Identity Crisis?

I received an email from a gentleman back east who was curious about the origin of a bottle that he'd dug in Illinois. He wondered if it could possibly be western. I have to admit, the photos caught my interest. I also have to admit that it was one that I'd never seen. The shape of the bottle looked very familiar, but unlike any western whiskey I'd encountered.

In fact, it looked like an eastern bitters that I recalled seeing quite some time ago, but who's name I couldn't recall. Still; Elk's Pride Whiskey sure was a catchy handle. A little research into the whiskey brand data base revealed two strong contenders for the origin of said "Pride". One was J.S. Low of Carlisle Pa., the other, Adolph Harris of S.F. Cal.

Some online sleuthing revealed a very similar bottle, identical in appearance but embossed Elk's Pride Rye. It appeared to be a 5 3/4" mini with externally blown threads and with the same stag embossed on the obverse as on the "Whiskey". It was also a rectangle with the same decorative treatment and logic says that it had to come from the same outfit. Interesting too, was that it was also dug in Illinois.

I then compared the amber Adolph Harris in my collection with the Elk's Pride bottles.

It was evident that the antlers on the A.H. were very typically western in form; nearly erect, whereas the Elk' prides were more horizontal in style and more in keeping with the eastern renditions of stags that I've seen.

Still later, I came across a photo of a pottery jug from the aforementioned J.S. Low of Carlisle Pa. It clearly depicts a stag along with the words Elks Pride Whiskey.

I promised the owner of the bottle to solicit coments from the general western whiskey arena. So; is it eastern or western? Feel free to weigh in with your ideas.

KG

I shoulda had a JF

Actually, the commercial says "V8" but in this case, I think a shot of J. F. Cutter makes more sense. After all, more Doctors recommended J. F. than any other leading brand. At least that's what the advertisement suggests.

And with that, we'll segway into the Reno show, followed up by a tie in with the J. F. Cutter tool tops. I know; here he goes again...


The Reno Show has always been a favorite of ours. We did our first show as a married couple in 1975 and, with few exceptions, have attended every year. This year held great promise. I'd just been to the doc., had lots of blood work done, addressed a number of concerns, and had been prescribed not one, but two meds. that were "guaranteed" to make my world a better place. All was rosy as we headed out just before sun up on Friday; a bright cheerful morning. By eleven AM, we were unloading at the show and looking forward to a great weekend. All was good, until I noticed the rash beginning to spread, at first on my legs, and then from head to toe. Several folks commented on my "sunburn". Jokingly, I said that I'd be brown as a bear the next day. Trouble was, I hadn't been in the sun...


The rest of the day was a kick; spending time with lots of old friends, picking up the whiskey collection that we'd bought the week before, boxing up a few fresh pieces, delivering stuff that had been purchased over the past month, and enjoying ourselves in general. But the redness and itching were getting the best of me. That evening after setup, we checked in at the Silver Legacy ; another perennial favorite. Uh Oh... we'd left the satchel with our change of clothes on the counter at home. Crap... Oh well, a good excuse for my wife to go shopping (as if she's ever needed one)~ But wait, there's more, another surprise; my green glop Cutter for the shootout was in the box next to the satchel, on the kitchen counter. Oh well, it's safe there.


Saturday AM came early. It was then that I noticed the swelling. It was a chore to put my tennis shoes on and lacing them up tight wasn't an option. And then there was the itching; head to toe, inside and out. But heh, this is the Reno Show and I was determined to enjoy myself, hives, swelling and all.


The displays were amazing. Lou and Marty are both to be congratulated on the Star Shield globby display. Photos were in order! Oh Crap; my camera was still on the counter, next to my green Star Shield, which was next to the clothes. A Silva trifecta! Next to the Cutter display, was a killer arrangement of "dirty clothes"; at least that was my wife's assessment. Personally, I found the display of miners clothing and personal effects to be fascinating as well. A display of amazing inks and Marty's to die for "swirly" display of drop dead bottles with barber pole color swirls rounded out the west wall attractions. Check out the glop top site for photos!


Back at the hotel that evening, truck loaded with bottles and ready to head back north, the hives, the itching, the swelling were all beginning to take a toll on my fun ticket. We'd planned on a few side trips before the drive home on Sunday. Problem was, I couldn't get my shoes on. My feet looked like they belonged to Fred Flintstone. So much for exploring. Five hours later, we rolled down the gravel drive at home.


The next morning, with eyes swelled shut, difficulty in swallowing, hives, blisters & itching, the retired firefighter / EMT in me sprang back to life. Denial only works for so long. I had a problem, a big problem! A mad dash to Providence Hospital / Medical Center was in order. Diagnosis; acute allergic reaction. Thanks Doc.! So much for modern medicine! Out of pocket about a grand (I've got lousy insurance with a massive deductable), I'm sitting here gobbling prescription steroids and antihistamines by the handful to help cure the effects of the previous two prescriptions. Something's wrong, very wrong, with this picture.


And so, I ponder, is it true that more Doctors agree that the best remedy for over taxed nerves is a gentle stimulant by the name of J. F. Cutter Whiskey?

Sure beats the heck out of a near lethal combination of Amoxy/Clavil and Allopurinol! And, if the Doc screwed up on the J. F. prescription, you'd only be out a buck or so for the whiskey and the worst you'd end up with is a hangover!

RB

No, not the fast food joint; although Arby's is half way decent in the grand scheme of "grab and go" chow. I'm actually referring to R. B. Hayden, a brand of bourbon distributed by Barner & Kehlenbech.

Their cylinders are embossed Barner & Kehlenbech / large intertwined logo / San Francisco, Cal. and are always tooled. They come in shades of amber and were blown with either a long tapered collar over single ring or with a Riley patent inside thread closure, which is scarcer. The cylinders were used first. Later on, probably in the mid teens, an amber rectangular full quart tanker appeared. It's actually pretty darned rare and I've never even seen one.

Seems that they liked the initials RB, since both of their flagship brands started with them. R.B. Hayden and R.B. Blair were the two that they pushed the hardest. There's three etched pre-pro glasses for R.B. Blair and one for R. B. Hayden known to exist. And, there's one extremely scarce white enameled back bar out there for Hayden as well.

The pattern on the back bar is a dead match for the glass. Enameled bar bottles are inherently rare. They were designed to be the focal point of the back bar, were splashy and intended to be used and reused on a permanent basis. They were expensive to produce compared to their embossed "throw away" counterparts and as such were almost never discarded until inadvertently broken, or until such time as the brand or the business failed. The elaborate patterns and artistic features of this style of bottle make them highly sought after and the competition for them is keen.

 
Now back to B&K. Up until now, not a great deal was known about Barner and Kehlenbech, despite the fact that they were relative newcomers to the game. Today's research revealed a lot of heretofore unknown locations and information.

Wilson states that the partners were Wm. Barner. and Henry Kehlenbeck. He was wrong. The partners were actually Louis H. Barner and Henry Kehlenbeck. Although dated from 1910 to 1918 in Western Whiskey Bottles 4th edition, they actually got their start in 1898 at the S.W. Corner of 8th and Mission. They moved to 324 Clay St. in 1900, where they remained until the site ended up in ashes on April 18, 1906. The May 12, 1906 phone directory does not list them, indicating that they had been displaced along with tens of thousands of others who'd lost their homes and businesses. A third edition post earthquake temporary directory of S.F. and Oakland dated June 20, 1907 shows them at 1801 Devisidaro at the corner of Bush, with a phone number of West 3756. Crocker Langley shows the business moving to 714 Kearny St. in late 1907. It also shows the current principals in the business as being Mrs. A. Barner and Mr. H. Keltenbeck. Later, in the 1915 directory, Mrs. A. Barner's name changed to Mrs. A. Anderson; an obvious clue to a remarriage subsequent to Louis's death. The Kearny St. location remained constant, housing the firm for another twelve years, where they remained until prohibition shut them down in 1919.

Thanks to Robin Preston for the generous use of the shot photos.

FOHBC Elections

I have appreciated the opportunity of serving as your Western Region Director of the FOHBC for the last two years. I believe that the FOHBC should be focusing on services and support to help the bottle collecting community.

Here are my accomplishments during the time I have served:


1. Gathered information and updated a listing of the Western Region Clubs and Shows. This information has been distributed to the membership and the clubs in out region.


2. Served as Chairman of a committee to prepare guidelines and standards for Hall of Fame and Honor Roll nominees and inductees. This was passed at the March meeting of FOBHC in Baltimore and has been distributed to the Western Region memberships and clubs.


3. Served as chairman of a Committee to update and revise the FOHBC Bylaws. This document is still under review and hopefully will be completed in the near future.


4. Served as Chairman of the FOHBC Nominating Committee for a Recommended Slate of Officers and Directors for next two-year term. A slate was selected for the election which will enable the Board to run smoothly and better serve the needs of the collecting community. Several current Board members were not included nor recommended in this slate by the Nominating Committee because of ongoing issues with their actions and performance as Board members. A letter to the editor from Jim Bender in the July ABGC, and the President’s Message in the July-August Bottles and Extra magazine, summarizes these issues. You may want to read these before voting.


Over the last two years, under Richard Siri’s presidency we have worked to get the Bottles and Extra magazine current, bring the website up to date, complete documentation of income and expenses from the York and Collinsville Conventions, update and create needed written procedures, and get locations set for future FOHBC Conventions. The Board is also now evaluating the concept of a virtual (computer access) bottle museum.


In the future, I would also like the Board to work toward establishing uniform nomenclature for bottle condition and color to provide a universal language for auction houses to adopt, and collectors to utilize. Another issue for the Board to work in support of protection of the bottle digging aspects of bottle collecting.


There is a lot more that needs to be done and I would appreciate your vote so that I may continue on these projects. Your FOHBC ballot also lists the Recommended Slate for the Board which includes Richard Siri for President and Warren Friedrich for Secretary. Your support and your vote for these nominees would be greatly appreciated. We need to get the whole Board working for the benefit of the bottle collecting community.

Sincerely,

Bill Ham

Western Region Director

FOHBC elections

I've been given an opportunity on this blogsite to address members of the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors. An election of new officers for the next 2 year term is in progress as I write this. I would urge all current members to please take this vote seriously, and I would recommend the candidates that have the FOHBC endorsement by their name.

I have been a member for almost 4 years now and have seen several improvements of this organization since joining. I am currently running for the position of Secretary, partly to help assist with the other western board members continue to achieve changes to the Federation that are needed and to direct this organization to do what is best for its membership, afterall this organization serves for the benefit of its members [or should!], and to effectively make the necessary changes, some of the current board members need to be unseated.

One of the changes I would like to see is the addition of more articles on ANTIQUE BOTTLES of western origin or distribution in the Federation's magazine. I recently co-authored an article which appeared in the May-June issue on the Lacour's Sarsapariphere Bitters and its proprietor. I have plans to submit several more interesting articles on other western bottles in the Federation's magazine.


Other board members running for re-election are Richard Siri and Bill Ham, I can tell you that without these two members it's most likely that the upcoming Antique Bottle Exposition scheduled to be in the West in 2012 would probably not have materialized. There was opposition from other current board members against it and had our west coast board members not continued to support this, it most likely would be held in the Northeast region of the country. We have NOT had an Exposition really in the West since Las Vegas in 1988. That's 24 years ago!

When I joined the FOHBC I was not receiving the organization's magazine, actually I was due several issues at the time of renewal! The magazine, thanks to our current president has gotten it back on track. I am also excited about the bottle Exposition coming to Reno, NV in 2012! The 2006 National Federation show was a huge success at 267 tables, just imagine what a Expo show will have.


I would like the opportunity to work with the other western board members in order to continue to make improvements to the FOHBC and to contribute to the magazine's content and keep the membership informed of what YOUR organization is doing by reporting what is happening at the Board level. Again please consider voting for the candidates that are FOHBC recommended on your voting ballot.


Thank you,


Warren Friedrich

VOTE!

Don't forget, the cutoff date for the Federation of Historical Bottle Clubs (FOHBC) elections is fast approaching.

Everyone knows that emotions are running high and that the candidates running for office are pulling out all the stops; some by citing their past accomplishments and plans for the future, others by resorting to more "conventional political means".

Bottom line; If you don't have an opinion, study up and form one. Then vote for whomever you think is most qualified based on that opinion. It's our Federation and it needs to continue to support and promote our hobby!

So, do your part and

 VOTE!

In Search of the Lost "H"

Four of us, with more ambition than sense, have decided to push forward in an attempt to determine just who was responsible for the "H" base mark present on a number of post turn of the century tool top western whiskies.

 

We NEED your HELP!

 

Following, please note a database that we've assembled listing bottles and "H" base marks. We know it's not complete. Please email me with what else you've got in your collections so that we can continue to push forward in either ruling out, or pinning down the source of the "lost H".

  Basemark              Name                             WWB 4th ID#

    29 / H          Louis Taussig & Co.                        783

   302 / H         McDonald & Cohn                           525

   32 / H           Royal Stag OK Bourbon Whiskey            705

   32 / H           Royal Stag OK Whiskey                          706

   32 / H           Royal Stag Whiskey                                 706.5

   32 / H           W. M. Watson Co.                                  820

  336 / H          Old Tom Parker                                      611

  402 / H          St. George                                              760

  402 / H          California Winery                                    100

  433 / H          OPS Bourbon                                         218

  4H                 Golden Eagle                                         333

  538 / H          Ahrens Bullwinkle                                      7

  560H              Hildebrandt Posner                                384

  560H              H. Rothenburg & Co.                    697

  578 / H          Warrens Ginger Brandy                           814

  5H                  Shea Bocqueraz                                     733

  680 / H          Commodores Royal OK                         189

  684 / H          Gold Dust                                               803

Thanks!

Bruce

jsglass@q.com