DR. C. W. ROBACK'S / STOMACH BITTERS / CINCINNATI, O.   embossed horizontally on the front of this classic bitters barrel.  Medium golden amber in color with very nice "warmth" to the tone, 9 1/4" tall, applied almost "blob" shaped lip,  smooth base, American ca. 1870-1880.  Condition is near mint with a waxy sheen to the surface and some scattered "whittle", a couple very tiny no depth open surface bubbles, slight wear to the back label panel, and some very light localized content haze inside that can only be seen upon close inspection in direct light.  A very nice, solid example.  SOLD!

DR. C. W. ROBACK'S / STOMACH BITTERS / CINCINNATI, O. - Here is another Roback's from the same mold in near mint condition.  It has a little light patchy content stain in the middle back and a couple incredibly tiny in making pick pricks (really) rough spots on the lip edge - most would just ignore these "nicks" as they are just part of the crude roughness of the applied lip.  Color is a very nice medium chocolate amber with just a touch of green & yellow - almost an olive amber - with swirly crude two-tone glass (only slightly exaggerated in the picture) which shows in the enlarged picture (click the thumbnail).   Great look in any event.  Very nice crude bottle that is very eye pleasing and just nice to hold.  Great complimentary color variation to the above Roback's.   SOLD!

S.T. / DRAKES / 1860 / PLANTATION / X / BITTERS - Also embossed PATENTED / 1862 (all on one roof panel) on the back roof.  There must be thousands of the cabin shaped Plantation Bitters still out there, produced by scores if not hundreds of different molds.  Though abundant, they are still incredibly popular and in demand for obvious reasons.  The more common configuration is the 6-log versions like this one.  Almost 10" tall, very crudely applied lip with lots of slop over, smooth unembossed base (dot in center), ca. 1865-1875.  Click HERE for a close-up picture of the upper portion of the bottle showing the front embossing which is pretty strong.  Color is medium amber with a touch of yellowish orange.  The condition is about mint with just some sparse and very light patches of  haze on a small portion of the label panels and some almost invisible inside content haze.  There is also a smooth, 2 mm wide indentation on the lip (with no real depth) that is virtually invisible and in making, but want to note it.  Also some minor wear on the base as is often found on these bottles since they were not always thrown away, but kept around because of their beautiful shape.  Overall a nice, sharp, pleasing example in near mint shape with no chips, cracks, or damage.  SOLD!

HUTCHINS - DYSPEPSIA BITTERS - NEW. YORK. - This is embossed on three sides of this nicely whittled early bitters bottles.  These bottles were made between 1850 and 1855 or 1856 according to Odell & Ring/Ham books and come in a couple mold variations and with different pontil scars (square iron pontil and open pontil).  This one is the variation with periods after the New. and York. (H-218 Ring/Ham) and has a big, round, sharp, blow-pipe pontil.  Click opposite view for another view of this bottle from the other side.  This bottle is in about mint condition - having been lightly cleaned to its original luster - with wavy, whittled, bluish aqua glass, assorted bubbles, crudely applied single collar, and no chips, cracks, or other dings or problems.  Embossing is strong and the bottle is just brilliant and beautiful.  One of these in similar condition (not cleaned though) just sold at Glassworks Auctions for $650 (+12%)...this one, as you can see,  is substantially less but just about equal.  SOLD!

OLD SACHEMS / BITTERS / AND / WIGWAM TONIC - Here is maybe the pinnacle of the Sachem barrel colors - the extremely rare moss green version.  This bottle is absolutely spectacular in color as shown - though the picture shows the color a bit more olive than it actually is in real life (the color in the picture at the top of the homepage is more accurate).  The glass has many hundreds of seed bubbles scattered throughout the glass.  Condition is about mint with just a couple tiny pin prick nicks on the side of the lip - click HERE to see close-up picture of these small nicks.  Some of the tiny bubbles are open (with no depth) on the surface of the bottle, which is to be expected with this many in the glass.  Click HERE for a close-up picture of the embossing and body.  This bottle is virtually identical in color and condition (including tiny nicks to the lip edge) to the one sold at Glass Works Auctions (Auction #61) in November 2001 (item #119) for $10,500 + 12% ($11,500+)!  The GWA bottle and this one must have been blown on the same day from the same batch of non-typical glass.  Yours for "only".... SOLD!

TIPPECANOE - H. H. WARNER & Co. - Really not much else to add to the description of this bottle except since it is very familiar to most all collectors.  This one is embossed ROCHESTER N.Y.  on the base with the number "5" in the center.  9" tall, medium golden amber in color, and in almost mint condition with just a tiny nick or abrasion spot on the rounded part of the blob lip; no staining, cracks, chips, or other problems.  As I've noted before, this is one of the bottles - like the Plantation Bitters - that every collector should have one of.  Yes, it is debatably a "bitters" bottle, but many collectors consider it such.  (It is also listed on the medicine page just for consistency.)   SOLD!

S. T. / DRAKES / 1860 / PLANTATION / X / BITTERS - Also embossed PATENTED / 1862 (split onto two roof panels) on the back roof.  Here is another slightly nicer - to my eye - 6-log Plantation Bitters for your consideration.  About 9 1/2" tall, crudely applied lip with some slop over, smooth unembossed base (two dots), ca. 1865-1875.   Click HERE for a close-up picture of the upper portion of the bottle showing the front embossing which is pretty strong.  Color is a medium amber that has some "brilliance" to it.  The condition is essentially mint except for some minor wear on the base.  Great, sharp, pleasing example. SOLD!

S.T. / DRAKES / 1860 / PLANTATION / X / BITTERS - Also embossed PATENTED / 1862 (all on two roof panels) on the back roof.  There must be thousands of the cabin shaped Plantation Bitters still out there, produced by scores if not hundreds of different molds.  Though abundant, they are still incredibly popular and in demand for obvious reasons.  The more common configuration is the 6-log versions like this one.  Almost 10" tall, very crudely applied lip with lots of slop over, smooth unembossed base (two spaced dots on base), ca. 1865-1875.  Click HERE for a close-up picture of the upper portion of the bottle showing the front embossing which is pretty strong.  Color is light to medium yellowish amber.  The condition is about mint with maybe some very, very light haze content haze inside?  If so it is very even and almost invisible.  Overall another nice, pleasing example in near mint shape with no chips, cracks, or damage.   SOLD!

OLD SACHEM / BITTERS / AND / WIGWAM TONIC  - One of the classic bitters bottles, the Old Sachems are a favorite of mine to say the least (I end up with too many of them - thus the ones on this list).  9 3/8" tall, usual conformation (10 rings above and below the embossing), smooth base, applied blocky flared lip which is a bit narrower than usual.  Color is a light to medium rich orange amber which has a brilliant or bright quality to the glass which is very pleasing to the eye.   Click on Sachems outside to view a natural light picture of this bottle taken outside.  A nice scattering of bubbles in the glass and a bit of crudeness to the body round out the nice look.  This example is essentially perfectly mint with just a little very light wear on the high point of the back; the lip and body are perfect and there is no staining inside or out.   SOLD!

DR. J. HOSTETTER'S / STOMACH BITTERS - Here is a pretty nice example of the famous "big", older (1860's), black glass Hostetter's that are just spectacular looking bottles.  This one is 9 1/3" tall, 3" square, crude smooth "key mold" base, topped with a long tapered crudely applied finish (mineral finish to be precise).  The medium to dark olive green crude wavy glass is packed with hundreds of seed and larger bubbles - click glass close-up to see the glass and the color.  This bottle is in excellent condition with no cracks or potstone radiations, though does have a small pin-head size nick on the edge of the lip (that could be from making or not) - click finish close-up to see this and the crude lip.  There is also a bit of flaking on the lower arm of the second "E" in Hostetter's - click embossing close-up to see this (line to left side of bottle is a crude fold in the glass) - and a bit of scattered outside very light staining which is quite benign and not even visible in the photo's.  Overall a very nice specimen with some very minor issues and thus priced right.  SOLD!

DR. PETZOLD'S / GENUINE  / GERMAN / BITTERS. / INCPT. 1862 - Also has PAT'D 1884 on the front shoulder.  Semi-cabin, oval shape, with logs and panels on both sides - the embossing is all on the front however - and narrowly beveled edges.  (Ring & Ham P-75.)  Just over 10" tall, light amber with a bit of a yellow-ish tint, tooled long tapered collar with ring collar (i.e., "brandy finish"), smooth base, ca. 1885.  Condition is near mint - no chips, cracks, or staining - with some light wear and scratching.  There is a shallow in-making flat potstone or impurity (1/8" wide and very shallow) at the surface on the base that has just the tiniest bit of glass (like a scratch in width) missing - no radiations.  Really no harm at all, but want to be complete here since I can see the bottle and you can't yet.   SOLD!

DR. C. W. ROBACK'S / STOMACH BITTERS / CINCINNATI, O.   embossed horizontally on the front of this classic bitters barrel.  Medium golden amber in color with very nice "warmth" to the tone, 9 1/4" tall, applied almost "blob" shaped lip,  smooth base, American ca. 1870-1880.  Condition is essentially mint with a high natural gloss to the glass surface, a few bubbles here and there and no cracks, chips, or other problems.  Another very nice, solid example that is almost identical to the one I sold some time back (pictured below).  SOLD!

BAKER'S / ORANGE GROVE - BITTERS - These bottles are not particularly rare, but sure less commonly seen than they used to be.  They are quite popular due to the neat roped corners and come in different colors which allows a person to acquire a "run" of them - if one has a enough money.  This example is about 9.25" tall, has a smooth base (none are pontiled to my knowledge), has an applied long tapered collar, and is a medium, bright amber color.  Click reverse view to see such (the BITTERS side).  The condition is essentially mint with no cracks, chips, staining, or any issues.  There are a few potstones in the glass but none have any fissures related them them in the slightest.  Not much else to add about this very nice bottle except that I got it years ago (late 1980s) at a Glass Works auction.  One of these of a similar quality and medium amber color (at least to my eye) recently sold on eBay for $925!  Pay way less here.  SOLD!

LACOUR'S BITTERS - SARSAPARIPHERE - These very distinctively shaped bitters - presumably a stylized rendition of a lighthouse - come in a variety of colors, this being the most "common" in a nice bright light to medium amber.  Bottle is 9" tall, has an applied "stovepipe" style lip or finish (one of the few bottles to sport such a finish), smooth indented base, and dating from around 1870.  Condition is about mint with perfectly clean, glossy glass inside and out with no wear or scratches.  The only "issues" are a couple very small flea-bites on the edge of the lip (click to see image) and a very short (1/8"), in-making - and very hard to find - "check" or "stress mark" where the lip was applied.  Really not damage but want to note it.  This bottle was also used for illustrating my Historic Bottle Website.  Nice clean almost mint example of a bottle that (like so many) is becoming hard to find.  SOLD!

Pineapple Bitters - The offering here is for the distinctive and popular "pineapple bitters" bottle.  The color is a medium to dark chocolate or tobacco amber (not just a plain amber), almost 9" tall, smooth base (indented in middle for mold post plate), a crudely applied blobby lip with a sharp edged lower ring, dating from the golden age of figural bitters bottles - ca. 1870.  Condition of this bottle is about perfect with a small (4 mm x 2 mm) shallow flake on the inside edge of the lip that could be in-making, but not sure...but priced accordingly. Click HERE to view a close-up of the small flake; it is on the right side of the lip rim.  There may be some wisps of content haze on the inside, though it is hard to tell; the outside is glossy and nice with minimal wear (some on the base where it should be). No other cracks, dings, chips, or other issues.  Nice bottle that would look good in a window.  SOLD!

MIST OF THE MORNING / SOLE (indented circle) AGENTS / BARNETT & LUMLEY - The previous wording is embossed horizontally in the center of this horizontally ringed liquor/whiskey barrel (not acknowledged to be a bitters but similar in shape).  It is reminiscent of the much commoner Hall's Bitters barrels but with a totally different lip or finish, i.e., a "brandy" style instead of the wide flared one-part disk finish/lip of the Hall's.  This beautiful bottle is a light to medium yellowish amber in color, about 9.6" tall, has a crudely applied brandy finish, smooth indented base, and dates from the 1860-1875 era.  Besides having beautiful waxy glass with some bubbles and other body crudeness, this barrel is essentially mint; I can't find any problems with it whatsoever, but I suppose someone might find a small open bubble or vague scratch.  These are pretty rare bottles that came in a couple variations including this type with some of the upper sets of rings being slightly "slugged" out to form a flared label space.  Simply one of the finer examples I've seen.  (This is an ex-Harmer Rooke auction item from about 20 years ago.)  SOLD!

BOURBON WHISKEY / BITTERS - That is the embossing (click embossing close-up to see such) between the 10 horizontal barrel staves (above and below embossing) on this familiar though extremely nice bitters barrel.  It has an applied flared single collar, was blown in a true two-piece "hinge" mold (mold line dissects the base), and dates from the 1860-1870 era.   It is both mint (one very small, shallow "onion skin" open bubble on the back) and a spectacular color.  The color is hard to define and in the eye of the beholder, but to this beholder it is maybe black amethyst as there is a lot of pink and/or red in it, maybe claret or burgundy as it approximates the color and darkness of those wines somewhat, dark pink/purple puce...I guess the point is there is no amber in the glass color which is red/pink/some purple.  The color is pretty accurately represented in the transparent part of the close-up image of the perfect lip at this link:  close-up of the lip.  (Note: The color in the embossing close-up image linked above is way too purple...it is more reddish/pinkish to my eye than purple.)   As noted the lip is perfect with no flea-bites or issues whatsoever; what seems to be tiny ones on the lip edge in the close-up photo are just in-making edge irregularities.  Regardless of how you cut it, the color is intense though dark (it is heavy, thick glass)...and very nice.  Use this bottle as the "black" one to set off all those more" common" lighter colored Greeley's and Bourbon Whiskey barrels.  (Ex-Bonnie McLain collection.)  SOLD!

Click on the following links to go to these other pages with more bottles for sale.

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