A NEW KING IS CROWNED.

 

 

A NEW KING IS CROWNED.

 

 

It’s not often that a “new” western pre-pro glass appears. And I honestly can’t recall an undocumented western pre-pro picture glass surfacing since Barb Edmonson published her last book “Historic Shot Glasses” in 1992 (34 years ago).

That day has arrived!

 

Crown Distilleries was a corporate spinoff of Lilienthal and Co. of San Francisco. Wilson stated that Crown Distilleries was established in 1896; Thomas stated 1899. Both statements are erroneous.

One of their lesser encountered products, bottled in amber fifths, was Crown Cocktails. They, like the early applied top Crown Distilleries variants, are occasionally seen in hammer whittled, blood red, applied top German Connections fifths which date ca. 1888 – 1892.

The Crown Cocktail fifth is also seen in a crude western blown amber fifth with a tooled top. Both are embossed, simply, “Crown Cocktails / ready to drink”.

 

 

 

Several years ago, I stumbled across a tooled clear picture miniature embossed simply “Crown Cocktails”. It had a picture of a crown embossed on it as well. It was a previously unknown western picture mini that had been dug in San Francisco. Its association with Crown Distilleries was immediately evident. 

 

 

And so, a new western mini was born. It appeared to be a later example than the fifths, and I estimated it to date to the mid to late 1890’s; which would align with the estimates of both Wilson and Thomas.

 

 

Recently I had the good fortune to encounter, and acquire, a pre-pro glass which completes the Crown Cocktails trifecta. Yep, a picture Crown Cocktails glass. One that has never been documented, and one that I’d never even heard of.

Once in a great while, even a blind squirrel finds a nut ~

A NEW KING IS CROWNED. Hail to the King.

 

 

Wanted! (alive not dead)

A friend of mine is looking to purchase a scarce western tool top fifth.

It is embossed, Copper Distilled / Cedar Valley / Ky Bourbon /  Crane Hastings & Co. / Sole Agents / San Francisco . 

It is the bottle on the right in the photo~

 

 

The bottle supposedly dates ca. 1890 - 1895. I strongly doubt that this dating is correct. Instead, I'd suggest that it was blown in 1894 or 1895, after Crane Hastings & Co. relocated to their new address at 321 Commercial SF and before Arthur Crane sold out to CW Craig in late 1895. 

 

Feel free to reach out if you have an example that you'd like to move along. My email is at the top of the page.

 

Thanks! 

. 

IT (or inside thread stoppers)

 

Most east coast collectors are not familiar with this "thing", but it played a significant roll in the sales of western whiskey for a couple of decades.

From the day that Barry and Patton bottled their first in the early eighteen fifties, until nearly the turn of the century, cork had been the only method used to seal a bottle of whiskey out west.

Around the turn of the century, a new type of closure gained popularity west of the Rockies. It was called the Riley Patent Inside Thread Closure. It was basically a hard black vulcanized rubber screw with a soft red / orange rubber gasket that sealed against the lip of the bottle. 

 

 

The stopper proper, was often referred to as Ebonite and the firm that originally produced them was called Ryder's Ebonite Co.. They were located in London England. Later on, the American Screw Stopper Company of New York produced them domestically.

 

This new closure was met with acceptance due to the fact that no ice-pick was required to pry a cork out of the bottle, and a partially consumed bottle of whiskey could easily be re-sealed. The closure first appeared on the German Connection fifths, blown for the western trade, around 1890. It appears that Lilienthal was the first to use the stopper, followed closely by Crown Distilleries (also a product of Lilienthal).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They were commonly seen with either a crosshatched pattern or a star on top. If a liquor dealer wanted to splurge, the stoppers could be molded with the brand or company name stamped into the top instead.

Following are a few photos of western Riley IT stoppers. The first photo is of a couple of generic pieces. Next up is one that I've only seen a single example of (McDonald & Cohn). The next is a random batch, including an advertising stopper for the firm that initially produced them. The two on the right - Black Crest and Belle of Lancaster - were both products of Warren Watson (located in Oakland Ca.).

 

Next time you're out digging, or scratching the surface in a TOC era dump, make sure to save the stopper instead of chucking it back. They are an important part of Western Whiskeyana!