Vol. 33 $7.00
No. 1
January - February 2022 July - August 2022
Featuring... ELI M. GATCHELL Charleston’s Briefest Doctor and Soda Bottle Manufacturer
Also in this issue...
Cheers to the Privy Double Addendum Dame Jeanne and the Master Ink Jones’ Empire Ink – He was married to the ugliest woman in the world! Fislerville Jar is filled with New Jersey history. The Early Potteries of The Queen City 1834-1896 and so much more!
The official publication of the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors
Vol. 33
No. 4
Vol. 33 No. 4
July–August 2022
TABLE OF CONTENTS
No. 262
On the Cover: Images from Eli M. Gatchell, Charleston’s Briefest Doctor and Soda Bottle Manufacturer
To Advertise, Subscribe or Renew a subscription, see pages 66 and 72 for details.
FOHBC Officers | 2022–2024 ............................................................................... 2
To Submit a Story, send a Letter to the Editor or have Comments and Concerns, contact:
FOHBC President’s Message ................................................................................. 3 Shards of Wisdom–Heard it Through the Grapevine ................................................. 4 FOHBC News–From & For Our Members ................................................................ 6 FOHBC Regional News ......................................................................................... 9 Virtual Museum News by Richard Siri ..................................................................... 10
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When Stupidity Smarts by Ralph Finch ............................................................... 12 Cheers to the Privy Double Addendum by Jeff Mihalik ............................................ 16 Jones’ Empire Ink–He was married to the “Ugliest Woman in the World”
by Ferdinand Meyer V ........................................................................................... 20
Eli M. Gatchell, Charleston’s Briefest Doctor and Soda Bottle Manufacturer by David Kyle Rakes ............................................................................................. 24
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Dame Jeanne and the Master Ink by John Savastio ................................................ 32
Fislerville Jar is filled with New Jersey history by Ralph Finch .................................... 54 Member Photos .................................................................................................. 64
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Classified Ads .................................................................................................... 66 History’s Corner ................................................................................................... 70 Membership Benefits, Ad Rates, Donations to the FOHBC ..................................... 71 32
Coming next issue or down the road: Abraham Klauber, an early San Diego Pioneer • George P. Morrill–Druggist and Soda Bottler • Pike’s Peak or Bust • A Clinton Physician Dr. Carl Gruber • M.E. Phelan’s, Indianapolis First Manicurist and Hair Tonic • Confessions of a Bottle Thief • Traveling the Capers Trail • Catawba Wine Bitters • History of the Baraboo Pottery Baraboo, Wisconsin • The Joy of Collecting ACL Soda Bottles • The Sprinkles of Whiskey: Distilling Their Story and so much more!
July – August 2022
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, FMG Design, Inc., 101 Crawford Street, Studio 1A, Houston, Texas 77002; 713.504.0628, email: fohbcmembers@gmail.com Annual subscription rate is: $40 for standard mail or $55 for First Class, $60 to Canada, $80 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.
FOHBC Sho-Biz–Calendar of Shows ................................................................... 68
Membership Application & Magazine Advertising .................................................... 72
Elizabeth Meyer FOHBC Business Manager FMG Design, Inc. 101 Crawford Street, Studio 1A, Houston, Texas 77002 phone: 713.504.0628 email: fohbcmembers@gmail.com
Antique Bottle & Glass Collector © (ISSN 10505598) is published bi-monthly (6 issues per year) by the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors, Inc. (a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization) at 101 Crawford Street, Studio 1A, Houston, Texas 77002; phone: 713.504.0628; Website: FOHBC.org, Non-profit periodicals postage paid at Raymore, Missouri 64083 and additional mailing office, Pub. #005062.
History & Mystery: The Early Potteries of The Queen City 1834-1896 by Peter Jablonski ................................................................................................ 43 Lost & Found ...................................................................................................... 60
So you don’t miss an issue of Antique Bottle & Glass Collector, please check your labels for expiration information.
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The names Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors Inc. (FOHBC), and Antique Bottle & Glass Collector ©, are registered ® names of the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors Inc., and no use of either other than as references, is permitted without expressed written consent from the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors Inc. Certain material contained in this publication is copyrighted by, and remains the sole property of, the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors Inc. while others remain property of the submitting authors. Detailed information concerning a particular article may be obtained from the Editor. Printed by Modern Litho, Jefferson City, Missouri 65101.
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FOHBC Board of Directors
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 Historian: Position Open Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors
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.
ATTENTION: From the FOHBC Bylaws. See FOHBC.org, menu bar FOHBC, tab FOHBC Bylaws Article VIII – Terms and Elections C-2. In such a case whereas there is no opposition to any elected position, a motion shall be made and seconded for the FOHBC Secretary to cast one ballot for the nominated slate of officers, therefore eliminating the need to conduct the election process described in C number 1 above [See Bylaws].
FOHBC Officers 2022–2024 President: Michael Seeliger, N8211 Smith Road, Brooklyn, Wisconsin 53521, phone: 608.575.2922, email: mwseeliger@gmail.com First Vice-President: Jeff Wichmann, American Bottle Auctions, 915 28th Street, Sacramento, California 95816, phone: 800.806.7722, email: info@americanbottle.com Second Vice-President: Position Open Secretary: Alice Seeliger, N8211 Smith Road, Brooklyn, Wisconsin 53521, phone: 608.575.1128, email: aliceajscreative@gmail.com Treasurer: James Berry, 200 Fort Plain Watershed Road, St. Johnsville, New York 13452, phone: 518.568.5683, email: jhberry10@yahoo.com Business Manager: Elizabeth Meyer, FMG Design, Inc., 101 Crawford Street, Studio 1A, Houston, Texas 77002 phone: 713.504.0628, email: fohbcmembers@gmail.com Director-at-Large: Ferdinand Meyer V, FMG Design, Inc., 101 Crawford Street, Studio 1A, Houston, Texas 77002 phone: 713.222.7979 x115, email: fmeyer@fmgdesign.com 2
Northeast Region Director: Position Open Midwest Region Director: Henry Hecker, W298 S10655 Phantom Woods Road, Mukwongo, Wisconsin 53149, phone: 262.844.5751, email: phantomhah@gmail.com Southern Region Director: Jake Smith, 29 Water Tank Drive, Talladega, Alabama 35160, phone: 256.267.0446, email: syl_bottleguy@yahoo.com Western Region Director: Eric McGuire, 1732 Inverness Drive, Petaluma, California 94954, phone: 707.481.9145, email: etmcguire@comcast.net Conventions Director: Position Open Public Relations Director: Position Open Membership Director: Position Open
FOHBC Virtual Museum Alan DeMaison, 1605 Clipper Cove, Painesville, Ohio 44077, phone: 440.358.1223, email: a.demaison@sbcglobal.net Ferdinand Meyer V, FMG Design, Inc., 101 Crawford Street, Studio 1A, Houston, Texas 77002, phone: 713.222.7979 x115, email: fmeyer@fmgdesign.com Richard Siri, PO Box 3818, Santa Rosa, California 95402, phone: 707.542.6438, email: rtsiri@sbcglobal.net
Antique Bottle & Glass Collector Magazine Editor: Ferdinand and Elizabeth Meyer, FMG Design, Inc., 101 Crawford Street, Studio 1A, Houston, Texas 77002, FM phone: 713.222.7979 x115, email: fmeyer@fmgdesign.com, EM phone: 713.504.0628 email: fohbcmembers@gmail.com Design and Layout: Ferdinand Meyer V Proofreaders: Alice Seeliger and Bill Baab
FOHBC.org Website Webmaster: Ferdinand Meyer V Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
President’s Message John O’Neill President Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors
1805 Ralston Avenue, Belmont, California 94002 650.619.8209 Joneill@risk-strategies.com
This is my final column as President of this wonderful organization. I am thankful for the historical mentorship provided by all those who came before me and guided me along this path. This includes all the past officers and board members and those individuals who provided positive feedback and suggestions for improvements going forward. I want to say your voices have been heard, and we will continue to evolve as an organization. This hobby will need to continue to meet its challenges as we move into an increasingly digital age. Eric McGuire asked me to join the board many years ago, and I feel it is fitting that I will close out my term with Eric as our keynote speaker at this year’s Reno 2022 Convention. He is absolutely one of the foremost researchers I know in our field, and every time I find an item that sparks my curiosity, I turn to Eric. By the following day, I usually have a response with a complete history of the background and age range of the item. Ferdinand and Elizabeth Meyer are the glue of this entire endeavor, and they have shouldered a heavy burden over a long tenure. I offer my sincerest thanks to them, they are always willing to step up, and I hope, going forward, they can step back and have others share in that burden. Still, it will be challenging as they are just so good at what they do that it is hard to find others with their talents, drive, and commitment. To Jeff Wichmann, who so graciously accepted my invitation to be Vice President, I thank you for all the wonderful ideas and your financial support over the long term to the FOHBC and your efforts on the Auction Price Report. To Jim Bender, and Jim and Val Berry, I thank you for keeping us solvent, keeping us grounded, asking the tough questions, and being committed to the cause for such a long period of time and still to this day, adding your values and skill set and pointing out the pitfalls. Jim keeping History’s Corner alive as a tribute to your past friendship is admirable. Many thanks to Martin Van Zant, who kept the magazine running for so many years and balanced your work life. To our Regional Directors, Steve Lang, Fred DeCarlo, Jake Smith, and Eric McGuire, keep up the good work and the local representation, as you represent us at the local bottle shows in your region. We hope you will continue your work at the local level and recruit some of those members you meet that you feel could contribute to our efforts. July – August 2022
To Richard Siri, one of our past presidents and director at large, I thank you for making our upcoming show a great success and for the friendship with your family, including Bev, Rick, Delores, and your late brother Ted and his wife, Theresa. Your contributions are many, and I could dedicate an entire column to multitudes over many years. And for anyone and everyone that I may have forgotten to mention, including all my family and friends that put up with my passion and pursuit of this hobby, I thank you now for your support. The list is long, but you know who you are. I also want to take the time to introduce and welcome our new President, Michael Seeliger, and his wife, Alice, who will be our new Secretary. They are dedicated to their new positions, and I appreciate them both stepping forward to take the reins. In working with both Michael and Alice, I think the one word they exemplify is teamwork; they have a great working relationship, are very organized with new ideas, and are well-positioned to help the board succeed. I also want to welcome Henry Hecker as a new Midwest Regional Director. I have met Henry over our appreciation for stoneware and his work in that area. The next time I will see the membership will be at the Reno 2022 Membership Meeting Breakfast. We will confirm the new officers who are running unopposed in their positions and formalize the vote and installation. The show promises to be a good one. The Grand Sierra Resort is a great place to hold these gatherings, with lots of showroom space and entertainment venues, and Richard and the team have put a lot of work into making this a very successful show. I have never come away without adding some significant new acquisitions to the collection. I want to remind everyone to get your rooms booked now. Please reserve your sales table before they are all sold out. Take all those bottles sitting in boxes and make them someone else’s new acquisitions sitting on shelves so everyone can enjoy them. A bottle in a box is lonely and needs to be with its comrades shining and brightening someone’s day. In closing, I want to remind all the members and our new officers and directors that, while no longer President, I will remain a director at large and will be there to support their efforts and will always be available to listen to and discuss their thoughts should they wish my counsel and guidance. In the words of the late 60 Minutes commentator Andy Rooney, “life is like a roll of toilet paper; it starts off slow and spins a lot faster as you get to the end of the roll,” so spin away and have fun doing it. Make a difference and be proud of being part of the solution.
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Shards of Wisdom “Heard it Through the Grapevine”
Clean that dirty bottle? It may reveal something you don’t want to see. Ralph Finch found a surprise or two. OK, a pop quiz (and moms can take it, too). What is the best—and worst—part of collecting black glass? A: Best? It’s black, a million times rarer than clear or aqua. B: Worst? It’s black, and you are limited in enjoying the glass. It also means you can’t see what is inside the bottle. Plus, it’s easy to cover—but tough to discover—hard-to-find cracks. Same problem with pottery, and painted bottles...one of our favorite things to collect.
Recently, we bought a well-painted and pontiled, 18 inch tall demijohn with a great pastoral scene...
And now the point of the story: Janet is a cleaner. Like other females, Janet cleans the house on days the cleaning woman is coming! Janet was about to rinse the inside of the demijohn but discovered a little noise in the jar. With a wire and due patience, she uncovered a straw, bits of paper, and other crap. And when devoid of dubious detritus (I like the sound of the term), she washed out the bottle, and now all is well. I asked Holly if she was the one who put the straw in the bottle, but she was evasive. In fact, she said: “Not I, said the fly!” Is she first checking with a lawyer? Also, I am reminded of two times I purchased items with a surprise, not including old boxes of Cracker Jacks. Once was purchasing at a garage sale an old pendulum clock that “didn’t work.” At home, I opened it up and found that mice had made a home in the clock, filling it with...hair? Fuzz? Cotton? (I don’t know what mice like, aside from cheese, or if these mice were hurt running up the clock; well, I had read that “the clock struck one.”) The other incident: I once bought a handled crock at a rundown antique shop, took it home, and realized it had contents. I dumped it out and was disgusted to find that the previous butt-head owner had used the jug as an ashtray, and it was filled with vile cigarette butts! Ugh! After de-butting it and soaking it for a few days, it was then safe to bring into our smoking-free home. So the problem of cleaning something you can’t see the inside of… what’s the worst that can happen? Well, say you are at a garage sale in the Detroit area, and you buy a jug or crock, and you think it seems to have sand or gravel in it, and you pour it out and… After 47 years, you’ve found Jimmy Hoffa!
Now, I know that you don’t wallpaper a painted bottle, but: Recently, we bought a well-painted and pontiled demijohn, with a great pastoral scene (with a cow) heavily painted on it. Not chipped but…who knows if there are fine cracks. Cowabunga! (If there was a large rabbit painted in the scene, would we be worried that it was covering up hare-line cracks?) Now comes not the bad news (just an amusing comment). The demijohn had been purchased from well-known collector John Joiner, who—a few years before—had purchased it from very well-known dealers Jeff and Holly Noordsy. Jeff recently said: “I love that one! Yes, we owned it for a number of years.” 4
Editor’s note: Ooooops; Janet has just corrected me; it is not a cow in the painting, but a horse! Hey, I’m a city boy (and sometimes a jackass) but… Cast a vote to or “foe” to rfinch@twmi.rr.com
Exciting news! Dixie Glassworks of Tallapoosa, Ga. The widow of an Augusta glassblower gave me the following and I felt it may be of interest. Back in my digging days, I unearthed many bottles including Cokes with DIXIE embossed on the bases. This little pamphlet was written by a glassblower. A short history of the Tallapoosa Bottle–The Dixie Glassworks Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
Shards of Wisdom “Heard it Through the Grapevine”
of Tallapoosa, Ga., by Don Lillie, Lillie Glassblowers, Smyrna, Georgia Tallapoosa, Georgia is a small town located about 60 miles west of Atlanta, Georgia. In 1889, a major effort was made to develop the town into a major manufacturing center. By the turn of the (20th) century, it had established a major resort hotel, harness company, cement plant, a newspaper, steel mill, a wine industry and a thriving glass factory. The glass factory started in 1889 as the Mountain City Glassworks, but changed to the Piedmont Glass Company in 1891 when it was acquired by the Georgia-Alabama Investment Company. The glassworks employed about 100 people and made bottles, lamp shades, tableware and flasks. By the late 1890s, it was known as the Dixie Glass Works and was the largest and most successful glass factory in the South. In 1918, economic conditions and lateral events resulted in its final demise. Bottles called “picnic flasks” were made by the Dixie Glass Works about 1906 mainly for extracts and various medicines. The flask was hand blown into a two-piece mold, then held at the bottom with a device called a “snap,” hence no “pontil mark,” and finally the neck was tooled for a stopper. These flasks were packed in wooden crates padded with newspaper and shipped to an extract company in Atlanta.
Coca-Cola Co.’s British business said it would introduce packaging that keeps plastic lids tethered to bottles when opened to make it easier for consumers to recycle drinks packaging in its entirety. Plastic bottle caps can be recycled but are often lost, discarded or end up as litter, Coca-Cola said in a statement. The new design aims to reduce that, the company said. The hinged lids started rolling out Tuesday on 1.5-liter bottles of Fanta, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar and Diet Coke in Scotland, and all plastic bottles across Coca-Cola’s brands will adopt the new design in the U.K. by 2024, the company said. Coca-Cola will work with bottling partners to eventually phase the design into production lines across Europe, a company spokesman said. “This is a small change that we hope will have a big impact, ensuring that when consumers recycle our bottles, no cap gets left behind,” Jon Woods, general manager at Coca-Cola Great Britain, said in a statement. The design is part of Coca-Cola’s strategy to help create a “circular economy” for its plastic products amid regulation and calls to reduce the amount of its plastic packaging that ends up in landfills and elsewhere. We’ve come a long way since the first Coca-Cola bottles. Pictured with the red Coca-Cola image are two bottles added by the FOHBC. The Hutchinson bottle on the left is embossed “Brunswick Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Brunswick, Ga.” The bottle on the right is one of, if not the first, labeled Coca-Cola bottles.
The Boghouse Podcast
In 1908, the Georgia Legislature passed prohibition laws which made it illegal to use these flasks since the extract contained alcohol. The bottles were stored and forgotten, eventually accumulating a layer of soot from the coal-burning trains that passed the warehouse.
Coca-Cola Introducing Bottles With Caps That Stay Attached The roll-out aims to reduce bottle cap litter, but environmental advocates call for a focus on containers that can be reused. By Katie Deighton, The Wall Street Journal, May 17, 2022.
Photo credit: Mikey Mongol Photography We came across a podcast about the time Matt and Melissa Dunphy bought a magic theater from a pedophile, discovered treasure, and became accidental amateur archaeologists. Listen to The Boghouse Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRADIO, or Google Podcasts. Matt and Melissa found the C. Willing Bottle Seal and asked the question on page 7 of this issue. Look for a follow-up AB&GC article down the road. July – August 2022
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FOHBC News From & For Our Members
The Latest Email Scams The FOHBC in not immune to scams. Consider the following two recent hustles. The first scam was spotted by Andy Agnew of the Baltimore Bottle Club and brought to our attention. The email had been sent to a handful of collectors. [Dear FOHBC Person] How are you doing? Are you available at the moment? I need your assistance to handle a little project. Can you please handle this for me on behalf of the organization? The Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors is requesting gift card donations to assist Veterans at hospice care welfare with patients who have been negatively impacted by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Every gift helps provide resources that will stabilize a Veteran and ensure a positive upward trajectory during this critical time. I have decided to make it a personal duty and I’ll be responsible for the reimbursement of cards bought. Kindly confirm if you can help out. – John O’Neill, President [FOHBC] This certainly looks real enough but this was not from John O’Neill. An inspection of his email address reveals that it is not correct and it’s the email address of the scammer. If you were to play along with the scammer and answer, the scammer would ask you to go to your nearest drug store and purchase money cards. You would then transfer the information to John (the scammer). Most of us have seen these scams before. Some have fallen for it so please be careful.
could help other collectors! Let me know! Thank you again for all the help! Sincerely, Harry Rizzo [FOHBC] This looks real enough too, but there is no Harry Rizzo, there is no “out here in Maine,” no library and no Ashley. When I clicked the link it sent me to a well-laid-out antique bottle blog page with a goofy bottle illustration and header graphics titled “The Curious World of Bottle Collecting” that was full of (cribbed) antique bottle and glass collecting information. This almost fooled us as we were going to thank “Harry” and add “Ashley’s” link to our website. However, something did not feel right. When I clicked any one of “Ashley’s” many bottle reference links like “Caps and Closures,” it took me to a very robust advertising page for hundreds of products like energy drinks, natural soy candles, dog biscuits, etc. Some flim-flam man had gone to a lot of trouble to trick the viewer. It must work as I bought some dog cookies. Only kidding! By the way, if you did purchase something, the scammer has all your credit card info. Be careful!
This second scam almost fooled us as it appeared to be similar to many other real “thank-you emails” we receive. John, Ferdinand and Elizabeth, As a library media specialist out here in Maine, I wanted to thank the FOHBC for putting together your links page. My name is Harry Rizzo and our library is hosting a special ‘Antique Collectors and Pickers’ seminar this month. Antiques are really popular up here in Maine and New England, so we thought we would do a fun community based seminar to teach our members all about antiques and collecting! I’m compiling a reference guide for the attendees, and I have some student volunteers assisting me! Your page had some fantastic bottle collecting websites to check out, so my students requested I reach out and let you know how much you’ve helped us :) As a thank you, I wanted to pass along this bottle collecting guide my student Ashley found... https://blog.bottlestore.com/the-curious-worldof-bottle-collecting-and-the-people-who-collect-them/ Ashley was very excited to share it with you! She thought it would make a great addition to your page... https://www.fohbc.org/links/ Could you include this on there for her? It’s always nice to get some recognition for a job well done and I know she would be thrilled to see she 6
Concern of Copyright Infringement Hi Ferdinand, It’s been a while and I hope you and yours are doing well. I’m writing to you as I have a concern of copyright infringement as I believe both my website, 1780farmhouse.com, and the FOHBC hold a copyright on The West Point Class of 1846 McClellan Bottle article, which poses no problem whatsoever with me. The issue is that some business and marketing website has plagiarized the written material on Stonewall Jackson and is using my photography without credit or permission. The FOHBC magazine is Vol. 25, No. 4, July–August 2014. The infringed written material is on page 40. Below is the link he published in 2016 and I only now caught it as I was using the google lens app to see if anything else came up on the bottle. I did email him last week and asked him to either take down the plagiarized material and my photo or give proper credit. He has done neither. Again I hope you’re doing well and was wondering what your reaction to this situation would be. I am considering a copyright infringement notice to be sent via certified mail, but thought you may have other ideas or resources. Link: https://digitalsparkmarketing.com/west-point-class/ (Scroll Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
FOHBC News From & For Our Members
down to Stonewall Jackson section. He uses eleven of our paragraphs and, while making a change here and there, he also copied material verbatim.) I’m living in Philadelphia now and am doing very well working at a fantastic thrift store and scoring some amazing antiques. I’m back in my home city near my remaining family. If I had a new blog I guess it would be 1930germantownapartment.com... ha ha. Please let me know what you might make of this; not sure just how far fair use goes and what our rights are as both copyright holders. Thanks, Eric Richter, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania [FOHBC] Hi Eric. Seems like a Catfish site intended to be found by researchers only to be trapped on a fake website intended to generate advertising revenue. Funny that they are using a fake picture of a blurry man. Definitely wrong but there are lots of sites like this that steal your stuff and repackage. Nice to hear from you!
More on the The case of the ‘missing’ flasks of the St. Louis Bottle-Jar Expo in the May–June AB&GC issue To Bill Baab (author) from Elizabeth Meyer: “James Roth from West Fargo, North Dakota sent me these images for you.” The other two pictures were detail shots of the inside spread and back page of the little booklet attached to the flask which read: “Hand Made South Jersey Glass” (cover), “The Downer Glass Works Box 213A Stanger Avenue, R. D. Williamstown, N. J.
08094.” (page 2), “The Downer Glass Works is located in the Jersey Pines, where Glass Making is carried on just as it was 200 years ago. The Formulas and Methods have been rediscovered through careful research and are carried out by Skilled Craftsmen in the South Jersey Tradition. Our production is very limited, making each pattern a true Collectors Item.” (pages 3 and 4).
1984 – First issue of Antique Bottle & Glass Collector By the early 1980s, Jim Hagenbuch was sending out over 400 lists of bottles for sale to his customer base. In 1983 he decided to publish a magazine. At that time two other magazines existed, Antique Bottle World published by Jerry McCann in Chicago, Illinois, and The OBX (Old Bottle Magazine), published by Ken Asher in Bend, Oregon. Jim had heard that both were potentially for sale. Jim approached Jerry McCann about purchasing Antique Bottle World but was not able to arrive at a price so Jim went forward with a new magazine. In April of 1984, the first issue of Antique Bottle & Glass Collector (AB&GC) went to press. Jim does not remember how many subscribers received the first issue, but many of his loyal customers had subscribed. In August of that year, at the FOHBC National Convention held in Montgomery, Alabama, Jim was approached by Jerry McCann regarding the purchase of Antique Bottle World. The price he was asking was now considerably less than when they first talked a year earlier and Jim agreed to make the purchase. By the fall of 1984, Jim merged the two magazines and Antique Bottle World ceased to exist. Several years later, Jim received in the mail an express envelope from Ken Asher. In the envelope were two signed contracts and a letter from Ken telling Jim he could buy OBX for $1! By now Jim probably had over 2,000 subscribers to AB&GC and wasn’t sure he needed to buy another magazine. He called Ken and after a short conversation with him decided it would probably be beneficial to make the purchase which he did. Probably three or four months later the two magazines were merged and OBX was gone. At its peak, Jim had over 4,500 subscribers; when he turned it over to John Pastor 25 years later it was down to around 3,500. Ken Asher told Jim that at its peak, he had over 7,000 subscribers! Note: John Pastor gifted AB&GC to the FOHBC in late 2021.
FOHBC Article Question Re: C. Willing Bottle Seal Hello John (O’Neill), I hope this finds you well! I am reaching out on behalf of Matt and Melissa Dunphy with regards to this article on the FOHBC website. I understand that the author, Cecil Munsey, has passed on. We’re trying to find a point of contact regarding a picture included in the article and I’m wondering if you or anyone at FOHBC can help? With that said, Matt and Melissa reside on Callowhill Street in Philadelphia, PA on a piece of property that has a history July – August 2022
Continued...
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FOHBC News From & For Our Members
going back to the Penn Charter. To make a rather long and incredibly interesting story short, the Dunphys have unearthed quite a bit of artifacts from the 18th and 19th century in several privy pits found on both their and the surrounding properties. Included in those artifacts is a “C. Willing” seal (see photo left). More information about the Dunphys and all their amazing finds can be found here: The Boghouse. https://boghouse. thehannah.org Figure 2 in the article is an intact bottle with the “C. Willing” seal but does not mention where the bottle is located. I’m hoping you could point us in the direction of where that bottle might be viewed. We would love to be able to get a better picture of that particular bottle and take a look at an intact specimen. If there is any information you have regarding where that bottle could be viewed or who owns it, please let me know, it would be greatly appreciated! Dina Steiner Managerial Assistant, Mormolyke Press Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mexican Drug Co., El Paso, Texas Hello Miss Elizabeth! I hope that you, your family, and all of your loved ones are doing well and staying healthy in these pandemic times we are all living in. My name is Robert and I got your email from the FOHBC homepage. I would like to ask if you or any of your colleagues would be kind enough to help me put a price on this small bottle. I am not a collector, or enthusiast, but I would like for it to go to a good home after I find out what it is worth. I would like to ask if you could review the pictures and the letter by Professor of Anthropology Bill Lockhart that I enclosed. He and his Associate Professor Miss Wanda Wakkinen inspected and photographed this bottle from all angles on a snowed-in Christmas Day a few years back. He did not place a value on it though as he said there was no other comparable. This bottle missed being in his book by a few months that he published in 2015. I would really appreciate it if you would be kind enough to help me find an adequate good home for it as I feel it needs someone who will be a good steward and keeper of this so far only-one-known bottle. 8
Thank you very much in advance. Be well and be safe out there. Best wishes to you and all of your loved ones always! Robert Maese
[Response from Bill Lockhart & Wanda Wakkinen, March 21, 2016] Dear Robert, When we were at your house in December, we observed your bottle embossed “Mexican Drug Co. Botica Mexicana “Hildalgo” 603 S. El Paso El Paso Tex Tel. 1607.” Since there is no manufacturer’s mark on the base, there is no way to tell when or where the bottle was actually made. However I was able to determine the following: The Ruiz Bros. (F. A. and A. S. Ruiz, a.k.a. Ruiz & Ruiz and Botica Mexicana) were first listed in the 1907 city directory listing at 616 El Paso Dr. The listing continued until 1918. Although the business was across the street from the Botica Mexicana discussed below, it was probably unrelated. However, the city directories were notorious for maintaining listings after businesses had closed. The Ruiz brothers may have sold the store to Manuel Porras (see below) in 1915. The Botica Mexicana Hildalgo opened about May 1915 at 603 S. El Paso Dr. An ad in the May 23, 1915, El Paso Morning Times noted the phone number as 1607 and listed five doctors connected with the firm and the times they were available. The store had received a shipment of French and German perfumes along with “plantas medicinales Mexicanas” (natural Mexican remedies). The store had a new soda fountain and an ice cream parlor—all at moderate prices. Manuel Porras was the principal by 1916 and both Manuel and Guillermo Porras were listed in 1921—Guillermo was also listed as a local lawyer. The 1922 city directory listed the El Paso Pharmacy (Botica Mexicana), operated by Rodarte & Co., almost certainly indicating the sale of the firm. Rodarte dropped the name Botica Mexicana by the following year. In 21 years of collecting and studying El Paso bottles and their users, your bottle is the only example of its kind that I’ve ever found. It is a unique treasure of El Paso history. Thank you for thinking of me and staying in touch. Sincerely, Bill Lockhart Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
FOHBC Regional News
The Alabama Bottle & Antique Show held its 2nd annual event on May 14, 2022. More pictures at FOHBC.org.
Northeast Region [Fred DeCarlo, Director] Fellow collectors, it has been a busy couple months here in the northeast with some great shows that have been well-attended. Baltimore, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, Somers, CT to name a few and many more shows coming up soon. I hope everyone is at least able to attend your local shows. I have to announce that I am becoming too busy with my young children and a rapidly growing work schedule that I can hardly fulfill my obligations to the FOHBC as Northeast Director, so I must resign. It has been an honor to serve in this position as I love this hobby and anyone interested in serving on the board please reach out to the FOHBC via email. Take care my friends and hopefully we shall cross paths at a show someday.
Midwest Region [Steve Lang, Director] Hello, all Midwest FOHBC members. This will be my last Midwest Region report as I have completed my family’s move to Tennessee. I hope my replacement is welcomed as warmly as I was. Indianapolis’s Circle City Antique Bottle, Glass & Pottery club has been homeless since Covid 19 hit the world in early 2020. The club had met for years at one of the local high schools. During the different versions of lockdown and homeschooling, the school district has not allowed outside groups to use their facilities. That is until May 25, 2022, when the club held its first meeting at the High School in over two years. It was a great turnout with ten members and many excellent bottles and stories to pass around. I only wish I could have attended. The group even tried to FaceTime me so I could be included, but my phone was in silent mode charging, and I missed the call. But with Facebook pictures, I could at least see the show-and-tell items. I see this as maybe the most positive event showing a move towards a more normal atmosphere. It was a long journey, and I want to thank all the club members who hosted events and meetings during these two years. You are the reason the club is still active. Thank you! I hope all the Midwest FOHBC clubs move forward positively, and I wish everyone all the luck in the world finding that very important-to-you bottle or item for your collection. Happy collecting.
Southern Region [Jake Smith, Director] In from Keith Quinn: The Alabama Bottle & Antique Show held its 2nd annual event on May 14, 2022. Last year we had 60 dealer tables—this year we grew by 25% to 75 tables. There were dealers from seven states set up including Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Texas and New York. In addition, buyers showed up in large numbers once again from all over the southeast. Gardendale was a great host city and we are already working on next year’s event. July – August 2022
Western Region [Eric McGuire, Director] One of the most important Internet research sites for 19th century California bottles has recently gone missing. The California State Archives “Old Series” Trademarks site (http://exhibits.sos. ca.gov/collections/show/1) is no longer functional. I queried the archives and they responded with a new access to the trade mark data: https://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/trademarks. Unfortunately the old site will not redirect a user to the new site. The 49’er Historical Bottle Assoc. held its annual Spring picnic at the home of Rick Pisano and long-time partner, Tammy Correa, in Grass Valley. And, by the way, they officially tied the knot at the picnic! Beautiful “gold country” Spring weather greeted approximately 100 guests at the picnic and a great time was had by all. The club’s extraordinary newsletter Bottle Diggins has been the charge of Warren Friedrich for the last four years. He has decided to “retire” from his editor role and deserves a hard-earned THANK YOU for a job well done! Those collectors who are interested in western soda bottles might like to take a peek at the Western Bottle Blog regarding the relatively rare F. M. MODESTO bottle information. It has been many years since Peck Markota included this bottle in his classic reference on the subject. Peck passed away on October 3, 2007, and I know he would be so thrilled to be able to conduct research with what is available on the Internet today. Just thinking of you, Peck, and what you have done for the hobby. 9
VIRTUAL MUSEUM NEWS By Richard T. Siri, Santa Rosa, California
I thought I would use this space to post portions of an email and pictures from Bob Jochums documenting the Virtual Museum imaging team in conducting the first Cures Gallery imaging session this past March in Berkeley Lake, Georgia. From there we will take you to the museum where the first cures bottles are being displayed. The previous day they imaged the Mike Newman collection outside of Augusta. Alan and Terry arrived at 8:40 p.m. last night (March 25, 2022) and after getting their stuff (clothing, toiletries, and equipment) out of the van and into the basement, we chatted for a bit and contemplated/planned the Saturday action. Off to bed at 10:30 p.m. and our guests were upstairs for breakfast at 7:30 a.m. We were imaging at 8 a.m. Shari made lasagna, garlic bread, and salad with dressing for lunch...and homemade brownies for dessert, still warm from the oven. Back to work and wrapped up about 45 shoots. Car packed and they were off at 4:30 p.m. for three hours to their hotel in Tennessee for the night, and then home to Ohio on Sunday. Here are some pictures: Staging for imaging [left] The bottles with the necks toward Terry have been imaged. The two rows to the right were ready for imaging...lined up in Excel database order (I’d done a cut and paste of the Excel database, highlighted my bottles, and given it to Alan to use as a checkoff list while imaging bottles presented to him in that order—and I think it was helpful to him). Terry is going through a booze box that holds other cures that I have for sale. He ended up buying 30-35 out of several boxes examined and was pleased to take them back to Ohio with him while leaving me with $1,070. Also printed out a copy of my “Cures For Sale” list as he’s got a friend close to home who’s a cure collector and I don’t believe I’ve ever sent a list to him.
The FOHBC Virtual Museum has been 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.
Alan & Terry [column bottom] Alan DeMaison (left) at the computer with the camera and imaging station to the right. Same bottle as in the previous picture on his computer screen. This, by the way, is in what we call the Rec Room of the basement. Notice the tumblers on the floor along with a number of booze boxes full of cures for sale in the background. Terry Crislip moved over into the picture. He’s holding the amber Clement’s Certain Cure which was imaged by itself on the turntable and then in tandem with the green one. All in all a good day. Alan had some unexplained focusing issues at one point but he took notes and is prepared to image certain bottles again if he still believes that’s necessary after looking at what he got today once he gets home. Alan’s still planning a trip to Berkeley Lake and Tampa in the fall as he and his wife visit Orlando to plan on a family event to celebrate their 50th anniversary in October. Just decided I should send this to Alan and Terry as the pictures of them are pretty good. Thanks, you two. I think we had a good day and Shari and I enjoyed spending time with you both. As I said, she’s always been supportive of my antique glass habit. Bob
Turntable imaging [next column top] Here’s two sizes and colors of a Clements Certain Cure sitting on the turntable surrounded by three lights with special halogen lamps that emit light at regular daylight wavelengths. The turntable, camera, and computer work in sync to take 36 images at 10 degree intervals. When that’s done, they take an image of the base. 10
Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
Cures Gallery
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Please help us in our Phase 3 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 $83,400 to date. We have $31,238 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.
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With one salaried website technician averaging $1,000 a month, we need help. Plus, we are now traveling to collections again as Pandemic restrictions are gradually lifted so costs will be 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!
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FOHBC VIRTUAL MUSEUM OF HISTORICAL BOTTLES AND GLASS
Fohbcvirtualmuseum.org For gift information contact: Alan DeMaison, FOHBC Virtual Museum Treasurer, 1605 Clipper Cove, Painesville, Ohio 44077, a.demaison@sbcglobal.net
July – August 2022
26 May 2022
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The “target ball” was described as “A very large and unusual 6” target ball where pontil broken off a hole with a rop in ita deep blue colorno cracks.” Yep, that was the description, word for word. The only thing this…item was missing was a “barnacle.” Its condition was rated as “very goo.” And helping(?) the description was a photo of…OK, I’ve looked at the photo a dozen times and still don’t know what it is.
When stupidity smarts!
More rants and raves by our mild-mannered reporter, Ralph Finch.
Had you won this bit of…goo, it would have also cost you $10.50 to be shipped from West Virginia. (I won’t comment, except to quote from Wikipedia: “West Virginia underperforms the national average by more than 100 points.”) Sigh. Only two months before, an eBayer offered a “RARE GURG AND SONS GLASS TARGET BALL.” That, of course, should have read: “GURD & SON 185 DUNDAS STREET LONDON ONT.” A product of the Hamilton Glassworks, these rarely found balls run $500 to $1,300. Gurd vs Gurg—that reminds me of the bad pun about cheese: “Was it Gouda? It wasn’t Bada.”
Y
ou don’t have to be a rocket cientyst to be on eBay…or know how to spell scientist, but…I’m addicted to stupid, stupid, stupid eBayers. I know, I know, I’ve promised—many times—that I would not get upset when I strolled through eBay and found… More reasons to be reminded that Darwin was wrong, and it was the weak-minded people who would not only survive, but thrive, thanks in large part to eBay, which does not require anyone to have even a minimum high school SAT score.
Its condition was rated as“very goo.” The other day, on eBay, an item was offered as “semi antique.” That left me “semi confused.” And there are other times that cause my head to spin (and my blood pressure to rise). Example 1: A “RARE-Taarget-ball” was offered on eBay and I thought…there goes my hope that only smart people will be on eBay…once again, my hopes were dashed. The required opening bid was $135 which, no big surprise, was not met. 12
And, as for the last many years, listed on eBay was one of those small, 2.2-ounce ketchup bottles. The last one could have been had for $3.50 plus $4.66 shipping! Remember, these bottles come free at hotels (or on cruise ships) offering room service! Don’t ask me why (Janet often asks me why), but I have about 100 of them artistically displayed in a wicker basket. (Stop by and I’ll give you one for free.) Also, what irritates me? Words and descriptions that mean little: “Vintage,” and “as found.”
Words and descriptionsthat mean little: “Vintage,” and “as found.” This one is common on eBay: “Overall Used Condition Consistent With Age.” So, if you buy something that’s a hundred years old, you can’t expect it to look goo? Can’t it be mint, and not look like my grandmother when she died? And, in late December (2021) a description of “Lot 305: 10.5 inches TALL DARK OLIVE GREEN CASE GIN BOTTLE” was said to have “NO MAJOR ISSUES, IN SEA WORN CONDITION” What is “major,” and what would be a “minor” problem. I don’t sea it. Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
Also, a Norwalk, Conn., auction house said a “large papier-mâché milk bottle” was 26.25 inches tall, and that was it. Interested in condition? The auction house admits: “The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections, or the effects of aging.” In other words, you’ve been warned. Bits and pieces prove that; indeed, America is going down the tubes. Each day. And, as dumb as we have become, some politicians want to cut educational support even more. Now that’s dumb! April 12 (+2020): An eBay seller offered a bound volume of Forest and Stream from February to July of 1884. He said of the book: “BOARDS ARE LOOSE AND SPINE IS ABSENT. FIRST FOUR PAGES, VOLUME TITLE, INDEX AND FIRST PAGE OF FIRST ISSUE ARE LOOSE. BOARDS WORN AND SOILED.” Then he said of the condition: “Very Good.” Very good???
“Rare. A pair of glass cubes that look to be glass target balls.” April 30: A seller from Apex, North Carolina, offered this confusing description: “Old blue cracked glass fly trap; not sure of the age.” Yet, he is sure enough to say it’s “old.” Should he move from Apex and find a town named…Perigee? May 9: A seller who is not as bright as a fifth-grader—or a welltrained monkey—offered two glass squares with this description: “Rare. A pair of glass cubes that look to be glass target balls.” Amazing. He says they are “rare,” then added…“Not sure what else they could be or have been used for.” Yet he’s sure enough to say they are “rare” and to place an opening minimum bid of $99 on them. What’s rare? Common sense on eBay. Circles vs. squares? Yep, that’s a complicated idea to grasp. When I entered basic training a hundred years ago you were given an aptitude test and—I’m not kidding—you were shown a picture of a hammer and a screwdriver and were asked to identify them. (Of course, knowing the Army, if you identified them correctly, I think you were sent off to become a cook.) I failed the Morse Code part of the test, so what did I do for the next 2 1⁄2 years? Listened to Morse Code!! FYI: Old square-head couldn’t get $99, so he did the next best(?) thing: On May 17, he again listed his pair with a buy-it-now price of $129.99! Sigh. A few hundred years ago, people were arguing whether the earth was round or flat. I will bet that some eBayers are still not sure. July – August 2022
One thousand secrets? It’s really no secret: some eBay sellers are either stupid, greedy, or lazy (or a combination of all three). In the late 1890s, C.A. Bogardus (aka “Champion Quick Shot of the World”) wrote One Thousand Secrets Revealed. It took many editions, many book covers (in different colors), different pages and even variations in the book’s size. But it is common! (I have a half-dozen editions.) Around July 17, “catlynn2” failed to sell an 1898 edition for $59.95. A week before that, “evesfinds” offered what likely is the 1908 edition for $45, then dropped the price to $40.50. Then, in late-July, “diamondantiques” ignored what was currently listed and offered another 1908 edition, but this one was for $145! Double sigh... The other day, on eBay, an item was offered as “semi antique.” That left me “semi confused.” And there are other times that cause my head to spin (and my blood pressure to rise. And helping(?) the description was a photo of…OK, I’ve looked at the photo a dozen times and still don’t know what it is. And, another auction house recently warned: “All condition reports are based on general observations only, and are not meant to serve as a detailed analysis of condition.” What does that mean? A “general observation?” When George Custer was dubbed the “Boy General,” that would be like him making this general observation: “I think there may be Indians…” And soon he’d be wearing an arrow shirt. Smart.
When George Custer was dubbed the “Boy General,” that would be like him making this general observation: “I think there may be Indians…” And soon he’d be wearing an arrow shirt. If I was smart, I’d stop looking at eBay.
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$8,960 May 2012 American Glass Gallery #8 $575 August 2017 Heckler Auction #154 84: “General Washington” And Bust – “E Pluribus Unum / T.W.D.” And Eagle Portrait Flask, Kensington Glass Works, Philadelphia Pennsylvania, 1820-1830. “Firecracker” Blue aquamarine with a strong olive tone, sheared mouth – pontil scar, pint; GI-14 (light exterior high point wear). Bill and Betty Wilson collection.
26: “General Washington” And Bust – “E Pluribus Unum T.W.D.” And Eagle Portrait Flask, Kensington Glass Works, Philadelphia Pennsylvania, 1820-1830. “Firecracker” Medium red amber with a strong olive tone, sheared mouth – pontil scar, pint; (light exterior high point wear). GI-14. Dr. Timoth Shuttle collection.
$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.
$65,520 February 2019 Heckler #180 215: “General Washington” And Bust - “E. Pluribus Unum / T.W.D” And Eagle Portrait Flask, Kensington Glass Works, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1826-1840. Medium cobalt blue, sheared mouth - pontil scar, pint; (light exterior high point wear). GI-14 Known as the “Firecracker Flask”, this iconic piece is both beautiful and historically important. Fine condition with bold embossing. Ex Edmund and Jayne Blaske collection, Dr. Charles and Jane Aprill collection.
$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. Dr. Gary and Arlette Johnson collection.
Firecracker GI-14
Coming Soon! 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. We hope to have this project ready by the summer of 2022. The Auction Price Report will only be available to FOHBC members. Joining the FOHBC will give the new member 24-7-365 access. What a great tool this will be for the collectors, diggers, pickers, researchers and the generally curious! 14
Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
July – August 2022
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I originally wrote the Cheers to the Privy article (Bottles
and Extras, November–December 2017) to celebrate the discovery of three great flasks. These flasks were all dug in a short time period (just over a month) in Wheeling, West Virginia, and were all found at the bottom of the privy and near the center of the pit.
[Fig 2] Open pontil “Laughlins and Bushfield Wholesale Druggist Wheeling Va.”
Cheers to the Privy By Jeff Mihalik
I also added an addendum to that article as I wanted to include another extraordinary flask that we dug some weeks after the first three. This flask was also positioned in the middle of the pit, but it was higher up and seemed out of place. We were finding newer bottles below this flask, so this pit was disturbed at some point. This new find, a killer green GIX-41 flask, deserved to be included in that article. A couple of years after digging the four flasks mentioned in the original Cheers to the Privy article, I secured permission on a downtown lot along Main Street in Wheeling. [Fig 1] After digging three privies on this lot, including a pontil pit which produced a really nice open pontil “Laughlins and Bushfield Wholesale Druggist Wheeling Va.” [Fig 2], the 1870s–1880s pit, and the 1890s–1905 pit, we thought that we had dug out all the privies on this lot. After being persistent and probing again, I found a fourth privy! Well, it had to be either the newest pit on the lot or the oldest! When probing the pit, I could tell that it didn’t seem to have much in it. After digging into it, I confirmed that it was heavily dipped.
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[Fig 3] from Pittsburgh, an embossed “Holmes & Kidd.”
builders may have “ Privy celebrated the completion of the
privy vault by drinking a good bottle of whiskey and, after using the privy for the first time, tossed in the bottle.” Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
[Fig 5] Left: GI-1 Beaded edge Washington–Eagle flask from Pittsburgh. Right: GIX-8 iron pontil, “Louisville, KY Glassworks” flask in amber.
Double Addendum [Fig 1] Downtown lots along Main Street in Wheeling circa 1836 map.
July – August 2022
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The first whole bottle and the first piece of glass was a nice open pontil scroll flask that was stuck to the side wall. On another side wall, I found a really early and rare pontiled medicine from Pittsburgh, an embossed “Holmes & Kidd.” Many years ago, I dug one of these in Lisbon, Ohio, and believe there are less than five known complete examples. After digging this pit out, there was a wet, mucky layer that seemed to be about one inch thick or so at the bottom, so I decided to scrape it to ensure no other smaller bottles were hiding. As I was scraping the bottom and in the middle of the pit, I hit a piece of glass and popped up a whole flask. I couldn’t believe an entire flask could be stuck in this thin muck seam, but there it was, a GI-1 beaded edge “Washington Eagle” flask from Pittsburgh. It did have a small pry lip chip, but otherwise, it was in excellent condition! In all the digging I have done in Pittsburgh, I have never even seen a complete example dug. I was totally excited to find this flask! And it was another center-bottom-of-the-pit flask to boot. When I wrote the original Cheers to the Privy article, I really should have included another killer flask in that story. It was also found at the bottom of and in the middle of a privy pit in Wheeling. Although this flask was dug a few years before the others, it nicely fits in with the Cheers to the Privy theory of how privy builders may have celebrated the completion of the privy vault by drinking a good bottle of whiskey and, after using the privy for the first time, tossed in the bottle. So here I would like to present one of my favorite dug flasks in my collection—a GIX-8 iron pontil, “Louisville, KY Glassworks” flask in amber. The late Mark Vuono stated in his The Writing is on the Scroll! article in Antique Bottle & Glass Collector, Dec. 2018, “Enjoy the amber example pictured, as it is a real treasure.” I totally agree!! This flask also has the pebbly texture Mark mentions in his article. The privy this came from was close to ten feet deep and had many other bottles in it, including a “Cholera Syrup” from Wheeling, Virginia (prior to statehood and being Wheeling West Virginia), and several better pontil bottles including a cathedral pickle. As much as I always try and dig out all the corner areas of a privy (as many bottles escape being dipped by hiding in corners), I now always dig a little deeper in the middle of the privy too!
[Fig 4] GI-1 Beaded edge Washington–Eagle flask from Pittsburgh.
So, here’s Cheers to the Privy! a second time around!! 18
Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
Tennessee Bottle Collectors Area
Antique Bottle & Advertising Show 21 & 22 October 2022
Free Appraisals! Advertising, Signs, Soda, Beer, Hutches, Bitters, Medicines, Milk, Whiskey, Jars, ACLs, Blobs etc.
Wilson County Fairgrounds
945 E. Baddour Pkwy, Lebanon, Tennessee 37087 Building E-D behind Expo Center (I-40 Exit 239B)
Bring the Entire Family!
Dealer Set up: Fri. 1pm–7pm Sat. 7–8am
Show Chairmen:
Early Buyers: Fri. 3pm–7pm $20 Admission
Stanley Word 615-708-6634
Saturday: 8am–2pm FREE ADMISSION ! July – August 2022
Greg Eaton 865-548-3176
Contact chairmen for contracts or show information
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JONES’ EMPIRE INK N.Y. Ferdinand Meyer V Museum example Jones’ Empire Ink N.Y.
You really do not know where you’re headed when researching antique bottles. That is part of the fun. While I enjoy reading about others digging and finding bottles, and imagine being deep in a hole, I get just as excited digging for information as every bottle has a story. In many cases, when researching a rare piece of glass and the person behind the name embossed on or associated with a bottle, you put a spotlight on a year or two of a person’s lifetime. You tend to think that the bottle was the high point of a career. Of course, that is not the case. It would be like someone researching your own life, a couple hundred years down the road, and focusing on one of your achievements and then defining your life. In this case we are looking at the proprietor of Jones’ Empire Ink who was Theodore Lent, living and operating in New York City in the mid-19th century. Ted, as we will call him, was initially a plumber before he began selling inks and go-withs. He was also a flim-flam man who would marry “The Ugliest Woman in the World.” The FOHBC Virtual Museum recently displayed in our 3rd Level Ink Gallery a Jones’ Empire Ink which is an extremely rare, twelve-sided master ink. The pint-size bottle is 5 13/16 inches tall and was blown in a yellowish olive green glass. There is an applied square collar mouth and a tubular pontil scar.
Museum example Jones’ Empire Ink N.Y. pontiled base.
The bottle is found in two sizes, pints and quarts. The museum example is embossed on four consecutive arched panels, from shoulder to base, in a serif typestyle, “JONES’” (panel 1), “EMPIRE” (panel 2), “INK” (panel 3), and “N. Y.” (panel 4). The bottle was also made in emerald green glass. This bottle is on loan to the museum from the Michael George collection and was previously in the Alan Evanuk collection.
Jones’s Empire Ink advertisement – The Buffalo Commercial, January 13, 1852. The last newspaper ads for this product occurred in January 1852. Theodore Lent advertised Jones’ Empire Ink for only a short period of time from late 1850 to January 1852. His business address was 87 Nassau Street, New York 20
Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
He was married to the “Ugliest Woman in the World” City in the 5-story Sun Building. His advertising said he was the manufacturer of “Liquid Blueing, Starch, Furniture Polish, British Lustre &c., &c.” Other advertising said, “Jones’ Empire Black Ink, warranted not to corrode Metallic Pens.” He sold his quarts per dozen for $1.50 and his pints for $1.00. You can find the majority of his small advertisements in 1851 in regional newspapers and specialty publications like the United States Post-office Guide and the American Railroad Journal.
Left: A crowd watches baseball scores being posted on the New York City Sun Building in 1914., Theodore Lent operated from and sold his ink from this building 65 years earlier. - New York Historical Society. Below: Stage poster for Miss Julia Pastrana, “The Nondescript! The Wonder of the World! Just from the United States and Canada.”
Not too much is known about Theodore Lent other than he was born in New York City around 1826. His father was Samuel E. Lent and his mother was named Catherine. He was living with his parents and working as a plumber in the late 1840s. It is suspected that he took over a paper and ink business from his father who was listed as both a New York City merchant and an agent from 1843 to 1852 or so. Theodore Lent was frequently in court and listed in newspapers being charged with various nefarious things like obtaining items under false pretenses, leasing space in buildings he did not own, forgery, or embezzlement. For example, Lent was charged with Forgery and False Pretenses for presenting a “forged promissory note to Mr. Christian F. Pfiefer, an importer of watches on No. 35 Courtland Street, dated July 14, 1848, for the sum of $185” purporting to be drawn by Theodore B. Hatfield. For this, Lent received a gold watch. Hatfield was his former employer when Lent was a plumber. Another time, Theodore Lent was arrested on a warrant issued by “Justice Osbourne, in which he stands charged with obtaining $100 and over, from various persons.” Lent would present bills to customers on Hatfield’s billhead and receive payment when the money was due to his employer. Another time, in 1853, it was a “Matter of False Pretenses” as he obtained several hundred dollars from a female named Bertha Juratzék, a keeper of a house of ill-fame at No. 74 Mercer Street. That same year he was charged with leasing spaces in buildings he was not responsible for nor owned. He seems to settle down for a July – August 2022
Left: Two examples of Jones’ Empire Ink N.Y. I have two different Bryant’s Stomach Bitters lady’s leg bottles from New York City in the same time period, in the same green colors.
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year or two as an auctioneer. From there he met and married Julia Pastrana, the “Ugliest Woman in the World.” Ted, of course, had other ideas in mind. Theodore Lent called his wife, who he would manage for profit, a “bear woman.” An 1854 advertisement in the New York Times said she was the “link between mankind and the ourang-outang.” She became known in the popular imagination during the mid-19th century as “the ugliest woman in the world.”
Below: Lithograph of Julia Pastrana by V. Katzler circa 1860 Bottom Left: “Miss Julia Pastrana, The Embalmed NonDescript exhibiting at 101 Piccadilly.” Engraving from 1862. Center Right: Various images of Julia Pastrana from the Internet.
Pastrana was born in Sinaloa, Mexico in 1834. She had two rare diseases, undiagnosed in her lifetime: generalized hypertrichosis lanuginosa, which covered her face and body in thick hair, and gingival hyperplasia, which thickened her lips and gums. She was 4 feet 5 inches tall. It is thought that a customs official in Mazatlán purchased Pastrana and brought her to the United States. At first, Pastrana performed under the management of J. W. Beach, but in 1854 she eloped with Theodore Lent who she met in New York City, marrying him in Baltimore, Maryland. Lent took over her management, and they toured throughout the United States and Europe. Pastrana was advertised as a hybrid between an animal and a human and worked in sideshows and freak shows under the stage names the “Baboon Lady,” the “Dog-faced Woman,” the “Hairy Woman,” the “Apefaced Woman,” the “Ape Woman,” the “Bear Woman,” and “The Nondescript.” However, during her performances, she illustrated her intelligence and talent by singing, dancing, and interacting with the audience.
During a tour in Moscow, Pastrana gave birth to a son, with features similar to her own. The child survived only three days, and Pastrana died of postpartum complications five days later on March 25, 1860 at the age of 25. After she died, her body and the body of her baby appeared for decades in “freak” exhibitions throughout Europe. Ted would move on, but that is another story. 22
Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
Bottles, Flasks & Early Glass at Auction, Featuring Selections from the Jay & Maxine Jacobs collection.
Online from August 10th thru August 17th 2022.
79 Bradford Corner Road, Woodstock Valley, CT 06282
860-974-1634 July – August 2022
hecklerauction.com 23
“One way or another, I’m gonna find ya, I’m gonna get ya, I’m going to get me, get me, get me, a Gatch ell.”
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Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
ELI M. GATCHELL Charleston’s Briefest Doctor and Soda Bottle Manufacturer By David Kyle Rakes
T
he Gatchell surname is as uncommon as the Charleston, South Carolina soda water bottle that bears the catchy name. In the 18th century, a Gatchell family crossed the pond to America and seemed to have settled in Pennsylvania and Maryland. According to others interested in the Gatchell surname, the name came from England, Ireland, or Germany and with no apparent explanation. However, to the enthusiastic bottle collector, the Gatchell name on a bottle is admired for its uniqueness as it sits illuminated on the windowsill or shelf. The embossed name Gatchell on the bottle is catchy enough for some to want it in their collection. It is almost like having a bottle with a number on it, like the “S. Twelves.” Is it me, or do others think the snappy Gatchell name sounds like “getcha” or “catcha?” The Blondie song “One Way or Another” comes to mind. My corrupted version of the song might go something like this, “One way or another, I’m gonna find ya, I’m gonna get ya, I’m going to get me, get me, get me, a Gatch ell.” If you gotcha a Gatchell, it would be like others except for maybe the color. Only one mold has ever turned up. The pony-shaped bottle has a gradually sloping neck and typically comes in dark green and rarely in light green. The embossing on the front in arched upward letters reads, E. M. GATCHELL & Co, and below with arched downward letters, CHARLESTON S.C. On the reverse side, in two lines, is SODA WATER. The bottle stands 7 7/8 inches tall, the base is 2 5/8 inches wide, and there is a graphite pontil and a large tapered top. As many know, Charleston soda bottles are superior in color and shape. They are also excellent examples of the thick colored glass made to be reused and put under carbonation pressure. My mantra of “every bottle has a story” could not be more perceptible than with the following life history of Eli M. Gatchell. Knowing the past events of the man who brought the Gatchell bottle into my world has given me more appreciation for the bottle and bottle collecting in general. Gathering the Gatchell historical records revealed he was Charleston’s briefest doctor and soda bottle manufacturer. [Left] Three embossed “E. M. Gatchell & Co. Soda Water” bottles - Mike Newman Collection [Background] Engraving of “Old Architecture on The Battery, Charleston” in “The Great South: Southern Mountain Rambles” by Edward King, 1874. July – August 2022
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Eli M. Gatchell was born June 24, 1814, in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Eli’s given name was likely derived from the biblical name Elisha, and his middle initial stands for Martin. After learning his parents were probably Elisha and Martha (Martin) Gatchell of the same place, I made these name conjectures. Elisha, the father, was said to have been born in 1789 and died in 1832 in Chester County. It seems safe to say that Eli was properly schooled while growing up in Chester County. In 1836 at age 22, he moved to Baltimore City and attended medical school at Washington Medical College. The college was new, having been founded in 1827 and chartered as Washington Medical College in 1833. Eli graduated as a doctor in 1840, and his preceptor was Dr. George W. Bailey. Appropriate for the time, he wrote his thesis on yellow fever. Washington Medical College closed in 1851 and was revived in 1867 as Washington University. The school closed for good in 1878. The remains were absorbed into the College of Physicians and Surgeons, later becoming the University of Maryland School of Medicine. There were other Gatchells in Baltimore City before Eli arrived. Most notably was William H. Gatchell and Jeremiah Gatchell. William was a lawyer and slave owner in the city. He was elected to the city council in 1827 and 1837 and served as clerk of Baltimore City between 1845-1851. Jeremiah Gatchell was a steward from 1811 through 1822 at nearby Baltimore Hospital,
[Above] The paddle steamer Superb off Folkstone, William Adolphus Knell [Below Background] Drawing of an old fashioned dentist chair showing how it moves.
[Below Right] Illustration of The Washington Medical College building on Fairmont and Broadway used from 1837 to 1849, shown in 1845.
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Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
formerly known as Spring Grove Hospital, a facility for treating the mentally ill. Additionally, Mrs. Dorcas Gatchell and grocer, Elisha Gatchell, appear separately on Baltimore city directories in the 1830s. So far, no connection has been found between Eli and these other Gatchells. On August 4, 1840, Eli Gatchell arrived in Liverpool, England, on the ship Superb from Charleston. The Superb was a British passenger/cargo vessel that operated on propulsion-paddle steam. This ship and others at that time were made of wood, the paddle wheels complementing the sails when there was no wind. Also, beginning in the 1840s, ships began schedules to help connect manufacturers with customers. It appears Eli had already set up a medical practice in Charleston and was traveling to Liverpool to obtain medical supplies. He could have made numerous trips overseas to get the latest surgical instruments needed for a doctor’s office.
A later passport application for Eli Gatchell of Baltimore City described him as “5-foot-7 inches tall, fair complexion, light hair, low forehead, blue eyes, long nose, long face with a short chin.” The passport application said he was a natural-born citizen, born in Chester County, Pa., and shows his signature at the bottom of the document. Eli Gatchell’s doctor’s office in Charleston was rather diversified. He practiced medicine and performed dental work, and prescribed drugs. Doctors in the early 1800s were expected to treat everything from fevers, stomach aches, toothaches, to sick cattle. A popular treatment was bleeding. This was done repeatedly on a
[Left] Comparison embossed “E. M. Gatchell & Co. Soda Water” bottle and embossed “Charles Clark Charleston S.C. Soda Water” bottle. - Mike Newman Collection
July – August 2022
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patient for short periods with a single event of 12 ounces of blood lost. Stethoscopes had been invented, so Eli likely listened to the lungs, the heart, and digestive tract to diagnose a patient. Doctors of his time also used diuretics and enemas for purging and gave prescriptions of anti-inflammation cream or herbal pills, which they made themselves in the office. His office was well-supplied with ginger, Epson salt, and tinctures, with a few mortars and pestles for mixing prescriptions. Anesthetics at the time were opium and alcohol. Eli had a dental chair in the office with dental instruments. Some doctors performed dentistry in the office in the early 1800s, but mostly it was practiced by the same people who would give you a haircut. They were referred to as barber-surgeons and often caused more harm than good. One crude practice the barber surgeon advised on was telling patients to pick their gums with the bill of an osprey to soothe an aching tooth. Gatchell’s dental chair was likely designed and constructed by himself. Positioning wedges usually modify a rocking chair to put the chair in a recline. Then an adjustable headrest and maybe a footrest were used to keep the patient from moving around. This was an improvement over lying on the floor and having an assistant hold the patient’s head in place while the doctor performed extractions or minor surgery. In 1849, Gatchell diversified even more by starting a soda water manufacturing business at 33 Market Street in the city. This seems to be the same place where he practiced medicine for almost a decade. Charles Clark, a longtime grocer of the city, joined him. Clark had worked as a grocer in the city on Bay and Tradd streets since 1825. The two men partnered, thus becoming Gatchell & Co., and for the first time, Clark started calling himself a druggist. The two used horses and wagons to get soda water to some of their customers. Their operation consisted of four soda water fountains, one [Below] Embossed “Sumter Bitters, Dowie, Moise & Davis Wholesale Druggists, Charleston, S.C.” - Glass Works Auctions
[Above] Color run of embossed “Charles Clark, Charleston S.C. Soda Water” bottles. - Chip Brewer forced pump and gasometer, bottling machines, a self-generating soda apparatus, as well as closures, corks, coloring matter, soda water counter, and hundreds of empty soda bottles. The business was set up with two separate windows where business could be conducted twice as fast. The soda water business may have been more successful than Gatchell’s practice. That same year Gatchell made multiple shipments of 50 dozen and 100 dozen soda waters “flavored with a variety of syrups, much superior to any soda water” to druggist Philip A. Moise in Augusta, Ga. The price was 75 cents per dozen if the bottles were returned. Technically, the person purchasing the soda was buying the drink and not the bottle. Some bottle collectors might remember Moise for his aqua medicine bottle embossed “Dowie & Moise Charleston,” and the amber bitters embossed “Sumter Bitters Dowie, Moise, & Davis Wholesale Druggist Charleston S.C.” Philip Moise was a leading merchant in Augusta, with other businesses in LaGrange and Charleston. Unfortunately, Gatchell and Clark were only in the business together for about a year. Gatchell died of unknown reasons on December 3, 1849. He was only 35 years old and was buried in Charleston on Wentworth Street at the Redeemer Presbyterian Church. A headstone still stands, marking his grave. Since yellow fever was rampant in the city at the time of his death, it is possible that Gatchell died from this virus. At the time, no one knew that mosquitoes spread yellow fever. The tropical viral disease was introduced into South Carolina and other port cities from the African slave trade. The disease affected the liver and kidneys, causing fever and jaundice and almost always death. Ironically, Gatchell may have died from this disease since he wrote his thesis on yellow fever in college and likely moved to Charleston to help those who were stricken with it. Both Baltimore City, Charleston, and other coastal cities had a long history of epidemics of yellow fever. In fact, yellow fever epidemics in Charleston were said to be common between the 1820s to the 1870s and particularly severe in the 1850s. One
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Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
report says that between 1849 (the same year Gatchell died) and 1871, 2,343 people in Charleston died from yellow fever. Another Charleston record says in the summer of 1849, Dr. A. P. Hayne, an almshouse physician, treated 53 patients with yellow fever, 28 becoming victims. Gatchell likely was one of them. Charles Clark continued as a druggist at the same store on Market Street. He placed an ad in the Charleston Courier Newspaper informing customers: “E. M. Gatchell & Co. and those indebted, are requested to make immediate payment to Charles Clark, surviving co-partner of E. M. Gatchell & Co. The business will be continued by the subscriber, who feels grateful to his patrons for the liberal encouragement heretofore received and hopes to merit a continuance of the same Charles Clark. Soda water will be delivered as usual, at any part of the city, bottled fresh every day. A good assortment of fresh drugs and medicines on hand. Soda water on draft throughout the year, at the old stand market opposite Anson N. B. Orders from the country, promptly attended to.” Charles Clark stayed in business at the same place on Market Street for about a dozen more years. He had at least four different soda bottles, all graphite pontil in a variety of colors. Long-time Charleston bottle collector, Chip Brewer, said the bottles can be found “in the most colors of any Charleston soda.” The oldest Clark soda is considered rare. It has a rectangular-shaped, slug plate, embossed C. CLARK in arch letters and CHARLESTON S.C. straight line below. This bottle stands 7 ½ inches tall and 2 ½ inches wide at the base, coming in various shades of green. Another bottle has C. CLARK on the front and MINERAL WATER on the back. This bottle is more common, stands 7 ¼ inches tall and 2 ¾ inches wide at the base, and comes in various shades of olive green. The remaining two Clark bottles have his full name in arched letters, except one bottle is in small letters, the other in large letters. These bottles are embossed, CHARLES CLARK CHARLESTON S.C. on the front, and SODA WATER on the back. Both bottles stand 7 ½ inches tall and 2 ½ inches wide at the base. The small-letter Clark is considered rare and comes in various shades of green. The large-letter Clark is considered common and comes in various shades of green and very rarely in shades of blue. Clark was at least 70 years old when he died in September of 1863 in Charleston. No cemetery or burial records have been found. Only an inventory listed the dental chair, soda water machinery, and other accouterments he and Gatchell had when they were in business together. The inventory shows Clark had accumulated some wealth. Personal items such as gold spectacles and a silver watch and “Cash Confederate Notes, July – August 2022
Gold Coin, Silver Coin,” as well as shares of stocks from a couple of savings banks, were left to seven heirs, which appear to be his wife and children. I can only guess what happened to Clark. He was not only old for this time, but he had lived in Charleston during a yellow fever epidemic and the Civil War. Thank goodness Gatchell and Clark left us such beautiful soda bottles to admire. Bottles that not only have a catchy name but show us how difficult life was during numerous epidemics of the past. Now that you know a little more about Charleston’s briefest doctor and soda water manufacturer, you might want to getcha a Gatchell. SOURCES: Eli M. Gatchell, Inventory, District Estate, December 24 1849, Charleston, SC, pages 543-544, Series L10137, Vol. #B Eli M. Gatchell, Soda water sales to Philip A. Moise, Druggist, Augusta, Ga., Daily Chronicle & Sentinel 18371849, May 23, May 22, May 17, June 14, June 20, June 21, July 2, 1849. Eli M. Gatchell, Find a Grave Memorial, On-line, Cemetery record from Divine Redeemer Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Charleston, Charleston County S. C. Formerly known as St. Andrews Lutheran Church Cemetery, located on Wentworth Street. Eli M. Gatchell, Abrahams, Harold J., Extinct Medical Schools of Baltimore, Maryland Historical Society 27, Medicine in Maryland 1752-1920. E. M. Gatchell, business, An Enquiry into Property of Granting Charters, Vol. 2, S. C. 1845, report the committee on premiums page 49. Charleston Colored Soda Water Bottles, by Leon Robinson and Joe Holcombe, 1970. Charles Clark, surviving co-partner of E. M. Gatchell & Co. Newspaper Notice, Charleston Courier, Tuesday, May 14, 1850. Charles Clark, inventory, court record October 1 1863 Charleston, SC, page 498, 499, Series # L10137, Vol. #F Charles Clark, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860. United States Federal Census Reports. Charleston City census return 1861. Image of three embossed “E. M. Gatchell & Co. Soda Water” bottles, and Charles Clark bottle - Mike Newman collection. Engraving of “Old Architecture on The Battery, Charleston” in “The Great South: Southern Mountain Rambles” by Edward King in 1874. Image “Sumter Bitters, Dowie, Moise & Davis Wholesale Druggists, Charleston, S.C.” - Glass Works Auctions
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Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
July – August 2022
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We know there are and have always been opportunistic diggers focused on the quick win; thus, we can be assured that someone from the past would only dig the top four feet or so, leaving buried treasure underneath.
[background image] The large and very old free-blown demijohn with a peculiar, chipped lip is beginning to look like it just might be whole!
By John Savastio
I
started digging and collecting antique bottles during the summer of 1970 in Newport News, Virginia when I was just nine years old. I am now 60, and my passion for the hobby is as strong as ever, especially for that moment of discovery when a fascinating relic from a long bygone era is first uncovered. There were many finds from 2021 worthy of a gripping narrative chronicled in the pages of the new, bigger, and better Antique Bottle and Glass Collector magazine. For this story, I will focus on a dig that stood out due to the scarcity and diverse nature of what was pulled out of the late Victorian landfill I was digging. Over the years, I’ve developed a credo about digging my holes as deep and thoroughly as possible. The seed of this doctrine was implanted in my consciousness by Ross Becker, an archaeologist and bottle digger friend who was very influential in my digging approach from an early age. This rationale was further validated during times of desperation when I had nowhere to dig other than hard-hit dumps with no undug spots on the surface.
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This challenging dilemma forces intrepid diggers like me to dig a series of narrow test pits up to four to six feet deep until we find the paydirt, undug ash. We know there are and have always been opportunistic diggers focused on the quick win; thus, we can be assured that someone from the past would only dig the top four feet or so, leaving buried treasure underneath. This principle had just been substantiated for me yet again, in mid-April, when I dug a trench in a legendary local 1860s-1890s midden. Fortunately for me, a far less than thorough digger had left the bottom two feet unscathed from decades past. That day, I had a great time finding local Hutchinson sodas, blob beers, cone inks, and more—but most importantly, a spectacular quart-sized 1870s stoneware bottle, with D. W. DeFreest impressed into the shoulder and a nice big blue cobalt slip “L” on the other side. [See Figs. 1 & 2]
Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
Figure 2: Ah hah! It’s the scarcer “L” for Lemon Beer. Only the second “L” I’ve dug in 51 years!
The story of this dig started later in the season with a fresh hole mid-morning on Saturday, September 11. As I knew the virgin ash in this area would go about nine feet deep, I must dig every inch of it to the bottom (based on my dig-every-bit-of-ash-dogma mentioned above). I had decided to mine a larger-sized hole, around 7 x 7 feet, to have plenty of room to maneuver and shovel out the backfill as I got deeper and mitigate the consequences of cave-ins. I, therefore, knew this would be a two-day affair, giving me plenty of time to complete this project. Figure 1: Ah that moment of discovery. I knew I had a DeFreest–the only question was: is it an “L” or an “R?”
July – August 2022
At 77 degrees and cloudy, it was a fairly comfortable day to dig. Plenty of bottles and artifacts came out, including a large “Eastman Rochester” bottle used by early home photo developers. It would be intriguing to see the pictures of turn-of-the-century life when the contents of this bottle had been used to develop film. There was also a “K. HEINRICH’S ALBANY NY” Hutchinson, a mid-sized China doll head with both eyes intact, and a tiny, oval cobalt “BP” bottle. 33
This day, the most exciting find was a bisque elephant coin bank, four ¾ inches long and three ¾ inches in height. The only marking is “1872,” incised along the base, and it was in a quite excellent condition with the saddle still a vivid red. [See Fig 3] It may be a figurine of the world-famous Jumbo the Elephant, who would have been 12 years old at the time, and on display in the London Zoo. It wasn’t until 1882 that P.T. Barnum purchased
Figure 3: The bisque elephant. Is it Jumbo? 1872 date debossed on base.
Jumbo for exhibition in the United States. My searches have yielded no information on this artifact, and I’d be very interested in any readers who have information on it. It now resides on a bedroom shelf belonging to my daughter, Christina, a passionate elephant aficionado. My dig ended at the four-foot level, and I was energized at the thought of the artifacts waiting for me upon my return in the bottom four-five feet of undisturbed ash. My original thinking was I would return the following Saturday. Still, my anticipation was such that I worked extra hours Monday through Thursday so that my calendar would be cleared to take the day off to dig on Friday, September 17. With Covid work restrictions still in place, the busy week I spent working from home flew by. Before I knew it, it was Friday morning, and I was back in my untouched ash pit, four feet down with shovel in hand, and excited at the prospects of what lay beneath my feet. Experience has demonstrated to me time and again that a valuable bottle may be anywhere; thus, despite my impatient instincts to dig as fast as I can, the shovel must be pushed into the ground with a measured pace. This procedure allows me to instantly stop the moment it comes in contact with a hard, fragile object that has the tactile characteristics of glass. This sensation is also typically accompanied by a distinctive “clink” sound associated only with glass or vitreous ceramics. I’m also careful to observe each shovelful of ash as I toss it out of the hole, and it slides off the spade and sprays the ground. More often than not, it’s just ash, little chunks of coal, scraps of iron, and the shells from someone’s seafood dinner many generations ago. However, I will occasionally observe a lovely cone ink, doll head, colored marble, or small medicine bottle hiding in the middle of that small load of ash, causing me to scurry out of the hole to examine my new-found treasure. 34
That said, my first significant discovery of this day did not occur through either of these circumstances. Just 10 minutes into my dig, I felt a familiar moderate resistance as my shovel pried up an object that had the signature of a large bottle. To my delight, my hopes were exceeded when I instantly recognized the bottle that rolled off the spade and onto the bottom of the pit in front of me as a master ink! Again, it’s the exhilarating rush of excitement when an exceptional artifact is first revealed, more than all the other joys and gratifications of collecting antique bottles, that makes the hobby so addictive. The very first thing that struck me, as the bottle lay against the light gray of the ashy floor of my pit, was its odd light yellow-green color. Dropping to my knees, I threw off my gloves and picked up the exalted object for close examination. The first priority was to read the embossing to determine what I had found. Thinking back to other master inks I have dug, I eagerly but carefully wiped the ash from the sides of the bottle and was stunned and disappointed that it appeared to be unembossed! How could that be? I continued to spin the bottle around to no avail. It was blank! It finally dawned on me to check the shoulFigure 4: The citron “Carter’s Made In der, which, to my great satisfaction, U.S.A., Feb 14 ’99 master ink fresh out of the ground. was boldly embossed “CARTER’S MADE IN U.S.A.” and on the base: “PAT. FEBRUARY 14 – 99.” [See Fig 4] Next, check the condition. Pinching and twisting the top between my thumb and forefinger, I detected no chips, and similar scrutiny of the base indicated no damage. I breathed a sigh of relief as this critical test was passed. Lastly, holding the bottle up to the diffused light of the cloudy sky, the bottle’s unusual citron hue was confirmed. I knew I had something special in my hands. Only briefly savoring the moment, I took a quick, and unfortunately not-too-clear photo with my old, (now replaced) LG40 Android. Energized, I continued to dig with enthusiasm and high hopes. The following two hours were, unfortunately, remarkably dull. Very few artifacts were found, and what did come out was lackluster. My experience and expectations are that the bottles tend to get better as you go deeper, and the best finds often come towards the dig’s end. I smirked at the irony that my best bottle for the day might have been found just 10 minutes into the dig. My self-pity was abruptly set aside around noon when the base of a medium-sized gray stoneware crock or jug was exposed at around six feet deep. Despite my mature digging methodology honed over five decades that has taught me not to get carried away with high hopes when just a small portion of an artifact is revealed, I began to think this might be another handled stoneware container with cobalt slip like the “P. DONOHUE / WATERFORD, N.Y.” jug I dug the December before. [See The Covid Bottles of 2020, Antique Bottle & Glass Collector, April 2021] Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
Quickly down on my hands and knees, I gingerly chipped away at the ash surrounding the object with my short probe. To my disappointment, I saw no telltale signs of blue slip glaze, and it was soon apparent that I had a crock. Once enough of the lip was uncovered, I carefully wedged it out of the earth. While not decorated with a primitive blue design or the block letters of a local proprietor, it was still an attractive 1870s-90s stoneware crock/jar in a nice light gray with a shiny salt-glaze. And it looks good on my high kitchen shelf side by side with the Donohue jug mentioned previously. [See Fig 5]
Figure 5: The late 1800s stoneware crock dug on September 17, 2021 side by side with the “P. Donohue Waterford N.Y.” jug dug December 12, 2020 (and memorialized in an earlier digging story).
This excitement was followed by another two hours of relatively tedious drudgery, with finds of only modest quality unearthed. Without the distraction of pausing to check out significant relics, my focus was on getting deep by 2 p.m. I had broached the eightfoot level. To conserve energy at this depth, I bend my knees, then stand up abruptly as I toss each shovelful of ash out of the hole, providing the extra force I need to ensure the debris does not trickle back into the hole and over my head (which, to be honest, really pisses me off!) At about the eight-1/2 foot level, the top of a peculiar large green bottle was exposed. What set this top apart was that it appeared to be chipped, and it also had a ring of applied glass around it. Having not heard or felt any crunch as the bottle was revealed to me, I was at least confident that I had not damaged it. As I cautiously chipped away at the ash around the piece, it became apparent that this was a huge bottle that looked like a demijohn. [See Fig 6]
July – August 2022
My initial reaction was that there was no way a bottle of this size could have survived the rigors of being chucked into a dump and the temptations of a turn-of-the-century bratty kid smashing such an enticingly large vessel. I was encouraged, however, to find that the bottle was very firmly wedged in the earth. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that the neck of the bottle was corked, and it appeared to be full of liquid! This discovery was the decisive proof that the bottle must be whole. I was elated!
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My initial reaction was that there was no way a bottle of this size could have survived the rigors of being chucked into a dump and the temptations of a turn-of-the-century bratty kid smashing such an enticingly large vessel.
It was now a matter of patience as I carefully chipped away at the firm ash enveloping the flagon. I periodically grabbed the neck and lightly pulled it to assess if it was close to coming loose. But I was careful not to wedge it out for fear of scratching it against any sharp, unseen object it may be nestled up against. After several more minutes that seemed like an eternity, the massive bottle Figure 6: The large and very old free-blown demijohn with a peculiar, chipped lip, is beginning to look like it just might be whole!
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finally and gently fell free. Yes, as a large demijohn filled to the brim with a liquid. I assumed it was water as it was heavy. I later calculated the volume to be about 3.19 gallons, and the weight of the liquid and bottle combined was around 31 pounds. [See Appendix:
Calculating the volume and weight of a bottle]
It may have been prudent, from a historical perspective, to leave the liquid in there and perhaps get an analysis of what it was, but I did not feel like hauling this ponderous burden the quarter-mile walk back to the car. Instead, I poked my short-probe through the mucky cork, turned the bottle upside down, and emptied its contents. I did not notice an odor, so I assume it was water.
Figure 8: The Dame Jeanne is stunningly clean and shiny after 120+ years in the ground!
Figure 9: The Dame Jeanne’s peculiar and distinctive snapped-off top and applied-ring lip.
I’d like to know why the person (or persons) who threw it out did not drain the water before they hauled it off to the dump—that is, why haul all that extra weight? At this Figure 7: The demijohn fresh out of the ground point, I stood on my bucket with the sludgy remnants of its thick rope-like wicker still clinging to the bottle after 170 years. on my tiptoes, and with arms (and memorialized in an earlier digging story). stretched, I was able to place the bottle on the rim of my pit safely. In the picture, you can see a peculiar, murky, sludgy coating on the outside of the bottle. This was after I had wiped much of it off. It seemed to be the remnants of some sort of wicker covering. [See Fig 7] Examining the bottle further, I noticed there was no seam, and with its bulbous form was free blown! Furthermore, it had a kick-up pontil and some big, elongated bubbles. This thing was ancient—possibly early-to-mid-1800s, so it was already quite old when thrown into the 1890s-1900 period ash and rubbish it was entombed in. The large demijohn was the last significant find of the day. I scraped the ash off the very bottom of my chasm to make damn sure I had not missed anything. Again, some great finds over the years have been discovered at this transition zone between the native surface and the base layer of the dump.
Figure 10: Note the kick-up is not a pontil, and the flattened area along the base that may have resulted from the glassblowers laying the bottle on a table while the top was snapped off the blowpipe.
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I then chipped away at the sides and eventually filled the hole in. It’s always a struggle to fill the hole when you’re exhausted after a hard dig, but it’s the right thing to do. For one, the ash I dug covered an undug area that I planned to excavate later. Second, I sometimes find bottles I missed when throwing ash out of the hole, especially small ones. Third, and perhaps most importantly, it leaves a much more attractive site and a better environment for the natural shrubbery to grow back. Lastly, the property owner that abuts the dump and who lets me dig there is very appreciative that I do this and thus allows me to come back!
Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
I got home and cleaned the bottles the next day. I was thrilled with how virtually spotless both the Carter’s master ink and the demijohn were. I was especially stunned at the almost pristine condition of the demijohn. [See Fig 8] How could this huge bottle have avoided being broken but survived with nary a scratch or mark on it? The only disturbing thing was the odd chipped lip that did not look quite right. [See Fig 9] I speculated that the wicker covering that had deteriorated into a sludge-like coating after more than a century in the ground had acted as a protective layer, preventing any scratching or staining of the outside, while the cork and water prevented any staining of the inside. I alerted my friend, Gary Mercer, who has collected bottles for as long as I have, and he came over later that Saturday afternoon to inspect my finds. When I lamented to him about how beautiful the demijohn was other than the desecration to the lip, his immediate response was, “That top is NOT damaged!” I was pleasantly stunned by his confident pronouncement and realized that this made sense. The sheared top above the applied ring did appear to be made by design rather than a random breakage after its manufacture. Gary said it was European, maybe German, and the tops on these free-blown demijohns were broken off the blowpipe as part of the bottle-making process. He said that’s about all he knew, but he also thought the bottle was very old, possibly late 1700s. With my busy job, my kids, and my lady friend, as well as time spent taking care of the house, playing tennis and of course digging as much as I could, I put the research of this extraordinary find off for several weeks. When I finally got around to Googling the bottle’s characteristics, it yielded no leads. I next turned to Facebook and posted the bottle on the forum “Early Glass for sale & show.” Soon, I had a response from Helena Von Drakenstein, a Facebook friend who had helped me in the past and seems to know a lot about everything in the world of antique bottles. Her response corroborated Gary’s assertion that the bottle was in “as made” condition. Helena wrote, “These bottles are old, 1840-1860, and from the French Alsace, Dura area, or the Swiss Flühli municipality. Once upon a time, they were protected in rope/wicker and or cloth, and I have specimens in my collection that still have the original wicker covering. However, those that no longer have these coverings (like yours) allow us to see the true beauty of this free-blown glass. The glass is surprisingly thin and fragile. I have about ten of these from ½ gallon to 5 gallons, gathered at a period when it was still relatively affordable to ship without killing the bank account. It was not necessary to pontil these bottles as they were simply set down while still on the blowpipe before the lips were snapped off. I’m not sure if the milled lip ring was laid on just before or after the bottle was cracked off from the blowpipe. Other examples can be seen in Antique Glass Bottles–Their History and Evolution, 1500-1850 by Willy Van den Bossche, 2001.” I was incredibly thankful to Helena for these revelations, and July – August 2022
I was also a bit surprised to hear the kick-up on my bottle was not, in fact, a pontil. Upon examining the base more closely after reading this, I discovered there is indeed no blowpipe scar or graphite residue. So, it’s not a pontil, but just a kick-up. Moreover, Helena’s comment that these free-blown Alsace / Swiss Flühli bottles “were simply set down while still on the blowpipe before the lips were snapped off” would account for the peculiar flat area on one side of the bottle. [See Fig 10] The story of the making of this bottle was starting to come together. I ordered Willy’s book, but all I could find was one example on page 330, plate 273. [See Fig 11] With similar information to what Helena had provided, “A French (Alsace and Jura area) or Swiss Flühli storage bottle. Circa 1840-1860. Original wicker protection. No pontil scar.” Two things stand out for me from this picture: 1) The Figure 11: Dame Jeanne illustrating the extra thick rope-like wickthick rope-like wicker used on these bottles er covering (that Helena has from page 130 of Antique Glass Bottles–Their referenced)—I’ve never seen History and Evolution–1500-1850, Willy Van anything like it and 2) The top den Bossche 2001. with the rough-severed edge and “milled lip ring,” also mentioned in Helena’s description. This milling, or pattern on the lip ring, seems to be standard but is unadorned on my bottle. Helena also provided contact information for two experts on these early-mid-19th century European free-blown demijohns: Willy Van Den Bossche (the book author) and Jean C. Jetzer (note that this is the male French name, with the “J” pronounced with the SZ sound as in “Jacques”). I promptly wrote an email to both Willy and Jean seeking more information, and Jean quickly responded with several emails, which I have summarized below: “These bottles were made in the Wildenstein Glasshouse, a factory that existed from 1698 to 1883. Wildenstein, in north-eastern France, is a small village (population 218) three kilometers from my birthplace in Alsace. We had some of these bottles in the cellar of my old house in France, and we used them to store schnapps. These large free-blown bottles, made at the French Wildenstein Glasshouse, are called bombonne (carboy or demijohn) but are also popularly known as Dame Jeanne (or Lady Joan in English). The legend says that the name Jeanne was given by one of the factory owners because his wife’s name was Jeanne, and she, like the bottles, was nice and round.” “The term ‘broken off’ is not accurate to describe the rough tops resulting from the techniques used in their manufacture at Wildenstein. When the bombonne was attached to the blowpipe, another glassmaker attached a ring around the collar, using pliers to flatten it. This ring prevented the body of the bombonne from cracking when the glassmaker, with a sharp metal sabré-like 37
tool, severed the bombonne from the blowpipe with a dry blow between the end of the blowpipe and the ring. The top of the bombonne would thus be jagged and rough, and the glassmaker would then flatten the cap to reduce the sharp edge. In some cases, the neck would be polished.” “The bruin (brown) Dame Jeannes were made for a chemical factory that had started up in 1808 in the town of Thann, 25 km further down in the valley. The brown coloration protected the chemicals from the light. This same factory also handmade roof tile, which were full of air bubbles, that were first exhibited at the Paris International Exposition in 1849.” “I also included a 19th-century advertising card from Wildenstein. [See Fig 12] Translated to English, it reads: Wildenstein Glassworks, Founded in 1698, Bottles of all kinds. Lady Jeannes. Roof tiles, Rods, etc., Kientzy, Griner & Dollander, Wildenstein By Wesserling. Haut-Rhin (Alsace).
the Capital Region of upstate New York. After its original spring water was consumed, the owners re-purposed the heavily wickered container, perhaps refilling it at a local spring for home use. After being filled for the last time, maybe after a more convenient water source became available, the bottle was placed in the cellar, possibly for decades. When a basement cleaning was last done around 1895, the bottle was lugged into a wagon with coal ash and other scrap items. With the cork so firmly entrenched in the neck, the homeowners did not bother to remove it. When they arrived at the dump, the coal ash surrounding the bottle and its thick rope-like wicker covering provided a gentle cushion as the wagon-load was jettisoned into the newly opened, massive landfill. The ash also covered the bottle just enough so that the local young ruffians who frequented the dump missed the opportunity to smash it. Over the next five to 10 years, another 10+ feet of ash and garbage were piled on, eventually settling into a roughly 9-foot layer after the dump was abandoned and became wooded. As time rolled on, Teddy Roosevelt became president, the Titanic sank, and the automobile became pervasive. Women gained the right to vote, prohibition hit, and there were two world wars and many assassinations. People landed on the moon, and much more history played out, including my birth in 1961 and my conversion to a bottle-digger in 1970. Ultimately, our destinies, the Dame Jeanne’s and mine, were intertwined on that fateful day in September 2021, when my shovel uncovered it, and the bottle was exposed to the light of day for the first time after 125 years in the ground.
Figure 12: A 19th century advertising card from the Wildenstein Glassworks, founded in 1698, which manufactured bottles of all kinds, including Dame Jeannes.
After reading Jean’s comments, Helena added this: “Different lip finishes can be found. Your bottle is a snapped-off lip. Sheared lips are different as they are cut with shears (like scissors). Snapped off or burst off, either term is correct.” Also, note that Dame is pronounced “daam” (the “e” is silent). Jeanne rhymes with ton, and the “J” is again pronounced with the SZ sound. Put it all together, with the “e” pronounced, and we have the etymology of the English word “demijohn.” Thank you, Helena and Jean, for all of this fascinating information about this remarkable bottle—his bombonne, this Dame Jeanne. I can only muse about the bottle’s fascinating history with all this background. It starts with it most likely being blown at the Wildenstein Glasshouse in northeast France between 1840 and 1860 by skilled craftsmen with their peculiar and unique method of finishing off the lip. Perhaps there, or at another site, weavers would have applied their unusual rope-like wicker covering. I guess that, unlike the bruin (brown) bombonnes from Wildenstein that were used for chemicals, my bottle may have held water from a renowned European spring that was shipped perhaps by an early steamer as a commercial product to the United States. It made its way into 38
I’ll never know the long lineage of craftsmen, proprietors, shippers, consumers, and everyday working people like me that this Dame Jeanne has encountered. Still, I am fortunate and appreciative to be the current guardian of this extraordinary artifact.
Concurrent with my research into the Dame Jeanne was my exploration of the background of the very scarce citron Carter’s master ink, found hours earlier on the same day and four feet above it. Following up on the success of the Dame Jeanne research, I once again turned to Facebook and my go-to bottle expert, Helena Von Drakenstein. Unfortunately, my post on the Facebook forum, “World of Antique Inks,” turned up little information (just a lot of likes). Helena, on the other hand, once more put me in touch with an expert on the subject, Daniel Baldwin, who provided the following summary: “That’s a great color! The arabesque design around the base of these Carter’s master inks was available from around 1890 into the early 1900s.”
Figure 13: This amber, labeled Carter’s master ink, is from the same era as the citron mold, both with arabesque detail along the perimeter of the base (Daniel Baldwin collection).
Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
This bottle has two variants: those from 1899 onwards with the “PAT. FEBRUARY 14 – 99” base embossing and those from before without the patent date.
Figure 14: Carter’s master inks come in a variety of colors, but a citron example is missing from this display (Daniel Baldwin collection).
Both molds are scarce but available in a wide range of colors. Collectors consider these bottles quite desirable, especially in an unusual color like citron. I included pictures of a pre1899 labeled version of the bottle in this mold in amber [See Fig 13], along with my non-labeled Carter’s masters. [See Fig 14] These Carter’s masters with the arabesque design and the February 14, 99 patent date also come in ABM molds. Furthermore, there are February 14, 99 Carter’s masters without the arabesque embossing. If your bottle were on my table at a show, I would price it around $385. To my pleasant surprise, an almost identical citron Carter’s master coincidentally was for sale on eBay while writing this article. [See Fig 15] The mold is the same, with striking similarities in color and large bubbles between the two bottles. [See Fig 16]
Figure 15: My dug citron Carter’s master ink on the left with a snowy background highlighting its color, and the eBay twin on the right. The latter sold in March 2022. Note the similarities in mold and color.
It is unusual that a glasshouse making commercial bottles at this late a date at the end of the hand-blown era would produce such a bubbly vat of glass. I believe these distinctive qualities and the bottles’ scarcity affirm these citron Carter’s master inks were from a singular one-time batch. A prolific company like Carter’s, with a high demand for bottles, would likely order from multiple glasshouses. This, in turn, would limit Carter’s ability to enforce consistency and quality control. This particular instance resulted in this odd, one-off delivery of bubbly, citron master ink bottles. From the photo of Daniel’s master collection [See Fig 14], we see that these Carter’s typically came in aqua, green, amber shades, and colorless. The citron variant, missing here, is not as common. The color citron is named after the fruit of the same name. [See Fig 17] Citron is described as both greenish-yellow and a blend of
Figure 16: The same two bottles side by side, this time showing the large bubbles in both, unusual for bottles of this era but evidence they’re from the same batch.
Figure 20: Arabesque detail adorns the perimeter of the base of the Carter’s citron master ink.
July – August 2022
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Figure 17: The citron fruit, from whence comes the color.
orange and green. Are there any glass experts among the readers of this magazine who can tell us precisely what elements go into a batch of glass to color it citron, as opposed to aqua, for example? My research indicates naturally occurring iron in the sand used to make glass can result in aqua shades. Yellow can be made by adding lead or cadmium sulfide, while greens can be produced by adding iron oxide.
I have seen several other examples of what appear to be one-off runs of citron from other popular (typically aqua glass) products in this late 1800s to early 1900s period, including Dr. Kilmer’s, Hutchinsons, cone inks, and beers. I am also depicting an example of an 1870s standard aqua Budweiser next to a far scarcer citron example. [See Fig 18] What was happening in this era of the American glass industry that would account for these seemingly haphazard singular runs of citron batches? Were there forces in the industry, perhaps influenced by the providers of the materials needed to make citron glass, looking to replace standard aquamarine glass? Maybe there were sporadic shortages of the ingredients that went into coloring glass. Still, I can find no significant war, political, or economic influences that would have had this type of impact during this time. I would love to hear from a reader who knows the answers to these questions.
Figure 18: Scarce citron 1870s Budweiser next to a standard aqua example (Tim Henson collection).
Per Wikipedia, the Carter’s Ink Company was an American manufacturer of ink and related products, based first in Boston and later in Cambridge, MA, and was at one time the largest ink manufacturer in the world. Founded in 1858, the company lasted until 1975, when it was sold to the Dennison Manufacturing Co. During the FEB 14 ‘99 master ink mold era, the company was in its heyday. A 1901 Harper’s magazine ad, when the company was at its peak, illustrates a bookkeeper with Carter’s master ink bottles on the shelf, exemplifying the era of my dug citron bottle. [See Fig 19] 40
The 1899 Valentine’s Day patent date, at the very end of the greatest century of American glassmaking is, for me, another appealing feature of this bottle. Was this, in any way, a marketing tactic by Carter’s? It does not seem so, as I can find nothing in the company’s marketing or labels to indicate this. It appears that February 14, 1899, a Tuesday, was just another business day to patent a bottle, and the Valentine’s Day date is just an interesting coincidence. I’m also fond of the “Arabesque” design that graces the perimeter of the base of the bottle. [See Fig 20] Per Wikipedia: “Arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling, interlacing foliage, and tendrils. Some Western arabesques derive from Islamic art, but others are closely based on ancient Roman decorations.” Who knows what compelled the turn-of-the-century Carter’s master ink designers to add this lavish embellishment, but I thank them for enhancing my bottle collection just a tidbit more with their good taste. Finally, “MADE IN U.S.A.” embossed on any antique bottle is another element that enhances its appeal. It would seem obvious to consumers that the product, headquartered in Cambridge, MA, was made in this country. It was completely unnecessary information for Carter’s to take the trouble to add this information to the mold. Regardless, perhaps as an act of patriotism on the part of the company or as a marketing ploy to appeal to customers, the powers that be decided to include it. “MADE IN U.S.A.” is not embossed on their pint master inks but is included on the base of their 1897 cone inks. Interestingly, Stafford’s Ink, a fierce competitor of Carter’s, also boldly stamped “MADE IN U.S.A.” on their master inks. Did one company influence the other to do this, and, if so, which was first? Incidentally, the citron Carter’s master sold on eBay realized $114.82 ($98.69 sale price + 8% sales tax ($7.90) + 8.24 shipping). Not quite the price range Daniel (or I) anticipated, but perhaps it would do better at a big online auction. Regardless, the diverse and intriguing stories of the Dame Jeanne and the master ink, two bottles dug on a late summer day in 2021, made this an exhilarating experience I will never forget. Figure 19: Harper’s magazine ad for Carter’s Ink 1901. Note the quart and half quart labeled master ink bottles on the shelves.
Bibliography: The Covid Bottles of 2020, Antique Bottle & Glass Collector, April 2021 Antique Glass Bottles–Their History and Evolution–1500-1850, Willy Van den Bossche, 2001 Wikipedia: Carter’s Ink Company Wikipedia: Arabesque eBay sale from January 28–February 3, 2022 Appendix: (Calculating the volume and weight of a bottle): The Dame Jeanne is 16 inches tall. The body of the bottle is 13 ½ inches in height, and the base is 8 ½ inches wide. The volume of a bottle is determined using the formula: V = π r2 h. Thus pi (3.14) x radius (4.25) squared x height (13) = 737.311 cubic inches of volume. One cubic inch of volume = 0.554113 fluid ounces. 737.311 cubic inches x 0.554113 fluid ounces = 408.553 fluid ounces. One gallon = 128 ounces. 408.553 fluid ounces / 128 = 3.19 gallons. One gallon weighs 8.34 pounds x 3.19 = 26.6 pounds. The bottle is close to five pounds, so the total weight of the Dame Jeanne filled was around 31 pounds. Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
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History & Mystery
The Early Potteries of the Queen City 1834 – 1896 By Peter Jablonski Steve Rowe - Genealogy Research
To walk into the basement of Buffalo, New York stoneware collector David Potter is to walk into a time machine of Buffalo’s early industrial past. If these earthen vessels could speak, what stories would they tell? They are both objects of beauty and history. As a privy digger (one who digs old outhouse pits for trash from the past), digging for artifacts or tangible pieces of the past is to open a time capsule. Once an artifact is unearthed, the mystery begins—where was it made, who made it, what was it used for, and how long was the company in business? Dave Potter and I share this unusual hands-on quest for knowledge of the past, and it is the research that satiates the hunger for knowledge. Every September and May, a stoneware collectors group meets in Bennington, Vermont. A member conducts a lecture on a specific stoneware manufacturer or a specific region where stoneware was made. I volunteered to present on marked Buffalo stoneware manufacturers using Dave’s collection and some sweat and tears of research. I thought it would be a good idea to repurpose and embellish this material and present to our members in Antique Bottle & Glass Collector. Rare six gallon stoneware crock with cobalt blue decoration of a pheasant, C. W. Braun, Buffalo, New York, circa 1880. - Sothebys July – August 2022
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Lockport, Erie Canal painting. Circa 1838.
[Above background] Engraving of Erie Canal Basin and Elevator, Buffalo, New York, Circa 1872. Thus began my journey into Buffalo’s stoneware manufacturing past. William C. Ketchum had already written a book Early Potters and Potteries of New York State. Could I unearth new information unknown about our Queen City potteries? Could I make these inanimate objects speak of their rich historical past? Potters were making earthenware and redware in the United States from the very beginning of colonial times. They used clay that was available in their region. Most clay in the United States is of inferior quality and cannot withstand the high temperatures required to make heavier, longer-lasting, nonporous stoneware. Remember, there were no refrigerators, Tupperware, or Saran Wrap. Food and leftovers needed to be kept cool and stored where vermin couldn’t have easy access. The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 changed that. Now potters could buy quality grey clay from Long Island or New Jersey to make salt-glazed stoneware for $1 a ton. It is thought that Dutch 44
[Left] Rare four-gallon stoneware jar with elaborate cobalt rooster decoration, stamped “C.W. BRAUN BUFFALO, N.Y.,” circa 1870. Crocker Farm potters discovered the shiny salt glaze when they fueled their kiln with old barrels from herring that contained salt. Sodium from salt combines with quartz from the clay to produce a glassy, shiny impervious coating of the stoneware. They could now easily create superior quality food and drink storage containers that weren’t brittle or glazed with the toxic lead of its predecessor, redware. Homemakers and whiskey proprietors alike were happy to pay the higher price. The first potter in Buffalo was Armond Parsons, who ran a kiln in Cold Springs near Main and Ferry Streets. During Buffalo’s early settlement, this was a hamlet surrounded by forests. No other information or artifacts from this pottery exist. Godfrey Heiser was the first marked stoneware manufacturer in the city of Buffalo. He was a German immigrant born in Schwalbach, Germany, in 1799. Schwalbach is only an hour away from Westerwald, Germany’s region known for its pottery. Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
[Right] Very rare four-gallon stoneware churn with cobalt tree decoration, stamped C.W. BRAUN BUFFALO N.Y.,�circa 1870, Crocker Farm Here Godfrey probably learned the German art of pottery making handed down from the Middle Ages. The Germans used cobalt salts that could withstand the high temperatures of the kiln, some 2,300 degrees Fahrenheit, to decorate their stoneware wares with simple floral and leaf patterns and birds and animals on special occasions. Godfrey arrived from Philadelphia in 1828, taking a canal boat from Albany to Buffalo via the newly established July – August 2022
[Above] Very rare stoneware churn with cobalt civil war soldier smoking a pipe. Stamped C.W. BRAUN BUFFALO N.Y.,� circa 1870, Dave Potter collection. Erie Canal. His first business endeavor was a lime kiln on Exchange Street. In 1834 he started a pottery at 149 East Seneca Street, east of Michigan. He was listed as a partner in Jacob Henry’s Albany Portable Stove Works from 1831 to 1832, even though he lived in Buffalo. His first advertisement appeared on May 7, 1834 in the Buffalo Patriot and Commercial Advertiser. [Left] There is a marked ovoid stoneware jug bearing both proprietors’ names. John Vogelsang was involved in a litigation suit and promised to move to Ohio. On December 12, 1835, a similar advertisement appeared under the firm name of G. Heiser & Co., with listed proprietors being G. Heiser, G. Doane, and A.F. Birchard. A marked 2-gallon ovoid jug also bears the last names of the three proprietors. In 1836 only Heiser and Doane were in partnership, verified by a jug incised with their names. There are also pieces marked Heiser & Co., with those mentioned above assuming to be the company. 45
[Above] This 3-gallon jug with “Incised Fish and Arrow“ and number 3 (x4), G. Heiser Co Buffalo. From the the Henry Ford Museum collection.
[Inset Below] Three cobalt-decorated stoneware jars, stamped J. HEISER BUFFALO, NY, circa 1852-1856, Crocker Farm auctions.
Godfrey’s artwork is primarily simplistic floral designs, but an incised fish crock is in the Henry Ford Museum collection in Michigan. This fish has an arrow in its mouth pointing to the right. Is the fish a Christian symbol of Christ? Is the arrow pointing to the right a symbol for protection, thus meaning Christ is our Protector? Here lies some of the mystery in deciphering these hieroglyphics. Another rare early crock from a private collection stamped Heiser & Co is incised with a pig pulling a sleigh and inside the sleigh is a man groping a woman’s chest and crotch. There is no mistake in the meaning here: the man is a pig; thus, a horse is not pulling the sleigh but a pig. Detailed artistic pieces such as this were the rarity, not the norm, as this took time away from producing more pots.
brewery with Godfrey. In 1848 Godfrey transferred the pottery to Phillip Mugler and started a brewery with John Holzer on the same site as the pottery between Seneca and Carroll Streets. In the hot summer months, brewers could not brew as the beer would spoil without refrigeration. In the frigid cold of Buffalo’s winter, potters could not operate their kiln, but they could brew beer. This business co-partnership helped keep the Heisers employed year round.
In 1837 they dissolved their partnership, and G. Heiser became the sole proprietor. Godfrey came from a family of 11 siblings, and three of them joined him in America—his brothers Henry, John, and sister Elizabeth. Elizabeth married Christian Hormel and her grandson, George, founded the famous Hormel Meatpacking Co. Godfrey’s brother, Henry, came to Buffalo in 1834. Henry was a soldier who fought against Napoleon in the Battle of Waterloo. In 1836 he lost three children to cholera. Henry was a cooper by trade. There are marked stoneware pieces bearing the name H. Heiser, but only one decorated floral piece is known in the John Burton collection. From 1847 to 1852, he helped manage Heiser’s 46
In 1856 the brewery burned, but Heiser’s home, which adjoined the brewery, was saved. The fire originated in Heiser’s store from tar stored near the furnace. In the buildings were 5,000 barrels of barley malt valued at 11 shillings per bushel, 500 barrels of beer valued at $6 per barrel, and $1,000 worth of hops. In an 1850 census, John Holzer, who lived next door to the pottery, is listed as an ornamental Japanner; it’s possible he used his art skills to decorate the stoneware. In 1864 the brewery business was passed down to Godfrey Jr. and John Holzer, who passed a few years later. An 1840 city directory lists a Jacob Heart working as a potter for Godfrey Heiser. He doesn’t show up again. He does appear in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania as a potter making earthenware and passed in 1867. There are earthenware pieces attributed to him and a signed bedpan. Phillip Mugler was born in Strasburg, the German part of France. Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
He arrived on the ship, The Albany, in 1838 and married Margaret Heiser, the daughter of John Heiser. There are more pieces marked J. Heiser than any of the other marks. Whether it was John Sr. or Jr. is difficult to say as there was a Godfrey Jr., and Godfrey Sr.’s nephews also bear these names, so tracing the genealogy and trying to keep the names straight is a challenging process. When he took over the pottery in 1848, it was known as P. Mugler & Co. The company was John Heiser. They were partners until John died in 1856. They were both involved in the brewing trade, and there are known P. Mugler-incised stoneware beer bottles. In 1852 Phillip became a grocer at Seneca and Hamburg Street. It is possible he was helping sell stoneware at his store as potters seldom sold their wares on site but rather sold to retailers at a 30% discount. At the Forest Lawn Cemetery, looking west from the tomb of Buffalo’s President Millard Fillmore, you can see the obelisk tomb for the Mugler family with the Heisers’ earlier tombs laying flat in the grass. The Heiser tombs are adorned with Masonic symbols. Researching this clue, I discovered they belonged to the second German-speaking sect of Freemasons formed in Buffalo. While the dead do not speak, their proximity to each other tells us of a close familial relationship they shared in the stoneware and brewery business and in the joys and trials of everyday life. An 1855 city directory shows a potter, Christian G. Bruehl, living with and working for John Heiser. Christian was a Wurttemberg potter. In 1860 he lived with Charles W Braun, who took over the Heiser pottery. Was Christian a relative to the other potters or just hired for his skills as a potter? Genealogical research thus far does not show any relationship, but it is very plausible as he was living with Braun.
In 1866 Christian ventured out on his own and started a pottery on Buffalo’s East Side at the corner of Watson and Peckham Streets. Oddly, the Heiser pottery was only blocks away from the ship canal, where clay could easily be transported to the pottery via wagon. Christian would have had much more expense getting the clay to his pottery. In 1869 his pottery burned, and he became a grocer briefly. Christian was active in German singing societies, the Saengerbund and Liedertafel, of which Braun was also an active member. Bruehl rebuilt his pottery and maintained it until 1885, when he returned to work for Braun. We unearthed the privy on this site, hoping to find some marked pieces. We filled a bucket full of shards. The following morning I anxiously washed the mud-covered artifacts and, much to my delight, found a shard incised “Chr. G. Bru” with a W below it. Bruehl-marked stoneware is very rare. Our efforts were not wasted. Looking at one shard with just a smidge of cobalt blue, we could tell comparing it to an intact piece that it matched his workmanship. He tended to overfire the kiln, and the cobalt would blister. Another feature of his pots was a groove encompassing the pot, so other shards also could be attributed based on the grooves.
[Above Right] C. W. BRAUN BUFFALO N.Y. four-gallon butter churn with stoneware guide. Decorated with a large cross hatch flower design in cobalt blue. [Left] Very rare stoneware jar with a stag. Stamped C.W. BRAUN BUFFALO N.Y.,� circa 1870, Dave Potter collection. July – August 2022
Continued...
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1834 William William’s earthenware jar
B. Hargreave-Lee Wholesale & Retail Dealer...
Fuchs Brothers...
Stamped C. W. Braun Buffalo, N.Y.
David Potter holding shards from the Christian Bruehl pottery site in Buffalo, N.Y.
Stamped C. W. Braun Buffalo, N.Y.
Stamped C. W. Braun Buffalo, N.Y.
Taylor, Lee & Co.
Stamped C. W. Braun Buffalo, N.Y.
Although just a vacant plot now in the urban prairie, a large Sycamore tree near the curb gave me great joy, knowing it provided shade on a hot summer’s day in the city when Christian ran his kiln. Driving home, I passed three deer at a vacant lot on Shumway and Peckham. Never did deer roam when I lived in the area forty years ago; no, probably not since Bruehl ran his kiln over 100 years ago. There are three known cobalt blue decorated crocks stamped “Christian G Bruehl Corner of Peckham & Watson St,” and a marked plain brown Albany slip glaze molasses jug and crock with the potter’s fingerprints on the bases where he held the pots upside down to dip them into the glaze. We haven’t found a photo of Christian yet, but we have his prints. Christian became a policeman at one point and ended his career working for The Buffalo Pottery Company from 1894 to 1906. Stoneware potters could not compete with the lighter-weight, mass-produced porcelain being produced. Christian is buried with his wife, Marie, in the Buffalo Cemetery on Pine Ridge in Cheektowaga. In 1857 Charles W. Braun bought the kiln from Heiser. Charles married John Heiser Jrs. wife, Augusta, who had a four-yearold son John Heiser. He was later adopted and named John Braun. It’s a mystery as to what happened to John Heiser. According to Ancestry. com, it appears he went back to Germany and remarried. There are no records of a divorce. Charles and Augusta’s daughter, Bertha, married George Dold of the world’s largest meatpacking company, Dold Meats, and moved to Wichita, Kansas, where they had another factory. Braun had a relative, Frederick, also listed as a potter.
Braun’s decorated stoneware was superior in artistic design. Besides flowers, he had birds, roosters—a symbol of agrarian society, and stags—a symbol of the wilderness. Potters added personality to animals with startling and humorous results often influenced by circuses that came through town. Frequently, potters were inspired by current events in their local town. Two of Braun’s rarest pieces in the New York State Albany Museum feature Wild Buffalo Bill Cody wearing a cowboy hat and another an Indian with the balloon saying “hold him.” Wild Buffalo Bill Cody had a touring Wild West show where Indians would capture white men and who else could save them from their captors but Wild Buffalo Bill. Other rare detailed Braun pieces include a 5-gallon churn depicting a dog. On December 21, 1874, Charles was playing with his children outside when he moved to catch one of them. It was then that their family dog jumped up and bit Charles on the lip, severely cutting him and requiring stitches. That was the last of Rover as the paper stated he now lay where the snow lays. Was this churn in memory of a beloved pet? It’s the only known dog crock from Braun pottery.
To walk into the basement of Buffalo, New York, stoneware collector David Potter is to walk into a time machine of Buffalo’s early industrial past. If these earthen vessels could speak, what stories would they tell?
David Potter stoneware examples.
Another rare crock depicts a Civil War soldier smoking a clay pipe. Any stoneware decorated with people, buildings, and animals other than birds is considered very rare among collectors and historians. A crock featuring an onion, carrot, and potato may have been celebrating a fruitful harvest season. One of the most mysterious crocks features a branch with arrows in each corner pointing downward. Was this a crock designed to commemorate a deceased loved one? Willow trees were
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frequently engraved on tombs as a symbol of immortality and represented the mourning of a loved one. Downward arrows are symbols of peace. Potters also made one-of-a-kind presentation pieces to commemorate historical events like world fairs. Two unique pieces created by Braun include a tankard for the Academy of Music with the name “William Cambell Carpenter” and another depicting a fire rescue wagon with the words “Rescue and Social Club.” Braun’s factory closed in 1896. There are no pictures of the old potteries or records of who decorated their stoneware. It was challenging to find Charles’s final resting place because his real name was Carl, although everything written about him is in the name Charles. He rests with his wife, Augusta, in Forest Lawn Cemetery. There are many advertising incised jugs featuring grocers, druggists, and whiskey proprietors. Many have no potters makers mark stamped on them, emphasizing the proprietor’s name instead. Based on some of the decorated floral designs, we can attribute them to certain potteries based on similarities in the design. The earliest known piece of Buffalo pottery is a jug incised “James Miller Dealer in groceries and provions (sic) Main St near the Phenix (sic) Hotel Buffalo Cash Paid For Produce.” In 1821 James Miller placed an advertisement in the paper offering a reward for his lost cow, “She gave a good mess of milk when she strayed.” In 1829, James Miller was in partnership with R. Lee Hargreave, manufacturing soap and candles. In 1830 they purchased a brewery from Captain Myndert M. Dox of the War of 1812. Breweries produced a large amount of ash to germinate the barley to make malt. Perhaps this ash was then used to produce their soap and candles. An ovoid jar advertising the R. Hargreave Lee grocery store gave directions to the customer “R Hargreave Lee Wholesale & Retail Dealer in teas, groceries, fruit, Upper store nearly opposite Kremlin Main St at the sign of the Gilt Sugar Loaf Lower Store No 144 Main Street Two Doors South of Exchange Buildings Buffalo.” An ovoid jug from Lucius Hubbard Pratt, son of Captain Sam Pratt of the Revolutionary War, matches an 1848 advertisement from the paper bearing the same advertising “Lucius H. Pratt Wholesale & Retail Dealers Groceries Paints Oil Glass Putty Powder, and Shot Wines Liquors Sugars Dye Stuffs No 163 Main Street Buffalo NY.” When Buffalo was being burned by the British during the War of 1812, the Pratts’ slave girl, Tam, ran back to get their family silver. It was too late; she saw the following: “the soldiers and Indians were in the front room, had all the earthen jugs on the table, and ate up the sweetmeats and mince pies. Of the first, Mrs. Pratt had, as usual, a good winter supply consisting of native crabapples, wild plums, berries, etc.” This is probably Buffalo’s earliest reference to earthen vessels. Earthenware was made from local clays and fired at a much lower temperature in the kiln. It was much thinner, porous, and more fragile than salt-glazed stoneware. Salt-glazed stoneware was not possible until superior clay from Long Island and New Jersey could be shipped via the Erie Canal. The Pratts were prominent businessmen in Buffalo, owning Pratt 50
Hardware and Pratt & Letchworth. They were proprietors selling horse saddles and later paint with Letchworth, donating his land that became Letchworth State Park. When unearthing artifacts from a privy, more often than not, any stoneware retrieved is nothing but shards, but on rare occasions, a piece is retrieved unscathed by the ravages of time. One such piece was unearthed near the Buffalo River from a privy in the Old First Ward. It was stamped “C. W. Braun Buffalo NY.” In cobalt script were the initials “C.L.A.” I had no clue who this proprietor was until I talked to fellow stoneware collector John Burton from Brocton, New York. He informed me that he was saloon owner Charles Abel of Ohio Street from 1870 to 1908, which made perfect sense. It was only blocks away from where it was unearthed. A Buffalo newspaper clipping about the jug spoke of Buffalo’s rich waterfront past. “Charley Abel of Ohio Street was once the most frequented resort in the city of Buffalo, being a favorite rendezvous at lunch time for the kings of the Board of Trade and grain buyers and the wheat importers and speculators in puts and calls, and lake captains and all sorts and conditions of men with money in their pockets. Abel’s stands alone, a landmark of the vanished greatness of a once prosperous locality, just as a lonesome tree whose brothers have all been chopped down stands towering in a meadow which was once a forest.” Though one of the most simplistic pieces of Buffalo stoneware I own, it represents Buffalo’s wilder days when whiskey flowed, like the grain from ships but not into the grain elevators but into the earthen vessels of men. If it could speak, this tangible piece would tell tales of merciless storms on the Great Lakes, and the sailors who survived their wrath needing its healing power to calm their nerves. Or grain scoopers who needed this elixir, fire water, to alleviate their aches and pains after a twelve-hour shift. Sad but true, it’s well known that Buffalo’s waterfront district also bred squalor and prostitution: this harsh reality was a tad more palatable with a swig from one of Buffalo’s many whiskey proprietor’s stoneware jugs. The potteries are long gone, with no known pictures, but the jugs and crocks that remain are folk art for the people who are fortunate to obtain them. Folk art that speaks volumes if we just listen or take the time to read about the master potters and the mud they turned into utilitarian art for the people.
David Potter
Peter Jablonski
Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
Merrimack Valley Antique Bottle Club 47th Annual
antique bottle show & sale
35th Annual Mid Hudson BOTTLE SHOW Sponsored by the Hudson Valley Bottle Club
Sun. Aug. 21st, 2022
9am to 2:30 pm Poughkeepsie
Sunday, September 18, 2022 Westford Regency 219 Littleton Road Westford, MA 01886 General Admission: $4 – 9AM - 2PM Early Admission: $20 – 8AM children under 12: Free visit mvabc.org. or contact Kevin Cantrell
kmcantrell86@gmail.com (978) 551-6397
July – August 2022
Elks Lodge 275 29 Overocker Rd.
Poughkeepsie, NY 12603 Bottles, Stoneware Advertising & Go withs
$2 Admission $15 Early Admission at 8am Air Conditioned - Food Available Free Appraisals & Bottle I.D. Directions: Just east of Poughkeepsie Between Rts. 44 & 45, off Burnett Blvd. across from NYS Dept. of Transportation FOR DEALER CONTRACTS CONTACT MIKE STEPHANO 27 ROGERS ROAD, HYDE PARK, NY 12538 (845) 233-4340 or MJSAntique@aol.com
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Greater Buffalo Bottle Collectors Association 23RD ANNUAL SHOW & SALE
BOTTLES, STONEWARE, INSULATORS, ANTIQUES, ADVERTISING, BREWERIANA, POST CARDS, PANAM EXPO AND WESTERN N Y COLLECTIBLES Sunday, September 18, 2022 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Polish Falcons Hall 445 Columbia Avenue Depew, NY Admission - $4.00 (Children under 12 free) Free Appraisals
Information/Contracts:
Tom Karapantso (716) 487-9645 - tomar@stny.rr.com Peter Jablonski (716) 440-7985 - peterjablonski@roadrunner.com Joe Guerra (716) 207-9948 - jguerra3@roadrunner.com Tables $30/$15 for second table if available Set-up Sunday 7:00 to 9:00 AM
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Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
July – August 2022
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Fislerville jar is filled with New Jersey history...
You want Moore information? Read this! Notes assembled by Ralph Finch
Near the end of last January, Greg Spurgeon’s auction house,
called North American Glass, offered a variety of great jars, and we’ve picked one to take a close look at, Lot 139. In the catalog (edited) it was described as: A quart “JOHN MOORE FISLERVILLE” (Reverse) “J B WILSONS AIRTIGHT JAR.” Aquamarine. Original small mouth glass lid with “JUNE 20, 1861” patent date (as differentiated from the later date of “Dec 3 1861” found on all other Moore jars). Some light haze. Area of chipping on the mouth (due to the design of the closure, with the stopper seating deeply into the mouth, these were prone to prying chips on the lip). Circa 1861. The winning bid was $1,450, with 14 bids.
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Now, much of what we collected has moved around over the last 180-or-so years as “caretakers” change. This jar was made in Fislerville (now Clayton), New Jersey. Perhaps it has moved around the country, but—for now—is back in New Jersey, only about 67 miles from where it was made. So, in 160 years, it moved like a glass turtle. Greg recently added: “Joseph B. Wilson of Williamstown, N.J., obtained two patents relating to fruit jar closure mechanisms; the first being U.S. Patent 805 on June 20, 1861, and the second being 33,870, issued on Dec. 3 of that same year. The first patent was for an elaborate
metal stopper assembly, which was designed to fit into the channeled neck of a specially-designed glass jar. No examples of this jar or stopper are known to exist today. The second patent (Dec 3, 1861) was assigned jointly to both Mr. Wilson and to the glass manufacturer John M. Moore of Fislerville, N.J. This second design was for a glass lid and cast iron yoke clamp closure assembly, the one that collectors today know as the familiar “Moore’s-style” closure. The subject jar, embossed on the reverse with the J. B. Wilson name, is the only jar in the Moore jars series to cite Wilson’s name on the jar or closure. The glass lid on this jar also retains the June 20, 1861 patent date. It’s unclear why this earlier patent date was embossed on the glass lid since it was for a completely different closure—one that did not utilize a glass lid in its design. The June date might have simply been used in error. The John M. Moore – J B Wilson embossed jar from the auction is known in both quart and half-gallon sizes. Both are rare. This is the only Moore’s jar with any embossed lettering on the backside and is believed to be the first version produced in this iconic series of jars. I found patent drawings and specifications for the June 20, 1861 metal stopper jar, with no examples known and drawings and patent specifications for the Dec 3, 1861 (glass lid & yoke clamp) patent. [Editor note: not included in article but available online] Following the early, apparently briefly-made “JB WILSON” version of the jar, we know that the more familiar “John M Moore / Fislerville” and “Moore’s Patent” series of jars, which continued to utilize the same basic glass lid and yoke clamp design were much more successful. These jars were made at Moore’s Fislerville (renamed Clayton in 1867) N.J. glasshouse over an extended number of years, and in a variety of embossing variations, mouth sizes, and volume capacities. Later, Jar King Jerry McCann of Chicago added this comment: “I will think about the Wilson Airtight Jar—so rare a group of jars that they are not seen at jar shows, except for South Jersey collectors like Jeff Vanaman, not usually found in collections. I do not have an example in my collection.” Here is a bit more history, much edited from the poorly written book by Juneanne Wescoat Glicks, They Blew Glass and The Recorded Businesses of Clayton Township.
July – August 2022
Jacob P. Fisler (1789-1868) Fisler Town was named after the Fisler family, which had settled in the area in 1753. By the early part of the 19th century, they owned most of the land in that part of Franklin Township, Gloucester County. The Fislers operated two sawmills there. One was Scotland Run (now Wilson Lake), and the other was Still Run (now Silver Lake). There, they produced lumber. In that early time, prior to 1850, Fisler Town had no other businesses. Most all of its three saw mills sold their lumber to surrounding towns. Fisler Town was situated three miles south of Glassboro and six miles north of Malaga. Both towns had thriving glass factories; Fisler Town being in the middle of the two, was not unfamiliar with the growing glass industry. In approximately 1849, the first glass factory was being built, and in 1850 it was in full blast. Jacob P. Fisler and Benjamin Becket were partners. They were listed in the 1850 U.S. census as glass manufacturers and dealers making hollowware. Benjamin Becket also was listed as a dealer in Dry Goods, Groceries, and Variety. The glassworks also had a blacksmith named John Heritage. At this time, Fisler Town was renamed Fislerville. The new glass factory carried the same name. Fislerville Glass Works made various bottles, jars, and vials and is credited with making one version of the famous Jenny Lind historical flask with the glass factory’s name embossed on one side. On August 17th, 1852, Benjamin Becket sold his share of the glass factory to Edwin P. Bacon; therefore, in
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1852, the glassworks was renamed Fisler, Bacon & Co. however it was still referred to as Fislerville for many more years to come. Unfortunately, not three years later, on Aug. 31, 1855, Edwin Bacon died in a train accident in Burlington. He was 37. Due to financial difficulty and the untimely death of Edwin Bacon, John M. Moore took over ownership of the failing Fislerville Glass Works in 1856. John Moore was not unfamiliar with glass factory operations, having been involved in several other glassmaking ventures in Millville. (At this time, the history of glassmaking in Fislerville becomes too vast and complex to cover in a short article. I will briefly cover some of the more important acquisitions and company name changes.) Over the next ten years, John M. Moore was very much involved in buying tracts of land around the surrounding areas for his growing businesses. In 1858, because of the considerable growth in population and industry, the New Jersey Legislature passed an act to create a new township. It included Fislerville, Glassboro, Union (Aura), Hardingville, and Fries Mills. The newly created township was named Clayton Township. In 1867, Fislerville was officially renamed Clayton. In October 1863, the glassworks in Fislerville became Moore Brothers & Co., also known as the Clayton Glass Works. Still, it was referred to as Fislerville Glass Works by most until much later. Over the next 13 years, the Moore family had bought and sold land, gained and lost partners, and by 1876 the glassworks had grown, covering an area of 15 acres. This included four large glass factories producing all sorts of bottles. Within this large area, there was a gristmill, a sawmill, a machine shop, a carpenter shop, five immense warehouses for storing the manufactured stock, large elevated coal bins, and a railroad track that ran entirely through the grounds, as well as every necessary auxiliary to one of the most extensive and best-arranged glassworks in the Union. There was a general store and an attached office building. Moore Brothers employed 400 men in 1880 with 100 tenant houses. The Moore Brothers closed its doors just before World War 1. In 1880, Dr. Charles Fisler, Henry, and Walter Morgan formed another glass factory at the North end of Clayton on a 10-acre piece of land with its own steam mill, machine shop, packing house, office, and a large store. Several years after, Henry Morgan withdrew, and soon after that, the new glassworks was renamed F. M. Pierce Co. In 1927, three brothers opened yet another glass factory in Clayton. Their father was William Clevenger; he had blown window glass at Batsto until times got tough; he then moved his family to Clayton to work for the Moore Brothers. While there, his youngest son worked as the traditional carry-in boy. The Clevenger Brothers (Thomas, Lorenzo, and Allie) were inspired after attending the Philadelphia Sesquicentennial and seeing the value of the Whitney Brothers Booz bottle. At that time, it was worth $160. This, of course, was a lot of money in those difficult times. Being glass gaffers in need of work, they decided if they could get their hands on a mold, they could make their own bottles to sell, so they did! The Clevengers made bottles and flasks and a line of reproduction glass in the old South Jersey 56
tradition. The Clevengers blew glass in Clayton for the next 30 years. Later the business was sold to Jim Travis; he blew glass at that same location until just a few years ago. At their height of production, the Moore Brothers and the Whitney Brothers Glass factories dominated, making bottles and glass of all types. There are records that indicate that the two large companies even shared large orders from time to time; it must have been quite a site. Keep in mind the close proximity of the two large operations. Nothing remains except the small Clevenger Brothers Glass Factory and outbuildings. FYI: Fislerville Glass Works Jenny Lind bottles are available on the Internet for as little as $7.99 plus $16 for shipping. The repros are found in purple, blue, amber, and green. GI-107 “Jenny Lind” And Bust “Fislerville Glass Works” And Factory Portrait Calabash Flask, Fislerville Glass Works, Fislerville, New Jersey, 18501860. Aquamarine.
Moore Brothers & Co. Fisler Glass Works, Jan. 15th 1863. Ten Cents facsimile currency.
Fislerville Glass Works Black Amethyst Jenny Lind Bottle - ebay $28.50
Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
WANTED! Articles for
Antique Bottle & Glass Collector Our editor, staff and designers eagerly await helping you in any possible way. We do the layout and design! 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!
To submit a story, send a letter to the Editor, or have comments and concerns about Antique Bottle & Glass Collector, please contact the Editor, Elizabeth Meyer at fohbcmembers@gmail.com
July – August 2022
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C ALL FO R H I STO R ICA L IM A G E S The FOHBC, led by board member Michael Seeliger, has started a major new initiative to preserve our history. We would like your assistance in locating potentially long-lost images before it is too late and they are forgotten forever. We are looking for photographs, either in black and white or color, of the great collections, collectors, bottle shows and displays of yesteryear. Our goal is to gather, enhance and index this material digitally and make it available to our members and collectors for generations to come.
Send photos to: Michael Seeliger We prefer images in digital format, jpg or pdf format, or original photos that we will scan and archive, or return. Please specify. The highest resolution possible. Please caption each image. If you know of anyone who may have some of these images, like club historians, or old collectors, please let them know or provide contact info for them. We are also looking for older bottles books to scan and archive on our web sites. Thank you.
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N8211 Smith Road Brooklyn, Wisconsin 53521 mwseeliger@gmail.com 608.575.2922
Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
July – August 2022
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Read and see more in the FOHBC Virtual Museum.
[below] Not bombs, but still powerful. Old German juniper gin bottles unearthed in Sulecin, a small town in western Poland. Quite an “arsenal” was discovered at a sewage system construction site in Sulecin. The works in the central part of town led to the unearthing of a small cellar, stored in which was a find, at a first glance, resembling unexploded bombs. Luckily, it turned out the objects were only stoneware bottles which had once contained a certain herbal liquor.
[above] Two “stolen” notebooks written by Charles Darwin have been mysteriously returned to Cambridge University, 22 years after they were last seen. The small leather-bound books are worth many millions of pounds and include the scientist’s “tree of life” sketch. Their return comes 15 months after the BBC first highlighted they had gone missing and the library launched a worldwide appeal to find them. “I feel joyous,” the university’s librarian Dr. Jessica Gardner said. – Cambridge University Library [below] A Palestinian farmer working his land in Gaza has uncovered the head of a 4,500-year-old statue of Canaanite goddess, Anat. The head, which was recently unveiled to the public, was found in Sheikh Hamouda in Khan Younis, Jamal Abu Rida, director of Gaza’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, said at a press conference. [below] This drawing by Michelangelo, discovered in 2019, will be offered for sale by Christie’s and could fetch 30 million euros ($33 million), the British auction house said. It was largely forgotten until 2019, when a Christie’s specialist recognized it as one of Michelangelo’s own. The drawing is thought to be one of the artist’s early works, from around the end of the 15th century. It reproduces a shivering man depicted in a fresco, “Baptism of the Neophytes,” by Masaccio. Two other people stand near him in the drawing.
[left] This Cassin,s (sic) Grape Brandy Bitters was found in Baja, California. The bottle, with a crack on another side, was used as a float in a fishing net on a boat by Merle Emery who is from Nelson, Nevada. He brought it to the Las Vegas bottle show and sold it to Alan Wilson who eventually sold it to Don Mulloly. Don then consigned it to Jeff Wichmann at American Bottle Auctions where I was the high bidder. The only other Cassins in this rare dark blue-aquamarine glass color was also sold through ABA for $155,000 with the buyers premium. Jeff was really startled when my example showed up as he told me that the new example was very close to the same color—not as brilliant and just a little more blue. – Dave Kyle
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Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
Lost & Found
[left] Would you offer a new Mercedes Coupe for a GI-66 General Jackson – Eagle portrait flask? “The photograph did not do this bottle justice–it was absolutely beautiful in person,” Norman Heckler, Sr. recalled. The consignor’s father had purchased the bottle in 1971 from Ernie Burger, an antique dealer, for the price of $41.80. According to the consignor, several major collectors tried unsuccessfully to acquire the bottle over the years, with the late collector, Edmund Blaske, offering $750, and on another occasion, the bottle collector, Roy Brown, offering a new Cadillac. It has been in the family for the last 39 years and safely stored in a box. The Heckler pre-auction estimate was $40,000–$80,000. The price realized was $176,670!
[upper right] Revolutionary find: 19 cannons in Savannah River likely sunk in 1779—A cannon encrusted in rust and mud sits inside a warehouse operated by the Army Corps of Engineers in Savannah, Ga., on Thursday, April 28, 2022. It’s one of 19 cannons discovered in the Savannah River since last year that experts believe date to the American Revolution, when British ships were scuttled in the river to block colonists’ allies from reaching Savannah by ship. – Credit: AP Photo/Russ Bynum
[below] This abundantly embossed “Bodine & Brothers Ne Plus Ultra Fruit-Jar” with circles and squares pint is from Williamstown, New Jersey. It was discovered in a riverbed in New Jersey, and the condition is exactly as found. – Greg Spurgeon, North American Glass
[above] In this September 2013 photo provided by Donn Pearlman, a Gold Rush-era $20 gold coin recovered from the SS Central America, still with some Atlantic Ocean residue on it, is shown at a coin expo in Long Beach, Calif. The gold was unearthed from the SS Central America after treasure hunter, Tommy Thompson, found the ship in 1988.
[above] ‘Onion’ Form Wine Bottle, (Van den Bossche, plate 72), Dutch, ca. 1720 - 1740, olive green, 6 1/4”h, 4 1/4” base diameter, sheared mouth, applied string lip. Approximately 85% of the surface has a metallic patina, created by various minerals or chemicals in the soil. A number have been found in various Holland canals when dredged. This patina is like that of the bottles found in the famous “Benicia,” California mud flats dig of the 1960s - 1970s. – Glass Works Auctions
July – August 2022
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Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
Santa Rosa Veteran’s Building 1351 Maple Ave Santa Rosa, CA
Saturday Sept.17, 2022
10 am–12 pm early bird $10.00 12 pm-4 pm General $3.00
Sunday Sept. 18, 2022 9 am – 2 pm Free admission
Buy – Sell – Trade – Raffle Prizes Contact Show Chairman for dealer info: johncburton@msn.com Member of FOHBC
707-523-1611
THE FINDLEY ANTIQUE BOTTLE CLUB 45TH ANNUAL
ANTIQUE BOTTLE AND COLLECTIBLES SHOW AND SALE Sunday October 16, 2022 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
HANCOCK COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS 1017 E. SANDUSKY ST. FINDLAY, OHIO 45840
Free Parking, Admission $2 Under 12 Free Hot Food and Beverages Available Bottles, Stoneware, Fruit Jars, Collectibles, Insulators, Advertising, Small Antiques, Free Appraisals w/Paid Admission Email: finbotclub@gmail.com Website: finbotclub.blogspot.com
Dealer Info: Fred Curtis 419-424-0486 Early Bird Adm. Sunday Only 7-9 a.m. $10 Non-Profit Club / Member fohbc.org
July – August 2022
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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.
[
Snuff bottles Ralph & Janet Finch
Pumpkinseed flask - John O’Neill
[above] I kept five bar bottles after I sold my Sacramento collection. This was probably a product of Rheinstrom Brothers, Cincinnati. - Steve Abbott
Assorted Pickle Bottles - John Pastor, American Glass Gallery
Really like these pontiled “top hat” sodas. - Clint Powell
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Colored demijohns - Dale & Barbara Santos
Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
Member Photos
Collection of colored medicines - Brian Bingham
Jeffrey S. Evans & Assoc. lead image for their May 2022 auction.
Has anybody seen another out there? Rick Ciralli
Happy World Turtle Day! - Jerry Moffitt Western Hutchinsons and whiskeys. George Shields
Passing some time - Michael George Somers show finds - Stephen Onofrio
Open pontiled J.W. Bulls Diarrhoea Curative Baltimore - Chris Rowell Eric Correia labeled meds
Philadelphia strap-sided whiskey flasks. - Art Miron
July – August 2022
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Classified Ads
ADVERTISE FOR FREE: Free “FOR SALE” advertising in each issue of Antique Bottle & Glass Collector (AB&GC). One free “WANTED” ad in AB&GC per year each renewal. DEALERS: Sell your bottles in the Antique Bottle & Glass Collector. Change the bottles and your ad is free month after month. Include your website in your ad to increase traffic to your site. Send all advertisement info to FOHBC Business Manager, Elizabeth Meyer, FMG Design, Inc., 101 Crawford, Studio 1A, Houston, Texas 77002 or best, email to: fohbcmembers@gmail.com
FOR SALE FOR SALE: 1840s 10-sided cobalt blue iron pontil Heiss’ Superior Soda Or Mineral Waters, Clean $475, 1860s G.W. Merchant Lockport N.Y. Teal, hinge mold, light scratches $100, 1860s round blue Stearns, hinge mold, 7”, clean $150, Keith Yunger, text 706.970.0283, kyunger73@gmail.com 05/01/22 FOR SALE: The 2018 updated Poison Bottle Workbook by Rudy Kuhn. Price $71 plus $7 media mail USA. Contact Joan Cabaniss for postage out of the United Stares. Email: jjcab@b2xonline.com. Phone: 540.297.4498. Make check or money order out to Joan Cabaniss, 312 Summer Lane, Huddleston, Virginia 24104. 05/01/22 FOR SALE: My mother collected infant feeders for over 30 years; she had over 300. Now that she has passed, I want to get rid of them. Sadly, however, no one around here wants them. I would be willing to let them go for $1-5 each. However, due to their weight, it would probably be cheaper, and less damage, if someone picked them up. If anyone has any interest in getting some, or all, please contact me, Kenneth M. Lowe, Jr. 2920 Adam Keeling Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23454-1001, Tele: 757.965.2225, KML500A@cox.net. 05/01/22 FOR SALE: (1) POISON KS-9 Scarce size, 5 1/2” with stopper, label and contents $375. (2) HUTCH: Taylor Soda Water Mfg. Co Boise, IDA, Aqua, Slug Plate, Beer Mug Base Nice $100. (3) HUTCH: Aqua, Slug Plate, Arizona Bottling Works, Phoenix, Arizona, Nice $90. (4) Amber Plantation Bitters 6 log, $175. ALL Plus Postage. Bill Harrelson, 843.855.0483, 4340 Hwy 19, Conway, South Carolina 29526 07/01/22
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FOR SALE: At the Reno 2022 Antique Bottle Convention, 60-Year Owl Collection, complete poison collections, ambers and milk glass, sodas and go-withs. Larry & Kathy, email: Larkat519@comcast.net 07/01/22
WANTED WANTED: BLACK HAWK, COLORADO Th. Crook Sky Light whiskey flask. I will pay $10,000 for a half-pint coffin or a pint coffin or a pint shoofly. Flask must be in mint condition and delivered to Colorado. Other Black Hawk bottles might be of interest if not already owned. Contact: David D. Spellman at spellmand@centurylink.net 01/01/23 WANTED: New members to join the St Louis Antique Bottle Collectors Association. We meet at the Kirkwood Community Center, Room 302, 111 S. Geyer Rd, Kirkwood, Missouri, 1st Tuesdays (except July when we don’t meet) at 6:30pm. Always a lively discussion. Patsy Jett, Show Chair, 314.570.6917 11/01/22 WANTED: In search of Reed’s Pharmacy Bottles from Atlantic City, New Jersey. Chris Myer, direct cell: 732.814.1450, Shore Antique Center, Allenhurst, NJ 732.531.4466. 05/01/22 WANTED: Rare Dr. Kilmer examples (such as sample bottles of Cough Cure or Female Remedy) or any examples with contents/boxes/ circulars. Also, rare cobalt “Extract of Witch Hazel, 8” (see Adams’ Bottle Collecting in New England, page 30). Also, if anyone has the prices realized list from the 1976 Charles Vuono auction, I would greatly appreciate it if they would scan it and email it to me. Mike, maleect@aol.com (preferred) or 623.440.1929. 05/01/22
WANTED: I collect Route 66 Illinois. Looking for bottles clearly showing location for the following Illinois towns: Berwyn, McCook, Countryside, Willowbrook, Plainfield, Romeoville, Elwood, Godley, Odell, Cayuga, Chenoa, Ocoya, Lexington, Towanda, Normal, Shirley, Funks Grove, McClean, Lawndale, Broadwell, Elkhart, Williamsville, Sherman, Glenarm, Divernon, Farmersville, Waggoner, Mt Olive, Livingston, Hamel, Mitchell, Granite City, Fairmont City, Chatham, Auburn, Thayer, Girard, Nilwood, Carlinville, Benld. Any type of bottle acceptable. Also looking for a copy of Bottled in Illinois by Walthall and Farnsworth. Please send photo(s) and price desired to smkpromo@yahoo.com, Susanna Karbowski.
WANTED: North Jersey Sodas, Hunterdon and Somerset County bottles, picture beers, sodas and Hutches. Contact: Ray Buch, 908.735.5014. 05/01/22 WANTED: Dr. Ball’s Vegetable Stomach Bitters, O.P., Mint. Contact: Michael Willbanks, 179 Cottage Street, New Bedford, MA 02740; Phone: 508.542.2750 05/01/22 WANTED: Authentic bottle or jug with name Morton on it. This was my father’s name. No preference as to size of any item. Contact Darlene Furda: Email: dfurda@roadrunner.com or landline: 818.889.5451. 05/01/22 WANTED: Pontiled Vermont bottles. Contact: David Mosher, Email: dachamo@comcast. net 05/01/22 WANTED: “Dr. Leroy’s Antidote to Malaria Morris Illinois” Russ Sineni, 815.501.6820 or bottlenut@aol.com 05/01/22 WANTED: Blob sodas from Central Illinois. Also, beer bottles from Peoria, Illinois. Contact: Jim Searle 309.346.7804 or Email: skyjames962@gmail.com 05/01/22 WANTED: Williamsport, PA – all rare bottles from Williamsport, PA including labeled, colored hutches/squats from Muncy, Watsontown, Lock Haven, Lewisburg, Milton, Jersey Shore, Renovo, Bloomsburg, Berwick, Danville. Dr Porter bottles from Towanda, PA. Minnequa Springs bottles from Canton, PA/Bradford County. Also, blue decorated crocks from Williamsport PA such as Slpe, Moore, Nichols, Hobart, or Rexford & Gordon. Contact: Bob Kane 570.220.5982. 05/01/22 WANTED: I seek to offer in trade following Antique Early 19th Century PA Coal Region stone bottles, one from a Pottsville brewery and the other Shamokin. Large early large lip bottles. Also, seek in trade certain Weissport PA bottle. I do not have certain early bitters, Amber Wishart’s Pine Tree bottle and others. Contact: David and Joann of Limerick, PA area, Email: cestia777@gmail.com 05/01/22 WANTED: For research project: Vermont drugstore bottles: JERICHO DRUG STORE / JERICHO, VT and also, DR. W.S. NAY / UNDERHILL, VT. Also want genuine Colorado Territory map. Thanks. Don Fritschel, donfritschel@gmail.com 05/01/22
05/01/22
Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
Classified Ads
WANTED: Hobble skirt embossed Coca-Cola bottles: 1915s, 1923s, D-Patent’s 6oz’s and 6 1/2 oz’s. Collector will buy or trade. Jim Georges, georges77@twcny.rr.com or 315.662.7729. 07/01/22 WANTED: U.S.A. Hospital Dept. and any pre1866 embossed food bottles, mustards, early Baltimore, Wheeling, D.C., Alexandria sodas, beers, (stoneware or glass) damage free. Bruce, cwaddic@yahoo.com, 703.307.7792. 12/01/22 WANTED: Colored Illinois and Missouri Sodas. Also Colored Fruit Jars. Top $$$ Paid. Call, text or email. Steve Kehrer, email: kehrer00@gmail.com, 618.410.4142. 03/01/23 WANTED: Philadelphia Strapsided or Seamed Whiskey Flasks. I collect and catalog these and also have an interest in Thomas H. Dillon (TD) Philadelphia mineral water bottles. Please contact me if you have any in your collection or wish to sell. Art Miron, email: jestar484@verizon.net, 215.248.4612. 06/01/22 WANTED: CABINS such as: GV11 2 Harrison Tippecanoe Cabin, P132 Prairie Plantation Bitters, W160 Woodgates Bitters, M42 Martins Bermuda Bitters, C698 Pottery Ink, C675 Cabin Ink, L62 Lediard 1863 OK Plantation (no lettering), Wiggs Bros. Cabin, Roehlling & Schultz Cabin, George Ohr Pottery Cabin, Bennington Pottery Cabin, “The Log Cabin” Portland, OR, Bob Terry, 303.569.2502, email: llterryualusa@yahoo.com 12/01/22 WANTED: Harley bottles of West Chester, Pa. and Philadelphia, Pa. The West Chester bottles (3) display either J. Harley, James Harley or E.M. Harley. The Phila. Bottles (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, email: rwh220@yahoo.com, Phone: 215.721.1107 12/22 PERMANENT WANT: OWL DRUG bottles, tins, boxes, paper, anything from the Owl Drug Company. Marc Lutsko, letsgo@montanasky. net, 406.293.6771, Box 97, Libby, MT 59923 TOP DOLLAR paid 01/01/23 WANTED: Collectors of all good, colored glass. Crude and mint. Eastern or Western. Hair, Inks, Meds, Bitters, Pickles and Pepper Sauces. Also collect Red Wing and Blue White Stoneware. Ed & Tami Barber, 425.941.5620, etwcb4@comcast.net, 05/01/22
July – August 2022
WANTED: Native Southern Californian still needs the sample bottle embossed, FIRST WATER FROM LOS ANGELES AQUADUCT NOV 5th 1913. It celebrated the opening of the 235-mile aqueduct from Owens Valley to L.A. and spawned one of the most aggressive growth spurts ever! PS: When in Montrose, Colorado, visit Richard Fikes Museum of the Mountain West–outstanding bottle collection. It was the highlight of our trip last summer. Marty Vollmer, 803.629.8553, martyvollmer@aol.com, 05/01/22 WANTED: Bliss Bottles and go-withs also Speta Milk Bottles and go-withs from Cleveland, Ohio. Bruce Bliss, 814.765.5911, 05/01/22 WANTED: Buy-Sell-Trade fruit jars and parts, lids, metal pieces, etc. One piece or a collection. Dave Eifler, 269.362.1302, 4043 Wildon Ct., Buchanan, MI 49107. 05/03/21 WANTED: Volunteers to help the FOHBC. Help our organization stay strong by writing an article, volunteering at the upcoming Reno 22 Show, be a magazine proofreader or a Virtual Museum researcher. Post on our social media sites and share our posts. There are many ways you can help. Donations to our non-profit organization are always accepted. Thank you. 01/01/23 WANTED: COLORED FIGURAL BITTERS. Also, other bitters that are: Unusually shaped or unusually colored, for their grouping. Mint specimens only. Contact: Randolph Haumann 415.518.4124 or email at hawkeye751@ outlook.com 07/01/22 WANTED: 1) WEIR canning jar–two colors with height without lid 4 3/4 inches, its base diameter is 4 1/4 inches and has exterior mouth diameter of about 3 1/4 inches. 2) A one-half gallon Macomb Horseshoe canning jar. 3) A lid for “The Layman,” a stoneware canning jar. 4) a J.D. PAIGE spruce beer bottle–Joliet, Illinois. Contact: Marv Juel, 23825 Lockport Street, Plainfield, IL 60544 or email: marvfernjuel@ ameritech.net 07/01/22 WANTED: Any information on shoulder embossed “Boss and Co.” black glass quart ale. Three-piece mold. Smooth base. Collar with flare below lip. Dates, location, and any other, Terry Williams, P.O. Box 129, Wartrace, Tennessee, 37183, 931.389.0425 07/01/22 WANTED: Madison, WI–cobalt Lindstrom, Stockton and Co., Dr. Bourbon’s Aromatic Forest Bitters or Pulmonic Balsam; Dr. W. C.
Albaly: J. & A. L; Adolph Wagner–John Rodermund, ACL Lake City Bottling Works. Also, Fond du Lac, WI Indian Blood Bitters. Dick Boosted, phone 920.520.0064 WANTED: Pontiled common medicines with prices. Also, antique Christmas ornaments in good condition. Lee Bernard, 1665 Sherman Rd., Jackson, Wisconsin 53037 07/01/22 WANTED: This is a pain! Ralph Finch needs help (or a liniment): Has anyone information–or even seen a bottle showing “Finch’s ‘Good Samaritan Pain Killer’ Liniment”? It’s likely not worth much, but…I’m just curious. rfinch@twmi.rr.com or 248.476.4893.
SHOWS, STOPS & SERVICES NEEDING: Historical pictures for the online FOHBC Research Library. 03/01/23 REMEMBER: Please keep up with your membership to avoid interrupted service. A SPECIAL SHOUT-OUT & THANK YOU: Alice Seeliger and Bill Baab are the FOHBC magazine proofreaders. This behind-thescenes task is immense and could not be more professionally done. 05/01/22 WARNER COLLECTORS: Mike and Alice Seeliger and Mike and Kathie Craig are planning a trip to the UK to the Summer National show there in July of this year. They will be giving a seminar on Warner to the collectors attending the show, meet other Warner collectors and get more information for Mike’s Warner book. They are looking forward to the trip and will bring lots of photos back of the English collections. 03/01/22 A SPECIAL SHOUT-OUT & THANK YOU: Jeff Wichmann, Bill Meier and Miguel Ruiz for the soon-to-be-released FOHBC Auction Price Report. Jeff led the project after the FOHBC received a generous grant or gift to fund the endeavor. [see page 14 of this issue] 07/01/22
From our printer regarding unprecidented delays It is a strange world right now in printing and in my 30 + years of doing this I have never seen it like this before. I appreciate your patience with us and we are very hopeful that things will get better, we are certainly working hard to make that happen. Tim Steinbeck, Account Executive Modern Litho, Jefferson City, Mo.
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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, 101 Crawford Street, Studio 1A, Houston, Texas 77002; 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.
25 June 2022 – Johnston, Iowa The Iowa Antique Bottleers 52nd Annual Antique Bottle & Collectibles Show and Sale at the Johnston Lions Club, 64th Place and Merle Hay Road, Johnston, Iowa, Admission $2, Children Free, For info contact Mark Wiseman, 3505 Sheridan Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa 50301, 515.344.8333 or Joyce Jessen, 515.979.5216, See Contract on FOHBC website, FOHBC Member Club
16 & 17 September 2022 – Jacksonville, Florida Antique Bottle Collectors of North Florida Show & Sale! Saturday 8:00 am to 2:00 pm, Fraternal Order of Police Building, 5530 Beach Boulevard, Jacksonville, Florida. Free Admission. For more information contact Mike Skie at 904.710.0422. Early Birds Friday. 2:00 pm to 7:00 pm $50, 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm $40, 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm $20. Also contact Cory, 904.444.4346, jaxbottleshow@yahoo.com
02 & 03 July 2022 – Nr Barnsley, S. Yorks, United Kingdom, the 30th UK National is back! BBR, Elsecar Heritage Centre, Nr Barnsley, S. Yorks, S74 8HJ, tele: 01226 745156, email: sales@onlinebbr.com, www.onlinebbr.com
16 & 17 September 2022 – Aurora, Oregon Oregon Bottle Collectors Association 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, Show Address, 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
23 July 2022 – Concord, North Carolina 4th Annual Concord Antique & Collectibles Show, City Club at Gibson Mill, 325 McGill Avenue, Concord, North Carolina 28027, Saturday 8:00 am to 2:00 pm, No Early admission, Set up: 7:00 am to 8:00 am, FREE Cost of admission, Contact: Johnny McAulay, Show Chairman, 704.439.7634, mcaulaytime@aol.com 24 July 2022 – Rotterdam Junction, New York Capital Region Antique Bottle Club Annual Show & Sale, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, at the Mabee Farm Historic Site, 1100 Main St., Rotterdam Junction N.Y., Contact: Jeff Ullman, 518.925.9787, jullman@nycap.rr.com, FOHBC Member Club 28-31 July 2022 – Reno, Nevada FOHBC RENO 2022 National Antique Bottle Convention, Grand Sierra Resort & Casino, Information: Richard Siri rtsiri@sbcglobal.net or Ferdinand Meyer V fmeyer@fmgdesign. com, FOHBC National Convention – Western Region. Full event information at FOHBC.org, FOHBC National Event 21 August 2022 – Poughkeepsie, New York Hudson Valley Bottle Club 35th Annual Mid Hudson Bottle Show & Sale, 9:00 am to 2:30 pm, early buyers 8:30 am, Poughkeepsie Elks Lodge 275, 29 Overocker Road, Poughkeepsie, New York, Contact Info: Mike Stephano, 27 Rogers Road, Hyde Park, New York 12538, 845.233.4340, mjsantique@aol.com, FOHBC Member Club 28 August 2022 – Davenport, Iowa The Annual Mississippi Valley Antique Bottle & Advertising Show, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 1111 West 35th St., Davenport, Iowa. Info: Merle Vastine, Phone: 563.445.0844, FOHBC Member Club 10 September 2022 – Castle Rock, Colorado The 56th Annual Antique Bottle Collectors of Colorado Show. Douglas County Fairgrounds, at Kirk Hall, 500 Fairgrounds Dr., Castle Rock, Colorado 80104. General Admission: Saturday, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, Free. Information: Eric Grace, 303.250.7498, eleegrace@aol.com, antiquebottlecollectorsofcolorado.com, FOHBC Member Club
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17 September 2022 – Santa Ana, California Los Angeles Historical Bottle Club’s 56th Annual Antique Bottles, Fruit Jars, Insulators, Antiques & Collectibles Show & Sale, 8:00 am to 3:00 pm, Early Bird $15 at 8:00 am, General Admission Free 10:00 am to 3:00 pm, Club Members All Day Entry, at the Santa Ana California Elks Lodge, 1751 South Lyon St., Santa Ana, California 92705. Free Admission, Info: Don Wippert, Tele: 818.610.9332; Email: donwippert1@gmail.com or Chuck Gildea, tele: 949.351.7620. FOHBC Member Club 17 September 2022 – Youngsville, North Carolina Antique Bottle and Collectibles Show and Sale Presented by The Raleigh Bottle Club sponsored by Hill Ridge Farms. Open to the public from 9:00 am until 2:00 pm. Dealer set up is 7:00 am until 9:00 am. Hill Ridge Farms Events Center, 703 Tarboro Road, Youngsville, North Carolina 27596, Bottles, Jars, Insulators, Stoneware, Advertising, Breweriana, Small Antiques, etc. New and larger location with lots of parking and open space. Inside and outside setup areas. Admission is $3. Children under 12 free, For information contact: David Tingen – Show Chairman, 919.848.4387, tingen1@mindspring.com. For more information visit our website www.raleighbottleclub.org. Note: PayPal accepted for table reservations. FOHBC Member Club 17 & 18 September 2022 – Santa Rosa, California The Northwestern Bottle Collectors’ Association’s 54th Annual Antique Bottle Collectors Show. Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building, 1351 Maple Avenue, Santa Rosa, California 95404. General Admission: Saturday noon to 4:00 pm $3, Saturday early admission 10:00 to noon $10, Sunday 9 am to 2:00 pm Free Admission. Contact chairman John Burton, johncburton@msn.com, 707.523.1611, FOHBC Member Club 18 September 2022 – Depew, New York The Greater Buffalo Bottle Collectors Association’s Annual Show & Sale, Polish Falcons Hall, 445 Columbia Avenue, Depew, New York 14043, General Admission $4: Sunday 9
am to 2 pm. Contact chairman Joe Guerra, 29 Nina Terrace, West Seneca, New York 14224, 716.207.9948 or jguerra3@roadrunner.com, or www.gbbca.org, FOHBC Member Club 18 September 2022 – Westford, Massachusetts Westford, Massachusetts The Merrimack Valley Antique Bottle Club’s 47th Annual Bottle Show & Sale, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, $4 admission, early buyers at 8:00 am $20. www.mvabc.org, Westford Regency Inn & Conference Center, 219 Littleton Road, Westford, Massachusetts 01886. Just five minutes off Exit 32 of I-495 follow the signs. Contact: Kevin Cantrell, 978.551.6397, kmcantrell86@gmail.com, FOHBC Member Club 01 October 2022 – Chesterfield, Virginia The Richmond Area Bottle Collectors Assoc. presents the Richmond Antique Bottle and Collectibles Show and Sale, General Admission $3, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm; Early Admission $10 at 7:30 am, at the Chesterfield County Fairgrounds, 10300 Courthouse Road, Chesterfield, Virginia 23832. Info: Tony Townsend, 804.379-0902; RichBottleClub@comcast.net, FOHBC Member Club 08 October 2022 – Coventry, Connecticut 50th Annual Coventry Antique Bottle & Glass Show, Hosted by the Museum of Connecticut Glass, 289 North River Road, Coventry, Connecticut 06238. General Admission 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, $4; Early Admission 8:00 am, $15. Info: Bruce Mitchell, Show Chairman, 465 Dogwood Road, Orange, CT, 06477, bruce.mitchell@glassmuseum.org, 860.508.6269. Southern Connecticut Antique Bottle & Glass Collectors Association, FOHBC Member Club 08 October 2022 – Cleveland, Mississippi 1st Annual Mississippi Delta Antique Bottle, Advertising and Collectable Show & Sale, Bolivar County Expo Building, 601 1st Street, Cleveland, Mississippi 38732, Saturday, October 8th, 2022, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, Early admission, Saturday, 7:00 am to 9:00 am, Set up Friday, 07 October, 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm, Free admission, Early admission $15, Mississippi Antique Bottle, Advertising and Collectable Club, Contact, Cheryl Comans, president, 1211 S. Fifth Ave., Cleveland, Mississippi 38732, 601.218.3505, cherylcomans@gmail.com, FOHBC Member Club 08 October 2021 – Fayette, Alabama 9th Annual Fayette, Alabama Bottle Collectible & Antiques Show & Sell, Free admission to the public, Boy Scout of America Scout Building, 100 3rd Avenue, Fayette, Alabama 35555, Saturday 8:00 am till 3:00 pm, Set-up: Friday, October 7th from 3:00 pm till 6:00 pm and Saturday, October 9th from 6:00 am till 7:30 am, Contact: Jeff Pendley, Chairman, 205.275.2650, JfPendley@aol.com 16 October 2022 – Findlay, Ohio Findlay Antique Bottle Club 45th Annual Bottle Show & Sale at Old Mill Stream Centre at Hancock County Fairgrounds, 1017 E. Sandusky St., Findlay, Ohio, 9 am to 2
Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
Sho-Biz Calendar of Shows
pm $2, Early Bird Sunday 7 am to 9 am $10 (Dealer-only set up Saturday) Contact: Fred Curtis 419.424.0486, finbotclub@ gmail.com, FOHBC Member Club
Canoe, Jasper, Georgia 30143, 770.856.6062 or Bill Johnson, 770.823.2626, bj3605@comcast.net, FOHBC Member Club
21-22 October 2022 – Nashville, Tennessee Area Tennessee Bottle Collectors Presents their Nashville Area Antique Bottle & Advertising Show, Wilson County Fairgrounds, 945 E. Baddour Pkwy, Lebanon, Tennessee 37087, Building E-D, Behind Expo Center, I-40 Exit 239B, Friday 2:00 to 7:00 pm Early Buyer $10 Admission, Saturday 8:00 am to 2:00 pm Free Admission. Dealer Set-up: Friday: 1:00 pm, Saturday: 7:00 am, For Show Info or Vendor Contract, Contact Show Chairmen Greg Eaton: 865.548.3176 or Stanley Word, 615.708.6634, FOHBC Member Club
13 November 2022 – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania The Pittsburgh Antique Bottle Club’s 52nd Annual Show & Sale, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, early buyers 7:00 am, $25. Admission $3. www.PittsburghAntiqueBottleClub.org, Elizabeth VFD Event Center, 107 Market Street, Elizabeth, Pennsylvania 15037, Contact Info: Bob DeCroo, 724.326.8741 or Jay Hawkins, 724.872.6013, FOHBC Member Club
21 & 22 October 2022 – Biloxi, Mississippi Presented by the Olde Guys Digging Club of Biloxi, MS., the 5th Annual Mississippi Gulf Coast Antique Bottle Show will be held from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm Saturday, October 22, 2022, at the Joppa Shrine Temple, 13280 Shriners Blvd., Biloxi, MS. 39532 (Exit 41- I-10). Dealer Set Up on Friday, October 21, 2022, from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm and Saturday, October 22, 2022, from 8:00 am to 9:00 am. Free Admission on Saturday, October 22, 2022. Early Buyers $20. per person during dealer set up on Friday. For more information or table contracts, contact: Peter Taggard, 645 Village Lane South, Mandeville, LA 70471, Phone 985.373.6487 Email: petertaggard@yahoo.com, or Norman Bleuler, 6446 Woolmarket Rd., Biloxi, MS 39532. Phone: 228.392.9148 22 October 2022 – Macungie, Pennsylvania Forks of the Delaware Bottle Collectors Association 48th Annual Bottle and Antique Show & Sale, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm $3, early buyers 7:30 am, ($20 admission fee) Macungie Park Hall, Macungie, Pennsylvania 18062, For Info: Bill Hegedus, 610.264.3130, forksofthedelawarebottles@ hotmail.com, See Facebook page, FOHBC Member Club
26 & 27 November 2022 – Traralgon, Victoria, Australia 51st National Bottles & Collectables Show & 25th Gippsland Antiques & Collectables Fair, Saturday, 26th
November, 9.30 am to 5:00 pm, Sunday, 27th November, 9:30 am to 3:00 pm. Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium, Catterick Cres. Traralgon, Victoria. Admission: Adults $5 Children under 16 yrs. Free. Early Bird Entry: Friday from 6:30 pm (Bottle Auction) & Saturday from 8:00 am $30. Inquiries: Wayne: 0435587535, waynhbotl@yahoo.com, www.facebook.com/gippslandantiques, Hosted by Gippsland Antique Bottles & Collectables Club Inc. 07 May 2023 – Gray, Tennessee State of Franklin Antique Bottles & Collectible Assoc. 25th Annual Show & Sale, Saturday, May 6th, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, Appalachian Fairground, 100 Lakeview Street, Gray, Tennessee 37615, Exit 13 on I-216, No Early Admission. sfabca.com, FOHBC Member Club
RENO 2022 TEAM BOWLING EVENT Saturday Evening, 30 July 2022, 7:00 to 9:00 pm In conjunction with the FOHBC Reno 2022 National Antique Bottle Convention Ok all you antique bottle people. It’s time to team up for the FOHBC Reno 2022 Bowling Event at the GSR Bowling Center! Five per team whether it be bottle clubs, regions, collecting groups or just friends. Family members welcome. $25 per person for lane cost. Reserve your team now. Prizes and fun! Enjoy some serious family fun at the recently updated 50-lane GSR Bowling Center. Come try your skills on their all-new lanes. Some of the Bowling Center highlights include 50 Lanes, BESX Automatic Scoring System featuring Mad Games, You Toons, Signature Grids, Bowling Plus, and Facebook Game Connect, Blacklight Bowling featured every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night, 6 Lanes of HyperBowling – turn your lane into a ‘pinball-style arcade game, Professional Instruction (by appointment), Pool Tables and Shuffleboard. Contact Richard Siri, rtsiri@sbcglobal.net or Ferdinand Meyer V, fmeyer@fmgdesign.com
RENO 2022
06 November 2022 – Elton, Maryland The Tri-State Bottle Collectors and Diggers Club 49th Annual Show & Sale, Singerly Fire Hall, Routes 279 & 213 (I-95 exit 109A), 300 Newark Avenue, Elkton, Maryland 21922, Sunday, November 6, 2022, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, No Early Admission, Dealers only entry at 6:30 am, Set-up begins at 7:00 am, Admission: $3 per person, Children under age 12 free, Tri-State Bottle Collectors and Diggers Club, Inc, Contact: Dave Brown, Show Chair, 6 Martine Court, Newark, Delaware 19711, 302.388.9311, dbrown3942@comcast.net, FOHBC Member Club 11 & 12 November 2022 – Jefferson, Georgia 51st Annual Southeastern Antique Bottle and Pottery Show, Sponsored by the R.M. Rose Co., Saturday, November 12th, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, Dealer Setup & Early Admission, Friday, November 11th, 3:00 to 8:00 pm and Saturday 7:00 am to 9:00 am, Jefferson Civic Center, 65 Kissam Street, Jefferson, Georgia 30549, Free Admission! Early Admission with Dealers: $10, For table reservations and show information contact: Jack Hewitt, Box 12126, Big
July – August 2022
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Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
Membership Benefits
The Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors (FOHBC) is a non-profit organization supporting antique bottles 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. Federation membership is open to any individual or club interested in the enjoyment and study of antique bottles. The FOHBC publication, Antique Bottle & Glass Collector, is well-known throughout the hobby world as the leading publication for those interested in antique bottle and glass collecting and all associated ephemera. The FOHBC Virtual Museum is the most comprehensive antique bottle and glass experience on the Internet. Your FOHBC Individual Membership benefits include: A full year subscription to the all-color, bi-monthly (6 issues a year) 72-page plus covers publication, Antique Bottle & Glass Collector. Various membership options are available including Digital Membership. Free advertising of “For Sale” items in Antique Bottle & Glass Collector (restrictions apply—ads may be up to 100 words, items must be of $25 or greater value, and free advertisements are limited to the first 100 received, based upon date mailed). One free ad of 60 words each year for use for items “Wanted,” trade offers, etc. Access to FOHBC.org, a comprehensive website dedicated to the organization and hobby. Access through the Members Portal to the Membership Directory, archived FOHBC past issues, indexed articles and a vast assortment of research material. Access to the FOHBC Virtual Museum of Historical Bottles & Glass. FOHBC members are museum members. Access to the online FOHBC Auction Price Report. Look for cost and description of anything auctioned by the top antique bottle and glass auction houses in the past decade. The opportunity to obtain discounts to be used on “Early Admission” or table rental at the FOHBC National Shows and Conventions. FOHBC digital newsletter and so much more. We encourage Affiliated Bottle Club memberships by offering these additional benefits to your group: Display advertising in Antique Bottle & Glass Collector at discount of 50%. Insertion of your bottle club show ad on the Federation website to increase your show’s exposure. Links to your club website free of charge. Social Media (Facebook) exposure. Free Federation ribbon for Most Educational display at your show. Participation in the Federation-sponsored insurance program for your club show and any other club-sponsored activities. We need your support! Our continued existence is dependent upon your participation as well as expanding our membership. If you haven’t yet joined our organization, please do so and begin reaping the benefits. If you are already a member, please encourage your friends and fellow collectors to JOIN US!! For more information, questions, or to join the FOHBC, please contact: Elizabeth Meyer, FOHBC Business Manager, FMG Design, Inc., 101 Crawford Street, Studio 1A, Houston, Texas 77002, phone: 713.504.0628. or email: fohbcmembers@gmail.com or visit our home page at FOHBC.org July – August 2022
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.
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Membership Application & Advertising FOHBC Individual Membership Application 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 ________________________ ____________________________________
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
Antique Bottle & Glass Collector Free Ads Category: “WANTED” Maximum - 60 words Limit - One free ad per current membership year. Category: “FOR SALE” Maximum - 100 words Limit - 1 ad per issue. (Use extra paper if necessary.)
Would you be interested in contributing your bottle knowledge by writing articles for our magazine? { } Yes { } No Would you be interested in volunteering to
Additional Comments _______________________ 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 - Standard Mail w/Associate* - Standard Mail 3 years - Standard Mail 3 years w/Associate* Digital Membership (electronic files only)
$40 $45 $110 $125 $25
1st Class $55 1st Class w/Associate $60 1st Class 3 years $125 1st Class 3 yrs w/Assoc. $140
Canada – First Class $60 Other countries – First Class $80
- 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(s) 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: FOHBC Membership, Elizabeth Meyer, FMG Design, Inc., 101 Crawford Street, Studio 1A, Houston, Texas 77002, Phone: 713.504.0628 Email: fohbcmembers@gmail.com
Affiliated Club Membership for only $75 with liability insurance for all club-sponsored events, 50% discount on advertising in Antique Bottle & Glass Collector, plus much more, Contact: FOHBC Business Manager: Elizabeth Meyer, FMG Design. Inc., 101 Crawford Street, Studio 1A, Houston, Texas 77002 72
Clearly Print or Type Your Ad Send to: FOHBC Business Manager: Elizabeth Meyer, FMG Design, Inc. 101 Crawford Street, Studio 1A, Houston, Texas 77002; 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
Auction #32 – Coming July, 2022. Check our website for details!
American Glass Gallery
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Auction #32 will include a diverse selection of 280 lots including Historical Flasks, Blown and Pattern Molded Bottles, Rare Bitters, Choice Pontiled Medicines, Black Glass, Sodas, Mineral Water Bottles, early Blown Glass, and much more! Full-color catalogs for this sale are only $15.00 (post-paid). Call, or visit our website to reserve your copy!
Watch for these choice items, and many more, in our upcoming July, 2022 Auction.
American Glass Gallery • John R. Pastor • P.O. Box 227, New Hudson, Michigan 48165 phone: 248.486.0530 • www.americanglassgallery.com • email: jpastor@americanglassgallery.com
FOHBC c/o Elizabeth Meyer, FMG Design, Inc. 101 Crawford St., Studio 1A, Houston, Texas 77002
FOHBC Member. Please check your mailing address information and notify us of any corrections. FOHBC.org
THE BEST EARLY GLASS & BOTTLES We welcome your conversation to discuss consignment options for your singular item, group or entire collection.
hecklerauction.com 860.974.1634