Vol. 20 No. 3
Tin Baby Feeders
Displays at the Wheaton Museum of Glass
May - June 2009
Vol. 20 No. 3
May - June 2009
FOHBC Officer Listing 2008 - 2010 .... 2 President’s Message .............................. 3 Recent Finds .......................................... 4 At Auction ............................................. 5 Shards of Wisdom ................................. 6 Paper Trail ............................................. 8 A Book In Review ............................... 10 Regional Reports ................................. 12 Board Meeting Minutes ...................... 24 Bottle Collecting in the United States: Overview of The History Bill Baab ........................................ 25
Table of Contents
Displays After the Loss the FOHBC Museum J. Carl Sturm ................................. 26 Quart Hosp. Dept. Bottles Richard Siri ................................... 30 The Marble Maniac Bill O’Connor ................................ 33 City Brewery: Henry Wienard 1862-1916 Dave Scafani .................................. 34 Rabbit Trails: The Twisted Path to Bottle Identiciation Bill Lindsey ......................................38 Harrison’s Columbian Inks at 1857 Prices Lucy Faulkner ..................................... 45
No.183 Tin Baby Feeders Charles Harris .................................... 49 Additonal Recent Finds to Document Barry L. Bernas .................................. 52 The Bethesda Spring Water Story Howard Dean ...................................... 59 Classified Ads & Ad Rate Information ... 62 Show Biz Show Calendar ............................... 66 Membership Additions and Changes... 69 Membership Application ..................... 71 Membership Benefits .......................... 72
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Fair use notice: Some material above 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 copyrighted owner(s).
WHO DO I CONTACT ABOUT THE MAGAZINE? CHANGE OF ADDRESS, MISSING ISSUES, etc., contact the Business Manager June Lowry, 401 Johnston Ct., Raymore, MO 64083; Phone: (816) 318-0160 or email: OSUBuckeyes71@aol.com To ADVERTISE, SUBSCRIBE or RENEW a subscription, see pages 64-65 for details. To SUBMIT A STORY, send a LETTER TO THE EDITOR, or have COMMENTS and concerns, Contact: Jesse Sailer, 136 Jefferson Street, East Greenville, PA 18041 Phone: (215) 715-2611 or email: jsailerbotmags@verizon.net BOTTLES AND EXTRAS © (ISSN 1050-5598) is published bi-monthly (6 issues per year) by the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors, Inc. (a non-profit IRS C3 educational organization) at 136 Jefferson Street, East Greenville, PA 18041; Ph: (215) 715-2611; Website: http://www. fohbc.com. Non-profit periodicals postage paid at Raymore, MO 64083 and additional mailing office, Pub. #005062. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Bottles and Extras, FOHBC, 401 Johnston Court, Raymore, MO 64083; ph: (816) 318-0160. Annual subscription rate is $30 or $45 for First Class, $50 Canada and $65 other foreign in U.S. funds. The Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors, Inc. assumes no responsibility for products and services advertised in this publication. The names: Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors, Inc., and Bottles and Extras©, are registered ® names of the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors, Inc., and no use of either, other than as references, may be used without expressed written consent from the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors., Inc. Certain material contained in this publication is copyrighted by, and remains the sole property of, the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors, Inc., while others remain property of the submitting authors. Detailed information concerning a particular article may be obtained from the Editor. Printed by J-2 Printing, North Kansas City, MO 64116
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Bottles and Extras
Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors Business & News The Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors is a non-profit organization for collectors of historical bottles and related collectible items. Our primary goal is educational as it relates to the history and manufacture of historical bottles and related artifacts.
FOHBC Officers 2008-2010 President: Richard Siri, PO Box 3818, Santa Rosa, CA 95402; phone: (707) 542-6438; e-mail: rtsiri@sbcglobal.net First Vice-President: Bob Ferraro, 515 Northridge Dr, Boulder City, NV 89005; phone: (701) 293-3114; e-mail: mayorferraro@aol.com Second Vice-President: John Pastor, 5716 Versailles Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48103; phone: (734) 827-2070; e-mail: jpastor2000@sbcglobal.net Secretary: Ed Herrold, 65 Laurel Loop, Maggie Valley, NC 28751; phone: (828) 926-2513; e-mail: drbitters@mindspring.com Treasurer: Alan DeMaison, 1605 Clipper Cove, Painesville, OH 44077; phone: (440) 358-1223; e-mail: a.demaison@sbcglobal.net Historian: Richard Watson, 10 S Wendover Rd, Medford, NJ 08055; phone: (856) 983-1364; e-mail: crwatsonnj@verizon.net Merchandising Director: Kent Williams, 1835 Oak Ter, Newcastle, CA 95658; phone: (916) 663-1265; e-mail: KentW@ppoa.org Membership Director: Gene Bradberry, PO Box 341062, Memphis, TN 38184; phone: (901) 372-8428; e-mail: Genebsa@comcast.net Convention Director: R Wayne Lowry, 401 Johnston Ct, Raymore, MO 64083; phone: (816) 318-0161; e-mail: JarDoctor@aol.com
Business Manager: June Lowry, 401 Johnston Ct, Raymore, MO 64083; phone: (816) 318-0160; e-mail: OSUBuckeyes71@aol.com Director-at-Large: Carl Sturm, 88 Sweetbriar Branch, Longwood, FL 32750; phone: (407) 332-7689; e-mail: glassmancarl@sprintmail.com Director-at-Large: Sheldon Baugh, 252 W Valley Dr, Russellville, KY 42276; phone: (270) 726-2712; e-mail: shel6943@bellsouth.net Director-at-Large: Cecil Munsey, 13541 Willow Run Rd, Poway, CA 92064; phone: (858) 487-7036; e-mail: cecilmunsey@cox.net Midwest Region Director: Jamie Houdeshell, PO Box 57, Haskins, OH 43525; phone: (419) 722-3184; e-mail: JHBottle@hotmail.com Northeast Region Director: James Bender, PO Box 162, Sprakers, NY 12166; phone: (518) 673-8833; e-mail: Jim1@frontiernet.net Southern Region Director: Ron Hands, 913 Parkside Dr, Wilson, NC 27896; phone: (252) 265-6644; e-mail: rshands225@yahoo.com Western Region Director: Bill Ham, 4237 Hendricks Rd, Lakeport, CA 95453; phone: (707) 263-6563; e-mail: billham@sbcglobal.net Public Relations Director: James Berry, 200 Fort Plain Watershed Rd, St. Johnsville, NY 13452; phone: (518) 568-5683; e-mail: jhberry10@yahoo.com
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Bottles and Extras
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Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors
Richard Siri PO Box 3818 Santa Rosa, CA 95402 (707) 542-6438 rtsiri@sbcglobal.net
President’s Message I’m writing this message while up at our cabin in Oregon. Came up to burn brush that I had piled up last summer. I pile tree trimmings, some from cutting firewood and other wood comes from trying to keep up with the beetle kill. The Mountain Pine Beetle is killing much of the forest here in Oregon as well as in other states. Well, after making nice neat piles, I cover them in late fall to keep them dry, then in the spring I pop the tarps off and burn the piles. This year I came too early, couldn’t find the piles without a lot of work. The piles were covered with one to three feet of snow at the tops and four to five feet at the bases. Not knowing if we could get back before the burn ban, I dug them out at the rate of two to three piles a day for a week. Bev helps out; that is, until she saw a wolf! Actually, it was a coyote passing through, but that ended her tending piles by herself.
because of water. He told me about it and later on in the early summer a friend and I stopped by to check out the spot. The water table had gone down in the hole, which yielded seven whole H. Brickwedel & Co. amber whiskey flasks which at the time were considered rare. Timing, that was the trick. The guys in Nevada also have a short digging season or none at all some years. I imagine there is lots of the cold country that has this problem -- ground frozen, too much snow, dries out like concrete. Small window to dig. I didn’t dig at Benicia ,California, but digging there had to do with the tide. Benicia was the first capital of California and was located on the San Francisco Bay. Ships would dock there and throw their junk into the bay. A bottle collector discovered that if you dug in the mud flats at low tide you could find some really good bottles. Numerous pontiled sodas and pickles came from the mud flats. There again, not only being at the right
President:
spot at the right time, you also had to be there at low tide. For the most part, digging in California now is confined to outhouses and construction sites.It’s timing again, knowing where the job is when it starts and who to get permission from. With today’s equipment, an old house can be torn down and a new one started the same day. I had a job in San Francisco a block south of Market Street where we tore down an old structure, made sub grade, based and paved it for a parking lot in one day. I had my probes with me but didn’t have a chance to use them. Bad timing. Well, enough rambling. Make sure your timing is on for taking in the national show in Los Angles this year. It should be a good one. Sincerely, Richard Siri - President FOHBC With this issue please note that Jesse Sailer is now the editor for Bottles & Extras .
Where there’s a will there’s a way to leave collections to FOHBC
What’s this got to do with bottles? Timing. Yep, timing. Try probing in Santa Rosa in the summer -- you need a jack hammer. Then, some of the town has a wet winter water table at about 20 inches. I remember my brother Ted starting a hole in the west end of town and had to quit at about two feet down
Did you know the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors is a 501C(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. An example of a bequest would be: (This is not legal advice, please consult an attorney) I give and bequeath to the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors, 401 Johnston Ct, Raymore, MO 64083, the sum of $____________ to be used as its Board of Directors determines. 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 us in your donation plans. Richard Siri, President Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors
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Bottles and Extras
RECENT FINDS MANSFIELD FIND! A recent find that we are very pleased with is a “turtle” ink that we got at the 2009 Mansfield, Ohio Bottle Show. Although there are a lot of turtle inks with company names that we don’t have, this was particularly nice. It is embossed across the top and sides in three lines with: OHIO VALLEY INK COs / SUPERIOR SCHOOL INK / POMEROY, OHIO.
It is unusual for a turtle to have that much embossing and to say “ink” twice. We had never seen it and it is not listed in any book we have. We were told by the seller that it was rare and only a very few known. It is aqua with a sheared lip and probably dates between 1870 and 1890. Ed Faulkner MIDWESTERN APPLIED SEAL WINE This free blown amber sealed wine bottle was recently found on eBay. It is very unusual due to an applied glass seal marked “J. SMIDT & Co / LOUISVILLE, Ky”. Normally early American seal bottles are black glass and from the East Coast states. This example has a sheared lip, string applied collar and pontiled base. There is also definite mold ring line in the body just under half the height of the bottle. This type of ring is found on free blow wines shaped in a German style dip mold. All indications point to the bottle being before the Civil War period. It also has similarities to wine bottles attributed to the Zanesville Glass Works. The bottle does have some damage in the form of crack near the base, but it will still find a place in
my collection. I am not aware of any other free blown wines from the Midwestern states with an applied seal. If anyone has found others marked from the Midwest states I would be interested in hearing about them. Also, if anyone has found a glass seal in shards recovered from early privy digs with marks from the Midwestern states I would love to see pictures. Contact me at dave@ BottleAuction.com. Dave Maryo
*****HELP NEEDED***** Strike it Rich? Want to Share? This is your venue!
This is the opportune time to share your recent finds with fellow collectors. Make this your column. You’ll see how infectious this can become for others to follow. We welcome your write-ups and your photos. Remember: This space belongs to you
Bottles and Extras
May - June, 2009
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At Auction SEVEN VERTICAL LINE TARGET BALL. 2.2 ounces, 3” diam. To our knowledge, there are less than a handful of these vertical ringed target balls around. One wonders why, with all the horizontal 7 ring balls known, there would be so few with rings going the other way? At any rate, this one has some nice chocolate amber coloration. And yes, I know it’s getting old but we have to grade this a solid 10. Another interesting ball from the Alex Kerr collection. Sold for $3,000 PAT AUG. 13TH 1878. 1.7 ounces, 3” diam. Here we have a ball believed to have been made by the Whithall Tatum Company of Millville, N.J. These balls were meant to have “an opaque or roughened surface of metallic or mineralized substances granulated or pulverized,” according to Ralph Finch, who was quoting from the patent. The patent for this ball was number 206,983 and issued to Charles A. Tatum. But, as you can see, there is no “roughened surface,” as this one must have missed the final step of production. It is basically a very pale aqua and has an inverted dot in the base and is a two piece mold. There is also a very tiny piece of glass on the side, which was probably just an inmaking defect. This is the first one of these balls that we’ve handled and was the only one in the Alex Kerr collection. We feel safe in saying that this likely will be your one and only chance to bid on this extremely rare — possibly one of a kind — ball. You’re bidding on a grade 10 and an oddball one at that. Sold for $ 2,800 CALIFORNIA SELTZER WATER B & G with embossed bear on reverse. 1875 Quart. Unlisted. Applied top. Here is a bottle that is so rare, a lot of collectors aren’t even aware of its existence. It is believed to be one of two known. The springs were located near Cloverdale, California. Made at either San Francisco Glassworks or possibly at the combined San Francisco and Pacific Glass Works which began in 1876. The bottle itself is quite crude in a deeper than usual bluish aqua with that wonderfully embossed walking bear on grass. Grades a solid 7.5+ and it appears to have been only lightly rinsed out. Sold for $8500.
J. BROSEE MAYSVILLE MINERAL WATER. 1848-61. Maysville, Kentucky. Applied top and graphite pontil. A gentleman from Cincinnati sent this out and we were quite amazed upon opening the box. All the graphite is intact and it is a beautiful medium blue. At first we thought it read “Marysville” which is a California city and would have made this as rare as a soda gets. However, for all we know, this could be just as rare as we cannot find a listing anywhere on this pristine piece. You’re bidding on a grade 9 pontiled soda from the 50’s. A slight roughness on the edge of the lip under a loupe reveals simply an in-making flaw mentioned only for accuracy. A super rare find from Cincinnati, there is a Maysville in Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, North Carolina and Indiana. We belive, since the bottle was originally found in Ohio, it’s pretty obvious Kentucky hit’s the spot. New research gleaned over a 10 year period from a gentleman named Bill Boggs shed new light on Mr. John Brosee. He was in business in a two-story building in downtown Maysville, KY from 1848-68, which still stands and is now part of the bank of Maysville. Maysville by the way was originally known as Limestone. A river port, it was at one time a very popular town. Daniel Boone even had a saloon or tavern in Maysville which was torn down in the 1970’s. Brosee eventually sold out to a gentleman named Glasscock. Brosee was married and the father of three chldren. You won’t see this one for sale again for a while, at least in this condition. Sold for $7500. I. Newton’s / Jaundice Bitters / Norwich, VT, aqua, 6 ¾”, OP, Mint with open bubble sold on Ebay for $2,102.77 on September 23, 2008
Goebel Porcelain Figural Crown Top Perfume bottle. Incised on base with crowm mark. Deep green in color, 3 ½” tall. No chips, cracks or repairs. Missing crown top closure. Sold on Ebay on September 11, 2008 for $134.31.
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Pioneer Florida Collector Charles Benton, 82, Dies DELAND, Fla. – Charles Oliver Benton Jr., 82, a pioneer antique bottle collector, died February 17 at Florida Hospital in DeLand after an extended illness. He started digging and collecting old bottles during the 1960s and eventually amassed what has been described as the finest Florida Hutchinson collection, totaling more than 130 bottles. The collection was sold several years ago. “He inspired me to start collecting Florida Hutchinsons,” said Laton Bare, of Belleview, Fla., who took a previously unknown Jacksonville, Fla., picture Hutchinson (eagle) that Mr. Benton had never seen in 39 years of collecting during a hospital visit shortly before his friend’s death. “A real asset to the hobby of bottle collecting, Charles was always willing to help anyone. We will miss him,” said Charles Kirkman of Salt Springs, Fla. “His knowledge of bottles and their history always amazed me,” said Bill Brand of Ocala, Fla. Mr. Benton was a longtime member, past president and show chairman of the M-T Bottle Club in DeLand. club is an affiliate of the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors. Officers of the club
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named its 2009 show in his memory and are contemplating designating a permanent award in his honor. Mr. Benton was born Oct. 23, 1926 in DeLand. He served in the U.S. Army and was a lieutenant in the Volusia County Sheriff’s Department. He was a member of the St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, the American Legion and past exalted ruler of Elks Club No. 1463 in DeLand. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Freda; two daughters, Linda Stanley of Smithfield, Va., and Diane Benton of DeLand; a son, James and his wife, Patricia, of Bonifay, Fla.; seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Burial with full military honors took place in DeLand Memorial Gardens on February 20. Pewter Bottle Does anyone have any ideas on this pewter bottle. I do the Q&A column for the American Digger magazine & this was sent to us for an ID so I need an answer if you have one, or even if you don’t. By the way if you wish to run it in the B&E Bottle Buzz or Recent Finds, this is OK also, but please let me know. Tim Lancaster
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A.M. Smith: great graphics ephemera The story of Minneapolis liquor dealer A.M. Smith could fill a book. In fact, Smith did write an autobiography titled “Up and down the World or Paddle your won Canoe.” Smith started business in the West. His Salt Lake City flask is among the most sought after early Western liquor flasks. Below are some examples of the great graphics he used on various pieces of ephemera while in business in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They include three
labels applied to quart flasks, a trade card, and two versions of playing cards. A.M. Smith was a collector of rare coins. He wrote a comprehensive encyclopedia on the subject and by doing so touched many of his contemporary collectors. Ironically, his business savvy as a liquor dealer would touch collectors of another sort of metal years later in ways Smith could have never imagined. For some reason yet unknown to bottle collectors, Smith dated his flasks. They are found with the following dates embossed beneath Smith’s name: 1892, 1896, 1900, 1903, 1907, 1909, 1914. Other useful items carrying California Wine Depot advertising include a shoe brush, yard stick, soap dish, egg separator, funnel, domino set, calendars, stoneware tea pot, three styles of pocket knives, can opener, two styles of playing cards, beer steins, and several serving trays.
Bottles and Extras
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said Colonel Cody. “I have known of its virtues for a long time, and on the frontier, these and the other Kickapoo Indian Remedies, are considered indispensable. I have had occasion to use Kickapoo Indian Sagwa for Malaria and Chills, and have found it far superior to Quinine in every way. I have also used Sagwa and Kickapoo Indian Oil for Rheumatism and was speedily cured. You may use my name, “ said Colonel Cody, “ and say that for what they claim to do the Kickapoo Indian Remedies have no equal.” “Paper Trail” is a regular feature which showcases the wide world of bottle-related ephemera, from trade cards and post cards to letterheads and blotters. Readers are encouraged to submit items for publication. Simply scan or photograph your item (JPG please), add a short paragraph or two about the item, and include a photo of the bottle to which it relates. E-mail your contribution to: Steve Ketcham s.ketcham@unique-software.com or mail it to: Steve Ketcham PO Box 24114 Edina, MN 55424 Ph: (952) 920-4205
Kickapoo Indian Medicine Remedies Ephemera Formed in 1881, the Kickapoo Indian Medicine Company released a large amount of promotional ephemera, particularly trade cards, almanacs, and “dream books.” Throughout the next several issues we will explore some of the many pieces of ephemera produced by the Kickapoo folks. Among the rarer and more dynamic items promoting the Kickapoo products is a set of die-cut trade cards featuring Native Americans and the trappings of their everyday lives, including a tepee, campfire, horses, and traditional costumes. Shown here are cards in the image of two braves and one card featuring Buffalo Bill Cody. The reverse of each card is printed with an ad for a Kickapoo Indian Medicine company product. Colonel Cody’s card carries this testimonial: CURED COLONEL CODY (BUFFALO BILL) “Kickapoo Indian Sagwa is a remarkable medicine,”
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“Augusta on Glass” By Travis Dunn
In the October-December, 2007 edition of the Australian Bottle and Collectables review we featured a series of American cure bottles in an article. One of these bottles was The River Swamp Chill and Fever Cure bottle from Augusta. Recently we were sent a publication entitled, “Augusta on Glass” by Bill Baab. Bill, the “Bottle Man of Augusta” has been a collector of bottles for more than 35 years. Upon finding an item he would then have to extensively research the provenance of each item, which meant many, many hours scouring through newspaper archives and city directories. Thanks to a friend challenging Bill to publish his research we are graced with an extensive history of the early glass and pottery containers that were used by soda water manufacturers, whiskey distillers, beer brewers, mineral water sellers and patent medicine men in and around Augusta, Georgia. This is a highly pictorial piece of work, there are photographs and line
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drawings of the early breweries, the men who operated them, advertisements and many colour photographs of the bottles that were used by these companies. This is very important, as many of the bottles were highly colourful cobalt blues, greens, ambers and all shades in between. Although I did not relate to much of the content, I recognise this as an extremely well researched piece of work and the extensive use of fascinating pictures makes it interesting to collectors across the world. Bill has decided to share with us some information on his home town and the River Swamp Chill and Fever Cure bottle: My hometown is well known around the world, thanks to the prestigious Masters Tournament held each April at the Augusta National Golf Club. Among collectors of antique bottles it’s known for a different reason, especially among those who collect cures. It is home to one of the most coveted of all, the River Swamp Chill & Fever Cure. What makes that bottle truly special is the embossed alligator sitting in its swamp grass habitat. I started collecting in 1969 and in 1970 chanced to visit with a friend who operated a small antiques store on the South Carolina side of the Savannah River, which separates the two states. On a shelf sitting all by itself was a honey amber, small-sized, lightly embossed River Swamp. The price was $35. I had no idea what I was looking at, but thought that was a princely sum to pay for a bottle, alligator or not, so I left it. In 1969, Bill Agee published his “Collecting the Cures” book, featuring a small River Swamp bottle among those on the cover. On Page 64 is a description of the bottle, with the
Bottles and Extras
author’s comment: “This is the kind of bottle that makes a person run a fever to collect cures.” Four years later, Agee published “Collecting All Cures,” and on Page 69 was a photo showing both large and small sizes of the alligator bottle. His comment: “This is one of the most sought-after cures to be found.” The large size measures 7 inches tall by 2 5/8 inches by 1 3/4 inches. The small size measures 6 3/8 by 2 1/4 by 1 1/4 inches. There are two different molds. In one, that “swamp grass” in the background leans to the right as if disturbed by wind. In the other, the “grass” stands straight. Agee issued a values chart with his second book. The large size was valued at $125 to $175. A few weeks later, I revisited the antiques store and parted with $35 hard earned dollars. I kept the bottle until this year, selling it to a friend for $2,000 after acquiring another with a much heavier embossing for $2,300. I also acquired a mint example of the rarer large size for $8,000. The finest
Bottles and Extras
example I ever saw of the larger bottle was sold for $12,500 plus buyer’s premium by Jim Hagenbuch in one of his Glassworks auctions during 2007. Last year, my wife and I self published our book, “Augusta on Glass,” and Mr. Hagenbuch was kind enough to allow me to reproduce his image of that pristine larger alligator bottle on the front cover. The River Swamp Chill & Fever Cure was the brainchild of Augusta pharmacist Louis A. Gardelle. Advertisements were One of the advertisement’s from “Augusta on Glass” by Bill Baab. Coca-Cola is now a worldwide phenomenon that shows no signs of abating. first found in 1885 issues of The Augusta Chronicle and lasted through the early 1900s. In 1906, the United States Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act and the law eliminated many of
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the so-called “cures,” including the River Swamp because the last known advertisements appeared in 1905 editions. River Swamp colours range from light amber to dark chocolate and everything in between. It is not known which glass house manufactured the bottle, but few glass factories were located in the South until the 1890s. A now deceased collector and friend of the writer’s swore he dug an aquamarine River Swamp. Longtime collector Ken Nease of Claxton in Southeast Georgia swears to this day that he was offered a cobalt River Swamp for $100 by a dealer years ago. Augusta was also home to Frog Pond Chill & Fever Cure in amber bottles, with cobalt Frog Pond Chill & Fever Tonic bottles issued after 1906. Asked if he hadn’t been confused by the cobalt Frog Pond, Mr. Nease replied: “It was sort of hard to forget that alligator!” During nearly 40 years of digging,
In an attempt to continually improve the publication and educate our readers, we are adding this new column dedicated to books that we or our readers feel would be of interest to our readers. Please contact: Jesse Sailer 136 Jefferson Street East Greenville, PA 18041 jsailerbotmags@verizon.net (215) 715-2611 with any book that you feel would be of interest and should be included. Thank You in advance for your contributions. The more participation, the better the magazine can become.
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the writer has never seen even fragments of aqua and cobalt alligator bottles. If either is found, the finder can probably name his own price. This book sells for $40 US and includes shipping to Australia. Fair use notice: Some material in this article was originally published by the sources above 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).
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Whittle Mark East, newsletter of Merrimack Valley Antique Bottle Club of N. Chelmsford, Mass., reported that 12 members attended the January meeting. The show & tell was as good as ever, with many unusual items brought in with good stories to match. Membership renewals were strongly encouraged. Member Tom Paskiewicz had won the National Bottle Museum’s 50/50 raffle in December. He graciously donated his winnings back to the NBM. February’s meeting attracted 19 members and four dozen bottles despite a nasty snowstorm that evening. The show & tell theme was a challenge, with a “Presidential” theme. The members rose to the challenge, bringing in a number of bottles with presidents’ names on them, and various American history names. A new member, Ray Reekie, collects local wire beer bottle openers. He likes them because they take up less space than bottles! Members were invited to attend the NE Region meeting (April 25) in Rochester, N.Y., before the show and sale on Saturday afternoon. The Digger, newsletter of the Richmond Area Bottle Collectors Association, ran a cover story in the Feb. issue most appropriately entitled “A Hole Day of Digging,” complemented by photos of the finds. President Bruce Wadford’s column, “Thoughts From the Prez,” praised the 2008 club Christmas dinner at the Capitol Ale House (rave reviews). One of the largest crowds in memory attended with some 45-50 members coming together for good holiday cheer and camaraderie. The organizers were thanked for a job well done. Many photos in color were included. February’s meeting featured longtime member Bob Flippen who spoke about “Soda & Mineral Water Bottles from Southside, Va.” Included in the newsletter was the regular feature on “Completed eBay & Online Auctions,” complete with color pictures. Thirty-eightitems were recorded, selling from $9.99 to as high as $490. A new column, “Recently Dug - Look What Members Are Digging,”
Northeast Regional News Chris Davis 522 Woodhill Newark, NY 14513 (315) 331-4078 cdavis016@rochester.rr.com
Probe, the newsletter of the Pittsburgh Antique Bottle Club, reported in the March issue that 17 people attended the meeting in March. It was noted that a member who is a construction worker in the city brought in a number of finds, including some iron-pontiled sodas. Sounds exciting, and the perfect job for a collector of bottles! Many members had tables at the March 8th Baltimore show, and even more attended. Attendance was reportedly 1,130, despite much better than average weather for early March. Discarded library books will be raffled at a future meeting. The club is researching possible new sites for next fall’s show. The newsletter editor will start highlighting a member on a quarterly basis. A questionairre is being developed for this. An extensive digging report was included. Several of the area digs can be seen on You Tube. A website on bottle collecting in other countries was mentioned. The PABC program in March was an FOHBC slide presentation entitled, “Traveling a NE Bottle Trail - Old Sturbridge, Mass.” April’s program was by member Dave McMahon on Marble Collecting. The Traveler’s Companion of the Greater Buffalo Bottle Collectors, began with President Peter Jablonski’s offer of prayers and sympathies from the crowd for the families of the victims of the airplane crash in Clarance in February. Both the president and editor of the club knew some of the passengers. The GBBCA program in March was yet another fascinating program on bitters bottles by member Robert Watson. This time the program was on barrel bitters. February’s speaker was member Dave Potter (good name!) on stoneware. The newsletter included a complete list of known potters from Buffalo, dating from as early as 1815 through 1956. April’s meeting was a “Giant Show & Tell”, with no business meeting.
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debuted. A younger member, Jacob Bradshaw, continued his well-received digging stories with “A Spanish Wampole in Powhatan.” It was an usual Wampole Cod Liver Oil bottle, with all embossing in Spanish! The “Best Contest Winners” were announced, including the categories of “Best Richmond Bottle,” “Best Bottle Dug,” “Best Item Dug,” “Best Bottle Acquired” and “Best Item Acquired.” Baltimore Bottle Digger, newsletter of the Baltimore Antique Bottle Club, began with a writeup on the December holiday party in the January issue. Appreciation gifts were presented to members who went above and beyond in service to the club in 2008. The evening ended with 12 rounds of Bottle Bingo. January’s meeting featured the 6th Annual “Best Finds of 2008” awards - Best Dug, Best Acquired, Best Gowith, and Best Baltimore Bottle. The 29th Annual Show & Sale was already a sellout, with one of the highest dealer table retention rates ever. Just a few tables (of over 300) were available to new dealers. The success of this show speaks for itself. The February program was the BABC’s version of “Antiques Roadshow.” Members were asked to bring in an antique (nonbottle) item that they knew nothing about. Members would then share their knowledge about the identity and history of these items. The show & sale will require many volunteers. Members were asked to sign up. Dealers are signed up from 28 states, two from Canada, and one each from England and Germany! Andy Goldfrank, a regular contributor to the newsletter, and President of the Potomac Bottle Club, won the “Antique Bottle & Glass Collector” writers’ award for his “Hot Town! Summer in the City, Back of my Neck Getting Dirty ‘n Gritty!” article on....you guessed it, digging! Fiftythree attended the February meeting. Glen Mansberger III showcased poison bottles. Jim Bready’s 90th birthday was celebrated. The March program was “Show Finds” from the March 8th Bottle Show. The plans for the show were detailed. Volunteer lists were filling up for both Saturday and Sunday, from
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setup to dealer registration, admissions, hand stamping, security, appraisals, and cleanup, including picking up name tags and dealer signs, and general cleanup. The exhibit chair, Rick Lease, was hoping to add two or three more displays. Eric Ewen seemed to be right on top of things in his first year as show chairman. Baltimore bottles selling on eBay were outlined, with prices as high as $2,125 for an olive green, iron-pontilled “Shriver’s Oyster Ketchup” bottle. An interesting chart of all the Baltimore bottle shows since the first show in 1981 provided statistics on show locations (4), chairpersons, number of dealer tables, and attendance (high point was 2,050 in 1990!). This chart, “Shows at a Glance,” proved very interesting. Bottles Along the Mohawk, newsletter of the Mohawk Valley Antique Bottle Club in Utica, N.Y., reported that the February program would be a very good one. The slideillustrated talk, narrated by NE Region Director Jim Bender, was titled, “The Best Collection of Historical Flasks That Has Ever Existed - the Collection of Mark Vuono.” There are 1,286 flasks in the collection, including many oneof-a-kinds and extremely rare color variants, even surpasses the collection at Corning Museum of Glass. Jim Berry is the new president of MVABC, with Jim Bender as VP, Valeri Berry as secretary, and Peter Bleiberg as treasurer. The February newsletter included a very helpful introduction to historical flasks, including a glossary
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of flask terminology titled “Some Brief Notes on American Flasks.” Editor Jon Landers gave his annual “Newsletter Report” which included all kinds of information on where the newsletters are sent, costs involved ($700 for copies and $590 for postage per year, or $107.50/month), and membership (88 memberships representing 127 people). The March speaker was historian and Clyde Glass collector John Spellman, who portrayed Dr. William Sweeting, a Savannah, N.Y. physician who developed the Flag Salt Remedy, using cattails from the many swamps in the area. John reprised his role many will remember from the 2002 FOHBC National Show in Syracuse. Editor Jon Landers wrote an excellent article called “Carl Sandburg and a Millville, N.J. Glass Factory”. It included a great 1908 photo of many children employed at the Indiana Glass Works, along with five other photos. The article concluded with a passage called “Millville” by the famous writer and poet,written in 1904. Applied Seals, newsletter of the Genesee Valley Bottle Collectors Association, Rochester, N.Y., reported a great turnout of 24 members on a very bitter cold and snowy January evening. The speaker was very interesting. Donald Hall’s program was called, “Not Just Another Pretty Vase,” on American Art Pottery. The 40th Annual Show & Sale is progressing well, with plans to mark the landmark year to include an enhanced hospitality room, special displays with themes of “Western & Central New York State,” a
Midwest Regional News Joe Coulson 10515 Colingswood Lane Fishers, IN 46038 (317) 915-0665 jcoulson@leaderjar.com
Hello, bottle collectors! Welcome to another installment of the Midwest region news report. This time around, we will cover the February and March newsletters that were sent in. We love to hear from the Midwest bottle clubs – keep sending in those news items!
Antique Bottle Club of Northern Illinois (ABCNI) Dorothy Furman is the newsletter editor of the ABCNI, and Jeff Dahlberg is president. The club has been holding its meetings at the Antioch Senior Center, 817 Holbeck, Antioch, Illinois. Dorothy tells us the following in their February newsletter: Jeff Dahlberg gave a talk at the club’s January meeting on other things found when digging. He showed a basket weave flask, aqua coffin and green coffin flasks. He also showed a green
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club historical display including photo albums, scrapbooks, a slide show and more, a club display with favorites from members’ collections, and more! The club and show & sale budget was presented in the newsletter. February’s speaker was Jim Nicholl, who gave a brilliant history of tinsmithing, going back to ancient times. Jim is a docent at Genesee Country Museum in Mumford, a living history museum near Rochester. The GVBCA website has been redesigned by Jim Bartholomew. Jim is GVBCA’s Jack of all trades, serving as editor, webmaster, hospitality chair, and much more. The site can be seen at www.gvbca.org March’s speaker was club member Dick Kelley, who spoke on “The Clyde Glass Works: Bottles from Beyond - The Michigan Connection.” Dick’s display was extensive, including all of the known beer bottles (all in shades of amber), maps and many educational materials. The March newsletter also had a great article called “How Cereal Transformed American Culture,” by Ian Lender, taken from the Internet. Phe plans for the 40th Annual Show & Sale will include a 60/40 raffle, with a guaranteed $1,200.00 prize. No more than 200 tickets will be sold. The show program will be the biggest and best ever, available to all dealers and attendees, with a list of the dealers, exhibitors, club information, and nine ads so far. The meeting of the NE Region will take place at the Super 8 (show headquarters) at 4:30 p.m. Director Jim Bender will preside. Washington-Taylor flask in pieces, and clear, milkglass, light amber, cobalt, green, and teal green medicines. He also showed druggist poisons in shades of amber, cobalt blue and salt shakers in baby blue, black glass, white, green, pink and red and white swirl. He had teal green and olive green perfumes, a chemist in teal green, a black glass Saratoga Bitters, and bitters in dark amber, light amber, yellow amber and vaseline, and a large black glass bitters. Dorothy Furman presented the program for the February meeting. She had the following to say: “I have been a resident of Antioch, Illinois for 58 years. I came to this town as a bride
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from Chicago in 1951 and never looked back. As John Panek is all things Chicago, I am all things Lake County, especially Antioch. Two of our claims to fame are Picard China (supplier of fine china to the White House and Air Force One) and Regal China, maker of the Jim Beam Bottle. It was my pleasure to know the only two designers of their Beam bottles as they were both Antioch residents. One was Dave Nissen and the other was Catherine “Kitty” Miller Malva. If you look on the bottom of the Beams, you will see the initials of the artist CM or DNH. Although Dave designed over 400 on visits to his home, there was a distinct lack of bottles around. Kitty started out as a designer at Picard China before coming over to Regal. Because of Dave’s high IQ, he was sent to a special school to learn German and became an officer in Intelligence during WWII. He also was a designer of bird cages. To say they were whimsical would be an understatement. But Dave said his mentors were Magritte and Salvadore Dali, so you get the picture. “My favorites are my police car that I purchased because my uncle was a sergeant for 17 years on the Elmwood Park police force. The fire truck reminds me of my uncle who was fire chief in River Grove and my grandfather who was on the Chicago Fire Department from the early 1900s until retirement in 1940. The Olsonnite was because my maiden name was Olsen. Some of these items are depicted in a 1977 calendar that Dave produced and of which I have a copy. “Others that I collected are WGA Chick Evans Western Open Association, bulldog, two ewers, a battery, fish, Tobacco Festival. Indiana, Chicago Fire, and a Mt. Rushmore and Antioch Beam. Most were collected because of connections to family members and my personal collection.” For information on joining the ABCNI, you may contact Dorothy Furman, 26287 W. Marie Ave., Antioch, IL 60002. Circle City Bottle Club / Indianapolis Bottle Club Martin Van Zant is drumming up support for this new bottle club in Indianapolis, Indiana. The club meets
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the last Thursday of the month at Ben Davis High School, 1200 N. Girl School Rd. (Door 17, Room U102). You may contact Martin by email at mdvanzant@yahoo.com or postal mail at 5997 Redcliff Lane North, Plainfield, IN 46168 or by telephone at 812-8419495. Findlay Antique Bottle Club Tom Brown (newsletter editor) of the FABC submitted the March Whittle Marks. Tom typically reprints several articles for club members in their newsletter. In the March newsletter, there were several newspaper clippings covering the fire that destroyed an old dairy in Toledo. “A fire of yet undetermined origin largely destroyed the former Diggs Dairy building in central Toledo overnight Friday,” fire authorities said. “No injuries were reported,” said Battalion Chief Bill Hickey. “Fire crews responded to a fire call at 1149 Grand Avenue at 10:24 p.m. Friday. The fire was extinguished soon after 9 a.m. Saturday,” he said. “There was a ladder truck and an engine there all night,” Chief Hickey said, adding that 63 firefighters battled the blaze. Cause of the fire, which was contained to the warehouse, was undetermined as of Saturday. The damage estimate was unavailable. The March newsletter also had a reprint of an article, “He’s the King of Pop”, which covered the story of collector John Nese and his pursuit of soft drink bottles. Brown also recounted the story of the “Hands Across America” event. “Do you remember where you were on May 25, 1986? Well, I can. My wife and I plus my son and daughter were part of this event. We were just outside Fostoria, Ohio which is where we were told to assemble. It was a hot day and there were people as far as the eye could see. Yes, we actually did join hands that day. I do not recall if the chain made it across the whole country but it was for a good cause as the $10 entry fee went to local charities. Coca-Cola was a major sponsor of this event. The good thing about the day was the fact we were located close to a diner called Flo’s which was then a well-known eatery for the many truck
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drivers who travel this route. Both my kids made many trips to go to the can and of course buy a Coke and start the process all over again. Flo’s is now gone – I believe a victim of a fire. I still travel that way on my way to the Tiffin Flea Market and always get stopped at the traffic signal and remember those days. One thing I do have as a souvenir is a sign stapled to a phone pole that I removed that day that was a location marker for the event.” The FABC has a good website with pictures from their annual shows. You should check it out: http://fabclub. freeyellow.com/home.html. Richard Elwood is the club president. Monthly club meetings are held at the University of Findlay. They usually have their annual show and sale in October. To find out more about their monthly newsletter, “Whittle Marks”, send a note to: Findlay Antique Bottle Club, P.O. Box 1329, Findlay, OH 45839. Huron Valley Bottle & Insulator Club Michele and Shaun Kotlarsky are newsletter editors for The Embossing, the monthly newsletter of the Huron Valley Bottle & Insulator Club. Bob Powell is club president. The club meets quarterly this year, so we will get our next update from them after their March 9th club meeting. The HVBIC meetings are held the 2nd Monday of the month at 7:30 p.m., at the First National Bank, 8080 Challis Rd., Brighton, MI. You can find out much more about the HVBIC online at their website: http://hvbic. org. Their monthly newsletter can be viewed there also. Iowa Antique Bottleers (IAB) Mark Wiseman (newsletter editor) and Mike Magee (secretary) do a wonderful job each month reporting the IAB happenings. Mark submitted the IAB newsletters for February and March. Many more old time newspaper articles were reprinted in the February issue of the IAB newsletter. Club members have been digging up many interesting pieces of bottle-related history. In the Davenport, Iowa newspaper dated December 12, 1851 was an extended ad for Mamaluke Liniment. “Tremendous Excitement!
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Unsatisfied by Investigation. There has been, of late, much excitement and inquiry in regard to the ingredients of J. L. Curtis’s Mamaluke Liniment, truly the greatest wonder of our age. “Every historian is aware that the Mamalukes were noted for their knowledge of the sciences; and it is also known that their horses were of a very superior quality, and recovered from injuries with astonishing rapidity. And if this Liniment be one of their favorite preparations, every one will acknowledge it competent to perform all the cures for which it is recommended. We would say that it certainly is the same recipe which they used with the greatest success and profit. And in regard to its being equal to the Proprietor’s anticipations, we will say nothing, but point you to the thousands of happy beings who have been by the use of it raised from extreme pain and the brink of the grave to perfect health and the society of their friends. “The following are a few, out of the vast number of diseases, which we know can be permanently cured by the use of J.D. Curtis’s Mamaluke Liniment: Inflammatory Diseases of all kinds, Obstinate Ulcers, Old Sores, Chillblains, Sore Throat, Sore Breasts, Cutaneous Eruptions, Ague Cake, Rheumatism, Cuts, Burns, Bruises, Sprains, Pain in any part of the Body, Tooth-Ache, Head-Ache, Neuralgia, Diarrhea, Dyssentary, Cholic, CholeraMorbus, and Cholera.” The article goes on to give testimonials from those who used the liniment. The IAB newsletters always contain wonderful digging stories by Mark Wiseman. He has a regular column, “The Digger’s Scoop,” that tells of his local digging adventures with his dog (Elsie the Pup), the old truck and various digging friends who join him. You can find out more about IAB membership ($15/yr.) from Tom Southard, 2815 Druid Hill, Des Moines, IA 50315. Kalamazoo Antique Bottle Club Al Holden (newsletter editor) reported the following in their February newsletter: Down in the Dumps. This month, you can bring in one of your favorite dug bottles or anything interesting that you found while searching for
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bottles. Shortly after I joined the club, someone told me an interesting story. I may not have all the details right, and I don’t remember who shared this with me. It seems like a bottle club in Pennsylvania, or thereabouts, had a real dilemma on their hands. Some company or local government purchased several blocks of property in the oldest part of a city and every house would be destroyed. The bottle club approached the city council, begging them for permission to dig the privies before all of the history they held would be lost forever. Well, permission was granted but an impossible time frame was set for the club. To make the most of the situation, the local club sent out invitations to other diggers in other clubs. I was told that some of our club members went down to take advantage of this opportunity. One of the last digs was a privy that was part of commercial property, like a hotel or saloon. At the very bottom of the privy, in one corner, curled in a fetal position, was an adult human skeleton! Clearly what they uncovered was evidence of a murder! Don’t bring in any skeletons! I remember I was digging with Mark Churchill in Plainwell on property that was then owned by my grandmother. In the 1800s, the property was used as a large poultry operation with lots of employees. When we found the privies, there were several pits all in a row. I don’t recall anything good coming from that dig, but there was something that I will never forget. I dug a treadle sewing machine in it! Try digging one of those out! That was very hard work. Another memory was digging with Duane Nickerson in Plainwell on property that was owned by a dear family friend. I couldn’t stick around for the whole dig, but when it was all done, Nick found two of the first issued Michigan porcelain license plates! As I recall, they were in perfect condition and sold for a couple hundred dollars. I have seen marbles the size of tennis balls, breast pump parts, oil lamp parts and many other tools and trinkets. The Kalamazoo club has started posting meeting minutes on their website: http://www.kalamazoobottleclub.org/ Chuck Parker is the club president,
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and you can contact him for more information about their club at: 607 Crocket Ave., Portage, MI 49024 (ph: 616-329-0853). The club meets regularly at the Kalamazoo Public Library, located at 315 S. Rose St. Midwest Antique Fruit Jar & Bottle Club The MAFJBC has members nationwide and is heavily fruit jarfocused. Meetings are held the first Sunday of the month at 1:30 p.m. in the Cantina at Minnetrista, which is located in Muncie, Ind. Dave Rittenhouse is the club president. The club members were given a special presentation at the club’s February meeting. Karen Vincent, director of collections at the Minnetrista Museum, shared a special recent acquisition. Nancy Ball (Teed), granddaughter of Edmund B. Ball (one of the five founding Ball Brothers of fruit jar fame), had been doing some garage cleaning recently at her Arizona home. She came across a presentation horse saddle that her father, Edmund F. Ball, used while riding the horses there. Karen said that this was the first public showing of this item. No preservation work had been done yet (although it probably would not require much). It will be shown as part of the “125th Anniversary of the Ball Jar” Exhibit started at Minnetrista in April. The saddle was handmade by Austin “Slim” Green, who was a well-known saddlemaker. It took Slim between 50 and 150 hours to make a saddle. The saddles are worth from $10,000 to $20,000 on the market today. Slim passed away at the age of 91 in December 2007. He apprenticed himself to the great saddlemaker, Pop
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Bettis, making his first saddle at age 19. His hand-tooled saddles have been featured in museums, including the Smithsonian Institution. He created work for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, actors John Wayne and Robert Redford, and many other politicians, actors and rodeo stars. Karen said that Nancy Ball also donated her father’s 1905 baby buggy to Minnetrista. It had firewood stored in it when she uncovered it in the garage. Karen mentioned that the Minnetrista museum has over 1,200 linear feet of Ball archival material. She encouraged our club members to come and visit and look at what the museum has to offer for researchers. Karen said that Minnetrista is currently conducting daily tours of the Ball houses. Everyone really enjoyed Karen’s presentation. Ed’s saddle was very intricately detailed. And for fruit jar collectors it was a special treat, because a large figure of a Ball Jar was embossed on the side of the saddle! Addendum: The Ortiz Mountain Ranch in Cerrillos, New Mexico is currently for sale. It consists of 11,500 acres and is available for $3.4 million. According to the real estate listing: “The famous Ball family (known for Ball jars and glasses) owned the property from 1966 to 2004 and used it for a cattle operation. After the death of Edmund Ball, the ranch was donated to the Nature Conservancy, with the exception of a 640-acre parcel retained for the Ball family heirs which contains the Ball Ranch headquarters.” The MAFJBC has a website: http://www.fruitjar.org. Meeting details as well as lots and lots of pictures from their semi-annual shows can be found there. Minnesota’s First Antique Bottle Club Barb Robertus is editor of the MFABC newsletter, The Bottle Digger’s Dope. Linda Sandell takes care of the printing and mailing. We learn the following in the February newsletter: “In keeping with our holiday theme tradition, we decided on a Valentine issue. We scoured around and found some very interesting items. Hope it’s interesting to all bottle collectors, too! We felt fortunate to find right here in
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Minneapolis a bottle with hearts on it. In late 1895, a well-known saloon keeper had his own bottle embossed with a playing card, half circled by his name. His saloon was known as “Five of Hearts Saloon.” The earliest location was at 718 South 4th Street. It appears he moved after being at the 41st address for less than two years. Charles Walin moved to 306 South Washington in 1896, followed by another move to (just down the street) 309 Washington Avenue South, where he conducted his business until 1900. Again, a move in 1901 was made to another location on Washington Avenue (319) where he was in business until 1903. There is not much more information on Charles Walin after this last date. Washington Avenue, either north or south, was a mecca for liquor stores and saloons. It’s such a shame that in the 1950s Minneapolis went through and tore down everything in this area. All of those great old buildings and our history just vanished. We should consider ourselves fortunate that so many dumps yielded bottles from saloons such as the Five of Hearts, and you should consider yourself lucky to have a Five of Hearts flask.” Here’s a nice story in the March newsletter about the Clover Leaf Creamery Company and an associated clear quart milk bottle that came from there: “We really looked hard to find any bottle with a shamrock (clover) on it from Minnesota. Not too many! However, we found this great milk bottle with embossed clover leaf. Our published bottle books have very little information on the Clover Leaf Dairy. I have found a very nice bit of history to report. A young immigrant from Sweden, Charles A. Nelson, left his country in the late 1880s bound for Minnesota. Minnesota is known for its strong Swedish roots. He arrived going through Ellis Island in New York. As the railroad was established, he rode to Minnesota, with his destination of a place called Fridley. In the old country his family were farmers, so that was his goal. He purchased a vast amount of land area we now know as the West River Road. He established his farm which included livestock plus dairy cows. “He was such a successful man that
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in later years one just had to mention The Nelson Farm, and everyone knew where he was located. Soon he was delivering and selling milk from a horse-drawn wagon. (A neighboring friend, Mr. Reidle, also into milk production, joined him – only later to move to St. Paul where he started his own business known as the Superior Dairy). Charles Nelson had a large family of eight children, which in later years would take over for him in the business. The one railroad contacted Charles with interest in obtaining some of his property, which he did sell. There is a rail line to this day near that area on the Mississippi River. “Once a year, all the Jewish Rabbis from Minneapolis would come to the Nelson farm to bless the animals (kosher) for slaughter. All that meat was then sent to stores etc for sale. The Clover Leaf creamery was established in the early 1900s and remained in business until the late 1980s, being located on 5th and West Broadway in Minneapolis. Charles Nelson’s talents did not stop with the Nelson farm – he built First Lutheran Church in Fridley (still being used). In closing, I must tell you that I remember the Nelson home, as my parents were close friends to one of their daughters and we visited many times. The home was the most beautiful one could have ever wanted – looked like a miniature White House, pillars and all. When all was divided and the land sold, the home was turned into Care Center and the Georgetown Apartments.” Membership in the MFABC is $10/ yr. For more information, please contact Linda Sandell, 7735 Silver Lake Road #208, Moundsview, MN 55112. North Star Historical Bottle Association Doug Shilson is newsletter editor for the North Star Historical Bottle News. Doug does a great job each month reporting the club’s latest happenings. He puts a lot of effort into recording all the details that take place. Steve Ketcham is the club president. In the February newsletter, Shilson reported that a club member (Don) had sold the last of his letters and billheads. “Don, who had one heck of a collection of extremely rare letters and
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billheads, is no longer. Meaning he is all out. It was one heck of a ride, said Don. When he first came on eBay, Doug got to know Don, and after purchasing a few from Don, got to know him even better. Over a span of three years, he sold well over a thousand pieces of paper dating from the middle 1800s to early 1900s. How did he collect them all? Found every one in a big dumpster ready to go to the dump (dumpster diving). Never paid a penny for any of them. The ones that I won were from Minneapolis and St. Paul Liquors distributors. And a few bitters as well. The information on each letter/bill head is priceless (at least to me). The history for each one was the kind of history we needed for our club books, that we could not find looking in local telephone directories.” In the March newsletter, Ketcham said that “Our February meeting featuring the annual, ever-popular Best Dug Contest, has always been a great North Star meeting. Last month’s event did not disappoint. We saw a super selection of items spread out on six tables. These artifacts were all dug in the last year by our avid earthmovers. There were rare and exotic beers, sodas, whiskies, and stoneware as well as interesting items in a dozen other categories. An unlisted bitters may have been the best bottle there that cold February night, but with so many pieces to choose from, we could debate that point until next year’s contest.” For more information on joining the NSHBA, please contact Doug Shilson: 3308 32 Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN 55406-2015. Ohio Bottle Club Phyllis Koch (editor) and Donna Gray (secretary) always do a very nice job with The Ohio Swirl, the OBC’s newsletter. John Fifer is club president. He had the following to say in the February newsletter: “As you all know by now, my parents have passed away. My dad, Darl, passed on January 15th and my mom, Bernice, passed twp weeks later on the 29th. They both adored your friendship and companionship at the club meetings and also the bottle shows. I want to thank you for all the cards that were sent and for those who came to the calling hours and funeral. Please keep
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them in your thoughts and prayers. We will miss them very much.” Club member Bill Elder had the following to say about Darl Fifer: “He didn’t live in a fancy house with lighted cabinets for his major collection; he didn’t drive a Cadillac Escalade or seek attention or recognition. He lived in a rather remote area, and drove an unassuming car; he was rather private. I was fortunate to visit him and Bernice several times; there was always coffee and warm hospitality every time. You would see a crock or bottle here and there but nothing to indicate the fantastic collection that was there. We would sit at the dining table, with a big west window which revealed the color of the bottles I’d come to see, and I would examine the bottles. We would then talk and I would make my choice and say good-bye. He once took me to the basement and into a couple of dark, out of the way places where shelves and cabinets had so many good bottles, three and four deep. You couldn’t see them, I could only imagine what was in the rooms I couldn’t see that only a few ever did. My favorite visit was in the fall. I went to buy a Swirl and sat at the picnic table out back so I could smoke. Darl brought it out covered up so the neighbors wouldn’t see it (his neighbors were like a city block away and there were lots of trees). Darl had a fit when I held it up to the light. If you had the money and wanted a good Mantua, Kent, Ravenna or Zanesville bottle, Darl always had them. Part of a bottle show is being able to see those really good bottles that only a few dealers have. If you can’t afford them, it gives you something to dream about and these dealers bring major collections and make your show popular. It will be hard to replace Darl’s tables at the Ohio shows. He was the only one at club meetings to have a table of quality bottles. He will be missed as a collector and a person in general, like so many other members who have passed on. You can replace the number but not the person.” Barbara Mendik and Ann Sekerak had the following to say about Bernice Fifer: “January was a very sad month for bottle collectors. We lost Darl and Bernice Fifer within two weeks of each other. Bernice was such a fine
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lady. Capable of doing most anything. They always had a large garden and she canned everything she could and even made homemade mincemeat to make delicious mincemeat tarts and pies for the meetings. Another one of her talents was arranging flowers for a florist in Ravenna. She also had a good sense of humor and always willing to stop at Denny’s in Wadsworth for a late meal and discussed the first meeting of the night. She was one of the first to get up and get the refreshments ready for the club to enjoy after the meeting. After Darl died, Bernice saw Darl standing at the bedroom door. He asked her not to drop the bottle. She then knew he was waiting for her and she was ready to leave our world and go to him. May both rest in peace. We will always miss them sitting in the back row with us. The meetings will never be the same for us.” The February newsletter also had an article on “Barberton Hutch Sodas,” written by Bill Koster. Here is what Bill had to say on the subject: “Two small villages dated around 1820 sat in the southeast corner of Norton Township, Summit County, Ohio. New Portage was a canal town at the west terminus of State Rt. 619. The railroad came through around 1856. It was a very busy village and was later annexed as North Barberton. Johnson corners at the intersection of State Rt. 21 (Cleveland-Massillon Rd) and Wooster Road, State Rt. 585. It was a stop on the Underground Railroad, and a long route from Clinton to Doylestown, to avoid Rogues Hollow and the rough coal miners. In between farms, about 1889, Ohio Columbus Barber built seven huge factories -- Sterling Bottle Works (B&W), National Sewer Pipe, the largest in America, Pittsburgh Valve (Rockwell), Creedmore Cartridge and the Diamond Match Company, his own huge business. Then the town was built around Lake Anna to house workers. Being a new city in 1890, there was not much time to create bottlers before crown tops evolved about 19061910. So, only four examples exist. The Meehan Bros.; Hugh, Patrick and James, had a grocery on Tuscarawas Avenue at their residence, 319 Seventh, NW. They dabbled in bottling, in a
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livery stable along the alley. Soon they were delivering soda clear out to Dolton, Clinton and their big client Chippewa Lake Park. Three Hutches were made; Meehan & Durbin being the rarest. Durbin was a partner in the grocery business. Next was a Meehan Bros. Both of these Hutches were slug plate, block letters and hard to find. The popular script Meehan is the last example and are available in the $10 to $20 range. The rarest (one known) Hutch was dug near Akron University during construction around 1980. It was a Brown & Swartz, Barberton, Ohio, slug plate, block lettering. My research finds a confectionary at 319 North Second St. around 1905. Were these persons trying to emulate the success of the Meehan’s? All of the Hutches are aqua and many crown top bottlers popped up in Barberton, The Magic City. After forty plus years of digging and collecting, my Barberton bottles are on permanent display at the Barberton Library. Visitors can enjoy or contribute information on the diaries and family histories. Get off I-76 Exit, Barber Road, go south past the new high school, the street turns into Fourth St. NW, continue to Lake Anna and the library sits on the southwest corner. Collections of Sun Rubber Toys, Coventry Ware and O.C. Barber items will wow you. Also, the stained glass windows from the Barber Mansion are a centerpiece. Hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, shorter hours on the weekends.”
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Also in the February newsletter was an article titled “Weighing Cleveland Weights,” by Jack Sullivan. For more information on joining the OBC, please contact Berny Baldwin (treasurer), 1931 Thorpe Circle, Brunswick, OH 44212. The club also has a new website which can be found at: http://www. ohiobottleclub.com.Details about their milk bottle book can be found there also. Wabash Valley Antique Bottle & Pottery Club Martin Van Zant is newsletter editor for The Wabash Cannonball, the WVABPC’s monthly newsletter. Peggy Zimmer is club president. In the March issue, Van Zant wrote about the passing of long-time club member and friend Ned Pennington, of Terre Haute, Ind. “I have some sad news. Our friend and bottle guru passed away a couple of weeks ago. This is by far the hardest newsletter I have ever written and I am at a total loss of words. I didn’t think it would be this hard to write down a few words about a man who helped me out in so many ways. I traveled to a lot of shows with Ned. Never once did he ask for a dime, ‘ahh, forget about it, Martin, I’ll just write it off my taxes,’ is what he would say. He would usually drive there, and I would drive back. One time coming back from St. Louis, I took the wrong turn. Ned didn’t have a bad thing to say about it. He just laughed and said well maybe next time I will stay up until we
Southern Regional News Bill Baab 2352 Devere Street Augusta, GA 30904 (706) 736-8097 riverswamper@comcast.net
Johnnie Fletcher, president of the Oklahoma Territory Bottle & Relic Club and editor of its newsletter, Oklahoma Territory News, has been singularly honored by being elected to the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors Hall of Fame.
Induction ceremonies will take place during the Federation’s National Show in Los Angeles July 31-Aug. 2. He was voted into the shrine during the Federation board meeting at the Baltimore bottle show last March. Fletcher has been newsletter editor since his club was founded in 1987. The newsletter is always chock full of information of interest to club members and several of the digging stories penned by various authors have made it into the pages of
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get past the right exit. It was about two hours out of our way. We had planned to go to the Columbus, Ohio show. Ned loved this show, always able to sell good there, he would say. We traveled far and wide, going as far as York, Pennsylvania. Ned, Bill Granger and I had a heck of a trip, lots of fun and lots of bottles to look at. We came back with so much stuff there was barely enough room in the car. Ned gave the presentation at the last club meeting, and boy, did you all miss a good one. There were only about eight regulars in attendance. He had quite a show, bringing in several Midwestern swirls, a Kelly’s cabin in an amber olive color, several early inks and a number of go-withs. He spoke for about fifteen minutes. Then we all got up to check out his stuff, which was pretty impressive. We will miss you, Ned; the bottle gods will be good to you, for you shared plenty of info to new and old collectors alike. There are a thousand things I could say about this man. He was a president, show chairman, picnic coordinator, cook and above all a friend.” The WVABPC holds monthly meetings at Shadows Auction Barn, 1517 Maple Ave., Terre Haute, Ind. Club dues are $10/yr. For more information, please contact Gary Zimmer (treasurer), 10655 Atherton Rd., Rosedale, IN 47874.
Bottles & Extras. The issue of March, Volume 22, No. 3, which is his 267th straight newsletter, continues to mark Fletcher as a legendary editor. Main digging story was contributed by Mark Wiseman of the Iowa Antique Bottleers (with Elsie the Pup). Wiseman filled 13 of the newsletter’s 17 inside pages with his digging adventures in Iowa. Perhaps his best finds were Hutchinson bottles embossed F. Harbach / Des Moines, Iowa and DeFrance & Gaskel / Des Moines, Iowa. No fewer than 28 Oklahoma drug
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store bottles were posted on eBay. Six attracted no bids, while those that did sell netted low prices. Cities represented included Enid, Oklahoma City, El Reno, Bartlesville, Claremore, Guthrie and Kingfisher. A pair of Indian Territory Hutches from Vinita and Poteau sold for $326.09 and $180.50, respectively. The latter had a small crack in its lip. Not all bottle club newsletter editors fare as well as Fletcher. The Raleigh (N.C.) Bottle Club’s Marshall Clements gets little help from members while working on Bottle Talk newsletters. Sometimes he has to toot his own horn. The February issue is a good example. He explains how his massive collection of mini booze bottles served by airlines got started to where he now has more than 700, most of them full except where evaporation lowered some of the contents. He downloaded color photos of 34 of them, including the one on the cover, and many are of the figural variety, admittedly his favorites. All in all, it makes for an enjoyable and fascinating read. His Blast from the Past shows a color photo of a Gonzalez, Texas building wall on which was painted an early Coca-Cola advertisement, circa 1907-10. Inclement weather, especially snow, plays a key role in determining how many club members attend meetings. Attendance was sparse at the January and February meetings so Marshall used some of the show and tell sessions from those two meetings to highlight the March issue. Examples included a Decker’s Victor jar from Mason City, Iowa, as well as another Mason-type jar embossed Double Safety in script from Vernon Creech. David Bunn brought in a rare Louisburg (N.C.) Bottling Works with H&M embossed on it. Ron Hinsley showed a clear slugplate J.M. Dixon whiskey flask with Rocky Mount and Tarboro, N.C., embossed inside the plate. He also brought in a Warren County Dispensary, Warrenton,
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N.C., flask and a tenpin-shaped blobtop embossed F. Dusch and Son / No. 2 East Broad St. / Richmond, Va. Dean Haley found a wonderfully detailed, print block Coca-Cola ad including the Good Housekeeping seal and a cardboard six-pack showing the sale price of 25 cents, probably from the 1930s-40s era. His Blast from the Past was appropriate for the month, showing two Coca-Cola vending machines commemorating the Final Four of the Coca-Cola Classic in New Orleans (1995) and the Final Four in St. Louis (2005), each winding up the “March Madness” basketball wars. All the photos were in full color. Geff Moore is the new president of The State of Franklin (Tenn.) Antique Bottle & Collectors Association, as reported in The Groundhog Gazette, edited by Melissa Milner in her February issue. Brandon Horne is vice president, Sheryl Begley secretary and Sam Crowder is treasurer. The newsletter’s feature concerned art deco soda bottles of the 1920s and 1930s. Popular with collectors because of their artistic and unusual styles, there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of styles to collect, most at affordable prices. Melissa was able to download pictures of some of the bottles from the website of Brian Wade (with permission). He has authored a book, Deco Soda Bottles, available from his website of www.decosodas.com or from himself at brian.wade@att.net. Make checks or money orders payable to Brian Wade for $21.95 (postage is included), 39 East 16 Street, Huntington Station, NY 11746. Several years ago, Melissa’s husband, Fred, worked for a demolition company. It was gutting an old Abingdon, Va., law office and it was Fred’s responsibility to get the contents out as fast as possible – three dump truck loads of old papers and other items. He didn’t have time to go through all the papers, but managed
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to save a few notebooks, including an original deed from the late 1700s. He still kicks himself (mentally, of course) for letting all that stuff go to the dump. Fred is an eclectic collector, collecting anything and everything that grabs his fancy, and he showed club members quite a bit of it during the March meeting. She featured the story of Mint Cola and Cheerwine in the newsletter, with much of the information coming from the www.blakescheerwineoldies.com website, with the kind permission of its designer. The internet has been a great help to many bottle club editors, but one always needs to credit the sources of such articles. Harvey Teal of Columbia, S.C., brought an interesting South Carolina Dispensary bottle to the Horse Creek Bottle Club’s February meeting, according to a brief in the club newsletter, Probe & Plunder. It looked normal except for the spelling of Dispensary. Somehow, the unknown glass factory spelled it DISPENSAPY! It was a show and tell kind of meeting, and this editor displayed some pipes manufactured in Europe, many with bowls featuring faces of royalty. I purchased them from Tom Hicks of Eatonton, Ga., following his annual overseas trip. I also displayed a super-rare Elberton, Ga., Koca Nola a deer hunter had found in the Elbert County woods a decade ago. In going on the internet to check out the brand, he came across the KocaNola.com website with my name, address and phone number. His call led to my acquisition of only the second one I know of and it’s the only one free of damages. There also is a Hartwell, Ga., Koca Nola out there. Also, I donated four Thomson, Ga., bottles in memory of my longtime digging buddy, Drew Whitaker, of Dearing, Ga., to the new McDuffie (County) Museum. The bottles were a large size Dr. Pitts’ Antiseptic Invigorator, two Dr. Pitts’ Carminatives (a baby medicine) and a rare Thomson Bottling Works crown top. “Whit” died
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of lung cancer in 2003. Both Thomson newspapers, The McDuffie Mirror and The McDuffie Progress, carried stories and photos The next report will contain a summary of our club’s first show and sale last April 25 in Aiken, S.C.; that
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is, if I survive. The South Carolina Bottle Club show and sale last February was another roaring success. Club president Marty Vollmer said 153 tables sold like hot cakes two months before the show “and we had to turn quite a few folks away.
Western Regional News Ken Lawler & “Dar” 6677 Oak Forest Drive Oak Park, CA 91377 (818) 889-5451 kenlawler@roadrunner.com
Antique Bottle Collectors of Colorado – Dump Digger’s Gazette We have learned that Barb and Jim Sundquist have won the (Frank) Baxter/ (John) Eatwell award. We understand that this award went to a very deserving couple who have quite a history with this club and have been heavily involved in arranging Leadville shows. In fact, Rick Sinner says that Barb and Jim have already started the ball in motion in starting arrangements for the July 25 show. Don Hunt took a job in Denver and can continue on as editor. His dream of a new format for the club’s newsletter has become a reality. He said that the new format should be easier to read with the on-line electronic copy as well as the paper mailed copy. The new format started with the February 2009 issue. Rick has been reminding his members to check their emails for the newsletter a few days prior to their meeting so they “know what’s happening at the meeting.” Rick Natter’s picture in a copy of the “Gazette” shows him smiling and holding his winnings. Under his picture the caption read, “Rick Natter was the lucky Grand Prize Winner. He won the Julius Fist, Pueblo jug and the DavisBridaham Drug Co. jug.” He also won a Colorado beer bottle that will be identified in a later Gazette. Sinner purchased a multi media
projector which went almost immediately into service. It was used when club members watched a video on the Bucyrus 50-B steam shovel. The video “takes place above the mining town of Nederland, Colorado in Lump Gulch. Dan Martin, from the Nederland Mining Museum, attempts to move a 60-ton, 9123 Bucyrus 50-B steam shovel out of a mud bog. This particular steam shovel is one of only twenty-five shovels made to dig the Panama Canal. It is the only remaining one left in the world. It was brought to the Lump Gulch area in 1951 by the Durand Brothers and used on their property for mining purposes. It was abandoned years later in a mud bog, and it has been there for the past 35 years.” I think any member who attended the meeting when this was shown can answer the question as to whether this steam shovel did get pulled out of the mud bog. We think this video might have stirred “digging urges” among the meeting audience. The new format of your newsletter as well as the crisp, colored pictures is to be applauded. The inclusion of show flyers to advertise upcoming events is a great addition, as well. Good job! Forty-Niner Historical Bottle Association – Bottle Bug Briefs These folks always seem to mention some darned nice raffle bottles. Some prime choices have been a round Robax barrel bitters, a 1740 Dutch onion, a Pipifax square amber bitters and a square amber Star Kidney and Liver Bitters. Former member of the L.A. club, Chuck Erickson, had moved up to Rocklin a couple of years ago
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We had a couple of cancellations just before the show, but I had no trouble selling those.” The show raised about $4,500 for the charities the club supports, he added.
and has recently joined the club. Don’t be surprised if he brings some of his digging finds to the raffle table. During show and tell at one of the meetings Ed Rickner brought an 1844 gold coin, an old belt buckle and a brass whiskey barrel label. Tom Lehr showed up with a small pontiled medicine. Dean Wright brought his Dreamer Soda, a blob top L. Shiver soda from Nevada City and two medicines. A blob top Chase and Co. Mineral Water with the rare Marysville at the bottom and a large cobalt demijohn was hauled in by Charles Holt. Three club members, Jim Lee, Steve Abbott and George Wagoner, stopped off to see what George calls the, “Ken Schwartz Whiskey Palace.” George advises that if one hasn’t been there that they are missing out on an enormous collection of whiskey bottles, signs and go-withs. Those of you familiar with Federation programs will note that Ken usually has an ad either on the inside or outside of the back cover. Los Angeles Historical Bottle Club – The Whittlemark President Dave Maryo has extended his contributions to the club in more than his presidential role. An article appeared in the club newsletter earlier this year entitled, “Forsha’s Balm, Endorsed by President Lincoln.” The subject involves questioning the use of this medication during the Civil War era and whether Dr. Forsha’s balm was “cure” or “quack.” Dave’s article tied in with the Presidential theme during show and tell at the February meeting. The “President’s Message” mentioned some of the theme bottles members brought in. There were “several
Bottles and Extras
historic flasks among the show and tell bottles. Dwayne Anthony brought in a very nice dark green eagle flask he had purchased. Dave Garcia brought in a nice eagle flask that he had dug and reminded Dwayne it was dug.” Speaking of Dave Garcia, he made big-time digging news with his “Find of the Month.” He reported that he dug a Jesse Moore flask up in Northern, California. We don’t know where, but Dave knows. It is another one of those little mystery digs that folks hear about from time to time. Nice find, Dave. Blaine Greenman had talked about pontil marks under his column, “Bottles & Etcetera.” He mentioned that the dating of bottles can be determined in many ways, but that the pontil mark is recognized as the most common and effective method. His article describes some of the different pontil marks. The glass-tipped pontil, sand pontil, blowpipe pontil and bare iron pontil are among some of the variants. There are pictures included in his article of each example that he covered. Those of you who have witnessed the art of glass blowing will realize that the process is expensive and labor-intensive. By the time you folks read this column, the 2009 FOHBC National Bottle Show will almost have become a reality. A lot of you readers have been contacted in one way or another by the Federation and/or host club member Pam Selenak who is the show chairman. Maryo has been talking to folks regarding seminars and specialty groups. Dar Furda has been soliciting ads and articles for the program. Special thanks to those of you who have already signed up to participate in one way or another. We appreciate your having taken that extra step to become a part of this event. I have to note that collecting folks are part of a “surviving breed” in spite of the economy. Oregon Bottle Collectors Association – The Stumptown Report Something new is brewing in Oregon. The winter show venue has moved from Centralia to Aurora. It had
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been held in Centralia for 15 years. The flooding issue seemed to have been one of the determining factors for this move. New members have joined the club. Amy Cunningham from Portland, Oregon is the daughter of noted member and digger Pat Darneille and sister of member Don Darneille. Former editor of “The Stumptown Report,” Tom Bostwick is a rejoining member. He is a collector of labeled medicines, Oregon drug bottles and Vanderpool bottles. He also has been doing a “little” digging. He dug a clear Owl Drug. Paul Puttkammer, an east Clark County resident, collects colored soda bottles and insulators. A bit of important information for all of us to become more aware of was emphasized by librarian Scott Slowter. Bill Bogynska mentioned some pictures that member Jeff Hooper sent about a gas line that blew up. Scott spoke up and advised that “you need to call to make sure that digging locations are safe.” On a safer note, Scott showed the new dose cup book written by member Don Bergseng. Now it is time to share club member finds. Paul “showed a ramshorn wood block 1860s insulator. Next he told about EC&M insulators from the 1870s, which were the first Westernmade insulators, by Pacific Glass Works in San Francisco.” He finished up with some of his colored EC&M’s, in dark (Wells) aqua, cobalt, olive green (5-6 known), aqua, amber and ink blue! “Randy Lindsey had an open pontil umbrella ink that he, his mother and his brother dug in the 1960s in one of their first digs. It has a crude neck and lip.” February 14, 2009 was the 150th anniversary of Oregon’s statehood. There was no shortage of Oregon bottles as a theme for a show and tell earlier in the year. “Dennis had his recent digging finds, including a tall neck aqua cone ink style mucilage, a mini Murphy Drug Co. / 293 Burnside St / Portland, Ore., a Watts and Matthieu Portland, Ore., drug bottle,
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a great label under glass (!) Palmer’s Violette Toilet Water and a Remington Liquor Co., Portland, Ore. amber flask. Then for his ‘piece de resistance,’ he pulled out a never seen before Geo. Zittmayer /GZ/ Portland, Ore., clear cylinder whisky from the 1880s, which was UNLISTED!!! He finished with a honey amber Hostetter’s Bitters.” It appears that Mark proudly held his own during the “feast of finds.” Some of his finds included a Fair Astringent from Worth’s / Salem, Oregon, a Wallace & Co., Portland, Oregon, and an Allen’s Drug Store / Eugene, Ore, a Wheeler Pharmacy, Wheeler, Ore. “Jim had a leather-covered flask Compliments of F. Zimmerman & Co. Portland, Ore., an inside threads amethyst Commodores Royal Oak, Old Bourbon & Rye, E.C. Jorgersen & Co., Portland, Ore., whiskey cylinder and a honey amber, three-piece-mold Patent glob top crude whiskey cylinder.” Jim didn’t miss a beat in his “collective” mode. He found a 1912 C.J. Stubling Liquor House, The Dalles, Oreg. Calendar plate on the way to the meeting! Bogynska in his editor’s role for the club included a handwritten letter from “digging” Tommy in one of his newsletters earlier in the year. Here is how it played out. Tommy greets Bill in his letter by writing, “Hi, it’s me…the new/old member from Hood River.” Then he gets down to business. “I have some digging news.” He had received some Sanborn maps of a part of the Hood River that he didn’t have. This resulted in his “measuring, probing, asking permission to dig and thoroughly enjoying these wickedly precise antique geographical blueprints!” He figures that he either dug a two-hole privy or two separate pits side by side. Here is some of what he found: “A mint F. Zimmerman & Co. Portland whiskey, a huge (damaged) decorative water pitcher, a pretty aqua tooled top Watkins medical, three other unembossed whiskeys (two flasks and a cylinder), and a Hires Registered TM soda.” Bill included pictures that
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Tommy provided that showed “before” and “after” cleaning pictures of the treasures he dug. Tommy said that he was planning on a follow-on visit to the same site. We may be hearing about more finds from this enthusiastic guy. Phoenix Antique Bottles & Collectibles Club – The A-Z Collector Steve Mares is a club member well known for his magnificent porcelain signs. I know because I own one (he wishes I owned more). Here is what was written about Steve’s “Historical Cowboy and Indian Advertising” program. He “started his collection with the purchase of five Indian advertising signs from the early 1900s, which he purchased from a shop in Yuma in 1998 at the encouragement of the Hopwoods. The signs were on paper and required restoration. These signs are substantially worth more than what Steve paid for them back in 1998. Steve has since moved on to porcelain signs and other advertising media. The use of Indians for advertising was common around the turn of the last century, with the settling of the American west and a widespread interest in Indian and western culture and imagery, but gradually faded due to social pressure. Cowboy and Indian advertising is a very difficult area to collect, because reproductions are common and hard to distinguish from originals. Western collecting offers a lot of variety, though, and includes signs, posters, spurs, barbed wire, etc.” In keeping with the “cowboy” theme, Anne Colton showed a Jim Beam cowboy flask and two cowboy illustrations. Earl Colton displayed miscellaneous cowboy-related items. Robert Richshafer shared a look at some newspaper articles and photos of the Apache Kid and other Apacherelated articles and photos. Chuck Blake reported that the club website has been updated with new page setup, logos and color. He reminded members that they can write articles for the website, post photos and sell items. For readers who might like to take a
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look at the website update, the website is www.phoenixantiquesclub.org. Another program of interest was Betty Hartnett’s history of the Heinz Company. “Betty admired the principles of Henry John Heinz, the founder of the Heinz Company, who was born in 1884. He hated waste, promoted thrift, not greed, respect for others, and treated sellers fairly so they would want to sell to you again. The Heinz Company started with horseradish, vinegar, and pickled items to spice up the dreary diet of the 1800s. Betty shared a large and varied collection of Heinz memorabilia, including miniatures, salt and pepper shakers, dishes, food jars, bottle, cans, labels, recipe books, advertising, and souvenirs.” Some members also brought in their Heinz items to share during show and tell. Earl Colton brought pictures of a Heinz 57 car; Bryan brought three rare Heinz items – a Noble sun-purpled horseradish table jar, a store refill vinegar bottle patent #180 and a catsup bottle patent #90. Mike Miller brought in a Heinz cup. In keeping with bottle collecting, Brent VanDeman had several bottles he purchased from a shop in Camp Verde. They included a straight-sided Coke from Kalamazoo, Michigan, a 1929 hobbleskirt Coke from Phoenix, and a 1934 hobbleskirt Coke from Prescott. Somehow we have worked our way back to Steve Mares again. He brought in several items he acquired at the Auburn Show last December. One was a C&K Quality Meats porcelain sign. He showed an unusual wine bottle from Arcadia, a cornflower blue master ink, a Boston sauce bottle, and a threesided medicine bottle. We will leave you with an “economics” thought from Brent VanDeman. Brent says, “No doubt times are tough. Although this is a time when your instincts tell you to hang onto your dollars, it can also be a time to find some outstanding bargains. It is time to scoop up some of those items that have previously been elusive or overpriced.” Amen!
Bottles and Extras
Reno Antique Bottle Club – Digger’s Dirt President Marty Hall was able to purchase some nice raffle bottles for the club at the Auburn show last December. There were two bitters, two whiskeys, three square tonics and a couple of aqua bottles for bingo. It sounds like Marty is your main “shopping” dude. Willy Young was on a winning streak. He mentioned that he was the lucky raffle winner at the Auburn show and the grand prize winner at the Santa Rosa show. Marty gets an “A” for effort. He decided to investigate rescheduling their 2009 show for a later date. He even decided to try looking for a venue in Carson City. He checked on several locations including the Community Center. They limit their rentals to community events. Other prospects were too small. After going full circle Marty said that “we are right back where we started - no show for 2009.” On the brighter side of life there is some Digging News: Marty headed out to Eastern Nevada to check out a couple of holes. “Marty found the usual odds and ends that come out of a privy, nothing worth mentioning except an extremely whittled, loaded with seed bubbles, IXL Bitters. There was also an unlisted San Francisco medicine.” Nice going, Marty. It was reported that “closer to home, Virginia City has absolutely been closed to digging of any kind by the Virginia City Preservation Society. One lady that we talked to, who lives there, said that she can’t even dig on her own property. I suppose if there are any undug bottles or relics they will remain buried forever. So much for preserving history!” Everyone have a good summer and Marty, don’t let the hot and humid weather gets you down. Keep checking for those great “finds.” When your club starts meeting again in the fall folks will be eager to read more about your “digging adventures.”
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San Diego Antique Bottle and Collectibles Club – The Bottleneck Not only does this club have avid collectors, but they also have generous ones. Earlier this year, the club organized and ran an auction which was a fund raiser for the National Bottle Museum located in Ballston Spa, New York. The amount raised was $588! Secretarial notes stated that “the rounded-up sum of $600 will be sent to the museum.” If you want to have some fun, check with president/editor Mike Bryant about Rick Hall’s submittal of a public service announcement that appeared in the March 2009 newsletter. The title is, “The following is a Public Service Announcement from the Polyinsulitis Foundation of America (written by Craig Johnson).” Here is what Craig has to say about the announcement: “Polyinsulitis is one of the fastest growing problems in the world today. It is caused by one thing and one thing only: INSULATORS. Polyinsulitis is mildly contagious, and usually has a very short incubation period. There is no known cure, but there is help. Chances are you know somebody who has it. Maybe even you have it.” Following this paragraph is a questionnaire listing 41 questions with a rating chart with wording that classifies your probable addiction from 0-2 to 26-41. Now here is a follow-on challenge for the readers of this column. One or more of you bottle collectors might want to create a questionnaire for inclusion into the “bottle” collecting world. Who knows, maybe one already exists and I haven’t run across it yet. The questions really hit home for all of us collectors. We seem to follow the same collecting patterns. You did a great job, Craig Johnson. There is a picture of “The Vegas Gang” who attended the 2009 Vegas show. I counted eleven smiling guys from the San Diego club in this picture. The guys said that the San Diego stuff was hard to find, as usual, but that several members acquired some nice items to add to their collections. They liked the Palace Station venue and hope
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that it will be the venue for the show next year. A flyer was enclosed with a club newsletter that stated that the club is taking orders for new bottle club shirts. The flyer reads “We are taking orders for our club shirts. These are high quality embroidered, not silk screened shirts. You may choose from a polo or T-shirt, with or without a pocket, and the shirts come in ladies, men’s and youth styles. We need a minimum order of six shirts before we can order from the manufacturer.” The prices seem reasonable. Mike Bryant is the point of contact. Remember reading about Terry Monteith, the ambitious San Diego Club librarian? Well, he had a library report in one of the past newsletters that advertised a couple of new books that have been added to the library. He also reminded members to contact him either by phone or e-mail prior to meetings in order to avoid library “crush” hour at meetings. The two books mentioned are “Lakeside Dairies: 1886 – 2008” and “Granite Ware: The Collector’s Encyclopedia of – Colors, Shapes, and Values.” Having been born and raised on a farm, I realize that most small dairies and “cows in the meadow” are becoming only a memory. By the time you read this issue, hopefully some of you will have attended the San Diego Show. Club members were so excited at how their hard work paid off for their “come back” show last year after an eight-year absence. Washington Bottle & Collectors Association – Ghost Town Echo Four new folks have developed an interest in the club. The most intriguing part is that two of them are divers. Can you imagine what kind of treasures divers can “unearth?” I hope we read about what they bring in for a future show and tell. Secretary Keith Ferguson said that they “found us, thanks to our website.” During one meeting the secretary said that they had presentations from Fred, Rick, Van, Niel and John. Plenty
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of crude and unusual items were brought in. There was a scrimshawed whale tooth and 15-million-year-old, non-fossil oak leaves from Idaho, and a figural pig. Also there was a Pocahontas ink bottle, syringes with colored plungers, and a miniature ceramic chamber pot. Member Jay Marks wrote an open letter to the club which was published in a newsletter. He started it out by identifying the show he attended and mentioning a dealer named David Bethman. Jay describes the usual scene of the crowds in front of tables as dealers do their set up by unpacking item by item. It was stated that the usual scenario is that the few buyers who are front and center at the table usually hold their ground and get the prime bottles. Jay said that Dave handled it in a different manner. Here is part of how Jay describes what he saw: “Dave devised a system that made his sale items equally available to all potential buyers. Dave had a box full of numbered slips of paper that buyers then drew from to determine which order they had the right to purchase a single bottle from Dave’s table. The last person, the person with the highest drawn number among interested buyers, was allowed to pick two bottles and the process reversed until it again reached the original purchaser who had drawn the lowest number.” Jay explains that with Dave’s system there was no dickering, you either paid the full asking price for the bottle of your choice or you chose a different bottle when it is your turn. It may not be a “one size fits all,” but at least Jay wanted to share his feelings about his experience. He went on further to say that he felt that by using Dave’s system the seller makes more money and promotes club unity. As an ending note, President Carmen Johnsen is expecting a potential “digger” (editor’s comment) to be born on August 20th. Warren Lahotka wrote, “I suspect she’ll be in the market for at least a few baby bottles!” All teasing aside, Carmen, we wish you the best in welcoming a new member into your family.
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FEDERATION OF HISTORICAL BOTTLE COLLECTORS Minutes of Board Meeting March 7, 2009; Baltimore, MD President Richard Siri called the meeting to order at 9 a.m. Directors in attendance were Carl Sturm, James Bender, Richard Watson, Alan DeMaison, James Berry, Sheldon Baugh, John Pastor, Edwin Herrold, Bob Ferraro, Bill Ham, and Jamie Houdeshell, constituting a quorum. President Siri pointed out that the minutes of the prior meeting in August in York, Pa., had been distributed previously and suggested that they should be ready for discussion and/or approval. Mr. Baugh moved that the minutes be approved without further discussion, and the motion was seconded by Mr. Ham. The minutes were approved without dissent. Mr. DeMaison then gave the treasurer’s report showing a checking account balance of $10,730.80. Mr. DeMaison also reported that he had received 5 stale checks dating as far back as 2006 for rental of slide programs by member clubs which totaled $90.00. Mr. Ferraro moved that the stale checks be written off, and the motion was seconded by Mr. Ham. A discussion followed the observation that there still had not been any final accountings filed by the Conventions Director for either of the National Shows at Collinsville, IL, in 2007, or York, PA, in 2008, and that this fact made it impossible for the Treasurer to certify any current accounting. Mr. Ham expressed concern that the Conventions Director could write checks for show expenses as well as the Treasurer, and that without accountings, there was no checks and balances in effect for show expenses. Mr. Baugh moved that the Conventions Director be given 30 days notice to send final accountings for the two previouslymentioned shows to the Treasurer. Mr. Sturm seconded the motion which was passed unanimously. The President directed the Secretary to notify the Conventions Director of the Board’s decision and to copy the President and the Treasurer with the demand notice. President Siri reported on the state of magazine publication as two editions are presently past-due and the May-June issue is due in about six weeks. Ensuing discussion recognized that the Business Manager seemed to be making a great effort to replace the former editor who was forced to resign because of poor health. However, as there was still no magazine in the hands of the members, further discussion was directed toward other options which might be available to the Board. In order to show support for the efforts of Business Manager June Lowry to fill the breach, Bill Ham moved that the Board continue with Mrs. Lowry as Magazine Editor provided that she can produce
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the two magazines in progress and the May-June by May 1, 2009. Mr. Houdeshell seconded the motion which passed unanimously. The Board went into Executive Session to discuss associated and other matters. Then, returning to Regular Session, Mr. Bender moved that the Business Manager be compensated by payment of $750.00 monthly, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2009. Mr. Ferraro seconded the motion which was passed unanimously. Mr. Ham made a motion for a compensation package for National Shows as follows: The Convention Director will receive $2,500.00 plus 10% of net profits; the local sponsoring club will receive $1,000.00, and the local Club Chairman will receive $500.00, providing that the local chairman and the Convention Chairman may not be the same person. The motion was seconded by Mr. Ferraro and approved by a 9-2 vote, with Mr. Pastor and Mr. Baugh dissenting. President Siri said he believed that it is time for the ByLaws to be reviewed for possible revisions to streamline the functions of the organization. He appointed Mr. Ham as Chairman of a By-Laws Review Committee, with Mr. Ferraro and Mr. Houdeshell as committee members. President Siri urged the panel to consult with Rich Baldwin, chairman of a previous By-Laws review committee. Mr. Baugh suggested that the Federation look into obtaining liability insurance for its officers and directors, and volunteered to report to the Board at a future meeting of the types of coverage available and estimated costs. President Siri recognized an agenda item concerning bequests and gifts to the FOHBC. Board members seemed to consider the matter adequately covered by the format presented in the magazine, and did not seem to believe that any action was necessary at this time. There was no action taken. It was recommended by Mr. Ferraro that the nomination of Johnnie Fletcher for Honor Roll by Ed Stewart be revised to a candidacy for Hall of Fame. Mr. Berry seconded the motion and it was passed unanimously. Mr. Ham moved that the nomination to honor Scott Grandstaff and Kathy Roach be tabled. President Siri declared that he felt that the Federation should not be burdened with stale and nearly worthless left-over Show merchandise. He believed that the FOHBC should purchase only logo merchandise. Mr. Ham moved that future merchandise ordered by the FOHBC be non-time sensitive, and that all show-specific merchandise be ordered by only the local clubs. Mr. Ferraro seconded the motion which was passed without dissent. Mr. Ferraro moved that the meeting be adjourned, seconded by Mr. Herrold. The meeting was adjourned at 1:01 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Ed Herrold, Secretary
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Bottle Collecting in the United States:
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Overview of The History By Bill Baab Southern Region Editor
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n the beginning, late 20th century explorations of once-thriving communities built by precious metal prospectors yielded neither gold nor silver, but glass treasures long forgotten and buried in trash heaps and outhouse holes called privies. Much of this exploration by curious folks took place during the mid-1950s and throughout the 1960s, uncovering previously unknown landfills and resulting in the hobby called bottle collecting. Next came urban renewal and massive interstate highway projects that uncovered landfills as well as strings of privies. Bottles began popping to the surface behind the blades of bulldozers and other heavy equipment. Word soon spread and soon such projects were invaded by hordes of bottle seekers. It was (and is) like digging for buried treasure. As the hobby began to expand from California eastward (and westward to the Hawaiian Islands), knowledge of just what the glass and ceramic containers held and who manufactured them began to be placed in books and magazine articles. Modern day bottle collectors soon learned, for example, that they were not the first to enjoy the new hobby. Pioneers like Charles B. Gardner, Edwin Lefevre, George McKearin and others had begun forming collections during the first half of the 20 th century. These pioneers were soon being emulated by thousands of men, women and children wielding shovels and the occasional backhoe, prompting one surprised individual looking over a dump peopled by diggers to declare “they look like a bunch of gophers in their holes!” Hobbyists in every state in the union became enthusiastic diggers. Collectors soon discovered Sanborn Fire Insurance Company maps showing outhouse locations. Applying rods of varying lengths called probes, they determined the privies’ locations and have since enjoyed building up sweat equities. Little knowledge of the hobby’s start had made it past individual or club records into the public domain. This writer felt at least a start to document it had to be made before such facts disappeared forever in the mists of time. I started contacting key
people during 2008 and contacts continue to this day. Many acknowledged this ambitious project was doable; getting them to cooperate was another story, but Bottles and Extras subscribers will begin to see results in the July-August issue. Each state’s history is by no means complete. Bob Ferraro’s recollections cover only a small portion of Nevada. Contact was made with collectors in other parts of the state, but none were forthcoming with histories of their own. My plans do not involve recontacting those collectors so any voids must be filled by future researchers. My own projects include the histories of bottle collecting in Georgia and Florida. I have found that all the histories that have been sent to me are fun reads and bring back memories of my own early days in the hobby. I hope that Bottles and Extras readers enjoy them, too.
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DISPLAYS AFTER THE LOSS OF THE FOHBC MUSEUM By J. Carl Sturm
I am sure that a great number of members of the FOHBC are not aware of the continuing efforts of the Board of Directors to showcase the Federation to the public to help increase membership. This article will let you know what has been and is being done in that area. The Federation lost control of its National Bottle Museum in Ballston Spa, N.Y., for one reason or another during the mid 1990s, eliminating one way to attract new members. Enter New Jersey’s Elma and Dick Watson. Dick was a member of the board at Wheaton Village in Millville, N.J., and Elma suggested that it would be a good site to advertise the Federation. Dick took her suggestions to Wheaton Village, which was receptive to the idea of FOHBC displays. Its American Museum of Glass was modified to allow room for a large display of Federation members’ bottles. Membership information for visitors who were interested joining the FOHBC was left at the visitors’ center. This practice continues today. The first display took place in 1997, featuring 140 significant historical flasks in rare colors in the museum’s bottle room. The exhibit was arranged by the group categories first classified by father-daughter glass authorities George and Helen McKearin in their 1941 book, American Glass. They divided flasks into 15 groups, including decorative, Masonic, historical and pictorial design categories. There is no other type of American blown-molded glass that is so rich in variety and color as flasks. These bottles were produced roughly between 1815 and 1875. Members contributing to this display included Roy Brown, Edmund DeHaven, Ralph Finch, Norman Heckler, Tom McCandless, John & Catherine Moore, Ronald Rutherford, Frank Stubbins, J. Carl Sturm and Richard Watson. In 1998, a special exhibit of rare fruit jars was organized to celebrate the 140th
anniversary of John L. Mason’s patent of Nov. 30th, 1858. The Mason patent was for a mold that produced a glass jar with screw threads in the neck which matched an accompanying metal lid. The embossed lettering “Mason’s Patent Nov. 30th 1858” was in production for 60 years. Other examples in the display were uncommon 19th century fruit jars showing many different closures patented to seal jars. The wide range of designs demonstrated the importance of preserving food during the 19th century. This exhibit was dedicated to the memory of George G. McConnell, a noted jar collector. Jerry McCann, an authority on fruit jars, organized the exhibit, wrote the text and loaned many jars from his own collection. Other members contributing were Norman Barnett, Bill Burgess, Donald C. Burkett, Tom Caniff, Dan Corker, Randy Haviland, Alex Kerr, Gerald D. Phifer, Tom Schumm, Bob Tompkins, Al Vignon and Richard Watson. In 1999, the exhibit was of rare American soda bottles organized by Glen Vogel. Artificially flavored carbonated soda dates to 1807, when Dr. Phillip Synphysick added fruit juice to his carbonated water and sold the drink
to his patients for $1.50 for a 30-day supply. The drink was not popular and discontinued. Few attempts were made until 1839, when Eugene Roussel of Philadelphia, Pa., added flavors to soda water sold in his shop. This time, the idea was a success and drinking soda became an American way of life. Dozens of bottling works sprang up in cities and small towns throughout the country. Early bottles were squat with fat bodies and tapered collars in colors of green, aqua, and blue. Later, thick blob top collars were used to support wires holding cork stoppers in place. Corks would often go dry and pop off, causing the soda to go flat. Many different closures were patented to prevent the corks from popping. Members exhibiting sodas were Norman Barnett, Ernest Bower, Gene Bradberry, Charles Dascenzo, Joe DeLengyel, David Graci, Jim Hall, Robert J. Harms, Eric Schmetterling, Doug Shulter and Richard Watson. The display of 2000 was of CUREembossed medicinal bottles. Colonial Americans depended on home remedies, and a few medicines shipped from England, to cure their health problems. By the 19th century, many new medicines were available. These new cures were
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unusual piece in the exhibit was a glass tube-like fishing lure. The Detroit Glass Minnow Tube Company manufactured it in 1916. Their ads claimed the tube magnified the minnow two to three times its size and kept it alive all day (only if the lure stayed in the water!). Members contributing to the display were Ralph Finch, Doc Ford, Tom McCandless, Robert Strickhart, John Wilson and Dick Watson. The year 2002 brought pickles, pepper sauces and preserves. Rare and colorful items formed a display that was a real crowd pleaser. Majority of the
either “patent medicines” or “Proprietary Medicines” called nostrums, requiring only the name to be registered. The ingredients, usually alcohol, did not need to be revealed. In 1906, the Pure Food and Drug Act was enacted, forbidding interstate trade of nostrums if they did not meet requirements of the law. Each state was responsible to enact its own legislation. Cures are bottles with the embossed word “CURE” or a derivative of the word. There are more than 3,000 known bottles in this category. Many rare cures were displayed by John Wolf, Dann Louis, Ed Nikles, J.
Carl Sturm, and Richard Watson. In 2001, the display topic was hunting and fishing glass, including bottles with decorative themes of hunters and fishermen, figural bottles of guns, fish and shells. A second grouping contained items that were actually used to help with fishing and improve hunting skills. Fishermen used glass minnow traps to catch bait and glass floats to hold up their nets. Glass target balls launched by machines were introduced into the United States about 1866 and were popular until the 1880s when they were replaced by clay pigeons. The most bottles in this display were decorated with gothic church windows. Victorian gothic design, popular in the 1840s, influenced the shape and decoration of glass used to store pickles, pepper sauces and preserves. Probably the most ornate of all utilitarian containers, these bottles give the appearance of pointed arch cathedral windows. Small gherkin pickles, hot pepper sauces, a variety of catsups and spicy mustards were packaged in these decorative bottles. The exhibit included simpler, plain bottles that were used for preserves such as fruit, jams, juices and syrups. Displayers included Tom and Deena Caniff, Ralph Finch, Terry Gillis, Norman Heckler, Adam Koch, John Pastor, Eric
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Schmetterling, Bob Tompkins and Dick and Elma Watson. Theme of the display of 2003 was whiskeys, which were some of the first bottles blown in America. The earliest examples were heavy dark green bottles. By the 1800s, small decorative flasks were popular containers for whiskey. About 1840, the first bottles specifically designed to hold and market whiskey were introduced by Binninger, a New York grocery store. Probably the most recognized whiskey bottle is the E.G. Booz Old Cabin Whiskey. They were first blown at the Whitney Glass Works of Glassboro, N.J., about 1860. This cabin-shaped bottle became so popular that it has been reproduced numerous times. The production of whiskey bottles was discontinued with enforcement of Prohibition in 1920 and resumed when the amendment was repealed in 1933. Displayers included Thomas C. Haunton, Ralph Van Brocklin, Tom McCandless, Dick Watson and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. An additional display from 2001 to 2003 was of fruit jar patent models displayed separately from the main bottle display. Patent models are extremely rare and this exhibit drew a lot of interest. Exhibitors were Norman Barnett, Tom Caniff, Jim DeGrado, Jerry McCann, Gerald D. Phifer, Bob Rhinberger, Greg Spurgeon, Dick Watson, Larry Onyskow and the Minnestrista Cultural center of Muncie, Ind. The year 2004 brought a display of pocket flasks, pattern-molded flasks and bottles. Some of the earliest bottles in America were made in pattern molds that imparted an impression into the gather of glass, which was then fashioned into the desired bottle. The pattern mold was used only for decoration, not the overall shape of the container. The first patternmolded bottles were likely made at the first successful glass factory in America, the Wistarburgh Glassworks in Alloway, N.J., which operated from 1739 until 1782. Unfortunately, no Wistarburgh pattern-molded bottles are known. Pattern-molded bottles were made at Steigel in Manheim, Pa., and the
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Amelung Glass Factory in Maryland in the late 1700s. A wide range of patternmolded bottles were made in New England and the midwest and are noted for their vibrant colors and swirled ribs. Displayers for this exhibit were John Pastor and Dick Watson. The 2005 display was of barber bottles, hair tonics and colognes. During the late 19th century, barbers mixed their own tonics and facial splashes, often using witch hazel and bay rum and putting the liquid in decorative bottles. Bottles usually contained shampoo, hair tonic and facial toners. Customers had their own individualized bottles which usually came in pairs. In 1906, the Pure Food Drug Act restricted the use of substances with alcohol in unlabeled bottles, eliminating the use of barber bottles. All manner of hair tonics, hair restorers and hair dyes were developed and marketed during the 19th century. Bottles for this exhibit were loaned by James A. Hagenbuch, Tom McCandless and Dick Watson. Displays of nursing bottles highlighted the 2006-2007 displays. Infant feeders are some of the earliest containers, dating to 1500 B.C. The first nursers were made of pottery, but by the early 17th century, nursers were made of wood, pewter, tin, silver and glass. The first patented glass nursing bottle was issued to Charles M. Windship of Massachusetts in 1841. In 1864, a new bottle design was brought to America from England. A glass tube was stuck through a cork stopper and into a bottle. The glass tube connected to a long rubber tube with a nipple-shaped mouthpiece. The bottle was popular for several years, but was unsanitary because the glass tube was hard to clean. Nipples were first made from rags. Eventually they were made from wood, ivory, silver and pewter. The first rubber nipple was developed in 1845, but did not become
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practical until the early 1900s. By the end of World War II, more than 230 patents for nursing bottles were issued by the U.S. Patent Office. This display contained rare nursers and infant feeders from the extensive collection of Rosalind Bergman. The present exhibit for 2008 and 2009 is to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Mason Jar. While the earlier fruit jar display had other types of jars, everything in this display includes Mason jars in different sizes and embossings. There are many myths or common misconceptions about the Mason jar: John Mason invented the fruit jar. He did not, but patented a glass screw
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thread for the canning jar. All fruit jars are not Mason jars, just those with the glass threads. Many believe John Mason died a pauper because he is buried in a grave with no tombstone in Evergreen
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Cemetery in Brooklyn. Since he lived in a tenement and died in the House of Relief, it was assumed that he was a pauper. However, in 1902 tenements were not necessarily slums and the House of Relief was not a hospital for the poor. Other errors include John Mason working for the famous fruit jar manufacturers Ball Brothers. Wrong. He was never associated with Ball Brothers. Jars marked Mason’s Patent November 30, 1656 were made in 1858 by John Mason. False. It wasn’t until Mason’s patent expired in 1879 that other companies used this embossing to impress the housewives that their jars were just like Mason’s. The practice continued until at least 1900. John L. Mason’s middle name was Landis. Maybe. No factual evidence has been found to substantiate it. This outstanding display contains jars from the Dan Corker and Dick Watson collections. Material for this article was
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taken from “The Journal,” a defunct publication of Wheaton Village, now known as Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center. It is located at 1501 Glasstown Road, Millville, N.J., and Federation displays continue in the center’s American Museum of Glass containing 6,500 examples. Aside from the Wheaton displays, during 2001 - 2002, I exhibited a collection of 49 historical flasks with 45 having embossed glass house names at the Milan Historical Museum in Milan, Ohio, birthplace of Thomas Edison. The display contained a placard citing it as a FOHBC-approved exhibit and membership materials were available for museum visitors. Federation members who have a chance to display their collections at local museums could help in furthering the hobby by including mention of the FOHBC in publicity stories. Brochures touting the benefits of belonging to the Federation are available from its business manager, June Lowry, 401 Johnston Court, Raymore, MO 64083.
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Bottles and Extras
Quart Hosp. Dept. Molds By Richard Siri
I got started in this mold chase with the Hostetter’s Bitters bottles. Then I started looking at my Hosp. Dept. bottles and realized that there were a few mold variations. I wondered, “How many are there?” I believe, that if the bottles were cataloged the same way as stamps and coins are, the hobby would gain more collectors and you could set collecting goals. Much like you would in putting a penny collections together. Historical flasks were done that way and look at the following they have. But first, someone has to be able to find out what is out there. This is an attempt to aid in that process for quart Hosp. Dept. bottle. Also, if sellers and auction houses use these mold numbers and you, the collector, have this article, you would then know if you already have the bottle being sold. I’ve read auction descriptions that do the color justice and then simply state “It’s a different mold than another in this sale”. I’ve managed to buy several duplicates because I couldn’t figure out the mold from their catalog picture.
The similarities in some of the molds make it even more difficult to decipher. While I can admit my drawings are not exact, due to some molds being weaker than others, etc., I have found the easiest way to differentiate between molds is to compare the placement of the letter is the first line (U.S.A.) to the corresponding letter directly below the corresponding letter directly below it (Hosp. Dept.) This listing may not have all the molds represented but it is all that I could find. If you have different molds than those shown here please let me know and we will add it to our listing and do an update. In addition to my collection, Ann Carol of Reno, Nevada and Henry Guillen of Twenty Nine Palms, California provided access to their collections for this article. Just like the Hosp. Dept. molds, there are also many different Drakes Plantation Bitters molds, more than are documented in any book. Drakes Collectors out there should begin documentation of that brand as well.
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The Marble Maniac
Over the next few columns, I would like to talk about marble identification, grading, condition issues, fakes (re-worked marbles) and reproductions. Identification is the major hurdle facing the marble enthusiast, be he experienced or an amateur. Numerous books and online facilities are readily available and certainly used to a great extent, but the best way is still personally handling and examining the marble. Handmades, those produced from 1870 thru the very early 1900s, are the most often dug and brought to me for identification. By far the vast majority of these were produced in Lauscha, Germany at one of the several glass factories in operation there. Some of the so-called China marbles, those glazed and non-glazed and decorated with different scenes, rings, bullseyes, flowers, etc., did come from the U.S., but that is an exception. The Lauscha (East Germany) factories have been very thoroughly explored since the wall came down and much was learned, as well as thousands of marbles dug at the factory being made available. There are many categories and divisions of categories in handmades. As follows, stone marble, clay and crockery, china, German swirls, colored glass, mist and mica, Lutz marbles, solid colored swirls, (including onionskin, Joseph swirls, peppermints and mints), opaque glass, (including ballot marbles, melonballs, clambroths, banded opaques and Indians) and sulphides were some of them and there are other miscellaneous varieties. Following after were the transition or hand-gathered types, individually handmade and partially machine made. The Navarre Glass Marble and Specialty Company and James Leighton were the pioneers of these. Then came the machine-made varieties: M.F. Christensen & Son Co., Akro Agate, Christensen Agate Co. and Peltier Glass Co. These were the major machine-made marble manufacturers and the most sought after examples. These companies alone produced close to 300 varieties, with variations on a theme abounding. The Akro Agate corkscrew pattern, arguably the most common of
the machine-made collectables, is known to have at least 1,500-plus different color combinations. At one time in the 1930s, there were at least 35 glass companies operating in West Virginia alone and a lot of them also made marbles. Keeping in mind that the early manufacturers bought and sold from each other and at one point Akro Agate, selling for a couple of years the back stock of slags from M. F. Christensen, you can imagine the confusion. We are fortunate that the factories have been very well documented and extensive knowledge exists. Another interesting category exists, with a bit of a subculture surrounding the carpet ball or bowl genre. These date from the 1840s, coming out of Scotland and England, with some games still being played today. They are named for the game being played on carpet in the living room and on special outdoor lawn courts in Scotland (very competitive leagues still) and England. Looking somewhat like large ceramic marbles, they are also known as Taws, Parlour Alleys and Parlour Bowls. (My thanks to Paul Baumann for this info.) Even today, with the thousands of marbles I see, the unknown still pops up, mostly in the machine-made areas, almost defying identification. What with the new German swirl now being produced and marbles flowing in from at least 10 to 12 foreign countries, it becomes a frantic chase to keep up. I would encourage anyone with questions to seek out a serious and experienced marble collector for advice and counsel. It is super easy to be fooled and certainly buyer bewareness is vital. With prices ranging from 2 cents to over a $1,000 for individual machine-mades, with $2 and $200 lookalikes, proper identification is crucial. For those interested, I strongly recommend the 4th edition of Paul Baumann’s book, “Collecting Antique Marbles, Identification and Price Guide,” published by Krause Publications, www. krausebooks.com. It is comprehensive and thorough. Bill O’Connor “The Marble Maniac”
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CITY BREWERY HENRY WIENARD 1862-1916
Bottles and Extras
By Dave Scafani
Although Henry Weinhard had been involved in brewing beer in the Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington area since 1856, he didn’t establish his City Brewery until 1862. In 1863 he located a site outside of town at the end of a single dirt road. This was to be the site of his home as well as his brewery. By 1882, the City Brewery was the largest in the Pacific Northwest. At this time, the huge building covering an entire city block at 12th and Burnside, was constructed. It’s image appeared on advertising trays and bills sent to customers. Between 11th and 13th Streets were buildings housing the bottling works and horse stables for delivery wagons and horses. A large warehouse was built near the steamship docks. By 1890, production reached 40,000 barrels and distribution was worldwide to China, Japan, The Philippines, and Siberia. Cal. Bottling Company in San Francisco supplied Northern California with the “Export” beer. Henry
also supplied door to door deliveries by wagon in Portland area for saloons, businesses, and homes. He also owned a number of local saloons. By 1900, Henry’s brewery was producing 100,000 barrels of beer annually. His “Columbia Beer” was a very famous label in the west. He bought out Oregon breweries in Eugene, Roseburg, Medford, Oregon City, Baker City, and Aberdeen, Washington for use as storage and distribution points and also for ice production. Henry died in 1904 and his son-in-law, Paul Wessinger, took control therby keeping the brewery under family control. The name “City Brewery” was dropped at this time in favor of “Weinhard Brewery.” The brewery survived prohibition by making soft drinks, fruit drinks, syrups, flavorings, toppings and malt extracts. A merger in 1928 with Blitz Brewing Company formed a new giant, The Blitz Weinhard Company, which still survives today.
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One of Henry Weinhard’s beer delivery wagons, about 1900
Weinhard Billheads, early 1900’s.
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Label, circa 1907
Magazine ad
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MADE PLANS YET? DON’T MISS OUT!
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Since you read our “SHOW TIME IS ON THE WAY” write-up in your March/April issue of Bottles and Extras, changes have rapidly been occurring. The host hotel, the Sheraton, is about “busting at the seams” as the reservations increase. There are alternative hotels on the FOHBC’s Hotel and Special Events page in the paperwork that some of you have already received. You can always go in and check out more information by viewing the FOHBC website www.fohbc.com. For those of you who live in one of the western states and happen to be checking out antique stores, look for the following free publications: The “West Coast Peddler” is considered to be the oldest journal of antiques, arts and collectibles published and distributed free in antique stores throughout the Pacific Coast states. The other is “Today’s Vintage,” which is also widely distributed monthly throughout the western states. Why are we mentioning these two publications? We mention this to call your attention to the fact that this show will be an excellent chance for you to meet with some new collectors and dealers. The two advertising publications above represent only a portion of the avenues taken to advertise this show. We can guarantee that most of you, plus many others, are already aware of this year’s FOHBC National Show in Pomona, California. You may already be planning to make it a combination show/vacation get-away package. The feeling is that if you come out this far, you may as well plan on taking advantage of the trip. Some of you may never have experienced California before. The weather is predictable. You don’t have to plan around “rainy weather” in California. Dress cool and comfortable for the show, but also remember to bring empty, divided boxes (liquor stores will gladly give those to you) or bags in which to store your new acquisitions for the trip back home. We have received additional information regarding the seminars. You will have an opportunity to learn about the desert from Stan Paher’s seminar on Death Valley in California and Southern Nevada Ghost towns. This will be another way to absorb “The Western Experience.” Additionally, we have learned that LAHBC President Dave Maryo is going to be the one to enlighten us on Southern California Wineries. We can say without hesitation that you can expect to find some of the dealers’ finest merchandise at this show. There definitely will be rare western whiskeys, bitters and fine western flasks. There should be cathedral pickles, black glass, patent medicines, Hutchinson sodas, inks, Mason jars and poisons. If you are thinking “pontiled,” we are confident that some dealers from across the states will be bringing their best to catch your attention. We will not attempt to provide a long list of collectible delights. You can check this out for yourselves and be surprised! Hang in there and watch for another update of this big event!
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May - June, 2009
Bottles and Extras
Rabbit Trails: The Twisted Path to Bottle Identification By Bill Lindsey As some readers of Bottles and Extras magazine know, I assist with the ongoing article series entitled “The Dating Game” where Bill Lockhart, Pete Schulz, Carol Serr, I, and occasional other contributors write in-depth articles on the history and makers’ markings of a particular glass company or historical grouping of related glass makers. As Bill Lockhart has explained in previous “Dating Game” articles, we have self-dubbed our group the “Bottle Research Group” or BRG for short. The BRG’s common bond is a fascination with historical background behind the production and use of glass bottles made during the 19th and 20th centuries. Simply for enlightenment and fun (no profit) the BRG pursues and investigates all kinds of weird and wondrous research avenues in the world of (primarily) American bottle making. In our research “trails” we often end up discovering all kinds of interesting historical tidbits – some expected, and even better, the unexpected. It is the latter aspect of our pursuits that provides the informational “treasure hunt” and discovery - that is at the core of why we do this. Like Alice in Wonderland, we often end up in a “place” we could not even imagine beforehand. Anyway, the story of my particular “rabbit trail” starts here… Recently, the BRG has been discussing (we exchange emails on almost a daily basis) what we refer to as the “San Francisco curved R” (or the “Frisco R” for short). For years Western bottle collectors have noted the presence of a distinctively engraved capital
“R” on many Western American embossed bottles made from the early 1870s to possibly as late as the mid-1880s (Markota & Markota 1994; Wichmann 1999; Wilson & Wilson 1968, 1969, 1971; Lawler 2008). (Figure 1) These bottles are typically embossed as having been produced for and used by customers in California, Oregon, and Nevada - in order of abundance.
of this mold engraver would be fascinating – if it could ever be fully told (and we are searching!) – that is not the story here. It was, however, the catalyst for some of the trails that I did pursue which, of course, cleared up some questions and created yet more. While recently looking at some examples of this distinctive “R” on various Western bottles in my personal collection, I noted it’s presence on a 1870s era San
Figure 1 This “R” is quite distinctive in configuration from virtually all other embossed “R’s” found on Western bottles from other eras (mouthblown or machine-made) or those made or used in other regions of the country. Simply speaking, this “R” has an outwardly curved aspect to the angular right leg that bends so much towards the end that it is actually pointing at the base of the next letter in the embossed word. In addition, this leg terminates with a flattened blunt end (Lawler 2008). Since this is much easier to visually conceptualize than describe, take a look at Figure 1. All I can surmise is that this specific style of embossed “R” on Western bottles was the work of a single, yet unknown bottle mold engraver (or machinist) doing his work in the San Francisco Bay Area for molds used at the Pacific Glass Works and/or the San Francisco Glass Works and certainly at the combined (after 1875) San Francisco & Pacific Glass Works (Toulouse 1971). While the story
Figure 2
Bottles and Extras
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Blob Top Soda and Mineral Water Bottles” discusses these bottles and the company that used them (in business from 1873 to 1889) but includes no information on the meaning behind the patent date of November 12, 1872 (Markota & Markota 1994). Neither do the Markotas note anyone named Taylor connected with the Crystal Soda Water Co. (As a side note, I should mention that well researched, historical based collector books like the Markotas’ are truly timeless works of utility for collectors and archaeologists alike.) I always assumed the noted patent pertained to either the unusual bottle shape or the unusual lip (or “finish” in glassmaker jargon) – or possibly a unique closure associated with this finish - that these bottles usually have (Figure 4). Although I’ve never seen one personally, a variant of this bottle finish has been noted where “a hole
Figure 3 Francisco soda bottle. Specifically, this bottle is embossed boldly with CRYSTAL / SODA / WATER CO on one side (Figure 2) and PATENTED / NOV. 12. 1872 / TAYLOR’S / U. S. PT on the reverse side (Figure 3). There is one embossed “R” on each side of the bottle and they are both the distinctive curved “R” form. The bottle has a pedestal base, crudely applied finish (more on that later), and is a beautiful medium sapphire blue in color. A “window bottle” extraordinaire and one that even non-collectors who view it pick as a favorite! While looking at this bottle I began to wonder about the significance of the patent date on the reverse. Peck & Audie Markota’s excellent book “Western
Figure 4 was made in the neck of the bottle and metal pin thrust through the cork so as to make its accidental escape impossible” (Markota & Markota 1994). Maybe that closure variation was the patent? Unfortunately, David Graci’s excellent and quite comprehensive book “Soda and Beer Bottle Closures 1850-1910” did not note this as a closure patent date, so that strongly indicated a dead end as a closure patent (Graci 2003). The Markotas also noted that other variants of the
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CRYSTAL SODA WATER bottles come without the patent embossing on the reverse and with a regular blob finish instead of the unusual tall straight collar with a distinctly flared rim. (Note: There was also a Hutchinson type soda bottle embossed with CRYSTAL / S. W. Co. / S. F. [Markota & Markota 1999].) Being familiar with Google™ Patent Search from work on my Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website – and finding it to be an incredible resource for finding patents of all types – I gave it a shot using the patent date and the name Taylor. Why not just go to the source – the Patent Office? (Google™ Patent Search is available at this link www.google.com/patents ) Even though Google™ Patent Search can be a bit circuitous to use, after doing some subtle tweaking of the search details, I hit pay dirt stumbling across patent #133,068 issued on that precise 1872 date to one Asher S. Taylor, who hailed from – of all places – San Francisco, CA. (Figure 5). Eureka, I thought! However, instead of being a bottle design or finish and/or closure patent, the patent was for an “Improvement in Bottling Apparatus” (U.S. Patent Office 1872). The patent seemed to deal with the mechanics of soda bottling and little to do with the bottle itself (or the closure, as with many canning jars) – the usual reasons for a patent date being boldly embossed on a glass container. Even though the patent drawing did include the upper part of a period blob top style soda bottle - with weird notches on the rim of the finish (but not the pedestal CRYSTAL SODA WATER shape) – the patent was more about a “… bottling and corking machine…” for soda water. Success seemed to be eluding me…until I read more of the details
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in the patent specifications. First off, the stated point for the patent was as follows (quote from the patent narrative): It is necessary for the manufacture of soda-water and other like beverages to keep on hand a large number of bottles to enable them to fill orders to families, groceries,
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saloons, and other places. These bottles are seldom returned, but are sold by the person in whose possession they are to junk-dealers, who again sell them to other soda men to be again filled with soda-water or other beverage. Now this was getting interesting
Bottles and Extras
as the re-use of bottles during the 19th to early 20th centuries – by either the original bottle purchaser or by others “pirating” these bottles - has always intrigued me. It is one of the primary factors in the finding of much older bottles on obviously newer historic sites (Busch 1987). Incidentally, the famous (in the West) “Great San Francisco Dig” of 1999 was reported to have been on the site of a bottle “junk-dealer.” The patent narrative continued to state… My invention consists of constructing a bottling and corking machine to correspond to a mutilated cap or neck of the bottle, so that the manufacturer alone will be able to fill his own bottles. By this means I will render the bottles of no value to persons who bottle a liquid under pressure except the original manufacturer, whose machine is made to correspond with the mutilations on the bottle.
Figure 5
Now I understood that this patent outlined one of many solutions that attempted to remedy the chronic headache of the time for bottlers of beer, soda water, milk and other liquid products in re-useable bottles: the re-use of proprietary bottles by other users who did not purchase them (Busch 1987). That was the reason for many soda and beer bottles being embossed with “THIS BOTTLE NOT TO BE SOLD” and its variations (Baab 2008). The problem with the patent drawing remained, however, in that the weird flared rim finish on the CRYSTAL SODA WATER bottles did not conform at all to the finish rim notches in the patent drawing as shown in Figure 5. Reading on further through the patent narrative, I found the following passage near the end:
Bottles and Extras
Various styles of mutilation, such as making the upper end of the bottle [i.e., the finish] square, oblong, triangular or otherwise, can be devised for this purpose; and it will be a great advantage that every manufacturer can have a special arrangement of his own that will protect his trade (emphasis mine). In other words, the Taylor patent was for the concept, not the specifics of a user-unique finish configuration that meshed with a unique “bottling and corking machine” conformation in order to preclude other soda-water manufacturers from utilizing the bottle purchasers expensive reuseable bottles! Although Mr. Taylor did not specifically note the flared rim as a possible “mutilation” (probably on purpose so that he could use it!) that was certainly the point of the weird CRYSTAL SODA WATER finish, i.e., to mesh with a uniquely designed machine - or more to the point - a uniquely designed filling tube or “cylinder” on the machine (Riley 1958). Since the production of “square, oblong, triangular” finishes was pretty much impossible at that time – at least for mass produced bottles with the era’s dominant applied finishes – Taylor appears to have quickly come to the conclusion that some variation of a round finish was the way to go. This is indicated by the patent drawing (see Figure 5) where the rim of the obviously round (in cross-section) finish had a “…depression or indentation…” made, although how it was to be made was undefined. Unfortunately for Taylor, this invention apparently did not see widespread use or application in the soda water business since the vast majority of soda bottle finishes were of the same general conformation
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– the blob finish - at that time and for many years after. The lack of success may have been due to the ponderousness and expense of this filling system which required specially made soda bottles and soda water machine filling heads. It was also a new process in a business that was already rife with danger from bottles exploding during the pressurized filling; potential users of this arrangement may have been wary of something “new.” Once I figured this out, I remembered that there are some other California soda bottles with the name Taylor on them. I continued thumbing through the Markotas book and came across a pair of early – Gold Rush era – Taylor soda water bottles, examples of which I personally possess (Figures 6 & 7). Low and behold, the Markota’s note that the Taylor behind these soda water ventures was the same
Figure 6
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Asher S. Taylor listed on the patent discussed above! The Markotas book has some good historical information on Asher Taylor: …There is no exact date as to when Asher S. Taylor arrived in San Francisco from his home state of New York... The earliest listing for Asher S. Taylor was in San Francisco in 1854, at which time he was listed as being the proprietor of the Jessie Street Soda Factory… From 1854 to 1857 the whereabouts of Taylor is unknown. In 1857 he was again listed as being employed at the Boley Soda Works…Sacramento. Again from 1858 to 1860, his whereabouts are a mystery. From 1861 to 1862 Taylor was listed as being in the Soda Water business in Sacramento… In 1862 it was back to San Francisco… returned to Sacramento from 1863 to 1869…changing his residence each year… In 1870 Taylor was listed as a bitters manufacturer in Sacramento…and from 1872 to 1874…as manufacturer… for ‘Sparkling Medicated Bitters’…in San Francisco. This…venture proved to be unsuccessful, and in 1876, broke and with only his delivery wagon and a couple of horses, Taylor became a drayman. (Markota & Markota 1994) So it appears that Asher Taylor continued dabbling in soda manufacturing and other bottling endeavors until at least the early 1870s – a fact affirmed by the “Improvement in Bottling Apparatus” patent from 1872. One wonders if the noted ‘Sparkling Medicated Bitters’ was some
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soda water type product using the “bitters” classification to enhance sales during the heyday of that class of medicines? Sparkling, of course, implies carbonation and many soda and mineral waters of the era claimed extensive medicinal properties (Lindsey 2008). Maybe the product was bottled in soda type bottles possibly by the Crystal Soda Water Co. in its earlier days? I guess the inevitable “cost” of answers is more questions. One of the noted Gold Rush era Taylor soda bottles is the example unusually embossed as follows: TAYLOR & CO. / VALPARAISO / CHILI on the front (Figure 6) and SODA / WATER on the reverse. These interesting iron pontilscarred bottles come in lovely shades of green (very scarce) and cobalt blue (rare). As with all pontiled-scarred Gold Rush era soda bottles from the West, this bottle was certainly made on the East coast (most likely in Pennsylvania) then shipped around the “horn” of South America in the hold of a sailing ship - with apparently a stop in Valparaiso for filling – to San Francisco. I defer to the Markotas again in regards to this mystery soda bottle: This particular bottle is as much a mystery to us as is the person who used it to bottle his product. There is no exact date as to when Asher S. Taylor arrived in San Francisco from his home state of New York. Most of the early sailing ships making the trip around the Horn would put up in Valparaiso, Chile, where they could take on water, provisions, make repairs, wait out a storm, or to pick up or leave passengers. It could have been on such a trip that Mr. Taylor may
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Bottles and Extras
have found a new source of water that he thought would be suitable for bottling, then shipped to San Francisco or Sacramento for distribution. Taylor must have ran [sic] his soda water business from San Francisco, for records show where Taylor, in 1850 and 1852, frequently made trips to South America. From available information, this bottle should date from the early 1850s to around 1857… (Markota & Markota 1994) So it appears that Mr. Taylor arrived in California no later than 1850 or possibly as early as 1848. It is unlikely that he predates the California Gold Rush as few Americans were in California prior to gold discovery at Sutter’s Mill in January 1848. I just love these unique soda bottles for their air of unsolved mystery as well as the misspelling of Chile as the hot, vegetable based spice “chili” rather than the South American country. I don’t know if any of these bottles have been found in South America; most have reportedly been dug in California. The other early Taylor soda water bottle is embossed with: TAYLOR & CO. / SODA WATER / SAN FRANCISCO / EUREKA with no embossing on the reverse side. (Figure 7) These scarce soda bottles look as though the embossing should be in a plate (aka “slug plate” by collectors) but were actually blown in a unique proprietary mold that did not utilize a plate for the embossing, although the mold could have had replaceable halves. These bottles are also iron pontil scarred and come in lovely shades of sapphire to medium cobalt blue. The production date of these bottles would be the same as the “Chili”
Figure 7 bottles, i.e., early to mid 1850s and solidly within the frenzy of the California Gold Rush. Just for fun (and all this was fun) I ran a regular Google™ search on the name Asher S. Taylor in New York, looking for hits on that name in the first half of the 19th century. Amazingly enough I found several references to an Asher S. Taylor living in the late 1830s to mid1840s in – of all places - Saratoga County, the home of the famous mineral springs! Could this be our future “Western” Asher S. Taylor who developed an interest in carbonated waters by having lived in the Saratoga Springs area prior to his move out West? I continued my search by going back to Google™ Patent Search looking for more patents applied for or issued to Asher S. Taylor and ran across something that appears to be related to a bottle that has
Bottles and Extras
puzzled Western collectors for years. This scarce bottle has 8 flattened body panels, smooth non-pontiled base, a periodtypical applied blob lip/finish, and is embossed with CHAMPAGNE / MEAD on two consecutive sides – the rest are unembossed. (Figure
Figure 8 8 – Photo courtesy of American Bottle Auctions) According to the Markotas, these bottles were used by Gass & Co. - Champagne Mead Works - a short lived San Francisco firm in business from 1871 to 1872 (Markota & Markota 1994). What I found in the patent records was one issued to “Asher S. Taylor, of San Francisco, California” for an “Improved Beverage or Champagne Mead” (emphasis mine). The patent notes that it is “Specification
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forming part of Letters Patent No. 106,428, dated August 16, 1870” and was for inventing the formula for “an Improved Beverage called ‘Champagne Mead.” Wow! This was right before (1870) the documented beginning of the “Champagne Mead Works” in San Francisco, though the Markotas do not mention Taylor’s name at all in their information on the company. As with the Crystal Soda Water Co., there was most likely some direct connection between Asher Taylor and the Champagne Mead Works, though, for the moment that is lost to history. More questions… For those interested in whipping up their own batch of Champagne Mead, the details are below. I should note that traditional mead is fermented honey and thus alcoholic. This recipe of Mr. Taylor’s includes no honey - it is cider based - and apparently was not fermented, i.e., non-alcoholic, although it is possible that the cider in the recipe was “hard”: To make my beverage I add to forty (40) gallons of good cider the following spices and flavoring- extracts: Ginger, four (4) pints; mace, three (3) ounces; orange-water, one (1) gallon; vanilla, three (3) ounces; anise, one (1) pint. To this mixture some predominating flavor can be given by adding either of the following ingredients: Cloves, two (2) ounces; cinnamon, one (1) ounce; nutmeg, one (1) ounce; pineapple, one (1) ounce. (U. S. Patent Office 1870) The rest of this short patent notes some logistical aspects like the mixture is dispensed from a “soda-fountain”, “charged with carbonic acid in the usual
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manner”, and that the beverage can be kept “a great length of time without deterioration.” This sounds potentially alcoholic to me although carbonation also acts as a preservative. After running the draft of this article through the BRG for comments, Pete Schulz noted that he had some additional tidbits of information on the product from period newspapers…cool! This included several 1870 advertisements for Champagne Mead by the Kenyon, Gass & Co. – apparently the first producer of the product in 1870 – whose “depot” was located at 1806 Powell Street in San Francisco. One of these ads - dated July 16, 1870 - noted that Champagne Mead was “recommended by the Medical Fraternity as the only Temperance Drink” and that it “Contains no Acids...No Injurious Drugs” but was instead “…made of Fine, Healthful Herbs” (Alameda Encinal 1870). So there was indeed no alcohol in the product as the recipe implied. Of additional interest, Pete also had a photocopy of the California trademark registration application for the name “Champagne Mead” filed by Frank Kenyon on April 4, 1870 - some months prior to Asher’s patent for the formula (California State Archives 1870). The above noted ad also warned potential customers to “Beware of spurious brands, as a patent is secured.” This was about a month prior to the patent actually being “secured.” Of course, “truth in advertising” was a concern of little ethical importance at that time when bold, unsubstantiated claims for most products – particularly patent medicines - was the norm. Unfortunately, none of this additional information clarified the connection between Asher and the actual producers of Champagne Mead. The product was purveyed
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by the previously noted Gass & Co. in 1871 (their “Champagne Mead Works” were now at 114 Turk Street) and possibly part of 1872, Kenyon having disappeared from the firm and from San Francisco by 1871 (Langley 1871, 1872; Markota & Markota 1994). So ends the story of my bottle research “rabbit trail” that started with the “San Francisco curved R” and ended with the formula for “Champagne Mead”…as well as more questions. I welcome any readers’ thoughts or additional information they may have on the subjects discussed here. My email address is: historicbottlewebsite@ yahoo.com ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: My thanks to the other members of the Bottle Research Group for reviewing and providing comments on this article! SOURCES CITED: Alameda Encinal 1870. Champagne Mead Advertisement. Alameda Encinal Newspaper, July 16, 1870 page 3. Baab, Bill 2008. The Bottler’s Helper – A Review. Bottles and Extras, 19(4):23 Busch, Jane 1987. Second Time Around: A Look at Bottle Reuse. Historical Archaeology, 21(1):67-80. California State Archives 1870. Trademark Application No. 162. Kenyon, Gass and Company. Champagne Mead. April 4, 1870. Graci, David 2003. Soda and Beer Bottle Closures 1850-1910. Privately published. Langley, Henry G. 1871. Langley’s San Francisco Directory. Directory Publishing
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Co., San Francisco, CA. 1872. Langley’s San Francisco Directory. Directory Publishing Co., San Francisco, CA. Lawler, Ken 2008. Western Regional News. Bottles and Extras, 19(4):17-20 Lindsey, Bill 2008. “Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website: Soda & Mineral Water Bottles page” http://www.sha. org/bottle/soda.htm. Society for Historic Archaeology website Markota, Peck, and Audie Markota 1994 (second edition). Western Blob Top Soda and Mineral Water Bottles. Privately published. 1999. A Look at California Hutchinson Type Soda Bottles. Privately published. Riley, John J. 1958. A History of the Soft Drink Industry – Bottled Carbonated Beverages 1807-1957. American Bottlers of Carbonated Beverages, Washington, D. C. Toulouse, Julian H. 1971. Bottle Makers and Their Marks. Thomas Nelson Inc., New York U. S. Patent Office 1870. Improved Beverage or Champagne Mead – Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 106,428, dated August 16, 1870. U. S. Patent Office 1872. Improvement in Bottling Apparatus. Patent No. 133,068, November 12, 1872. (This patent is also found at the following link on my Historic Bottle Website: http://
Bottles and Extras
www.sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/ TaylorPatent1872.pdf ) Wichmann, Jeff 1999. The Best of the West: Antique Western Bitters Bottles. Pacific Glass Books, Sacramento, CA. Wilson, Bill, and Betty Wilson 1968. Spirits Bottles of the Old West. Henington Publishing Co., Wolfe City, TX. 1969. Western Bitters. Northwestern Printing Co., Santa Rosa, CA. 1970. 19th Century Medicine in Glass. 19th Century Hobby & Publishing Co., Amador, City, CA.
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Harrison’s Columbian Inks at 1857 Prices by Lucy Faulkner
The Harrison Columbian Ink Company of Philadelphia is familiar not only to ink collectors, but to just about any bottle collector. Perhaps it is because these bottles are some of the easiest to find of the embossed pontil era ink bottles . The small bottles allow the average collector to have a pontiled ink at a modest cost. The small aqua ones can sell for as little as fifty dollars while the master size in cobalt can bring many thousands. Apollos Harrison would be amazed. Did you know that in 1857 you could get a dozen of the smallest size for as little as thirty-two cents? And they contained ink and had a full label! Take a look at the billhead below and just imagine a full dozen of these. Old ads, billheads, or advertising of any kind is hard to find for Harrison’s Columbian Ink. From what we have been able to find, the perfumery part of the business was the most heavily promoted and advertised.
1848 Gettysburg, PA newspaper ad
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Tin Baby Feeders
Bottles and Extras
By Charles Harris
Through the years we’ve become so accustomed to the modern conveniences and materials that we look back on the past with a form of disdain, thinking “What ignorant ancestors we had. They had things so simple that they didn’t need to know much.” We rarely look at their lives and realize that compared to their ancestors, they were living in a very modern world. “WHaaaaaaaaaatttttt!” you exclaim, glass has been around for ever. Oh, has it? And plastic, it’s replacing that old dangerous and heavy glass. “Yes, it is,” but guess what, plastic, in many cases, is being re-replaced by glass. Look at the lawsuits that are being brought against some of the manufacturers of Baby Bottles. The BPA (bisophenal A) & formaldehyde and other chemicals that are used in the process of making plastics are creating severe medical problems for some of our children. Recently the BPH has been proven to cause neurologic and behavioral problems in children and it is used in clearing the plastic in the hard polycarbonate bottles. Heating them in the microwave causes BPA to be released into the milk or formula. This also applies to all of the millions of bottles of bottled water that everyone buys at the convenience stores. Well, I guess that I’d better get off of my bandwagon and get started
A Tinker in the Hills of Pennsylvania
to where I intended to go before I got sidetracked from where I was at --- boy that’s a mouthful, isn’t it? Before rubber had been invented in 1840, before glass became inexpensive and common, food had to be preserved, babies had to be fed and life had to go on at a hectic pace for the time. On the Frontier of the 1700’s --- that, my friends, was in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, etc., glass was a rarity. If it got dropped and broken, it was gone and could not be readily replaced. Simply said, “You’re without!” The Frontier had a solution for this problem of the unavailability of glass. The solution was the “Tinker,” a traveling tinsmith that would literally go from community to community & even door to door plying his trade. The dictionary defines a Tinker as “an itinerate mender of household utensils,” but truthfully, he was much more than that. He was also a creator of household utensils upon demand. If you needed it, he could probably make it. With a sheet of tin, a pair of shears, a hammer, a fire heated soldering iron and lead solder he was the utensil making equivalent of the community blacksmith who worked his magic with iron. For the rest of this article I’m going to “Try” to stay with the Tinker’s creations for the feeding of infants, though, I’ll
have to admit right here that some of his
other creations are going to creep into it by way of interesting circumstances --a.k.a. the gaining of knowledge for this poor little backcountry Southern writer. Occasionally my wife, Teresa, will be talking to a new-found friend and will almost shyly comment that she collects Baby Bottles. Usually she is confronted with an expression that immediately says, “You collect what?” Words are not even uttered. To this she usually comes back with, “Some women have always had trouble feeding their babies. Baby Bottles are nothing new to the world. It’s just your conception of what you consider to be a Baby Bottle.” With that said, I’m going to try to take you back to the early 1700’s. The first one that I want to look at dates to the early 1700’s and was purchased from Ros Berman in PA. Ros has been a lifelong collector, probably collecting before I was born in 1941. In the summer of 2008 the asking price was $850 & it is worth every penny of it. It is one of those Baby Bottles for which there are no questions about its authenticity. It stands better than 6inches tall, has a cork stoppered filling hole on one shoulder and a soldered tube coming out of the top with a lead ball nipple and shield on the end of it. On the lead balled nipple was wrapped a chamois cloth, old rag, or even a pickled cow’s teat found at the “drug store” for the infant to suck on. The next interesting item is one that I bought in an antique mall as an old black powder carrying flask. It is small,
Teresa’s Tin Feeder purchased from Ros Berman at the 2008 York PA Convention.
Bottles and Extras
only about 3+ inches high and I only paid $20.00 for it. As my wife, Teresa, comments all the time, “You are always attacked by tin.” I’ll have to admit it, I am! Some Baby Bottle collector friends were visiting about 3 years ago & Don commented, “That one needs to be in the Baby Bottle collection, not your Civil War area.” So it was moved to the other room. Then this year a friend from Nebraska was looking at it in Teresa’s collection and asked, “What is this
Powder Flask to Baby Bottle to Powder Flask.
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doing in the Baby Bottle collection? Look at that top wood surface. What do you see?” There, quite subdued, but very evident were drawn two flintlock rifles of the early 1700’s style. How could I have missed that one? After looking at the photos, I know that you are going to ask, “Tin nailed to wood! How is that going to hold a liquid?” Bought as a possible Tin Feeder, but later discovered Simple, during its period to be a Tin Oil Can for filling the old Whale Oil of use the moisture inside Lamps. Stands about 5-inches high. swelled the wood tight against the tin, keeping The tin straw with lead knob on the end the liquid in or, as in this case, keeping pierced the vessel just below the cap and the gunpowder dry. It is a tin and wood ran all the way to the bottom, forcing gun powder flask. the infant to suck the milk and not have This next item, a definite Baby it poured into or onto him/her. These Bottle or Feeder, dates from the mid were made First by the PA Dutch & are to late 1700’s and is valued at about also called “Mammeles.” This general $450-495. “But,” you ask, “I’ve seen a design has also been adapted into other couple of them on Antiques Road Show period items such as Tin Banks and Oil and they valued them at $900-1200.” “I Cans for filling the Whale Oil Lamps. know, but those appraisers don’t know This next item still has me baffled. everything, even in their own field of It was purchased from the famous Don expertise. It is impossible. They are Gifford collection after his death for good, but not perfect.” This upside about $450. It was one of his prize down cone shaped Tin Baby Feeder Tin Feeders, but I am still fighting with is relatively common on the very rare myself as to whether call it a Baby portion of the scale. Does that really Feeder or a Gun Powder Flask. It has make sense? These tin feeders or vessels all the features of both. The whole item stood about 4-inches high and had a tin is made of tin, all joints are expertly lid, either hinged or just pushed on. soldered, the neck is medium length and
Inked and partially carved is “PINEH” of PINEHURST. Below is the unreadable date.
I never saw the early styled Flintlock Rifles ink-drawn on the top of this one. Photo-enhanced for clarity.
3 different styles and shapes of Dutch/German Tin “Mammeles” Feeders in the Ros Berman collection. The center one has a flat lid that is hinged. The other 2 are push-on lids.
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Bought as a possible Tin Feeder, but later discovered to be a Tin Oil Can for filling the old Whale Oil Lamps. Stands about 5-inches high. has a rolled lip on it and the opening is sealed by a cork. The body stands about 3-1/2 inches high. I’m going to have to let the Tinker and original user decide the actual use of this one. It’s beyond me. This one was found by me on a Civil War dealer’s list. Dave Taylor had it listed along with a few nice whiskey flasks at a reasonable price. When I emailed him to find out if it was still available, I asked him what he thought it actually was. He replied that he wasn’t quite sure, but had bought it because he just liked it. It had a nice solid coffin shape, a long skinny snout with a rolled lip and 2 rings soldered to the sides and held 8 ounces of fluid, just right for a Baby Bottle. In design I figured it for the early 1800’s and felt satisfied with the $80.00 price whether it was a Baby Bottle or not. After I received it, I studied it closely, noticing that it had remnants of an old dark green paint in protected places. I photographed it and sent copies to some friends more knowledgeable than myself. After all the discussions of pros and cons, the general consensus seems to be that it is an early gun powder flask, so I guess that it will reside in my Civil War collection.
Powder/Whiskey/Baby Bottle Flask? Most likely a Powder Flask! Another unusual item that I found in a Nashville TN antique mall is this tin Invalid or Baby Feeder, again from the early 1800’s. It, itself, was pretty sick in that the spout was barely attached and the half lid was only about one-fourth connected to the body. On top of that it was slightly bent out of round. I figured that for the $30.00 price tag that I could at least have some fun with it and in the process I learned how to solder with an old fashioned heavy copper tipped soldering iron, the type that you heat on a forge or with a torch. It works a whole lot better and easier than a blow torch for this kind of tinkering. When I finished playing I had a very respectable tin Invalid Feeder --- the only problem is some of the shiny solder just doesn’t match that 200 year old darkened solder. Oh, well. At least I had a lot of fun and am quite proud of it. This last item was Teresa’s Christmas present for 2008. She and I saw it at our national Baby Bottle Convention that was held in conjunction with the Federation’s National Bottle
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Charlie & Teresa Harris’s repaired Tin Invalid/Baby Feeder. Only the shiny new solder gives it away. Show in York PA. We had both spent more than we should have, so we let it slide. Even so we kept talking about it after we got home. Well, a couple weeks ago we found out that it was still available from Ros Berman and “bit the bullet,” acquiring it for $725. It is one of very few Canteen shaped Baby Bottles known and dates to the 1840’s to the 1860’s period. It is a masterpiece of a Tinker’s work. The body is 4-inches in diameter, 2-1/4 inches thick, holds 14-ounces of liquid and the tin nipple section screws onto the body with fairly fine pewter threads. The other night I took it to one of my Civil War relic club Christmas parties without the nipple screwed on and everyone was guessing it to be some kind of miniature canteen.
Teresa’s 2008 Christmas present. After having seen it, we couldn’t forget about it or ignore its existence. The Canteen styled Tin Feeder with screw off nipple section.
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You should have seen their faces and heard their comments when I screwed the nipple on ----- Total Disbelief. One of the comments that I continually hear is, “With all of those solder joints why didn’t all of those babies die of lead poisoning?” On the surface that sounds like a very intelligent question, doesn’t it? I then throw a couple questions back at them that include, “In that case why didn’t all of the Civil War soldiers die of lead poisoning? After all almost all of them carried tin canteens for four long years that had the halves soldered together and they drank from them daily.” Or, “Look at the copper water pipes in your home. Every single one of the joints are soldered together and you haven’t died from lead poisoning yet have you?” What we have here is lead solder joints that are fairly clean. That lead is not poisonous in that the water or milk flows
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over it, not picking up the lead ions. Now lead that has oxidized and turned white presents a totally different picture. It is very poisonous to animal and human life. For the old “White Lead” paint, lead was artificially oxidized with acid and heat, then the oxide was scraped off and mixed with oils to make the paint. It is durable but poisonous. The white lead surface on Civil War bullets that have been dug from the ground present the same problems. That is why I always wash my hands after digging and handling them. I know, I am addicted to the tin ware, the Civil War, Civil War relic hunting, my wife’s Baby Bottle collection, writing, photography and just plain Life. You know people look at me with the funniest expression when I tell them that I have never been bored a day in my life. Heck, I don’t have time to get bored and I’ve been retired for 14 years!
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Charles Harris relicnut@comcast.net
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to be expensive the way I break ‘em. What this country needs is a good fivecent nurser bottle.” I agree and by this time the baby has stopped yowling and gone back to sleep. So Joe the Dude cleans up the mess and retires and I do likewise. Next day I am in Demble’s Drug Store again and I see a blue card displaying some nurser bottles. I investigate to see what makes them tick, for maybe I can help my pal. The blue card says they won’t slip out of your hands. That sounds O.K. to me, so I phone Joe the Dude to come over right away. He does and we ask the guy behind the counter to tell us all about these new bottles. “Why,” the guy says, “these are Armstrong Phenix Nurser Bottles. They have little ribs, or ridges, all around them to help you get a good grip. They won’t slip out of your hands when you put the nipple on.” “Maybe so,” says Joe the Dude, “but how about heat. I’ll bet they crack when you warm ‘em in water.” “No, they won’t,” this guy comes back. “If they break from thermal shock, which means breaking when you warm them, you come back and we’ll give you new bottles free. That offer is good for two years.”
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Joe the Dude seems satisfied but is a bit afraid of what these super bottles will cost. Imagine his surprise when the guy says they cost only a nickel. He is so happy he buys a dozen and is just ready to leave when the guy stops him. “How about taking along some of these fine Armstrong Bottle Brushes,” he says. “They make it easy to clean nurser bottles because the brush handle is on a pivot so you can swing the brush right up against the shoulder of the bottle. You can also use them to clean milk bottles and other bottles.” It sounds like a good idea so Joe the Dude buys one and goes home happy as a guy who’s just collected a hundred to one on the ponies. For myself, I make a mental note to buy one of those brushes to clean other bottles. I see no more Joe the Dude until two months later when I bump into him on the subway. He is smiling and happy so I judge the bottles are still O.K. and I am not wrong. “You know what,” says Joe the Dude, “America has a good five-cent nurser bottle. I mean those Armstrong Phenix Bottles.” I think they must be good to make a guy like Joe the Dude remember a word like “Phenix.”
Compliments of JoAnn Gifford and her daughter Tracy, York PA
HELP/ASSISTANCE NEEDED!! History of Antique Bottle Collecting in the United States State-by-state survey by Bill Baab, Southern Region editor Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors. 2352 Devere Street Augusta, GA 30904-5202 (706) 736-8097 riverswamper@comcast.net Dear Fellow Collector(s): I have embarked on an ambitious project: Compiling a state-by-state history of bottle collecting in the U.S. I need your assistance. I feel it needs to be put into print before names, events and dates slowly slip into time, to be forgotten. Below is a list of things to be addressed. Don’t hesitate to add any- thing else on your own. Don’t worry about length. Once the survey has been completed, each state’s story will be told in Bottles & Extras, one state at a time. The following needs to be written in story form, starting with the earliest happening and winding up with the latest. If you feel uncomfortable about writing, just include as many facts, places, people and dates as possible. I am a retired journalist and can put it into story form. Be sure to sign your name and include mailing and e-mailing addresses and telephone numbers. If I have any questions, I’ll contact you. Once I get through editing your report, I’ll e-mail it to you to be checked for errors or omissions before publishing it in Bottles and Extras. Accuracy in everything is a must. 1. During what year did bottle collecting start in your state? In what ar- eas, cities or towns did it first start? Who was (were) credited with getting the hobby started? Did any one thing or event or find lure them into the hobby before it became statewide? You may include yourself if you were one of the key people in the early days of collecting. 2. Are there any photographs of digs or individuals and collections available from the early days? If so, please have as many identified as to who’s in them, where photo was taken and when. 3. These state-by-state stories will be published under the byline(s) of those compiling the data. I also am interested in hearing how the compiler(s) got started in the hobby. 4. During the early digs, what were some of the prized bottles being found? Anything unusual dug? (One of my club members dug a Prince Albert tobacco tin with a $5 gold piece inside!) Finds also can include pottery, since many of us branched out into antique and contemporary ceramics after having started in bottles. 5. This is not the history of the Federation, but an individual’s or a club’s affiliation can be included. 6. Anyone have wild adventures during their pursuit of bottles? If so, please describe to the fullest just what happened, to whom, when (dates) and where.
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Bottles and Extras
Additional New Finds to Document By
Barry L. Bernas Introduction This article will continue with my on-going commitment to report newly discovered pieces that were manufactured in the factories operated by the Capstan and Perfection Glass Companies. Besides the documental benefit of this summary, these new additions will also update the listings for Capstan food containers and Perfection separating ware presented elsewhere.1
South Connellsville, Pennsylvania firm’s registered trademark is prominently embossed in the center. Below this nautical insignia is the mold number 302 ½. Above the emblem is the series number 4.
Find One The first newly discovered piece came to me via Stermer’s Auction Service. I acquired the nearly cylindrical Capstan Glass Company tumbler shown in Figure 1 at the Saturday before Easter 2007 auction held in the Liberty Fire Hall located in East Berlin, Pennsylvania. This food container is 2 3/16th inches in height. It takes a 55 millimeter metal sealing cap which pushes down over its Anchor finish. The outer diameter of this vessel is 2 1/8th inches measured at the midpoint between the lip and base. At the bottom, the circular base has an outer diameter of 2 1/16th inches. Filled to the lip, it holds three and one-half fluid ounces. Taking a look at the underneath part in Figure 2, the
Figure 1
Figure 2 Precisely where this model fits into the plain tumbler listings in Tumblers, Jars and Bottles is difficult to pin point. Its mold number should position it in the nappy line right between 302 and 303; however, its shape doesn’t align with the squatty and slanted side wall profile of these specimens. For now, let’s call the sample in Figure 1 a nappy tumbler and put it in line right after number 302 in the numeric inventory.2 Find Two Perfection separating tableware admirers, Adele and Orrin Klitzner of Andover, New Jersey, sent me documentation for our second discovery. Figure 3 contains a picture of a Colonial patterned water bottle which they recently acquired through the electronic auction service – eBay. Their piece is particularly important to me because it is the first example that I’ve seen in over ten years of hunting for one. To say that this model is relatively scarce would be an accurate assessment of its availability in today’s antiques market
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by an extract from the Company’s circa-1903 product catalog. Thanks to Adele and Orrin, we now have a picture verifying that this advertised product was actually manufactured in Perfection’s Washington factory. Find Three My next find came as a personal purchase from an estate auction conducted by Mark Ferry Auctions of Derry, Pennsylvania held at the Westmoreland County (PA) Fairgrounds on June 23rd, 2007.
Figure 3 Adele and Orrin’s carafe is massive by Perfection ware standards. Measuring 10 1/4th inches in height, it weighs an impressive 3 ½ pounds. The neck is 4 15/16th inches tall and has the Colonial motif molded around its circumference. Its matching cylindrically shaped bowl has a vertical measurement of 5 3/8th inches with a finish that is 3 3/4th inches across the outer lip. The only embossing on the Klitzner’s specimen is along the bottom edge of the circular vertical flange that is positioned at the bottom of the water bottle’s top section. This raised marking reads as follows: PATD (smaller and elevated capital D without a line or dot beneath it) MARCH 30 97 OTHERS PENDING. The listing for this model in Chapter Five of the book Perfection Glass Company, One of Many Glass Houses in Washington, Pennsylvania is only depicted
Figure 4 Auctioned off individually as a vase, the righthand model in Figure 4 is actually an attractively patterned, 6 7/8th inches tall jar capable of holding thirteen fluid ounces. It has a 58 millimeter finish that took a one-time use metal cap which either pushed down onto the band closure or was crimped around it. The simple design on the container’s body consists of four panels and four protruding ribs which are positioned opposite each other and running almost the length of the outer side wall. Just above the 2 3/8th inches circular base is a flared outward aspect which completes the body. On the underneath side, there is a Capstan Glass Company trademark embossed in the center. Below this symbol is the mold number 5961. Above it is the
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phrase “PAT.NOV.23,26.” The puzzling thing about the Capstan piece on the right side in Figure 4 is its uncanny resemblance to the jar beside it to the left. This alternate Capstan Glass product was made to the specifications of a design patent that was issued to Louis P. Piazzoli, Jr. on November 23rd, 1926.3 Being 6 15/16th inches tall, the left-hand model holds thirteen fluid ounces when filled to the brim. The same style and size of metal cap which seals its right-hand mate closes this example. Body design appears to be the same for both models. Through close inspection, the only differences I could discern centered on the ribs and lower body region. For the former, this feature stops at the shoulder on the lefthand specimen but continues past this point, blending into the upper body on its counterpart to the right. In the case of the latter variance, this flared outward area of the body just above the base is larger and more vertical in shape than the right side edition. On the bottom of the base, a Company trademark appears in the center with the mold number 5412 beneath it. Above the nautical symbol is the phrase – “PAT.NOV.23,26.” One would think that if both jars carried the same patent information that their designs would match and their mold numbers would be in the same 54XX series as other examples of a Piazzoli container. However, in this case, they don’t for some reason known only to the makers. Find Four This record isn’t about a new item turning up but rather a previously reported sample with a newly discovered patent for it. An extract can be seen in Figure 5. Every few months, I search the Internet using the name William B. Fenn to see if anything new has been added about him. During my last expedition and to my surprise, I came across an idea of his, previously known and patented in the United States,4 which also registered him as the inventor in the Canadian Intellectual Properties Office.5 As I looked at the trail of both submissions, it appears Mr. Fenn started his registration process in early February 1900 in the United States while his assignee, Ezra D. Beckwith, began another in Canada in late March of the same year. Approval for the later came in August while it took the former until December to accomplish the
Bottles and Extras
same goal.
Figure 5 There isn’t much information available on both gentlemen. I do know that Messrs. Fenn and Beckwith were partners of some sort in the Perfection Water Bottle Company of New York City in the early months of 1900. Also, Mr. Fenn assigned either a percentage or all of the rights for this idea to Mr. Beckwith.6 Regrettably, what I don’t know and may never know is why Mr. Beckwith chose to apply for a Canadian patent for a separating water bottle with a chilling compartment in it that his associate, William B. Fenn, had applied to patent in the United States. On a more positive side, there is another information source available to researchers to use at the website of the Canadian Intellectual Properties Office. Maybe, it can be of assistance to you as well. Find Five At the Ohio Bottle Club’s antique bottle and advertising show in Mansfield, Ohio on May 12th, 2007, I was fortunate enough to purchase a Russell Uhl patented all glass screw cap from Galen Ware of Connellsville, Pennsylvania. This new edition to my collection is the fifth find to record in this section. In a previous Bottles and Extras issue, an article was carried about a methodology to identify and classify a glass screw cap, carrying the date December 5th,
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The top surface on this sun colored amethyst model has a one tiered, slightly depressed, circular area with embossing on it. Around the outer part of this topmost indented region are the descriptive phrases – (dot) SIMPLEX MASON (dot) PATENT APPL’D FOR. This sealer carries a jeweled crown profile. Fourteen spike shaped grippers and a 1/8th inch long band are aligned around its slightly slanted outer skirt. For those interested in putting this sample into a catalog of Russell Uhl patented covers, this example would be listed as follows: III – 2.2.1.d.2.a.-a.1.b.1.c .3.d.2.e.2.f.14.
1905. Also in the book Perfection Glass Company,
Figure 6 this same process was further updated.7 Both accounts detailed five Groups of inner surface characteristics and six cap shapes for these fruit jar covers. One of the Groups or Group III has a raised hollowed out ring with a raised dot in the center of its inner surface. See the top sealer in Figure 6. Below it is the screw cap from Galen. It represents a new Group III variation. As you can see, this example has a relatively flat circular surface which is 7/8th inch wide, beginning at the juncture of the inner skirt and inner surface. At its innermost point, a 1/16th inch vertical drop-off occurs. The resulting circular depression in the center of the inner surface is 1 inch in diameter. In the middle of this recessed feature is a rounded top raised dot with a 9/16th inch outer diameter.
Figure 7
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Find Six Next up is a discovery I made at the Roller Mills Antique Center in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. The Capstan beauty on the top in Figure 7 was sitting on the shelf in a dealer’s booth, begging for someone to give it a good home. Of course, I recognized its plea in quick fashion and just as rapidly obliged its request for permanent asylum. This slanted side wall fluted tumbler is 3 1/8th inches in height and holds 7-fluid ounces when filled to the overflow point. Below its 70 millimeter wide Anchor finish, which would seal with a metal pushdown style of cap, is a canted inward outer surface graced with sixteen flat surfaced panels. Rounded upward at the top and rounded downward at the bottom, these flutes have sides which angle slightly inward from the top (1/2 inch wide) to the bottom (7/16th inch wide). Connected at their sides, these panels are aligned side by side around the outer circumference of this container. Inside of this glass are sixteen flutes of the same size, shape and width. These decorative features are positioned directly over their exterior counterparts. Besides their location, the only other aspect which differentiates these features from their external counterparts is their concave outer surface. The sixteen sided base on my Lewisburg find can be seen on the bottom in Figure 7. With the Capstan Glass logo in the center, the mold number 557 is prominently embossed below it. The series digit 9 is above the familiar nautical insignia. This addition to my collection will go right after its mate 537 under the numeric section in Tumblers, Jars and Bottles.8 Find Seven Once again, the Klitzner’s of Andover, New Jersey reported another new addition to their expanding collection of Perfection ware. Carrying the designation of find seven, the separating container in Figure 8 was probably meant for use in a barbers shop. This previously unknown model is 6 3/4th inches tall, excluding the corked encircled pour spout. Its paneled neck is 4 inches in height. The distance across the circular vertical flange at the base of the top section carries a 2 ½ inches measurement. On either the side wall or bottom edge of this feature, there isn’t any embossing. The cylindrical bowl is 2 7/8th inches in
Figure 8 height and has the Colonial motif around its outer circumference. Its threaded finish has an outer diameter of 2 ½ inches. Connecting the neck and the bowl on the probable barbers’ bottle in Figure 8 is a zinc screw band that at one time had a shiny nickel coating. When Adele and Orrin first contacted me about this item, I thought immediately that it was an example of a Colonial designed decanter with a six ounce capacity. Rightly or wrongly, I quickly jumped to the conclusion that the facetted stopper for it was broken or lost long ago. Continuing with this train of thought, I easily convinced myself that somewhere
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along the time line since that event an enterprising third party decided to make the stopper-less decanter into a barbers’ bottle by the insertion of a dispenser into the top of its neck. This quite plausible but possibly erroneous presumption of mine wasn’t arrived at without a factual basis. Before taking the stance above, I recalled that there was a sketch and listing for a 6ounce Colonial patterned decanter with a stopper in the circa late-1903 product catalog from the Perfection Glass Company. After confirming my recollection, I inspected the other squirt bottles in my collection. The Royal, Imperial and Colonial designed ones all had specially molded necks (long and short) which had the pour spout formed into them. Since these examples were in accordance with the patent issued to William B. Fenn on August 23rd, 1904, I thought my overall impression was further bolstered.9 However, after much discussion with the Klitzner’s about the aged nature of the pouring mechanism being commensurate with the age of their Colonial piece, the unusual length of the neck when compared to other paneled versions on squirt bottle examples in my collection and the lack of scarring along the inner surface at the top of the neck, which would be expected to be present when a glass stopper was constantly being placed into the opening and then taken back out for use, I abandoned my original belief and came around to their position. Even in the face of Company ephemera and actual examples matching a 1904 patent, I can’t say with absolute certainty that their unique specimen isn’t a barbers’ bottle. It just goes to show you that not being there at the time this piece was sold certainly hinders an accurate assessment of its purpose over one hundred years later. My thanks go out again to Adele and Orrin Klitzner for reporting their piece and for the thoroughly interesting email discussion we had about it. In my opinion, this electronic example of a give and take face to face conversation brought out one of the primary benefits associated with our hobby – enjoyment. Find Eight My final report is on the covered nappy tumbler in Figure 9. It should be pointed out that the pictures and measurements of this example were extracted from an eBay auction in May 2007. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the high bidder so I don’t have the piece in
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front of me to provide a better description of it. This model of a Capstan Glass Company food container is 2 ½ inches tall. It has a standard Anchor finish with an outer lip diameter of 4 ½ inches or 114 millimeters. A metal pushdown style of cover sealed this vessel along this surface. The eBay seller advertised this piece as a salt box from the Capstan Glass Company. While getting the second part right, the first assessment of a salt box was likely a bit wide of the mark for its initial purpose in life. Undoubtedly, the glass lid with a filial shaped somewhat like a capstan influenced that position. However, it is my opinion that some well intentioned third party attached the glass lid to the nappy tumbler in Figure 9 at some earlier point in time. 10 Figure 10 has a view of the circular base on find eight. As you can clearly see, the Capstan trademark
Figure 9 is in the center. Regrettably, the mold number isn’t visible so we’ll have to take the word of the seller that the set of digits under the nautical logo was 315. It is interesting to note that the illusive nappy tumbler 315 and the nappy jar 415 in my collection have the same height and outer lip diameter. The only difference between each is their finish. Nappy 315 has an Anchor finish (sealing surface and knurling) while 415 has a six lugged closure suitable for a quarter turn Amerseal metal screw cap. In this case, I wonder if the different numbers for the same size of food container have something to do with their dissimilar sealing
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surfaces which made one (315) a tumbler and the other (415) a jar. After nappy jar 415 was pressed, it started out its commercial life with imported Bismarck herring inside. These contents were packed by the Vita Fish Preserving Works of New York. I suspect, but can’t prove, that nappy tumbler 315 had a similar fate. However, once its contents were exhausted; it could very well have invoked its reuse value and took up a second vocation as a covered salt container for its owner. This example would be under the plain tumbler category in the numeric inventory for nappy tumblers in the book Tumblers, Jars and Bottles.11 It falls in between numbers 308 and 318 therein. Final Comments This report verified the existence of four more Capstan Glass products, two additional Perfection Glass separating ware pieces plus a Group III variation of a Russell Uhl screw cap and the research value of the Canadian Intellectual Properties Office. This swath of items is what I collect and document for those that follow us in the bottle and jar hobby. If you have other items from the Anchor, Capstan or Perfection Glass Companies that you are willing to share, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly so that we can discuss your finds and appropriately record them. BL (Endnotes) 1, 2 Tumblers, Jars and Bottles; A Product Identification Guide for the Capstan Glass Company, South Connellsville, Pennsylvania, Barry L. Bernas, 239 Ridge Avenue, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 17325, 2007, pg. 60. 3 Ibid, pg. 100. 4 Patents Issued to William Beach Fenn (Part 1 of 2), Barry L. Bernas, Bottles and Extras, January-February 2007, pgs. 29-30. William B. Fenn’s application for this idea started to be processed at the United States Patent Office on February 7, 1900. He was issued a patent (664,472) for this concept on December 25, 1900. 5 No. 89580, Department of Agriculture, PATENT
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Figure 10 BRANCH, Little Falls, N.Y., Filed: March 21/23, 1900, Application for Patent, Water Bottle (bouteille a eau), Inventor: William Beach Fenn, Owner: Ezra D. Beckwith, Patent Number 68361, Issued: August 7, 1900. 6 Crockery and Glass Journal, February 1,1900, pg. 26 and Patents Issued to William Beach Fenn (Part 1 of 2), Barry L. Bernas, Bottles and Extras, January-February 2007, pgs. 29-30. 7 Cataloging a Russell Uhl-Patented, Glass Screw Cap, Barry L. Bernas, Bottles and Extras, Spring 2004, pgs. 29-33 and Perfection Glass Company, One of Many Glass Houses in Washington, Pennsylvania, 239 Ridge Avenue, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 17325, 2005, pgs. XIX-XXIX. 8 Tumblers, Jars and Bottles; A Product Identification Guide for the Capstan Glass Company, South Connellsville, Pennsylvania, Barry L. Bernas, 239 Ridge Avenue, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 17325, 2007, pg. 65. I put 557 in this section along with 517 and 537 even though its panels had rounded downward bottom segments vice the horizontal ones of its two compatriots. 9 Patents Issued to William Beach Fenn (Part 1 of 2), Barry L. Bernas, Bottles and Extras, January-February 2007, pg. 31. 10 The description of this item indicated the cover had the number 402 on it. In my opinion, this factor in itself is indicative of the top belonging to another piece altogether. 11 Tumblers, Jars and Bottles; A Product Identification Guide for the Capstan Glass Company, South Connellsville, Pennsylvania, Barry L. Bernas, 239 Ridge Avenue, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 17325, 2007, pg. 60.
The Bethesda Spring Story By Howard Dean
The Saratoga County Business Directory in about 1870 shows that C.R. Brown was a jeweler and optician in Saratoga Springs. He was also proprietor of the Park Place Hotel and the Crystal Spring. This spring had a very disagreeable odor and taste so the owner called it the Crystal Spring because of the crystalline appearance of the water. In 1871 the hotel burned and a new Grand Central Hotel replaced it in 1872. The water of Crystal Spring (Tucker S-17) were bottled by C.R. Brown and his name appeared on the bottles. Later the spring company was re-organized and the embossing was changed by dropping the C.R. Brown. When C.R. Brown sold out to the Crystal Spring Co. he apparently retained some of the molds for his bottles. He had at least one mold retooled so that the word “Crystal” was peened out and replaced by “Bethesda.” The Bethesda Spring was in Wisconsin and a dealer (C.H. Boswart) in Troy, N.Y. was selling water on draught and one was the Bethesda Water (ca. 1888). The theory is that Brown bought the water and bottled it for resale. I have a stoneware jug with “Bethesda Water” in blue on it. Apparently there isn’t much else known about this, but I can add what little more I know. In 1984 or 1985 Gerry Strubel heard of this bottle from the owner in Troy, N.Y. and I’m sure Gerry lost no time in getting down to see it and he was able to buy it. It was stained and quite a mess so he had it professionally cleaned by Wilbur Brill of West Viginia. So far as we know this is the only one of this bottle known, up till know anyway. How did I become its owner? Well, at our 2003 meeting of the Saratoga Type Bottle Collectors Society in Ballston Spa, N.Y. Gerry showed me the bottle and said it was for sale. He asked if I would like to buy it. What a shot that was, so I asked if I could think about it and let him know at the show the next day. After a sleepless night and a long discussion with my wife Lillian I decided to go for it. The next morning at the show I told Gerry I wanted to buy it. He replied, “Oh no, I didn’t this you wanted it so I gave it to Jim Hagenbuch to put in his auction.”
BETHESDA SPRING WATER C.R. BROWN SARATOGA SPRINGS N.Y. Well really that was a relief. I had tried and missed! A few minutes along came Gerry with the bottle and said, “Jim said if you want it, it’s fine by him.” So the bottle was mine. Simple as that. I finally finished paying for it and it now rests proudly on my shelf. My very best and rarest bottle. I now need the Crystal Spring Water, green quart to go with it. Some collectors are never satisfied!
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MADE PLANS YET? DON’T MISS OUT!
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Since you read our “SHOW TIME IS ON THE WAY” write-up in your March/April issue of Bottles and Extras, changes have rapidly been occurring. The host hotel, the Sheraton, is about “busting at the seams” as the reservations increase. There are alternative hotels on the FOHBC’s Hotel and Special Events page in the paperwork that some of you have already received. You can always go in and check out more information by viewing the FOHBC website www.fohbc.com. For those of you who live in one of the western states and happen to be checking out antique stores, look for the following free publications: The “West Coast Peddler” is considered to be the oldest journal of antiques, arts and collectibles published and distributed free in antique stores throughout the Pacific Coast states. The other is “Today’s Vintage,” which is also widely distributed monthly throughout the western states. Why are we mentioning these two publications? We mention this to call your attention to the fact that this show will be an excellent chance for you to meet with some new collectors and dealers. The two advertising publications above represent only a portion of the avenues taken to advertise this show. We can guarantee that most of you, plus many others, are already aware of this year’s FOHBC National Show in Pomona, California. You may already be planning to make it a combination show/vacation get-away package. The feeling is that if you come out this far, you may as well plan on taking advantage of the trip. Some of you may never have experienced California before. The weather is predictable. You don’t have to plan around “rainy weather” in California. Dress cool and comfortable for the show, but also remember to bring empty, divided boxes (liquor stores will gladly give those to you) or bags in which to store your new acquisitions for the trip back home. We have received additional information regarding the seminars. You will have an opportunity to learn about the desert from Stan Paher’s seminar on Death Valley in California and Southern Nevada Ghost towns. This will be another way to absorb “The Western Experience.” Additionally, we have learned that LAHBC President Dave Maryo is going to be the one to enlighten us on Southern California Wineries. We can say without hesitation that you can expect to find some of the dealers’ finest merchandise at this show. There definitely will be rare western whiskeys, bitters and fine western flasks. There should be cathedral pickles, black glass, patent medicines, Hutchinson sodas, inks, Mason jars and poisons. If you are thinking “pontiled,” we are confident that some dealers from across the states will be bringing their best to catch your attention. We will not attempt to provide a long list of collectible delights. You can check this out for yourselves and be surprised! Hang in there and watch for another update of this big event!
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Classified Ads FOR SALE For Sale: Super rare Red Wing Butterfly churn in a 4 gallon size in excellent condition. It is the only one known and has been authenticated by the Red Wing Collectors Society. The price is $10,000 plus shipping and insurance. For more information and pictures, contact: Thomas Noel, 1385 Norsworthy Rd, Kirksey, KY 42054, ph: (270) 489-2440, email: jugging@ mchsi.com. The Glass Artisan’s Bottle/Glass Cleaning Service
Many years of cleaning service with dealer and collector satisfaction Your items are treated as if they were my own and with close attention to detail Prices start at $15 Contact STEVE (414) 281-5885 glassartisan@yahoo.com
For Sale: Breaking 2009 News! 6th Edition, “Bottles: Identification & Price Guide” – The new edition of the “Bottle Bible” is available for all collectors – 600 stunning fullcolor photographs – 3 new chapters: “Ginger Beer Bottles”, “Portable Soda Pop Dispensers”, and the “National Bottle Museum, Ballston Spa, NY”; comprehensive price guide: 55 chapters; Comprehensive research guide: history & origin, age identification, digging methods, determining bottle values, trademark identification, club guide, glossary of terms, bibliography, auction houses, and much more. Contact: Mike Polak, PO Box 30328, Long Beach, CA 90853, ph: (562) 438-9209, email: bottleking@earhlink.net, www. bottlebible.com. For Sale or Trade: I.T. dose glasses; Fashion Saloon Jerome, Ariz jug; Cornhill, Tex mini jug; Cripple Creek,
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shot glasses, signs, corkscrews, tokens, and back bar bottles. Contact: Thomas Noel, 1385 Norsworthy Rd, Kirksey, KY 42054, ph: (270) 489-2440, email: jugging@mchsi.com. Wanted: Oregon bottles especially embossed or labeled beer, foods, liquors (pre-1915). Also dairy and pharmacy bottles from Medford, Ashland and Jacksonville (Oregon) areas. Contact: David Scafani, ph: (541) 773-6503, email: scafanind@charter.net
WANTED
Southern Illinois blob top and Hutchinson-style soda bottles. No painted labels Steve Kehrer (618) 410-4121 Kehrer00@charter.net Col. Louisville Liquor House ½ pint coffin flask; Mammoth Springs, Ark rolling pin; Tulsa Okla rolling pin; Buffalo, Dunlap, and Gate, Oklahoma rolling pin. Contact: Bob Alexander, 22 Wimbledon Way, Rogers, AR 72758, ph: (479) 273-9140, email: folkart@balexander.net. For Sale: Pontiled green E. Evans & Bro St. Louis, MO. $3000.00. Email for picture. Contact: Curt Faulkenberry, 9459 Easy, Hillsboro, MO 63050, ph: (636) 797-5220, email: stlbottlebabe@ yahoo.com.
WANTED Wanted: Muskegon County, Michigan bottles that I don’t have. Towns include Bailey, Brunswick, Casnovia, Fruitport, Fruitvale, Holton, Lake Harbor, Lakewood, Michillinda, Montague, Muskegon, Muskegon Hts., North Muskegon, Ravenna, Sullivan, Sylvan Beach, Trent, Twin Lakes, and
Whitehall. Also collect souvenir china and postcards from these same towns. Contact: Elmer Ogg, 1591 Hendrick Rd, Muskegon, MI 49441, ph: (231) 798-7335, emai: elogg@comcast.net Wanted: Antique medicine and other bottles from San Luis Obispo, Atascadeto, Santa Maria and other small towns in the area of California - circa 1800 – 1890, mint. Serious collector. Contact: David Adams, 6206 Ontario Rd, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401, email: polecat1777@yahoo.com Wanted: Stoneware – pre-prohibition advertising jugs, crocks, pitchers, churns, rolling pins from all states and all sizes. Will pay premium prices for Kentucky and Tennessee jugs from small towns and saloons. Also want pre-prohibition
Wanted: Any pontiled/colored Chicago and Illinois sodas. Looking for pontiled Illinois bottles and any advertising stoneware from Illinois, especially Redwing items. Contact: Mike Henrich, email: Illadv1@aol.com. Wanted: St. Louis colored soda bottles – top dollar paid. 1) Wake & Co, 2) Stevens MW (black glass), 3) D. Colver, 4) Adams (blackglass). Beers – 1) E Anheuser & Co (aqua), 2 H Volkman, 3) F Anglebeck, 4) Grone Brewery, 5) Cooper & Conger. Bitters – 1) Eagle, 2) Landsburg, 3) Stonewall Jackson, 4) Bremen, 5) Plass & Co. Any top end pre-1900 St. Louis soda, beer, bitters, whiskey and/or advertising sign. Contact: Curt Faulkenberry, 9459 Easy, Hillsboro, MO 63050, ph: (636) 797-5220, email: stlbottlebabe@ yahoo.com.
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Wanted: Chero-Cola family-size bottles and seltzers. Needed in the upper grades, all bottlers. Contact: Mike Elling, 4042 Sidonia, Sharon, TN 38255, email: cheromike@citlink.net.
Wanted: “Hotchkiss” and “Hale & Parshall” peppermint bottles. (from Lyons, NY; Phelps, NY) Premium paid for labels, unusual colors, and molds. Serious collector for 40 years. Also seeking freeblown glass with New York state origin. Contact: Chris Davis, 522 Woodhill, Newark, NY 14513, ph: (315) 331-4078, email: Cdavis016@ rochester.rr.com.
Wanted: Ephemera related to the bottle glass industry such as catalogs, billheads, and pictures of bottleblowing machines and photos of the interiors of glass factories. Contact: George L Miller, 5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur, DE 19735, ph: (302) 6562823.
Wanted: Louisville, KY pre-prohibition whiskey, beer, and medicine bottles, and also shot glasses. Also interested in Jno H. Graves of San Jose, CA pre-pro bottles and shot glasses. Contact: Donald Graves Meyer, 2918 Lexham Rd, Louisville, KY 40220, ph: 9502) 491-2704, email: dgravesmeyer@yahoo.com.
Wanted: Anna pottery pigs, snake jugs, inkwells, mugs. Also Ft. Smith, Arkansas and Indian Territory jugs. Contact: Bob Alexander, 22 Wimbledon Way, Rogers, AR 72758, ph: (479) 273-9140, email: folkart@ balexander.net.
Wanted: Past issues of Bottles and Extras. If you have issues you would like to dispose of, please consider donating them to the FOHBC. We have new members regularly request old issues. Contact: June Lowry, ph: (816) 318-0160, email: OSUBuckeyes71@aol.com.
Wanted: Delaware and University milk bottles. Contact: Rowland Hearn, 10 Wordsworth Dr, Wilmington, DE 19808, email: (302) 994-2036.
Bottles and Extras
Notice to Members Take advantage of your membership benefits
Use your free for sale and wanted ads
Send to June Lowry 401 Johnston Ct. Raymore, MO 64083 816-318-0160 OSUBuckeyes71@aol.com
Notice for any persons interested in a show in Louisville, Kentucky This letter is to inform everyone that I’m in the process of putting together a new show for the Louisville area. This process is starting with a gathering of names of dealers wanting to set up at this new show. So far, we have a list of about 70 dealers from 7 states on the list. A date has not been set as of yet. We are waiting to get at least one hundred names on this list and then we, the dealers, will select a date that doesn’t coincide with any popular shows that time of year. Then after a date is set, I will get a hall and all the necessary things to get this show on the road. Any dealers who would like to participate in this new Louisville show can visit a new website for getting added to the list. Check out www.midwestbottleshow.com This list so far has some very premier dealer/collector names confirmed already. I’m looking at having a Saturday show with dealers and displays and possibly an auction. Thanks to all who are on the list already and soon Louisville will be back in action. Sincerely, Tom Doligale Crestwood,KY. 502-727-6118
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FOHBC Sho-Biz
Calendar of shows and related events FOHBC Sho-Biz is published in the interest of the hobby. Federation affiliated clubs are connotated with FOHBC logo. Insulator shows (courtesy of Crown Jewels) are indicated with an insulator. Information on up-coming 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 Jesse Sailer, 136 Jefferson St., East Greenville, PA 18041 or E-mail: jsailerbotmags@verizon.net. Show schedules are subject to change. Please call before traveling long distances.
May 1 & 2 Gray, Tennessee State of Franklin’s Antique Bottles & Collectibles Association’s 11th Annual Show & Sale at the Appalachian Fairgrounds in Gray, TN (Johnson City, TN-Bristol, VA area) 150 tables available Friday, May 1st-early buyers ($10.00 admission) & setup (12 noon – 6pm) May 2nd (8am – 2pm) open to the public with FREE admission. Info: Melissa Milner (423) 928-4445 or email: mmilner12@chartertn.net May 2 Perth, Ontario, Canada Ottawa Valley Insulator Club’s annual Show & Sale (10am - 2pm, dealer setup 7am), at the Perth Fairgrounds, 60 Arthur St, Perth, Ontario, Canada Info: Darcy LaFramboise, ph: (613) 5452423, email: dlaraspberry@hotmail.com www.insulators.info/clubs/OVIC. May 3 Antioch, Illinois Antique Bottle Club of Northern Illinois 34th Annual Antique, Collectible and Bottle Show & Sale, (9am - 3pm), at the Antioch Senior Center, 817 Holbeck, Antioch, IL. Free Admission. Featuring Table Top Antiques, Bottles, Postcards, Advertising and Ephemera. Info: Greg Schueneman, 270 Stanley Ave. Waukegan, IL 60085 ph: (847) 623-7572, email: anteak_gramps@yahoo.com May 3 Brick, New Jersey The Jersey Shore Bottle Club’s 37th Annual Show & Sale, (8:30am - 2pm), at the Brick Elks, 2491 Hooper Ave, Brick, NJ. Info: Richard Peal, 720 Eastern Ln, Brick, NJ 08723, ph: (732) 267-2528, email: manodirt@msn.com.
May 3 Whitesboro, New York The Mohawk Valley Antique Bottle Club’s 15th Annual Antique Bottle Show & Sale, (9am - 2:30pm ), at the Utica Curling Club, 8300 Clark Mills Rd, Whitesboro, NY. Info: Peter Bleiberg, 7 White Pine Rd, New Hartford, NY, ph: (315) 735-5430, email: PMBleiberg@aol.com. May 9 Mansfield, Ohio The Ohio Bottle Club’s 31st Annual Manfield Antique Bottle & Advertising Show & Sale, (8am - 2pm, early buyers Friday, 2pm - 6pm), at the Richland County Fairgrounds, Trimble Rd Exit and US Route 30, Mansfield, OH. Info: Bill Koster, PO Box 585, Barberton, OH 44203, ph: (330) 690-2794 May 15 & 16 Cayucos, California The Golden State Insulator Club’s 16th Annual Show & Barbecue (Friday, 2pm 8pm, Saturday, 9am - 3pm), at the Lions Veterans Hall, 10 Cayucos Dr, Cayucos, CA Info: Bob Merzoian, ph: (559) 7816319, email: bobmerzoian@mac.com or Dave Leforge, ph: (909) 783-3423, email: leforge@adelphia.net. May 15 & 16 Columbia City, Indiana 2009 Insulator, Antique and Collectible Show & Sale (Friday, 3pm - 8pm, Saturday, 8am - 4pm), at the Whitley County 4H Fairgrounds, Columbia City, IN. Info: Gene Hawkins, ph: (574) 267-2433, email: gene.hawkins@ mchsi.com or Chuck Dittmar, ph: (260) 485-7669. May 16 Chehalis, Washington
Washington Bottle Collectors Association Annual Spring Insulator, Bottle and Collectible Show & Sale, (9am - 3pm with dealer setup and early admission Friday, May 16 1pm - 7pm), at the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds, Chehalis, WA Info: Robin Harrison, ph: (206) 522-2135 , email: robin3250@comcast.net or Warren Lhotka, ph: (206) 329-8412, email: wlbottleguy@yahoo.com May 16 Huntsville, Alabama The Dixie Jewels Insulator Club Swamp Meet (9:30am - ??) at the home of Ken and Lesa Roberts, Huntsville, AL. Info: Ken Roberts, ph: (256) 6561656, email: kroberts@apprser.com. May 17 Washington, Pennsylvania Washington County Antique Bottle Club’s 35th Annual Show & Sale, (9am - 2pm), at the Alpine Star Lodge, 735 Jefferson Ave, Washington, PA Info: Russ Crupe, 52 Cherry Rod, Avella, PA 15312, ph: (724) 345-3653 or (412) 298-7831, email: heidirus@gmail.com. May 30 Tallahassee, Florida 3rd Annual Tallahassee Antique Bottle Show & Sale, (9am - 3pm), at the North Florida Fairgrounds, Tallahassee, FL, Info: Britt Keen, 1144 Azalea Dr, Tallahassee, FL 32301, ph: (850) 8774490, email: britt_keen@hotmail.com May 30 Coventry, Connecticut Museum of Connecticut Glass Inc’s Annual Show & Sale, (9am - 1pm, early buyers 8am), at the Museum of Connecticut Glass, Route 44 & North River Rd, Coventry, CT. Info: Jan
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(More) Sho-Biz Ratushny, ph: (860) 428-4585, email: janratushny@aol.com June 4 - 7 Grantville (Hershey), Pennsylvania The National Association of Milk Bottle Collectors’ 29th Annual Convention at the Holiday Inn in Grantville (Hershey), Pennsylvania. Info: Penny Gottlieb, 18 Pond Rd, Cos Cob, CT 06807, ph: (203) 869-8411, email: gottmilk@msn.com, website: www.milkbottlecollectors.com. June 5 & 6 Butte, Montana The Montana Bottle Collectors’ Association plans its 8th annual Antique Bottle, Insulator, Collectible and Advertising Show & Sale for June 5 - 6, 2009 at the centrally located Butte Civic Center, 1340 Harrison Ave., Butte, MT. Friday, June 5, dealers in at 3pm with early buyers from 4pm to 8pm. Saturday, June 6, doors are open from 10am to 4 pm. Info: Erich Weber, 3883 Flaxstem St, East Helena, MT 59635, ph: (406) 227-5301, email: eeweber@bresnan.net or Ray Thompson, ph: (406) 273-7780, email: KCThomp@aol.com. June 6 Ballston Spa, New York National Bottle Museum Annual Show & Sale (9:30am - 2:30pm), at the Ballston Spa High School, 220 Ballston Ave, Ballston Spa, NY. Info: National Bottle Museum, 76 Milton Ave, Ballston Spa, NY 12020 ph: (518) 885-7589. June 6 Toledo, Iowa The Hawkeye State Insulator’s 12th Annual Swap Meet, (8am - 4pm), at the Toledo Heights Park - just west of Toledo, IA on Highway 30. Info: Dave Shaw, ph: (641) 484-5463, email: dashaw@mchsi.com.
June 6 Roseville, Ohio Roseville Historical Society Antique Bottle Show & Sale (9am - 3pm), at the Roseville Historical Society Museum Building, 140 S Main, Roseville, OH. Info: Kathy Lynch, ph: (703) 670-8722, email: Roseville_Ohio@yahoo.com. June 6 Mount Brydges, Ontario, Canada Southwestern Ontario 6th Annual Swamp Meet (11am - ??, dealer setup 10:30am), at the Barrett Nicpon residence. Info: Tom Iannelli, ph: (519) 641-0098, email: tiannelli0098@rogers.com or Barrett Nicpon, ph: (519) 264-2572, email: nopcin_tterrab@hotmail.com.
June 13 San Diego, California The San Diego Antique Bottle & Collectibles Show & Sale, (early bird $10 8am, public 9am - 4pm), at the Al Bahr Shrine Temple, 5440 Kearny Mesa Rd, San Diego, CA 92111. Info: Jim Walker, ph: (858) 490-9019, email: jfw@internetter.com June 13 Perkiomenville, Pennsylvania 36th Annual June Insulator Show, 1837 Perkiomenville Rd., Perkiomenville, PA 18074. Info: Claude Wambold, ph: (215) 234-8413, email: acwambold2@ netcarrier.com or Steve Bobb, ph: (610) 539-6533
June 6 Farmington, New Mexico 2009 Bolack B-Square Ranch Insulator Tailgater (9am - ??) at the B-Square Ranch, 3901 Bloomfield Highway, Farmington, NM 87401. Info: Mike Gay, ph: (505) 899-8755, email: cdn102@comcast.net, www.insulators. info/shows/bolack.
June 14 West Hartford, Connecticut Southern Connecticut Antique Bottle and Glass Collectors Association’s 38th Annual Show & Sale (9am - 1pm), at St. Mark’s Parish Center, 467 Quaker Lane South, West Hartford, CT. Info: Bruce Mitchell, ph: (203) 799 - 8570, email : lfranz465@hotmail.com.
June 12 & 13 Aurora, Oregon Oregon Bottle Collectors Association’s Summer Show & Sale (Friday, 1pm - 6pm, Saturday 9am - 3pm), at the American Legion Hall, 3rd and Main St, Aurora, OR. Info: Jim or Julie Dennis, ph: (541) 467-2760, email: jmdennis@hotmail.com.
June 20 Tulsa, Oklahoma The Tulsa Antiques and Bottle Club’s 32nd Annual Bottle Show & Sale (8am - 4pm, dealer setup Friday 12noon - 7pm), Tulsa Fairgrounds inside the Hugh Quick Trip Center building, Tulsa, OK Info: Richard Carr, 4 Gawf Pl, Muskogee, OK 74403, ph: (918) 687-4750.
June 13 Smyrna, Georgia Atlanta 39th Annual Show & Sale (9am - 4pm, early buyers 6am), at the Smyrna Community Center, 200 Village Green Circle, Smyrna, GA Info: Jack Hewitt, 1765 Potomac Court, Lawrenceville, GA 30043, ph: (770) 963-0220, or John Joiner, ph: (770) 502 - 9565, email: propjj@bellsouth.net.
June 27 Weston, West Virginia West Virginia Museum of American Glass Show & Sale, (9am - 2 pm) at the West Virginia Museum of American Glass, 230 Main Ave, Weston, WV. Info: ph: (304) 269-5006, email: wvmuseumofglass@aol.com.
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(More) Sho-Biz June 20 Pomeroy, Ohio Alligator Jacks Flea Market sponsored Antique Bottle Show (setup 8am, show til 4pm). Info: Charlie Perry, ph: (740) 992-5088, email: perry-cola@ suddenlink.net. July 4 & 5 Elsecar, England BBR 19th Annual Summer National Bottle Show & Sale (Saturday, 9am 5pm & Sunday 9am - 3pm), at the Elsecar Heritage Center, Elsecar, England. Info: Alan Blakeman, BBR Elsecar Heritage Center, Nr. Barnsley, S Yorks, S74 8HJ, England, ph: 011-44 1226 745156, email : sales@onlinebbr.com. July 9 - 11 Redwing, Minnesota Red Wing Collectors Society Annual Convention (9am - 1:30pm) at the Red Wing High School, Red Wing, MN. Info: www.redwingcollectors.org. July 10 - 12 Coralville, IA National Insulator Association 40th National Show & Sale at the Coralville Marriot Convention Center, Coralville, IA. Info: Larry Whitlock, 935 W 14th Ave, Marion, IA 52302, ph: (319) 3774708, email: nia2009ia@q.com. July 12 Muncie, Indiana Midwest Antique Fruit Jar & Bottle Club’s LAST Summer Show & Sale (9am - 2pm), at the Horizon Convention Center, 401 S High St., Muncie, IN 47305. Info: Dave Rittenhouse, 1008 S 900 W, Farmland, IN 47340, ph: (765) 468 - 8091, email: rittjman@aol.com or Jean Harbron, ph: (765) 644-4333. July 17 & 18 Ellensburg, Washington Busted Ass Ranch Swap Meet at BAR,
41 Broadview Rd, Ellensburg, WA. Info: Dave Moffatt, ph: (509) 9291719, email: moffattd@charter.net. July 17 & 18 Adamstown, Pennsylvania Shupp’s Grove Bottle Festival (Saturday and Sunday 6am - dark, early buyers Friday 5pm) at Shupp’s Grove, Adamstown, PA. Info: Steve Guion, ph: (717) 262-5557 or Jere Hambleton, ph: (717) 393-5175, email: jshdetector@webtv.net. July 24 & 25 Birmingham, Alabama The Alabama Bottle Collectors, LLC Show & Sale, (Friday - early bird $25 4pm - 8pm, Saturday - public 8am 3pm), at the Bessemer Civic Center, Exit #108 off Interstate 20/59, Bessemer (Birmingham), AL. Info: Tom Lines, PO Box 382831, Birmingham, AL 35238, ph: (205) 987-0650 or (205) 410-2191 (days), email: bluecrab1949@hotmail. com. July 25 Drumheller, Alberta, Canada Western Canadian Insulator Collector Swap & Sale (10am - 2pm), at the HomesteadAntique Museum, Drumheller, Alberta. Info: Lena, ph: (402) 823-3045, email: lbra-man@telusplanet.net. July 25 Leadville, Colorado The Antique Bottle Collectors of Colorado’s Annual Show & Sale (9am - 4pm), at the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum Convention Center, 117 10th St, Leadville, CO. Info: Jim or Barb Sundquist, ph: (303) 674-4658. July 25 Birmingham, Alabama Alabama Bottle Collectors Annual Show & Sale (8am - 3pm), at the Bessemer Civic Center, Exit 108 on I-
20/59, Birmingham, AL Info: Tom Lines, PO Box 382831, Birmingham, AL 35238, ph: (205) 410-2191, email: bluecrab1949@hotmail.com. July 25 Altoona, IA The Iowa Antique Bottleers 40th Annual Show & Sale (9am - 2pm), at the Meadows Events Center, Pairie Meadows Ractrack & Casino, I-80 Exit 142, Altoona, IA. Info: Tom Southard, 2815 Druid Hill Dr, Des Moines, IA 50315, ph: (515) 282- 6901. July 31, August 1 & 2 Pomona, California FOHBC is hosting The Annual National Show at the Pomona Fairplex, 1104 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona, CA 91768, Banquet – July 31 (6pm), Dealer unloading – August 1 (8am – 12 noon), Setup and early admission – August 1 (1pm – 5pm), General admission ($5) – August 2 (9am – 3pm). Info: Pam Selenak, 156 S Pepper St, Orange, CA 92868, ph: (714) 633- 5775, email: pselenak@yahoo.com or R Wayne Lowry, 401 Johnston Ct, Raymore, MO 64083, ph: (816) 318-0161, email: JarDoctor@aol.com August 1 Ulm, Minnesota National Association of Beweriana Advertising Annual Convention (9am - 2pm) at New Ulm Holiday Inn, Ulm, MN. Info: Steve Ketcham, PO Box 24114, Edina, MN 55424, ph: (952) 920 4205, email : steve@antiquebottledepot. com August 1 Chiloquin, Oregon Jefferson State Insulator Club late Summer Swap Meet at Mid Norris’ Insulator Ranch in Chiloquin, OR. Info: Mid Norris, ph: (541) 281- 2715, email: mudhen50@aol.com.
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FOHBC MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY ADDITIONS & CHANGES New Members David & Joan n Adams 1700 S Araby Dr Apt Palm Springs, CA 92264 520-722-5017 polecat1777@yahoo.com California and Missouri medicines Phil Alvarez PO Box 396 Blairstown, NJ 07825 908-362-5339 phillipalvarez@earhlink.net Fruit jars Donald Bergseng 14916 SE Sun Park Ct Vancouver, WA 98683 360-882-3912 bergsengs@comcast.net Dose cups and medicine glass dat a c ollecting Linda Buttstead 8720 36th Ave E Palmetto, FL 34221 941-722-7233 originalSABCA@aol.com Black gl ass, s toneware Deborah C allard 307 Tuscany Rd Baltimore, MD 21210 410-243-2477 dwcallard@verizon.net Hostetters Arlin Cargill 2750 E Highway 97 El Dorado SpringMO 64744 417-876-4989 Missouri bottles and jugs BP Choma 9495 Lenox Crater Ct Las Vegas, NV 89148 702-262-0262 Coin-operated machines, Farbe Bros “Khome Kraft� steins, advertising - beer, liquor, Pepsi
Tom Courts 964 Spanish Moss Dr Pensacola, FL 32506 850-748-3454 thomascourts@hotmail.com Flasks
Jon Lawson 6261 Estrella Ave. San Diego, CA 92120 619-990-5172 karenlawson2@yahoo.com Western glass
Richard Cullison PO Box 1425 Meadview, AZ 86444 928-564-2965 belvacullison@frontier.net
Jeff Levy 215 E 2nd St Pomona, CA 91766 951-217-5101 jeffreystoys@yahoo.com Tokens, medals, toys, postcards, bottles
Keith Evans PO Box 6274 Spring Hill, FL 34611 Lori Turner & John Fox 401 Canaan Rd Pittsfield, ME 04967 207-692-0703 blackfoxtractors@yahoo.com Whiskey and pi ckle bottles Andrew Higgs 4101 Arctic Blvd Ste Anchorage, AK 99503 907-345-8457 ash@northernlanduse.com Historic ar chaeologist Jim R. Jack 63 Dunderberg Rd. Central Valley, NY 10917 845-928-9144 jimbaggs@optonline.net Jenny Johnson PO Box 3281 Soldotna, AK 99669 907-262-0888 izardgal@acsalaska.net Dave Kyle 195 Avenida De Las Flores Thousand Oaks, CA 91360 805-492-1426 dkyle2@verizon.net Figural bi tters
John Matted 105 Thornton Terr WappingersF alls,N Y12590 bottles and i nsulators Charles Musick 1805 Franklin Chariton, IA 50049 641-774-2106 musick1805@iowtelecom.net Bottles and s toneware Tim Schweighart 1123 Santa Luisa Dr. Solana Beach, CA 92075 858-481-8315ACLbot tle kmamargo@sbcglobal.net Tom Strickler 6634 Port Republic Rd Victory Hill Harrisonburg, VA 22801 540-289-5456 tdstrickler@aol.com KZ poisons (embalming) and glass toilet floats Cecil Taylor 601 W 23rd St Independence, MO 64055 816-461-9110 Changes Paul R. Conner Oaks Manor, 461 M arion Ocala, FL 34473 352-804-7218 Figural liquors and bon-bon jars
Rick Hall 2265 Needham Rd. Apt 20 El Cajon, CA 92020 619-698-0167 botlmole@cox.net Westernbot tles, i nsulators Tommy & Sherry Mitchiner 163 Hooks St Gordon, GA 31031 478-628-2373 Sherry_mitchiner@yahoo.com Georgeia blob tops and John Ryan bottles, etc Bobby Vaughn 180 W Main St Westfield, NY 14787 Deanne_vaughn@yahoo.com Bottles and ant iques Gregory Watt 983 Mary Ln Bradwood, IL 60408 815-293-2395 gwatt@madisonwarehouse.com Chicago pontiled and smooth bases odas,am berbl obbe ers Findlay Antique Bottle Club Attn: Richard Elwood, PO Box 1329 Findlay, OH 45839 419-442-3183 fabc@wcoil.com www.fabclub.freeyellow.com
Encourage New Members They are the future of our hobby
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May - June, 2009
2009 FOHBC Ponoma Board Meeting Agenda 1. Hall of Fame-Honor Roll guidelines 2. By Laws revision vote by board to see if we send it off to the general membership. 3. Future show locations for 2010-11-12- 13 4. Dues revision – postal costs 5. Generating advertising income to offset magazine cost. 6. Discuss potential of requesting grants from private foundations and other venues. 7. Plaque and book storage/display options
Bottles and Extras
Advertise your show! Send in your flyers
Bottles and Extras
May - June, 2009
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Bottles and Extras
Membership Benefits The Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors cordially invites you to join a dedicated group of individuals and clubs who collect, study and display the treasured glass and ceramic gems of yesteryear. The Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors (FOHBC) is a non-profit organization supporting collectors of historical bottles, flasks, jars, and related items. 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 Federation publication, Bottles and Extras, is well known throughout the hobby world as the leading publication for those interested in bottles and “go-withs”. The magazine includes articles of historical interest, stories chronicling the hobby and the history of bottle collecting, digging stories, regional news, show reports, advertisements, show listings, and an auction directory. Bottles and Extras is truly the place to go when information is needed about this popular and growing hobby. In addition to providing strength to a national/international organization devoted to the welfare of the hobby, your FOHBC membership benefits include: • A full year subscription the Federation’s official bi-monthly publication, Bottles and Extras • One free ad per yearly membership of 60 words for use for “wanted” items, trade offers, etc. • Eligibility for a discount at FOHBC sponsored shows (National or EXPOs) towards “early admission” or • Access to a knowledge of the world of antique bottle collecting unavailable elsewhere • Contact information for clubs devoted to the study of historical bottles • A forum for your writings, articles, and editorials regarding the hobby • Participation in the nomination and selection of Federation members for the Honor Roll and Hall of Fame • Federation-sponsored writing, show poster, and newsletter-design contests • Free publication assistance for your book or manuscript • And more...
dealer table rent
We encourage Affiliated Bottle Club memberships by offering these additional benefits to your group: • Display advertising in Bottles and Extras at an increased 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, as well as assistance with the creation of your website • Free Federation ribbon for Most Educational Display at your show • Slide programs for use at your club meetings • Participation in Federation sponsored insurance program for your club show and any other club sponsored activities Finally… We need your support! Our continued existence is dependent upon your participation as well as expanding our membership. The Federation is the only national organization devoted to the enjoyment, study, preservation, collection, and display of historical bottles. The FOHBC welcomes individuals who would like to contribute by running for Board positions or by sharing their expertise and volunteering their talents in other areas of interest such as contributions to our publications, assistance with the Federation’s National and EXPO shows, or through membership promotion. 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 Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors, please contact: June Lowry FOHBC Business Manager 401 Johnston Ct. Raymore, MO 64083 816-318-0160 OSUBuckeyes71@aol.com
or visit our home page on the web at www.FOHBC.com