Brown’s Castilian Bitters – Transitional Cannon Barrel Figural

Posted on 14 March 2012 by Ferdinand Meyer V

Brown’s Castilian Bitters – Transitional Cannon Barrel Figural

14 March 2012

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

B 221.6  BROWN’S CASTILIAN BITTERS
BROWN’S CASTILIAN // c //
Wm. H. & Jerome B. Brown, Baltimore, Maryland
11 1/4 x 3 1/2 (5 1/4)
Bell-shaped, Amber, LTC Similar in shape of Globe Bitters (New York)

Apple-Touch-IconAFirst, let us look at the definition of Castilian which is noted as meaning Cannon in some Bitters books. I can not find anything to support this. Castilian is most likely Spanish (Spanish: español) and is a Romance language named for its origins as the native tongue of a large proportion of the inhabitants of Spain. Castilian (Spanish: castellano) after the Spanish region of Castile where it originated.

A cannon captured from a Spanish warship has been mounted in Bridgeport’s (CT) Seaside Park to honor the service of local residents during the Spanish-American War.

Some Bitters collectors like myself, do consider this to be a transitional cannon barrel figural Bitters (to coin the efficient ‘transitional’ descriptive term used by Bitters collector Jeff Burkhardt, who feels that this bottle may be a transitional lighthouse shape. If you look at the cannon barrels in the two (2) pictures above, you will see ‘rings’ on the barrels similar to the subject bottle. This leads me to think cannon rather than lighthouse. As Jeff notes in his comment at the bottom of the page, we need to find labeled examples and more advertising.

Previous cannon figural posts are more exacting in the cannon barrel shape such as the A.M. BININGER, J.T. GAYEN and the R & G. A. WRIGHT. In this next segment in the Figural Cannon Series there will be new posts including the Globe Bitters, Warsaw Stomach Bitters, Castilian Bitters and Sol Franks Panacea Bitters, all with similar bottle forms. Interesting enough, Ring and Ham uses “bell shaped” for the Brown’s Castilian Bitters description, “lighthouse form” for the Sol Franks Panacea Bitters and references a Cannon on the Castilian Bitters. Who knows…when I look at my grouping positioned on a shelf in a window, I call them cannon figurals. I do see the lighthouse form in the Sol Franks though.

The Brown’s names is very interesting on this bottle. It is conjecture that the Brown’s Castilian is a Bitters and that it is a Baltimore bottle. There is however the Wm. H. & Jerome B. Brown, Baltimore, Maryland note in Carlyn Ring and W.C. Ham Bitters Bottle book. When searching Baltimore archives on-line, I can not find any supporting information confirming that this is a Baltimore bottle.

There is also a rather well know Brown’s Iron Bitters (Brown Chemical Company) from Baltimore (pictured below) that confuses the issue. I can not imagine Brown Chemical Company making the Brown’s Castilian Bitters. Of course there are other prominent names for Brown in the Bitters world such as the Brown & Lyon Bitters, Brown’s Aromatic Bitters, Brown’s Herb Bitters and the Brown’s Celebrated Indian Herb Bitters (Indian Queen) to name a few that reside in my collection.

Where it gets confusing to me, is that there is an exact shape Bitters called the Castilian Bitters (pictured below) with a note for Brown & Embree Proprietors, Office & General Depot at Sackett & Belcher Co., 28 & 30 Reade St., New York with a label reading…Prepared…pure juice of Isabella grapes. Combination of Extracts distilled from the products of the south of France and Italy and the Province of Castile (Old Spain) from which latter section they derive their name the Patent Elixir to which our ancestors were indebted for their vigorous health and manly stamina a fragrant females and children for all their disarrangements of the stomach it is unrivaled a certain cure for fever, ague, dyspepsia, flatulency and etc. – a never failing preventative and cure for seasickness – one who travel by land or water should not be without the Castilian Bitters. The Globe Bitters, also a similar shape as noted in Ring & Ham is also a New York bottle. I have pictured both the BROWN’S CASTILIAN Bitters and the CASTILIAN BITTERS side by side. They are both 11 1/4″ tall. Looks like the same mold, typography and applied tops!

BROWNS CASTILIAN Bitters and a CASTILIAN BITTERS – Meyer Collection

B 231 BROWNS IRON BITTERS (Brown Chemical Company) – Meyer Collection

Another tantalizing bit of information showed up in the Norman C. Heckler Auction 92 in May 2011. This was for the surprising similar, and possibly unique VINO CASTELLANO / DE BROWN (pictured below). Heckler states ” Possibly associated with the same company as the Castilian Bitters” and also notes “Probably made for the Western Market”. Not sure where this Western part comes from but there are present day vineyards that are named Vino Castellano in Auburn, California.

“Possibly associated with the same company as the Castilian Bitters”

BROWN’S CASTILIAN Bitters – Meyer Collection

BROWN’S CASTILIAN Bitters – Meyer Collection

BROWN’S CASTILIAN Bitters – Meyer Collection

(L-R) WARSAW BITTERS, BROWN’S CASTILIAN, SOL FRANK’S PANACEA BITTERS, CASTILIAN BITTERS and a GLOBE BITTERS – Meyer Collection

BROWN’S CATALINA

BrownsCatalina015

“Brown’s Catalina” Figural Medicine Or Bitters Bottle, probably a Stoddard glasshouse, Stoddard, New Hampshire, 1860-1872. Cylindrical, modified lighthouse form, olive amber, heavy applied square collared mouth – smooth base, ht. 10 7/8 inches. See R/H pg. 120 Beautiful, crude whittled bottle. Kris Kernozicky collection. – Heckler Auction #103

Posted in Bitters, Collectors & Collections, Figural Bottles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

General Scotts Artillery Bitters – The Ultimate Cannon Barrel Figural

Posted on 13 March 2012 by Ferdinand Meyer V

General Scotts Artillery Bitters – The Ultimate Cannon Barrel Figural

13 March 2012 (R•052814) (R•062517) (R•052719-Genius)

Apple-Touch-IconAThe next figural cannon, and in my opinion, the greatest example in rarity is the General Scotts Artillery Bitters. As recorded in Carlyn Ring and W. C. Ham in Bitters Bottles:

S78 GENL SCOTTS ( au ) / NEW YORK / ARTILLERY / BITTERS // c //
12 3/8 x 2 1/2 (10)
Cannon, Amber, SM, Ground lip, Extremely rare

Field rack of Civil War Cannons – photo Craig Swain (Leesburg, Virginia)

First a little background on General Winfield Scott from Wikipedia.

Major General Winfield Scott (1786-1866)

Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786 – May 29, 1866) was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852.

Known as “Old Fuss and Feathers” and the “Grand Old Man of the Army,” he served on active duty as a general longer than any other man in American history and many historians rate him the best American commander of his time. Over the course of his forty-seven-year career, he commanded forces in the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Black Hawk War, the Second Seminole War, and, briefly, the American Civil War, conceiving the Union strategy known as the Anaconda Plan that would be used to defeat the Confederacy. He served as Commanding General of the United States Army for twenty years, longer than any other holder of the office.

A national hero after the Mexican-American War, he served as military governor of Mexico City. Such was his stature that, in 1852, the United States Whig Party passed over its own incumbent President of the United States, Millard Fillmore, to nominate Scott in the United States presidential election. Scott lost to Democrat Franklin Pierce in the general election, but remained a popular national figure, receiving a brevet promotion in 1856 to the rank of lieutenant general, becoming the first American since George Washington to hold that rank.

Perfect Example

I believe that there are at least four (4) examples of the General Scotts Artillery Bitters out in collections with the signature example residing in the Sandor P. Fuss collection in Denver, Colorado.

This example is perfect and is ex: Charles Gardner, Robert Skinner, Jim Hagenbuch and Don Keating. The exact bottle is pictured in numerous books including American Bottles & Flasks by McKearin and Wilson and Bitters Bottles by Carlyn Ring and W.C. Ham. It is also the same bottle in the famous Carlyn Ring Collection: First Offering Sale in 1995 conducted by Jim Hagenbuch of Glass Works.

General Scott’s Artillery Bitters – New York – Sandor P. Fuss Collection

S78_ScottsCannon_BBS

General Scotts Artillery Bitters – picture from Bitters Bottles Supplement

Carlyn Ring example of the General Scotts Artillery Bitters next to a Seaworth Bitters.

Pictured on the left is nicest known example of a General Scotts Artillery Bitters. This is the Carlyn Ring example that was sold in a Glass Works sale in 1995. The primary ‘keeper’,  and that is all we really are, of this bottle for the next decade or so was Don Keating. The bottle now resides in the collection of Sandor P. Fuss in Denver, Colorado.

Read further: Carlyn Ring Collection: First Offering of 143 Bottles – Part 1

Skinner Auction Gallery Back Cover – 1975- Charles Gardner Collection (General Scotts in 12th position)

Kyle Example

The second example resides with Bitters collector Dave Kyle in Thousands Oaks, California. Dave states in a recent email “I do have an example I got from Ed Herrold, it has a bad epoxy repair on top but still certainly recognizable as an example, given its extreme rarity” (see picture of 4 Dave Kyle Cannon’s below).

Dave Kyle also adds a follow up note:“Scott earned the nickname, “Old Fuss and Feathers” because of his attention to detail and fondness for flashy uniforms” also, “Scott was forced from command by President Abraham Lincoln at the dawn of the Civil War. His views on how to fight the confederacy were derided but ultimately prophetic”

“I dug my best bottle, a Gen. Scott’s Artillery Bitters (in the shape of a cannon).”

Read: Digging adventures in Savannah (Savannah Diggin’s) in the FOHBC March | April 2011 issue of Bottles and Extras.

Left to Right: GENERAL SCOTTS ARTILLERY BITTERS, J.T. GAYEN / ALTONA, A.M. BININGERS and a R/F DEPOSE 13 Inch Repro, probably a French Cannon – Kyle Collection

Taylor Example

This bottle was badly stained and was purchased in a partnership by Bitters Collectors Jim Mitchell (Tampa, Florida) and Bill Taylor (Oregon). Bill eventually bought out Jim’s share in the bottle and took possession. I had the opportunity of seeing this bottle at Jim Mitchell’s sales table in Keene, New Hampshire at the Yankee Bottle Show that year and was impressed that it was found but concerned with its condition. Bill Taylor elected to have Bill Ham professionally clean the bottle and from what I understand, Bill (Ham) cleaned it and did a great job and the Bill (Taylor) that now owns it, is happy.

Aprill Example

Left: R. & G.A. WRIGHT. Middle: GENL SCOTT’S. ex. Carlin Ring Right: A. M. BINNINGER & Co., original label “Great Gun Gin” ex. Charles Gardner. – Charles Aprill

This next example, was recently confirmed and resides in the collection of Jane and Charles Aprill in New Orleans, Louisiana. This example is also ex: Carlyn Ring. According to Charles, when Carlyn Ring obtained her better example (now Fuss collection) she called him to dispose of her “old one”.  He said he was glad to pick up her “used bottle”.

From Charles Aprill: Before Carlin Ring got the General Scott’s cannon that is mentioned above, she owned another which suffered from moderate “ground etching”. It was completely intact. She had it cleaned; it was OK. It WAS an intact General Scott’s.

When she got a chance at the perfect example, she let jane and I have her less than perfect specimen. We were happy to get her “leftovers”. It has a happy home with a few other cannons.

Sidney Genius Example

For several months in 1968 Robert Hinely was digging a large dump on Duley Street in Savannah, Georgia. On Oct. 5, while digging in an area where an abandoned railroad track crossed over a marshy fill he unearthed a case of twelve Scotts Artillery Bitters bottles. All had various degrees of damage, many being in pieces.

44. “GENL SCOTTS / NEW YORK / ARTILLERY / BITTERS”, (Ring/Ham, S-78), American, ca. 1865 – 1870, yellowish amber figural cannon, 12 1/8”h, smooth base, sheared and ground lip. The entire base below the lower ring the neck and mouth are replacements from other Scott’s Artillery bottles. Also some minor inside stain. For several months in 1968 Robert Hinely was digging a large dump on Duley Street in Savannah, Georgia. On Oct. 5, while digging in an area where an abandoned railroad track crossed over a marshy fill he unearthed a case of twelve Scotts Artillery Bitters bottles. All had various degrees of damage, many being in pieces. This bottle was assembled from three of those bottles. Today, only four examples of the Scott’s Artillery Bitters are know to exist, two are reassembled examples and a third, also from that dig has a sizable ‘V’ shaped chip off the side of the lip. The fourth bottle, originally in the Charles Gardner Collection is the only known perfect example. In 1997 we auctioned the example with the large ‘V’ shaped chip out of the lip for $6,300.00! Sidney Genius Collection. – Glass Works Auctions ‘Early June’ Potpourri Auction #131

Read Further: Figural Cannon Bottles – J T GAYEN / ALTONA

Read Further: A. M. Bininger & Co. Figural Cannon

Posted in Bitters, Civil War, Collectors & Collections, Figural Bottles, History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A. M. Bininger & Co. Figural Cannon

Posted on 13 March 2012 by Ferdinand Meyer V

A. M. Bininger & Co. Figural Cannon

13 March 2012 (R•070512)

Apple-Touch-IconAHere is the 2nd post in the Figural Cannon Barrel series I started yesterday with a post on the G.T. GAYEN / ALTONA cannon (read: Figural Cannon Bottles – J T GAYEN / ALTONA).

* Amended 05 July 2012 with labeled examples from the Aprill Collection

A.M. BININGER Figural Cannon Barrel – GreatAntiqueBottles.com

Now we will look at the popular A.M. BININGER cannon which is similar in form but a much different mold. This cannon barrel figural is also slightly shorter at 12 3/4″ +/- than the 14″ tall J.T. GAYEN / ALTONA. The Bininger cannon, usually if not always, has a sheared mouth compared to the gorgeous blob top applied mouth on the J.T. GAYEN cannon barrel (see comparison picture).

I have also posted a label reading “Bininger’s Great Gun Bourbon, A.M. Bininger & Co., N.Y.” from the Library of Congress though I can not prove this label was affixed to the bottle. It certainly makes sense. Let’s see what you all say in your comments. I would really like to see a labeled example of any of these figural cannon barrels. Update: Label is correct, see below.

“There is an absolutely incredible example on display at the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York: it has a full label (I believe very similar to the one you show from the Library of Congress, except that the Corning Museum label says, I think, “Great Gun Gin”) and the bottle rests on an original metal stand, shaped like the bottom part of a wheeled, civil-war era cannon. Thus, the bottle and stand make up to be a very realistic-looking cannon, with the label displayed on top and the “barrel” pointing up at a 45 degree angle. I assume that this would have been a display for stores that sold the product during the 1860s.”  Mike Dickman

Update from Mike Dickman “Attached is a photograph I located on the Corning Museum of Glass website of their Bininger cannon bottle and its original metal display stand.  Apparently (according to the caption) the label indicates that the product is “Great Gun Bourbon” just like the label in the Library of Congress. I think I’ve also heard of a “Great Gun Gin” label on the same bottle.”

Fully labeled A.M. BININGER & CO. Cannon – Corning Museum of Glass

I can tell you, they both look great sitting next to each other in one of my rooms. Two soldiers dominating a bottle shelf row. The A,M. Bininger cannon barrel bottle specifics are as follows:

Figural Cannon, A.M. BININGER & CO. / 19 BROAD ST. / N.Y., American, circa 1860

Now when I hear the name Bininger in glass, I think of three names rather quickly and that is Don Keating, Jack Pelletier and Bob Ferraro. Each is a passionate collector and historian in this area. Read: The History and Mystery of the Bininger Family and The Search For Their Tombstones by Melanie Zoller and Don Keating from a previous Antique Bottle and Glass Collector article.

Picture of Don Keating and the Bininger tombstones

Size Study – A.M. BININGER (left) R & G.A. Wright / FHILIDA (center) J.T. GAYEN / ALTONA (right)

A.M. BININGER Figural Cannon Barrel – GreatAntiqueBottles.com

A.M. BININGER Figural Cannon Barrel detail – GreatAntiqueBottles.com

A.M. BININGER Figural Cannon Barrel – Meyer Collection

Bininger’s Great Gun Bourbon, A.M. Bininger & Co., N.Y. – Library of Congress

Labeled examples of BININGER’S GREAT GUN GIN and BOURBON – Aprill Collection

Labeled examples of BININGER’S GREAT GUN GIN and BOURBON – Aprill Collection

Bininger Bottle Display (you can see Bob’s example on the bottom row) – Ferraro Collection

Left to Right: GENERAL SCOTTS ARTILLERY BITTERS, J.T. GAYEN / ALTONA, A.M. BININGERS and a R/F DEPOSE 13 Inch Repro, probably a French Cannon – Kyle Collection

J.T. GAYEN / ALTONA cannon flanked by two A.M. BININGERS who are again flanked with two queens – Mitchell Collection.

Posted in Collectors & Collections, Figural Bottles, Gin, Glass Makers, History, Spirits, Whiskey | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Figural Cannon Bottles – J T GAYEN / ALTONA

Posted on 12 March 2012 by Ferdinand Meyer V

Figural Cannon Bottles – J T GAYEN / ALTONA

12 March 2012

Apple-Touch-IconAI wanted to start a new series on Figural Cannon Bottles. These wonderful and powerful shapes bring back all of the imagery and weaponry of the early American artillery in our Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mexican-American War and Civil War. With names like General Scott’s Artillery Bitters, Barto’s Great Gun Bitters, Cannon’s Dyspeptic Bitters and McKeever’s Army Bitters just to name a few, we are going to have fun and see some great bottles.

The first example that I would like to talk about and provide example pictures is the J T GAYEN / ALTONA Figural Cannon. This bottle is amber and typically around 14″ tall with an applied blob top. My example is pictured below and is extremely heavy glass with good glass character and whittle.

Most dealers and auction houses attribute this bottle as a whiskey or spirit bottle made in America circa 1860 – 1870. I have heard rumours that this bottle could be Canadian too. Please help me with more information as there is very little (none that I can find) available. I am also very much interested in where the bottle was made.

26 May 2013: Read updated post Looking at some J.T. Gayen Bottles showing this to be a German bottle by Jan Tecker Gayen, Altona, Hamburg, Germany.

[from Wikipedia] A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannons vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees, depending on their intended use on the battlefield.

First used in China, cannons were among the earliest forms of gunpowder artillery, and over time replaced siege engines—among other forms of aging weaponry—on the battlefield. In the Middle East, the first use of the hand cannon is argued to be during the 1260 Battle of Ain Jalut between the Mamluks and Mongols. The first cannon in Europe were probably used in Iberia in the 11 and 12th centuries, and English cannon were first deployed in the Hundred Years’ War, at the Battle of Crécy, in 1346. On the African continent, the cannon was first used by the Somali Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi of the Adal Sultanate in his conquest of Ethiopia in 1529. It was during this period, the Middle Ages, that cannon became standardized, and more effective in both the anti-infantry and siege roles. After the Middle Ages most large cannon were abandoned in favor of greater numbers of lighter, more maneuverable pieces. In addition, new technologies and tactics were developed, making most defences obsolete; this led to the construction of star forts, specifically designed to withstand artillery bombardment though these too (along with the Martello Tower) would find themselves rendered obsolete when explosive and armour piercing rounds made even these types of fortifications vulnerable.

Cannon also transformed naval warfare in the early modern period, as European navies took advantage of their firepower. As rifling became commonplace, the accuracy and destructive power of cannon was significantly increased, and they became deadlier than ever, both to infantry who belatedly had to adopt different tactics, and to ships, which had to be armoured. In World War I, the majority of combat fatalities were caused by artillery; they were also used widely in World War II. Most modern cannon are similar to those used in the Second World War, although the importance of the larger caliber weapons has declined with the development of missiles.

In addition to their widespread use in warfare, cannons have found peaceful applications, notably in avalanche control.

Shot and Shell Piled Under the Walls of Fortress Monroe – Old Port Comfort – Hampton, Virginia

J T GAYEN / ALTONA Figural Cannon – Meyer Collection

J T GAYEN / ALTONA Figural Cannon – Meyer Collection

J T GAYEN / ALTONA Figural Cannon embossing detail – Meyer Collection

J T GAYEN / ALTONA Figural Cannon blob top detail – Meyer Collection

Gayen_GW97

J T GAYEN / ALTONA Figural Cannon – Glass Works Auction #97

Back in late October 2011 I did a post about the “R & G. A. Wright / Philada” Miniature Figural Bottle from the Heckler McCandless Auction. This smaller bottle is almost the same form! Also look at the color! Read: “R & G. A. Wright / Philada” Miniature Figural Bottle.

Lot #85 “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 known example, that being the blue barrel in the Dr. Charles Aprill collection. Ex Gordon Bass collection auction, 1971. $37,000($43,290 with 17% buyers premium)

Lot #85 “R & G. A. Wright / Philada” Miniature Figural Bottle

R & G. A. Wright next to the J. T. Gayen

GayenShipWreck

Interesting bottle…Caribbean Sea Old J T Gayen Bottle Intl’ waters off Costa Rica 1800s Case Gin on ebay.

Read More on Cannon Figurals

R. & G. A. Wright – Great Gun Cologne

General Scotts Artillery Bitters – The Ultimate Cannon Barrel Figural

Tobias Barto and his Great Gun Bitters – Reading, PA

Figural Cannon Bottles – J T GAYEN / ALTONA

A. M. Bininger & Co. Figural Cannon

Sol Frank’s Panacea Bitters – Great Form

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

Brown’s Castilian Bitters – Transitional Cannon Barrel Figural

Castilian Bitters – Brown & Embree Proprietors – New York

“the Buchanan Cannons”

Posted in Civil War, Collectors & Collections, Figural Bottles, History, Revolutionary War, Spirits, Whiskey | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

What is John Feldmann Telling Bob Ferraro?

Posted on 12 March 2012 by Ferdinand Meyer V

Archiving a little gallows humor inspired by funnyman Jeff Burkhardt.

"Bob … I just found 10 cases of the blue W. Wolf's barrels in a warehouse on Long island, all in mint condition!" Bob (cranberry shirt) looks a little stunned. Jeff Burkhardt (sage shirt) has an interesting expression. John Feldmann is in the purple shirt. Major Bitters heavy hitters indeed at a recent FOHBC National Show.

W. WOLF PITTSBURGH - Ferraro Collection (ex: Charles Gardner)

Connie & Bob Ferraro

The Ferraro's posing in front of some Great Figural Bottles

Posted in Bitters, Collectors & Collections, Figural Bottles, Humor - Lighter Side | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

H. Schoenfelder’s Stomach Bitters – Pittsburgh, PA

Posted on 10 March 2012 by Ferdinand Meyer V

I really enjoy meeting people at Bottle Shows and talking about rare finds and the stories that go with them. In this case it was Chip Cable telling me about his extremely rare Schoenfelder’s Bitters from Pittsburgh, PA.

Hi Ferdinand,

It was nice to see you at the show in Baltimore and I just love looking at
the pictures of your collection. Per your request are pictures of the Schoenfelder’s Bitters from my collection. The bottle is 10″ tall. It is actually a little greener then the pictures show.

Best regards, Chip Cable, President, Weld Tooling Corporation

[PRG] Wow. pretty cool. Not familiar with the bottle. What is your story with the bottle…where did you get it etc? Ferdinand

[Chip] A local collector dug it in a privy in a small town between Pittsburgh and where we have our lake house, which is about 2 hours east. He had it for many years and finally got a divorce and got out of bottles completely. There were two pieces in his collection that were unique Pittsburgh bottles that he offered me and this was one of them. Bought it about 10 years ago. Along with an iron pontiled Pittsburgh bottle that is aqua, about 11 inches tall and is embossed. J. Rhodes Pure Lemon Extract Pittsburgh Pa.

Best regards, Chip

[PRG] This reminds me of the similar Monongahela Rye Bitters. Read further: The big and robust Monongahela Rye Bitters

The Carlyn Ring William C. Ham Bitters Bottles write up is as follows:

S 56.5  SCHOENFELDER’S STOMACH BITTERS

H. SCHOENFELDER’S / STOMACH BITTERS / PITTSBURGH. PA.
9 3/4 x 2 5/8 x 4 1/8
Oval with rectangular sunken panel front and rear, Olive green, LTC, Applied mouth, Extremely rare

H. SCHOENFELDER'S STOMACH BITTERS front left - Cable Collection

H. SCHOENFELDER'S STOMACH BITTERS front embossing panel - Cable Collection

H. SCHOENFELDER'S STOMACH BITTERS front right - Cable Collection

H. SCHOENFELDER'S STOMACH BITTERS label panel - Cable Collection

Posted in Bitters, Collectors & Collections, Digging and Finding | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Some Pictures of Free-Blown American Pitchers

Posted on 10 March 2012 by Ferdinand Meyer V

With the news and recent post of the Sandor Fuss acquisition (read: Stunning Historic Pitcher added to Fuss Collection) of an early American free-blown Connecticut Pitcher, I went a litter deeper on-line to find similar examples. Most so far are with the provenance of George S. McKearin and are on display at the Corning Museum of Glass.

Free-blown with applied and tooled decoration Pitcher - makers Lockport Glass Works | Lancaster Glass Works (possibly Lancaster) about 1840-1860, Clear gray-blue – Corning Museum of Glass (Ex: George S. McKearin)

Free-blown with applied and tooled decoration Pitcher - maker Lancaster Glass Works about 1840-1860, Brilliant deep aquamarine – Corning Museum of Glass

Footed pitcher blown in Hartford County, Connecticut, circa 1815 - Fuss Collection

Pitcher in deep rich green; free-blown with applied and tooled decoration; globular body, short cylindrical neck flaring at rim with broad lip, upper neck and rim threaded; applied circular foot of irregular width and with wide-spaced crimps; rough pontil mark; applied heavy loop handle with crimped and turned-back end - made Southern New Jersey - circa 1800-1899 - Corning Museum of Glass - ex: George S. McKearin

Pitcher - Saratoga (Mountain) Glass Works, Saratoga, New York, Bottle Amber; free-blown; applied and tooled globular body, wide neck spreading at top, shallow lip; applied small, sloping, crimped foot; rough pontil mark; upper neck and rim threaded, circa - 1844-1865 - Corning Museum of Glass (Ex: George S. McKearin)

South Jersey Glass Pitcher (Juno’s pitcher) Free blown pitcher with tooling around rim and applied handle. H: 5 1/2 “ Early 19th Century, South Jersey or New York State - The Allaire Collection

Pitcher - Boston and Sandwich Glass Company, about 1825-1835 Clear glass; blown-three-mold; ovoid body with concave base having rough pontil mark, wide neck flaring to rim and deeply pinched lip; solid applied handle with heavy medial rib; patterned probably in quart decanter mold in GIII-26 sunburst pattern. Corning Museum of Glass - McKearin Collection

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

Stunning Historic Pitcher added to Fuss Collection

Posted on 9 March 2012 by Ferdinand Meyer V

Footed pitcher blown in Hartford County, Connecticut - circa 1815 - Fuss Collection

Hi Ferdinand,

Attached are two pictures of my most recent acquisition. I have actually known about this piece for some time. However, it was at this past Baltimore show where I saw a beautiful blown glass creamer with Mark Vuono that I really started thinking about this piece. I do not have any free blown early American glass in the collection but Mark’s beautiful cobalt blue creamer was so stunning that I decided to call Jeff Noordsy upon my return to see if he still had this piece. Lucky for me he did. Furthermore, I had a long conversation at Baltimore with Holly Noordsy about the beauty and quality of this type of material, which I had not thought about in all of the years I have been collecting bottles. She really opened my eyes to this stuff and that is the main reason that I am sharing this piece with you and all of the people who look at your incredible web site.

The piece is unique, early, beautiful, perfect and best of all it fits in with my other bottles.

Enjoy!

Sandor

The following is a description from Noordsy:

The footed pitcher was blown in Hartford County, CT, C. 1815. Similar pitchers can be found in the Sturbridge Museum and the Toledo Museum of Art, though in deep olive amber. This example is fresh to the market and the only known pitcher of its type blown in this beautiful shade of green bottle glass. It is a staggering achievement that successfully blends form and function with stunning beauty.

Jeff

Footed pitcher blown in Hartford County, Connecticut - circa 1815 - Fuss Collection

Posted in Blown Glass, Collectors & Collections, Digging and Finding, Early American Glass, Freeblown Glass, Milk & Creamers, Museums, News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Success to the Railroad – The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum

Posted on 9 March 2012 by Ferdinand Meyer V

1830: America's first native locomotive loses a smackdown race to a draft horse. Embarrassment does not alter the course of history.

From Houston it is usually quite a distance to one of the major antique bottle shows on the East and West coasts. For this reason, I typically plan my weekend around a bottle show with museum tours, sightseeing and business.

This past weekend, prior to the Baltimore Antique Bottle Show (read A Salute to the Baltimore Antique Bottle Show) Elizabeth and I, along with Jerry and Helen Forbes from Carmel, California had the opportunity to visit the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum in downtown Baltimore on the Friday before the show. This is one of my all-time favorite museums to visit. I am also from Baltimore which gives me some pride. It was fun to see some of the early equipment and locomotives that are replicated on early American Historical Flasks.

My point with the museum tour is that it is really fun to ‘build’ your visit around other historical attractions to make a complete weekend. On the same Friday, we were also able to see the famous Washington Monument (read The Washington Monument – Baltimore) in Mt. Vernon Place in Baltimore. This monument is represented on a number of early American glass pieces. Completing our Friday, was a tour of the great Geppi’s Entertainment Museum in Camden Yards.

"Success To The Railroad" With Horse And Cart - Eagle With Stars Historical Flask, Coventry Glass Works, Coventry, Connecticut, 1830-1848. - Heckler Auction 98

SUCCESS TO THE RAILROAD - Horse Pulling Cart

GV-1, "SUCCESS TO THE RAILROAD" - Ed & Kathy Gray - GreatAntiqueBottles.com

RAILROAD / LOWELL eagle with stars, GV-10, pint, America c. mid-19th century.

B&O Railroad Museum - Baltimore, Maryland

Entrance view in to B&O Railroad Museum Roundhouse

The War Came by Train Exhibit - B&O Railroad Museum

Horse Pulling Cart - B&O Railroad Museum

Tom Thumb replica - Wes Barris photograph

Atlantic - The first running B&O Locamotive

Baltimore & Ohio R.R. - John Hancock

Lafayette - B&O Railroad Museum

4-6-0 Thatcher Perkins Built in 1863, weighing 67,800 lbs.

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Travellers Bitters Travels from Baltimore to Carmel

Posted on 8 March 2012 by Ferdinand Meyer V

Travellers Bitters Travels from Baltimore to Carmel

08 March 2012 (R•o52914) (R•061617) (R•032019)

Apple-Touch-IconAJerry Forbes, my good friend, table-mate and bitters collector from Big Sur, California scored big when he purchased a very rare Travellers Bitters at the Baltimore Antique Bottle Show this past weekend. Not only was the example stuning, it was most likely the nicest example I have seen with great glass character and it was also ex: Carlyn Ring. Way to go Jerry! I have posted pictures of Jerry’s bottles taken in his hotel room after the show along with pictures of my example.

TRAVELLERS BITTERS – new addition to the Forbes Collection

T 54  Travellers Bitters
motif traveling man seen in profile with cane, headed left // TRAVELLERS // sp // BITTERS // // s // f // // f // 1834 / 1870 // f //
10 1/2 x 3 1/2 x 2 (6 1/4)
Rectangular, Amber, LTC, Applied mouth, Very rare
(man on bottle resembles figures on Pike’s Peak flasks, Heckler notes Robert E. Lee with Walking Stick)

[From Glass Works Auction 94]

(Motif Robert E. Lee with a cane) – TRAVELLERS – BITTERS – 1834 / 1870” (on shoulder), (T-54), American, ca. 1870 – 1875, For years it was thought the ‘traveler’ on the front of this bottle was just a man ‘traveling’, like on the Pike’s Peak flasks. We suggest a more likely possibility. We believe the man on the front of the bottle is the famous Confederate General, Robert E. Lee. The bottle has three clues’ that make us think this. The first clue is the hat, beard and coat. All are identical to how Lee appears on a number of pictures and drawing done during the Civil War. None of the Pike’s Peak traveler’s has a beard. The second clue is on one of the side panels. It is the word ‘Travellers’, spelled with two ‘L’s’. Possibly an error made by the mold maker? We don’t think so. During the course of the Civil War General Lee rode several horses, the last one, and his favorite he named ‘Traveller’, with two ‘L’s’. The third clue is the two dates embossed on the back shoulder panel, ‘1834’ and ‘1870’. The 1834 date seems insignificant. It was the year that Lee was assigned a position as an assistant in the chief engineer’s office in Washington, D.C. The 1870 date is of considerably more importance. That was the year Robert E. Lee died.

TRAVELLERS BITTERS – Meyer Collection

TRAVELLERS BITTERS man walking detail – Meyer Collection

TRAVELLERS BITTERS shoulder detail – Meyer Collection

T54_Travellers_BBS

TRAVELLERS BITTERS – Bitters Bottles Supplement

TRAVELLERS BITTERS Sign – Meyer Collection

TRAVELLERS BITTERS – Meyer Collection (Three of 36 rotational images taken by Alan DeMaison for the Virtual Museum)

“TRAVELLER’S” – (Standing figure of General Robert E. Lee) – “BITTERS” – 1834 / 1870″, America, 1870 – 1875. Bright, yellowish-honey coloration, rectangular with rounded corners, applied sloping collar – smooth base, ht. 10 ¼”; (a tiny little pinhead flake on the back edge of the lip, otherwise sparkling attic mint). R/H #T54. A gorgeous example, probably the lightest in color that we can recall seeing, historical, eye-appealing, and rare! Provenance: Joe Kray collection. – American Glass Gallery | Auction #22

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