SODA/MINERAL WATER & BEER
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Soda/Mineral Water
(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 having been lightly cleaned. The only issues
being a minor bit of residual (post-cleaning) case wear/scratching, some
scattered and very small ("pin prick" size) contact marks on the body/heel, a
narrow wisp of discoloring from the upper neck to the shoulder (could be some
minor residual stain but looks to be some glass mix discontinuity to my eye),
high point wear on the sitting surface of the base, and a small (2-3mm in
diameter) impact mark at the heel...no other chips, cracks, or other
post-manufacturing damage. Although certainly not an "attic" found bottle
(i.e., dug), this early soda is very appealing to the eye and much better looking
than that litany of small issues implies.
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.
$350
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!
$120
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
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.
$165
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 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
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. $85
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.
$25
Beer/Ale
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. $50
ON HOLD!
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
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.
$35 ON HOLD!
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! $20
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.
$85