Demijohns – Some great new pictures

Posted on 26 June 2012 by Ferdinand Meyer V

There is some great dialog and pictures being posted on the bottle and glass facebook sites regarding early American demijohns. I have corralled a few for your perusal.

Read more: “Loaf of Bread” Demijohns

Read More: Rare & Choice Demijohns in American Glass Gallery Auction #7

Large demijohn – Woody Douglas (Michael George comment: Woody, I sold a real nice demijohn from 1820 that came from Keene. When I say that, it was found in basement in Keene, however, I also believe it was produced there as well. It was the large 18″ “bullet” form that John Pastor recently sold. Very crude top, slightly sloping. You have at least a 1/2 dozen or more that fit right in to that 1800-1830 period…some have been posted. I would estimate this one in the 1840’s, and I guess the determining factor would be the lipping tool that was used. What other attributes can you really go on?)

5 blue “demijohns” in the afternoon light. They are pretty in their own way – Charles Aprill

A nice New England demijohn…with a little character!! – Michael George (“circa 1840. It looks like NH glass to me, but can’t say if it is earlier or later than 1840… a pivotal date for trying to determine local origin. My guess is Stoddard”.)

Large demijohn in a modified kidney form – Woody Douglas

If you find a large demijohn with this lip treatment you will have to use other methods to date it. – Eric Correla (“early new England piece. It has a similar look to the English jars you see everywhere but is twice the size of them. I think it is early 19th century”)

Three demijohns – Tom Marshall

Shame to post this picture today. Not much sun. This piece lights up with the sun coming through it. – Eric Correla (“this was another great piece Joe Zarro picked in the early seventy’s. Joe was one of the greatest pickers to ever play the game. The glass is so thin that I think it might not have moved very far from where it was picked in Connecticut.”)

Here is the lip on what I consider to be my oldest demi. I agree with Mike (George) I think you can tell a lot by looking at the lip. – Eric Correla

Here are the two biggest beasts. The demijohn or “carboy” on the left is 23″ tall and 54″ around at its widest. Smooth base with slight kick up, blown in a two part mold with applies tapered lip. Age? Origin? But it is the biggest blue thing I’ve ever seen. Seeing all the beautiful New England demijohns recently posted has prompted this “blue” reply. Good hunting, everyone. – Charles Aprill

Big honey-amber flattened-apple demijohn, 19 inches tall, not sure how wide. And yes, pontilled. – picture Elise Hempel

Chrystal clear green demijohn – photo Rick Ciralli

Posted in Blown Glass, Demijohns, Early American Glass, Freeblown Glass | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

In collecting Bitters, do you need the ‘S’?

Posted on 25 June 2012 by Ferdinand Meyer V

SINER’S CELEBRATED BITTER CORDIAL PHILADA. – Tim Henson

In collecting Bitters, do you need the ‘S’?

25 June 2012

Apple-Touch-IconAI received an email from Tim Henson regarding a Siner’s Celebrated Bitter Cordial which brings up an interesting point relating to how Carlyn Ring and Bill Ham cataloged Bitters bottles.

I am talking about a bottle that says BITTER and not BITTERS, with a missing ‘S’ in BITTER. This is an all important ‘S’ to some, as Carlyn and Bill must have determined, as these two forerunner greats did not assign catalog numbers to these bottles in most cases, possibly thinking they were not true Bitters bottles. Who knows? Probably has to do with the word ‘Cordial’ which is a form of liqueur.

I think different, but that may not make a difference. The absence of the ‘S’ does affect price and desirability. To me, the missing ‘S’ is an abnomily, as I belive these products did contain Bitters and the word BITTER is close enough for me. So I collect them. I even give them ‘placeholder” Ring & Ham numbers (Don’t tell Bill). See below:

S 1213.3 (?) SINER’S BITTER CORDIAL, Circa 1860’s – 1870’s
SINER’S // CELEBRATED / BITTER CORDIAL // PHILADA // f //
9 1/2 x 3
Square, Aqua, LTC, 3 sp

Here is the email and pictures that Tim submitted for review:

Hi Ferd,

I posted this one on the ABN bottle site a few months ago. Are you familiar with it? I haven’t seen another one and I’m assuming it’s uncommon. This example is a sparkler. A nice aqua square embossed on 3 sunken panels Siner’s Celebrated Bitter Cordial Philada. It has a really nice applied top with some good drip. The bottle is identical to the Scheetz’s mold. Pretty much the same bottle but doesn’t appear to be seen as often. Anyhow I thought you might enjoy a few photos of it. Keep up the great work!

All the best, ~Tim Henson

SINER’S CELEBRATED BITTER CORDIAL PHILADA. – Tim Henson

SINER’S CELEBRATED BITTER CORDIAL PHILADA. – Tim Henson

SINER’S CELEBRATED BITTER CORDIAL PHILADA. – Tim Henson

Here are a few other examples of BITTER bottles… no ‘S’.

COCAMOKE BITTER CO. – Rick Ciralli (deal in progress for PRG purchase). Read more: Cocamoke Bitter Co. – Hartford, Conn.

SNYDER”S CELEBRATED BITTER CORDIAL – Meyer Collection

SCHEETZ CELEBRATED BITTER CORDIAL – Meyer Collection

Amber BITTER WITCH – Meyer Collection (Read More: Bitter Witch – What a great name!)

Here is my example of a SINER’S CELEBRATED BITTER CORDIAL PHILADA. – Meyer Collection (I like the pinched sides, really cool!)

PEYCHAUD’S AMERICAN AROMATIC BITTER CORDIAL – Meyer Collection

Posted in Bitters, Collectors & Collections, Cordial, Questions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

GIV-26 found…Maybe I should have been an Electrician?

Posted on 24 June 2012 by Ferdinand Meyer V

Ferdinand,

I thought I would share some pictures with you of a rare find. To my knowledge, none of these have shown up in over 20+ years. Very few examples of this bottle are known to exist. An old house in Marlborough, New Hampshire was having its electrical updated. This flask was found in the wall. I was lucky enough to acquire it not too long ago….

Having a nice sunny day here in Maine…finally…motivated me to get some nice photos of this piece. It is a Masonic Flask….1/2 pint size… in perfect condition. McKearin # GIV-26….attributed to New England Glass Works in Massachusetts. Guess the NEG in the oval is a dead give away as to its locale too. Beautiful olive yellow color. Just infected with bubbles and character. Enjoy….

Mike in Maine

Posted in Blown Glass, Digging and Finding, Early American Glass, Flasks, Historical Flasks, News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tom Marshall Gallery – Form & Composition

Posted on 24 June 2012 by Ferdinand Meyer V

I first starting noticing pictures posted by Tom Marshall earlier this month on a couple of the facebook bottle and glass sites. I immediately tagged Tom for closer look as the pieces he was displaying and photographing were breathtaking. Tom’s subject matter, use of natural light, shadow and reflections are very much a part of the composition of each carefully orchestrated still-life. I have created an expandable gallery for Tom. Enjoy!

Tom Marshall Gallery 

Some comments from several collectors:

“Tom, you know how to start a day on a happy note! These are beautiful!”  and “This is the stuff happiness is made of!” – Dana Charlton-Zarro

“Great!!” – Charles Flint

“that is a beautiful window. Your bottles set a “mood” there, artistic as well as historic”  and “Nice overall picture, glass & setting, artistic!” – John Panella

“Excellent !!!!!!!” and “Elegant Form and beautiful photography !!!!!” – Dale Santos

“Wonderful trio Tom! Although each object is incredible on its own, they work so much better as a group!” – Michael George

“Tom, one of the best chestnut pics ever posted here. BRAVO DUDE!” – Rick Ciralli

“Suitable for framing. Bellissimo!” – Brian Wolff

“near perfect symmetry” – John April

“BEAUTIFUL!” – Jeff Noordsy

“Great stuff and a beautifully composed photo” – Woody Douglas

Here’s a couple of inks – Tom Marshall

Three Chestnut flasks in the sun – Tom Marshall

This creamer along with a tall straight sided bowl and a small freeblown pitcher were decended through a Manchester Connecticut family. They have always been known to have been made at the Pitkin glass works.(See Heckler catalogue #42 lot 660) Sometimes thats as good as its going to get for a 150-200 year old piece of freeblown glass. – Tom Marshall

Three Demijohns – Tom Marshall

A couple of my New England favorites – Tom Marshall

Here is a big boy! This came out of a Providence barn last summer from a picker. It is a cool bottle as it had mud allover the outside. I got to clean it myself. – Tom Marshall

Chestnut reflection – Tom Marshall

Gorgeous and moody morning sun – Tom Marshall

Open New England footed salt attributed to Coventry from a Heckler sale last year. – Tom Marshall

Chestnut solo mini – Tom Marshall

Three shaped New England inks – Tom Marshall

Some” pitkin” type flasks – Tom Marshall

Three Pitkin inks – Tom Marshall

Solo Demijohn – Tom Marshall

hree Connecticut bottles Jean Horning Danbury,Conn W.H.McENROE New Britain Ct SAYBROOK BOTTLING WORKS – Tom Marshall

4 early American glass pieces – Tom Marshall

Sun rays on Snuff bottles – Tom Marshall

Large and small snuff jars on a table – Tom Marshall

Big and small – Tom Marshall

Posted in Blown Glass, Chestnut, Collectors & Collections, Demijohns, Early American Glass, Facebook, Flasks, Freeblown Glass, Inks, Photography, Pitchers, Salt, Snuff | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The next generation and future of our hobby

Posted on 23 June 2012 by Ferdinand Meyer V

I have developed this page to nest stories about our youth and the next generation of our hobby.

My own granddaughter Adriana (she is now 16 and absorbed in horses) who is the most interested of my grandchildren in bottles, is my bottle princess. Here are a few of my favorite Adriana episodes:

Adriana holding a DR. BIRMINGHAM’S ANTI BILIOUS BLOOD PURIFYING BITTERS that we had just won at the live FOHBC Memphis Expo auction in 2004. Many of you may remember that she used to do my bidding!

1) When she was seven or eight years old, she went to most bottle shows with me. I lost her at the giant Baltimore show and panicked. You see, Adriana had heard a loud speaker announcement that the members of the Antique Poison Bottle Collectors Association (APBCA) would be meeting in the front of the hall for a group membership photo. Well Adriana ventured out alone, found the poison group and sat in the front row. She became part of the membership picture and joined up on her own that day! She has been a member of the APBCA since.

2) Another time Adriana’s 2nd grade teacher called, quite alarmed and told her mother that Adriana was talking about poison and collecting poison bottles with the other children. I would have liked to listen in and recorded that call!

3) The Houston Bottle Show is in a few weeks. The first show I attended was in either 2002 or 2003. Adriana was my young helper. She was seven years old or so. She again disappeared from my sales table. I spotted her a few aisles down, counting out hundred dollar bills and paying some startled dealer for a cobalt blue glass lamp, if I remember correctly. Seems like she had taken a liking to this piece earlier, used my wallet in my briefcase for support, and decided to make the purchase. Fortunately I stopped the deal mid transaction and walked away embarrassed, smiling inwardly and in the same breath scolding Adriana as only a grandpa can do.

Here is a grouping of pictures and stories of some wonderful young bottle and glass collectors.

Sam Garcia (Inks, Dickey’s and Samual soda blobs)

Sam, age 3, holding addressed Wingard’s and green cone ink

Sam Garcia and his collection

Here is Sam Garcia, the son of Dave Garcia. They are members of the South Bay Historical Bottle Club in Long Beach, California. Sam came to the meeting this last Tuesday and and talked about some of his bottles he has collected since he started collecting at the ripe age of 3. Sam is now 8 years old. He went on digs with his dad and got hooked. He collects inks, Dickey’s (Dave says he likes the name) and Samual soda blobs. This young man just may be sitting on the board some day. Submitted by Pam Selenak.

Eli Herron and his Insulators

9-year-old Eli Herron of Toccoa, Georgia shows off the insulators he received from Crown Jewels of the Wire and their donors

Read more: Crown Jewels of the Wire focuses on Youth

Landon Kotan – A Real Gem Walked in at the San Diego Show

Landon posing adorably with an insulator

No, not a rare insulator, but something much better. Meet 4 year-old Landon, one of our youngest insulator collectors. Landon became fascinated with insulators over a year ago when Dennis & Paulette Kotan introduced her to her first insulator. She arrived at her very first show this past weekend and was hands down the highlight of the show for Ofelia and me. She was leading her very supportive mom and grandmother from each insulator table to the other with an infectious smile and a collectors’ gleam in her eye. She told me she had nine insulators in her collection at home. I wouldn’t be surprised if that number didn’t double by the end of the show. We can’t wait to see her again at another show soon! – Dwayne Anthony ICON (Insulator Collectors On the Net)

Adriana Alucema Meyer (Poison Bottle Collector)

Adriana Meyer – A smile will always increase sales – Baltimore Bottle Show – 2004

Read more: Granddaughter Adriana stirs up traffic at Balto Show – 2004

Posted in Advice, Bitters, Bottle Shows, Club News, Collectors & Collections, Digging and Finding, Insulators, News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

R. & G. A. Wright – Great Gun Cologne

Posted on 22 June 2012 by Ferdinand Meyer V

WrightCannon_GWA102

R. & G. A. Wright – Great Gun Cologne

22 June 2012

Apple-Touch-IconAThe latest addition to the figural cannon series was a tough one as this figural bottle is extremely rare and pictures difficult to come by. I saw my first example of a R. &. G. A. WRIGHT at the Norman C. Heckler– Thomas McCandless Collection auction preview (read: “R & G. A. Wright / Philada” Miniature Figural Bottle) this past October (pictured below) at the Heckler 12th Annual Columbus Day Weekend Event in Woodstock Valley, Connecticut. This was the smaller plum amethyst example that was described as follows in the Heckler McCandless auction catalog (pictured below):

“R. & G. A. WRIGHT / PHILADA.” Miniature Figural Bottle, America, 1860 – 1880. In the form of a cannon barrel, plum amethyst, tooled mouth – smooth base, ht. 6 7/8 inches. Great condition. Only one other example, that being the blue barrel in the Dr. Charles Aprill collection. Ex Gordon Bass collection auction, 1971.

Well…Charles and Jane Aprill were kind enough to provide some more pictures and information on how they obtained this bottle and the cobalt blue example (pictured below). They also added a comment and picture of the smaller, plum amethyst and cobalt blue rarities :

“This is the first time this pair has been together in half a century”

On Nov 4th, 5th and 6th, 1971, Skinner’s in Bolton Mass. held a “Premier Bottle Collection Public Auction”. The collection of Mr. Gordon Bass of Upper Montclair, N.J. was large. The catalog lists 1330 items.

Item # 935 “Cannon, 8″, R & GA WRIGHT, PHILA., amethyst” was taken by Tom McCandless for $400.

Item #1071 “R. & G.A. Wright, Phila., sm. cannon barrel, blue” was pictured in the black and white catalog.

The story is that an Atlanta dealer, Rick Meyer, was speeding to the auction, was stopped and arrested. His one “phone call” was to the auction house. His bid of $500 won the blue cannon.

We were young collectors and did not know of this “big time” auction, but soon heard about it.

I obtained the blue cannon in 1974 from Mr. Meyer. I coveted the amethyst cannon after seeing it at McCandless’s home. I offered money, trades and the moon, but Tom and Marion loved the bottle.

I sort of liked the figural cannons and really needed the small “purple one”. Tom was older than me, I often told him that. He passed and it came to a Heckler Auction. I believe Tom would have liked the sale. I’m sure he was “watching”.

Jane and I were lucky enough to win the Amethyst cannon, and now the two are happily joined once again after 41 years. It joins a group of 18 figural cannons.

R. & G. A. WRIGHT, 7 inch figural cannons. Probably held cologne. This is the first time this pair has been together in half a century. – Aprill Collection

12 1/2″ & 7″ figural cannons. embossed R. & G. A. WRIGHT / PHILADA. An amber example of the larger bears a full label identifying the contents as “GREAT GUN COLOGNE”. – Aprill Collection

This is the amber puce and deep amethyst R. & G. A. WRIGHT figural cannons. Same measurements as the last pair. – Aprill Collection

R. & G.A. WRIGHT / PHILADA. from the 2011 Norman C. Heckler –  Thomas McCandless Collection Auctions 95 & 96

R. & G.A. WRIGHT / PHILADA. from the 2011 Norman C. Heckler – Thomas McCandless Collection Auctions 95 & 96

WrightAd1854Phila

1854 advertisement for R. & G. A. Wright Philadelphia – Manufacturers of Perfumery – Philadelphia City Directory

Listing for R. & G. A. Wright, Philadelphia, PA., – Extracts, cologne, cosmetics, pomades, oils etc. in the 1876 Official Catalogue – US Centennial Commission

Vintage genuine Hungarian Eau De Cologne bottle Philadelphia rare! Signed R. & G. A. Wright! Says the only genuine Hungarian cologne! It measures 5 1/2 inches tall and has a cork top which is partially intact! As you can see the original label is intact!! – eBay (fleamarket_secrets)

Proceedings of the American Pharmaceutical Association noting any exhibit of Wright products, Volume 24 – 1877

R. & G.A. WRIGHT cannon figural. Top broken off. Full label. – Aprill Collection

Description of an art print for the Wright emporium on Fourth Street in Philadelphia – Library Company of Philadelphia: 1981 Annual Report

R. & G.A. WRIGHT cannon figural. Top broken off. Full label. – Aprill Collection

Discussion of the Wright factory size. I do not get this. 100 square feet and one of the largest factories in France, England or America! – Philadelphia and its manufactures: a hand-book exhibiting the development … by Edwin Troxell Freedley

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: Thad Waterman “Warsaw” Stomach Bitters – Figural Cannon Barrel, Lighthouse or House Roof?

Read Further: Brown’s Castilian Bitters – Transitional Cannon Barrel Figural

Read Further: Castilian Bitters – Brown & Embree Proprietors – New York

Posted in Collectors & Collections, Cologne, Color Runs, Figural Bottles, Perfume | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Warner’s Log Cabin Remedies

Posted on 21 June 2012 by Ferdinand Meyer V

A very nice example of a Warner’s Log Cabin Scalpine came up on eBay the other day. The pictures were rather nice and are posted below. The description on eBay was as follows:

Here’s the one all Warner’s & Hair bottle collectors are looking for. Warner’s Log Cabin Scalpine with complete rear label and contents! 9″ tall x 3 1/8″ wide at base. Unique shaped bottle with flat label panel and 3 beveled, embossed panels on opposite side. Medium amber color and in perfect condition! The rarest and most difficult of the Log Cabin set of bottles to find.

Other’s in the Log Cabin series include the: Extract (in 2 different sizes) [PRG: Example pictured below], the Sarsaparilla [PRG: Example referenced in picture and advertising below], Hops & Buchu Remedy, Cough & Consumption Remedy (in 2 sizes) [PRG: Example pictured below], and the super rare Rose Cream jar [PRG: Example pictured below].

There was also advertising for the Log Cabin Plasters, but to my knowledge – none exist. If anyone out there has any of these or has seen one – please let me know. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a Scalpine offered on eBay or even at a bottle show. If you’ve been looking for one of these, look no further. Bottle is in excellent condition with original contents. Complete label shows an even age toning and states: “An Old Fashioned Preparation for the Head and the Hair” This is not a Hair Dye. Made only by H.H Warner & Co. Rochester, NY. Always Gives Satisfaction. A top example that would be hard to improve on, unless you found one with a box, which is almost impossible. In 30+ yrs of collecting, I’ve only seen a few labeled examples and they came with labels for Scalpine and Hair Tonic. I’ve also seen boxes for both the Scalpine and Hair Tonic. All the bottles are embossed: Scalpine.

According to records, Glass Works auctions has sold 2 labeled Scalpine’s over the past 11 yrs: one in 2000 for $2,530. and one in 2007 with 85% Hair Tonic label for $4,200.00. I’m starting this one out at $2,250. and it will be sold to the highest bidder.

I also conduct fully cataloged, absentee mail/phone bid Drugstore/Apothecary auctions 3 times per year, with Auction #49 scheduled to close on Saturday July 14th, 2012. There is a large selection of other labeled Patent Medicine bottles in this auction, including some more Warner’s.

This got me looking around for other Log Cabin products and I again visited the wonderful and deep Warner’s Safe Cure Blog web site by Steve Jackson where I found tons of great information such as:

Warner’s Safe Cure: Artist’s Album (1888) – Part I

Warner’s Safe Cure: Artist’s Album (1888) – Part II

Warner’s Safe Cure: Some Very Rare Safe Remedies

I have added pictures from various sources of some of the Warner’s Log Cabin products below:

WARNER’S LOG CABIN SCALPINE, with complete rear label and contents! 9″ tall x 3 1/8″ wide at base. Unique shaped bottle with flat label panel and 3 beveled, embossed panels on opposite side. Medium amber color and in perfect condition! The rarest and most difficult of the Log Cabin set of bottles to find. – eBay

WARNER’S LOG CABIN SCALPINE, with complete rear label and contents! 9″ tall x 3 1/8″ wide at base. Unique shaped bottle with flat label panel and 3 beveled, embossed panels on opposite side. Medium amber color and in perfect condition! The rarest and most difficult of the Log Cabin set of bottles to find. – eBay

WARNER’S LOG CABIN EXTRACT – photo flickr

WARNER’S LOG CABIN SARSPARILLA – (Large Size) – promised to cure all blood disorders, scrofula, kings evil, salt rheum, erysipelas, humors of all kinds, scald head, general debility, malaria, ulcers, chronic catarrh, rheumatism, neuralgia, syphlitic and mercural boils, pimples, pain in the back, dizziness, constipation, congestion, liver torpidity, biliousness, tired feelings, skin eruptions, female irregularities, dyspepsia, indigestion, liver complaints, common kidney derangements, dropsy, etc. – photo and copy Warner’s Safe Cure Blog

WARNER’S HOPS & BUCHU REMEDY – (Large Size)  – promised to cure dyspepsia (indigestion) and disorders of the stomach, flatulence, pain after eating, liver cough, constipation, vertigo, sick headache, dizziness, bad taste in the morning or coated tongue, hot and dry mouth, pain in the left breast, palpitation of the heart, irritability, vexation of the mind, lump like feeling in the throat after eating, belching wind, sore stomach, heartburn, irregularity of the bowels, etc. – photo and copy Warner’s Safe Cure Blog

Vintage amber patent medicine bottle put up by H.H. WARNER. Embossed on three recessed panels: LOG CABIN / COUGH AND CONSUMPTION / REMEDY. Bottom embossed: PAT. SEPT 6TH 1887. Measures 6¾” tall, tooled lip. Tough to find, as the “log cabin” line of Warner’s medicines was short lived. Smaller size, lots of character in this bottle! – eBay (excellentstuff-auctions)

The January, 1888 Metropolitan advertisement (pictured at the top of this post) for Log Cabin Remedies listed the Rose Cream for “Catarrh, Etc. Elegant.” For those who don’t know, catarrh is a thick mucous discharge associated with the swelling of the mucous membranes. But I digress. I had not seen an example of this rare Warner nostrum until just recently. Enter Dan Cowman. Dan has one of the nicest collections of labelled Warners that I have ever seen. And it includes an example of the Log Cabin Rose Cream. – Warner’s Safe Cure Blog

A chromolithograph advertising Warner’s Tippecanoe Cures and Log Cabin Sarsparilla, which Cures Scrofula, Impure Blood, Biliousness, Dizziness, Headache, Constipation, Salt Rheum, Malaria, Erysipelas Etc. The Greatest Blood Purifier., featuring vignetted portraits of William Henry Harrison (1840) and his grandson Benjamin Harrison (1888), both labeled Tippecanoe, which refers to a nickname W.H. Harrison earned with a military victory over Shawnee Indians at the Tippecanoe River in 1811. The print also includes a large illustration of a log cabin at center, a reference not only to Warner’s product but also W.H. Harrison’s 1840 Log Cabin Campaign, which was subsequently adopted by his grandson during his run for office in 1888. Printed by Cosack & Co., Buffalo, NY; 27 x 41.5 in. – Cowan’s Auctions

LOT of 2 1880 Uncle Sam Log Cabin Extract Litho Posters, For offer, two ORIGINAL advertising poster / broadsides. VERY RARE! Fresh from an estate in Upstate / Western  NY. Great Chromo lithograph Color! Warner’s Safe Cure, Sarsaparilla, Hops and Buchu, liver pills, and other quack medicine related. Uncle Sam leading a band, and smoking a cigar. Superb lithography by Stecher, of Rochester, New York. Each measures 16 1/3 x 10 5/8 inches. In good condition. First one slightly trimmed, and has a few small rips at edges; second one tattered at top with small rips at edges. Please see photos below for details.  – eBay (dalebooks)

Posted in Advertising, Druggist & Drugstore, eBay, Ephemera, Figural Bottles, Hair Tonics, Medicines & Cures, Remedy, Sarsaparilla | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tobias Barto and his Great Gun Bitters – Reading, PA

Posted on 21 June 2012 by Ferdinand Meyer V

B32_Barto'sgreen_RH

Tobias Barto and his Great Gun Bitters Reading, PA

21 June 2012 (R•031314) (R•020919)

One could buy a Barto’s Bitters, a concoction of whiskey and herbal flavorings, from 1872 to 1892 at the family-run store at 437 Penn Street.

Apple-Touch-IconAA cannon that I have not written about on Peachridge Glass with the exception of one post noting the sale of this legendary bottle (read: A Legendary Barto’s Great Gun Bitters Changes Hands) is the Barto’s Great Gun Bitters. This has to be one of my favorite figural Bitters bottles because of its strong form, clean lines and circular area where the embossing occurs (see below).

There is a fantastic article that I added to this post from the July, 5, 1978 issue of the Reading Eagle  (Read: 6th and Penn Site Rich in History) (see below).

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

B 32  Barto’s Great Gun Bitters
BARTO’S (au ) / READING / PA / GREAT GUN BITTERS ( ad ) // c //
11 x 3 ½
Cannon, Amber, Green and Apricot, DC, Applied mouth, Label panel on reverse, Rare

Barto’s Great Gun Bitters Examples

BARTO’S GREAT GUN BITTERS in a crisp olive coloration – Aprill Collection

Legendary BARTO’S GREAT GUN BITTERS in apricot puce – Fuss Collection

Amber and olive example of the BARTO’S GREAT GUN BITTERS – photo from the John Feldmann collection

Embossed B & CO, on smooth base. Same form as the regular BARTO’S, not a finely made, and probably later label only variant. Deep “tobacco” amber. – Aprill Collection

BartosGreatGunBitters_GWA3

BARTO’S GREAT GUN BITTERS READING PA”, (Ring/Ham, B-32), Pennsylvania, ca. 1865 – 1870, yellow amber center shading to a more amber color, 11”h, smooth base, applied double collar mouth. – Glass Works Auctions

6th and Penn Site Rich in History

Click article to read

BARTO’S GREAT GUN BITTERS article (detail) in the Reading Eagle July 5, 1978

General Tobias Barto

Tobias Barto was one of the best known men in Reading, Pennsylvania and was responsible for Barto’s Great Gun Bitters. Barto was born on June 3, 1822 in Oley, Pennsylvania, the son of Johannes Barth, also from Pennsylvania. Oley is a small town northeast of Reading. He started out in the mid 1840s as an iron manufacturer and operated the Spring Forge in Earl Township for a few years.

Read: Keeping an eye out for H.P. Herband Barto’s Great Gun Bitters at Hopewell Furnace

He next moved to Reading and bought and renovated the Green Tree from a man named Jared Epler on April Fools Day in 1845 for $8,000. In 1848, he opened and ran the newly renamed Keystone House hotel. In 1854, Barto built Keystone Hall which was behind the hotel. The space was used for public meetings, theatrical plays, operas, balls and fairs. It had the capacity for 500 people and was the setting for the “Grand Illumination Ball” which celebrated the first gas street lights in Reading. In the 1920s, this property was renovated again and became the Penn Hotel.

While he was the proprietor of the Keystone House, Barto became very prominent in the councils of the Democratic party. 1857, he was elected to the office of Register of Wills, and in 1865 was elected Sheriff of Berks County. He was also elected as a member of the Board of Prison Inspector in 1873 and a Councilman, among holding positions in other offices. For many years he was a government mail contractor and owner of stage lines running to numerous points.

In his early life, Barto was a captain of the Keystone Dragoons, a volunteer militia company organized by the county. He eventually went through the ranks from Captain to Brigadier General of the State Militia winning election in 1859. Obviously, this is why many refer to Barto as a General.

By 1860, Tobias Barto is listed as a retail wine and liquor dealer at 35 East Penn Square in Reading. His earliest bottles would probably have been made in Philadelphia at that time. He moved to his well-remembered 437 1/2 Penn Street address in 1872 next where he and later his sons, Charles and John, operated a liquor store through the 1880s up until 1892. The map below shows a red rectangle where the Keystone House and the Barto business was located.

General Barto died on his delivery wagon in Reading on October 20, 1887 in the rear of his sons liquor store. The same store he had operated for many years. At the time of his death, he was the manager of the Pewrkiomen and Reading Turnpike Company. Apparently he had apoplexy of the heart.

Read Further: General Scotts Artillery Bitters – The Ultimate Cannon Barrel Figural

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: Thad Waterman “Warsaw” Stomach Bitters – Figural Cannon Barrel, Lighthouse or House Roof?

Read Further: Brown’s Castilian Bitters – Transitional Cannon Barrel Figural

Read Further: Castilian Bitters – Brown & Embree Proprietors – New York

Select Listings:

1822: Tobias Barto, Birth Date: 13 June 1822, Father: Johannes Barth  – U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current
1850: Tobias Barto, Inn Keeper, Age: 28, Birth Year: abt 1822, Birthplace: Pennsylvania, Home in 1850: Reading, North West Ward, Berks, Pennsylvania, USA, Family Number: 466, Household Members: Tobias Barto 28, Deborah Barto 20, Samuel Barto 5 – 1850 United States Federal Census
1859: Newspaper notice below: Valuable Property Sale at the Public House of Tobias Barto – Reading Times, Saturday, March 26, 1859

1859: Newspaper notice below: Military Election for Brigadier General, Captain Tobias Barto of the Keystone Dragoons – Reading Times, Monday, June 6, 1859

1860: Tobias Barto, Inn Keeper, Age: 36, Birth Year: abt 1824, Birth Place: Pennsylvania, Home in 1860: Reading, North West Ward, Berks, Pennsylvania, Post Office: Reading, Dwelling Number: 2401, Family Number: 2527, Real Estate Value: 31500, Personal Estate Value: 8260, Household Members: Tobias Barto 36, Deborah Barto 31, Samuel Barto 14, John Barto 9, Charles Barto 6 – 1860 United States Federal Census
1861: Tobias Barto, Retail Wine and Liquor Dealer, 35 E Penn Sq Reading, Pennsylvania – Boyd´s Pennsylvania State Business Directory, 1861
1863: Tobias Barto, Pennsylvania, 30 Sep 1863 – Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval in the Service of the United States, Volume 1
1867: Tobias Barto, Wholesale Wine and Liquor Dealer, 540 Penn, Reading, Pennsylvania – Reading, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1867
1869 -1972: Tobias Barto, Liquor Store, Liquor Dealer, 437 Penn, Pottsville, Pennsylvania – Boyd’s Directory of Pottsville, 1869-70
1875: Tobias Barto, Liquors, 437 1/2 Penn, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1875
1880: Tobias Barto, Mail Contractor, Age: 54, Birth Date: Abt 1826, Birthplace: Pennsylvania, Home in 1880: Reading, Berks, Pennsylvania, Street: Penn Street, House Number: 439, Dwelling Number: 257, Marital status: Married, Spouse’s name: Deborah Barto, Father’s Birthplace: Pennsylvania, Mother’s Birthplace: Pennsylvania, Household Members: Tobias Barto 54, Deborah Barto 51, Katie Barto 17, Samuel Barto 34, John Barto 28, Charles Barto 25, Delilah Barto 23, Maria Barto 2 – 1880 United States Federal Census
1882-1887: Barto Brothers (Charles and John Barto), liquors, 437 1/2 Penn (Samuel clerk) – Reading, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1882
1882-1887: Tobias Barto, Boarding Stable, 437 1/2 Penn – Reading, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1885
1885: Tobias Barto, Liquors, 437 1/2 Penn and Court c Ash, Reading, Pennsylvania – Reading, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1885
1887: Newspaper notice below: Row About the Mail Service with Tobias Barto’s contract to run mail – Reading Times, Thursday, March 24, 1887

1887: Gen Tobias Barto, Death Date: 20 Oct 1887, Charles Evans Cemetery, Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania, Father: Johannes Barth, Spouse: Deborah Barto, Children: Samuel Barto, John Barto – U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current
1902: Newspaper notice: Colonel Joseph F. Tobias death – The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sunday, November 16, 1902

Posted in Article Publications, Bitters, Collectors & Collections, Figural Bottles, History, liquor, Liquor Merchant | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Cut Decanter and Wine Glasses in Fisher Diamond Pattern

Posted on 20 June 2012 by Ferdinand Meyer V

Mt Washington decanter and wine glasses cut in the Fisher Diamond pattern – Dave Maryo

[Incoming email and pictures from Los Angeles Historical Bottle Club president and early American glass collector Dave Maryo]

Hi Ferd,

I recently purchased an early cut glass decanter and would like to share some pictures. The decanter was cut in the “Fisher Diamond” pattern and is attributed to Mt. Washington Glass Works. Another example of the decanter is on display at the Corning Museum. See link: Cut Decanter in Fisher Diamond Pattern with Stopper.

Mt Washington produced quality cut glass from the time the glass works started in 1827 up to 1894 when it became Pairpoint Manufacturing Company. Globular decanters were popular in America from around 1800 to the Civil War period. Early cut glass decanters had very simple designs that are referred to as rich cut. After the Civil war the cutting became more finely detailed and was referred to as brilliant cut.





Regards,


Dave

Mt Washington wine glass cut in the Fisher Diamond pattern – Dave Maryo

Mt Washington wine glass detail in the Fisher Diamond pattern – Dave Maryo

Bakewell, Page & Bakewell decanter and wine glass cut in the Comet pattern (Haley’s Comet) – Dave Maryo

Posted in Collectors & Collections, Decanter, Early American Glass, Glass Companies & Works, Glass Makers, Museums, Wine & Champagne | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

St. Nicholas Stomach Bitters – Gentry & Otis – New, York

Posted on 20 June 2012 by Ferdinand Meyer V

St. Nicholas Stomach Bitters – Gentry & Otis – New, York

20 June 2012 (R•052814) (R•102318)

Apple-Touch-IconAMy friend and Civil War medicine authority Jim Schmidt (visit Civil War Medicine (and writing) found this great advertisement for St. Nicholas Stomach Bitters (see below). As Jim puts it “I just LOVE how they made a bottle part of the ad!”

This prompted me to develop this post on this wonderful bitters bottle that can be found in two different sizes (see top of post). Notice the shape of the tapered rectangular wedge form.

This bitters brand has a special place in my heart as my grandson is named Nicholas. It is also somewhat of a coincidence as I was adding and moving some bitters bottles around this past weekend. Both St. Nicholas Stomach Bitters were removed from a shelf and set on a table waiting for a new position. They were still sitting there last night, as almost waiting for special attention and a write-up.

St. Nicholas Stomach Bitters advertisement, Gentry & Otis – New, York – Galveston News, October 2, 1860

The Carlyn Ring and W.C. Ham listing in Bitters Bottle is as follows for both sizes (S 16 and S 17).

S 16  ST. NICHOLAS STOMACH BITTERS
f // ST ( sd ) / NICHOLAS ( sd ) / STOMACH ( sd ) / BITTERS ( sd ) // f // IMPORTED ( sd ) BY ( sd ) / GENTRY ( sd ) & OTIS. ( sd ) / NY ( sd ) //
9 3/8 x 3 3/8 x 3 (7 3/8)  5/16
Tapered Rectangular, Amber, LTC, Applied mouth, Rough pontil mark and Metallic pontil mark, Extremely rare
Note: S 16 is larger and much rarer than the smaller S 17 bottle. Most S 16 examples are heavily etched and damaged. Example was found in an estate in Texas, examples were dug in New Orleans.

S 16 The larger ST. NICHOLAS STOMACH BITTERS – Meyer Collection

S 17  ST. NICHOLAS STOMACH BITTERS
f // ST ( sd ) / NICHOLAS ( sd ) / STOMACH ( sd ) / BITTERS ( sd ) // f // IMPORTED ( sd ) BY ( sd ) / GENTRY ( sd ) & OTIS. ( sd ) / N.Y. ( sd ) //
7 1/2 x 2 3/4 x 2 1/2 (5 3/4) 3/8
Tapered Rectangular, Amber, LTC, Rough pontil mark and
Metallic pontil mark, Very rare
Note: A number of examples were dug in San Jose, California. Example found in Lake Tahoe.

S 17 The smaller ST. NICHOLAS STOMACH BITTERS – Meyer Collection

Embossing detail on both sizes of the ST NICHOLAS STOMACH BITTERS. S 16 on left, S 17 on right – Meyer Collection

S17_SaintNicholsBothSizes_BBS

ST. NICHOLAS STOMACH BITTERS pair as pictured in Bitters Bottle Supplement by Carlyn Ring and Bill Ham. (Rough and Metallic Pontil Marks)

ST. NICHOLAS STOMACH BITTERS pair – Ham Collection

Newspaper advertisement (above): A.M. Gentry, Wholesale Grocer, Congress Street, Houston, Texas, 200 cases of St. Nicholas Stomach Bitters – Southern Democrat (Waco, Texas), Vol. 1, No. 39, Ed. 1, 1858

J.R.N. & CO / BOSTON / MASS, 7 3/4″ tall, smooth base. Same shape as the St. Nicholas. bitters. – Charles Aprill

Abram Morrice Gentry

Since the “St. Nicholas Stomach Bitters” is also embossed “N.Y.” and “Imported by Gentry & Otis,”  I found a listing for an “A.M Gentry “set up as a grocer in New York located at 121 Front Street in 1857. Oddly enough, another A.M Gentry was showing up in Houston in 1857. He was listed as a wholesale grocer located on Congress Street downtown. His advertising stated that he was connected with the New York firm of Gentry & Otis. There you go; Gentry was kind of in two places at the same time. That same advertisement stated that 200 cases of St. Nicholas Stomach Bitters had just been received at their Houston address! There were also 50 cases of Stoughton’s Bitters, 50 cases of Hostetter’s Bitters and 49 cases of Turner’s Forrest Wine Bitters in the shipment.

Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers, and students in various cities and countries around the world. His reputation evolved among the faithful, as was common for early Christian saints, and his legendary habit of secret gift-giving gave rise to the traditional model of Santa Claus (“Saint Nick”) through Sinterklaas. If you look at the advertising above, you will see ole’ St. Nicholas on a roof with a chimney, with a bag of presents, smoking a pipe and holding a bottle of St. Nicholas Stomach Bitters. Pretty cool.

Colonel Abram Morrice Gentry, son of Joseph and Mary (Van Meter) Gentry, was born in Brookville, Indiana in May 1821 and headed to Houston at a young age in 1838. He married Mary Frances Rather in Houston on October 29, 1844 and set up A.M. Gentry & Company offering package express for Houston, Galveston, the United States and abroad via stagecoach lines and steamers. Regular agents, attended to the personal delivery of all valuable letters and packages.., forwarded by their house in New Orleans via fast running steamers to Galveston and Houston and all the intermediate landings. Once at Houston, the mail was connected to stage coach lines which ran to the city of Austin via Washington, Brenham, Independence, Rutersville, LaGrange and Bastrop to Huntsville via Montgomery; also to Columbus, Richmond and San Felipe. Outgoing mail was forwarded from New Orleans to agents in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington city; Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Louisville, Madison, Ia; Nashville and Memphis, Tenn.; Natchez and Vicksburg, Miss.; Galena and Quincy, Ill.; Boonville and St. Louis, Mo; Charleston, SC; Savannah, Ga.; Richmond, VA; Montgomery, Tuscaloosa, and Mobile, Ala. and Great Britain or the Continent.

Gentry then established A.M. Gentry & Co., Wholesale Grocers on Congress Street in downtown Houston in 1855 or so. That is a few blocks from where I sit right now. They were also importers of Wines, Liquors, Cigars, Hardware, Crockery and many other useful items of the time period. He took on partners in New York and Boston and ran similar operations in those cities. First in New York we see Lowery, Gentry, Slote Co., Wholesale Grocers and Commission Merchants located at 121 Front Street in 1856. By 1857, Lowery is gone and the firm is Gentry, Slote & Company. By 1858, it is Gentry, Otis & Co. at the same address. In Boston in 1860, it was Gentry, Stiles & Co. So it looks like 1860 would have been when the St. Nicholas Stomach Bitters was produced as Gentry and Otis or any other Gentry listing does not show up in NYC directories after that date.

The amber bottles come in two sizes and are shaped like tapered rectangle wedges unlike any other bitters. They are usually pretty crude with applied mouths and have rough pontil and metallic pontil marks. Also, the embossed typography is slanted which is quite unique. The existing larger bottles are usually in poor condition and broken. I would consider them both extremely rare. Examples have been found in an estate in Texas and examples have been dug in New Orleans and San Jose, California. Another example was found in Lake Tahoe.

A.M. Gentry, was a well-known Texan and Houstonian and an early railroad promoter, land-owner and represented Harris County in the Senate for the Eighth and Eleventh legislatures. He also ran for Lt. Governor in 1863. He was a man of fine commercial mind and of an enterprising disposition, and his active energies and faculties were always enlisted in the cause of Houston’s progress and prosperity.

Besides being a merchant, he was a government contractor, manager of transportation of the Confederate Government and a railroad promoter and builder. Gentry’s business interest in mail delivery led in 1856 to his plans to begin building the Sabine and Galveston Bay Railroad and Lumber Company to be called the “Texas and New Orleans Railroad, Texas Division” within the state of Texas.

By August, 1860, A. M. Gentry, President of the Railroad, had completed 41 miles from Houston to Liberty, and by the first of the following year the road to Orange was built. From Houston, plans were announced to extend the Opelousas and Houston Railroad to through Gonzales to San Antonio. The “Texas State Gazette” announced on June, 30th, 1860, that “Gentry is the name of a new town established on the railroad at the crossing of the San Jacinto river. H. G. Runnels is running a steamer to the town. The railroad is in good running order between Beaumont and Liberty”. Gentry was instrumental in securing additional funds from New York investors for the line’s development in antebellum Texas and made a number of trips to the state.

Col. Gentry spent the war in the Supply and Commissary Department of the Confederate Army and was in the first company, christened the Gentry Guards, that left Houston to support the succession movement. It went to Brazos Santiago (Brazos Island), under command of I. C. Stafford, on a vessel Commanded by Captain Leon Smith, afterwards a commodore of the Confederate States navy.

After the war, Gentry spent much of his time in New York City and at Huntington, Long Island, where he also had property. He also maintained his home in Houston and devoted most of his time to financing the Texas Western Narrow Gauge Railroad out of Houston. The Civil War really took a toll on Texas railroads as many were in total disrepair from the war. Mother Nature wasn’t kind either as the Trinity River Bridge washed out in 1867 and the Texas and New Orleans continued to offer service between Houston and Beaumont until spring 1868, at which time the company was forced into receivership. From 1870 to 1871 limited service operated between Houston and West Liberty until the railroad was sold. The purchaser was John F. Terry of the New York banking firm of J. S. Kennedy and Company. A new Texas and New Orleans Railroad company was chartered in 1874 and Terry was named president.

Map of Texas showing the Sabine and Galveston Bay Rail Road, or Texas and New Orleans Air Line Rail Line, its connections in the U.S. and adjacent territories. A. M. Gentry, Published New York, 1859. – Library of Congress

Photo is of several gentlemen on the Texas & New Orleans RR carts on the tracks. Photo dated about 1900 to 1910.

Here is a great accounting below of what happened during and after the Civil War in Texas in regards to construction of the all-important railroads. One can only suspect that many St. Nicholas Stomach Bitters bottles are buried along the railroad tracks mentioned in this article.

Read: Allen’s Landing – Houston (not everything is new here) – Part I

Rails Long Burried – Great Bend Tribune, Thursday, July 25, 1907

Gentry died of paralysis of the heart in Huntington, Long Island on 20 February 1883 at the age of 61. He lies in rest at Glenwood Cemetery in Houston, Texas

Select Listings:

1823: Abram Morrice Gentry, born in Brookville, Ind., May 14, 1821. Merchant, government contractor, manager of transportation of Confederate Government and railroad promoter and builder. He built the Texas and New Orleans railroad from Houston to Orange, also the Texas Western, from Houston to Sealy, Texas. He was an educated civil engineer; married Mary Francis Rather, Oct. 29, 1844, daughter of James Rather and Harriet Lewen, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., who moved to Texas in 1839. And had: Charles Ruthven Gentry, born Sept. 30, 1845 ; died Oct. 14, 1883, Mary Virginia Gentry, born Dec. 3, 1849; married, Jan. 23, 1873, Jedediah Waldo, who died about 1892, son of Calvin Waldo and Matilda Odeneal, of Osceola, Mo. He was vice-president and general traffic manager of the M. K. & T. Railroad. They had: Gentry Waldo, born Sept. 26, 1874; m. Carrinne Abercrombie, and had : Gentry Chilton and Elizabeth Elliott, Wilmer Waldo, born Jan. 21, 1876, Cora Waldo, born March 2, 1877; m. Pierce Butler of Natches, Miss., and had: Virginia W. Pierce, Mary Francis, Mary Waldo, born Oct. it, 1878, Lula Waldo, born March 8, 1880, Virginia Waldo, born Nov. 8, 1881, Cora Nina Gentry, born April 16, 1854; m. April, 1886, N. H. Worley, and had : Gentry and Charles, Alonzo Mills Gentry, born Sept. 25, 1856; died April, 1898. – The Gentry Family in America 1676 to 1909
1838: A.M. Gentry moved to Houston, where he engaged in merchandising. – The Texas State Historical Association
1844: Abram M Gentry, Marriage Date: 29 Oct 1844, Marriage Place: Harris, Texas, Spouse: Mary Frances Rather – Texas, Select County Marriage Index, 1837-1965
1845: Abram M. Gentry & Company ran a package express for Houston, Galveston, the United States and abroad via stagecoach lines and steamers – WikiTree, Crosby, Harris County, Texas One Place Study
1856: Lowrey (John), Gentry & Slote, Grocers, 121 Front Street – Trow’s New York City Directory
1857: Gentry, Slote & Co., (late Lowery, Gentry & Slote) Wholesale Grocers and Commission Merchants, No. 121 Front Street, New York (Abram M. Gentry, Texas, Alonzo Slote, Texas, George K. Otis, New York) – New York City Directory
1857: Cravens & Gooch, Palestine, Texas, Attorneys, refer to Gentry, Slote & Co., New York – The Texas Almanac, Richardson & Company
1857: Gentry, Slote & Co., Grocers,  New York – New York City Directory
1857: Abram M Gentry, Grocer, 121 Front, New York City, New York – New York, City Directory, 1857
1857: Alonzo Slote, Grocer, 121 Front, New York City, New York – New York, City Directory, 1857
1858: Newspaper advertisement (above): A.M. Gentry, Wholesale Grocer, Congress Street, Houston, Texas, Connected with the New York firm of Gentry & Otis, 200 cases of St. Nicholas Stomach Bitters – Southern Democrat (Waco, Texas), Vol. 1, No. 39, Ed. 1, Thursday, November 18, 1858.
1859: A.M. Gentry was instrumental in securing the charter for the Texas and New Orleans Railroad in 1859. – The Texas State Historical Association
1860: Newspaper advertisement (above): St. Nicholas Stomach Bitters – Gentry & Otis – New, York – Galveston News, October 2, 1860
1860: Gentry & Otis, Grocers, 121 Front – Trow’s New York City Directory
1860: A.M. Gentry bought the charter for the Gas Company in Houston in 1860.- WikiTree, Crosby, Harris County, Texas One Place Study
1870: Abraham Gentry, 49, Birth Year: abt 1821, Birthplace: Pennsylvania, Dwelling Number: 81, Home in 1870: Houston Ward 2, Harris, Texas, Personal Estate Value: 700, Real Estate Value: 2,500, Inferred Spouse: Mary F Gentry, Inferred Children: Charles R Gentry, Mary V Gentry, Cora Gentry, Alonzo Gentry – 1870 United States Federal Census
1875: The Texas Western Narrow Gauge Railroad out of Houston was chartered on January 18, 1875 and became the Texas Western Railroad by a new charter on April 28, 1881. – The Texas State Historical Association
1877: Abram M. Gentry, res SE corner Franklin & LaBranch – Mooney and Morrison´s Directory of the City of Houston, 1877-78
1883: A M Gentry death 20 Feb 1883 (aged 61), Burial, Glenwood Cemetery, Houston, Harris County, Texas
Posted in Advertising, Bitters, Civil War, Collectors & Collections, History, liquor, Liquor Merchant, Medicines & Cures | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments