paine died after a September 1889 shooting display at the nearby Folies Bergère (which I also visited).
So, back to the summer of 1997, in a village pub, then…much later, while researching for my target ball journal, I also thought of a man who, 100 years earlier, had already visited that tiny English village. A minor figure in America, but one who became a major cultural icon in England and perhaps even visited the village of Penistone; maybe he’d even been to that very pub!
The man was aviator, kite man, and target ball shooter F. S. Cody/Cowdery, who later died in a plane crash.
First, let me continue time traveling…I was in the village of Penistone…and in a pub hearing, That’ll Be the Day. Amid the smoky haze, the raucous laughter, and the Brit-accented conversations, I remembered that cold, wintry night in Massachusetts. It was February 3, 1959. It, too, was a Wednesday. I had been sitting on my bunk in the austere wooden barracks of Fort Devens, near the town of Ayer, when word finally reached us that Texas-born Buddy Holly had died in a plane crash. Perishing with him were Ritchie Valens and “the Big Bopper” (J. P. Richardson).
I remembered two of my fellow ASA (Army Security Agency) GI recruits—a small Hispanic named Accardo and a really big man I recall only by his nickname, “Bear.” On The Day The Music Died, these two GIs sat on their adjacent bunks and quietly cried.
Holly song, I wrote in my journal later that night, would I think back to the evening in the pub, sitting with good English friends Alan and Gill Blakeman (the lovely Gill was to die several years later) and Alan and Ann Key? I hoped so, I concluded in my 1997 journal.
Years after that entry, I came across the name Franklin Samuel Cowdery. In America, in the late 1800s, Cowdery passed himself off as Col. S. W. Cody, an imitation of Col. W. F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody. Then—after Buffalo Bill’s lawyers got on him—he went to England and demoted himself to Capt. Cody, “Buffalo Bill’s son.”
Cowdery/Cody, in his Wild West act, shot target balls hanging around his wife’s body. (She was said to have worn red tights so that if there were a little bleeding from broken glass, it would not be noted by the audience.) Later, around 1900, Cody—who now had officially taken the name, Cowdery—became interested in big kites, large enough to take a man aloft; from that, his interest drifted to gliders. After Wilber and Orville achieved their initial success, Cowdery attached an engine to his glider and, in 1908, became the first (semi) Englishman to fly. For a whole 27 seconds!
After that, to raise money, he would drag his plane around the country to show it off. And no, he didn’t fly the plane since there were no places to land; he had it towed from village to village!
On a later visit to England in the fall of 2002, I found a magazine showing the history of Penistone. In it was a photo of Cowdery with one of his planes, the “Flying Cathedral,” being pulled by horses. And I know Mr. Cowdery, I thought, and Buddy Holly, Cody ne Cowdery, and Penistone. And target balls. It’s a small world.
Oh, yeah: Holly died in a plane crash in Iowa. Cowdery was born in Iowa. Will I ever cease to be amazed at the stuff I experience? That’ll be the day.
And, back to Blakeman’s auction, I didn’t get the Penistone sign. It sold for £140.
S. F. Cody War Kite pictures.
$1,000 June 2021 Glass Works Auctions #167
Lot 141: June 2021 · Glass Works Auctions “ST / DRAKE’S / 1860 / PLANTATION / X / BITTERS - PATENTED / 1862”, (Ring/Ham, D-108), New York, ca. 1862 - 1875, black olive amber color 6-log cabin, 10”h, smooth base, applied tapered collar mouth. Perfect condition, extremely bold impression, no wear or scratches. A very rare color and as dark as any we’ve sold! Also four heavy ‘beads’ are embossed on the base, something we have not seen in any other Drake’s! Dan Catherino Collection.
$2,400 November 2020 American Glass Gallery #121
$180 May 2012 American Glass Gallery #8 “ST / DRAKE’S / 1860 / PLANTATION / X / BITTERS - PATENTED / 1862”, (Ring/ Ham, D-105), New York, ca. 1862 - 1875, medium salmon pinkish puce 6-log cabin, 10”h, smooth base, applied tapered collar mouth. A 1/2” in diameter in-making chip extends from beneath the applied collar down into the neck. Pure puce color that looks great in any lightning.
$14,000 September 2020 Glass Works Auctions
Lot 185: ““S T / DRAKE’S / 1860 / PLANTATION / X / BITTERS - PATENTED / 1862”, 1862 - 1880. Medium-to-deep pinkish raspberry, cabin form with 6 logs above the label panel, applied sloping collar - smooth base, ht. 9 7/8”, near mint; (just the slightest trace of minor wear, and the embossing is a little weak in the upper shoulders as is not uncommon with this mold, otherwise perfect). R/H #D106. A gorgeous, rare, eye-appealing color that passes plenty of light, and having plenty of pink!
$15,690 September 2020 Glass Works Auctions #121 251: “General Washington” And Bust – “E Pluribus Unum / T.W.D.” And Eagle Portrait Flask Kensington Glass Works, Philadelphia Pennsylvania, 1820-1830. “Firecracker” Medium amber with a strong olive tone, sheared mouth – pontil scar, pint; (light exterior high point wear). GI-14. Tremont Labeth collection.
Lot 172: “ST / DRAKE’S / 1860 / PLANTATION / X / BITTERS - PATENTED / 1862”, (Ring/Ham, D-105), New York, ca. 1862 - 1875, medium moss green cabin, 9 7/8”h, smooth base, applied tapered collar mouth. Recently ‘picked’ at the ‘Elephant Trunk’ flea market in Connecticut (a favored venue of the ‘Flea Market Flip’ reality television show), and possibly only the second known example in this very unusual moss green color. In 1993 we auctioned the collection of Elmer Smith of Shelton, Washington. Lot 20 in that collection was at that time the only moss green Drake’s Plantation Bitters known to exist, it sold for $10,000!
Drake’s Plantation Bitters
Available to FOHBC Members Only!
Online Auction Price Report. Search on your smartphone, tablet or desktop computer. Includes 10 years of results from American Bottle Auctions, American Glass Gallery, Glass Works Auctions and Heckler in Phase 1. The Auction Price Report is only be available to FOHBC members. Being a FOHBC member will give you 24/7/365 access. What a great tool this is for the collectors, diggers, pickers, researchers and the generally curious! Phase 2 updater will include images!
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Lafayette, we are here!
Original location of the Lafayette Mineral Springs Co., Nesmith Street, Derry Village circa 1890. In addition to the earthenware jugs, the glass bottles in use appear to be champagne-style with large labels. No surviving examples are known.
Note that the sign indicates that the spring water was “Bright-PureSparkling.” Since water from the spring was not naturally effervescent, carbonation was apparently performed during bottling. Courtesy Derry Museum of History
See page 38 for object descriptions.
Portrait of the Marquis de Lafayette in full military uniform.
Courtesy Library of Congress
For some spring water and maybe a cold soda.
By Dennis Sasseville
FOHBC members understand the rarity of these paper-labeled Lafayette Co. bottles for ginger ale. Only one other example is known to collectors.
Courtesy Ken Previtali
Who was the Marquis de Lafayette, and how did he get a New Hampshire soft-drink bottling company named in his honor?
Lafayette Beverages (and all its ownership and name permutations) holds one of the longest and perhaps most storied profiles of any New Hampshire soft drink bottler. It all started with an unassuming natural spring in the tiny town of West Derry (located directly southeast of the great industrial city of Manchester) and with Derry’s ties to the renowned Revolutionary War general, the Marquis de Lafayette.
Born Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de LaFayette, he significantly aided the efforts of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War as a favored aide to George Washington. General Lafayette holds the distinction of being the first individual to be granted honorary United States citizenship.
In part to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill (he laid the cornerstone for the Boston monument), the General made his “Triumphal Tour” of all then-24 states in 1824 and 1825, including two trips to New Hampshire. To say the Marquis de Lafayette was well-received on his patriotic road trip would be a vast understatement. Visiting some 400 towns and cities during those years, he was mobbed by cheering crowds wherever he went. Well-wishers insisted on toasting the war hero and not leaving until this icon of freedom addressed them with a few words of wisdom.
In two of his brief forays to Derry, New Hampshire, Lafayette visited the Adams Female Academy, stayed overnight with his Revolutionary War friend, General Elias Haskett Derby, and dined at what was then Redfield’s Tavern, later to become the home of milk magnate, H. P. Hood.
At some point, while visiting and dining in Derry, the General was provided drinking water collected from Crystal Spring and was duly impressed with its taste and purity—so much so that it is reported Lafayette requested two barrels be sent to his Boston hotel for his later enjoyment. Supposedly, he re-paid the spring
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owners by sending them a cask of whiskey—not a bad trade, I’d say!
There was a time when all of America went gaga for this young French General who had helped our upstart colony push back against the taxation and tyranny of its parent, Great Britain. The Lafayette name has been spread far and wide in post-colonial America. Lafayette, Indiana, and Louisiana, Lafayette Square Park in Washington D.C., across from the White House, and countless streets, schools, horses, and people have been born in that name. New Hampshire proudly boasts Mt. Lafayette in our famous White Mountains. And this author attended kindergarten at Lafayette School in Somerville, New Jersey! [Editor note: Lafayette’s portrait occurs on several pieces in the FOHBC Virtual Museum including the GI-80 “Lafayette” and Bust – “De Witt Clinton” and Bust Portrait Flask, the GI-81 “Lafayette” Bust “S & C” – “De Witt” Bust “C-T” Portrait Flask, the GI-89a Lafayette / Masonic Portrait Flask, the GI-86 Lafayette / Liberty Cap Portrait Flask and the Lafayette (Pictured in profile) jar.]
The Crystal Spring, now often called Lafayette Spring by locals, was itself unimpressive by any measure. The spring site on the road to neighboring Windham consisted of a small hole in the ground surrounded by an oak tub where locals could help themselves to a cool drink. Its flow was reportedly a modest three gallons per minute at that time.
But its rise to fame was spurred by a chemist who tested the spring water in 1882 and declared it to be of unique composition, something worth protecting and selling. However, a water analysis by the U.S. Bureau of Agriculture in 1907 would reveal that, like so many other natural springs in New England, the water of Crystal Spring was relatively pure and safe for consumption. Otherwise, its mineral composition was unremarkable.
However, the landowner quickly took advantage of the favorable 1882 report by constructing a brick cistern at the spring site and began selling its water to all takers under the name Derry Mineral Spring Water. In 1891, he sold his money-making spring for $1,500 to a group of investors that included the original chemist and two Derry businessmen, Greenleaf Bartlett and Frederick Shepard. Colonel Shepard was a well-established banker in town and would also become prominent in public service. But his greatest claim to fame in modern eyes may be that he was the grandfather to Derry’s future famous test pilot and our country’s first astronaut, Alan B. Shepard.
Circa 1824, George Washington & General Lafayette Liverpool creamware commemorative pitcher produced by Richard Hall & Son. Measures 4 3/4” high x 5 1/4” spout to handle x 3 1/4” diameter at rim. Courtesy ebay
The 3 cent “Arrival of Lafayette in America” postage stamp was issued in 1952 and commemorates the 175th anniversary of the arrival of Marquis de Lafayette in America. Courtesy Little Postage House
The Lafayette dollar was a silver coin issued as part of the United States’ participation in the Paris World’s Fair of 1900. Depicting Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette with George Washington, and designed by Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber, it was the only U.S. silver dollar commemorative prior to 1983, and the first U.S. coin to depict American citizens. Courtesy Wikipedia
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Very rare aquamarine pint jar embossed ‘Lafayette’ in cursive initial cap letters located at the base of the jar. The copy is not underlined as it occurs on half-gallon and quart jars. Above the letters is a profile bust, facing left, of most likely Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, or “Lafayette” as he was known in the United States. Courtesy FOHBC Virtual Museum
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GI-86 “Lafayette” and bust
“Coventry C-T” – Liberty Cap flask was produced circa 1825 and features the Marquis de Lafayette who was a French aristocrat and military officer. He fought in the American Revolutionary War. This flask may have been produced hoping to capitalize on American patriotism with the 50 year anniversary of the Declaration of Independence coming up in 1826. Courtesy FOHBC Virtual Museum 5
1932 Lafayette on horse sculpture in Hartford, Connecticut by Paul Wayland Bartlett (1865-1925) who was an American sculptor working in the Beaux-Arts tradition of heroic realism. The turtle by the horse’s hind foot symbolizes the artist’s tardiness in completing the replica. The turtle is not on the original statue in Paris. Courtesy Equestrian Statues
This reproduction label developed by the Derry Museum of History reflects the early marketing of the spring water product. “Elements that Give Health and Beauty” is an interesting claim in that there is nothing remarkable in the water’s composition that would distinguish it from virtually any New Hampshire groundwater.
The new investors formed and trademarked the Lafayette Mineral Spring Company. They greatly improved the site with the construction of an elaborate structure and began selling water locally for five cents a gallon. This seemed to be a decent price for a drink that not only tasted great but (as claimed) would “cure constipation and headache.” However, at some point, Col. Shepard and his investors determined that the spring water business was not for them. One report claims they were swindled by a salesman who worked for them. Discouraged with overall low profits, they eagerly sold the business to another local, Ernst L. Abbott.
Several different styles of embossed labels on clear glass can be found. This example is courtesy of the Derry Museum of History.
Abbott kept the business in Derry and ran it successfully for some twenty years at various locations in town before his son Howard took over the helm from 1910 until the end of World War II. During this period, like so many other bottlers and distributors of the time, the Abbotts branched out from just selling raw spring water to also offering flavored carbonated beverages.
Clear glass bottles with “LMS” embossed on the front can be found by collectors today, as well as paper-labeled bottles touting the “Nutfield” brand. Nutfield was the original designation for the New Hampshire towns now known as Derry, Londonderry, and parts of Hampstead and Windham. During this period, the Lafayette Mineral Spring Co. (or simply the Lafayette Company) was known to have produced several Nutfield-branded flavors, including Blood Orange Tonic, Root Beer, Ginger Ale, and Strawberry Tonic. Evidence also indicates the Abbotts controlled a Moxie distributorship during this same period.
Lafayette Co. letterhead (circa 1900) when still owned by Ernst L. Abbott of Derry. Note the distribution of Moxie as well as syrups and crushed fruits commonly used by soda fountains to create flavored counter drinks. Courtesy M. Jolicoeur.
Faced with growing competition from national brands and larger bottlers, Lafayette Mineral Spring Co. closed its doors in the early 1920s, with legal dissolution occurring in April 1925. Around this time, the rights to the bottling operations and the spring were assumed by Adelard D. LeMay of Manchester, who may have continued the Derry-centered business for a few years at a Railroad Avenue location under the name Lafayette Bottling Company. However, Derry was still a relatively rural community then, and LeMay reasoned that the abundance of fellow Franco-Americans in Manchester could provide an expanded customer base. He relocated the bottling operations to a compact 700-square-foot building on Harvard Street on the east side of Manchester. The Lafayette Spring itself was sold and more or less left to return to its natural state by the 1930s. In the 1990s,
Lafayette Bottling Co.
the once-notable Derry landmark was bulldozed as part of an expansive housing development.
LeMay achieved modest success with increasing demand from neighborhood store owners, especially French-Canadian storekeepers. Manchester contained a sizable French-Canadian population that arrived in the 1800s to accept employment in Manchester’s then-thriving textile mills. The Amoskeag Mills along the Merrimack River once held the title of the largest textile complex in the world, and the host city was named after England’s greatest manufacturing center. Manchester still boasts a strong French-Canadian presence and culture, including its own two-acre Lafayette Park in honor of the French General.
However, LeMay did not run the Manchester soda business for
very long. On April 1, 1926, an enterprising bakery delivery driver named Antonio Jolicoeur bought the bottling plant with $500 down, borrowed on a life insurance policy, and 16 years’ worth of monthly payments for a grand sum of $3,800. This transaction left Jolicoeur, a man with a young and growing family to support, with 43 cents cash, a small inventory of beverages, and an unfailing desire to succeed with this new venture. Few would have guessed the beginning of a new era that would position Lafayette Bottling Company as a major player in the soft drink marketplace until well into the 1980s.
Jolicoeur was not a man who let grass grow under his feet, and he had no intention of failing at his new business venture. One of his very first local sales calls was to a Pearl Street variety store operated by his former boarding house landlady, whom he knew
Little Derry, New Hampshire has been home to many notable figures, not the least of which was poet Robert Frost who lived there on a farm with his family from 1900 to 1911. History books don’t seem to record if Frost was fond of partaking of an ice-cold “tonic” from the Lafayette Bottling Co. in town. We can only guess.
In 1880 the U.S. counted some 500 bottling plants. By 1900 that number had swelled to almost 2,800. But even by 1910 soft drink bottling was still primarily a summer business and many northern plants would shutter their doors after Labor Day.
Even within compact New England, Lafayette Beverages of Derry and Manchester, New Hampshire was not the only bottling company to adopt the revered Marquis de Lafayette. A New Britain, Connecticut bottler employed attractive red and white ACL bottles with the General mounted on a trusty steed.
While Marc Jolicoeur rose to become President and CEO of his family’s Lafayette Beverages, he started at the bottom. As a youngster Marc worked in the company’s basement warehouse sorting returned bottles. He would remove the “mongrels” from the wooden cases and bring them to the local grocery stores to get the deposit monies. That was his paycheck!
This old map of Derry, New Hampshire was published in 1898 by Charles Bartlett, a prominent 19th century citizen of Derry. The map features a picture of Bartlett’s building in town which contained a druggist and apothecary, post office, printing and publishing house and The Derry News
New Hampshire, Frost, Robert; J.J. Lankes [Illustrator] Published by Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1923 First edition, first printing. Publisher’s dark green paper covered boards backed with a green cloth spine with titles in gilt and gold title label on upper board. Near Fine with light wear at extremities in a near-fine dust jacket with light chipping to ends and rubbing to panels. A handsome copy in a scarce dust jacket featuring Frost’s famous poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” Courtesy Abebooks
had a penchant for purchasing goods for her shelves in cash. Jolicoeur made a cash sale and never looked back from there, even when the typical challenges of a retail business rose to test his resolve. He had been in business only six months when beverage companies came under regulation by the State Department of Health, and he was ordered to install a new bottle washer for $2,600—funds he did not have at the time. Unthwarted, Jolicoeur somehow talked the Liquid Carbonic Company into providing him with one of their washers on a three-year note. Crisis averted.
Lafayette Bottling turned the financial corner in 1931 when increasing sales allowed them to move to a larger, more efficient facility on the corner of Wilson and Somerville Streets in Manchester. They were still very much a minor league player in the
A production room at Lafayette Bottling circa 1931. Owner Antonio Jolicoeur (straw hat) is accompanied by two unidentified employees. The product surrounding them is 28 oz. ginger ale. Courtesy M. Jolicoeur
Beverage companies found the washing of returned bottles a never-ending chore which was made somewhat easier with the semi-automated equipment in this circa 1941 workplace scene. Courtesy M. Jolicoeur
One of Lafayette Beverages’ simple bottling lines circa 1940. Courtesy M. Jolicoeur
Lemmy was a popular carbonated lemonade drink bottled by Lafayette Beverages under contract. First created in 1938, it’s claim to fame is real lemon juice and pure cane sugar. Lemmy is still available today from vintage and craft soda producer, Orca Beverages of Mukilteo, Washington.
For many years the Lafayette Beverages was a major contract bottler of Moxie, the iconic New England soda (or “tonic”).
Wooden bottle crates like this one are highly sought by today’s memorabilia collectors.
Trio of Lafayette embossed bottles. The left and center hail from the early Derry location. The bottle on the right is a fine example of art deco style used by the Manchester operation in the 1920s designed to stand out among competitors.
A distinctive quart size bottle from Lafayette Beverages’ Manchester era.
Opening page from the four-page Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette or “Lafayette” and “Laugh-ayette” dans les nouvelles article in Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
soft drink industry; however, growth was steady, even with the challenges posed by the Great Depression.
In 1936, Jolicoeur decided to join forces with Pepsi-Cola in a marriage that even he thought would not pan out. He was so pessimistic about the business collaboration that, at first, he refused to purchase a $315 unit of concentrate from Pepsi in order to bottle the cola beverage. Instead, Jolicoeur purchased 100 cases of Pepsi-Cola from a Lynn, Massachusetts bottler to first test the waters among his Manchester customer base. Only after determining that his clientele really did like this cola drink did he commit to purchasing a unit of the concentrate—but not the extra $15 for a labeling attachment to accommodate the new 12-ounce bottles. That’s what 11-year-old sons were for, and young Robert Jolicoeur was pressed into service with labels, a quart jar of glue, and a brush.
Of course, as sales of Pepsi-Cola grew, the need for automated labeling became quite apparent, and even papa Antonio relented. Young Robert also had a head for numbers and began keeping records of their Pepsi product sales. Through his own hand-written ledgers, he documented sales of 1,564 cases in 1936, rising to 172,467 cases in 1947, the only dip occurring during the World War II sugar rationing that limited production of all soft drink bottlers nationwide.
In 1941, the soft drink production operations were moved to even larger quarters at 305 Massabesic Street in Manchester, and the company name was changed to the Lafayette Beverage Company. Robert assumed operational control from his father in 1956, a period when the company offered a prolific line of bottled soft beverages. In addition to Pepsi products, the enterprise offered its New Hampshire customers Orange Kist, 7-Up,
22
The author suggests that readers refer back to “Lafayette in the News” article by Ferdinand Meyer V in the March-April 2023 issue of Antique Bottle & Glass Collector and the subsequent comments and correspondence by other FOHBC members.
Dr. Pepper, Uptown, Frostie Old Fashion Root Beer, Lemmy Lemonade, Moxie, and its own Lafayette Ginger Ale. The ginger ale was generally sold in 28-ounce bottles and was one of the company’s primary products during the 1920s up through the early 1940s. Still, they later also sold Schweppes Ginger Ale and Tonic water, which is consistent with most Pepsi bottlers. Moxie was a strong seller, especially through the 1950s, with about half a million cases sold annually.
Initially and through the 1970s, Lafayette’s customer base was dispersed with no single giant account. “Grocers were grocers,” as Marc Jolicoeur, Robert’s son, has expressed, indicating a myriad of disseminated smaller accounts reflecting the retail landscape of the times. When supermarket chains became established, everything changed for the soft drink industry—as it did for cereal, soup, paper goods, and most all similar product lines. The battles for shelf space in the modern, efficient stores became critically important to any beverage bottler.
Marc Jolicoeur assumed primary responsibility for running the firm’s Massabesic Street-based operations from his father in 1970. Lafayette’s relationship with Pepsi Cola continued to grow, and by the 1970s, the Manchester operation was busy turning out over a million cases of Pepsi products each year. Pepsi produced the concentrate and contracted with bottlers to provide the sugar and water and bottle the final product. Sugar prices spiked in 1972, going from 10 cents a pound to over a dollar a pound that year, challenging the profits of bottlers like Lafayette. Soft drink giants like Coca-Cola had a distinct advantage over others since they produced their own syrup and were extremely savvy at navigating the global sugar market.
The 1970s also saw the increasing dominance of the non-return-
able bottle, and by the mid-1980s, Lafayette offered its customers only one-way bottles. From a bottler’s perspective, one of the greatest advantages of switching to non-returnable bottles was the sanitation factor since brand-new bottles were the only containers utilized. One-way bottles virtually eliminated the previously constant stream of false claims that adulterated products had reached the retail shelves from improperly cleaned reusable bottles.
Jolicoeur stressed that quality problems at the bottling operations constituted the primary reason a franchise could be threatened with cancellation or revocation by a major brand. Even raw water purchased from the municipality required careful attention at the bottling plant since summer temperatures could bring deteriorated water quality. Unwanted taste, odors and even algae could raise havoc with the standard filtration systems and require the plant to employ additional quality control measures to purify the water before its use in the bottling process.
Speaking of water, the reader might naturally wonder if Lafayette Beverages ever bottled spring water for sale following the example from its Derry heritage. Marc Jolicoeur laughed at this question and recalled how a Canadian salesman once tried to sell them on that very idea in the 1970s. Jolicoeur’s response was something along the lines of, “Are you crazy? We’re in New Hampshire. Who would pay for bottled water?” Thus, no bottled water products were offered for sale by Lafayette Beverages.
Newly-minted PepsiCo President and CEO Roger Enrico (left) celebrate the opening of the company’s Massachusetts facility with Lafayette Beverages president and CEO, Marc Jolicoeur in May 1983. Enrico became known as the “Cola King” for his “Pepsi Taste Challenge” advertisements taunting rival Coca-Cola. Courtesy M. Jolicoeur
Early 20th-century original Pepsi-Cola wooden six bottle carrier. Courtesy Invaluable
Porcelain “Enjoy a Pepsi” “Pepsi-Cola” bottle cap sign. Courtesy eBay
Lafayette Beverages
The 1980s brought continued change to Lafayette Beverages and all other New Hampshire soft drink bottlers. To meet the challenges of modernizing an old-line business and an expanding marketplace in New England, Marc Jolicoeur oversaw the development of a new bottling facility in Ayer, Massachusetts, called CPF, Inc. (for Central Processing Facility). CPF opened on April 8, 1983, and was followed by a sister facility for canned PepsiCo products. The canning facility was named EPIC Enterprises, which Pepsi officially claims stands for “Enjoy Pepsi in Cans.” However, Marc, who personally spearheaded this business expansion, is fond of saying that EPIC stands for “Every Purchase Includes a Check!” Those two central Massachusetts beverage processing facilities remain fully functional, thriving Pepsi operations to this day. Lafayette sold its storied Massabesic Street facility and opened a warehouse operation in a Manchester industrial park on what is now called Pepsi Road.
Lafayette Beverages sold its operations to PepsiCo in 1986. Although not the direction the company wanted to take, the entire franchise system was changing, and this proved to be the most realistic path forward. A sixty-year successful run for the Jolicoeur family had come to a conclusion. The Dr Pepper and Moxie bottling accounts could not remain in the Pepsi fold and so were spun off and picked up by Coca-Cola of Northern New England (CCNNE) with modern production facilities in Londonderry, New Hampshire, next to Manchester.
If General Lafayette were alive today and paid a third visit to the Granite State, I’m sure he’d want to stop his entourage at one of our numerous antique shops to pick up an embossed Lafayette Beverages bottle—as a souvenir to take back home to show the grandkids!
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Lafayette Beverages was highlighted in the 1955 booklet, Manchester “the Queen City” produced by the Chamber of Commerce. The Massabessic Street facility was equipped with street-side picture windows where the public could view the bottling operations.
For the topical collector: “F. Hollender & Co. 123-127 Lafayette St. New York Registered” amber beer bottle. Common. Courtesy eBay
Derry, New Hampshire honors the memory of General Lafayette’s visits to their community with a historical marker placed in May 2021 by The Lafayette Trail, Inc. very close to the original location for the Lafayette Mineral Springs bottling works.
Clum’s Liver Cathartic
Itis sometimes a real challenge to determine where a particular nineteenth century product bottle originated. 100-year-old bottles embossed with a product name, but no other information can be found in many a collection. Sometimes, the town name was included on a paper label that has long since been removed.
Rare examples of a bottle simply embossed "Clum's Liver Cathartic" have been found by members of the North Star Historical Bottle Association (often while digging an old privy hole or dump). The aqua bottle stands about seven inches tall and is embossed on sunken side panels. No town name is embossed on the bottle, and until recently, collectors were mystified as to just where the product was marketed.
The rectangular aqua bottle is about seven inches tall with indented panels.
In his posthumously published book North Star Snake Oil, Minnesota Patent Medicines 1860-1920, Minnesota medicineman Boyd Beccue tells the story of Mr. A. L. Clum of Red Wing, Minnesota. Boyd found a Clum bottle with partial labels and was able to assemble an impressive amount of information regarding this Minnesota quack.
According to the label, Clum's Liver Cathartic was patented on January 29, 1878, by Dr. A. L Clum. Contrary to the statement on the label, Clum was not a doctor at the time. A few years later, though, the 1886 Polk Medical Register and Directory listed Clum as a physician who graduated from the Indiana Eclectic Medical College of Indianapolis. Beccue points out that the college was more of "a diploma mill for aspiring quacks" than a legitimate medical college.
Clum didn't stop there, and by 1893, he was listed in the Red Wing city directory as a physician, architect, and lawyer.
Clum did a good deal of advertising both locally and afar. His ads appeared in Red Wing, St. Paul, and even some New York newspapers. Beccue found that the ads proclaimed Clum's Liver Cathartic "has never failed to cure Ague and Fever, Cholera, Cholera Morbus, Bilious and Typhoid Fevers and Female Complaints."
No other versions of Clum product bottles are known at this time. However, Dr. A. L. Clum stayed quite busy offering his medical skills to the world and going far beyond dispensing mir-
By Steve Ketcham
acle drugs. The 1897-1898 Dual City Blue Book, which featured all manner of advertising from the merchants of Minneapolis and St. Paul, carried an advertisement placed by Dr. Clum. On page 290, under the heading of Cancer Institutes, a reinvented Dr. A. L. Clum claimed to be "The Great Australian Cancer and Tumor Specialist." Not only has Clum become a doctor, lawyer, and architect in just a few years, but he has also become Australian.
To summarize, it is now 1898. Dr. Clum is situated on Washington Avenue in Minneapolis. He is Australian. He has the following letters after his name: A.M., M.D., LL.D. He purports to be "The only Physician known who successfully removes heart failure, chronic constipation, blood poison." He further states, "1500 cancers and tumors cured in five years."
Not satisfied with his list of cures, Clum also brags that he "Also treats all chronic diseases with success, such as rheumatism, liver disease, kidney disease, piles, gonorrhea, sores, chronic diarrhea, scrofula, female diseases, especially pertaining to their sex removed in a very short time." And what are we to make of "Special contracts for guaranteed cures"?
With his Liver Cathartic, A. L. Clum was just one of thousands of quacks plying their scurrilous trade prior to the pure food and drug laws enacted in the early Twentieth Century. They preyed on an unsuspecting, gullible public and became wealthy in doing so.
Note: Copies of North Star Snake Oil, Minnesota Patent Medicines 1860-1920 are available on Amazon.
Dr. Ambrose L. Clum (German Specialist) now “The Greatest Doctor on Earth.” Star Tribune, Minneapolis, Minnesota, November 18, 1901, Page 2
In 1898, Dr. Ambrose L. Clum now “The Great Cancer and Tumor Specialist.”
TheBittersBlueThree Blue
BY MICHAEL SEELIGER
Few bottles are as legendary as the “Three Blue Bitters.” This includes what we affectionately call the Old Homestead Wild Cherry Bitters (figural cabin), Sazerac Aromatic Bitters (lady’s leg) and Fish Bitters (figural fish). They were together in private collections at one time, and they have been apart for quite some time. The FOHBC Houston 2024 National Antique Bottle & Glass Exposition brought them “Together Again” briefly as the opening act of the American Antique Glass Masterpieces exhibition at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.
I remember seeing the blue Fish Bitters for the first time on a window shelf in Ferdinand and Elizabeth Meyer’s home back in 2014. I couldn’t help but stand there in awe, mesmerized and taken in by its beauty. The pure dark cobalt glass of the figural fish with such pronounced, shiny scales compels one to commit this beauty to memory. Honestly, I found it hard to look away.
On display in the FOHBC Virtual Museum Bitters Gallery.
F 45
THE
ad )
THE FISH BITTERS
11 1/2 x 3 5/8 x 2 1/2 Figural Fish
Applied mouth and Rolled Lip
Figural Fish
(
/ FISH BITTERS ( ad ) // W.H. WARE ( ad ) / PATENTED 1866 ( au ) // Ware & Schmitz, 3 & 5 Granite Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Amber - Common; Aqua, Clear, Yellow, Green, Yellow olive, Lime green and Reddish puce - Very Rare; Cobalt - Extremely Rare
FOHBC President, Michael Seeliger sporting his design for the popular Houston 24 “Together Again” shirts that are for sale at FOHBC.org.
The “three blue bitters” on display in the Brown Gallery at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.
I couldn’t help but stand there in awe, mesmerized and taken in by its beauty.
Michael
Seeliger | FOHBC President | Houston 24 Seminar Presenter “The Three Blue Bitters”
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing the blue Sazerac Aromatic Bitters lady’s leg several times over the years. Each time, I can’t help but fixate on the sheer elegance of the elongated, curved neck, the depth of cobalt blue, and the smoothness of its body. Holding it is practically an out-of-body experience for me!
The blue Old Homestead Wild Cherry Bitters? I have not seen this in person, so Houston 24 granted me this elusive wish. The dark cobalt glass showing off the classic figural cabin bottle was even better than the striking image I had in my mind.
Each of these figural bottles represents the “Holy Grail” for their caretakers, the culmination of their search for the well-known, classic bottle in a very rare color. Owning all three at the same time has been an experience enjoyed by only a few collectors. Let me take you through the journeys of these coveted bottles.
Probably the most famous of the three is the blue Fish Bitters. The story, as we know it, begins with Keith Swearingen, a bottle collector from Waupaca, Wisconsin. According to Keith, the bottle came from an old farmhouse in Ogdensburg, Wisconsin, where it was supposedly used to feed medicine to calves. The long neck made it ideal for this purpose so Keith thought the “story” was entirely possible. He also suspected it might be a reproduction, but he decided to take a chance on it. He purchased the blue Fish Bitters for less than $50.
Keith contacted Bill Mitchell from Stevens Point, Wisconsin and showed him the bottle. Bill took a picture of it alongside a ruler to show its height and said he would contact some collectors who might know something about the bottle. Bill wasn’t convinced it was authentic, either. The cod liver oil fish from the 1920s are well-known and a familiar sight at bottle shows, kitchens and medicine cabinets. However, Wheaton Glassworks’ reproduction bottles were popping up nationwide, so their suspicions were justified. At the Chicago Bottle Show, Bill sought out the opinions of fellow collectors. One, Jim Cope, believed it could be original and decided to follow Bill home from the show to take a look.
O 37
// s // OLD / HOMESTEAD / WILD CHERRY / BITTERS. // motif of shingles // PATENT // sp // motif shingles // 9 7/8 x 2 7/8 x (5 7/8) 3/16 Square cabin, LTC, Applied mouth, Amber, Common; Yellow, Lime, Puce and Olive yellow, Rare; Cobalt Blue, Extremely rare; Green and Amber with inside screw and glass stopper, Extremely rare T. B. Slingerland & Co., No 69 Beekman Street, New York
On display in the FOHBC Virtual Museum Bitters Gallery.
OLD HOMESTEAD WILD CHERRY BITTERS
Figural Cabin
SAZERAC AROMATIC BITTERS
Figural Lady’s Leg
S 47 // b // SAZERAC AROMATIC BITTERS // s // motif monogram PHD & Co.
At the time, Bill did not own the bottle, but he knew where it was and decided to invest some money in it to find out the truth. He approached Keith to see if he wanted to sell it. Neither Keith nor Bill knew what price to put on it, but Keith said his wife wanted a new sofa, which was priced at $350, so that became the agreed-upon price. In 1971, with a wife and growing family, $350 was a big investment for Bill. But, the bottle was beautiful and Bill was almost sure it was original. He gathered up the money, paid Keith, and proceeded to ask well-known collectors Charlie Gardner and Ed Johansen what they thought. Charlie wasn’t convinced it was original but said if it was, “It may bring over $1,000.” Surprisingly, he never made Bill an offer for the bottle even though in the early 1970s he owned both the blue Old Homestead and the blue Sazerac Aromatic Bitters.
Ed Johansen offered Bill $1,600 in $100 bills. That $1,600 made lots of house payments in 1971, and Bill maintains that he has no regrets about selling the bottle he had owned for just one week. But he is glad to be part of the story and has followed its whereabouts ever since. Ed held on to the bottle for several years.
On display in the FOHBC Virtual Museum Bitters Gallery.
The story of the blue Old Homestead Wild Cherry Bitters and the blue Sazerac Aromatic Bitters begins with Charles Gardner. Although the bottles may have equally interesting stories, their early whereabouts remain unknown or lost. Both bottles were in Charlie’s auction in 1975. The Old Homestead Bitters went to Bill Pollard of Virginia for $16,500, and the Sazerac Aromatic Bitters brought $7,000 from Harper Leaper in Texas. There exists a picture of Harper and his “dancing lady’s legs” from a 1976 Old Bottle Magazine photo showing displays at different shows that year. Unfortunately, the image is in black and white, so we don’t really know if the cobalt Sazerac is included, but the time frame fits, so it is probably represented.
So, in 1975, the “Three Blue Bitters” were in three different hands. Soon after purchasing it, Harper sold the Sazerac to Tony Shank, who had already acquired the cobalt Fish from Ed Johansen. Tony now owned both the blue Sazerac and Fish Bitters. Meanwhile, Bill Pollard decided to collect blue flasks, and a large collection was coming up for sale, so he sold the Old Homestead to Tony for a rumored $20,000. The three blue figural bottles were together for the first time. Tony, a logger from the South, decided his primary interest was Southern pottery. So, in 1983, he sold two of the bottles, the Sazerac and Old Homestead, to Don Keating. That was followed a few years later, in 1988, with the sale of the blue Fish Bitters to Frank Kurczewski. Soon, Frank bought a house, partially paid for by selling the Fish to Don Keating for $22,000.
By late 1988 or early 1989, Don Keating was the second person to own all three bottles, which he held on to through the 1990s. In early 2000, Don changed his collection focus and put all three cobalt bottles up for sale. He sold the Old Homestead and Fish Bitters to Eric Schmetterling and Bob Currans. He finally sold the Sazerac—through Larry Marshall, Jim Mitchell, and others—to Bill Taylor for an amount rumored to be $55,000.
Then, in 2011, Eric and Bob sold the Fish Bitters to Ferdinand and Elizabeth Meyer in a pre-arranged meet at the FOHBC 2009 National Antique Bottle Show in Pomona, California for
Howard Crowe of Gold Hill, North Carolina sent me a nice handwritten letter and two photographs from Tony Shank’s collection. One of the pictures depicts the blue fish bitters with the Sazerac’s and Old Homesteads blue bitters in the Shanks’ den window. Howard, as he notes, was a rookie collector in the early ’80s and was invited, along with his good friend, Tom Lines, to see the Shank collection which included the three blue bitters. Howard further goes on to say “looking at all those beautiful bottles was a day I will never forget.”
Ferdinand Meyer V | Peachridge Glass | FOHBC Virtual Museum Quote“Blue Fish Bitters”
what was rumored to be in the $75,000 range. In 2018, Sandor Fuss acquired the Old Homestead Bitters from Eric and the Fish Bitters from Ferdinand. Rumors swirl that the sales for these two bottles topped $200,000 and $300,000! But the blue Sazerac Aromatic Bitters remained in Bill Taylor’s collection.
So that brings us to 2024 and Houston 24, the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors’ National Expo, which showcased some of the finest early American glass known to exist…including the three blue bitters using the marketing phrase “Together Again.” This was made possible through the generosity of Joel Bartsch, Sandor Fuss and Bill Taylor. Included in the American Antique Glass Masterpieces exhibition, the Three Blue Bitters took center stage and brought back many memories for those who have owned, held, or just heard about these “Holy Grails.”
The addition of the final piece to the Three Blue Bitters display was the addition of the Sazerac’s lady’s leg. The Fish and Cabin fish and cabin are owned by Sandor Fuss but the Sazerac’s was Bill’s. No reunion of the three could take place without all three being present. About a year ago, I asked Bill if he would consider loaning his Sazerac’s to the Houston 24 exhibition. Bill graciously said, “whatever you want.” Finally, on the morning of August 1, just hours before the exhibition opened to the public, Bill and our entourage of bottle enthusiasts paraded the bottle from Hotel ZaZa to the Museum across the street. Upon entering the museum, we were met by gallery curator Eydie Rojas who would be placing the bottle into the Brown Gallery display case. She had already unsecured the case and guards stood by to watch us as we unwrapped the bottle, measured and identified it, and proceeded to place it in the display case with the other two iconic bottles already secured in position. The entire ordeal was surrealistic and allowed us to enter the “hallowed” gallery just before opening. Goosebumps occurred on my arms as I watched the bottle being placed. We have the video of the unwrapping and placement on our website, and I encourage people to watch.
So many questions surround the origin of these bottles. Why were these vibrant blue colors made—for the glasshouse owner’s spouse for window display? So the gaffer could keep it as a souvenir? Were they ever filled, labeled and sold? Or were they just oddities made to fill a quota for a specific job using whatever glass was molten at the time? Note that these three bottles were each made in different glass houses. Don Keating and I believe
they were never filled but taken home by glass house employees. Others dispute that conclusion and feel they were oddities made to fill an order. With yellow or greenish tints or dark amber or dark green, gaffers used whatever glass was available to complete an order. Most bottles were made in various shades of amber, green, aquamarine and clear.
Bottles like Drake’s Plantation Bitters, which were made for a long period of time, no doubt included a wide range of colors, which is what makes collecting color runs so interesting. Warner’s bottles were made for an extended period, but the amber color was part of the Warner trademark. Only when the trademark was no longer significant did a few bottles appear in odd colors. Cobalt is a rare color for glass and would cost more to manufacture. The color was primarily used for poisons and pharmacy bottles, so when cobalt is found in a different type of bottle from the 1800s to early 1900s, it is special and highly sought after by collectors.
To commemorate reuniting the three cobalt blue bitters at Houston 24, the Federation commissioned a limited edition of a blown cobalt blue reproduction of the Drake’s Plantation Bitters figural cabin bottle. Using one of my Drake’s six-log molds as an example, Michael Craig in California digitally created a mold out of graphite, requiring lots of trial and error, modifications—and time, especially for the applied top. Making the mold was not as easy as initially thought. It was also much more expensive than
The “three blue bitters” and the Houston 24 Expo commemorative Drake’s Plantation Bitters.
he anticipated, but he had volunteered to do this, so he soldiered on. After five months of tooling and retooling, the mold was ready.
Mike has been blowing glass as a hobby for several years under the tutelage of master glass artist Treg Silkwood, and they were both intrigued by the prospect of blowing a bottle like the ones produced by 19th-century glassblowers. Mike had already introduced Treg to early blown figural bottles such as the Indian Queen, Ear of Corn, and Fish Bitters, and they both appreciated what early glassblowers could accomplish.
Blowing the glass into the mold created additional problems. The embossed letters were not coming out bold enough, the weight and quantity of the glass was too much to replicate the original, and the aluminum applied lip tool melted. The second applied lip tool, made of wood, burned up. Hand tooling the lip would be time-consuming and produce inconsistent results, so Mike created a graphite lip-forming tool.
Let the glassblowing begin. After 15 tries, Mike and Treg finally devised a system to make the bottles pretty close to perfect. They had determined the correct amount of glass, the exact amount of heat, and the ideal timing of gathering the glass and getting it into the mold so that it would flow all the way into the embossing on the roof. Glass gathered for the applied lip was just the right amount to make a perfect lip reproduction. The final parts of the process were finishing the pontil and impressing the signature mark on the base. Using brilliant cobalt blue glass was decided at the beginning of the project.
For weeks, they worked to develop a smooth flow to the process, allowing the bottles to be made relatively quickly. They set a goal of ten minutes per bottle. With each batch of 20-25 bottles, Mike would report their progress to me, more excited each time. By the beginning of June, they had produced 250 cobalt blue Drake’s commemorative bottles to be sold exclusively at Houston 24.
As the final pieces of the project, they blew one bottle in sapphire blue for a Houston 24 raffle and another in teal for the online and in-person Bayou City Sunset Auction on Saturday evening, August 3, at Hotel ZaZa.
To be the commemorative bottle for Houston 24 featuring the American Antique Glass Masterpieces exhibition, each one of these bottles had to be a masterpiece itself. Both Mike and Treg are consummate perfectionists. When you see these bottles in person, I’m confident you’ll agree they achieved this and more.
To view some of Treg’s other masterpieces in glass artistry, visit Silkwoodglass.com. To see a professionally produced video of the entire process and meet Mike Craig and Treg Silkwood, make sure you visit FOHBC.org to view the video program.
You can purchase a copy of American Antique Glass Masterpieces from the FOHBC or Peachridge Collections. Each book is 300+ pages, full-color, hard bound with dust jacket, museum quality and are being sold for $95 apiece.
(Discounted to $85 for FOHBC members).
The depth and breadth of the Fuss Collection place it among the greatest groupings of Early American glass ever assembled. Many of the objects are unique and of those with multiple examples known, Sandor has chosen the finest available. The Fuss Collection is a monumental achievement made possible by his great eye, unwavering focus, and determination. It is a joy to share this fabulous glass with the World!
[Jeff Noordsy]
On display in the FOHBC Virtual Museum Bitters Gallery.
ARTICLES & STORIES WANTED!
for Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
Please consider telling us about your collection or someone else’s. Tell us about your latest digging or picking adventure. Write a fictional bottle story. Tell us about an area or component of antique bottle and glass collecting that you find interesting. Every bottle has a story. Tell us about your favorite medicine man, merchant, or proprietor who is related to our bottles or about a glasshouse. Write an auction or show report. Tell us about a club outing, or maybe a visit to a glass museum. Maybe it is something you have learned in the hobby or have concerns with. Really, the sky is the limit. Don’t be shy. Young or old, new to the hobby or a veteran, please unmask that author that is hiding inside! We’re here to help! Refer to page 10 for 2025 article contest opportunities!
Thank You!
Tennessee Bottle Collectors Sixth
[Above] Geologists may have stumbled upon the largest gold mine in the world as $83 billion has just been sitting there underground this whole time. A “supergiant” gold ore deposit under an existing gold mine in China could be the world’s largest gold ore deposit. Officials estimate that the extent of the find could be 1,100 tons stretching as deep as 9,800 feet below the surface. The find also shows promise as that of a high-quality producer of gold. Chinese experts claim it could be the largest deposit of any precious metal, not just gold ore, in existence today. – Popular Mechanics
[Below] We dug this miniature Schroeder’s Bitters last Sunday December 29, 2024. Kind of a shocker for us as the hole did not appear to be that old. Either it was a late throw or it is not that old, late 1890s to early 1900’s. What would you date this bottle? We were in a very old neighborhood however. – Mark Wiseman and Jimmy the Pup
[Above] According to the consignor, this “E. G. Booz Old Cabin Whiskey” was found in Glassboro, New Jersey in the Glasshouse District. It was owned by Glassboro’s‚ Marylin Plaskett, director of the Heritage Museum in Glassboro. Three Booz bottles reportedly linked to the Whitney estate, two beveled roof and one straight edge, were put in a sack with instructions for Marylin’s three daughters to each take a bottle as a keepsake. This is one of those bottles. – Glass Works Auctions #178
[Above] Greek: SICYONIA. Ca. 400-323 BC. Sicyon established a famous school of art that flourished in the 4th century BC, making the city an epicenter of Greek culture. Renowned for its sculptors and painters, the die engravers were not to be overlooked. This stater is a delightful example of this moment in history, earning both Fine Style and Star designations. The devices themselves are naturalistic and delicate, allowing the minute details of the monstrous chimaera to claim the spotlight fully. It is a genuinely stunning piece for any collector who covets ancient art, mythology, and culture. – Heritage Auctions January 2024
[Right] The bust of Queen Nefertiti is owned by the Egyptian Museum in Berlin. However, Egypt and France have been demanding its return since 1924. In 1912, German Egyptologist Ludwig Borchardt discovered the bust during excavations in Achet-Aton, which is now known as Amarna. James Simon, who funded the excavations, acquired the bust. In 1920, Simon donated the bust to the National Museums in Berlin. He also donated under the condition that if Egypt ever requested its return, the German National Museums would be legally obligated to repatriate it. However... – Various news sources
[Right] The Shenzhen Nongke Orchid is a completely man-made flower that was developed during eight years of research in agricultural science by its namesake Shenzhen Nongke Group in China. In 2005, the flower was sold at auction to an anonymous bidder for a jaw-dropping 1.68 million Yuan, or $200,000. This completely unique Frankenstein flower remains the most expensive flower ever bought. – Times of Agriculture
Read and see more in the FOHBC Virtual Museum.
[Above] A nature-inspired Tiffany Studios stained glass window that broke records when it sold more than 20 years ago has done it again by almost doubling its expected sale price to fetch $12.48 million, becoming the most expensive Tiffany piece ever auctioned. The Danner Memorial Window, a 16-foot-high leaded window previously owned by billionaire Alan Gerry, sold in a Sotheby’s auction to an anonymous buyer. It shattered the previous auction record for a Tiffany Studios piece of $3.37 million (a Pond Lily Lamp sold for that price at Christie’s in 2018). It marks the second time the Danner window broke a Tiffany Studios record—it sold for $2 million in 2000 and was, at the time, the most expensive piece ever from the creator. The window, which depicts blooming trees and a rolling river in vibrant colors, was made by Louis Comfort Tiffany and designer Agnes Northrop in 1913 as a tribute to John and Terressa Danner, founding members of the First Baptist Church in Canton, Ohio. The piece was called the “most significant and valuable Tiffany Studios work ever offered at auction” by Sotheby’s and was sold from the personal collection of Gerry, who founded and sold Cablevision Industries to Time Warner for almost $3 billion in the late 1990s. The work was expected to sell for between $5 million and $7 million. – Forbes
[Above] In July 2024, a large dinosaur’s skeleton fetched $44.6 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York City— the most ever paid for a fossil. The plant-eating stegosaurus—nicknamed Apex, is 11 ft tall and 27 ft long from nose to tail, and “ranks high among the most complete skeletons ever found”, Sotheby’s said. It was sold to an anonymous buyer, who said: “Apex was born in America and is going to stay in America”—in what is seen as a hint that it might be loaned to a US institution. Apex was discovered by chance by a paleontologist in 2022 near the suitably named town of Dinosaur in Colorado.– BBC
[Left] Baby Huey. The giant duckling was a popular cartoon star in the 1950s, and appeared on plenty of merchandise—including a now-pricey American Bisque cookie jar. This gem sold for $1,200, which makes me wonder if crumbly cookies should be the last thing stored in here. – AOL
[Right] This tough-to-find, quart “Absolutely Pure milk” (Man Milking Cow) “The Milk Protector Milk & Cream Jar” was made by the Thatcher Mfg. Co. in Potsdam, N.Y, circa 1886 to 1892. Quarts are certainly harder to find than the pints, and this above-average example with unusually strong embossing is in overall excellent condition. “Pat’d April 27 86” is embossed on the glass lid. Dr. Hervey D. Thatcher was a Potsdam, New York druggist who was concerned about bringing sanitary practices to the milk industry. Although the first patented milk bottle appeared in 1875, it was not until Thatcher invented this milk jar that the delivery of bottled milk became practical. Thatcher’s container became so popular that he has been called “the father of the milk bottle.” – American Glass Gallery
[Left] Recently found in a Midwestern state, this outstanding Anna Pottery Stoneware Presentation Pig Flask with Incised Steamboat, is inscribed “Grayville and New Harmony Packet Capt Vandergrift Master makes regular trips on time in a hogs 1880,” – Crocker Auctions
Sue O’Keeffe (Show Treasurer) 614-263-0573 suebo1058@gmail.com
The Deland Antique Bottle Show at Turkey Creek
Saturday – April 5, 2025, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm
Early Bird: Friday - April 4 (1:00 to 6:00 pm) Fee $20
Ronnie McCormick 352.262.8672, oldflabottles@gmail.com Louise O’Quinn, 386.943.2766, edlouise210@gmail.com
Member Photos
A collection of spectacular and inspiring photographs from around the world and around the web. Please feel free to submit your images for consideration.
Read and see more in the FOHBC Virtual Museum.
5 Log Drakes — Jerry Forbes Light & Shadow — Jeff Noordsy
Winter corn — Michael Seeliger
Labeled Hair Bottles – Trevor Reed
Merry Christmas – Bruce Wayne
Harrisons – Joseph Todd
My half pint window sill – Alex Dehler
Demijohns — Brian Bingham
Pantry Pieces — Jeff Noordsy
Dewitt Clinton — David Keomaka
Wicked – Steve Kehrer
Color Wheel
– Mark Simmonds
Happy New Year – Danny Morris
Classified Ads
ADVERTISE FOR FREE
Free advertising in each issue of Antique Bottle & Glass Collector (AB&GC). One free “WANTED” or “FOR SALE” ad in AB&GC per year each renewal. See page 72 for more info. DEALERS: Sell your bottles in the Antique Bottle & Glass Collector. Change the bottles each issue. Include your website in your ad to increase traffic to your site. Send all advertisement info to FOHBC Business Manager, Elizabeth Meyer, P.O. Box 1825, Brookshire, Texas 77423 or best, email to: fohbcmembers@gmail.com
FOR SALE
FOR SALE: 1) 14-inch-tall Cathedral pickle, medium forest green, six sided. Cathedral window design with four petals above. Rare color for this mold. $575. 2) Drake’s Plantation Bitters. Very light topaz ginger ale. $725. 3) U.S. Mail embossed eagle mail-box-shaped whiskey. Fluted neck whiskey. Large size. $85. 4) “Leon’s Sarsaparilla Belfast Me.” Unusual neck and lip. You’ll see 100 Dana Sarsaparilla’s before you see a Leon’s. $75. 5) Amber straight-sided coke. Giering Bottling Co. in slug plate. Youngstown, Ohio. Two lip chips. $200. 6) “J. Gahm” mug-base beer. Honey amber. $85. No buyers premium or taxes. Postage $15. Don, 978.994.2629 (01/02/25)
FOR SALE: Quality bottles largely from the US, meticulously described and well-priced. Listings with images available on my High Desert Historic Bottle website at historicbottles.com. My email for contact noted on the website. Bill Lindsey, Chiloquin, Oregon. 11/26
FOR SALE: Hundreds of bottles from a 30year collection of cures along with some medicines, pharmacy bottles, a few poisons, and go-withs. Send me your email address for some lists or tell me what you’re looking for. Thanks. Bob at bobnshari@gmail.com (01/02/25)
FOR SALE: Books: A History of the Des Moines Potteries, with additional information on Boonesboro, Carlisle, Hartford, and Palmyra. Cost $23 plus shipping, media mail add $4.50. Mail to Mark C. Wiseman, 3505 Sheridan Ave., Des Moines, Iowa 50310, 515.344.8333 (01/02/25)
FOR SALE: FOHBC shirts for sale! Contact Bella at bella.fohbc@gmail.com or Addy at addy@brammers.net who produces the shirts. Custom modifications allowed such as long sleeve vs. short sleeve or front or back design position.
WANTED
WANTED: Harley bottles of West Chester, Pa. and Philadelphia, Pa. The West Chester bottles (4) display either J. Harley, James Harley, Jas. Harley or E.M. Harley. The Phila. Bottles (4) display Edwd. Harley, Schul (Schuylkill) 4th & Market St., Philada. or E. Harley, 802 Market St. or E. Harley, West Market St. or Edw. Harley, 1838 Market St., Phila. Bob Harley, Phone 215.721.1107. Email: rwh220@Yahoo.com (01/02/25)
WANTED: Wishing you a beautiful glass experience this year—and every Year, Dewey Heetderks, MD (01/02_25)
WANTED: Early crude and colored “squares” with damage but embossing intact. Tom: 707.397.1815 or pontil1903@ yahoo.com (01/02/25)
WELCOME
We welcome the following new members to the FOHBC: Vince Barrows, Stephen & Debbie Baxter, Wiley Brown, Robert Bruni, John Calhoon, Ashley Carlson, Thomas Coffin, Newton Crouch, John Feldmann, Burley Green, Timothy Hercenberg, John Holst, Eric McCool, Larry Moffitt, Marie Prentice, Andrew Sawyer, Randall Van Wagenen, Edward Volungis and Doug Whiteman.
VOLUNTEERS
The FOHBC is always looking for help and volunteer work for the many projects and initiatives of the organization.
SHIRTS FOR SALE!
April 6, 2025
Antique Bottle Show
Taunton Hotel & Conference Center, 700 Myles Standish Blvd.
Taunton, Massachusetts 02780
Early Admission 8:00 am General Admission 9:00 am
Swap Meets
(Spring, Summer & Fall)
May 10, 2025•June 7, 2025•September 6, 2025
Leonard’s Antiques, 600 Taunton Avenue
Seekonk, Massachusetts 02771
Free Set Up, No Admission Fee.
Contact Bill or Linda Rose sierramadre@comcast.net 508.880.4929
Sho-Biz Calendar of Shows
FOHBC Sho - Biz is published in the interest of the hobby. Federation-affiliated clubs are indicated in red. Information on upcoming collecting events is welcome, but space is limited. Please send at least three months in advance, including telephone number to: FOHBC Sho-Biz, c/o Business Manager: Elizabeth Meyer, P.O. Box 1825, Brookshire, Texas 77423; phone: 713.504.0628; email: fohbcmembers@gmail.com Show schedules are subject to change. Please call before traveling long distances. All listings published here will also be published on the FOHBC.org website.
FOHBC Member Clubs: Please request event insurance coverage at least two months before your event. Email fohbcmembers@gmail.com. Put “Show Insurance” in subject line.
16–18 January 2025 – Muncie, Indiana
Midwest Antique Fruit Jar & Bottle Club presents the 2024 Convention 53rd Annual Show! Located at Courtyard by Marriott & Horizon Convention Center (401 S. High St., Muncie, Indiana) 53rd Annual Non-Stop 3-Day Event, Dealers & Collectors Get Together at Hotel. Swapping Jars. Swapping Stories. Culminating at the Show with Over 80 Tables, Thursday, Jan 16. Workshops, Roomto-Room Sales, Social Activities, Friday, Jan 17, Club Meeting, Show & Tell, Auction, Fruit Jar Get-Together and Room to Room. Saturday, Jan 18, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, Free Appraisals, $2 Admission, Details at fruitjar.org. $40/First Table & $35 for Additional Table. montyfoust@ comcast.net, 765.635.4626, FOHBC Member Club
18 January 2025 – Jackson, Mississippi 40th Annual Mississippi Antique Bottle, Advertising & Collectible Show, Free admission. Saturday 9:00 am to 4:00 pm; Mississippi Fairgrounds Trade Mart Building, 1207 Mississippi St., Jackson, Mississippi 39202, Contact Cheryl Comans, 1211 S. Fifth Ave., Cleveland, Mississippi 38732, 601.218.3505, cherylcomans@ gmail.com, FOHBC Member Club
24 & 25 January 2025 – Anderson, California
48th Annual Antique Bottle & Collectible Show & Sale Open to the public from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Free admission. Dealer set-up Friday afternoon from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. Early lookers same time for $10. Shasta District Fairgrounds, Fusaro Hall, Anderson, California. Contact Ralph Hollibaugh (Sales & Information) 530.306.5872 or Mike Rouse (Information Only) 530.249.1708, FOHBC Member Club
01 February 2025 – Mooresville, North Carolina 3rd Annual Carolina Antique Bottle and Collectible Show at the Charles Mack Citizen Center, 215 North Main Street, Mooresville, North Carolina 28115, Saturday, Dealer Set Up, 7:30 am until 8:30 am (Receive arm bands before entering). Early Bird $20, Armband wearer enters at 8:00 am until 9:00 am, General Public 9:00 am until 3:00 pm, Contact: Johnny McAulay, CEO, 16412 Amber Field Drive, Huntersville, North Carolina 28078, 704.439.7634, mcaulaytime@aol.com
02 February 2025 – Waukesha, Wisconsin
52nd Annual Milwaukee Antique Bottle and Advertising Show, Sunday, February 2, 2025, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, $6 admission. Early admission at 8:00 am is $20. 140 sales tables of bottles, breweriana, and advertising. Door prizes. Waukesha County Expo Center, 1000 Northview Road, Waukesha, Wisconsin 53188. Directions: I-94 exit 294 (Hwy J), then south to Northview Road. For further information: mabacshow@yahoo.com, FOHBC Member Club
08 February 2025 – Rome, Georgia
Rome Bottle & Advertising Show. Hosted by Todd Edwards and Bill Peek. Rome VFW, 2632 Cedartown Hwy, Rome, Georgia 30161, Set up at 6:00 am, doors open at 9:00 am. Admission Free. Contact Todd Edwards, 848 Woodfall Road, Cedartown, Georgia
30125, 678.492.5292 or Bill Peek 770.546.9870, romebottleshow@ gmail.com
14 & 15 February 2025 – Tampa, Florida
Suncoast Antique Bottle Collectors Show & Sale at the Sons of Italy Hall, 3315 W. Lemon Street, Tampa, Florida 33609, February 14th Set-up & Early Buyers 1:00 to 6:00 pm, early Buyers 3:00 to 6:00 pm. February 15th General Public 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, Early Buyers $20, General Public Admission $5, Contact George Dueben, 727.804.5957 or Charlie Livingston at 813.244.6898, FOHBC Member Club
14 & 15 February 2025 – Aurora, Oregon Oregon Bottle Collectors Assoc. Bottle, Antique & Collectibles Show & Sale, Friday 12 to 5:00 pm dealer set-up and early bird admission $5, Saturday 9:00 am to 3:00 pm regular public admission by donation, American Legion Hall, 21510 Main St. N.E., Aurora, Oregon, Contact Info: Wayne Herring, Show Chairman, 503.864.2009, Bill Bogynska, 503.657.1726, billbogy7@gmail.com, FOHBC Member Club
16 February 2025 – Columbus, Ohio
The Central Ohio Antique Bottle Club’s 54th Annual Show & Sale, Sunday, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm; early buyers 7:00 to 9:00 am, $20. Admission is $5, Wyndham Columbus hotel, 175 Hutchinson Avenue, Columbus, Ohio (I-270 & Rt. 23); Contact Rojer Moody, 740.703.4913, rtmoody@juno.com, or Brad Funk, 614.264.7846, bradfunk@yahoo.com, FOHBC Member Club
21 & 22 February 2025 – Phoenix, Arizona
The Phoenix Antiques, Bottles and Collectibles Club 42nd Annual Show and Sale held at the North Phoenix Baptist Church, 5757 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona 85012. Friday 2:00 to 6:00 pm ($10 admission) and Saturday and 8:30 am to 3:30 pm ($3 admission). For more information contact Betty Hartnett, Show Chair, 602.317.4438, bettchem@cox.net. Visit the club website at phoenixantiquesclub.org, FOHBC Member Club
21 & 22 February 2025 – Dothan, Alabama 1st Annual Jake’s Vintage Finds Antique, Bottle & Advertising Show, National Peanut Fairgrounds, Dothan, Alabama, Friday Early Bird shopping from 4:00 to 8:00 pm. Saturday General Admission from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. For vendor application information please visit Jakesantiqueshow.com
22 February 2025 – Kent, Washington
Washington Bottle & Collectors Association Annual Show and Sale, Kent Commons Community Center, 525 Fourth Avenue N., Kent, Washington 98032. General Public Admission is Free, Saturday, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm; Early Admission is $10, 8:00 am to 10:00 am. Washington Bottle & Collectors Association (WBCA), Website: wabottleclub.org, Contact: Lisa Conners, lisa.g.conners@gmail.com, FOHBC Member Club
22 February 2025 – Round Rock, Texas
Central Texas Bottle, Jar, Insulator, Pottery/Stoneware, Breweriana, Advertising and Collectibles Show, Saturday, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm; Dealer set-up: Friday, 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Early Bird $10 at 3:00 pm Friday. General Admission: Free. Old
Settlers Park Events Center, 3300 E. Palm Valley Blvd. (E. US 79), Round Rock, Texas 78665. Contact: Brad Weber, 512.909.8551, webe992@gmail.com
22 February 2025 – Grand Rapids, Michigan
The West Michigan Antique Bottle Club presents their 34th Annual Antique Bottle Show & Sale, 9:30 am to 2:00 pm, $3 admission cost. No early admission. Set-up 8:00 to 9:30 am. Fonger American Legion Post, 2327 Wilson, S.W., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49534, Contact Steve DeBoode, Show chair, 616.667.0214, thebottleguy@comcast.net, FOHBC Member Club
08 March 2025 – Richfield, North Carolina
Uwharrie Bottle Club Presents the 17th Annual Bottle, Advertising & Collectibles Show and Sale at the Baptist Fellowship Hall, 24639 NC Highway 49, Richfield, North Carolina 28137. Free Admission. Open to the public 8:00 am to 1:00 pm. For info contact Todd McSwain, 704.438.0305 or email mcswain8649@ windstream.net FOHBC Member Club
14 & 15 March 2025 – Dalton, Georgia
4th Annual Chattanooga | North Georgia Antique Bottles & Advertising Show, Dalton Convention Center, 2211 Tony Ingle Pkwy, Dalton, Georgia 30720 (Exit 333 off I-75). Concessions available. Early Buyers Saturday: 8:00 to 9:00 am ($20). Admission Free Saturday: 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Show Chairmen: Jason Herron 205.913.9748 and Buddy Lasater 423.718.3521, FOHBC Member Club
16 March 2025 – St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis 55th Annual Antique Bottle & Jar Show; Orlando Gardens, 4300 Hoffmeister Avenue, St Louis, Missouri 63125. General Admission is $3 from 9 am to 2 pm; Set-up 7 am to 9 am. Children free. Contact: St Louis Antique Bottle Collectors Assn., Pat Jett (show chair), 71 Outlook Drive, Hillsboro, Missouri 63050, 314.570.6917, patsy_jett@yahoo.com, FOHBC Member Club
22 March 2025 – Daphne, Alabama
The Mobile Bottle Collectors Club’s 52nd Annual Antique Bottle & Collectibles Show & Sale will be held on Saturday, March 22, 2025, from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Daphne Civic Center, 2603 US Hwy 98, Daphne, Alabama 36526. Free Admission and Bottle Appraisals. Dealer Setup is Friday, March 21, 2025, from 2:00 to 6:00 pm and Saturday from 7:00 to 9:00 am. For more information, contact Rod Vining at 251.957.6725, Email: vinewood@ mchsi.com or Facebook: Mobile Bottle Collector’s Club Show & Sale See Sales Table Application and Contract on website. FOHBC Member Club
23 March 2025 – Somers, Connecticut
54th Annual Somers Antique Bottle Club’s Antique Bottle Show and Sale, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm., Admission $5, Early buyers: 8:00 am $15. Joanna’s Restaurant, 145 Main Street, Route 190, Somers, Connecticut 06071. Contact: Don Desjardins, 22 Anderson Road, Ware, Massachusetts 01082, 413.967.4431 or 413.687,4808, dondes@comcast.net, FOHBC Member Club
30 March 2025 – West Friendship, Maryland
The Baltimore Antique Bottle Club Show & Sale, 9:00 am to
3:00 pm, baltimorebottleclub.org, Howard County Fairgrounds, Main Exhibition Hall, 2210 Fairgrounds Road, West Friendship, Maryland 21794, Contact Info: Shawn Peters, Show Director, 240.508.1032, BaltoMd_stoneware@outlook.com. For Contracts: Micah Dolina, mdolina@hotmail.com, FOHBC Member Club
30 March 2025 – Cicero, New York
The Empire State Bottle Collectors Association is having their 53rd Antiques & Bottle Show. This is the oldest continuously active club in the United States. 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, Cicero American Legion, 5575 Legionnaire Drive, Cicero, New York 13039, Set-up: 7:30 to 9:00am, All Dealers Contact: Dave Tuxill, dtuxill1@ twcny.rr.com, 315.469.0629. Cost of admission: $5. esbca.weebly. com, FOHBC Member Club
04 & 05 April 2025 – Reddick, Florida
The Deland Antique Bottle Show at Turkey Creek, Saturday, 05 April, 8:00 am to 3:00 pm, Friday, 04 April, Early Buyers $20 and Dealer Set-up 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm. FREE admission Saturday, Turkey Creek Auctions Building, 15323 NW Gainesville Road, Reddick, Florida 32686; Contact Ronnie McCormick, 352.262.8672, oldflabottles@ gmail.com or Louise O’Quinn, 386.943.2766, edlouise210@gmail. com, FOHBC Member Club
05 April 2025 – Dover, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Bottle Collectors Association Annual Show & Sale at the Dover Township Community Center, 3700 Davidsburg Road, Dover, Pennsylvania 17315, Saturday 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. Set up: Friday 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm, Saturday 6:00 to 8:00 am. $2 admission. Pennsylvania Bottle Collectors Association, Contact Gregory Druck, chairman, 2266 Maple Road, Dover, Pennsylvania, 17408, 717.792.9050, gdruck3141@comcast.net
05 April 2025 – Kalamazoo, Michigan
The Kalamazoo Antique Bottle Club’s 44th Annual Antique Bottle & Glass Show & Sale, 10:00 am to 2:30 pm, Kalamazoo County Fairgrounds, 2900 Lake Street, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49048. Questions email kzooantiquebottleclub@gmail.com. Hosted by the Kalamazoo Antique Bottle Club, Visit Facebook Page, FOHBC Member Club
06 April 2025 – Tylersport, Pennsylvania
The 28th Annual Bucks-Mont Bottle Show, Admission: 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, $3, early buyers 8:00 am, $10, Show Address: Tylersport Fire Company, 125 Ridge Road, Tylersport, Pennsylvania 18971, Information: David Long 215.892.2813, cadklong@verizon.net or Greg Gifford, 215.699.5216
06 April 2025 – Bloomington, Minnesota
North Star Historical Bottle Association Presents its 53rd Annual Antique Bottle, Advertising, and Stoneware Show and Sale, 9:30 am to 2:30 pm at the Knights of Columbus Event Center, 1114 American Blvd. West, Bloomington, Minnesota 55420. Admission $5. Info: 651.271-3423, AKonitzer1@gmail.com or 952.221.0915, steve@antiquebottledepot.com, FOHBC Member Club
06 April 2025 – Taunton, Massachusetts
Little Rhody Bottle Club Show, Taunton Hotel & Conference Center, Exit#25 off Route #495, 700 Myles Standish Blvd., Taunton, Massachusetts 02780. 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, Early Admission $15 at 8 am. General Admission $4 at 9 am. Contact Bill or Linda Rose, sierramadre@comcast.net or 508.880.4929, FOHBC Member Club
06 April 2025 – Hutchinson, Kansas
The 18th Annual Kansas Territory Bottle & Post Card
Show & Sale, General Admission: 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Kansas State Fairgrounds, Pride of Kansas Building, 2000 N. Poplar Street, Hutchinson, Kansas 67502, The Hutchinson Kansas flea market is scheduled for April 6th in the neighboring building. This has been a good source of bottles, jars, insulators and other antiques in the past. Info: Stan Hendershot, Stanh1907@outlook.com, 6209.388.0501, Mike McJunkin, scarleits@cox.net, 620.728.8304 or Mark Law, kansasbottles@gmail.com, 785.224.4836, FOHBC Member Club
11 & 12 April 2025 – Antioch, California
The Golden Gate Historical Bottle Society’s 57th Annual Bottles, Antiques & Collectibles Show & Sale, Early Buyers: Friday 12 pm to 5 pm, $10 Admission; General Admission: Saturday 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, Free. Contra Costa Event Park (Fairgrounds), Sunset Hall, 1201 West 10th Street, Antioch, California 94509. Info: Gary and Darla Antone, 925.373.6758, packrat49er@netscape.net, FOHBC Member Club
13 April 2025 – Pickering, Ontario 29th Annual Toronto Bottle and Antique Show and Sale, Chestnut Hill Recreational Complex, 1867 Valley Farm Road, Pickering, Ontario L1V 6K7 (just east of Toronto), Sunday 10:00 am to 2:30 pm, Early admission not available. Set up: 8:00 am to 10 am same day. Cost of admission: $5, Four Seasons Bottle Club on Facebook, Contact: Jon Matheson, Vice President, 251 Rambler Court, Oakville, Ontario L6H 3A6, Tele: 905.875.7778, E-mail: jwmatheson1@gmail.com, Four Seasons Bottle Collectors Club
26 April 2025 – Columbia, South Carolina
The South Carolina Bottle Club’s 52nd Annual Show & Sale, 206 Jamil Road, Columbia, South Carolina 29210, 2024 sellout at 190 tables! A new record! Saturday 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, Donation at the door suggested, Dealer Only Set-Up 7:00 am to 9:00 am, Jamil Shrine Temple, Contact: Marty Vollmer 803.629.8553, martyvollmer@aol.com or Art Gose 803.840.1539, scbottlehunters@ gmail.com, FOHBC Member Club
27 April 2025 – Rochester, New York 54th Annual Genesee Valley Bottle Collectors Association’s (GVBCA) Rochester Bottle & Antique Show, Roberts Wesleyan University, Voller Athletic Center, 2301 Westside Drive, Rochester, New York 14624, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, Admission $5. 17 and Under FREE, Show and Dealer Inquires: Aaron and Pamela Weber, gvbca@frontiernet.net, 585.749.8874. FOHBC Member Club
04 May 2025 – Morgantown, West Virginia
8th Annual Dunkard Valley Antiques and Collectibles Show & Sale, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm; Early buyers 7:30 am, $20. Both inside and outside vendor spaces are available! At Milan Park. Monongalia Center, 270 Mylan Park Lane, Morgantown, WV 26501, Contact: Don Kelley, 724.998.2734, bonzeyekelley@gmail.com
09 & 10 May 2025 – Mansfield, Ohio
46th Mansfield Antique Bottle Show, Hosted by the Ohio Bottle Club, at the Richland County Fairgrounds, 750 N. Home Road, Mansfield, Ohio 44906; Admission $5 Saturday, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Early admission is $40, Friday, May 9, from 2:00 to 6:00 pm. Show Chairs: Matt & Elizabeth Lacy, 440.228.1873 or 440.994.9028 or email info@antiquebottlesales.com, FOHBC Member Club
10 May 2025 – Gardendale, Alabama
5th Annual Alabama Bottle & Advertising Show, Saturday, May 10, 9:00 am to 3:30 pm; Free Admission and Appraisals. Gardendale Civic Center, 857 Main Street, Gardendale, Alabama 35071 (10 minutes north of Birmingham). Info: Keith Quinn: 205.365.1983, klq1812@gmail.com or Steve Holland, 205.492.6864. Visit our Facebook page Alabama Bottle Collectors’ Society FOHBC Member Club
10 May 2025 – Seekonk, Massachusetts
The Little Rhody Bottle Club Tailgate Swap Meet starts at 8:00 am and ends at 2:00 pm. There is no set up fee and no admission fee. Bring as many tables as you want. Buy, sell, trade and keep what you make. Show Address: Leonard’s Antiques, 600 Taunton Avenue, (Rte #44) Seekonk, Massachusetts 02771, Contact Info: William Rose, 508.880.4929, sierramadre@comcast. net, FOHBC Member Club
16-18 May 2025 – Adamstown, Pennsylvania
Shupp’s Grove 25th Annual Bottle Festival, 607 Willow Street, Reinholds, Pennsylvania 17569. Friday, early buyers only from 11 am to 5 pm at a ticket price of $20 per person and running through Sunday, 18 May. Saturday and Sunday hours are from 6 am to dusk; admission is free to all on these two days. Contact Steve Guion, Show Chairman, 1032 English Drive, Lebanon, Pennsylvania 17042, william03301956@gmail.com or call him at 717.371.1259. He has information and dealer contracts for those wishing to set up at the festival.
18 May 2025 – Washington, Pennsylvania
Washington County Antique Bottle Club 51st Annual Show and Sale, Alpine Star Lodge, 735 Jefferson Avenue, Washington, Pennsylvania 15301, Admission $3, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, Early admission $25 at 7:30 am. Info: Ed Kuskie, 412.405.9061, 352 Pineview Drive, Elizabeth, Pennsylvania 15037, bottlewizard@ comcasat.net, FOHBC Member Club
01 June 2025 – Ballston Spa, New York
The 45th Annual Saratoga Antique Bottle Show And Sale at the Saratoga County Fairgrounds, 162 Prospect Street, Ballston Spa, New York 12020. General Admission Sunday, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, $5; Early Admission Sunday, 8:00 to 9:00 am, $2. Show set up Saturday, 31 May from 7:00 to 9:00 pm and Sunday, 6:30 to 8:00 am. Host Club: National Bottle Museum, nationalbottlemuseum.org, 518.885.7589, info@nationalbottlemuseum.org, Show chair: Roy Topka, 518.779.1243, rmt556@yahoo.com; FOHBC Member Club
07 June 2025 – Seekonk, Massachusetts
The Little Rhody Bottle Club Tailgate Swap Meet starts at 8:00 am and ends at 2:00 pm. There is no set up fee and no admission fee. Bring as many tables as you want. Buy, sell, trade and keep what you make. Show Address: Leonard’s Antiques, 600 Taunton Avenue, (Rte #44) Seekonk, Massachusetts 02771, Contact Info: William Rose, 508.880.4929, sierramadre@comcast. net, FOHBC Member Club
14 June 2025 – Weyers Cave, Virginia
The Historical Bottle Diggers of Virginia 53rd Antique Bottle and Collectibles Show & Sale, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, Weyers Cave Community Center, 682 Weyers Cave Road, (Rt. 256), Weyers Cave, Virginia 24486, Info: Sonny Smiley, Show Chairman, 540.434.1129, lithiaman1@yahoo.com, FOHBC Member Club
31 July–03 August 2025 – Reno, Nevada
FOHBC Reno 2025 National Antique Bottle and Glass Convention at the Silver Legacy Resort Casino. For information contact Craig Cassetta, ccassettafohbc@gmail.com or Richard Siri, rtsiri@sbcglobal.net, Direct Link to Hotel Reservations at FOHBC.org, FOHBC National Event
Membership Benefits & Display Advertising Rates
The Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors (FOHBC) is a non-profit organization supporting antique bottle and glass collecting. The goal of the FOHBC is to promote the collection, study, preservation and display of historical bottles and related artifacts and to share this information with other collectors and individuals. Membership is open to any individual, club or institution interested in the enjoyment and study of antique bottles and glass. Membership benefits include:
–Antique Bottle & Glass Collector (AB&GC), the official publication of FOHBC and the leading publication for those interested in antique bottle and glass collecting and all associated ephemera. Annual subscription includes 6 issues (bi-monthly) of this all-color, 72-page plus covers publication. (Digital memberships also available.)
–Free classified advertising in AB&GC. Ads may be up to 100 words for items of $25 or greater value; and one free ad of 60 words each year For Sale, Wanted, or For Trade. (Restrictions apply and free ads are limited to the first received for available space.) Ads appear on the FOHBC website also. See page 72.
–FOHBC.org, a comprehensive website dedicated to the organization and hobby, providing access through the Members Portal to the latest news in the collecting world, Membership Directory, archived magazine issues, indexed articles, Federation meeting minutes and announcements, and a vast assortment of research material.
–Virtual Museum of Historical Bottles and Glass, the most comprehensive antique bottle and glass experience on the Internet. Spinning images of museum-quality examples of antique bottles and glass, including well-researched history of the manufacture, distribution, and use of each item.
–Auction Price Report, an online resource which includes the sale price and description of anything auctioned by the top antique bottle and glass auction houses in the past decade. Easy to use. Updated annually. (Password protected.)
–National Shows and Conventions, featuring displays, educational seminars, membership meetings, social events, and banquet with interesting speakers, all centered around a first-class sale event. Members are eligible for discounts on “Early Admission” or table rental.
–Newsletter, digital presentation of periodic postings to keep FOHBC members up to date on current issues affecting the hobby.
Affiliated Bottle Club Membership brings these additional benefits to your group:
–Federation-sponsored Insurance Program for your show and any other club-sponsored activities. (Application required for each event.) Value of this is many times more than the cost of club membership.
–Club Display Ad in AB&GC at discount of 50%.
–Free Club Show Ad on the Federation website to increase your show’s exposure. –Free Links to Club Website; Social Media (Facebook) exposure.
–Free Federation Ribbons for Best in Show and Most Educational display at your show.
For more information, questions, or to join the FOHBC, please contact: Elizabeth Meyer, FOHBC Business Manager, P.O. Box 1825, Brookshire, Texas 77423; phone: 713.504.0628 or email: fohbcmembers@gmail.com.
Visit us at FOHBC.org
Where there’s a will there’s a way to leave Donations to the FOHBC
Did you know the FOHBC is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization?
How does that affect you? It allows tax deductions for any and all donations to the FOHBC. You might also consider a bequest in your will to the FOHBC. This could be a certain amount of money or part or all of your bottle collection. The appraised value of your collection would be able to be deducted from your taxes. (This is not legal advice, please consult an attorney.) The same-type wording could be used for bequeathing your collection or part of it; however, before donating your collection (or part of it), you would need the collection appraised by a professional appraiser with knowledge of bottles and their market values. This is the amount that would be tax deductible. Thank you for considering the FOHBC in your donation plans.
For Membership, complete the following application or sign up at FOHBC.org (Please Print)
Name
Address
City __________ State___________________
Zip ___________ Country _________________
Telephone
Email Address
Collecting Interests ________________________
Additional Comments
Do you wish to be listed in the online membership directory?(name, address, phone number, email address and what you collect) { } Yes { } No
Would you be interested in serving as an officer? { } Yes { } No
Would you be interested in contributing your bottle knowledge by writing articles for our magazine? { } Yes { } No
Would you be interested in volunteering to help on any FOHBC projects? { } Yes { } No
Membership/Subscription rates for one year (6 issues) (Circle One) (All First Class sent in a protected mailer)
United States
- Standard Mail
-
-
-
Digital Membership (electronic files only)
$40 1st Class
$55
Antique Bottle & Glass Collector Free Ads
Category: “WANTED”
Maximum - 60 words
Limit - One free ad per current membership year.
OR
Category: “FOR SALE”
Maximum - 100 words
Limit - 1 ad per issue.
(Use extra paper if necessary.)
$25
Canada – First Class $85 Other countries – First Class $120
- Life Membership: Level 1: $1,000, includes all benefits of a Standard 1st Class membership. No promise of a printed magazine for life.
- Level 2: $500, includes all benefits of a regular membership but you will not receive a printed magazine, but rather a digital subscription.
Add an Associate Membership* to any of the above at $5 for each Associate for each year.
Associate Member Name(s)
*Associate Membership is available to members of the immediate family of any adult holding an Individual Membership. Children age 21 or older must have their own individual membership.
Associate Members enjoy all of the rights and privileges of an Individual Membership.
Signature Date
Please make checks or money orders payable to FOHBC and mail to:
Affiliated Club Membership is $80 without insurance. $130 includes liability insurance coverage for all club-sponsored events. There is a 50% discount on advertising in Antique Bottle & Glass Collector, plus more, Contact: FOHBC
Business Manager: Elizabeth Meyer, PO Box 1825, Brookshire, Texas 77423, 713.504.0628, fohbcmembers@gmail.com
Clearly Print or Type Your Ad
Send to: FOHBC Business Manager: Elizabeth Meyer, P.O. Box 1825, Brookshire, Texas 77423; phone: 713.504.0628; or better yet, email Elizabeth at: fohbcmembers@gmail.com
Magazine Submission Requirements:
We welcome the submission of articles and related pictures pertaining to antique bottle and early glass collecting, our hobby, digging, diving, and finding, as well as other interesting stories.
SUBMISSION POLICY—Articles:
All Antique Bottle & Glass Collector articles or material needs to be submitted via an FTP site, email or hard copy.
Electronic text files should be in Microsoft Word.
Electronic photo files should be in JPEG, TIFF or EPS format.
Resolution of 300 dpi at actual publication size is preferred but as low as 150 dpi (at double publication size) is acceptable.
SUBMISSION POLICY—Classified ads:
All ad copy should be typewritten, clearly & legibly printed, or sent via e-mail.
The FOHBC will not be responsible for errors in an ad due to poor quality, illegible copy.
The FOHBC reserves the right to refuse any advertising.
Please send articles/images to fmeyer@fmgdesign.com or mail to business manager noted on bottom of previous column.
Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
Thursday, July 31 - Sunday, August 3, 2025
Antique Bottle Show & Sales, Bottle Competition, Early Admission, Seminars, Displays, Awards Banquet, Membership Breakfast, Raffle, Children’s Events and more…
