SODA/MINERAL WATER & BEER
Listed
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Soda/Mineral Water
JOHN CLARKE / NEW YORK -
Probably the earliest of the "Saratoga" type mineral water bottles are
some of the examples made with Mr. John Clarke's name on them...with
possibly the oldest ones (1820s and early 1930s0s) embossed Lynch
& Clarke. The example offered here is a pint sized one
used by just Mr. Clarke after he branched off on his own in 1833 (i.e.,
Mr. Lynch died); it dates from between that date and about 1846 and is
pretty certainly known to have been blown by the Saratoga Mountain
Glass Works (Mt. Pleasant, NY) as best I can tell from various
references including McKearin & Wilson (1978). (Note: I
cover this particular bottle in more depth on my Historic Glass
Bottle Identification & Information Website at this
link: Soda
& Mineral Waters Typology page.) In any event this
bottle is about 7" tall, an nice clear medium olive amber, has a
crudely applied "mineral" type finish (where this finish gets its
name!), and somewhat indented base with a centered dot with the mold
seam line (a true two-piece mold indication) cutting through it and a
moderately distinct sand pontil scar around the outside edge of the
domed base. (Click on both small images to see larger
ones.) Condition of this example is excellent and it appears to
have been lightly cleaned at one point restoring a nice original gloss
to the bottle inside and out. The bottle is near mint with just
some very, very light scratching/scuffing in some hard to see spots on
the lower back and a tiny impact nick on the base. Nice example
of a VERY early mineral water bottle and one of the precursors to the
huge array of very similar shaped mineral water bottles that continued
to be made until the end of the 19th century. $200
(shoulder star) /E. ROUSSEL / PHILAD.A -
DYOTTVILLE GLASS WORKS PHILAD. / SILVER MEDAL / 1847 / AWARD / THIS
BOTTLE IS NEVER SOLD - This is a great, dated, mineral/soda
water bottle from Philadelphia, PA. The contained product was
good enough to win the silver medal at some unstated competition in
1847. Tod von Mechow's great website on soda/mineral water
bottles dates these as being made/used from 1847 to 1849 - an early
soda by any standards. The bottle is just under 7.5" tall, an
olive toned medium emerald green color to my eye which passes the light
easily, has some nice whittling to the surface and bubbles in the
glass, and a nicely distinct iron/improved pontil scar on the base with
light but even iron residue remaining. Click base view to see such. The
shoulder has a very boldly embossed star and the finish/lip is what is
referred to as a "tapered collar" - a one part, early and crudely
applied finish that has flattened sides and flares out distinctly from
the rim to the base. Click close-up
of the shoulder, neck and finish to see such. The embossing
is generally quite good: the E. ROUSSEL side is all very boldly
embossed; the 1847 dated side - which was engraved much less
deeply and with very small letters compared to the ROUSSEL side - is
still pretty bold for these bottles with only the IS in BOTTLE IS NEVER
SOLD nearest the heel being very hard to see. The condition is
very good for these bottles having been lightly cleaned. The only
issues being a minor bit of residual (post-cleaning) case
wear/scratching, some scattered, small, and hard to see ("pin prick"
size) contact marks on the body/heel, a narrow wisp of light
discoloring from the upper neck gradually disappearing in the shoulder
(this could be some minor post-cleaning stain but could be some glass
mixing discontinuity), and a small (2-3mm in diameter) impact mark at
the heel...no other chips, cracks, or other post-manufacturing
damage. Overall this early soda is very appealing to the eye and
much better looking than that litany of minor issues implies - see the
images. Bottle acquired for and used/pictured on the
Historic Bottle
Website. Great dated mineral water made during the
earlier days of the "blob soda" era.
$300
CLARKE & WHITE / large C / NEW YORK
- Although Clarke & White bottles are generally fairly
common in most of the myriad of varieties, this one has uncommon -
though very esthetic - crudeness to it. I actually don't really
want to get rid of it as it is so cool looking, but here it is...I
can't keep everything. The bottle is about 7.75" tall, has a
fairly crudely applied "mineral" finish/lip (the Saratoga mineral water
bottles are the origin of the finish name I believe), smooth
(non-pontiled) somewhat domed base (embossed with an "X" in the middle
and a "7" off to the side - see image), and is from the 1860s.
The special thing about this bottle is the zillions of tiny and not so
tiny bubbles in and on the glass; click
close-up of the glass
surface to see this semi-orange peel look to the glass
surface. Otherwise the bottle is essentially mint with no chips,
cracks, staining, or other issues...the only thing I can see is a very
small scuff (not chip) on the edge of the heel on the back. There
is probably some minor scratching and such mixed in with the rough
surface but they are unobtrusive. A great example!
$100
HOFFMAN & JOSEPH
/ (lion on a column) / ALBANY, OGN.
- A very scarce to moderately rare Oregon blob top soda bottle from
the only other city in Oregon than Portland to use the earlier blob
tops soda bottles (and Albany produced two...this and the even rarer H.
D. / ALBANY, O.). Almost 7" tall, light greenish aqua in color,
applied blob finish, smooth base, ca. 1880s. This is the only
example of the Hoffman & Joseph bottles I've encountered
with a true applied lip. I'm pretty sure there must be more
around, but this is the only one to my memory. The physical
condition of this bottle is about mint with no chips, cracks, digs,
etc. It does have a few very light scuff marks and some
relatively faint water staining inside on one side in a pattern showing
that it laid on its side - tipping slightly down - for a century or
more (i.e., a dug bottle like virtually all these I've seen). A
must for the Oregon collector and a rare variation with the true
applied finish. $100
BERLIN MINERAL WATER CO., BOSTON U. S. A. -
This is embossed inside of a large German cross that has a heraldic
eagle trade mark. It is also embossed with "REGD. 1873."
This is a typical round bottom soda type bottle that unlike the vast
majority of such bottles, is actually of American origin - Boston,
Mass. to be exact. It is 9" tall/long, has an applied blob
finish, and likely dates from the 1880s. The majority of these
type bottles found in the United States were imported from Great
Britain and frequently embossed with company names and cities from
England and Ireland - Belfast being a very common point of
origin. However, some were - like the bottle pictured - made in
the United States (or made overseas for a U.S. bottler).
Condition of the bottle is excellent with just some wisps of faint haze
inside (totally non-distracting), a tiny bit of external wear, and a
very small indented (3-4 mm) imperfection to the underside of the lip
that appears to be in-making as it is smooth (and doesn't appear under
a hand lens to have been buffed). Bottle acquired for and
used/pictured on the
Historic Bottle
Website. A relatively rare item I believe.
$50
C. & K. / EAGLE WORKS / SAC.
CITY - These Sac (Sacramento) City blob soda bottles are seen
fairly frequently in various shades of cobalt and sapphire blue...and
apparently, to my knowledge, don't come in any other glass colors like
the later versions (1867 to 1871) embossed with Owen Casey.
The "C" is for Casey - as in Owen Casey - and the "K" is for Kelly;
these bottles date from about 1858 to 1866, according to the late Peck
Markota's great book on Western blob sodas. This example is a
clear, pleasant shade of (what I would call) medium sapphire blue - see
the images which represent the color well. It is a tad over
7" tall, has an applied blob finish, smooth indented base, and very
strong embossing. The condition is excellent - near mint - and it
almost certainly has been lightly cleaned at some point; there is no
staining whatsoever. There are no chips, cracks, or significant
dings except for a bit of minor scuffing and a few very tiny (pin head
or less) impacts marks here and there from handling during it use
period. It is in better condition that most of these I've seen
over the years. Nice bottle - you'll be pleased! SOLD!
SODA / WATER - Those two simple but large and
boldly embossed words define what was obviously the contents of this
bottle. This really nice looking earlier blob style soda
bottle is 7.2" tall, 2.5" in diameter, has a crudely applied blob
finish, no evidence of air venting, smooth base (non-pontiled) with a
embossed "dot" in the center (click
base view to see such), and is quite
crude with wavy, bubbly glass - all befitting its relatively early date
of manufacture. The color is a very nice looking light
clear green with a bit of a yellow tone; it is not just greenish aqua
and the image shows the color well to my eye. No, its not real
dark, but is distinct. The glass is also quite thick and heavy
and appears to have never been professionally cleaned since it is quite
clean. This bottle is likely eastern Canadian in origin (where I
acquired it) and most likely dates from the mid-1860s to late
1870s. The condition is very good with no chips, dings, cracks,
staining or much wear. The one very minor "problem" is a very
fine, short and hard to see in-making annealing check in the side of
the neck that is insignificant - and not photographable - but needs
noted to be accurate. I acquired this bottle to lead off my "Soda
& Mineral Water Bottles" typology page on my
Historic
Bottle Website
since it makes obvious what the bottle was used for...and to add some
Canadian glass to the website. A very nice - and almost
certainly Canadian-made - blob soda bottle in nice color. $65
L & B - The large, blocky lettering on this earlier,
smooth base (1857-1870) Western blob soda bottle indicate use by B. R.
Lippincott and Charles Belding who produced soda waters in both
Marysville & Stockton, California. These bottles come in both
aqua and green...this one (obviously) being a bluish aqua color.
Bottle is about 7" tall, has an applied blob finish with some
"slop-over" from the applied finish manufacturing method, smooth and
somewhat domed base (these apparently all have smooth bases in my
experience - no pontils), and the usual - for the era - absence of air
venting marks which leads to a typically cruder bottle with more
rounding to the embossing pattern. Of interest, this bottle has a
very faint "V" (partially filled in making it "ghosted") underneath the
clearly engraved "L" indicating this bottle was produced in the same
mold used for at least some of the earlier L&V (Lippincott
& Vaughn) bottles which were typically iron pontiled, though the
L&B bottles aren't. Interesting, eh? Anyway, this
example has been professionally cleaned with some minimal ground wear
still in evidence on the shoulder in a couple places away from the
embossing. There are still a few wisps of staining in the upper
neck and inside the lip (aka "finish") though the bottle has no chips,
cracks, or dings besides a few very hard to see and scattered peck
marks (pin head size or less) from the filling, returning and re-using
process long ago. Overall this is a very nice example with some
crudeness to the glass. $65
Beer/Ale
FREDERICKSBURG / (emblem with F B Co inside of a shield) /
BOTTLING CO. S. F. / THIS BOTTLE NOT / TO BE SOLD.
This large (24-26 oz. & 11.5" tall), crudely made, heavily
whittled,
applied blob finish, thick olive green glass, champagne style beer
bottle is very reminiscent of the "apollinaris" style mineral water
bottles. According to Tom Quinn (in an excellent article in
Thomas's 2002 book which was based on a lead in May Jones's books from
the 1960s) - these bottles, as well as scores of other different beer
(export and champagne) and cylinder liquor bottles, were made in
Germany (like most apollinaris bottles) for various far West Coast
brewing and liquor companies (primarily California with some in Oregon,
Washington, and British Columbia); often for companies with German
surnames or themes (like Fredericksburg). These German-made
bottles - or at least the ones with U. S. specific embossing - seem to
be a phenomena of just West Coast brewing and liquor companies which is
believed related to a connection with several importers in the Bay Area
of German ancestry (Abramson & Heunisch in the early 1880s;
possibly others later). Anyway, this example is in about
mint condition with just some very minor wear/scuffing and a small nick
at the
base edge (visible
at the linked image at about 11 o'clock). This bottle was used
for illustrating my
Historic
Bottle Website. And interesting piece of Western American
history with European roots. $75
COLUMBIA / WEISS BEER / BREWERY / ST. LOUIS,
MO. - Virtually unknown as a bottle style out West (at least
embossed with a Western company/city), the tall and graceful "Weiss"
bottles were not even that commonly used in the Midwest and East.
However, it seems that a large amount of them were made for the St.
Louis market, like this example. Bottle is a nice clear medium
amber, 9 1/2" tall (with stopper), tooled blob top with the original
lettered porcelain stopper and original bail (click
HERE for a
picture of the stopper), smooth base, ca. 1900-1910. This bottle
is also embossed on the reverse with "THIS BOTTLE / IS / NEVER SOLD";
click
HERE for a
picture of the reverse side. At the bottom of the reverse side,
just above the heel, is embossed "I G CO 30A" which indicates
manufacture by the Illinois Glass Company in mold #30A.
This mold is listed in the early 20th century Illinois Glass catalogs
with the number 30A and was called - of all things - the "St. Louis
Weiss Beer" style. Bottle is essentially mint with no chips,
cracks, wear, or staining - just a couple of obscure scratches.
The relatively heavy glass also has some nice bubbles in the glass and
is all-round just a neat looking item. (Incidentally, this bottle
was illustrated on the
Historic
Bottle Website.) $50
GAMBRINUS BREWING
CO. / GBCo monogram /
PORTLAND, OR. - All of this is embossed inside of a circular
"slug plate." The base is also embossed with S B & G Co /
2 indicating production by the Streator Bottle & Glass
Company of Streator, IL. (the "2" is a mold mark of unknown
meaning) and the reverse heel is embossed with a very small 99
which might be a date code for 1899. Click
base view to see an image of the base. This bottle is
mouth-blown (aka hand-blown, like about everything I sell) with a
tooled crown cap accepting finish, aqua in color, 11 1/4" tall "quart"
size (about 22-24 oz. actually), and dates from 1899 to maybe 1905 when
Streator merged into the American Bottle Co. (As a
side note, Gambrinus was known as the "patron saint of beer" and a name
used by many American breweries during the late 19th and early 20th
centuries - and even today in one instance.) Condition of the
bottle is about mint with very shiny clean glass and a few light scuff
marks here and there. The only issues are a small (3 mm wide by
1.5 mm high) shallow flake on the side of the top portion ("bead") of
the lip/finish and one small (2-3 mm in diameter) impact mark on the
lower back. This bottle was also used for illustrating my
Historic
Bottle Website. All things considered, this is a
pretty good example of an Oregon beer bottle that one doesn't see that
often.
$30
LIBERTY BREWING CO. / SPRINGFIELD, MASS. -
I don't know much of anything about this bottle except that the company
is listed in Van Wieren's "American Breweries II" as being in business
from 1901-1911 at 183 Liberty and Charles Streets in Springfield.
The full embossing on this bottle is REGISTERED / LIBERTY BREWING
CO. / TRADE (Statue of Liberty) MARK / SPRINGFIELD, MASS. The
embossed Statue of Liberty makes this bottle head an shoulders nicer
than the usual crown top beer bottle from the Eastern Seaboard.
This item has a tooled crown top finish, smooth base (a couple faint
numbers it appears), a faint amethyst tint to the otherwise colorless
glass, and is 9.25" tall. Condition is essentially mint with no
chips, cracks, dings, or staining. There is some very light - and
very hard to see - wear on a couple high points of the body.
Other wise just a nice bottle with some great embossing. Start
your "Statue of Liberty" collection with this bottle! SOLD!
NORTH WESTERN BREWING CO. /
CHICAGO, ILL.- This "quart" (approx. 25 oz.) aqua
champagne style beer bottle is embossed as noted - with a monogram that
includes a buffalo head - inside of a raised circle (likely plate) on
the shoulder. The bottle is made of a heavy/thick pale greenish
aqua glass and is almost 11.5" tall. This bottle is another
obtained and used for illustrating my
Historic
Bottle Website - specifically, on the beer and closures
pages. Below is most of the write-up from my other website
dealing with this bottle:
This bottles base is also embossed with S. B. & G. Co. indicating manufacture by the Streator Bottle & Glass Company (Streator, IL.), in business under this name from 1881 to 1905. This beer bottle has a Baltimore loop seal closure accepting finish. Click Bottle Finishes & Closures, Part III: Types of Bottle Closures to move to the... page which covers this closure type. This bottle also has a tooled blob finish (with the distinctive Baltimore seal "groove" inside the bore), multiple air venting marks on the back shoulder, and was produced in a post base mold. This brewing company was in business with this name from 1888 to 1909 (Bull et al. 1984). The makers mark and company information in combination gives a pretty positive date range for this bottle of 1888 to 1905, entirely consistent with the manufacturing features noted. Click on the following links to view more images of this bottle: base view showing the makers mark; close-up view of the embossing and shoulder. Streator's cross-state rival the Illinois Glass Company (Alton, IL.) offered a very similar champagne style "Monogram Beer" in their early 20th century catalogs, though this shape of bottle also fits the "select" beer style definition noted earlier. Click IGCo. 1906 catalog - pages 254-255 to view an almost identical bottle which was offered with any finish (including the Baltimore seal) and as a plate mold like this Streator example.
Condition of the bottle itself is essentially perfect with no chips or cracks though the bottle does have a couple small scratches and scuff marks on one side, a little case wear, and some splotchy whitish staining on the outside on maybe 1/3rd of the bottle. Interesting bottle with the raided "medallion" that has the embossing contained within it. $15
E. HINCKEL / BREWING CO. / ALBANY N.Y. / BOSTON MASS. /
MANCHESTER N.H. / REGISTERED
- I wasn't sure what this script lettering read - Kinchel or Hinchel or
something else - as the first letter is quite stylized and hard to
read. However, I was recently notified that it is for Hinckel who
made a variety of bottles from the 1890s until Prohibition (thanks
Ted!). This is a nice example of a "pint" (i.e., 11-12 oz.)
Eastern beer bottle from the early 20th century and pre-Prohibition,
ca. 1905-1915 I would estimate. The embossing is largely diagonal
across the front and in script. The bottle also has C. G. W.
embossed on the rear heel which certainly stands for the glass
works/company that made the bottle, though which one that starts with a
"C" is unknown...although it is unlikely to be any Western producer
like Colorado Glass. The bottle has a tooled crown finish, a
medium amber color, thick side mold seams, is 9.25" tall, and in near
mint condition with a few very minor wear marks on the body. The
brewing company is listed in Van Wieren's "American Breweries II" book
as being in business from 1884 to 1920 though this bottle would be from
the latter end of that lengthy span. $15
BLATZ - Milwaukee, Wis. - Old Heidelberg Brew beer tray
- This is an esthetic beer tray that was reportedly produced during
Prohibition (ca. 1920s) for the "near beer" product of Blatz - Old
Heidelberg Brew...not "Beer." The label on the bottle confirms
this somewhat as it does state that the product "Does not contain...of
alcohol by vol..." (the missing parts are off the edge of label
graphic). This is also confirmed on the
www.Trayman.net website (great resource BTW). The tray was
made - according to small print in the lower right corner - by the The
American Art Works, Inc., Coshocton, Ohio. Size of the tray is a
rectangular 13.25" by 10.5" by 1.25" deep. It has some chipping
and edge wear as can be seen in the enlarged photo (click to see a
larger version) but is overall a nice looking tray with good graphics
and pleasing overall nice design...and an embossed BLATZ bottle! (Which
is what attracted me to the tray.) The bottle graphics itself are
almost untouched, with most of the wear/chipping in the vicinity of
BREW and along the rim. The back of the tray also has spots
where the paint has worn off but the tray has no dents at all. I
actually acquired this tray in Ely, Nevada about 30 years ago of all
things; time now to pass it on. Incidentally, a near mint example
sold on eBay for $373 a few years ago; this one is certainly not mint
but priced accordingly.
$75
E. DUFFY
& SON / 44 FILBERT St. - This listing is for a very early
and interesting ale or porter bottle from the City of Brotherly Love
. The noted embossing (click image to the immediate left) is
embossed in a very distinct "slug
plate" or just "plate." This is one of the earliest of these type
plates which made it easy for soda, mineral water, beer (ale, porter,
stout) bottlers to have individualized "proprietary" bottles made up
for them at less cost than a individual mold. The other side is
embossed (not in a plate) with
DYOTTVILLE GLASS
WORKS (arched) / PHILAD.A (Philadelphia, PA.). This
particular bottle has a crudely applied mineral finish/lip, a distinct iron or improved pontil scar
or mark on the base, and an overall crudity befitting its manufacturing
date of about 1854 to 1856. (For more information on these
Dyottville bottles and dates of manufacture see Tod Von Mechow's
excellent article in the May 2006 issue of AB&GC magazine.)
The condition is very good for a re-used, dug bottle with no chips,
cracks, or notable staining though the bottle does has some moderate
wear to much of the body from re-use; this is visible in the close-up
image to the left. It is however, not really that distracting and
gives the bottle surface a "matte" type finish. Bottle
acquired for and pictured on the
Historic Bottle Website.
A relatively nice example of a very historic bottle which is among the
earliest of the embossed beer bottles. SOLD!
Cobalt blue beer
bottle - This cobalt 12 oz. beer bottle so intense in color that it
has some purple-blue highlights to my eye in the thicker portions of
the glass which is quite heavy. Bottle is 9" tall, smooth base
(click
base view to see
such), a true applied "mineral" type finish or lip (click
close-up of the shoulder,
neck and lip to see such), was produced in a turn-mold (unusual for
cobalt beers) with very distinct horizontal striations, and dates from
the 1880-1895 era in my estimation. It also has some nice
elongated bubbles in the glass. These cobalt blue beer bottles
often (always) held a brewed product called "Liquid Bread", which was
likely simply an euphemism for "beer." The condition of the glass
is very nice and smooth - no staining, just a few scuff marks.
There is a small edge of the lip rim nick (actually it may be a very
small open bubble) and a short (5 mm long), narrow flake of the bottom
edge of the lower part of the collar which is not too obvious and minor
in scope...but it is there. Great window bottle and a item which
I used to illustrate the export bottle type on the Historic Bottle Website.
Given the very minor chips, this item is priced well. SOLD!
MICHL DEVER / PHILA -
BROWN STOUT - This is
a classic Civil War era porter bottle that probably was made a
Dyottville Glass Works but who knows and it is not marked as
such. The user (M. Dever) and city (Philadelphia) are contained
within a very crude and very distinct rectangular plate with the
reverse embossing (BROWN STOUT) not in a plate, so there are likely
other porter bottles made in the same mold, but with a different
purchaser plate. Anyway, the bottle is a beautiful medium clear
green, has a "mineral" type finish, 6.5" tall, smooth base with a very
prominent mold seam equally dissecting the base (true two-piece mold),
and dates from the 1860s most likely. This bottle has been
professionally cleaned, but is essentially mint with no remaining
ground wear or other issues that I can see...and the embossing is sharp
and distinct. Like many bottles I offer for sale, this porter
bottle was acquired for and used/pictured on my
Historic Bottle Website.
Nice example with lots of bubbles in the glass and other esthetic
crudity. SOLD!
DELANEY
& YOUNG / monogram / EUREKA, CAL. - An exceptionally nice
example of what I believe is a fairly scarce "champagne" style beer
bottle from a small-ish coastal town in Northern California.
(Delaney & Young also were liquor dealers and there is at least one
amber fifth whiskey bottle with about the same embossing from the same
era.) This bottle is a "quart" size (really about 24 oz.), has a tooled
blob lip or finish, is embossed with 162 / H on the base (indicating
possible manufacture by Holt Glass Company in the Bay Area), and in a
nice light, clear amber color...ca. 1900 to 1910 (or 1906 if actually
blown at Holt with was allegedly destroyed by the SF
earthquake). This bottle was produced in an interesting
4-piece mold where the interchangeable embossing "plate" was the lower
half of the mold on one side. This is something that I've only
seen on Western (and Hawaiian...which is really far West) soda and beer
bottles, though I suspect this configuration had to have been used in
the East also? In any event, the bottle is essentially mint with
no problems I can see - no staining, no chips, no fleabites, no cracks,
no significant wear, no nothing except for being in about the condition
it came out of the glass works in. The glass also has a
smattering of nice tear drop bubbles which add to the
effect. Nice addition to any Western beer or general
collection...or if you collect Northern California beer
bottles. SOLD!
UNION BREWING / AND / MALTING CO. / S. F. CAL. - This
is embossed on the front of this "select" or "champagne" style quart
(24-25 oz.) beer bottle. It is also embossed on the base with P.
C. G. W. which indicates manufacture by the Pacific Coast Glass Works
(San Francisco, CA.) which used this mark from 1902 to about 1924
according to Dr. Julian Toulouse's classic book on makers marks.
The Union Brewing & Malting Company operated under this name from
1902 to 1916 with this bottle most likely dating to the first half of
that range. This example has a tooled blob finish, 11" tall,
smooth base (besides the noted makers marking), and in a nice bright
deep amber that does pass light well in the window (the image shows the
color well). Click on the following links to see more images of
this bottle:
base view showing the PCGW mark
faintly;
close-up of the shoulder, neck, and finish.
The condition is virtually pristine with just a few light scuff spots
on the lower back and no cracks, chips, flashes, staining, high point
wear on the embossing (common on re-useable beer bottles), or other
issues. This bottle was also acquired for and used/pictured on
the
Historic Bottle Website. SOLD!
SEITZ & BRO / EASTON PA
- PREMIUM / MINERAL / WATERS
- Offered here is a nice example of what is one of the more "common" of
the multi-paneled, brightly colored mineral water bottles from the
mid-19th century - a relative statement, as these are certainly not
around everywhere. The bottle is boldly embossed as noted on 5 of
the 8 equal sides, is about 7.2" tall, has an applied blob finish,
smooth base, and dates from the 1860s. This example has been
lightly cleaned it appears restoring the natural glossy surface to the
bottle. Condition is very good with a few small, non-distracting
"peck" marks here and there on the body and edge of the base that are
typical but very minor along with some faint scratching and a tiny bit
of ground wear - all from being used multiple times as all soda bottles
of that era were. There is also an interesting, small (3/8" or
so) "divot" on one unembossed lower side (visible in the first image to
the right of the BRo.) which is in-making in nature, i.e., a small
quarter-moon chunk of glass that was adhering to the side of the mold
when this bottle was blown over it. It is not an open bubble but
a neat reminder of the crudity inherent in craft based glassblowing of
the 19th century. In any event, this is a very nice example that
will grace anyone's collection. SOLD!
CHAMPAGNE
/ MEAD - This is embossed vertically and very boldly on one of the
few blob sodas from the West with fully paneled body sides - eight to
be precise. These bottles were certainly blown in San Francisco
at either the PGW or SFGW, exhibiting the distinctive blue aqua color
of bottles blown at one (both?) of these glass houses. This
bottle has a "globby" applied blob finish, smooth base, just over 7" in
height, some bubbles in the glass and other crudity and dates from the
very early 1870s. The product was actually a non-alcoholic,
carbonated beverage based largely on (apple?) cider not honey like
traditional mead is. Click 1870 patent for the champagne mead
formula to see the not-so-secret formula. An article that I
recently wrote for Bottles and Extras (FOHBC) magazine discusses these
mead bottles briefly along with some other important earlier San
Francisco soda bottles. The article notes that the Champagne Mead
bottles date from about the mid-1870s to possibly as late as early
1872. Click on the following link to see that article:
http://www.sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/crystalsodaarticle.pdf
Condition of this example is very good with only the slightest of wear,
a couple very small scuff marks on the shoulder, and a few very
small (pinhead size or less) peck marks on several of the panel edges;
no staining (doesn't look professionally cleaned but not impossible),
crack or chips. Nice example of a cool Western soda bottle which
is not rare, but not that abundant and with a unique
history. SOLD!
STAR /
BOTTLING WORKS / (embossed star) / SALEM, ORE. - Soda bottles from
any location in Oregon other than Portland tend to be scarce to very
rare. This scarce soda is from Salem and is an earlier
mouth-blown example with a tooled crown finish and an 8-sided "mug"
base. The company dates from 1905 to 1913 according to Ron
Fowler's great book on Oregon sodas. They started out using a
Hutchinson style soda (very rare0, with the crown bottles being later,
i.e., 1912 to 1913 more or less. The bottle is greenish aqua in
color, 8" tall, has the embossing in a slightly oval plate, and was
produced - according to the heel code - by the Streator (IL.) factory
of the American Bottle Co. Actually, this one has an "S 12" code
indicating that plant and production in 1912. Neat!
Condition is very good with just some light wear on some of the edges
and embossing, a few small non-distracting scratches, and a few small
(pinhead size or smaller) peck marks at the corners of the base and on
the outside edge of the lip - all typical of these bottles which were
banged around when being cleaned for re-use as well as in
transportation to consumers. No notable staining, chips or cracks
and an overall very pleasing example. These small town,
mouth-blown crown sodas are an field of bottle collecting that hasn't
been discovered like the Hutchinson styles, probably making these a
bargain to acquire...for now. SOLD!
Click on the following links to go to these other pages with more bottles for sale.
BITTERS
EARLY AMERICAN BOTTLES & FLASKS
MEDICINAL "TONIC" BOTTLES
OTHER MEDICINAL BOTTLES
FOODS & CANNING JARS
LIQUOR & MISC. BOTTLES and COLLECTIBLES
BOTTLE BOOKS
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Page Last Updated: 1/16/12