Nice Turner Brothers Tintype
16 October 2011
Jeff Noordsy (visit Jeff and Holly Noordsy website) sent me this really cool tintype picture. I added my only example of a Turner Brothers square though I have a run of Turner Brothers barrels. My example came from American Bottle Auction 43 (Grapentine III), Lot #863, December 2007.
“Recently found this ultra cool tintype of two gents playing cards with a Turner Brothers case bottle on the table between them…Jeff”
Turner Brothers case bottle in Tintype (typical reversed image)
The Carlyn Ring and W.C. Ham listing in Bitters Bottles for the square is as follows:
TURNER BROTHERS / NEW YORK, BUFFALO, NY / SAN FRANCISCO. CAL. // f // f // f // 9 3/4 x 2 1/2 (7 1/2) Square, Olive amber and Olive green, LTC and LTCR, Applied mouth, Rare. Circa 1859 – 1865
There are at least two different variants of this embossing often referred to as the “Three line variant”. These bottles were used for bitters and other products. Buffalo Directory 1859, Oroville, California newspaper 1865.
Label: Portraits of three men at top and bottom of the label. Two…of a wine-glassful taken three times a day is certain remedy for dyspepsia, will remove all Biliousness from the Stomach, prevent the engendering of Fever and Ague, Give a … and strengthen the whole system. Prepared by Turner Bros. New York, Buffalo San Francisco.
Note: The Turner Brothers were listed as soda water manufacturers as early as 1850 in Buffalo New York. By 1853 they had opened a branch depot in San Francisco and were listed as syrup and cordial manufacturers. By 1858 they are pushing their Ginger Wine, Forest Wine Bitters and a Vegetable Bitters in newspaper advertising. Even though the Turner’s manufactured many products, most Western collectors believe that the Turners bottle contained the Forest Wine Bitters product. It would be my guess that the bottle was used for all of the products that they marketed. Just slap a different paper label on the old square for whatever the contents and you were good to go!
For more information on Turner Brothers visit Western Bitters News.
Turner Brothers – Meyer Collection
Turner Brothers & American Bottle Auction Grapentine Collection Catalog – Meyer Collection
