“Bottle Fiends Ranch in Deadwood, Black Hills.”
“Bottle Fiends Ranch in Deadwood Black Hills”
Jeff Wichmann over at American Bottle Auctions recently wrote about Deadwood’s Bottle Bonanza which is a fantastic circa 1876, Deadwood stereo view titled in period manuscript “Bottle Fiends Ranch in Deadwood Black Hills.” With wonderful detail showing dozens of wooden barrels overflowing with empty bottles from a Deadwood saloon.
This got me thinking about just how many different whiskey bottles may have been in those saloon trash barrels. Wow. With good timing, Jeff has just closed his Auction 57 which had some spectacular whiskey cylinder bottles. Jeff always seems to get the best in this area. Great that the west coast dominates in this area as the whiskey bottles I saw this past weekend at the Baltimore Antique Bottle Show were so very different.
Read More: Saloons and Establishments from Yesteryear or Historic photos of saloons and breweries around Utah in the Wild West days or Colorado Area Saloons – Color & Grit
W H I S K E Y B O T T L E S
KELLOGG’S NELSON COUNTY EXTRA KENTUCKY BOURBON WHISKEY WL CO. SOLE AGENTS. We never tire of these red whittled beauties made for the Wilmerding Lowe Company. This one is about as nice as they get. Loaded with whittle and lots of tiny bubbles. Top specimen. Grades a 9.8. Est. $500-$1,000. Winning Bid: $ 750 – American Bottle Auctions – Auction 57 SEE VIDEO
R.T. CARROLL & CO SOLE AGENTS SF. Applied Top. When you talk about rarity in whiskeys they don’t come a whole lot rarer than this beauty. This has nice overall crudity and is generally about perfect. We’ve only sold a couple of these in twenty years, which is about how many we’ve actually seen. A choice western fifth. Made from 1875-1882 it’s a wonder there aren’t more out there. A terrific conditioned western fifth. Grades a 9.8. Est. $3,000-$6,000.
Winning Bid: $ 4,600 – American Bottle Auctions – Auction 57 SEE VIDEO
RENZ’S BLACKBERRY BRANDY 1875-1880. Applied Top. Here is another fairly scarce western fifth in a beautiful yellow with some light olive. Interestingly, these bottles do come in this color a tad more than some other western fifths. This one has a super strong strike and is perfect despite a tiny burst bubble on the right side of the mouth done in manufacturing. Please see video as it is extremely minor. This one will really light up your shelf. Grades a 9.8. Est. $1,000-2,000. Winning Bid: $ 2,600 – American Bottle Auctions – Auction 57 SEE VIDEO
J.C. NIXON & CO SEATTLE W.T. WASHINGTON TERRITORY. 1883-1885. Applied Top. Here we have another extremely hard to find western fifth. This is the first we’ve handled. Without a doubt the Nixon bottle is probably the toughest of the Cutter bottles next to the Puget Sound example. Nixon was president of the Hotaling Company in Seattle during the eighties. The bottle when first looked at appeared perfect. We had heard there was some damage or repair and under black light we were able to find a ¼ by ¼ inch square patch on the mouth. Someone did an amazing job as it is virtually impossible to see without a black light. Otherwise, this bottle is in terrific condition in a medium to light amber. There are a couple minor scratches, but overall this one really shines. For the western fifth collector who has everything, this one grades a 9.8 without the repair. Est. $3,000-$5,000 Winning Bid: $ 6,500 – American Bottle Auctions – Auction 57 SEE VIDEO
TEAKETTLE OLD BOURBON SHEA, BOCQUERAZ & MCKEE AGENTS SAN FRANCISCO w/ Embossed Tea Kettle. 1871-1887. Applied Top. The Teakettle Whiskeys are undoubtedly one of the more popular of the western whiskeys. According to Thomas, they were made for over fifteen years, which would give them plenty of time to sell their brand. This is a fine example with a solid overall strike. Nice light crudity. Overall a wonderful presentation. If you’re looking for a Teakettle that is problem free and displays like a jewel, this might be the one. Grades a 9.7. Est. $500-$800. Winning Bid: $ 1,400 – American Bottle Auctions – Auction 57 SEE VIDEO
JOCKEY CLUB WHISKEY G. W. CHESLEY & CO. S.F. Applied top. Here is one of the more popular sixth-sized western whiskey bottles. This was found under a house that was being demolished and one of the construction workers was smart enough to bring it home. After a couple years he was told it could be worth something and came into our offices. We sure are glad he did. These were made from 1873-1878 and often come with fairly heavy whittle, similar to this. This had loads of grime and some light stain that we had cleaned and the bottle displays beautifully. You are bidding on a perfect condition, nicely whittled, grade 9.6 Jockey Club. Est. $2,000-$3,000. Winning Bid: $ 3,800 – American Bottle Auctions – Auction 57 SEE VIDEO
KENTUCKY GEM SOUR MASH COPPER DISTILLED WHISKEY AGENTS TG COCKRILL & CO. SAN FRANCISCO. 1872-1879. The Kentucky Gem is one of the most sought after western fifths in today’s market. Cockrill was quite the entrepreneur and actually the chief of police in San Francisco at one time. This conflict between public servant and whiskey producer became a controversy. Once it was revealed that Governor Booth was also a liquor dealer, things quieted down. After his political career, Cockrill became a salesmen for N.Van Bergen. It is believed there are less than five of these known. This was found in a remote area of Nevada. There is some damage, better explained in the video, which entails a ding on the corner base edge and a no harm open bubble. Est. $7,000-$10,000. Winning Bid: $ 6,000 – American Bottle Auctions – Auction 57 SEE VIDEO
