Due to other priorities I am currently not offering any items via this website; I likely will resume activity later in 2010.
SODA/MINERAL WATER & BEER
Listed prices do not
include shipping & insurance. Please read the
Important Information for Buyers section on the main "Bottles For Sale" page for
complete buyer information.
Soda/Mineral Water
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 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
that I won't let go of too cheap!
Unavailable
at this time.
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.
Unavailable
at this time.
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. Unavailable
at this time.
Beer/Ale
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.
Unavailable
at this time.
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.
Unavailable
at this time.
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.
No longer available.
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.
Unavailable
at this time.
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.)
Unavailable
at this time.
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.
No longer available.
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.
Unavailable
at this time.
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! Unavailable
at this time.
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. Unavailable at this time.
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.
Unavailable
at this time.
"B"
Gravitating stopper bottle from California - This is a Stockton and/or
Marysville, CA. bottle in the typical gravitating stopper shape with the
following boldly embossing on the base (with the mold engravers errors noted;
errors which are not noted in Markota's book on the subject):
GRAVITATING STOPPEP (a "P", not an "R") / MADE BY (with the "Y"
upside down)
/ JOHN MATTHEWS. N. Y. /
PAT / OCT 11 / 1864 in a similar orientation as above.
(The base of this bottle is shown with the stopper in the image to the left.)
This bottle is embossed with a large, thick "B" with diagonal hatch marks
indicating its use by Charles Belding who bottled soda waters for a very long
time in Stockton and Marysville, CA. during the last half of the 19th century,
beginning during the Gold Rush era (1853) until at least 1895. Whether
this bottle was used in only Stockton or Marysville or at both is unknown
according to Markota's great book on California Hutchinson sodas. Bottle
dates from the 1880s and includes the original gravitation stopper as shown in
the image. Condition of the bottle is essentially mint with no cracks,
chips, or notable staining (just some very faint wisps inside that may just be
dirt). The only "issue" is a tiny, almost invisible pin prick mark on the
edge of the lip. This bottle is a well above average specimen and was also
used for illustrating my
Historic
Bottle Website.
No longer available.
W.
H. HUTCHINSON & SON / CHICAGO, ILL'S - W. H. H. - The preceding
lettering is embossed vertically on this relatively early (early to mid-1880s)
Hutchinson-style soda bottle produced by (or for) the company that invented the
famous stopper. These bottles are thought to have been a salesman's sample
used by the company to demonstrate their revolutionary closure, though this
might also have been a generic bottle sold by the company which offered a wide
array of "bottlers supplies." The "SON" in the embossed title is the
inventor of this closure - Charles G. Hutchinson. Of additional interest on
this bottle is that the mold engraver ran out of room when engraving the "SON"
and ended up with the "O" squeezing against the edge of the heel and the "N"
curling over the heel towards the base of the bottle (or maybe the SON was added
later to the mold?). This particular bottle appears to have an applied
(possibly tooled) blob finish or lip, is aqua in color, and about 7 3/4" tall.
Click on the following links for more images of this bottle:
base view (showing the noted poor mold engraving);
close-up of the shoulder, neck and blob finish (note the small dark spots on
the bottle which are impact marks resulting from bottles banging against each
other in the cases during the multiple use and re-use events). The bottle
has no chips, cracks or staining but has been professionally cleaned and still
retains some polished ground wear. It also has quite a few of pin-head
sized ping marks on the body, as noted earlier. Bottle acquired for and
used/pictured on the
Historic Bottle Website.
Great historical item for the Hutchinson soda collector.
No longer available.
HOFFMAN
& JOSEPH / (lion on a column) / ALBANY, OGN. - A very scarce to rare
Oregon blob top soda bottle from the only other city in Oregon to produce blob
tops soda bottles (and Albany produced two...this and the related H. D. /
ALBANY, O. soda noted earlier). Almost 7" tall, bluish aqua in color,
tooled blob finish, smooth base, ca. 1880s. Like virtually all of these
sodas that I've seen, this one has a few short "flashes" in the glass - one on
the right side of the lip that is 1/4" long and one on the right side of the
base edge that is about 3/8" long. Other than a bit of wear/scratching
here and there, a couple tiny flakes on the base perimeter, and a couple tiny
digs (this all sounds way worse than it is) this bottle is in pretty good shape
with no chips or significant staining. Actually I think this is a
slightly better than average example which I'm selling only because I did locate
a more or less perfect one. A must for the Oregon collector.
No longer available.