An Interview with Ferdinand Meyer V The New Face of the Hobby by Jeff Wichmann as published by American Bottle Auctions November 2012 As the hobby changes over the course of months, years and decades, it’s inevitable that new faces arrive on the scene. One such new face is that of Ferdinand Meyer V, and as most people will agree, has come onto the scene like a hurricane. Not only maintaining a world class collection of bottles, Ferdinand has taken the reins in many areas of the hobby. I wanted to know more about this interesting man and thought it was time to New FOHBC President, Ferdinand Meyer V - 2012 Reno National banquet do an interview. The following is some background information and his responses to some pointed questions. I think you’ll agree, if anyone is going to make their mark on the antique bottle hobby in today’s world, it’s Ferd as his friends call him.
Elizabeth Requejo (soon to be Meyer) & Ferdinand Meyer V
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Ferdinand Meyer V, President, Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors, is a native of Baltimore, Maryland and has a BFA in Fine Art and Graphic Design from the Kansas City Art Institute and School of Design. He is also the founding principal of FMG Design, a nationally recognized design consultation firm. Ferdinand is a passionate collector of American historical
glass specializing in bitters bottles; color runs and related classic figural bottles. Ferdinand is married to Elizabeth Jane Meyer and lives in Houston, Texas with their daughter and three wonderful grandchildren. The Meyers are also very involved in Quarter Horses, antiques and early United States postage stamps. JW: Although you are becoming the new face of antique bottle collecting in this country and for all I know the world, you’ve really been most prominent leading the charge in the last four years or so, what happened?
No stuffed animals foritFerdinand. Jeff, I guess really has been kind of crazy now that I sit down and think a moment about where I am, where I’ve been and where I hope to go with antique bottles and glass. This all started in early 2002, so the first years I was the newcomer, the new kid on the block. One guy up north used to always squeeze in the word “neophyte” when we were talking. I thought that was pretty amusing. Just because I was just starting out did not mean I was new to collecting something great. I thank my grandparents for getting me into stamp collecting as a young child for this. I also immediately joined the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors (FOHBC). This was Jeff Noordsy & Ferdinand Meyer, 2011 Baltimore Bottle Show a no-brainer as I had always been a member of something or another. Membership gives you a sense of belonging and a feeling of having your sail full of wind. I was so excited when my card arrived. I was a “card carrying member of the FOHBC.”
Being new really worked to my advantage as it allowed me to fly under the radar the first few years and build the foundation of my bitters collection. I was also buying great bottles at a rapid speed almost immediately, so the word gets around. My first big moves were with Pacific Glass Auctions and this character I only spoke to on the telephone named Jeff Wichmann. I was so intimidated back then by you, Norm Heckler and Jim Hagenbuch. It was
