Thad Waterman “Warsaw” Stomach Bitters – Figural Cannon Barrel, Lighthouse or House Roof?
21 March 2012 (R•053015)
Today I add the next bottle to my series of Figural Cannon Barrels or Transitional Cannon Barrels that are thought by some to be reminiscent of other forms such as Lighthouses or Bells. It is tough to say exactly what the bottle designer or client had in mind when making the Warsaw Stomach Bitters without documentary proof such as the patent drawing, label and/or advertising for the subject bottle. Like I said previously with the Castilian Bitters and the Brown’s Castilian, I group these types of bottles together in my collection and call them Transitional Cannon Barrels. See new information below documenting that this product is from New Orleans.
Bottle has a “steep roof” because the Polish population which centered in Chicago had houses with steep roofs so snow would not stick.
Historic City of Gdansk, Poland
I can find very little information on this bottle other than what is printed in Carlyn Ring and W.C. Ham Bitters Bottles. What they note actually adds to the mystery when they say “Bottle has a “steep roof” because the Polish population which centered in Chicago had houses with steep roofs so snow would not stick”. Where did Chicago come from? Polish too? The “WARSAW” name leads us there but why is “WARSAW” with quotation marks?R/H also says an example was found at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Wow.
Example found at the mouth of the Mississippi River.
Look at the Quotation Marks around “WARSAW”
The nickname Thad is typically short for the name Thaddeus which is not a very popular name now as noted on census forms and name popularity charts. It looks like a rather serious decline in popularity from 1920 but possibly higher in 1860 or so.
This is a GREAT bottle and extremely tough to get. As usual, I welcome more information so I can add to and embellish this post.
“THADS. WATERMAN / S / ((WARSAW)) – STOMACH BITTERS”, (W-54.5), American, ca. 1865 – 1875, medium amber, 8-sided body, 10 7/8”h, smooth base, applied mouth. This is one of three examples dug in New Orleans about 20 years ago. To our knowledge none have been found since. – Glass Works Auctions January 2013
The Carlyn Ring and W.C. Ham listing in Bitters Bottles is as follows:
W 54.5 THAD WATERMAN WARSAW STOMACH BITTERS, Circa 1870 – 1875
THAD WATERMAN / “WARSAW” // f // f // // STOMACH BITTERS // f // f //
10 7/8 x 3 1/8
8-sided, Amber and green, LTCR, Applied mouth, Very rare
Bottle has a “steep roof” because the Polish population which centered in Chicago had houses with steep roofs so snow would not stick.
Example found at the mouth of the Mississippi River.
NEW MATERIAL (03 September 2012)
Ferdinand,
Regarding the Thad Waterman Warsaw Bitters, I suspect it is fitting that the example you show was found at the mouth of the Mississippi since it is a New Orleans bottle. I haven’t sorted out all the details but found enough online to document the product. It appears Thad was a well known liquor dealer in New Orleans. It is not clear why he chose another liquor business (Colomb, Brooks & Co.) to act as agent for the product, but he did. The attached items (see below) give a little insight into the bitters. One is a page from the 1869 New Orleans Directory that certainly alludes to the Warsaw Bitters, since it uses Waterman’s name.
The other attachment (see below), from the New Orleans Times Picayune of April 8, 1869, which is from a long article describing displays at the third annual state fair in New Orleans. Colomb, Brooks & Co. entered a display of “Waterman’s Warsaw bitters.” That about clinches it. I’ll leave it to others to fill in the remaining blanks, for which there are plenty. I am too busy focusing on California bottles and will probably never finish all I want to cover.
Sincerely,
Eric McGuire
WATERMAN BITTERS, 1869 New Orleans advertisement – submitted by Eric McGuire
WATERMAN’S WARSAW BITTERS, New Orleans 1869 exhibition notice – submitted by Eric McGuire
W.T.B. Waterman’s Celebrated Tonic Bitters advertisement – The Times Picayune, Sunday, Mach 24, 1872
THAD WATERMAN WARSAW STOMACH BITTERS – Meyer Collection
THAD WATERMAN WARSAW STOMACH BITTERS – Meyer Collection
THAD WATERMAN WARSAW STOMACH BITTERS – Meyer Collection
(L-R) WARSAW BITTERS, BROWN’S CASTILIAN, SOL FRANK’S PANACEA BITTERS, CASTILIAN BITTERS and a GLOBE BITTERS – Meyer Collection
Read Further: R. & G. A. Wright – Great Gun Cologne
Read Further: General Scotts Artillery Bitters – The Ultimate Cannon Barrel Figural
Read Further: Tobias Barto and his Great Gun Bitters – Reading, PA
Read Further: Figural Cannon Bottles – J T GAYEN / ALTONA
Read Further: A. M. Bininger & Co. Figural Cannon
Read Further: Sol Frank’s Panacea Bitters – Great Form
Read Further: “the Buchanan Cannons”
Read Further: Brown’s Castilian Bitters – Transitional Cannon Barrel Figural
Read Further: Castilian Bitters – Brown & Embree Proprietors – New York
I wish I had some additional information to offer about this bottle but frankly, I’d never even heard of it before! Thanks, Ferd, for a very enlightening, thought-provoking series about the Cannon Barrels and related bottles and, as usual, the great photographs that are almost as good as seeing the bottles in person.
Thanks Mike. Really appreciate your support, comments and additional material you have provided. F