# The GVII-3  and GVII-4 E. G. BOOZ'S OLD CABIN WHISKEY bottles



## Steve/sewell (Feb 13, 2010)

Here are is the GVII-3 and GVII-4 Cabin style E G BOOZ'S OLD CABIN WHISKEY /
 120 WALNUT STREET PHILADELPHIAbottles.
 These are some of the most desired and pricey bottles available in the bottle collecting world.
 It is also the most reproduced antique bottle on the Market.The Clevenger brothers made the best copy in 1930
 of the straight roof version and have fooled quite a few people myself included. I will show also in this
 post a Clevenger for refferance to the ability to determine an original from the Clevengers.

 Only one GVII-5 exists and that is in the Corning Museum of glass.
 While not extremely rare GVII-3  is none the less not to common and has a high percentage of roof
 and corner  damage because of the thinness of the glass in those area's of the bottle.It was difficult to blow 
 the glass into the bottles corners and crevices thus the bottles were weak at those points.This is why the
 roof variant on the GVII-4 with the beveled roof was changed. Metal plugs were added in the corner peaks of 
 the roof to acheive this.

 The bottle was manufactured at the Whitney glass works in Glassboro New Jersey
 in the years 1858  through the 1860s.The Whitney glass works had a retail office in Philadelphia at 
 118  Walnut street and right next door to them Edmund G. Booz had his store front  where he was
  selling his cabin shaped Booz bottles to liquor merchants and tavern owners through out the 
 Delaware Valley.There was speculation that the bottles manufacture date was in the year 1840
 but that has since been disproved as Edmund Booz would have been only sixteen years of age at that time,
 an age probably a little to young to ba  a liquor merchant.

 The original bottle had a paper label wrapper that depicted an early American cabin.
 On the rear of the bottle on the roof  is the date in bold font 1840.
 This led many to beleive that the bottles date stamped  on the roof was from William Henry Harrison's
 presidential Campaign Log cabin and hard cider in the year 1840.
 Early in the 20th century Edwin Atlee Barbers book titled American glassware and the book by 
 Stephen Van Rensselaer's American Bottle's and Flasks only fueled the myth regaurding the Harrison 
 presidential campaign.

 A publication in 1926 by Hazel Mirkil in the magazine Antiques proved the 120 Walnut had not been in 
 existance before the year 1856 as the city of Philadelphia had renumbered their streets in that year.
 The reason the city renumbered was simple the Center City portion was growing and 
 it was easier to label blocks in the city as the 100 block 200 block ect.
 The old address of Boozs store would have been 26 Walnut street.
 Booz also had a property directly behind 120 walnut street at 15 Granite street.
 The city again changed the numering system as front street became the waterfront street.
 In the Days Dyott had his factory first street was right on the river.
 In fact all of the important business locals were on the river for easy access of shipping of goods.
 In the early seventies the buliding of interstate I-95 in the city followed the Delaware river right where 
 first street was located  it was removed.By the way lots of bottles and artifacts from the colonial times were
 found during the heavy earth moving excavations.  

 There is sound justification that the mold maker who the Whitney glass works used for the bottle
 modeled his cabin in the image of a glass workers home which in the early 1840s through up to 1970 
 dotted the landscape surrounding the old Whitney Glass works location in the heart of Glassboro.
 The glass workers lived in small modest 4 room 2 story homes shaped exactly like the Booz bottle.
 When you peeled the label off the bottle it now closley resembled the glass workers homes.
 The last vestages of these old homes came down in 2007 as part of the down town revitalization project 
 the town of Glassboro was instituting.Glassboro has done a terrible job preserving its rich glass industry.
 Only a handfull of the original colonial homes still stand today.The 5 point intersection where the Stangers had founded
 the second glass works in New Jersey has lost all of its historic charm with the original Stanger mansion house as the only
 standing structure from the original works.

 Here are the Characteristics and measurements of the original Booz bottles.
 The bottle was blown in a hinged mold which opened and closed diagonally.
 A treadle mold was used applying foot power to the mold which allowed the master blower to close the mold around 
 the gather of glass when blowing into it and than opening it when he was finished blowing the bottle.
 When the bottle was released from the mold it sat on a steel pedestal  2 7/8s in diameter.With the bottle now resting on the pedestal the slight circular depression seen on all of the Booz base's was left.The pedestal had been designed to move
 independently resting on a large pin.When the glass blower was finished blowing the bottle he was able to move the  bottle
 towards him for easy removal from the mold.With the bottle now removed from the mold the blow over portion of the glass was cracked off.Now it was the gaffers turn to place the the applied top to the bottle. Once that task was completed the
 bottle was placed into the annealing oven which had a lower temperature than the main furnace which allowed the bottle to gradually cool.


 GVII-3 E. G. BOOZ'S / OLD CAIN WHISKEY

 Type: Shaped in the style of a small two story cabin or house.
 The place of manufacture: The Whitney Glass Works Glassboro New Jersey
                                                          Main /High and State streets.
 Date of Manufacture. 1858  possibly right up to 1870
 Heigth of  the bottle:  7 1/2, 7 5/8s and 7 3/4 inches
 Width of the bottle:  4  1/16 inches.
 Depth of the bottle:  2 7/8 at the base and 3 inches at the roof line.
 The neck and lip  1  3/4 inches in total height.Finished with an applied sloping collar. 
 The Base of the bottle: Smooth with a circular impression 1/8 inch in depth by 2 7/8 in circumference.
                                                There are two horizontal seams about a half of an inch in from the corners
                                                 opposing each other diagonally
 The roof line: Straight ridge 4 inches in length.
 The front Roof design and embossing:The roof has 5 square rows of shingles in various sizes.
                                                                                The roof is 4 inches wide by 2 3/4 inches tall.                                                                          
                                                                                The following inscription :   E G BOOZ'S  OLD CABIN WHISKEY in 3/8 inch font.
 The rear roof design and embossing : The roof has 5 square rows of shingles in various sizes.
                                                                                The roof is 4 inches wide by 2 3/4 inches tall.
                                                                                The following inscription :   1840 in bold larger 1/2 inch font.
 The right side: The embossing in three rows E G BOOZ'S OLD CABIN WHISKEY.
 The left side    :  The embossing in two rows 120 WALNUT ST PHILADELPHIA (there are two dots below the t in ST)
 The back side of the bottle: Smooth plain no inscription a large label was placed here originally.
 The colors the bottle is found in: Predominantly in medium orange amber with varying shades,Some pale amber,
                                                                     Dark green,and a pale green.I personaly have never seen anywhere a color other than 
                                                                     the amber.I have seen dark and lighter shades of Amber only on this bottle.


 The only sure fire ways to identify an original Whitney made GVII-3 Booz from the Clevenger version are as follows.

 On the original bottle  on the right hand side the word WHISKEY has two identifying marks which clearly show the difference between it and the Clevenger bottle.There is a period after the word WHISKEY on all the original.Sometimes because of a weak mold impression the period is faint but it is usually there none the less.The second identifying trait is when viewing the word WHISKEY left to right the first three letters WHI are on the same horizontal plane however beginning with the letter S the
 the letters SKEY are shifted down slightly on a lower horizontal plane.On the Clevenger version the word WHISKEY lines up
 nice left to right on the same horizontal plane.The top fork in the letter K  in the word WHISKEY is wider than the bottom fork
 on the same letter.The Base the the letter G  in E.G. BOOZ'S is closed on the clevenger version the G resembles a letter C thus you 
 see the incorrect listing on ebay all of the time  E.C.BOOZ'S

 Next on the front roof  the embossing in three lines reads like this  E.G.BOOZ'S
                                                                                                                                         OLD CABIN
                                                                                                                                         WHISKEY
 When looking at the letters the following is true on all original BOOZ bottles.The C in the word CABIN should be directly
 below the first O in the word BOOZ'S.The letter S in the word WHISKEY should be directly below the C in the word CABIN
 You should be able to draw a straight line down through these letters where they line up.

 GVII-4 E. G. BOOZ'S / OLD CAIN WHISKEY

 Type: Shaped in the style of a small two story cabin or house.
 The place of manufacture: The Whitney Glass Works Glassboro New Jersey
                                                          Main /High and State streets.
 Date of Manufacture. 1858  possibly right up to 1870
 Heigth of  the bottle:  7 1/2, 7 5/8s and 7 3/4 inches
 Width of the bottle:  4  1/16 inches.
 Depth of the bottle:  2 7/8 at the base and 3 inches at the roof line.
 The neck and lip  1  3/4 inches in total height.Finished with an applied sloping collar. 
 The Base of the bottle: Smooth with a circular impression 1/8 inch in depth by 2 7/8 in circumference.
 The roof line: Straight ridge 4 inches in length.This is where this version is different than the GVII-3
                                                                                  Where the roof meets the gables on each side the molds sharp
                                                                                  corners werer beveled by placing metal plugs into the mold
                                                                                  This simple alteration made for a much sturdier roof.             
 The front Roof design and embossing:The roof has 5 square rows of shingles in various sizes.
                                                                                The roof is 4 inches wide by 2 3/4 inches tall.                                                                          
                                                                                The following inscription :   E G BOOZ'S  OLD CABIN WHISKEY in 3/8 inch font.
 The rear roof design and embossing : The roof has 5 square rows of shingles in various sizes.
                                                                                The roof is 4 inches wide by 2 3/4 inches tall.
                                                                                The following inscription :   1840 in bold larger 1/2 inch font.
 The right side: The embossing in three rows E G BOOZ'S OLD CABIN WHISKEY.
 The left side    :  The embossing in two rows 120 WALNUT ST PHILADELPHIA (there are two dots below the t in ST)
 The back side of the bottle: Smooth plain no inscription a large label was placed here originally.
 The colors the bottle is found in: Predominantly in medium orange amber with varying shades,Some pale amber,
                                                                     Dark green,and a pale green.I personaly have never seen anywhere a color other than 
                                                                     the amber.I have seen dark and lighter shades of Amber only on this bottle.


 The only sure fire ways to identify an original Whitney made GVII-4  Booz from the Clevenger version are as follows.

 The bevel cuts at each end of the roof only extend downward into the first full row of shingles
 On the original bottle  on the right hand side the word WHISKEY has two identifying marks which clearly show the difference between it and the Clevenger bottle.There is a period after the word WHISKEY on all the original.Sometimes because of a weak mold impression the period is faint but it is usually there none the less.The second identifying trait is when viewing the word WHISKEY left to right the first three letters WHI are on the same horizontal plane however beginning with the letter S the
 the letters SKEY are shifted down slightly on a lower horizontal plane.On the Clevenger version the word WHISKEY lines up
 nice left to right on the same horizontal plane.The top fork in the letter K  in the word WHISKEY is wider than the bottom fork
 on the same letter.The Base the the letter G  in E.G. BOOZ'S is closed on the clevenger version the G resembles a letter C thus you 
 see the incorrect listing on ebay all of the time  E.C.BOOZ'S

 Next on the front roof  the embossing in three lines reads like this  E.G.BOOZ'S
                                                                                                  OLD CABIN
                                                                                                   WHISKEY
 When looking at the letters the following is true on all original BOOZ bottles.The C in the word CABIN should be directly
 below the first O in the word BOOZ'S.The letter S in the word WHISKEY should be directly below the C in the word CABIN
 You should be able to draw a straight line down through these letters where they line up.

 Here is a group shot of the the Original Booz bottles and their Clevenger counterparts.
 Left to right the Clevenger beveled roof,the original Whitney beveled roof,
 The original Whitney straight roof and the Clevenger straight roof.
 Notice how the amber fades to orange and than yellow at the edges and corners of the bottles.


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## Steve/sewell (Feb 13, 2010)

An original Whitney straight roof in the snow.


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## Steve/sewell (Feb 13, 2010)

An original Clevenger version in the snow.


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## Steve/sewell (Feb 13, 2010)

The  Whitney GVII-4 bevel roof and the Clevenger version side by side.
 Here you can see for the first time clearly the difference's in the two roofs.


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## Steve/sewell (Feb 13, 2010)

The Whitney version: The word WHISKEY on the right side of the bottle.
 See how the letters run on two different horizontal planes.


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## Steve/sewell (Feb 13, 2010)

Another explanation of the roof comparison.


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## Steve/sewell (Feb 13, 2010)

Here is the letter K on an Original Booz in the word WHISKEY on the right side of the bottle.
 On the Clevenger version the opposite is true the  fork is wider on the bottom of the letter K.


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## Steve/sewell (Feb 13, 2010)

Here is the base of an original Booz, the Clevenger version is almost identicle and in some instances is identicle to this one
 because the exact same type of mold was used to produce the Clevenger version.


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## Steve/sewell (Feb 13, 2010)

When looking at the letters in the words E G BOOZ OLD CABIN WHISKEY on the roof,the following is true on all original BOOZ bottles.
 The C in the word CABIN should be directly below the first O in the word BOOZ'S.The letter S in the word WHISKEY should be directly below the C in the word CABIN You should be able to draw a straight line down through these letters where they line up.
 On original Whitney Booz bottles the first O in the word BOOZ is complete and not drawn into the bottom of the neck.
 On the Clevenger version the O is drawn into the bottom of the neck
 Here is a picture explaining all of this a little more in depth.


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## Steve/sewell (Feb 13, 2010)

I have a touch of Cabin fever today.There are 4 original Booz bottles two Clevengers,1 Kellys Old Cabin ,1 Holtzermanns and 1 Old cabin
 which is identicle to the Kellys but extremely rare and a Canadian bottle the Smokine meat flavor sauce.


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## sweetrelease (Feb 13, 2010)

wow , now that was alot of info to take in! thanks steve.~matt


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## RED Matthews (Feb 13, 2010)

Hi Steve,  You sure do a great job of explaining and teaching us about things like this.  I think this was one of those you had given us before, but it seemed reorganized.  Thanks for giving us so much insight into our hobby.  RED Matthews


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## cyberdigger (Feb 13, 2010)

Hey Red, yes he posted this info before, but due to a gigantic administrative "cock-up" it was deleted.. however, Steve is gracious enough to be re-posting many of his great lost posts, and doing a fantastic job! We are clucky to have such a man in our roost!!


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## div2roty (Feb 13, 2010)

great post.  I've bid on a few of these in catalog auctions, but have never been the high bidder.


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## Steve/sewell (Feb 13, 2010)

There tough to win Matt the lowest you see is 2500 with minor damage.
 Mint and your talking 4000 and up.Thats out of my league.Of the 8 I own
 '2 are mint, 2 are in very good condition 1 is fair and 2 are complete with cracks running through them
 and one has a small hole in the base corner 1/4 inch sized some hazing and scratching from being
 buried but still intact.


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## Steve/sewell (Feb 13, 2010)

Here is the elusive GVII-5 the only known one of its kind.This was once owned by Stephen Van Rensselaer the reknowned glass collector.
 It is in the Corning glass museum.


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