LIQUOR & MISCELLANEOUS BOTTLES
and COLLECTIBLES

Listed prices do not include shipping & insurance.  Please read the Information for Buyers section on the main "Bottles For Sale" page for complete buyer information.

Liquor

OUR CHOICE "CLEVE AND STEVE" half-pint flask - This amber half-pint barrel flask (these are also found in the one pint size too) was produced during Grover Cleveland's 1892 Presidential campaign and is embossed OUR CHOICE / (two busts) / CLEVE & STEVE / NOVEMBER 8TH 92 / MARCH 4TH 93.  On the reverse, superimposed over the barrel staves, is a rooster which was the symbol for the Democratic party in some Midwestern states at that time indicating that this is where these flasks were most likely produced.  These flasks are listed in McKearin & Wilson (1978) as a portrait flask with the catalog number GI-124 and are one of the latest produced flasks the authors cataloged.  Click on the following links to view more pictures of this flask: view of the reverse with barrel hoops and embossed rooster; base view; side view; close-up of the shoulder, neck, and finish.  This bottle is in mint condition with no damage or staining of any kind; the only imperfection is a very small (2 mm or so long, < 1mm wide) surface roughness to the left of "Cleve's" head (visible in enlarged photo) that appears to be a non-melted "slag" particle at the surface.  Bottle was used to help illustrate the barrel flask type on the Historic Bottle Website.   A rare item with neat historical significance.  $600

BELLE OF ANDERSON milk glass whiskey bottle.  Embossing is in a six-pointed star with OLD FASHION HAND MADE SOUR MASH spread across the six points of the star.  The bottle has fluted shoulders and unusual shape and is the smaller (and rarer) version of this bottle.  Height is 6 3/4" tall, tooled lip, smooth base, American ca. 1900.  Condition is essentially mint, though there is some very faint in-making glass roughness along one of the sharp edges of the lip; an attribute often seen on the lip edges of hand-blown milk glass bottles for some reason.  Great addition to any collection.  $65

Handled Olive Green Liqueur Bottle  - Medium olive green, applied handle, likely applied lip (?) with silver or pewter decorative work covering it, smooth indented base, 6" tall, ca. late 19th century - most likely European in origin.  This is a beautiful handled jug that has about half of the contents still inside and is sealed.  Both sides have a small label which reads: Liqueur de MERISE.  There is also a small neck label that says the same thing.  Merise is French for "wild cherries"...so this is a "wild cherry liqueur."  Bottle is mint and has a nice wavy texture to the glass.  $40

HOLLYWOOD / WHISKEY - This is embossed in two horizontal lines on the front of this fifth sized cylinder.  A nice glob-top whiskey cylinder, that if it was from the West, would be more expensive.  It is, I believe, from New York and dates from the 1870's or early 1880's.  Not sure how scarce these are, but I have seen very few of them, though I live in the West (though this one did come from Washington State).  Color is a light amber, 11 1/2" tall, smooth base which has a bell type "kick-up" (like the Western Nabob's) , crudely applied lip - click HERE for close-up of the lip.  Condition is very good with just a bit of slight to light staining in a couple limited spots inside and some wisps on the outside that are not visible except in strong light.  Also a couple small surface scratches or "digs" on the back that are hard to see and have no problems associate with them.  Nice bottle that also has some scattered bubbles in the glass.  $35

Keystone in a wreath "shoo-fly" flask - Here is unusual flask that is rarely seen and is quite esthetic.  It dates most likely from the 1870s, is a "pint" size (probably a typical 12-13 oz. "scant" capacity), and has some early external screw threads with a ground off top or rim (ground rim is perfect).  It is a brilliant medium golden amber in color and has a lot of seed and teardrop bubbles scattered throughout the glass really adding to its appeal.  This flask has apparently never been buried as it still retains the original metal (pewter?) cap that is in quite good condition with just a little corrosion.  The base has an embossed keystone without a wreath; click on base view to see the keystone embossed in the center of the base.  The condition of the bottle is essentially mint with just a few light scuff mark.  This is one of the earliest of the shoofly flasks and most likely was made at a Pennsylvania glass works...thus the keystone motif?  Regardless of where made, it is a unique item that could be used - with the addition of a cork disk to the inside of the cap - as a current day "nipper" if so inclined.  Very nice looking item which I used to illustrate that bottle type on the Historic Bottle Website.  $75

Oregon Centennial Beam Bottle - Yes, this isn't near as old as all the bottles on this site. However, I think they are very interesting mid-20th century "relics". This Jim Beam bottle commemorates the 100th Centennial of Oregon's statehood in 1959. Front of the bottle has trees, beaver (state animal), river with fisherman, and the wording 1859 OREGON 1959 /CENTENNIAL. The label is on the front below the scene and is totally intact with just a little wear/scuffing. The reverse has the wording 1859 OREGON 1959 /100 YEARS with a bunch of snow covered peaks and trees. The bottle also has opposing beavers chewing on the stumpy (literally) neck. Base has the usual "Federal Law Forbids...." and other manufacturers marks with the date 1959. Colors are bright and the bottle is mint with only the usual imperfections of manufacturing that all Beam's have (glaze irregularities and the like). A very esthetic bottle that used to sell for $50-60 back in the early 70's before the market for Beam bottles crashed. Get your example before the 150th Sesquicentennial rolls next year (2009) and these go way up in price.   $25

DYOTTVILLE GLASS WORKS PHILDA - This is embossed around the outside circumference of the base of this familiar (to collectors) liquor bottle type popular from the late 1840s until around 1880 and produced by many different Eastern American glassworks.  This example is three-mold (typical conformation for these), has a smooth domed base (besides the embossing and a bump in the middle; click base view to see such), has a crudely applied mineral lip or finish (click mineral finish to view a close-up of this bottles lip), hundreds of little - and a few bigger - bubbles in the glass, and dates from the Civil War era, i.e., 1860-1870 (and a bottle commonly found on Civil War sites).  The color of this bottle is a light to medium yellowish olive green and is actually a quite nice looking window bottle...where I've had it sitting for years.   The condition of this bottle is pretty good with largely clean, glossy internal and external glass (some very faint dullness here and there on the external sides and part of the base).  The bottle has no cracks or significant chipping - just a very small (pin-head size) nick on the lip rim edge and one even smaller "peck" mark on the shoulder - both of which are very hard to see.  Great window (or Civil War re-enactment?) bottle and an item which I used to illustrate the style on the Historic Bottle Website.    SOLD!

Miscellaneous

BILLIKEN - THE GOD OF - THINGS AS THEY - OUGHT TO BE - This great thought is embossed on the four sides of the pedestal base underneath the "Billiken."  The base is also embossed with "Patent Design / 39603" which was the same little smiling fat guy patent design used for cast iron banks (common), book ends, pendants, and many other "Billiken" items of the period.  This bottle is the rare milk glass version (also comes in clear glass, often painted) with a ground screw top (with virtually no grinding related chipping) with what is almost certainly the original shaker cap with holes (also about perfect), 4" tall, ca. 1908-1910.  The Billiken fad started during the early 1900's and this figure was patented in 1908 according to internet sources.  Bottle is perfect and hard to find as they were only made for a short time, it appears, when the fad was going strong.  Nice item in perfect shape.  $175

E. B. OWENS - This is embossed vertically on one panel of this cool little (2.25") 10-sided bottle of unknown use.  Medicinal?  Ink?  I don't know...it could be either.  The color is a very nice deep blue-aqua, the base has a small but very distinct blow-pipe type pontil scar (click to view base), blown in a two-piece hinge mold, and likely dates from the 1850s.  Condition is essentially mint as I can find no issues with it at all - no staining, no chips, cracks, or other problems.  It has a crudely in-rolled lip or finish and has this tiny hammered whittle all over it.  I obtained this bottle as part of a group of early American items from an old New Orleans collection 20+ years ago.  A great little bottle of which I've never seen another example of.  $75

Root beer amber early umbrella ink - Stoddard manufacture?  Well, everyone speculates about that with these early umbrella inks so I won't (or maybe I just did?).  This bottle is a beautiful little jewel that looks like it was poured into the mold.  It has sheared and refired straight finish or lip, a blow-pipe pontil scar on the base (click to view base), was blown in a two-piece hinge mold, and dates from around 1840-1855 most likely.  The surface of the glass is glossy, waxy, with rippled whittle all over.  Color is a medium to medium dark root beer amber and fairly represented by the image.  The condition is just about mint with no chips, cracks, or staining...just one little pin point peck mark (with no accompanying issues) on the lower part of one panel.  $250

N. E. - PLUS - ULTRA - FLUID - The preceding wording is embossed on the four roof sides of this beautiful little schoolhouse ink which also comes complete with embossed doors and windows on all the body sides.  This bottle is about 2.5" tall, just over 2" to each side of the square body, smooth domed base with an embossed dot in the center, a relatively deep blue aqua in color, the typical "cracked" off straight finish, ca. 1870-1880.  These versions of the every popular schoolhouse inks are thought to have been made in the West - SF&PGW to be precise - which commonly produced bottles with a deeper blue tone to the aqua glass like this bottle.  This example came from the West (California) and most others I'm familiar were also Western found - including one we broke digging when I was growing up in Oregon.  The condition is mint with the usual "roughness" to the rim of the lip which was a function of the blowpipe being cracked-off - instead of sheared - and not being refired to smooth it out; an attribute common to ALL of these type of schoolhouse ink bottles.  For more images click reverse view to see such; click base view to see the indented base.  Very nice example of a very scarce ink bottle.  $425

Barber Bottle - This is a mouth-blown, turn-mold, blowpipe pontil scarred barber bottle that dates from the heyday of such items, i.e. 1870s to maybe 1920 or so.  More specifically, this example likely dates from the 1880-1900 period and is a brilliant yellow green and has the enameled "dot and daisy" design and includes the original (?) shaker top for dispensing the contents.  The condition of this bottle is about mint - the bottle is perfect and the enameled design only has some very slight wear on the widest diameter part of the bottle body.  No chips, cracks, dings, or staining.  It also has some small seed bubbles scattered around in the glass.  Very nice looking item which I used to illustrate that bottle type on the Historic Bottle Website.  $65
 

CARTER CATHEDRAL BULK INK - The picture speaks for itself in that this is a highly colorful, decorative bottle that is unsurpassed in the window. It is the quart size, 9 5/8" tall, early-ish machine-made (1920's), with a smooth base.  It is embossed with ornate "cathedral" windows, 6 sided, and with "CARTER" embossed in the panels on the lower body.  The color is a deep, almost purple hued, cobalt blue which also easily transmits light.  A very popular - though not particularly rare - bottle of which this is the largest of three sizes.  Not much else to be said about it....except that it is mint.   SOLD!

BILLIKEN - THE GOD OF - THINGS AS THEY - OUGHT TO BE - This great thought is embossed on the four sides of the pedestal base.  The base has "Patent Design / 39603" and an old auction sticker indicating that this was from the famous Blaske Collection (#332) and sold in part II of that auction in 1983 (Part I was the flask collection).  Bottle is the very rare milk glass version with a ground screw top (with original (?) white metal cap), 4" tall, ca. 1908.  The Billiken fad started during the early 1900's and this figure was patented in 1908 according to internet sources.  Bottle is perfect and are very hard to find as they were only made for a short time, it appears, when the fad was going strong.  Some of these bottles have the solid cap like this one (candy bottle?) and others have a cap with holes indicating that these were also used for salt and/or pepper.  Nice item in perfect shape and with great history being from the Blaske Collection. SOLD!

CREME D' ITALIE - A rare, odd shaped applied handle milk glass liqueur bottle that has the almost perfect labels (on two sides) still intact.  The bottle is most likely European made as it indicates on the label that the contents were "Produce of Italy" and that it was "Manufactured by S. A. Freund, Ballor & Co., Sole Bottlers & Distributors R. H. Hall & Co. London."  Bottle is about 8" tall, smooth (slightly indented) base, "sheared" lip, square in cross-section with two-part flattened sides with beveled corners...see the image as it is easier to see the shape than describe it.  Identical and equally rare bottles in amber glass (without the handle) were used in the West for some type of bitters; my dad dug one in a Montana ghost town decades ago and I've seen one once with the label indicating the contents as a type of bitters.  This is the only labeled milk glass handled example I've ever seen (have only seen a couple non-labeled ones) and is in mint condition. The label on the back side has a similar look to the one shown except that it is just elaborated with plants and various other decorative elements.  SOLD!

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

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(Page last updated: 6/30/08)
 

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