New Jersey Bitters and Hostetter's

By Robert Strickhart

You never know where a story will lead you

This article was originally written last year. For a variety of reasons which are of little or no consequence, the article didn’t make it into the November issue which it was originally intended for. No problem, I figured it would make just as much sense around Thanksgiving 2020 as it did Thanksgiving 2019. Right?

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Few could have predicted the massive changes to our way of life that were on the horizon. And boy, have things changed. The last bottle show I attended and set up at was Baltimore, which was just before the proverbial poop hit the fan.

When I began to write this, it was late October 2019 and fall was in full swing. Halloween was just around the corner, the foliage was spectacular and the apple cider tasted better than I ever remember it. We had made some Thanksgiving plans and we had wonderful friends and family gatherings lined up. We really didn’t see the storm clouds brewing. By the time St. Patrick’s Day rolled around, the world was quite different.

Things have changed concerning our travel and gathering plans but still today one thing is true. Thanksgiving is one of my most favorite holidays, in spite of the fact that it kicks off the dreaded holiday buying frenzy, which actually starts two weeks before Halloween in Home Depot, the mall and Walgreens. Guess that will even be different this year. I know there will be no Rockettes at Radio City in the Big Apple this year and I’m wondering if even Santa will be able to make his entrance at the Macy’s Day parade.

On Thanksgiving, there is no gift-giving pressure, just a day to reflect on how fortunate we all are. No matter who you are, where you come from, or what you believe in, on this day we all have the chance to say thanks for all our blessings. This Covid-19 thing has given all of us a chance, whether we like it or not, to step back and reassess. No great words of wisdom here. This is a really bad time, but it could be a lot worse. We’ve survived worse. It will pass sooner or later. Perhaps we should take stock and be thankful for the truly important things we have. My hope is that we come out of this smarter, better and wiser.

One of my regular Thanksgiving traditions is the Bethlehem, Pa., bottle show on the Sunday after Turkey Day. I don’t know if it will run this year. But in all the past years, it’s a great time, a great chance to stop eating leftovers, and a tradition for me personally, as I’ve attended Bethlehem for longer than I’d like to admit. For me, it’s the last show before Christmas and it ushers in the Holiday Season. Most folks know I am proud of my Garden State. Yeah, we don’t have Florida sunshine or California girls, but we have The Jersey Boys, Jersey strawberries and the Jersey shore. Don’t even talk to me about Chicago deep-dish Pizza; if you

Laubach's Bitters from 100 Reservoir Avenue, Jersey City, N.J.

By Robert Strickhart

TOP: "Sickness is a Luxury Nobody Can Afford" Laubach advertising card. MIDDLE: Laubach Proprietary Medicines Christmas card. BOTTOM: Early postcard showing the Water Works, Summit Ave., Jersey City Heights area around the time of Laubach's bitters.

haven’t had Jersey Tomato Pie, you’re in the dark ages of food. And when it comes to glass, who else can tell you they have a town named Glassboro in their state? Our list of New Jersey bitters is short, but impressive. And if you know me, you know I want to add an example of every N.J. bitters to my shelf. So to my assistance enter a few bottle family members with some great additions, and to whom I owe a debt of gratitude.

When I was co-chair of the Springfield National show a couple of years ago, I got to really know Gary Beatty. He and I rubbed shoulders before, but in this circumstance we had a chance to work closely together and I really got a chance to know Gary better. Gary is a great guy and a straight shooter. He’ll always tell you the truth, and he manages to do it in a gentle, friendly way.

On two different occasions, Gary alerted me to two New Jersey bitters that were, in this case, available on eBay. Fortunately, I was able to prevail and can now share them with you.

The first is a label-only bitters in very nice condition. The label reads in part:

Laubach’s Bitters / Contains 15% Alcohol Added Solely as a Solvent and Presevative / Manufactured by Laubach Proprietary Medicines /

100 Reservoir Avenue / Jersey City, N.J. U.S.A.

Are you kidding me? Not only is it a New Jersey bitters, but it comes from the town I was born and grew up in, Jersey City! Also, look at the label carefully and you’ll see a nice picture, with his signature below, of Thomas Laubach, the company’s proprietor. The bottle is unlisted and I’ve got to think fairly uncommon.

The label places this bitters home on Reservoir Avenue. Reservoir Avenue is in the part of the city we used to call the Heights off of Summit Avenue, quite a distance from the Greenville section where I grew up. Once the site of a true reservoir system, after the city established water supplies from Boonton, N.J., some of the reservoirs became unnecessary, and so were converted to what we called Pershing Field. The Laubach company was apparently quite a going concern. I can share with you two pieces of advertising connected to the business. One is a nice Christmas note telling us that the Laubach company wishes us a Merry Christmas and good health through the New Year with, of course, the help of Laubach Bitters!

Gary also alerted me to another bottle available on eBay that was much earlier than the Laubach’s and, once again, it was label-only. Sporting a nice open pontil in somewhat crude aqua glass and an early tooled lip, the label reads in part:

Feaster’s Indian Hemp Bitters / John Feaster Proprietor, Green Creek N.J.

I believe this bottle with label-only is an earlier rendition of the known embossed bottle listed as:

P 146 JOHN FEASTER & CO / PROP’S INDIAN HEMP BITTERS / GREEN CREEK, N.J.

This bottle, according to Ring/Ham, is oval and colorless and extremely rare. The bottle listed was dug in Cape May, N.J., our southernmost point in the state, back in 1976. Green Creek is a small spot on the Delaware River side of Cape May county, far south in our state.

Until I can find an example of the embossed Feaster & Co bottle, this labeled example will do just fine. I think you’ll agree it’s a pretty cool bottle.

No, I didn’t forget this article’s title and its reference to Hostetter’s Bitters. Hold on to your hat, it’s coming.

One of the best parts about writing these articles is meeting new people and making additions to the bottle family. About a year ago, I received an email from out of the blue from a fellow New Jerseyian. He referenced an article I wrote in 2015 focussing on New Jersey bitters. The email read: “Good morning, my name is Hubie Driscoll. I live in West Creek, N.J., and I collect Dr. J. Hostetter bottles

By Robert Strickhart

and all local Jersey bottles from this area. The reason that I am contacting you is I recently purchased a small bitters bottle from N.J. that is not on your Jersey list of bitters bottles that you did back in June of 2015. I have looked in my books but cannot find a listing for it, hoping that you can help. The bottle is 7 inches tall, 2 1/2 wide and 1 3/8 thick. Aqua color with a tooled top. Embossed on one edge is SWEDISH BITTERS Co. and on the other edge is WOODBURY, N.J. If you have any information on this bottle I would be very grateful if you could share it with me. Thank you very much and hope to hear back. Regards, Hubie.”

Well, it didn’t take long for us to start conversing back and forth through email and phone calls and we became friends. What an exciting thing to come up with a new New Jersey bitters as till now unknown to the bitters world. After a conversation with Bill Ham, we confirmed that we had, in fact, a new bitters to add to the catalogue. I was able to track down some advertising from old newspapers that spoke about Swedish Bitters from Woodbury, N.J., but until now the bottle itself remained elusive.

We arranged to meet so I could get a good look at this new bitters, and on a rainy day last year, I made the trip down to see Hubie and his wife, Nancy. I was excited to meet them in person and see this new bottle, so much so that I forgot that Hubie, in his first email, mentioned that he collected Hostetter’s Bitters. Hubie and Nancy were so gracious and inviting, I felt at home immediately. And so, after some introductions and hellos, off to Hubie’s bottle room we go to see the new Swedish bitters. The rainy day was about to get much brighter.

We enter the room and my eyes open wide. We’ve all seen Hostetter’s Bitters

Feasters Indian Hemp Bitters. TOP: Swedish Bitters (showing Woodbury N.J. side). ABOVE: Swedish Bitters side panel.

By Robert Strickhart

Hubie Driscoll in his bottle room with some of the many examples of Hostetter's Bitters he's collected.

bottles before. You can’t go to a bottle show and not see one. But this, wow, this was different. There, in nicely-built cabinets were approximately 160 Hostetters, and they were all different! Hubie explained that he has approximately seventy different applied-top variants, with many being unknown as to which glasshouse might have produced them. Old variants, wild colors, crude examples and even a round labeled example were neatly displayed. What a terrific accumulation that inspired a new appreciation for what we often consider a common bottle.

The Swedish Bitters was in great condition and exactly as described in Hubie’s first email. It was cool to have it in my hands. No, it’s not a fantastic figural with a wild color. In fact, its common appearance makes it easier to understand why this bottle has not surfaced until now. We both agreed that if you were at a bottle show, its common appearance wouldn’t draw too much attention at all, making it easy to overlook. But Hubie’s sharp eye caught it and I’m glad he did. It always amazes me that new finds are still being made today.

Sometimes, you just don’t know where the road will lead you. Three new New Jersey bitters and one that led to an amazing collection of Hostetter’s Bitters and a new bottle friend. I have to say that I’m once again thankful, thankful for a new New Jersey bitters and a new friend in the bottle family.

It is my sincerest hope that you are well and surviving this storm. I’m sure there will be a brighter tomorrow somewhere down the line.

One final thought. Some years ago, I had the chance to visit with Jack Stecher and his wife, and my pal, Audrey. This was before most of Jack’s collection went off to auction. Jack and I go way back, a true gentleman and an enthusiastic collector. My wife, Marianne, was there, as was Tom McCandless, and we were having a great visit. Anyway, a couple of glasses of wine and a really nice time in his bottle room finally led to a quiet moment when we were just quietly admiring his wonderful collection. I don’t remember who said it, but someone said something to the effect that we were sitting there admiring some very expensive beautiful bottles while there were others in the world who were just getting by. Take stock and count your blessings. Happy Thanksgiving. Publisher’s Note:

Antique Bottle & Glass Collector is looking for great digging stories! Do you have an interesting digging (or diving), story that you would like to share with your fellow readers? Let us know, as we would love to include recent finds and funny stories in one of our upcoming issues. And don’t forget about the Antique Bottle & Glass Collector Writer’s Contest: you may also win a great bottle!

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