"Have a seat"

 

It's a phrase that can mean many things. Some positive, like when you show up at a good friends place as they pour you a cup of hot coffee. Some not so good, like when your pissed off boss calls you into his office.
  And then there's the "one of a kind" seat / seats that pop up all of a sudden.

I was summoned to attend to a family emergency a little over a week ago. I had limited access to email, and like access (or thereof) to the internet.
Last night, I rolled in after nearly nine hours on the road and settled in to open a mountain of mail, scroll through over 100 emails and to check on the "web".
Who woulda thought. Not one, but two, rare seats. Well actually chairs. But rare just the same, I guess. We've been active in the western antique arena since the mid sixties. My wife and I had a retail location for many years, with a focus on (go figure) western whiskies, as well as American antique oak furniture.    





Lot #33 in American Bottle Auctions hard copy catalogue caught my eye. Neat piece to say the least. A quick look at the ABA lot #33 web page showed several closeup photos. Quarter sawn, brilliant flame grained tiger striped golden oak that appears from the photos to be domestic; as opposed to the ruddy European equivalents that flooded the US antique market in the late 1970's and 80's.   It caught my eye for a couple of reasons. First and foremost is that I have assisted the decendents of James (not John...) Shea re-obtain a great deal in the way of familiy memoarbilia over the years. I thought, at first glance, that it may be a fit for one of them who resides in the S. F. Bay Area. Secondly, it's just plain neat.   But the description included a lot of suppositions. To be fair, when something this unusual pops up, it's sometimes tough to come up with the facts, and nothing but the facts... ABA attributed the chair to the Shea Bocqueraz Co, of S.F. based on a logo that is present on the upper half of the chair; SB Co. If so, the chair would date to ca. 1903, the time that the vertically embossed fifth mold was slugged out and modified for the final time with a "dash" instead of "&" to reflect dropping the "&" Co. from the corporate name, until 1917 when the company closed it's doors.  

   

 

That in turn puts the chair into the transitional period of Victorian furniture style and on into the Arts & Crafts (or Mission) era. Based on the style of the legs, and the color of the stain, the carving and the type of finish, the age of the chair could conceivably be a fit to either of these styles.   Following please find the published description.   "SB CO XXXX W. with inscribed anchor. Oak chair measures 41” high, seat is 18” wide. 1897-1917. When we first got a glimpse of this chair we knew it was something special. As we did more investigation, we realized it was made for the Shea Bocqueraz Company in San Francisco (see previous lot.) The initial partnership of former Boston resident John Shea, Antoine Bocqueraz and Robert McKee began in 1871 at Front and Jackson Streets in San Francisco. Robert McKee, who ironically first brought the Tea Kettle brand to the partnership, left the company in 1895 or 97 depending on who you read. The company was listed at 527 Front (1896-1898), 525 Market (1899-1906), 509-517 Mission (1907-1917). So we can ascertain that the chair was made around the turn of the century or within the 19 years while the Shea Bocqueraz Co. (1888-1917) was located at the 525 Market or the Mission street addresses in S.F. Now that the chair is safely in our offices, we are delighted to be able to offer it in our 59th auction. The chair is made of quarter-sawn oak (cut at an angle to enhance the grain of the oakwood)and the backing, which is all one piece, has a hand carved imp sitting on a barrel of whiskey. Our first thought was that it was an advertising piece given to top customers but considering the scarcity, this chair was undoubtedly made as a presentation or commemorative piece. Beautifully crafted, this piece had to have been made by a well-know or at least advanced woodworker, probably in San Francisco. Notice the rich golden patina of the oak wood, untouched but used for over 100 years. The imp, or Irish Leprechaun has large dangling feet and an amazing caricature of the figure atop the back, all made from one piece of wood. It’s known that James Shea came from Skibbereen, Cork, Ireland was of Irish decent which might explain the imp. The “W” might stand for whiskey while the anchor could be a brand although we are still investigating the various nuances of the chair. We hope to have additional information online on this outstanding and historically significant oak chair. Shea, Bocqueraz were either partly or wholly responsible for the Teakettle, Tea Cup, Roanoke Rye, Golden Pony, Springfield and Carlton Rye whiskey brands. This item came ironically enough from a consignor in Illinois. Condition is all original. A terrific presentation or commemorative piece. Surely a high-point for any saloon or early whiskey collector’s showroom. In addition, we are adding a brass marker found on a whiskey barrel that reads "The Tea Kettle Celebrated Distillery Pure Copper Whiskey Trimble Co. Kentucky with a pictured teakettle," will be added to this lot. It was given to us as a gift by an individual who may or may not have been aware we were selling a chair that would go perfectly together. Regardless, the chair and medallion come as a lot of two."  

Was the chair truly made for Shea Bocqueraz Co.? Your guess is as good as mine...

In the description, I noted that the chair was consigned by an eastern owner who lived in Illinois, where the chair had apparently resided. Quite a distance from Sacramento, where ABA is located. This didn't come as a great surprise, as I've purchased quite a bit in the way of western whiskeyana from the eastern states over the years. What did come as a bit of a surprise was the "enthusiastic" pre-auction estimate of the hammer price; $2,000.00 -$5,000.00. Wowsa. We sold a lot of high end western oak pieces in the way of sideboards, mantle surrounds, curved glass china cabinets, roll top desks and so on, at the top of the market, and none ever approached this lofty figure.

 

OK, so much for the first seat. But imagine my surprise when I took a break from the USPS deliveries and email, and looked at the fresh fodder on eBay. eBay item number: 201012526242 has a virtually identical piece (albeit with a "handicapped" left foot), listed with a buy it now for, coincidentally, $4999.99~.

    Here's their description;   THIS IS AN EXTREMELY RARE ANTIQUE SHEA BOCQUERAZ & CO. (1888-1903 DISTRIBUTORS OF TEACUP AND TEAKETTLE WHISKEY) SAN FRANCISCO BASED OAK ADVERTISING CHAIR. IT IS IN OVERALL GREAT CONDITION CONSIDERING ITS AGE, BUT THERE ARE A FEW THINGS I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT. THE FIRST CAN BE SEEN IN PHOTO #7…THE CHAIR SEAT APPEARS TO BE 3 PIECES OF WOOD PUT TOGETHER AND YOU CAN SEE HOW THE SEAM HAS COME APART ON THE MIDDLE AND RIGHT PIECE OF WOOD LEAVING A SPACE BETWEEN THEM. THE SECOND PROBLEM CAN BE SEEN IN PHOTO #12…THE LEFT FOOT TIP OF THE LEPRECHAUN HAS BEEN BROKEN OFF AND IS MISSING. AND OTHER THAN BEING A LITTLE DIRTY ON THE BOTTOM (PHOTOS 10,11), THIS CHAIR IS A FINE EXAMPLE OF EARLY LIQUOR DISTRIBUTORS PROMOTIONAL GIVEAWAYS!!! THIS WOULD MAKE AN EXCELLENT ADDITION TO ANY COLLECTION!!!   So much for unique. The seller resides in Truckee, just east of Sacramento. On the flip side, if you're in the market to spend $5k for a chair, they're located pretty close to one another so that you can touch and feel both, hands on, before making a decision to "have a seat". ____________________________________________________   Just got a call from a good friend over in the Washoe about chair #2. Turns out it was recently purchased at an auction in Reno. Purchase price... a little over $700~. Just about in line with what Dennis mentioned as a fair value in his comment. 

2014!

Hopefully your New Years Eve wasn't like this poor fellows~

 

 

Happy New Year 2014 to all.

 

 

 

The German Connection

Thanks for the emails in support of the website change with regards to the addition of glop tops. Let's start off with one of my favorites; The red whittled glop tops~ 

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"The German Connection"

Several years ago, Tom Quinn coined this phrase and wrote an in depth article that was included in John Thomas's posthumous work entitled "Whiskey Bottles of the Old West". The name stuck and the blood red and heavily whittled glop top western whiskies are now commonly referred to as "German Connection" glops.

A brief background on the "German Connection";

Prior to the 1890's, all San Francisco & Pacific Glass Works (SF&PGW) glassblowers had been paid by the piece (individual bottles blown). In an attempt to keep pace with the ever growing demand for bottles, SF&PGW "imported" seasoned glass blowers from the Pennsylvania glass factories during this era. These were skilled craftsmen who had been accustomed to being paid based on piece work as well. They produced a quality product in large volumes. SF&PGW opted to transition from "piece work" to hourly and or shift pay schedules during the early years of the "Gay 90's". Many of the "old timers" refused to accept the new method of payment and quit, leaving inexperienced labor to fill the void. A sudden drop in both quality and production ensued, and something needed to be done to satisfy the demand for glass.

People and Companies

A large percentage of the liquor dealers in pre 1900 S.F. were of German descent. Names like Taussig, Braunschweiger, Kolb, Fenkhausen, VanBergen, Hildebrandt, Rothenberg, etc, etc, filled the S.F. liquor directory. A company by the name of Abramson Heunisch also appeared in the directory. But they weren't liquor dealers. Instead they supplied corks, labels and other items required to merchandise liquor. They were located at 26 & 28 Main St. (coincidentally the same address as Louis Taussig).

They also had an office (not so coincidentally) at Chauses Strasse 113 in Berlin Germany. Gerresheimer Glasshuttenwerk was located in Gerresheimer Germany and claimed to be the largest producer of glass bottles in Germany. Opportunity knocked and soon  Abramson Heunisch was appointed the US Pacific Coast sole agency for Gerresheimer Glasshuttenwerk. New molds for San Francisco liquor wholesalers were immediately cut and shipped to Gerresheimer Glasshuttenwerk and the flow of German bottles soon filled the vacuum left by the loss of skilled labor in San Francisco.

At first glance, these bottles closely resembled those still being produced by San Francisco & Pacific Glass Works. But put side by side, the difference is immediately evident.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The early 1890's era saw the introduction of the hand pump, and advanced air venting techniques which replaced mouth blown bottles and eliminated much of the crudity seen previously. It also saw the gradual phase in of semi automated finishing techniques which resulted in the older applied top whiskey being phased out in favor of the tooled top. This resulted in more uniform bottles that could be produced faster, and therefore more economically. And so, domestically produced bottles were neater and had tooled tops, as opposed to the German bottles which were crudely made and had applied tops.

 

 

Domestic vs. German - The Difference

The German glass factories produced both clear and amber whiskies for the San Francisco market. The clear variants are almost always heavily whittled and have a distinctive style of applied top that is heavily stippled in texture. The glass has a "steel or even light yellow cast to it. The glass was de-colorized (made clear) by adding selenium dioxide to the cullet, instead of the manganese dioxide used on the west coast. Apparently, flint was also used, as noted on their advertisements. Unlike their American counterparts, these bottles will not turn purple when left in the sun. They are highly prized for their unique character and crudity. Unfortunately, the clear German bottles had a penchant for annealing damage and are more often than not, cracked. Damage free examples are few and far between and are highly prized.

 

The "amber" German bottles were formulated with a type of sand that produced a color generally called ox or pigeon blood red. Some are extremely dense in color, others have barber pole swirls of different colors, and yet others are a bright light shade of red / orange. Here's a few examples.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A significant difference from the somewhat mundane brown hues seen in the domestic counterparts.  On rare occasions, the glass blower would dip from the wrong tank and a "straw" colored variant would slip through the cracks. These were normally tossed back in the cullet to be re-melted, and the correct colored bottle would be blown from the proper glass batch. A straw colored German "western" whiskey is one in a million! 

 

The next time that you pick up a J. A. Gilka, or a Warners "Frankfurt" Safe Cure, compare these bottles next to a blood red, hammer whittled, glop top "western" whiskey. "The German Connection" will be obvious~

Just a quick PS;
Apologies for the pictures. It's dark and gloomy here; these are tough to get good photos of in this type of lighting, all but void of sunlight.

Also:
I received a question about the new comment posting procedure.

I got a warning that someone or something had tried to hijack the site. I had to create a new comment tool. It allows anyone to write a comment, which is then forwarded to me for manual submission. It's just one more pain in the butt for me, but it will keep the site clean and spam / virus / malware free.

A reinvention, of sorts~

The other day I was reading about a new type of tire (and wheel) that Michelin has invented. It replaces the pneumatic rubber tire and steel (or aluminum) combination that has been around since it's invention by John Dunlop in 1887. 1887-2013; over a century and a quarter. That's a long haul by anyone's standards.

According to the website "stats" page, the Western Whiskey Tool Top Gazette was "invented" in January 2010, a paltry thee years ago. In the ensuing 36 months, we've posted 137 articles (about one every week and a half) on subjects ranging from western whiskey bottles, to the wholesalers that sold them, and from western pre-pro shot glasses to cork screws; not to mention poor packaging by ebay sellers...

A couple of weeks ago I got an email from a fellow collector asking me why I don't write about glop tops. Occasionally, I've included reference to the earlier whiskies, but since the site is named the Western Whiskey Tool Top Gazette, I've tried to focus almost exclusively on them.

Last night, it dawned on me that the site could use a little freshening. Maybe not a reinvention, but certainly a change. And so, I introduce to you, the "Western Whiskey Gazette". And for those of you who are retired firefighters (like myself), PD, or military (active or retired), and like acronyms, "WWG".

The change will give us the latitude to include every subject and collectible within our range of interests. As in the past we will remain, "Dedicated to the research and sharing of knowledge of Western Whiskeyana spanning the pre-prohibition era." And so you will notice that "We've undergone a bit of a reinvention. Initially the website was dedicated strictly to tool tops. Thanks to the positive input we've received from you, our fellow collectors, we've expanded our focus to encompass all western whiskies, both tooled and glop tops. We welcome feedback and positive participation via "comments".

 

Feel free to touch base. Our email is jsglass@Q.com"

We'd love to post your digging stories, your flea market finds, and anything else that you think relevant to the hobby, that others may be interested in.

 

Here's to 2014 and beyond~

Today's Math Question;

What do four whiskies, wrapped in one layer of paper each, placed into one large unpadded box, plus 750 miles of travel via USPS equal?

Friggin recycling material; That's What!

 

 

 

C'mon people! This aint brain suregery! If you are a novice selling antique bottles to a collector, use a little common sense. Scrounge around for some free bubble pack, peanuts (yes - people give them away too) and padding to protect the bottles, and make sure that they arrive safely.
 

The dollars may be replaceable, but the history is not...
 

 

"Fleabay" strikes again.

What Hot?

 

 

What's Not?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What's Hot? In terms of weather, I haven't a clue. What I can tell you, is what's not. Jacksonville, Oregon, where it was 2* Below Zero yesterday not counting the wind chill. But, it did finally warm up to a balmy 15* above for the high...

I recently had an opportunity to exchange thoughts with friend David B., Sole Proprietor of "The Bottle Vault". He runs successful eBay bottle auctions that are agressively bid in by many. I think the secret to his success is a combination of conservative descriptions, variety and a hard earned, stellar reputation.

Recently, "The Bottle Vault" offered several dozen antique bottles running the full spectrum of collecting. When the dust settled, and the hammer was put away, I quizzed David on where he felt the strengths and weaknesses of the auction lay. He replied;

"I think that colored pharmacy bottles, Idaho and Montana clear pharmacy bottles, and to some degree, WA druggist bottles are pretty strong right now. I was also surprised at the price realized on some of the NY early amber strap sided flasks, and the teal green Harrisburg PA squat sodas, not pontiled, the highest priced example sold for almost $800.

The more common Western whiskies are kinda hit and miss right now, I had some good prices for some with damage, but some of my mint bottles sold for less than $20. (a small badge glop top Lilienthal, with a good strike and a decent top, sold for a paltry $125~; a smokin' deal for the buyer, in my opinion).

ACL / painted label sodas are pretty dead, souvenir china, calendar plates, custard glass souvenir stuff from that 1910-1920 are very dead.

Territorial bottles marked from WA and Montana are solid. Stenciled whiskey jugs etc are weak unless a known Red Wing product.

OWL DRUG stuff is still strong, esp poisons, they seem to bring $100-200 no matter how many are up on ebay!"

 

Well; that pretty well sums up things on the eBay front.

 

What about the big auction houses? Recently Glassworks held their "Christmas Comes Early" auction, which closed on Dec. 2nd.

 

'Christmas Comes Early' Auction'

 

It featured the first installment of the Curt Paget collection. I was, at first, impressed with the variety and rarity of many of the items up for bid. But lot number 1, the Castle flask, seemed to be representative of many of the lots. As Rick stated in his post on the auction; "When my auction catalog arrived I poured over the first 54 lots (the items from the Paget collection) hoping to find something to add to my collection of early western distributed bottles. To my surprise every time I saw something of interest it has some sort of problem."

 

I couldn't agree more. Some of the descriptions were, to say the least, creative.  "Christmas Comes Early" was definitely not hot.

Something else that was NOT HOT, (actually very Un-Cool!) was the way the auction was handled, or more specifically, mishandled. The first paragraph of the auction stated;

ATTENTION - ATTENTION - ATTENTION! Tonight is the last night for bidding on the December, 2nd 'Christmas Comes Early' Auction. PLEASE NOTE our new closing time is now 10 PM E.S.T., not 11 PM as in our previous auctions. Can't stay up late but want to bid? Why not use our convenient 'snipper bidding' site. It's easy, just follow the instructions and get in that winning bid! This is a callback auction. If you want a callback on any item that you have a bid on of $500.00 or over, make sure that you have activated the callback square to the right of the bid field. All items that do not reach the $500.00 level by 10 PM tonight will automatically be awarded to the highest bidder!

OK, let me get this straight;

 

"Use our convenient 'snipper bidding' site." (just what the heck is a snipper anyway? I know what a sniper bid is, but a snipper?) Bidding ends at 10PM EST sharp. No callbacks on lots closing under $500~."

 

Straightforward enough. Too bad it wasn't adhered to.

 

One bidder did all of the above on Lot #14, a Simonds Nabob. A snipe bid was placed for $425~. The top bid held tight at $400~, and with 10 seconds to go, was still top. The auction closed and the high bid amount was posted as being $425~. Several west coast collectors (not just the bidder) spotted this. A few minutes later, the website crashed. The following morning, the high bid was reposted as $450~, and the $425~ bid, previously listed as the winner, was kicked to the curb. Let's review; (use the snipe program, place your bid, website shows the snipe bid amount as top at close of auction, 10PM EST auction close, under $500~, no callbacks).

 

Seems pretty simple to me. NOT! When questioned, the explanation for the inconsistency received from Glass Works had more holes in it than a block of Swiss cheese.

 

That being said, Western Bitters News noticed another trend in this auction.

Here are the facts; -------------------------------------------------

 The posted descriptions appeared to take a lot of literary license;

 

"about perfect (in the right light a very faint ‘rainbow’ type flash can be seen in the applied mouth."

"about perfect (a very tiny bruise is on the side of the lip)."

"Some minor wear and ground lines exists but no damage, otherwise in perfect condition"

 

The overall count of the condition of auction items 1 through 54 included:
9- damaged bottles
13- with some kind of stain or haze
5- with wear, ground wear or "the usual tiny ground imperfections"
1- repaired bottle and 6 bottles that did not receive bids.

A little math concluded that of the 54 lots for auction a whopping 52% of the items had some sort of issue with condition.

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OK; so these days, damaged bottles being puffed at auction are definitely "Not Hot", at least not at the premium opening bid amounts listed on the website.

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What's Hot in terms of Western glop and tooled whiskies accurately described on the open market and or at shows?

Surprisingly, the entry level continues to poke and plod along. They never have, and never, will command premium prices. Still, we've all got to start somewhere and the entry level fifths are what most all of us started our collections with. The first whiskey I ever bought was a clear tooled pint Hall Luhrs cylinder. I paid $6~ for it close to 50 years ago. I just sold two examples of the same bottle; for just about $6~ apiece. Hot? NOT!

 

Color is king these days. Those collectors that no longer have the disposable income for the "big dogs" are branching out. Bright, light shades of yellow and orange ambers seem to have developed their own loyal following. Color often makes a normally mundane bottle desirable. HOT!

Pictures, mint to near mint - either tooled or glopped? Definitely HOT!

Scarce to rare tool tops? Definitely HOT! Same goes for near mint and better mid line glop tops.

What's Not? The high end glops. All but sale proof, unless at a giveaway price. (Anyone interested in an amber Clubhouse at $40K and change? I can point you in the direction of one...) The current high end glop top phase is sad, but fortunately cyclical. Every dog has it's day. They'll come back around. And once again, they too will be hot.

In the meantime, enjoy collecting for what it is; A chance to form friendships, a chance to visit shows and swap stories, and a chance to learn about, and be a custodian of our past.

49er HBA - Auburn (uh - I mean Roseville) 2013

This is it; The Weekend!

 

 

Hope to see you there.

 

 

 

We've gotten numerous calls regarding the exact location of the show and the best way to access it.

 

 

According to the powers that be;

 

 

Looking forward to a fun show.

Travel to the show is, at least for me, a crap shoot right now.
10* (at least it's above zero) outside here right now, with forcast of snow (possibly heavy) starting tonight.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll get to attend.