Cullet and Slag Glass Information

Put this in the “Learn something new every day” file…

Incoming email this morning. I put the question up on Early American Glass on facebook and quickly received the following comments from Charles Flint and Steven James Anderson.

Howdy Ferd & Jeff (Wichmann),

Can you guys please help me find an old picture of a pile of cullet or slag glass? It was commonly used in the early glass houses for the manufacturing of insulators. I need some sort of picture that depicts the fact lesser quality glass could be used to press an insulator versus blowing a bottle. I’ve searched on-line for something and cannot come up with anything to save my life! A scanned picture from a book would work too, but I keep striking out there also…

Any and all help is greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks guys, DB

From Charles Flint:

I don’t think most 19th century Glass Factories could afford cullet. I believe they only purchased cullet for rare colors that they didn’t have formulas for and most of that cullet came from Europe. I doubt any of the bottle and utilitarian glass factories would use cullet. Colors came from different minerals added to the quartzite (silica). I think only the glass factories that made stained glass wanted the rarest colors added to the marbleized batch so they would only purchase in small amounts of odd color cullet.

From Steven James Anderson

Good morning Ferd, Cullet was used to save on raw materials and energy, as it would help the batch of melting silica/soda lime mixture “flux” together more efficiently. Early glass houses would pay people for their broken glass by the pound, to aid in their efforts of “batchmaking”. Slag is the impurities that don’t really mix in, and the junk that gets separated during and after the batch is used. The fact that there is so much unmelted silica (referred to as “snow” by insulator collectors) and swirled color in many insulators, is due to the fact that they were often first out of the batch, since high quality was not a priority. Cullet is not really found per se, as it was constantly used. Chunks of slag are found, because it was the tail end junk of the mix, usually to impure to use. “Slag glass” as it became an art form in itself, was purposely mixed different colors of glass, like pouring several colors of paint together in a pan, and using it randomly.
Really, Cullet is what we find when we go digging, and everything is broken :o( I don’t know if this was helpful, but I know Charlie Flint and some others do have collected pieces of slag they have posted before. Good luck on your mission, Steve PS: Sorry Ferd, I had an early Brookfield somewhere, chock full of unmelted silica, but can’t seem to put my hands on it amidst all the collected “stuff”.

From Charles Flint:

Old Picture of Cullet or Slag Glass Slag pictures (see below)

The two pieces of green slag is from the Lenox Glass Works. circa 1870-1890s. The blue/green slag came from the Cummington, MA Glass Works which I know nothing about.

From Charles Flint:

“There were ads for old glass by glass works.” But I think that was rare and by isolated glass factories. The sand for making glass was reasonable but transporting was very expensive. When the Sandlake / Rensselaer Glass Works in NY blew up in 1852 they salvaged as much as they could and rebuilt it in Berkshire Village, MA because it was closer to the quartzite sand source. That factory was up and running in 1854 to about 1908. They ran out of charcoal for fuel and had to bring coal in by RR and that was very expensive and couldn’t compete with glass works closed to the coal fuel source. This is a fabulous book to read if your a glass historian … http://books.google.com/books/about/The_Berkshire_Glass_Works.html?id=fXEUE2-hFJ0C

From Charles Flint:

Trace Element Constraints on the Source of Silica Sand Used by the Boston and Sandwich Glass Co.  www.historycooperative.org

NJ3: White sand from a meter-scale lens that occurs in beige, pebbly sand at Menantico Ponds wildlife management area, Millville; these white sand lenses are very white on the surface but below a few mm in the ground are dark grey due to organic-rich, muddy material (N39º22’02.6″ W74º59’51.8″).

*see Warren Friedrich comment below

Read more: Bottle and Glass Shards – Pieces of Wisdom

Posted in Glass Companies & Works, Glass Makers, Insulators, Questions, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Barrel Series – Old Sachem Bitters and Wigwam Tonic


From an old Indian recipe in possession of the family of the proprietor for upwards of a century is now offered to the public as one of the most healthy and wholesale beverages extant and as a tonic is unsurpassed.

OLD SACHEM BITTERS AND WIGWAM TONIC

08 July 2012 (R•131515) (R•091516) (R•080718) (R•082618)

Apple-Touch-IconAOld Sachems – No better time than now to review my favorite figural barrel. This brand has the great indian chief name, the New York locale, the balanced form, production history and comes in some great colors as you can see from my line-up above. It may also have been the first figural bitters right up there with the Constitution Bitters out of New York. Still working to determine this.

When I find a distinct color that I do not have, I get so excited that I can not even put it into words. I move the bottles around like chess pieces, trying to find the right partners. I also find myself constantly looking at the run for spiritual enlightment. I even nap in a room and fall asleep watching the colors change as the sun and clouds move throughout the day. Nirvana. Honestly, I also make many errors, like when I travel back from a show or receive a special delivery of a new Old Sachems, only to find out that the greatly anticipated color does not fit in with my run, usually because it is so similar to another.

Now look at the olive color Old Sachems, 2nd from the right in the three pictures above. This is new. Unveiled here today. Ex: John Feldmann. This is the first bottle I am posting from the large Bitters bottle purchase in mid June from John.

From the best we can tell, this barrel first appeared around 1857 or so.

Old Sachem Bitters sitting on center top shelf of a Thompson & Co. Grocer ad in 1860 – Image provided by Ted Krist

Old Sachem Bitters arriving in Honolulu, Hawaii – Polynesian, Saturday, November 12, 1859

Here is a collection of images and favorites from my collection, my photo archives and some of my bottle collecting friends.

Old Sachem Bitters and Wigwam Tonic – Wm. Goodrich, New York Geo. Hunnewell, agent, New York lithograph of Sarony, Major & Knapp, 449 Broadway, N. York. circa 1859. Print showing a Native American man, possibly a chief, full-length portrait, standing, facing right, holding a spear in left hand; in the background are the tee-pees of a Native village during an assault on the village – Library of Congress

OldSachem_Nashville_Union_and_American_Thu__May_9__1861_

Old Sachem Bitters and Wigwam Tonic advertisement – Nashville Union and American, Thursday, May 9, 1861

Old Sachem Bitters and Wigwam Tonic advertisement – The Indiana State Sentinel, Wednesday, July 31, 1861

The Carlyn Ring and W.C. Ham listing in Bitters Bottles is as follows:

O 46  OLD SACHEM BITTERS AND WIGWAM TONIC
OLD SACHEM (au) / BITTERS / AND / WIGWAM TONIC ( ad ) // c //
L…Old Sachem Bitters and Wigwam Tonic, Wm. Goodrich,
Proprietor, George Hunnewell, Agent, 145 Water Street, New York
9 1/2″ x 2 1/4 (8 1/8)
Round Barrel, 10-10, NSC, Applied mouth, Amber, Puce, Apricot, and Plum, Common
Yellow and Amethyst, Rare; Green, Very Rare, Aqua with and without Rough pontil mark, Very rare; Aqua with Metallic pontil mark, Extremely rare; Amber and Gold with Rough pontil mark, Very rare

There are a number of variants of this bottle which have slightly differing embossing pattern, and slight differences in the diameter of the bottle.

Label: From an old Indian recipe in possession of the family of the proprietor for upwards of a century is now offered to the public as one of the most healthy and wholesale beverages extant and as a tonic is unsurpassed. Sold by principal grocers, druggists and hotels throughout the union. Endorsed by a professor at Yale College. Drug
Catalog: 1871, Schieffelin New Haven Daily News, April 7, 1859, Harpers Weekly, October 8, 1859.

OldSachems_BB

Color example for Old Sachems Bitters and Wigwam Tonic – photograph Bitters Bottles

George Goodwin began manufacturing patent medicines in the 1840’s at 76 Union in Boston. Around 1850, he and Dr. John O. Langley of Langley’s Bitters became partners and in 1854, moved to 99 Union.

By 1857, the firm was named Geo. C. Goodwin & Co., and had taken in William B. Hibbard as a junior partner. Goodwin retired in 1859 and his son Charles C. Langley, and Hibbard ran the business. In 1863, they moved to 38 Hanover. Eventually the company became on of Boston’s largest wholesale drug firms.

Old Sachem Bitters Headquarters almanac illustration from Merrick & Moore. Image from Ted Krist. The “T S, X C, M R, 1858” copy exists here too. Still need to figure that out.

1899 Business stationery of Geo. C. Goodwin & Co., patent medicine warehouse, Boston Ma. – Library of Philadelphia

OLD SACHEM BITTERS AND WIGWAM TONIC BITTERS from the famous Carlyn Ring sale

OLD SACHEM BITTERS AND WIGWAM TONIC color run – Meyer Collection

OLD SACHEM BITTERS AND WIGWAM TONIC in a light copper peachy color, Spectacular bottle. Hard to
describe color. Light tone, crystal clear, light weight. Strong embossing. Ex: Mike Henness.
– Meyer Collection

OLD SACHEM BITTERS AND WIGWAM TONIC, Killer bottle in sage green. Whittled. Literally attic mint having come out of an attic of a 1700’s house in South Glastonbury, Connecticut many years ago along with many other bottles. Pick of the litter. Picked up at Baltimore show from Noel Thomas – Meyer Collection

OLD SACHEM BITTERS AND WIGWAM TONIC – Light topaz w/apricot overtones, crudely applied square collar mouth. Rare color. Great window bottle. Purchased from Jeff Noordsy – Meyer Collection

OLD SACHEM BITTERS AND WIGWAM TONIC – Striking rasberry puce color. Really jumps out with other Old Sachems. Lots of character. – Meyer Collection

OLD SACHEM BITTERS AND WIGWAM TONIC – Pure yellow, purchased at the Baltimore Antique Bottle Show from Jeff and Holly Noordsy in 2003 – Meyer Collection

O46_OldSachemGrayGreen_BBS

OLD SACHEM BITTERS AND WIGWAM TONIC in a moss green – Bitters Bottles Supplement


OLD SACHEM BITTERS AND WIGWAM TONIC barrels – Dick Watson Collection

OLD SACHEM BITTERS AND WIGWAM TONIC barrels in an array of colors. – HistoricBottles.com

Legendary run of OLD SACHEM BITTERS AND WIGWAM TONIC figural barrels from the John Feldmann collection (These are John’s darker colors, the picture below shows the lighter barrels)

Legendary run of OLD SACHEM BITTERS AND WIGWAM TONIC figural barrels from the John Feldmann collection (These are John’s lighter colors, the picture above shows the darker barrels)

OLD SACHEM BITTERS AND WIGWAM TONIC figural barrel from the great Sandor Fuss collection. I have seen this bottle three times now in person and I have to admit, this is a killer. You have to see it in person. Tones of character and the citron – ginger ale color is incredible. This bottle was publicly announced in a sale from John Pastor to Sandor. Ex: Mike Henness.

oldsachemssmallpontil_ferraro

“OLD SACHEM / BITTERS / AND / WIGWAM TONIC”, (Ring/Ham, O-46), New York, ca. 1855 – 1865, bluish aqua barrel, 9 1/2”h, open pontil, applied mouth. Perfect condition, full of seed bubbles. This is the extremely rare smaller size aqua pontiled bottle. As difficult that it is to acquire the larger size aqua bottle, it is much harder to find the smaller one! Purchased from Mike Henness at the 2007 Auburn, California Bottle Show. – Glass Works Auctions #112 – Bob Ferraro Collection – Session 1


Read More on Figural Barrels

Barrel Series – Turner Brothers New York & San Francisco

Barrel Series – The Mysterious Blue Barrel

Barrel Series – Original Pocahontas Bitters

Figural Barrel Series – Hall’s Bitters

Greeley’s Bourbon Whiskey Bitters – aka Vertical Greeley’s

Peach colored Bourbon Whiskey Bitters added to Color Run

Greeley’s Bourbon Bitters – A Great Boston Bitters Barrel

Posted in Bitters, Collectors & Collections, Color Runs, Figural Bottles, Medicines & Cures, Tonics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Scott Grandstaff – Tooling Around

I’m dying to get to Reno. Thinking of looking forlorn on the side of the road with a big Expo sign and teardrops, and “have a little gas money” at the bottom.

I have to admit, everyday is a surprise when I receive emails from collectors talking about their collections and interests. Not only do I get to look at some great pictures but I get to read the emails which paint a pretty good picture too. Below you will see some correspondence and links from Scott Grandstaff.

Please make sure you check out his web site Tools and read about his home made tools. I really enjoyed this. Thanks Scott. Reno or bust.. man!

 

[email #1]

Hi Ferdinand

Thank you for taking the Federation presidency!! Thank you very much! It’s a fine and noble you are doing, Bravo! Let me know if you need something?

I just saw your Peachridge site. Lovely!! So glad you are doing it and starting the virtual museum. Since you are rounding up pix, I have a few. These are posted on the web for one temporary reason or another. I have others. But unless you need them uploaded, they would be attached pix. Not huge, couple hundred K at most. No megabytes. 🙂

yours Scott (Grandstaff)

[email #2]

Yo F

Good to hear from you too. OK here are some of my more favorite pix. The sun was in a good mood these days. 🙂 No great rarities, but good pix are hard to get! I have more of course, ever since Bottles and Extras I knew there would always be times we couldn’t get decent art. Having a stash of pictures to lean on was paramount.

At one time I built an “electric chair”. An old chair frame with frosted glass in the seat and back and assorted lights I could swap around underneath and in back. I still have some old b&w prints that came out pretty arty. They should, for all the film I burned! The only real consolation was the old Frodshams photo in Medford, Oregon. Not only the best lab in 3 states, but old Frodsham only hired the prettiest girls in the whole area. Like to kill me first 2 steps through the door, and only got worse from there. hehheeh

Oh, forgot to tell you, the reason for the little labeled Fellows from last time? I am one. Also the F in the bottom of the cross on Old Valley? That’s Fellows too. Fellows, Fellowes and Fellers are all the same, depending on where they lived. (obviously “them Fellers” was down south where my immediate family is from, so I am technically a Fellers.)

The famous Fellows Syrup of Hyposhosphites was the branch that wanted to stay loyal to the King and emigrated to Canada during the revolution.

I’m dying to get to Reno (FOHBC 2012 Reno Expo) . Thinking of looking forlorn on the side of the road with a big Expo sign and teardrops, and “have a little gas money” at the bottom. Think that’d do it? Heheheehehe

The tools thing started when I was very young and never stopped. I needed tools. Old tools were basically free and higher quality than new if you could fix them up and make them work again. So I got into it and from there began to redesign old ones and eventually create new designs of my own. Over the years there began to be first some collectors at all, and then more collectors, and finally national as well and regional groups forming. What I had always done as a hobby for free caught on, and “art tools” of very high quality are being made all around the globe now. I got to meet and help start many of the top names, since I was already around. Strictly on the web of course, I seldom ever leave home.

If you are really bored, here are more. These are pretty much all original design. I don’t copy. http://users.snowcrest.net/kitty/sgrandstaff/images/hometools/. My life is odd. As long as I hold still and don’t move much, I have everything I really need and pretty comfortable.

But outside in the world I am just another old broke hippie (who doesn’t look the part, shhhhhhhhh ;^) .

yours Scott


Posted in Collectors & Collections, Cologne, Druggist & Drugstore, Flasks, Fruit Jars, Inks, Medicines & Cures, Scents | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Barrel Series – Turner Brothers New York & San Francisco

 TURNER BROTHERS | NEW YORK

07 July 2012 (R•081414 with information from Ann Huberty Duncan who is a direct descendent of the Turner Brothers) (R•091516 – Ferraro example) (R•042019 – 3 part advertisement) (R•091219 – Advertising Cover)

Apple-Touch-IconAThe Turner Brothers New York is an exciting figural barrel that comes in some wonderful amber and green colors with tonal shifts left and right. There are also variants with the embossing copy positioning and size of the typography. You can notice these variances in the examples I have posted further below. There is also a Turners Brothers square bottle that had a label for Turner’s Forest Wine Bitters. Some think the barrel contained whiskey while the square contained bitters. What is great about the Turner name is that it ties directly into New York and California.

The six (some say five and this is incorrect) Turner brothers were manufacturing soda water, ginger wines, berry wines, and medicinals in Buffalo, New York as early as 1847. By 1853, they had opened a branch depot in San Francisco and were listed as syrup and cordial manufacturers.

The Turner Brothers advertised in the October 1858 Nevada Journal newspaper that they were the manufacturers of Turner’s Ginger Wine, Forest Wine Bitters, syrups, cordials and an unrivalled Vegetable Bitters. Sometime in 1865, the Turner Brothers sold the business to the firm of McMillan and Kester. Thereafter McMillan & Kester started advertising that they were the proprietors of the Turner brands. (source Rick Simi – Western Bitters News)

Here below is an advertisement from the Santa Cruz Weekly Sentinel from November 29, 1862. The top third advertises Turner’s Forest Wine Bitters. The middle portion advertises Turner’s Ginger Wine while the bottom third is being used for Turner’s Essence of Jamaica Ginger. The products were sold Wholesale by Turner Brothers, Corner Washington and Franklin streets, New York, Niagara street, Buffalo, N.Y. and Corner of Broadway and Front streets in SanFrancisco.

The Turner progenitor was Duncan Turner who emigrated from Dumbartonsire, Scotland  to Canada and then New York City in 1818. His wife Mary Shepard Clark had previously emigrated to NY from England 3 years earlier.

In 1819 Duncan and Mary moved to rural Delaware County, New York where other Scots had established farms. Mary and Duncan had six sons and one daughter. (Malcolm, Margaret [known as Ellen], James, Thomas, Archibald, Robert, George). They established themselves as tenant farmers in an undeveloped area that still had Indians living nearby. All the children were born in Delaware County, N.Y., but, unfortunately, baby Margaret died at age 1.5 years in 1925. She was buried in the Kortright Parish Church cemetery, Kortright, N.Y. The only source for the death of Duncan Turner in 1834 at age 50 has been the Turner obelisk in a Brooklyn cemetery. According to the 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Mary Turner (widowed) and her sons were living in Buffalo, running a spirits, wines, and cordials factory. By the mid 1850s, the brothers had also established additional factories in San Francisco and New York City. Robert ran the San Francisco business; James was in charge of the factory in Buffalo, New York; and Malcolm was president of the Turner Brothers factory in New York City. George, Thomas, and Archibald were partners.

After selling the wine, spirits, cordials business, the Turner Brothers established the Turner Brothers Bank headquartered in New York City, sometime in the mid 1860s during the railroad expansion and boom. Later, Malcolm Turner traveled to Europe to establish overseas bank branches in Germany, Paris and London. As managers of the overseas branches of the Turner Brothers’ Bank, Robert and Rebecca Turner lived in Europe in the early 1870s.

Later, due to having overextended their investments in the railroad boom. the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in Europe, and the U.S. Panic of 1873, the Turner Brothers were forced to declare bankruptcy in 1876. Archibald and Thomas Turner sold their partnerships prior to the declaration of bankruptcy and thereby saved themselves from insolvency. Archibald later became president of several banks in NYC.

The Turner Brothers (note there are 6) are each depicted on this Civil War era scrip note payable in Buffalo or New York City. The portraits are extraordinarily realistic and were engraved by W.L. Ormsby. The note also bears the New York Bank Note Co. imprint who did the actual printing. – PCS Currency

Turner Brothers 1883 advertising cover. Manufacturers of Ginger Wine, Bitters, Syrup, Cordials, & Native Wines. Illustrations of New York City, Buffalo and San Francisco offices. – Joe Gourd Collection

TurnerBrosBuildingBuffaloNY

Niagara Street, between Virginia and Carolina, the Turner Bros building (originally built as a sarsaparilla, gingers and bitters manufacturer in 1852) – Buffalo Rising

Full page Turner Brothers advertisement in Colville’s San Francisco Directory 1856-1857 – San Francisco Public Library

TurnersRegulator

Use Turner’s Regulator for Health trade card, Turner Bros & Co., San Francisco, Cal

TURNER BROTHERS listingThomas’ Buffalo City Directoty


T 67 L  Turner’s Bitters, Circa 1858 – 1870 L . . . Turner’s Bitters TURNER BROTHERS / NEW YORK ( ) // c // 9 7/8 x 3 1/2 x 2 1/4 Barrel, 10-10 Amber and Green, NSC

TURNER BROTHERS NEW YORK, figural barrel, labeled bitters. Yellow shading to apricot puce. Smooth base, applied disc top. Hammered with whittle and a seedy crude example in a great color, shading from yellow amber in the top 1/3 of the bottle to apricot puce. 9.75”. Meyer Collection (Galleria Auction 2006)

TURNER BROTHERS NEW YORK, figural barrel, American Bottle Auctions – Grapentine III Auction 43 – Pure olive green, Applied top, smooth base, loaded with bubbles and overall whittle and crudity. – Meyer Collection (Notice the companion TURNER BITTERS square)

TURNER BROTHERS NEW YORK, figural barrel, a very strong example in reddish amber – Meyer Collection (American Bottle Auctions)

A TURNER BROTHERS NEW YORK figural whiskey bottle, America, 1860 to 1880. Barrel form, golden yellow with an olive tone, applied square collared mouth – smooth base. – Norman C. Heckler & Co.

TURNER BROTHERS NEW YORK whiskey figural bottle, America, 1860 to 1880. Barrel form, golden amber with a red tone turning more yellow in the upper portion of the bottle, applied square collared mouth – smooth base. –  Norman C. Heckler & Co.

TURNER BROTHERS NEW YORK figural glass whiskey bottle, America, 1860 to 1880. Barrel form, black amethyst, applied square collared mouth and smooth base. Bright, clean example with strong embossing. Rare color.

turnerbrothersbarrel_ferraro

“TURNER BROTHERS / NEW YORK”, (Denzin, TUR-13), New York, ca. 1860 – 1870, yellow amber with good olive tone barrel, 10 1/8”h, smooth base, applied mouth. A tiny flake is off the top edge of the lip. Crude pebbly glass, lots of air bubbles. Acquired from Glass Works Auctions, October 20, 2003, lot 114. – Glass Works Auctions #112 – Bob Ferraro Collection – Session 1


Two men drinking and playing cards with a TURNER BROTHERS NEW YORK square bitters – tintype


Read More on Figural Barrels

Barrel Series – The Mysterious Blue Barrel

Barrel Series – Original Pocahontas Bitters

Figural Barrel Series – Hall’s Bitters

Greeley’s Bourbon Whiskey Bitters – aka Vertical Greeley’s Peach colored Bourbon Whiskey Bitters added to Color Run

Greeley’s Bourbon Bitters – A Great Boston Bitters Barrel

Posted in Bitters, Collectors & Collections, Color Runs, Figural Bottles, Whiskey | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Snuff Jars from the Jane & Charles Aprill Collection (and some more)

Snuff Jars from the Jane & Charles Aprill Collection (and some more)

06 July 2012

Charles Aprill continues to dazzle us all with the pictures he keeps posting. We know the Aprills from New Orleans for the best of blue glass (Read: The Charles & Jane Aprill Blue Gallery). Just when you think you are getting a handle with the blues, Charles starts posting picture of some drop-dead, killer snuff jars. Then pictures start showing up with these great labels on the jars. I have put together a few examples to illustrate my point. Charles, I can not wait to visit and see your collection!

Read More: Snuff Bottles

Five snuff bottles. All with paper labels complete or near complete. – Charles Aprill

Unembossed HONEY-DEW SCOTCH SNUFF – GOODWIN & BROTHER, NEW YORK, amber paper label dark, near complete. Full of original contents and cork. – Charles Aprill

HONEY-DEW SCOTCH SNUFF – GOODWIN & BROTHER NEW YORK label detail. – Charles Aprill

STEWART’S LOG CABIN SCOTCH SNUFF. Fancy, but unembossed, blue snuff bottle. Bimal, two part mold, full label completely around the bottle, full original contents and original metal closure. – Charles Aprill

STEWART’S LOG CABIN SCOTCH SNUFF label detail – Charles Aprill

MACCOBOY SNUFF, SWEETSER BROTHERS., BOSTON, Mass. – Unembossed, amber 95% label – Charles Aprill

MACCOBOY SNUFF, SWEETSER BROTHERS., BOSTON, Mass. label detail – Charles Aprill

LORILLARD’S MACCOBOY SNUFF, Unembossed light olive, partial label. – Charles Aprill

RAPPEE SNUFF, FIRST QUALITY, EDWD ROOME, NEW YORK, amber snuff jar – Aprill Collection

RAPPEE SNUFF, FIRST QUALITY, EDWD ROOME, NEW YORK snuff jar label detail – Aprill Collection

WASHINGTON MILLS – Early Dip Mold Snuff Jar with original label – American Glass Gallery

“MacCoboy Snuff, manufactured by Albert Sweetser, Saugus, Mass. Warranted good. Caution. The purchaser will confer a great favor by crossing or destroying the label, when the keg or jar is empty. This label doesn’t appear to be as old as the text and illustration seem to indicate, and it probably dates to the 1930s or later. – photo Alan Mays

1870’s Levi Garrett & Sons Tobacco Snuff Bottle – Old West Antiques and Collectibles

Posted in Collectors & Collections, Early American Glass, Snuff | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Barrel Series – The Mysterious Blue Barrel

UNEMBOSSED BLUE FIGURAL BARREL

06 July 2012 (R•092016)

Apple-Touch-IconAHere is a great figural barrel that many collectors consider very desirable because of the form, size and color. The barrel is larger than most bitters barrels and really jumps out in a crowd whether an example shows up at a bottle show or positioned within a collection. Why do I call this bottle mysterious? Like many bottles, far too many, I can not tell you who made the bottle, what it contained or where it was made. Most collectors consider the contents either whiskey or bitters.

Pictured below are some examples spotted throughout my travels. I remember my friend Jerry Forbes, ‘hawk eyeing’ an example at the FOHBC Memphis National last year during Early Admission. He purchased the bottle within seconds as he wisely knew, someone else was positioning themselves to do the same. My advice, if you see an example, try to get it. This bottles balances out and compliments any collection of early American glass.


FIGURAL BARREL, Deep Sapphire Blue, 10″ Tall, Bitters type Figural Barrel Bottle. American, circa. 1860-1880. Barrel form with ten rings above and ten rings below a wide center band, applied square collared mouth. Smooth base Great color. Good form. – Norman Heckler Auction 61, Lot #60, June 2003 – Meyer Collection

Read More: Is there a Blue Embossed Bitters Barrel?

Unembossed Blue Figural Barrel spotted on the shelves of the great Ferraro Collection (Connie & Bob Ferraro)

Unembossed Blue Figural Barrel, Deep Sapphire Blue – spotted at the 2012 Baltimore Antique Bottle Show

Blue Barrel part of the Jerry Forbes booty from the FOHBC National Show last July in Memphis, Tennessee

Unembossed Blue Figural Barrel, Deep Sapphire Blue – spotted at the Houston 2011 Bottle Show

Unembossed Blue Figural Barrel spotted on the shelves of the great Feldmann Collection

Blue Barrel dominating this picture – Jeff Burkhardt collection

Blue Barrel from the Meyer Collection. This is the source picture for the Peachridge Glass web site.

Blue Barrel showing up in the Dr. Daniel Bennett Collection at American Glass Gallery.

Blue barrel spotted at the FOHBC 2012 Reno Expo – Dave Olsen

bobsbluebarrel_gwa

Unembossed Barrel, (unlisted), American, ca. 1865 – 1875, cobalt blue barrel, 10”h, smooth base, applied mouth. A tiny chip is off the side of the lip. A pinhead in size flake is off a lower ring. An impressive ‘splashy’ barrel that adds a lot of pleasing color to any bitters collection! Purchased from Gary Eichhorn at the 1988 FOHBC Expo in Las Vegas. – Glass Works Auctions (Bob Ferraro Collection) Session 1


Read More on Figural Barrels

Barrel series – Original Pocahontas Bitters

Figural Barrel Series – Hall’s Bitters

Greeley’s Bourbon Whiskey Bitters – aka Vertical Greeley’s

Peach colored Bourbon Whiskey Bitters added to Color Run

Greeley’s Bourbon Bitters – A Great Boston Bitters Barrel

Posted in Advice, Bitters, Collectors & Collections, Figural Bottles, Peachridge Glass | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

FOHBC 2012 Reno Expo and 2013 National Show Update

2012 Reno Expo Update – Reno, Nevada

2013 National Show Update – Manchester, New Hampshire

The FOHBC Board of Directors has selected Glass Works Auctions to be the official bottle auction company for the 2013 FOHBC National Show in Manchester, New Hampshire. A competitive bid process was used to make the selection. The auction will be held Saturday, July 20 at 7:00 PM at the Radisson Expo Center of New Hampshire. Auction lot viewing will be available on site prior to the auction, online, and at Glass Works Auctions Gallery in East Greenville, PA. Fore more information, please contact Glass Works Auctions at (215)-679-5849 or email at glswrk@enter.net.

Tom Phillips
Conventions Director

Posted in Advertising, Auction News, Bottle Shows, Club News, FOHBC News, News | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Barrel Series – Original Pocahontas Bitters

ORIGINAL POCAHONTAS BITTERS

05 July 2012 (R•091516) (R•080518)

Y. FERGUSON

Apple-Touch-IconAA favorite of any bitters collector, figural collector and possibly many other bottle collectors is the ORIGINAL POCAHONTAS BITTERS. This rare figural barrel has a great historic name, is perfectly proportioned and comes in a drop dead, gorgeous shade of aqua. You will not get a color run of these barrels like the other Indian favorite, OLD SACHEMS BITTERS AND WIGWAM TONIC but if you are fortunate enough to possess one, you will most likely isolate it from other barrels, like I do, to celebrate the beauty of the bottle. I am actively looking for more information on who made this bottle and where, so if you have any information, please forward.


Based on new material provided by bitters authority Ted Krist at the 2018 Cleveland National, we now know that there was a ‘Yates’ Ferguson who is the “Y.” Ferguson embossed on the bottle. This makes finding information a bit easier.

Yates Ferguson was born in Westchester County, New York on 19 June 1823 and migrated like many young men to California in 1849 for the gold rush. He settled in Greenwood Valley near Sacramento and engaged in mining and mercantile pursuits. The California Gold Rush started when gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill in 1848. The arrival of prospectors in droves ruined Sutter’s New Helvetia and trade began to develop around a wharf he had established where the American and Sacramento Rivers joined.

In 1850, Ferguson lost his establishment and goods to a fire in Sacramento. First a major flood devastated the city that year. Rain from heavy storms had saturated the grounds upon which Sacramento was built, and the American and Sacramento rivers crested simultaneously. In April of the same year, the city experienced its first major fire. A second fire in November destroyed a number of commercial establishments in the city, including Yates Ferguson.

Ferguson returned to New York City in 1853 and established an export trade in California wines and liquors. He also carried on the same business in California. I suppose that somewhere between 1855 and 1860, he put out the Pocahontas Bitters. We are still tying to establish the exact date.

Yates Ferguson died at home in New York in 1887.


Matoaka aka Rebecca Rolfe aka Pocahontas

Pocahontas by Simon van de Passe – 1616

[Wikipedia] Pocahontas (born Matoaka, and later known as Rebecca Rolfe, c. 1595 – March 1617) was a Virginia Indian notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, the head of a network of tributary tribal nations in the Tidewater region of Virginia. In a well-known historical anecdote, she is said to have saved the life of an Indian captive, Englishman John Smith, in 1607 by placing her head upon his own when her father raised his war club to execute him.

Pocahontas was captured by the English during Anglo-Indian hostilities in 1613, and held for ransom. During her captivity, she converted to Christianity and took the name Rebecca. When the opportunity arose for her to return to her people, she chose to remain with the English. In April 1614, she married tobacco planter John Rolfe, and, in January 1615, bore him a son, Thomas Rolfe.

In 1616, the Rolfes traveled to London. Pocahontas was presented to English society as an example of the civilized “savage” in hopes of stimulating investment in the Jamestown settlement. She became something of a celebrity, was elegantly fêted, and attended a masque at Whitehall Palace. In 1617, the Rolfes set sail for home, but Pocahontas died at Gravesend of unknown causes. She was buried in a church in Gravesend, but the exact location of her grave is not known.

Numerous places, landmarks, and products in the United States have been named after Pocahontas. Her story has been romanticized over the years, and she is the subject of art, literature, and film. Her descendants through her son Thomas include members of the First Families of Virginia‎, First Ladies Edith Wilson and Nancy Reagan, astronomer Percival Lowell and American reality television personality Benjamin Wade.

John Rolfe and Pocahontas; Rolfe was the first Englishman in America to cultivate tobacco. Painting by J.W. Glass, early 1850s.

Powhatan Wars (1610-1646)

Fought between English settlers of the Virginia Colony and Indians of the Powhatan Confederacy, this was a series of three intermittent conflicts which lasted from about 1910 through 1646.

The first war started in 1609 or 1610, after the the relationship between the Powhatan Indians and the English had soured due to the English demands for food. That winter of 1609-10 is known as the “Starving Time.” During that winter the English were afraid to leave the fort, due to a legitimate fear of being killed by the Powhatan Indians. As a result they ate anything they could: various animals, leather from their shoes and belts, and sometimes fellow settlers who had already died. By early 1610 most of the settlers, 80-90%, had died due to starvation and disease.

Peace and improved relations occurred after English settler, John Rolfe, married Pocahontas, the Powhatan Chief’s daughter, in 1614. A few years later, in 1617, Pocahontas died and the following year, her father, Chief Wahunsunacock also passed away. His succession was briefly passed on to his younger brother, Opitchapam, and then to his next younger brother Opechancanough. On March 22, 1622, Opechancanough, tired of English expansion, planned a coordinated attack on the English settlements. Because of a young Indian boy’s warning Jamestown itself was spared. Many outlying settlements were attacked and of a population of about 1,200 settlers about 350-400 were killed. After the, the Powhatan Indians withdrew, as was their way, to wait for the English to pack up and leave. However, the English did not leave and more conflicts arose and continued on and off for the next ten years, with few decisive victories. The settlers gave up the idea of coexisting with the Indians to begin a policy of extermination. By 1632, the Powhatan were pressured into land concessions in the western area of Chesapeake Bay.

In 1644, the third and last conflict of the Powhatan Wars began. Even though the English population, by this time, had risen to about 8,000, Opechancanough was still upset about the English encroachment on the land and planned another attack. Once again approximately 350-400 English were killed. Two years later, in 1646, Opechancanough, who was about 100, was captured by the English. While in captivity he was shot in the back by an English guard – against orders – and killed. His death began the end of the Powhatan Chiefdom. It also resulted in a boundary being defined between the Indians and English lands that could only be crossed for official business with a special pass. That situation lasted until 1677, when the Treaty of Middle Plantation was negotiated which established Indian reservations following Bacon’s Rebellion. (Source Legends of America)

Antique engraving created by John C. McRae after Henry Brueckner’s original oil painting titled “The Wedding of Pocahontas”. The original artwork and this engraving were both done in 1855. The scene is the marriage ceremony of Pocahontas, daughter of Powhatan, Chief of the Algonquin tribe when as she is married to John Rolfe. The actual marriage date of Pocahontas was April 1614. – Ruby Lane

Pocahontas marries John Rolfe, Joseph Hoover, 1867

The Carlyn Ring and W.C. Ham listing in Bitters Bottles:

O 86  ORIGINAL POCAHONTAS BITTERS, Circa 1855 – 1870
ORIGINAL ( au ) / POCAHONTAS / BITTERS / Y. FERGUSON ( ad ) // c //
10 x 2 1/4
Round-barrel, 10-10, Aqua, NSC, Applied mouth, Rare; Rough pontil
 mark – Extremely rare.
Rough pontil marked example was dug in San Francisco
O 86.1  ORIGINAL POCHAHONTAS BITTERS, Circa 1855 – 1870
ORIGINAL ( au ) / POCHAHONTAS / BITTERS / Y. FERGUSON ( ad ) // c //
10 x 2 1/4
Round-barrel, 10-10, Aqua, NSC, Applied mouth, Rare; Rough pontil
 mark – Extremely rare.

[Update 18 March 2013] When I was putting together the BITTERS BOTTLES SUPPLEMENT, Mike Larson of Washington State pointed out to me that there are two different spellings on the ORIGINAL POCAHONTAS barrel. Apparently the bottles were first made with the “POCHAHONTAS spelling. The mold was then corrected to “POCAHONTAS”. This was done by removing the “OCH” and replacing it with “OC” in the same space. This can be clearly seen when examining a “POCAHONTAS” barrel. The bottle was first cataloged as “POCAHONTAS” and numbered O 86. When the different spelling was discovered the second spelling was cataloged O 86.1. When this was discovered, I went back and looked at the examples in auction catalogs to try and determine if one embossing pattern was rarer than the other. I found an about equal number of each variant had been auctioned, contributing to my conclusion that neither was rarer than the other. There are also a very few ( 3 or possibly 4) open pontiled examples of the bitters in collections. I don’t know which embossing is on the pontiled examples. – Bill Ham


Select Timeline for Yates Ferguson:

1823: Yates Ferguson born in Westchester County New York on 19 June 1823.
1849: Ferguson migrated to California in 1849 presumably for the gold rush. He settled in Greenwood Valley near Sacramento and engaged in mining and mercantile pursuits.
1850: Yates Ferguson, Age: 26, Birth Year: abt 1824, Birthplace: New York, Home in 1850: Sacramento, California, Household Members: Anthony J. Hoope 28, Geo W S Amoroax 21, Quinn R Tolls 40, Yates Ferguson 26, M Breed 42, Dr Breed 35 – United States Federal Census
1850: Yates Ferguson lost his store and goods in a fire in Sacramento.

Yates Ferguson and Sacramento fire – The Baltimore Sundasy, Tuesday, May 28, 1850

1853: Yates returned to New York City in 1853 and established  an export trade in California wines and liquors. He also carried on the same business in California.
1860: Yates Ferguson, Age: 35, Birth Year: abt 1825, Birth Place: New York, Home in 1860: San Francisco District 3, San Francisco, California, Post Office: San Francisco, Personal Estate Value: $500 – United States Federal Census
1868: Yates Ferguson, liquors, h 58 w. 47th – New York City Directory
1879: Yates Ferguson, merchant, 88 wall, h Purdy’s Station – New York City Directory
1882: Yates Ferguson, president, 57 Broadway & Wines, 100 wall, h 52 w.12th – New York City Directory
1884: Yates Ferguson, liquors, 100 wall, h 52 w.12th – New York City Directory
1887: Yates Ferguson death at home in New York. Addressed at No. 52 West 12th Street.

Yates Ferguson Obituary – New York Tribune, Thursday, March 3, 1887

Yates Ferguson tombstone – Ivandell Cemetery, Somers, Westchester County, New York


O 86 – ORIGINAL POCAHONTAS BITTERS – Glass Works Auction #68, 2004 – American, ca. 1855-1870, deep bluish aqua barrel, 9 1/2″h, smooth base, applied mouth. A very nice example of a barrel that is becoming increasingly harder to find. Ex. Burton Spiller Collection. – Meyer Collection

O 86.1 – The ORIGINAL POCAHONTAS BITTERS bottle (Y. FERGUSON) is a rare bitters that always appears as aqua. The one in this auction (est. 4,000-$8,000) is covered in a Benicia film and “any way you look at it, it’s a very gorgeous bottle,” said Wichmann. “We can say without any hesitation that this is the finest Benicia bottle we’ve ever offered.” It is graded a near-mint 9.9. – AmericanBottleAuctions.com

O 86 – ORIGINAL POCAHONTAS BITTERS Y. FERGUSON (O 76), figural barrel, aqua, Smooth Base, large applied flanged lip. Bold embossing, perfect condition, a great example of this extremely rare bottle, America, circa 1860 – sold by GreatAntiqueBottles.com

GW97PochahontasBitters

O 86.1 – “ORIGINAL / POCHAHONTAS / BITTERS / Y. FERGUSON.”, American, ca. 1865 – 1875, bluish aqua barrel, 9 1/4″h, smooth base, applied mouth, near perfect (a tiny pinhead size flake is off the underside edge of the lip). Sparkling pristine condition, wonderful impression, almost no trace of wear. A very desirable barrel bitters, and this one is about as good as it gets! – Glass Works Auction #103

pocahontasbitters_ferraro

“ORIGINAL / POCAHONTAS / BITTERS / Y. FERGUSON”, (Ring/Ham, O-86), American, ca. 1865 – 1875, bluish aqua barrel, 9 1/2”h, smooth base, applied mouth. A pinhead in size flake is off the top edge of the lip, otherwise perfect. Rarely offered, but highly sought after. This is one of the ‘grand slams’ of the five known embossed aqua bitters bottles! Purchased from Walter Rowles at the 1977 Las Vegas Bottle Show. – Glass Works Auctions #112 – Bob Ferraro Collection – Session 1


Read more about barrels:

Barrel Series – Old Sachem Bitters and Wigwam Tonic

Barrel Series – Turner Brothers New York & San Francisco

Barrel Series – The Mysterious Blue Barrel

Barrel Series – Original Pocahontas Bitters

Figural Barrel Series – Hall’s Bitters

Greeley’s Bourbon Whiskey Bitters – aka Vertical Greeley’s

Peach colored Bourbon Whiskey Bitters added to Color Run

Greeley’s Bourbon Bitters – A Great Boston Bitters Barrel

The earliest and latest with the blue W. Wolf’s Pittsburgh barrel

Barrel Series – Brent, Warder & Co. – Louisville

Barrel Series – I. Nelson’s Old Bourbon

Barrel Series – B.M. & E.A. Whitlock & Co. – New York

Bennett & Carroll – Figural Barrel Series

Barrel Series – Liquore del Diavolo Figural Barrel

Barrel Series – Crow’s Celebrated Tonic Bitters

Barrel Series – Chapin & Gore – Chicago – Sour Mash

Barrel Series – Bininger Old Kentucky Bourbon

Barrel Series – Columbus in a Barrel

Barrel Series – W.C. Bitters

Barrel Series – Stillman & Breen

Barrel Series – Ben Franklin Bitters

Barrel Series – Highland Bitters and Scotch Tonic

Barrel Series – Smith’s Druid Bitters

Barrel Series – Roback’s Stomach Bitters (the smaller ones)

Barrel Series – Roback’s Stomach Bitters (the big boys)

Barrel Series – Dr. Chandler’s Jamaica Ginger Root Bitters

Barrel Series – Favorite Bitters & Peoples Favorite Bitters

Barrel Series – Wormser Bros San Francisco

Barrel Series – Keystone Bitters

The Robinson & Lord Figural Barrel – Baltimore

The James A. Clark barrel from Louisville

The Hull Brothers barrel from Detroit, Michigan

Barrel Series – Out of the Ashes, the Wolford Z – Whiskey

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Left Coast Lines Presents Jim’s Trading Post – Austin, Nevada

Hello Mr. & Mrs. Meyer,

I hope this letter finds you both well. My name is Michael Doyle. I write for the insulator collecting hobby under the mast-head ‘Left Coast Lines.’ Some of my work has been published in Crown Jewels of the Wire, a hobby journal and the National Insulator Association newsletter, Drip Points, as well as other insulator and bottle collecting hobby media. I am one member of a team involved in researching and recording the history of the Overland Telegraph portion of the Transcontinental Telegraph of 1861 [TTRG.INFO] between Salt Lake City, Utah and The Washoe District of the Carson Valley which was at that time a somewhat unorganized part of the Nevada Territory.

Please consider posting the following material along with the attached graphics.

Thank you,
Michael


Left Coast Lines Presents Jim’s Trading Post – On US-50 in Austin, Nevada

As some of you already know, Lou Hall and I drove from California to Missouri for the 2012 NIA convention. We took the trip lightly and in so doing stayed off of the interstate highways as much as was practical for the geography. As is our habit, we stopped and visited museums, shop owners, farmers, wide spots in the road, historians, and collectors across the western and central USA. During one such visit on US-50 in Austin, Nevada we met a shop owner with whom we have had quite a few dealings. This is a short story about that meeting.

Insulators at Jim’s Trading Post are all best condition entry level collector quality or above and they seem to be reasonably priced for their superior condition. The shop features very high quality silver and turquoise jewelry, Insulators, Whiskeys, Bitters, Sodas, and Inkwells. The original design jewelry is the best of its kind in my opinion. The shop also features sparkling minerals, interesting rocks, colorful glass bottles and nicely appointed Indian craft work items.

Jim works long hours at a nearby turquoise mine that is his ‘bread & butter’ and he really enjoys bottles and insulators. Alice is Jim’s assistant in the shop and they make quite a team. They are wonderful story tellers and always willing to trade and deal. If you have good stuff to trade then take it with you to Austin. They’ll even deal by phone and email. If you see something in these pictures that you’d like to know more about then feel free to give Jim and Alice a call or send off an email. If you want to talk serious trade, I can tell you Jim is always looking for best condition Mickeys, Purple Tolls, Whitall Tatum #1s, and Carnival Pyrex pieces. Just sayin…..

If you are heading through Nevada you will really enjoy a visit to tiny Austin which is an 1862 silver mining town. Don’t miss the International Cafe across the street and down a bit from Jim’s where at least two Overland Telegraph Wades have been dug around the retaining wall by the co-owner Reuben Gallegos. Reuben and Sissie are western mining camp glass diggers & collectors who live on the top of the hill in Austin giving them a breath-taking evening panoramic view of the Reese River Valley to the west. Perhaps I can get some decent pictures of Reuben’s collection of Western Whiskeys, Pepper Sauces, Umbrella Inks, and Sodas for a future issue.

Jim’s Trading Post
96 Main Street
P.O. Box 40
Austin, Nevada
89310
775.964.1348
hounddog711@gmail.com

[PRG] Might make an interesting stop before the FOHBC Reno Expo later this month!


Austin, Nevada is a small, unincorporated community located in Lander County, Nevada, in the United States. In 2010, its population was 192. It is located on the western slopes of the Toiyabe Range at an elevation of 6,605 feet (2,013 m). U.S. Route 50 passes through the town.

Austin, Nevada (King Survey) circa 1868

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Fourth of July 2012 Patriotic Pictures

“Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed – else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die.”

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Some more incoming and collected pictures crossing my desk today… (Read further: Eagle embossed flasks for Independence Day)


Randy’s neighbor when he was growing up was Alfred Lovely. He gave Randy a bunch of pictures and cards from when he was in the Spanish American war. He fought in the Phillipines. This is one of his cards. – Pam & Randy Selenak

Pair (aqua and amber) of SIMON’S CENTENNIAL BITTERS – Meyer Collection

GOLDEN EAGLE fifth, SAN FRANCISCO – Pam & Randy Selenak

For the Fourth of July holiday I have attached a picture of some red, white and blue glass attributed to the Boston and Sandwich Glass Factory. The small kerosene lamp to the left has a font with swirled latticinio red, white and blue canes. The glass bell has individual red, white and blue swirled canes in the handle. Next to the bell is a small free blown scent bottle in milk glass with blue and red pulled loop marbrie decoration. The large lamp is a solar lamp with a red, white and blue marbrie decorated base with a cobalt bead of glass around the bottom edge. It has a patriotic shield cut on the shade, circa 1850-60. Last is a blown wide mouth bottle in milk glass with red and blue marbrie decoration. This bottle was probably used as a tea caddy. It came from the family of Benjamin Haines, a prominent member of the Sandwich glassworks. Happy Fourth! – Rob Girouard

Here’s a more common (NEW YORK HOP BITTERS) July 4th tribute . . . Noel Thomas

UNITED WE STAND OLD BOURBON WHISKEY fifth – Pam & Randy Selenak

Pontiled Father of His Country with 2 bird swings inside the bottle – Pam & Randy Selenak

Not mine, but a great patriotic whiskey! Happy Fourth! – Taylor McBurney

Following the 4th of July theme here is my American Brewing with Eagle and draped flag behind shield. – Rick DeMarsh (RicksBottleRoom.com)

Independence! Remember, “our flag was still there. Happy 4th. – Charles Aprill (Labeled examples of BININGER’S GREAT GUN Gin and Bourbon)

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