# First post, small collection



## jcro (Dec 27, 2010)

Hi,

 I don't have much of a collection but mostly bottles that I've found while working in the woods.  My father-in-law gave me a few as well.  I've always liked finding bottles since I visited onld mining camps as a kid with my father and we'd occasionally find them. I'll post some photos to show what I've got.  I don't think I have anything terribly old.  Most of the soda bottles I've found are in an area that saw use from the 20s through the 60s for pine-nut collecting.  I cleaned them all up a bit this morning using copper pieces that I read about on this site.  It worked well but I should have spent more time on it to get them looking even nicer.  I also tried cat litter.  It worked even better but I used too much water and had a heck of a time getting the gummed up litter out of the bottle.  Please let me know if I happen to have something interesting!


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## jcro (Dec 27, 2010)

Another picture.....


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## jcro (Dec 27, 2010)

Another....


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## jcro (Dec 27, 2010)

I found the large clear bottle on the left in a super remote area.  The cork was in the bottom of the bottle.  It says 'Heinz' on the bottom so I'm guessing it is a ketchup bottle.  Any idea how old it is?  I've been curious about it for a while.


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## Dansalata (Dec 27, 2010)

SOME COOL FINDS, WHAT DOES IT SAY ON THE MIDDLE GREEN BOTTLE IN THE FIRST PICTURE...


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## jcro (Dec 27, 2010)

Final picture.  Thanks for looking and for any information you might have on any of the bottles.


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## cyberdigger (Dec 27, 2010)

Regarding the big clear Heinz bottle.. to the best of my knowledge, it was either tomato juice or vinegar.. dates to approximately 1940-50.
 Welcome to the forum, Joe! Quite a mix of specimens you have there, looks like you know to appreciate a nice old bottle!


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## jcro (Dec 27, 2010)

> ORIGINAL:  Dansalata
> 
> SOME COOL FINDS, WHAT DOES IT SAY ON THE MIDDLE GREEN BOTTLE IN THE FIRST PICTURE...


 
 Thanks.  This bottle was found at 12,000' on a nearby mountain. It has the statement "Federal law forbids sale or re-use of this bottle". Doesn't this put it in the mid 1930s to mid 60s range? This bottle isn't too old but I liked how it looks so I picked it up.  I was amazed that it had survived where it did for as long as it did.  It is from this winery: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berry_Brothers_and_Rudd.


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## surfaceone (Dec 27, 2010)

Welcome Joe,

 Thanks for showing us some pictures. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




  Looks like you have a nice case gin, A Dr. Hostetter's 

 "Hostetter's "Celebrated" Bitters was a nostrum developed by Dr. Jacob Hostetter of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. His son, David Hostetter, put the formula into large scale production in 1853 and it soon became a national best-seller. During the Civil War, Dr. J. Hostetter's Stomach Bitters was sold to soldiers as "a positive protective against the fatal maladies of the Southern swamps, and the poisonous tendency of the impure rivers and bayous." The original formula was about 47% alcohol -- 94 Proof! The amount of alcohol was so high that it was served in Alaskan saloons by the glass. Hostetter sweetened the alcohol with sugar to which he added a few aromatic oils (anise, coriander, etc.) and vegetable bitters (cinchona, gentian, etc.) to give it a medicinal flavor. From 1954 to 1958, when it was no longer marketed, the product was known as Hostetter Tonic...


 Dyspepsia's pangs, that rack and grind
 The body, and depress the mind;
 Slow constitutional decay,
 That brings death nearer, day by day;
 Nervous prostration, mental gloom,
 Agues, that, as they go and come,
 Make life a constant martyrdom;
 Colics and dysenteric pains,
 'Neath which the strong man's vigor wanes;
 Bilious complaints, -- those tedious ills,
 Ne'er conquered yet by drastic pills;
 Dread Diarrhea, that cannot be
 Cured by destructive Mercury;
 Heralds of madness or the tomb;
 For these, though Mineral nostrums fail,
 Means of relief at last we hail,
 HOSTETTER'S BITTERS medicine sure,
 Not to prevent, alone, but cure.

 -- Hostetter's United States Almanac, 1867" From.

 I see a nice "Pumpkin Seed" flask, what looks to be a Lambert's Listerine, perhaps a Hunyadi Janos mineral water in the middle back row with the cork. Is that a Bo Peep bluing, and is that a Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup reclining in the front row?

 Pull up a bench, sit down and tell us more...


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## jcro (Dec 27, 2010)

Surfaceone, thanks for the info!  You're right on about the Lambert's Listerine, Hunyadi Janos mineral water and Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup.  Thanks for pointing these out.  I "Googled" them and found some good ino on them.  I'm not sure which one is the Bo Peep bluing that you mentioned.  Are you referring to the small clear one to the left of the Mrs. Winslow's?  This ones has "2 1/2/ oz.Rit Prod. Div. Inidanapolic Indianan" on the bottom  I'm not faimilar with the term "Pumpking Seed flask" so I had to look that up.  I found this: http://www.fohbc.com/PDF_Files/CollectingWesternFlasks.pdf that showed numerous examples.  Is there anyway to date one?  The one that I have has absolutely no markings on it.  Finally, do you have any idea about the small clear triangular bottle?  These small bottles were all found while I was walking through the woods.  I've picked them up for my wife as she really like the smaller bottles.

 Thanks again.


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## surfaceone (Dec 28, 2010)

> s there anyway to date one? The one that I have has absolutely no markings on it. Finally, do you have any idea about the small clear triangular bottle?


 
 Hey Joe,

 Take good close ups of the neck & finish, also the base & perhaps one of the dating guys can eyeball it. Dating is sometimes an inexact guesstimation.

 The triangular screw top reminds me of Nyquil.

 "I went to 7-11, the man says "what you need"?
 I say "a roll of duct tape and a case of Nyquil please" Chris Isaak


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## surfaceone (Dec 28, 2010)

> This ones has "2 1/2/ oz.Rit Prod. Div. Inidanapolic Indianan" on the bottom


 
 Hey Joe,

The Rit dye might have been another kind of laundry aid, or it may have been dye.

 Meanwhile, there's clues and frustrating codes on the bottoms of many of the machine made bottles. You might show some of the sodas down the block at Sodas - Embossed, Paper Label and ACLs. I think they might be able to give you some insight on that Sparkle, the Dr. Pepper, Kist, and the Orangette. The ACLs look in great shape. Were they surface finds?


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## cowseatmaize (Dec 28, 2010)

Your collection is bigger than mine now. I like the barq's and never collected sodas. It reminds me of a movie. I think Dudley Moore was in advertising and came up with the Volvo slogan "boxy, but good".


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## jcro (Dec 28, 2010)

Surfaceone-

 I received the Kist, Orangette and Nesbitts for Christmas from my parents.  The others were local surface finds.  The Barqs seemed to be really popular around here as I've found small piles of them. I know these ACLs are necessarily worth much but I really like the way they look.

 Back in the early 80s I found many old soda bottles along an abandoned state highway.  I got rid of them during one of our many moves.  I sure with I had them now.  

 You're right, that triangular bottle does look like Nyquil.

 Cowseatmaize-  Yeah, I like the Barqs also.  They cleaned up pretty nice.


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## JustGlass (Dec 30, 2010)

Welcome jcro , You have a good start. Your collection of bottles reminds me very much of the start of my bottle collection. I stumbled on to a couple of bottles while fishing and my father in law dug a couple with a back hoe. That gave me the itch. Then my son and I found some nice old soda bottles and a late 1890's dump that we had fun digging but most of the finds were not valuable. That gave me bottle fever. Iv'e been collecting now for about 12 years and I can't believe how my collection has grown. I have aquired some beautiful and valuable bottles along the way but the ones I remember and cherish the most are the one I dug and found with my son when my collection was at it's begining stages. Keep looking and good luck with your future finds.


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