Dr. J.R.B. McClintock’s Dandelion Bitters – Philadelphia

McClintocksDandelionBitters_ebay

Dr. J.R.B. McClintock’s Dandelion Bitters – Philadelphia

16 April 2013 (R•102013) (R•110318)

Apple-Touch-IconAClosing on ebay last night (for the 2nd time) was an extremely rare aqua bitters put out by Dr. J. R. B. McClintock of Philadelphia. See eBay listing: Antique Dr. JRB McClintock’s Dandelion Bitters Bottle Philadelphia NICE! It took me a little while, as I almost settled on James R. McClintock as the namesake, until I discovered he had a son. Jesse R. B. McClintock.

McClintocBrosListing

1870 City of Philadelphia Directory listing showing Jesse and James McClintock, physicians at the same address. Jesse R. B. McClintock & Co. later listed in Directories

John McClintock

James R. McClintock, M.D. 

***Jesse R. B. McClintock, M.D.***

John McClintock (1784-1856) (wife Martha McMacklin), father of James R. McClintock, emigrated from Tyrone county, Ireland, in the year 1807. During the following year he moved to Philadelphia and engaged in mercantile pursuits, and was for many years successful, but in the sequel experienced the reverses almost inseparably from such business in this country.

Dr. James McClintock, M.D. (1809-1881) was born in Lancaster county in 1809 and died on 18 October 1881 in Philadelphia. He was very prominent and well known as a physician. He was also a Professor at the Philadelphia College of Medicine (Dean and Professor of Principles and Practice of Surgery).

Dr. Jesse R. B. McClintock (abt 1839 – 1891) was the son of James and grandson of John. The J.R.B. initials on the Dandelion Bitters pictured above should be Dr. Jesse McClintock. Jesse practiced at 823 Race Street with his father James. Later with a listing of J.R.B. McClintock & Co.

McClintockJohnBio

“he would be a doctor, and not only that, but he would be a “head doctor”

Jesse’s father James commenced the study of medicine in the office of Dr. John Eberle, in 1826. The medical profession was the object of is boyhood dreams; he would be a doctor, and not only that, but he would be a “head doctor.” From The Medical Advisor by James McClintock – 1855

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The Medical Advisor by James McClintock – 1855


McClintocks_AGG11

“Dr J. M’Clintock’s – Family – Medicines”, America, 1840 – 1860. Colorless with a slight amethystine tone, rectangular with beveled corners, applied thin square collared mouth – blowpipe pontil scar, ht. 4 3/4″, perfect; (note, a little light interior reside that should easily wash out). N #434 (variant C). A neat little bottle found in the wall of a old home in Monmouth County, NJ. Apparently this smaller size was for their cold and cough mixture. A great example, nicely whittled. – American Glass Gallery Auction 11

FAMILY MEDICINES

James R. McClintock, M.D.

Dr. McClintock’s Pectoral Syrup

Dr. McClintock’s Rheumatic Mixture

Dr. McClintock’s Asthma and Hooping-Cough Remedy

Dr. McClintock’s Diarrhea Cordial and Cholera Preventative

Dr. McClintock’s Vegetable Purgative Pills

Dr. McClintock’s Dyspeptic Elixir

Dr. McClintock’s Cold and Cough Mixture

Dr. McClintock’s Rheumatic Liniment

Dr. McClintock’s Tonic Mixture or Fever and Ague Specific

Dr. McClintock’s Anti-Bilious Pills

Dr. McClintock’s Tonic Alterative Syrup

Dr. McClintock’s Anodyne Mixture or Instant Pain Destroyer

Lot: 204 “Dr Jas M’ Clintock’s / Family / Medicines” Bottle, America, 1840-1860. Rectangular with beveled corners, colorless, applied sloping collared mouth – pontil scar, ht. 8 1/2 inches; (minor loss to edges of label). AAM pg. 346 An eye appealing example with an interesting original label and bold embossing. Fine condition. Heckler Auction #170

Lot: 204 “Dr Jas M’ Clintock’s / Family / Medicines” Bottle, America, 1840-1860. Rectangular with beveled corners, colorless, applied sloping collared mouth – pontil scar, ht. 8 1/2 inches; (minor loss to edges of label). AAM pg. 346 An eye appealing example with an interesting original label and bold embossing. Fine condition. Heckler Auction #170

Lot: 204 “Dr Jas M’ Clintock’s / Family / Medicines” Bottle, America, 1840-1860. Rectangular with beveled corners, colorless, applied sloping collared mouth – pontil scar, ht. 8 1/2 inches; (minor loss to edges of label). AAM pg. 346 An eye appealing example with an interesting original label and bold embossing. Fine condition. Heckler Auction #170


Philadelphia College of Medicine, 1838-1859

The Philadelphia College of Medicine had its origins in the Philadelphia School of Anatomy, which was established by James McClintock in 1838. In 1847 McClintock obtained a charter from the Pennsylvania Legislature to establish the Philadelphia College of Medicine. He had organized the school in 1846, holding classes that winter and summer in the building of the Philadelphia School of Anatomy on Filbert Street above Seventh Street. With the charter, McClintock’s school had the power to confer degrees to students. The year the charter was obtained, the College moved to new facilities at Fifth and Walnut Streets which had originally been constructed for the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. The five story building contained two lecture rooms, an anatomical theater, a museum, a dissecting room, classrooms, and rooms for professors. In addition, the College included a pharmacy department to instruct advanced students. Students had access to Pennsylvania Hospital, Wills Hospital, and the Philadelphia Dispensary for clinical instruction. By 1858 the College was experiencing financial difficulty, and reached an agreement with the Medical Department of Pennsylvania College by which the two schools would merge in 1859. The Medical Department faculty would resign, and the faculty of the Philadelphia College would assume the name and operate as the Medical Department of Pennsylvania College. Eventually that institution closed in 1861.


McClintock’s Dandelion Bitters

McClintockDandelion2

McClintock’s Dandelion Bitters was put out and marketed by Jesse R .B. McClintock in Philadelphia. I am sure he was hoping to follow in the footsteps and the success of his famous father and his many medicinal products. At this point I can only find one product by Jesse. The Carlyn Ring and W.C. Ham listing in Bitters Bottles is as follows:

M 52  DR. J.R.B. MCCLINTOCK’S DANDELION BITTERS
DR. J. R. B. MCCLINTOCK’S // DANDELION / motif – monogram J.R.B.M. / BITTERS / PHILADELPHIA // c //
7 1/4 x 2 3/4 x 1 3/4 (5)
Oval, Aqua, NSC, Applied mouth and Tooled lip, Extremely rare
McClintockAlmanac

Dr. J.R.B. McClintock’s Dandelion Bitters Almanac – Bitters Bottle Supplement

McClintockArticle

Dr. McClintock’s Dandelion Bitters article in reference to the Almanac above – American Agriculturist for the Farm Garden & Household, Volume 33, New York – 1874

Posted in Bitters, Druggist & Drugstore, eBay, History, Medicines & Cures | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Very Scarce Clear 9″ Tall Royal Pepsin Bitters Bottle

ROYAL PEPSIN STOMACH BITTERS

“Shamed be he who thinks evil of it”

L & A SCHARFF – SOLE AGENT

15 April 2013 (R•060314) (R•032119) (R•081119) (R•082919)

ebaylogoUp for your consideration is this very nice, very scarce Royal Pepsin Bitters bottle in Clear glass standing 9″ tall with the original glass Stopper, making it 9 3/8″ tall. In Picture #3, at about 7 O’clock, you can see the Glass stopper has a 1/2″ by 3/8″ chip out of the stopper only. The bottle is very nice with just some light spotty, mostly inside, haze and some content stain mostly at the bottom. The stopper is stuck very tight, so didn’t try to force it out and clean the inside. A really scarce, Nice Royal Pepsin Bitters bottle, especially in the Clear glass.

StLouis1900Photo

St. Louis, Missouri, circa 1900. “Olive Street west from Sixth.” 8×10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company.

Apple-Touch-IconAClosing on ebay yesterday was a great example of a clear Royal Pepsin Stomach Bitters. A later St. Louis bitters brand that is typically seen in amber, this clear example soared to a very healthy close at $510 with 8 bids. More evidence of a broadening and healthy bitters market. Also interesting that a clear example showed up on one of Elvin Moody’s bottle shelves.

rubber-duckLazarus and Adolph Scharff tried hard to promote the medicinal values of their product and even sold it in drug stores but make no mistake, this is a spirit that should have been and probably was sold at liquor stores. The label does try hard to say the medical powers of the product, but if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck…

Read: The Scharffs: Love (and Money) in a Time of Malaria

“Children, delicate women and persons in debilitated state should commence by taking small doses and increase with their strength”

RoyalPepsinClear

Front of clear ROYAL PEPSIN STOMACH BITTERS – ebay

RoyalPepsinClearRev

Reverse of clear ROYAL PEPSIN STOMACH BITTERS – ebay

This prompted me to pull out my Bitters Bottles and Bitters Bottles Supplement books and to re-look at my examples.

RoyalPepsinBottleSketch

R 113  ROYAL PEPSIN STOMACH BITTERS
motif rampant lion and unicorn on either side of shield with
HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE ( au ) / ROYAL PEPSIN / STOMACH BITTERS /
L & A SCHARFF / SOLE AGENTS / ST. LOUIS. U.S. & CANADA. // f / f // f //
L…Royal Pepsin Stomach Bitters
8 3/4 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/4 (6)
Rectangular, CM, Applied mouth and Tooled lip, Amber – Common; Clear – Rare
Row of 5 square motifs at top and bottom of label panel
Neck 2 rings and 5 expanding ribs. Glass stopper in cork.
Label: In addition to pepsin it contains gentian root, cinchona, real Italian anise. wormwood, cloves, sassafras, and wintergreen. Relieves dyspepsia, aids digestion and strengthens the nervous system…Children, delicate women and persons in debilitated state should commence by taking small doses and increase with their strength.
RoyalPepsinAd1

1902 Royal Pepsin Stomach Bitters advertisement – Meyer Brothers Druggist, Volume 23

LAZARUS & ADOLPH SCHARFF

L. & A. Liquors: St. Louis Directory shows a listing in 1890 for L. & A. (Lazarus & Adolph) Liquors at 15 S. 2nd Street in St. Louis, Missouri.

Adolph Scharff: (wholesale liquors, partner with brother Lazarus) was born in Essingen, Daun, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany on 01 June 1846. He arrived in America around 1862 – 1864. He spent a short time in Cairo, Illinois and from there went to Vicksburg, Mississippi and became a clerk in the dry goods house of Scharff Brothers. In 1870, with brother Lazarus, opened a wholesale liquor business in Vicksburg, continuing until 1876, when removed stock to St. Louis, where firm continued business as L. & A. Scharff until 1906; then incorporated as L. & A. Scharff Distilling Co. In St. Louis, Adolph  primarily livied at 3104 Washington Avenue. His wife was Jeanette Meyer. They were married in Montgomery, Alabama on 07 May, 1874.

Lazarus Scharff: (partner with brother Adolph – see above) was born in Essingen, Daun, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany on 25 January 1843. Residence: 4371 Lindell Avenue, St. Louis. His wife was Clara Eiseman. They were married in Jefferson, Mississippi. Death 02 April 1830.

In the 1840s and 50s, St. Louis received a large number of German and Irish emigrants. Germans who could afford the voyage came to St. Louis to escape political unrest in their country. They settled in St. Louis, close to the area in Mid-Missouri where other German settlers established homes due to the geographical similarity of Missouri and the German wine country.

OldMapleHollow_L&A_Scharff

Lazarus and Adolph Scharff were also the “proprietors” of Pure Old Maple Hollow Whiskey (above), Spring Hill Perfection Whiskey and Pretoria Rye (pictured further below).

“Honi soit qui mal y pense” (embossed on bottle) is a French phrase meaning: “Shamed be he who thinks evil of it”. The phrase is sometimes archaically rendered as “Honi soit quy mal y pense”, “Hony soyt qe mal y pense” and various other phoneticizations. It is the motto of the English chivalric Order of the Garter. [Wikipedia]

ROYAL PEPSIN STOMACH BITTERS 

RoyalPepsinR113_F

Amber ROYAL PEPSIN STOMACH BITTERS – Meyer Collection

RoyalPepsinR113_FL

Amber ROYAL PEPSIN STOMACH BITTERS – Meyer Collection

RoyalPepsinR113_FR

Amber ROYAL PEPSIN STOMACH BITTERS – Meyer Collection

RoyalPepsinFlutingR113_FLT

Amber ROYAL PEPSIN STOMACH BITTERS – Meyer Collection

RoyalPepsinR113_D

Amber ROYAL PEPSIN STOMACH BITTERS – Meyer Collection

R 116  ROYAL PEPSIN STOMACH BITTERS (Sample Size)
ROYAL PEPSIN / STOMACH BITTERS / L & A SCHARFF / ST. LOUIS,
MO. / SOLE AGENTS / sp // sp // sp //
3 7/8 x 1 3/4 x 1 (2 1/4)
Rectangular, Amber, CM, Tooled lip, Rare
Details the same as large bottle.

SALESMEN’S SAMPLE

RoyalPepsinSample1

Sample or miniature size amber ROYAL PEPSIN STOMACH BITTERS with screw cap, Ex: Carlyn Ring Collection – Meyer Collection

RoyalPepsinSample2

Sample or miniature size amber ROYAL PEPSIN STOMACH BITTERS with screw cap, Ex: Carlyn Ring Collection – Meyer Collection

LABELED

Motif of Lion and Unicorn / “ROYAL PEPSIN / STOMACH BITTERS / L & A. SCHARFF / SOLE AGENTS / ST. LOUIS. U.S & CANADA.” (with 98% complete original label), America, 1895 – 1905. Golden amber with a slight orange tone, rectangular with rounded corners, ribbed shoulders, tooled double round collar – smooth base, ht. 7 3/8″, attic mint! R/H #R114. Scarce smaller size, especially so having the original label. Label reads in part, “ROYAL PEPSIN / STOMACH BITTERS / FOR ALL DISEASES OF THE / STOMACH AND NERVOUS SYSTEM” – American Glass Gallery | Auction #22

Reverse Above: Motif of Lion and Unicorn / “ROYAL PEPSIN / STOMACH BITTERS / L & A. SCHARFF / SOLE AGENTS / ST. LOUIS. U.S & CANADA.” (with 98% complete original label), America, 1895 – 1905. – American Glass Gallery | Auction #22

RoyalPepsinLabeled

Labeled example of ROYAL PEPSIN STOMACH BITTERS – antiquebottles.com

SHOT GLASS

Holtzermann&RoyalPepsin_Shot

Lot 115: (Lot of 2) Etched Bitters Dose Glasses, ‘Holtzermanns Celebrated Stomach Bitters, J.D. Holtzermann & Co., Piqua, Ohio’ and a ‘Royal Pepsin Stomach Bitters, L. & A. Scharff, St. Louis, Mo., Sole Agents, U.S.A. & Can.’, American, ca. 1890 – 1900, clear glass, 2″ and 2 1/4″h, tooled rims, both are damage free but have some minor loss of the lettering. Both are very rare and the perfect go-with for both popular bitters bottles. – Glass Works Auction #97

POKER CHIP

Drink Royal Pepsin Bitters poker chip. Other side same. 1 1/2″ – Greg Price

PRETORIA RYE

PretoriaRyeFlask

PRETORIA RYE IS BETTER A. SCHARFF DISTILLING CO. BOTTLERS ST.LOUIS,MO. all bold emb in circle slug plate – eBay

ROYAL PEPSIN TONIC

RoyalPepsinTonic_GWA0614

Similar: (Motif Rampart lion and unicorn on either side of shield) / “ROYAL PEPSIN / TONIC / L.&A. SCHARFF / SOLE AGENTS / ST. LOUIS. U.S. & CANADA”, Missouri, ca. 1890 – 1900, reddish amber color, 7 1/2”h, smooth base, tooled double collar mouth. Identical to the more familiar ‘Royal Pepsin Stomach Bitters’, but for a ‘Tonic’. A rare bottle! – Glass Works Auctions | Auction 102

Posted in Bitters, Druggist & Drugstore, eBay, History, Liquor Merchant, Miniatures, Tonics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Highlands Bitters and Scotch Tonic – 1990 Federation Glass Works Article

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Highlands Bitters and Scotch Tonic – 1990 Federation Glass Works Article

14 April 2013

Apple-Touch-IconAGene Bradberry (Memphis, Tennessee) mailed me this super article from the Federation Glass Works in 1990. The Highlands Bitters and Scotch Tonic came from Memphis. This was the monthly publication of the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors (FOHBC). We’ve come a long way baby. Alan DeMaison (FOHBC Business Manager) and I are spearheading an effort to archive all past issues and articles from the Federation.

CoverCollage_2013_5

GenesMugPhotoGene Bradberry, FOHBC Director-at-Large, is a retired Memphis policeman, and has a BS degree in police administration from Memphis State University. Gene was one of the founding members of the Memphis Bottle Collectors Club. He Joined the ABCA in 1968 and was past president. He has run many bottle shows including the Memphis Expo in 2004 and the Memphis National in 2011. Gene has been collecting bottles since 1966 and is also a Life Member of the FOHBC. Gene has been married for 51 years to his high school sweetheart and has two sons and five grandchildren. He has also been involved in Scouting for 64 years.

Read More: Barrel Series – Highland Bitters and Scotch Tonic

HighlandGene1 HighlandGene2 HighlandGene3 HighlandGene4

Posted in Article Publications, Bitters, Bottles and Extras, Club News, Figural Bottles, FOHBC News, History, Liquor Merchant | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Heminger Figural Bitters Collection – All Top Shelf

BillH_Cabinet

Bills ‘upstairs’ cabinet with his fantastic figural bitters flanked by historical flasks.

HEMINGER COLLECTION

BillHemminger

Bill holding a Best Bitters in America at the Heckler 2012 Columbus Day Weekend event in Woodstock, Connecticut

Bill Heminger (Virginia, Minnesota) and I were having a telephone conversation the other night and the conversation eventually came around to the Barto’s Great Gun Bitters and guns!

You see, Bill and I had chased a few of these Barto’s back in the Rod Walck Galleria Auctions days. Bill ended up with a great example that probably had the strongest embossing that I have ever seen on one of these bottles considering most of them are weekly embossed.

If you remember, we have written about the Barto’s figural cannons before and looked at two great examples that joined the Sandor Fuss collection in Denver this past year or so.

Read More: Tobias Barto and his Great Gun Bitters – Reading, PA

Read More: Legendary Barto’s Great Gun Bitters added to Fuss Collection

Read more: A Legendary Barto’s Great Gun Bitters Changes Hands

I asked Bill to send me a few pictures and he graciously obliged. They were photographs that I had to scan so I lost a bit of detail and color. Bill did note in an accompanying letter that “the color is perhaps a little washed out in the pictures. It (the Barto’s) is more green”. The condition is perfect, glass is clean, tons of bubbles, no issues”.

Bill is an interesting collector in that he selects a finite group of bitters that will fit in his cabinet. He chooses for the most part, to eschew color and go for amber examples. He then meticulously searches for the best example of each that satisfies his criteria. Bill also said in the letter “I grouped my bitters and flasks in my upstairs collection on the basis of how they grouped symmetrically. I’m very A-type about such things. Condition of my collection here, as well as downstairs (the man cave) is the best examples for each mold type, bitters as well as flasks.”

We are all different in how we collect. Just another interesting way. Thanks Bill for sharing a few photographs of the Barto’s and your bitters cabinet. Just a fantastic collection. Very impressed.

BartosBill1

BARTO’S GREAT GUN BITTERS – Heminger Collection

BartosBill3

Embossing detail BARTO’S GREAT GUN BITTERS – Heminger Collection

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Embossing and color detail BARTO’S GREAT GUN BITTERS – Heminger Collection

BillsBarto2

BARTO’S GREAT GUN BITTERS – Heminger Collection

BillsBarto5

Base detail BARTO’S GREAT GUN BITTERS – Heminger Collection

HEMINGER GUNS

HemingerGun4

Man cave and one of Bills rifles proudly displayed

Bill also shared some excitement and pictures of his new interest. From Bill, “This is where I am going now. I got to cherry pick a number of some very top collectors and authors who were about to sell their life collections. I had a bucket list of my favorites and for the most part found them all in the nicest of conditions.

Brown Bess Book 4x100

My best one is coming next week from the United Kingdom. A ‘pattern” 1738″ heavy dragoon pistol dated 1739. It was the example used in a number of the published books on the subject. I was most influenced by a book called “The Brown Bess” by Erik Goldstein which shows the full shots as well as large detailed pictures of the close ups, all in color.’

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Hemingergun3

HemingerGun2

Posted in Bitters, Collectors & Collections, Display, Figural Bottles, Historical Flasks | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pole Top Discoveries & Glass Discoveries | Auction #68 Review

InsulatorColors

poletop_insul

Pole Top Discoveries & Glass Discoveries

Auction #68 Review

Just sitting here in amazement at how many great, diverse and gorgeous insulators Ray Klingensmith has put in his Auction #68 that just went online last night. The colors are just spectacular. Check it out. I have put together a few of my favorites that really stood out. The photography and descriptions are stellar too, as usual Visit Auction


PilgramHats_PTDsq

CD 737.5

Unmarked “Pilgrim Hat.”

Ice green

PilgramHats_PTD

CD 737.5 Unmarked “Pilgrim Hat”, Ice green, Height 3”, The diameter of the dome is much smaller than the diameter of the wire groove. Typically, most pilgrim hat insulators are constructed with a wire groove and dome of the same diameter. A rarely encountered hat, with only a handful confirmed to exist. Most are reported to have surfaced in the Maritime region of eastern Canada, and were likely used on one or more early telegraph lines constructed by American telegraph companies in the 1850s. Estimated: $5,000 – $7,000


502sq

CD 737

Unmarked,“Pilgrim Hat.”

Dark olive amber

PilgramsHat_Black_PTD

CD 737, Unmarked,“Pilgrim Hat.”, Dark olive amber. The overall contours of this large, impressive pilgrim hat threadless differ from the similar CD 738 in several aspects. The sides of the insulator between the skirt and dome traverse in a perfectly straight line, rather than being curved above the skirt and in the wire groove, as seen on CD 738. The cavity between the base and pinhole is also larger and more open on the CD 737. Note the very flat top and sharp corner on the dome. Only seven or eight of this impressive mold variant have been observed in the past four decades, indicating they are much rarer than the unmarked CD 738. Attributed to a Stoddard, New Hampshire glass house, as an example was found by a bottle collector who excavated Stoddard glass factory sites. Estimated: $1,800 – $2,200


505b_sq

CD 735

U.P.R.R., MULFORD & BIDDLE

Rich dark blue

Mulford&Biddle

CD 735, U.P.R.R., MULFORD & BIDDLE, Rich dark blue,The CD 735 threadless insulators with “U.P.R.R.” embossing were produced for use on the historic, first transcontinental railroad line in America. Although most examples found are aquamarine in coloration, various blue examples have also been found in central and eastern Wyoming. Examples of this rich blue shade were dug from a dump near the old U.P.R.R. grade west of Rawlins, Wyoming in the late 1960’s. Estimate: $ 1,200 – $ 1,500


510b-1sq

CD 740.7

Unmarked, “High Dome Canadian Hat”

Green

HighDomeCanadianInsulator

CD 740.7, Unmarked, “High Dome Canadian Hat”, Green, Circa 1857-1859. A seldom encountered hat style threadless from Canada. The CD 740.7 has a base and skirt similar to the CD 740. From the wire groove upward, however, there are some dramatic differences. The wire ridge on these units is sharply pronounced, the dome is quite high and the top is flat. This design has been found in limited numbers. Some were used on the Port Hope, Lindsay & Beaverton Railway which opened in 1857. A section of the main line Grand Trunk Railway in Southwestern Ontario, and the Ottawa & Prescott Railway also used this type. Estimate: $ 2,500 – $ 3,000


517bSQ

CD 740.4

Unembossed

Bubble, carbon filled aqua

InsulatorCarbonFilled

CD 740.4, Unembossed, Bubble, carbon filled aqua. An amazing example of a scarce CD! The glass is loaded with thousands of bubbles and an abundance of carbon, creating a slag-like appearance. Nearly the entire insulator has “contamination,” as can be seen in the three photographs provided. This design has been found primarily in New York State, mostly on railroad right of ways. At least one of those railroads was completed in 1869 or 1870, indicating a possible rather late production date in the threadless era, at least for some examples. Estimate: $ 3,200 – $ 4,500


519bSQ

CD 740

Unembossed

Dark yellow

CD740DarkYellow

CD 740, Unembossed, Dark yellow, Phenomenal coloration that passes plenty of light through the entire insulator when displayed in a north window. Sold in the 1996 Richard Gay Collection Auction conducted by Pole Top Discoveries, and has been locked into a collection since. Great items such as this have a way of disappearing from the market for decades. Estimate: $ 3,000 – $ 4,000


527_SQ

CD 731

TILLOTSON

Rich blue

TillotsonRichBlue

CD 731, TILLOTSON, Rich blue, A wonderful example with great color saturation! Different than the lighter sapphire blue examples and more teal/midnight toned than cobalt blue. Certainly an attractive and desirable variant for the threadless collector! Estimate: $ 3,500 – $ 4,500


545_SQ

CD 317.5

CHAMBERS, PAT AUG 14 1877, PATENT DEC 19 1871

Rich green aqua

CD317_5_Chambers

CD 317.5, CHAMBERS, PAT AUG 14 1877, PATENT DEC 19 1871, Rich green aqua, The CD 317.5 and CD 317 were both used in the same manner, supporting the horizontal cable on a lightning protection system. The CD 317.5 “Bell Chambers” is much scarcer than the CD 317. Only a limited number have been found. Estimate: $ 2,000 – $ 2,400


544b_SQ

CD 130.1

CAL. ELEC. WORKS. PATENT

Bright cobalt blue

CaliforniaElecWorks

CD 130.1, CAL. ELEC. WORKS. PATENT, Bright cobalt blue. One of the all time “classic” insulators. The combination of highly unusual design, rarity and fabulous color make these beauties one of the most desirable insulators in the hobby. The majority of those in collections have been found along the Ridge Telephone line route, which was constructed shortly after the formation of the California Electrical Works in 1877. The line was built for controlling water used in hydraulic mining. This was one of the first long distance telephone lines in the world, extending from French Corral, North San Juan, and Graniteville to reservoirs high in the mountains to the east. Great condition! Of the eight individual sections forming the wire groove, four are perfect! Two have only the very corner edge grazed, and two have flaking on only a portion of the projection. Estimate: $ 6,500 – $ 7,500


566b_SQ

CD 151

H.G. CO., PETTICOAT

Olive green with amber streaks

CD151_HG_CO

CD 151, H.G. CO., PETTICOAT, Olive green with amber streaks, A great mix of yellow green, olive and amber creates an attractive beauty! Colorful 151’s such as this are rarely encountered. How many have been for sale in the past 10 years? Estimate: $ 4,000 – $ 6,000


599_Sq

CD 199

Embossed Prism

Green and aqua two tone

CD199_Prism

CD 199, Embossed prism, Green and aqua two tone, These large, impressive transposition style insulators are quite attractive, especially in this rare color mix! The only example we have seen or heard of in this wonderful color. Estimate: $ 1,800 – $ 2,300


580b-SQ

CD 162

H.G. CO. PATENT MAY 2 1893

Brilliant yellow

CD162_Yellow_PTD

CD 162, H.G. CO. PATENT MAY 2 1893, Brilliant yellow, This is the highly sought, true yellow HG Co signal. Although the yellow Hemingray 19 is available for purchase occasionally, this is not so true with the more radiant HG Co, which rarely surfaces for sale. Estimate: $ 2,200 – $ 2,800


643b_SQ

CD 266.5

PATENTED JUNE. 17. 1890

Green

CD266_5

CD 266.5, PATENTED JUNE. 17. 1890, Green, An item which has been “in the hobby” for a number of years, but only recently was discovered to be lacking the typical pair of inner petticoats. Upon notifying Mr. N.R Woodward of the discovery, he immediately assigned the new CD 266.5. The “No 5 Boston Cable” was illustrated in the 1902 C.S. Knowles Catalogue. That drawing shows the insulator with only a single petticoat. Mr. Woodward mentioned another different supplier catalogue also showed this design without inner petticoats. Apparently some were produced with a single petticoat, and then perhaps later, the designing engineers thought to add two inner petticoats to increase the insulating properties. At that time, molds were made with the triple petticoat design, and the CD 266 were produced. The glass of this new CD example was produced in a color different than the CD 266, which is typically dark aqua. Estimate: $ 5,000 – $ 10,000


572_SQ

CD 145, H.G. CO., PETTICOAT

Purple

CD145_Purple

CD 145, H.G. CO., PETTICOAT, Purple, The narrow skirt variant. Excellent saturation of color! A great contrasting color to all the differing green HG beehives. Estimate: $ 900 – $ 1,200


584b_SQ

CD 162

H.G. CO. PATENT MAY 2 1893

Red amber oxblood

CD162_Oxblood

CD 162, H.G. CO. PATENT MAY 2 1893, Red amber oxblood, Bright, red toned glass. The color is identical to the darker oxblood offered in Lot #565, just a lighter version. Transition embossing. These are highly sought items. Sold by Pole Top Discoveries several years ago, where strong collector interest escalated the bidding to double the low estimate shown here! Estimate: $ 1,400 – $ 1,800


Posted in Advice, Auction News, Insulators | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Memphis, Yellow Fever and “The Great Bottle Treasure Map of 1880”

MemphisYellowFever_HW

A Harper’s magazine sketch of a hospital scene during the yellow fever epidemic.

Ferdinand, here is the article on “The Great Memphis Bottle Treasure Map of 1880“. The newly founded National Board of Health conducted a Sanitary
Survey in the winter of 1879-1880. Yellow Fever hit Memphis hard in 1878, over 5,000 people died that year.

They began a house to house Survey in Ward 1, the oldest section of the city in late 1879…Exact locations of privies, wells, cisterns, and all buildings were logged….Most privies in this business area were inside or alongside the buildings.

This article may cause some diggers to rethink and perhaps revisit some sites that were less that fruitful. A little food for thought? 5,914 Privies were mapped!

Thanks, Reg Shoeman

Memphis-1880

NATIONAL BOARD OF HEALTH

The Original Outhouse Patrol

Memphis, Yellow Fever and “The Great Bottle Treasure Map of 1880”

BaltoPrivyReportCover

Link above to Report On Sanitary Survey of Memphis, TN  See Pages 416-441

I guess I have always been a researcher, as a kid I would take the family maps and atlases to the “john” to research and dream about some far away place. In my 20’s I began using metal detectors, I researched old homesteads and amusement parks to hunt for coins, with mixed results. Some years later I began water hunting in Clear Lake, and Okoboji in Iowa, I had shifted to scoops, screens and underwater metal detectors by this time.

Metal detectors did work well, at least in swimming areas (8 gold rings in one day was my best haul). But not gold, no grub, so after a streak of about 30 sterling rings in a row with no gold, a local welder fabricated a rectangular metal basket with half inch mesh in the bottom and stainless steel cutting blades. We attached a 5 foot (later 10 foot) T Handle and waded into Clear Lake alongside the 1870’s dock area at the end of Main street.

Success was almost immediate, in an area metal detectorists had shunned as being “to junky”, up from the bottom came Silver Dollars, half dollars, change of all sorts, trade tokens, watches, brooches, coin purses, some great  costume jewelry, (a belated thank you to all of the women who kept me in beer money!), intact pieces of flow blue china, and more than a few bottles…Sometimes the bottles came up in the scoop, other times they just floated to the surface. The “floaters” all had plant growth inside,  once loosened from the lake bottom by the scoop they magically appeared. Divers tell me gasses generated by the vegetable matter are responsible.

Over the next few years I gravitated to the hunt for bottles, while appreciating the history, I am not a collector, I just love the hunt and the research. So most everything was sold, collectible glass turned into gasoline. Like the old prospector told the reporter after finding his gold mine, “Well, I just sold it so I can go find another”!

COURTHOUSE RESEARCH

While living in Las Vegas, Nevada members of the bottle club began digging in the old town of Pioche, Nevada where the boom lasted from about 1869-1872. While a number of histories had been written on Pioche, nobody knew where all of the saloons, hotels, and other sites were. But, I wanted to know! I wandered down to the Lincoln County Courthouse with no background in research, but managed to find business license receipts, treasurers books, and other sources. Nothing had been thrown away, I got lucky.…I was able to put together a color coded map of the business district, it was on the job training, but I learned how to research.

ONLINE RESEARCH

When I was exposed to NewspaperArchive.com I was off to the races. Keyword searches were indeed the key….I tried various searches to find out where bottles might be hidden. For example, cellar filled, dump (actually a more modern term and returns were limited), privy attached, refuse, trash and other terms, I did find info, but most of these terms never made the paper………and then came Google Books!

Less than 5 years ago, I believe, Google spent about $5,000,000 or more to scan many book that are in the public domain, such as Canal Commissioners Reports, Philadelphia Common Council, Boards of Health, City Ordinances, and many others. So this time, instead of a few hits as on a newspaper search, I got many hits just by trying privy, privies, water closet, well condemned and many others. The medical profession was researching causes of diseases such as cholera, diphtheria, and yellow fever.

In a numer of journals I found maps, suspect wells that were found to be contaminated, they showed the privies, often close to the well…..I started getting returns for ordinances: Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Keokuk, many other cities, some very revealing, at least for a bottle digger, “No privies over 2 feet deep” says the New Orleans ordinance of 1877. Privies must be attached to the dwelling, says the Savannah, Georgia code from 1831-1871. What? I new some were attached, but mandated?  Many other diggers told me they were usually out back….I was beginning to doubt they were  usually “out back” very often, at least in the more densely populated areas of cities…….The crowded tenements and the main business areas.

I continued searching, gathering enough ordinances to put together what I thought would be a pretty nice article. One day I was trying the phrase “ Memphis Privies” from a 1880 National Board of Health report: Total Number of Privies: 5,914. Was this the Holy Grail of bottle diggers? 6,000 privies, bitters, whiskies, sodas, pontiled stuff?  It could be!

“The Great Memphis Bottle Treasure Map of 1880”

Yellow fever struck Memphis, Tennessee in the summer of 1878. Before the frosts came in October half of the city’s population of 50,000 had fled, 5,000 were dead, and many thousands more had been infected, but survived the mosquito borne virus.

In 1878 there was no sewer system, animals were left rotting in the streets. Memphis was named the most unhealthy city in America with the US Surgeon General calling it a national disgrace. Visitors to the city reported the stench was so bad you could smell it from 5 miles away.

Congress created the National Board of Health (1879-1883) in the Summer of 1879. No one knew the cause of yellow fever, but the Board attempted to find it. One of it’s first large projects was to organize a “Sanitary Survey” of the city of Memphis, “ including a careful house to house inspection”.

Careful is a bit of an understatement, as we can see from the sample inspection sheet below. The inspection sheet contained location, condition, and dimensions of the privies, when they inspected basements they also looked for locations of older privies that had been filled….One part of their report indicated some basements  contained 1 to 5 old privy sites “Covering a span of a quarter century”.

MemphisPrivy

Boggy Creek Monster – The Memphis Diggers

NATIONAL BOARD OF HEALTH

1879

Sanitary Inspection of Memphis

  1. Ward__ Street_____No_____
  2. Owner or owners___________
  3. Area of lot____ of house____ out houses____
  4. Age of house____ material____
  5. No of stories____
  6. Cellars and basement____
  7. Rooms and passages____
  8. Sinks drains and cesspools____
  9. Privies or water closets location and condition____
  10. Yards____
  11. Hogs or other animals____ fowls____ No ____where kept____
  12. Public nuisances on or near premises____
  13. No of families in house____ names of heads of families_________ No of persons in each specifying No of whites_____ and blacks____
  14. Sickness now in house what diseases____
  15. Any sickness during past year____ what diseases____ No of cases____
  16. Any deaths during past year____ what diseases____
  17. Water supply____ sources of____ and sources of contamination____
  18. Presence of possibly infected material________
  19. Sanitary needs and estimated cost ____

The above is correct as personally examined by me this____ day of____ 18____

Refer to directions often

Inspector______________

Fifty such sheets were put together forming a memorandum book on the back of which was printed the following;

DIRECTIONS

The figures below refer to the corresponding numbers on the other side

See above

1. and 2. Give the exact and full name of the owner or owners of the estate. Give the street and number and describe the location so that it cannot be mistaken

3. Give dimensions of sheds privies stables &c with their relations to living room

5. Examine cellars very carefully and describe their condition particularly with regard to dampness amount and kind of filth ventilation &c

7. Is there any offensive smell from the sinks Are the pipes or spouts watertight Are there any traps to prevent foul air from coming into the rooms Are the spouts broken leaky and filthy Are the sink drains clogged or uncovered Are the cesspools tightly covered and clean Do the cesspools leak into the cellar or into the well

8. Privies and vaults Describe their condition particularly Are they full or running over Are they filthy Is the vault tightly covered Do they smell badly Do the vaults need emptying

9. Describe particularly the kind and amount of all heaps of filth about the premises and the general condition of the yards

11. Public nuisances as sewers stables offensive manufactories &c

12. Note overcrowding

13. 14 15 Inquire particularly

 National Board of Health Bulletin Volume 1 No. 24 Contained the following entries

Ward 1 Survey See Page 167 (see above link)

The  first ward, the oldest part of the city, was selected for the first set of inspections. This is the  area bounded north by Auction street south by the alley between Exchange and Market streets east by Main street and west by the navy yard.

a force of twenty six men subsequently increased was put into the field on  Monday November 24, These were paid at tho rate of two dollars per day and worked in ward squads each ward under the immediate charge of a sanitary inspector detailed by the National Board of Health. These men were furnished with fifty foot measuring tapes, two foot rules, lanterns ,indelible pencils, and printed forms for returns”  NOTE: These guys were the original outhousepatrol!

“Within the area described there are 154 occupied dwelling houses, 20 unoccupied, 3 saloons, 5 junk shops, boarding houses and saloons, 3 negro boarding houses and saloons, 7 tenement houses, 2 barber shops, 1 colored Baptist church, 1 ironworks, 1 lumber yard, 2 blacksmith shops, 1 beef market, 2 large … there are 65 cellars reported greatest depth eight feet…. 32 contain privy vaults all foul not covered varying in depth from twenty to forty five feet Outhouses (the word, at least in 1880, had  no connection with privies) 72 comprising wooden sheds summer kitchens stables and cow sheds.”

 Most privies were located where?

INDOORS or ATTACHED!

The were 192  inspections (referring to lots I believe) made in the first ward ………“Privies 184 of which 32 are in cellars48 in the other parts of the houses with vaults beneath…… 48 adjoining houses and the remainder in the yards at distances of from three to forty feet from living rooms 23 houses without privies the occupants using neighboring ones.” The math says exactly 2/3 of the privies were in, under, or attached to the buildings! Others were very close.

In addition, in the two principal business wards of the city, the third and fourth, more than one third of the buildings were found to have privy vaults in cellars or basements. Many of these buildings are upwards of twenty years old and the cellars contain from one to five vaults each the accumulations of an average of a quarter of a century being imperfectly covered over with ashes or earth.

The following is a general summary of the house to house inspection at Memphis Tenn 1879 – 80

Total number structures and premises inspected 12,096               

structures – 10,873
vacant lots – 1,218                                                                                                                                cemeteries – 5
Total number structures inspected – 10,873
dwellings including 535 with stores or shops attached – 6,386
outhouses – 3,617
stores and office buildings – 48
churches – 51
halls theaters hotels and public buildings – 39
manufactories mills and works – 35
academics and private schools – 22
livery stables and stock yards – 21
cotton presses gins oil mills &c – 17
public schools – 11
public markets and slaughter houses – 6
hospitals and charities – 5
railroad depots and grounds – 5
fire engine houses – 3
jail station and poorhouse – 3
gas and water works – 2
United States Government building – 1

Total number buildings stores dwellings schools &c excluding public building &c as well

as out houses – 7,202
of wood – 5,223
brick – 1,778
wood and brick – 187
stone – 13
iron – 1
under 5 years old – 793
between 5 and 10 years old – 1,731
over 10 years old – 4,678
sub ventilation good – 2,204
bad – 2,030
none – 1,453
with cellars – 891
basements – 624
Total number cellars and basements – 1,515
6 feet deep or less – 342
7 to 8 feet deep – 768
9 feet deep and over deepest 20 feet 405

Total number privies 5,914

under house – 451
adjoining house – 165
within 10 feet of house – 367
between 10 and 50 feet from house – 3,226
over 50 feet from house – 1,705
Total number water closets – 398
Total number urinals – 153
Total number cisterns and wells – 4,744
within 10 feet of privy – 369
between 10 and 50 feet of privy – 3,039
over 50 feet from privy – 1,336

According to the above census of privies, 16.6% of the total numbers, City Wide, were inside, alongside, or within 10 feet. As the ward one survey shows, most privies were close, very close. Main business district examinations which was ward 3 and 5, show more than 1/3 of buildings had privies associated with basement or cellars.

Not only were privies in the commercial district close on board, they were DEEP. Memphis ordinances enacted in 1857 and 1873: It shall be a misdemeanor to construct a vault or privy less than fifteen feet deep.

So, when the smoke, or in this case the smell, had cleared,ninety six folio volumes of inspection returns covering 9,508 inspections have been paginated indexed and grouped by wards in such a manner as to make instant reference to the original inspection of any locality possible Tho tabulation of the returns fills four royal folio volumes containing 170,433 different entries. On these sheets it is believed every structure and individual lot of ground within the corporate limits of Memphis is succinctly described with its sanitary history at the date of the inspection.

THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES

Early in 2011 we hired a professional researcher to hunt the National Archives in an attempt to find all of the data from the Memphis survey. The National Board of Health was eliminated in 1883 after funding was cut off by congress.

The log books from the National Board of Health were locate in the Archives, and it showed  that records from the survey were logged in at the Board of Health. Over 170,000 entries covering the above 9,508 inspections of different sites.

This survey generated a large amount of paper, but a blip compared to the Archives. Destroyed, misfiled, or whatever, to this point at least, it is missing. Some copies apparently went to State Agencies in Tennessee,….the Yellow Fever Museum in Memphis had no knowledge of them, the Tennessee State Archives also does not hold them.

Do They Exist?

The log book from the Board  did make it to the Archives, so there is a reasonable chance, they exist, but the jury is still out.

What else was learned?

This was the only thorough sanitary survey conducted prior to 1900 that logged locations of about 6,000 privies….they were located under floors, in the cellars, attached to the buildings. Of the approximately 200 houses or stores in Ward 1, exactly NONE had a privy more that 40 feet away!

In these same report it was stated that Ward 3 and Ward 5, one third of the buildings, in this, the main business district, had privies in cellars or basements. Unsure what percentage of buildings had basements in those wards, but in Ward 1 it was  at 33%, and almost half had privies. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps should answer a few of these questions.

The Baltimore Sanitary Survey, done shortly after Memphis was surveyed, showed many privies attached or in the basement. No count of privies in that study, be still very revealing.

Where else should we search?

Many of the same areas we had already hunted, we missed privies because our search failed to cover the entire area. (Hunting “out back” did make sense at the time), but the Memphis study shows in some areas 2/3 of the privies are “Up Front” and seldom way “Out Back”. Half of Memphis basements in Ward 1 had privies. How many dirt cellars still exist in the Eastern state? In big cities probably not many. In the Western mining areas they may still be dirt to some extent. If boom time had come and gone by 1900 or so, some the cellars should be dirt.

The hunt continues!

Reg Shoeman

outhousepatrol@yahoo.com

Read More: Strong clues as to depth and location of Baltimore privies

Read More: Ordinances Regulating Location, Depth, etc. of Urban Privies

Read More: Collector Rights

Posted in Advice, Article Publications, History, Publications, Questions, Regulations, Treasure | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Elvin Moody Bottle Collection pictures surface!

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Elvin Moody Bottle Collection pictures surface!

11 April 2013

Hi Ferd,

Back in 1982, when I was pretty new to bottle collecting, I had the priviledge to visit Elvin Moody and see his fantastic bottle collection. What a pleasure it was to visit with Elvin and his wife Cherie. Seeing his amazing collection is something that I will never forget. He was very gracious and let me take as many pictures as as wanted. The lighting wasn’t the best, but you can see some great bottles lining the shelves of his bottle room.

He told us that the day before our visit the cleaning lady decided to do a little dusting in the bottle room. Elvin had a couple boxes on the floor from the last bottle show he attended. Rather than pick up the boxes to move them, she just gently kicked them accross the floor. Six bottles in the boxes got damaged/broken! Elvin, laughing as he told us, said he really didn’t get mad at her, but he told her she did not have to dust in the bottle room any more!!!

I’m sure glad I went to see Elvins bottles when I did as he sold off his collection in 1983. Here are some of the better photos, I hope you can use them.

PS – I wish I took a better photo of Elvins’ cobalt fish and I included on photo of his flask collection too. Thanks for the great bottle site you have for all of us to enjoy.

Marty Kuzmic

Apple-Touch-IconAMarty: Thank you so very much! These pictures are stunning and a real missing link in my photo archives of the great collections. This is just spectacular. I recognize so many of the bottles. Some in my collection and many in others. A truly valuable resource. I will refer to these pictures often.


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Posted in Bitters, Collectors & Collections, Color Runs, Figural Bottles, Historical Flasks, Photography | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Old Dr. Townsend’s Daisy Vases, more common than you think

TownsendsDaisy

OLD DR. TOWNSEND’S CELEBRATED STOMACH BITTERS

11 April 2013 (R•052914)

“The wife said they had gotten it out of a rural school in Alabama, where it was being used as a flower vase”

TomPhillipsMugFerdinand: About a month and a half ago, a person contacted me and told me she had a very valuable Dr. Townsend’s bottle, like one that sold for $10,000 at auction about 10 years ago. I told her that a Dr. Townsend’s sarsaparilla is a good bottle but not exceptionally valuable. She said it wasn’t a sarsaparilla but rather, a bitters bottle. I asked if it was amber with a glass handle, and she said yes.

We made arrangements for her to bring the bottle to my office. She was a no show and didn’t call to cancel. This wasn’t surprising to me, since I wasn’t convinced she had this extremely rare bottle. She called back a couple of weeks later and told me she had had car trouble and had lost my number. She made a new appointment to come the next day.

“She also told me she had washed it in the dishwasher”

When she arrived at my office, her husband brought in a box of bottles and unwrapped them for me to examine. The first four or five were junkers, but then he unwrapped the prize: a left handled Old Dr. Townsend’s Stomach Bitters. I couldn’t believe they really had one. I looked it over carefully and discovered a small crack at the base of the neck on the back side and a tiny lip flake. Other than that, the bottle was in excellent condition. The wife said they had gotten it out of a rural school in Alabama, where it was being used as a flower vase. She also told me she had washed it in the dishwasher. I pointed out the damage and made them my offer. They thanked me and said they would get back to me with their decision.

A couple of weeks went by, and then I got a call from the wife. She asked me if I could raise my price. I said no, that was the most I could pay. She and her husband accepted my offer and brought the bottle to me that afternoon.

Tom (Phillips) FOHBC Conventions Director

TownsendsEmbossingSlug

Look beneath the word BITTERS and you can see old graphics for BITTERS, specifically the letters ‘ITTE’ in an odd position and with a low arc – photo Ferdinand Meyer V – Meyer Collection

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A left handled and a right handled OLD DR. TOWNSEND’S CELEBRATED STOMACH BITTERS – Ham Collection

OldDrTownsends_Feldmann

A left handled and a right handled OLD DR. TOWNSEND’S CELEBRATED STOMACH BITTERS – Feldmann Collection around 2010

Handle on Right side – Very rare

Handle on Left side – Extremely rare

Apple-Touch-IconAWhat I find fascinating with Tom’s e-mail is that the bottle was being used as a flower vase. It even sat on a thin shelf apparently. Now here is the fun part, my example too was used to hold flowers, or so the story goes. It was not cleaned in a dishwasher, I hope. Folks, the Old Dr. Townsend’s has to be one of the most fragile and fragile looking bitters bottles out there with the chestnut form and decorative handle.

The Old Dr. Townsend’s are exceptional bottles. The left handled versions are double pontiled and have remnants of a slug plate and graphics beneath the word ‘Bitters’. I am unsure if this applies to the right handled versions.

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Enjoy the pictures. It’s springtime, so if you have an example, fill it with lukewarm water, drop in a teaspoon of Dr. Townsend’s Magic Gro and put some fresh cut flowers in it. Preferably daisy’s. Put it on the mantle and have a talk with you kids, grand-kids and cat. Also if you put it in the dishwasher, use old Dr. Townsend’s Magic Essence of Spring dishwasher soap. Put it on gentle cycle. No don’t!

The Carlyn Ring and W.C. Ham listing in Bitters Bottles is as follows. At some later point I will develop a special post on this bottle and some of the related brands and artifacts.

T 51  OLD DR. TOWNSEND’S CELEBRATED STOMACH BITTERS
OLD / DR / TOWNSEND’S / CELEBRATED / STOMACH / BITTERS // c //
L… Old Dr. Townsend’s Celebrated Magic Stomach Bitters
Ralph Pomeroy & Company Proprietors, 41 Jay Street, New York, and London
8 3/4 x 4 1/4 x 2 3/4
Handled chestnut, Amber, ARM, Applied mouth, Rough pontil mark, Handle
on right side – Very rare; Handle on Left side – Extremely rare
Label: The great renovator of the gastric juices. A sure remedy for weak, sour and irritable stomachs, dyspepsia, liver complaint, coughs, colds, asthma, bronchial affections, pains in the bowels. These bitters meet with universal success in all parts of the world.
Patent No. 100, dated November 21, 1862
DrTownsendsFull_Phillips

OLD DR. TOWNSEND’S CELEBRATED STOMACH BITTERS – Phillips Example

DrTownsendsEmbossing_Phillips

OLD DR. TOWNSEND’S CELEBRATED STOMACH BITTERS – Phillips Example

DrTownsendsPontil_Phillips

OLD DR. TOWNSEND’S CELEBRATED STOMACH BITTERS – Phillips Example

DrTownsendsTop_Phillips

OLD DR. TOWNSEND’S CELEBRATED STOMACH BITTERS – Phillips Example

T51_B

Double pontil on OLD DR. TOWNSEND’S CELEBRATED STOMACH BITTERS – Meyer Example

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OLD DR. TOWNSEND’S CELEBRATED STOMACH BITTERS (left handled) – Meyer Example

T51_FL

OLD DR. TOWNSEND’S CELEBRATED STOMACH BITTERS (left handled) – Meyer Example

T51_FR

OLD DR. TOWNSEND’S CELEBRATED STOMACH BITTERS (left handled) – Meyer Example

T51Townsend's_rth_BBS

OLD DR. TOWNSEND’S CELEBRATED STOMACH BITTERS (right handled) – Bitters Bottles Supplement

Posted in Bitters, Digging and Finding, Humor - Lighter Side, Vases | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dr. Harter’s Wild Cherry Bitters Cast Iron Advertising Lemon/Lime Juicer

HartersJuice_Crop

DR. HARTER’S WILD CHERRY BITTERS

Lemon | Lime Juicer

10 April 2013

Apple-Touch-IconANow here is an item that you do not see too often. A Dr. Harter’s Wild Cherry Bitters juice squeezer. Like I have never seen one before for a bitters product. Kind of medieval. It is pretty cool though. Looks like a mechanical bank. I cleaned up the pictures a little bit. Always amazes me where and how these types of products were advertised. Reminds me of the Reed’s Gilt Edge Tonic Clocks.

Game-of-Thrones1

Ladystark (the ebay seller), medieval, I think we have A Game of Thrones thing going on here.

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[eBay Listing] RARE 8″ cast iron mechanical lemon or lime juicer advertising Dr. Harter’s Wild Cherry Bitters. Milton George Harter was a medical physician. He established ‘Dr. Harter & Company’ around 1868 and in 1873 a factory was built to produce his medicines including Harter’s Iron Tonic, Harter’s Smoothing Drops, Harter’s Lung Balsam and Harter’s Improved Liniment. In 1885 they marketed Dr. Harter’s Wild Cherry Bitters. This Bitters would become very popular. Base and shaft are nickel plated iron. Black painted wooden handle on crank. The drip bowl of the juicer is iron with a gray baked enamel (granite ware). Excellent working condition and no damage or defects, but about 1/3 of the original nickel plating is gone.- ladystark (100% positive feedback)

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H 050 (Dr Harters)X

Labeled with cork DR. HARTER’S WILD CHERRY BITTERS (H 50) – Meyer Collection

Read: Dr. Harter’s Wild Cherry Bitters and the Bottle Gods

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DR. HARTER’S WILD CHERRY BITTERS juicer– ebay

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DR. HARTER’S WILD CHERRY BITTERS juicer– ebay

Posted in Advertising, Advice, Barber Bottles, eBay, Ephemera, Humor - Lighter Side | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Jacob’s Cholera Dysentery and Diarrhea Cordial ensemble

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JACOB’S CORDIAL

Savannah, Georgia

“recommended to females, children, travelers, ships captains and voyagers, laborers, planters as well as the general public.”

JacobsCordialAd

Jacob’s Cordial Advertisement 1859

Apple-Touch-IconAIf you remember a few days back, I did a post on some eye-catching typography and typesetting for Jacobs Cordial. Read: Jacob’s Cordial – Some great typesetting and typography. In that post, near the end, I specifically said “I can not find a picture of this bottle. Can someone help me out? Who was Jacob and where was this cordial made?

Well, let me tell you, not only did I receive an answer but rather a treasure trove and wealth of information came in from none other than Jack Stecher (Rochester, NY). Wait until you read his email and look at his pictures that he so graciously provided. My hat is off Jack. You continually amaze me with your knowledge and your bottle collection.

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Good morning, Ferd:

After viewing and enjoying your recent post on Jacob’s Cordial typesetting and typography, I can add to your inquiry of where and when this product most likely originated. In fact, as you can see by the attached photos, it was manufactured and sold in the 1850s by Dr. Wm. W. Bliss & Co. of Savannah, Georgia, who, it so states, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

My bottle has sealed contents, wrapper, advertising pamphlet and a broadside expounding its many virtues. As advertised profoundly in the ad circular, it’s recommended to females, children, travelers, ships captains and voyagers, laborers, planters as well as the general public. Most all testimonials are dated 1853-54 and identify locales in both Georgia and Newark, New Jersey. It is also interesting to note it prescribes dosages all the way from the aged down to the newborn. Please feel free to use any or all the attached photos.

In closing, please also note that the Rochester, New York Bottle Show will be held Sunday, April,21, with dealer set up on Saturday, April 20. Anyone can access more information by going to the GVBCA website. View Show Ad

Jack


Jacks – JACOB’S CORDIAL ensemble

“my bottle has sealed contents, wrapper, advertising pamphlet and a broadside expounding its many virtues.”

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Read more about Jack an his bottles…

Jack Stecher and his John Moffat Phoenix Bitters

Some of Jacks labeled Upstate New York Bitters

Posted in Advertising, Collectors & Collections, Cordial, Ephemera, History, Medicines & Cures, Questions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment