California Gold Discovered in Washington state.

California Gold Discovered in Washington!

Tom Bostwick (Sept 2015)

Every so often a rare and beautiful bottle surfaces, and causes ripples in the hobby. It happened to a friend of mine recently, and the story bears repeating.

It seems that "Ted" got a call recently from a lady who said "I read your ad in the newspaper about wanting old bottles. "I have some... are you interested?" After tracking down so many dead end leads, Ted's enthusiasm for following up had cooled considerably, but hesitantly he asked her to describe them. As soon as he heard her say "Catawba Wine Bitters, with a picture of a cabin", he knew the bottle immediately. By the next afternoon he had the bottle sitting at home, on his shelf. The owner said that she'd found the bottle years in some mine tailings near Eureka Nv. She and here husband used to live in the area, and she'd fished the bottle out of the dirt, and taken it home with her, "cause it was so pretty". The bottle that Ted had purchased was a rare 1872 Chalmers Catawba Wine Bitters / Spruance Stanley & CO. that pictures a log cabin with Old Sutter's Mill below.

These aqua cylinders are a true historical commemorative bottle for the West, and celebrates the California Gold Rush, which began at Coloma at Sutter's Mill in 1848, and is clearly depicted on the embossing. 

 

Blown in 1872/73, the majority of these were shipped to Nevada, and supposedly to Utah. From written and "word of mouth" information, 3 have been dug in Belmont. One well known example was unearthed behind the Cosmopolitan Saloon on Easter Sunday, 1980, and is reportedly the best of the three dug in Belmont between 1977 and 1984. No examples have been reported being dug in Utah, but a written history of the vineyard where Catawba Wine Bitters was produced, clearly shows the majority of this product was shipped to Nevada and Utah. Spruance Stanley & Co. were the proprietors of this bitters between 1872/73 when the vineyard discontinued growing Catawba grapes.

The bottles that held the Chalmers Catawba Wine Bitters are not only beautiful, but have brought record prices at auction over the past few years. There are 12 to15 known examples in any condition. 2 changed hands in Feb. 2010, one through the American Bottle Auction #49, and the second, privately for and undisclosed amount.

Since then, others have been to auction, and as recent as Sept. 2015, another was listed on eBay for $22,000~ by a New York collector.

Obviously. Ted's recent find will cause ripples with Western Bitters collectors, and proves to all in the hobby, that good bottles are "still out there" just waiting to be discovered.

Countdown to Canyonville

With just a couple of weeks to go 'till the doors open, we figured an update is in order.

Here's the weather forecast for the show~
 

As you can see, the weather has cooled off and we've actually had a day or two of light rain to soften the blow of this summers scorching heat. The air has cleared now that the fires are all but out, and we're enjoying crystal blue skies. The trees are starting to turn and the fall colors should be peaking the weekend of the show.

Things are pretty much status quo with regards to the show. Table sales are close to last year at this time and, as always, there's a few procrastinators that will wait until the last few days to reserve a spot.

We are donating one table to the Federation (FOHBC) to help promote membership. Ferd Meyer, president of the Federation, has indicated that it will be manned for part of the day on Saturday.

I'm attaching a full page copy of the show flyer. Just click on it, and it will open in a new window where you can print it out. If you have time, and are so inclined, burn a few copies and hand them out to junk shops, antique malls, second hand stores and what have you. Every piece of advertising helps! We'll be going online today with a last minute push via Craigslist as well.

One area which is an ongoing challenge, involves the displays. I'm asking everyone to consider setting up a display. It doesn't need to be elaborate, and I'm doing away with display judging this year to take away the stigma of competition and "winners and losers". Plus, each displayer will receive a $20~ bill as a thank you for their efforts. Feel free to talk up displaying with your fellow collectors as well.

We're going to set up one open display space for Oregon bottles / insulators, and would ask that each collector / dealer bring an item that is either embossed Oregon, or was dug in Oregon, to be set up on a display table. It will be a secure location and each bottle will have an ID sticker affixed to the base identifying the owner.

We've got room for up to five additional displays and it sure would be nice to fill the spaces.

Thanks!

Bruce Silva

Show Chairman

C'ville 2015

Downieville Antique Bottle and Collectible Show and Sale

Entering Downieville California from Highway 49
 
Saturday September 12, 2015 brings the 24th annual Downieville Antique Bottle and Collectible Show and Sale. The Show opens at 8:00 am for early lookers with a modest $10 entry fee and open to the general public from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm with FREE admission. The show is located at the Downieville School Gym at the corner of Main and School Streets in the historic section of downtown.

 

This years show is another sellout with over 50 tables of antique bottles, early glass insulators gold rush artifacts, saloon collectibles, Yuba River Gold nuggets and jewelry to mention just a few of the unique items that will be offered during the show.

 

This years display will feature western manufactured glass bottles embossed with the unique curved R associated with the early glasshouses located in San Francisco during the mid to late 1800's.

 

 

 

Western curved R on medicine bottle



• Western curved R on whiskey bottle

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• The Downieville Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary will be serving breakfast, lunch, snacks and beverages with all the proceeds going to help supply the Fire Department with much needed supplies and equipment.
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• The Friday night dealers BBQ will include the popular wine tasting event and features a selection of craft beers too. The weather is predicted to be warm during the day and cooling off in the evenings so come prepared for the late summer Sierra temperature swings so common to this time of the year in the mountains.

North Fork of the Yuba River canyon with Saddleback Mountain in the background.

 



See you in Downieville!

Real? Repro? Fantasy? Fake?

Once again, eBay yields another opportunity to either acquire a great rarity, or to get hosed royally.

I'm no expert on Goldfield Nevada stuff, although I've been around the block enough times to pay attention when the hair on the back of my neck stands up. I do know that in the 1970's a myriad of "fantasy" pieces appeared en masse, supposedly from Goldfield. These included spittoons, brass oil lamps, "Good For" whorehouse tokens and door keys with fobs, hotel desk bells, and stoneware items.The sheer volume of these fakes are testimony to W. C. Fields statement about a sucker being born every minute.

 

Such may be the case with a Buy It Now item that briefly appeared for sale, and which was quickly snapped up.

It is / was, eBay item number: 252071601759, and was described as;

"WESTERN JUG/BOTTLE GOLDFIELD SALOON STONEWARE BOTTLE GOLDFIELD NEVADA"

I recently got chewed out for copying a photo from another listing on ebay, so it'll be up to you to view it online for yourself. Just paste the listing number in eBays search and you can take a peek,

That said, the fine print read;

 

"THIS IS ANOTHER STONEWARE BOTTLE ITS A DIFFERENT COLOR THAN THE CALIFORNIA ONE THAT JUST SOLD,, AND DIFFERENT SHAPE. ITS INCISED / stamped INTO THE CLAY ADVERTISING THE GOLDFIELD SALOON R. A. DUNN. MAIN STREET. GOLDFIELD NEVADA. IT HAS A CORK STUCK IN TOP AND WILL NOT COME OUT. I DONT WANT TO BREAK IT OFF.

LOOKS TO HAVE CAME WITH THE BOTTLE. THE BOTTLE STANDS 8 1/2 tall. On the money IT LOOKS TO BE SALT GLAZED WITH COBALT BLUE ON AND IN LETTERS. LOOK. I DONT KNOW HOW THE BOTTLE IS BUT THERE ARE NONE ON EBAY.. SO THERE NOT BEING MASS PRODUCED. THEY CAME FROM A BOTTLE COLLECTOR,, YOU MAKE YOU OWN MIND UP WHEN YOU BID ON IT ! I WONT REFUND. LOOKS TO BE A GREAT WESTERN STONEWARE SALOON ITEM. I JUST LISTED THE CALIFORNIA ONE AND IT SOLD FOR 299.99,, I THINK I LISTED IT TOO CHEAP THERE IS A PHOTO OF THE BOTH OF THEM TOGETHER,, THANKS FOR LOOKING"

 

What say you, fellow collectors?

Another new find!

Naber, Alfs and Brune was established in either late 1879 or early 1880. The firm was originally located at 413 Front Street in "The City" (San Francisco). This dating puts it  smack dab in the middle of the glop top era, and at the zenith of bottle production by San Francisco and Pacific Glass Works.

One of their products is highly sought after, and equally valued, by collectors of western whiskies. The full faced Phoenix / Sole Agent fifth embodies the essence of glop top picture cylinders.

The pint amber flasks, dating to roughly the same era, are equally attractive and sought after. But one main difference separates the two; in the past, the flasks have only been encountered with a tooled top.

That was, until this past week...

I received word that a killer amber pint Phoenix flask, with an "applied drippy top", saw the light of day for the first time in roughly 135 years, after being rescued from it's sun baked tomb somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. "Further inspection revealed no air vents but  plenty of whittle".

Stay tuned for photos! In the meantime, does anyone else out there have a glop top pint amber Phoenix flask?

(glop top fifth - writers collection. pint flask photo courtesy of ABA)

New variant of WC Peacock pre-pro glass?

Once in a blue moon, it happens. And last week, we had a blue moon~

Got an email from a collector over in the islands that I've become acquainted with. He said;

"I have a question regarding the shotglass in the attached photo. I've come across this one, and wanted your opinion. Does this look authentic and have you seen this variation before?"

 
He was concerned that it was a fake. These days, anything seems possible... We both noticed that one significant difference existed in this glass compared with the previously documented examples. Besides the absence of the gold rim and the base label under glass coat of arms (Hawaii seal), "Compliments" was etched in a straight line, as opposed to upward slant from left to right.
 

Regardless, it appeared to be the correct configuration in terms of height, width, proportions, and wall diameter. The conformation appears to be correct. The glass was blown using a manganese dioxide cullet, the font appears to be in keeping with the other WCP's that I've seen, the depth of the "etch" appears to be correct, and the lip "fire polished' finish appears to be correct. That being said, my opinion is that it indeed appears to be the "real deal".

New finds of western glasses are few and far between. Discoveries of a new variant of an HT glass are rare as hens teeth.

Congrats!