# Article - "Bryant Bitter's"



## FloridaRecycled (Sep 2, 2009)

Cecil Munsey 
 13541 Willow Run Road 
 Poway, CA 992064-1733 
 (619-487-7036) 
 e-mail: <cmunsey@sdcoe.k12.us> 
Rare bitters bottle sells for world's record price 
 by Cecil Munsey 

 SACRAMENTO, Calif. â€“ A world's record price of $68,750 was 
 successfully bid for a recently discovered bitters bottle dating from 1858. The 
 now-the-most-expensive-bottle-in-the-world, a rare "Bryant's Stomach Bitters," 
 was the highlight of the over $200,000 antique bottle auction conducted on July 
 27 by Pacific Glass Auctions, a Sacramento, California firm that specializes in 
 Western bottles. 
 Bryant's Bitters bottles are among the rarest and most intriguing of all 
 bitters bottles. According the Jeff Wichmann, the owner of Pacific Glass 
 Auctions, "This is the first Bryant's Stomach Bitters bottle found in 25 years," The 
 bottle was uncovered at a construction site in San Francisco earlier this year. 
 Bryant's, a San Francisco company, produced the unique, green, eight-
 sided, cone-shaped bottle in 1858 and just for one year, before realizing it was 
 too tall (approx. 14") and cumbersome to be a commercial success. A New York 
 Daily Times advertisement in the March 26, 1860 edition proclaims, "Bryant's 
 Stomach Bitters [in a shorter lady's-leg-shaped bottle] is a mild & gentle tonic 
 which is unequaled." The example sold July 27 is one of only three known and 
 the first to ever to be offered for sale. A second specimen was also found at the 
 same dig. The second bottle is cracked in three places and had a hole in it. The 
 second specimen has since had the hole expertly repaired and will soon be 
 offered for sale by one of the large antique bottle auction houses in the East. 
 The bidding started at $30,000 and quickly moved up form there. The new 
 owner wishes to remain anonymous but can be quoted as saying after the 
 auction that, "Had it been necessary, I would have gone higher than the 
 pre-auction estimate of $70,000." 

HISTORICAL NOTE 

 Andrew Jackson Bryant was born in New Hampshire in 1831 and came to 
 California in 1850 and went to the northern gold mines. He was taken ill 
 after a year and returned to San Francisco where he recuperated. For a 
 couple of years he owned a cigar store and learned the express business. 
 He then went to Sacramento in 1853 and started an express and auction 
 business. George W. Chesley became a partner in 1856 and they soon 
 added the wholesaling of liquor to the business. Bryant left Chesley to 
 manage the business and moved to San Francisco. He later sold his 
 interest to Chesley and tried his hand in investments. By 1866 he was a 
 partner with J. C. Morrison, Jr. as liquor wholesalers. Later the same year 
 he accepted an appointment as a Naval Officer by President Andrew 
 Johnson. Bryant was one of the organizers of the State Investment 
 Insurance Company and was elected president of it in 1875. Shortly 
 afterwards he became manager of two other large insurance companies. 
 He was elected Mayor of San Francisco for two terms in the late 1870s. 
 He was also a co-partner in Occidental Sawmill in Eureka, California in 
 1880. He and his partner owned and harvested 5000 acres of old-growth 
 redwood forest. He was a Democrat and a strong advocate of the eight-
 hour work day. 

 Historical Note Reference: Western Bitters 
 Copyright Â© 1969 
 By Bill & Betty Wilson 
 Northwestern Printing Company
 Santa Rosa, California 


 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Thought someone might find this interesting....


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## glass man (Sep 2, 2009)

COOL ARTICLE! I GOT AN OLDER BOOK OF CECIL"S I HOPE TO AUCTION OFF FOR THE FORUM SOON AS I GET THE SHIPPING MONEY. JAMIE


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## FloridaRecycled (Sep 2, 2009)

Jamie,

 Which book do you have?

 I found his website yesterday and the articles (on all kinds of bottles) and the research he has done is amazing...if you haven't seen it yet...go to the "New Website" section and check it out...that's where I got this from...it is one of his "unpublished" articles...he has a lot of those and ones that have been published.

 I'm really excited about how much I am going to learn from reading all his stuff!


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## glass man (Sep 2, 2009)

TINNA: I HAVE "THE ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO THE COLLECTIBLES OF COCA - COLA" 1972. HAS THE ORIGINAL DUST COVER AND IS IN GREAT CONDITION! I GO TO HIS SITE FROM TIME TO TIME. SO MUCH IT IS HARD TO TAKE IT ALL IN! YES HE IS AN AMAZING MAN. BEEN KNOWN IN BOTTLE CIRCLES FOR A LONG TIME! JAMIE


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## glass man (Sep 2, 2009)

MUST BE ! YOU GOT THAT RIGHT! JAMIE


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## FloridaRecycled (Sep 2, 2009)

When I first saw the article on his website - I looked for the article date because I did notice that a lot of the research and info was dated earlier...but I couldn't find a date anywhere - I still thought that the info/facts about the bottler were interesting...after reading your reply I really wanted to try and find out when that bottle sold...I don't have the year yet...but I just google'd "Bryant's Stomach Bitters Bottle auction" and this reference is from June of 09...it doesn't list the price it went for but said that only 1 specimen has ever been up auction and it holds a record?

http://www.westernbittersnews.com/2009/06/bryants-stomach-bitters.html

 Maybe it's just for a bitter's bottle?  ...heck I'm just learning and thought the background info on that bottle would be interesting?  I'll see if I can find out the year it was auctioned off...

 Anyhoo...


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## FloridaRecycled (Sep 2, 2009)

> ORIGINAL: glass man
> 
> TINNA: I HAVE "THE ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO THE COLLECTIBLES OF COCA - COLA" 1972. HAS THE ORIGINAL DUST COVER AND IS IN GREAT CONDITION! I GO TO HIS SITE FROM TIME TO TIME. SO MUCH IT IS HARD TO TAKE IT ALL IN! YES HE IS AN AMAZING MAN. BEEN KNOWN IN BOTTLE CIRCLES FOR A LONG TIME! JAMIE


 
 I bet that digdug (the guy that has the coca cola bottle research book) might want to take a look at this (if he hasn't seen it already - did you read the preview pages in his book?  Very readable - and informative)...

 Yes Cecil Munsey is amazing - he has a list on the website of all the magazines/books/reference materials that he has in his personal library...WOW...I read a little about his personal story and how he got started...way cool...what a way to make a living huh!  Talking about/speculating about your passion!  Probably would be a cool person to sit and have a chat with!


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## bottle_head9 (Sep 5, 2009)

The Bryant`s sold in 1998. If I remeber correctly, there was a short segment on cash and treasures with Jeff Wichman showing it.I thought he was the one who bought it.I might be wrong though.


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## onekick1 (Sep 6, 2009)

The Bryant's Stomach Bitters (cone) was dug in San Francisco in February of 1998. It sold in Pacific Glass Auctions July 1998 Auction # 17 for $68,750. It was the first Bryant's to be offered at public auction. It was purchased by a central California collector. Just recently the same Bryant's sold to a Houston Texas collector. There are several different accounts of the selling price (anywhere from $60,000 to $100,000) but I do not know for a fact what the sale price was. There are 4 intact Bryant's bottles: 2 were dug in Sacramento Cal. in the 1960's,  1 in San Francisco during the 1998 dig and 1 in North San Juan Cal. 
 Jeff Wichmann is the owner of the auction house that sold the Bryant's bottle. It was called Pacific Glass Auctions when the Bryant's was sold. It is now American Bottle Auctions. 
 The Antique Bottle and Glass Collector magazine will feature an in-depth article on the Bryant's Stomach Bitters sometime this fall, possibly in the October or November issue.


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## glass man (Sep 6, 2009)

I AM THINKING A HARRISONS COLUMBIAN COBALT GALLEN[?] INK WENT FOR MORE THEN THID YEARS AGO AND WAS SAID TO BE THE HIGHEST PAID FOR A BOTTLE AND IT ALSO SOLD IN 1980  AND AT THAT TIME WAS SAID TO BE THE HIGHEST BOTTLE SOLD. CAN ANY BODY REMEMBER THE BOTTLE I AM TALKING ABOUT? I STILL HAVE THE BOTTLE MAG ROUND HERE SOME WHERE. SEEMS IT SOLD FOR 80.000 THE 2ND TIME. JAMIE


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## appliedlips (Sep 7, 2009)

Jamie, I think the cobalt Harrison's brought $33,000 or something close, which at that time (70's-80's) was a record. The next time I believe it sold for less. I think 30 maybe but no where near 80.  Many bottles have sold for more than the Harrison's since.


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## westernbittersnut (Sep 11, 2009)

The initial write-up about the Bryants Stomach Bitters is erroneous. This is a New York concern by a G.N.W. Bryant and this bottle and product were made and distributed from New York state. A lot of these bottles were sent by ship to San Francisco where the agent for this product was Wm. Newell & Co. Some of these bottles (broken) have been dug back East. They were just an early bitters that was marketed in the West in 1859. Just like Dr. C. W. Roback's Stomach Bitters, Old Sachem Bitters and Wigwam Tonic, Catawba Wine Bitters, Dr. J. Hostetter's Stomach Bitters and a host of other eastern bottles during the late 1850's and onward.


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## CALDIGR2 (Sep 11, 2009)

I always maintained that the Bryant's was an Eastern product, but the "believers" wants so badly for it to be of San Francisco origin that a simple conjecture became accepted as fact by the collecting community. After the first one was dug in Sacramento, way back in the '60s, this myth has perpetuated, despite evidence to the contrary. Research on the Bryant's bottle led me to this conclusion many years ago, but the locals refused to allow facts to overide their preconceived notions. Thanks for posting this information, Warren. It's about time this "misunderstanding" was clarified, so perhaps the record will be corrected. I won't be holding my breath, though.


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## GuntherHess (Sep 11, 2009)

bottle myths are tough to dispell. people believe what they want to believe.


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## Oldtimer (Sep 11, 2009)

I had always understood it to be an eastern made product.


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## CALDIGR2 (Sep 11, 2009)

Yes, but some folks still insist that is is a Western product. A few cases of the Ladies leg type were pulled from the harbor in Sao Paulo, Brazil several years ago. The water was only about 12' -15' deep and you could see the bottles sitting down there. They were cargo on a ship transporting goods around the "Horn" to SF. The ship sank in the harbor and some goods were not retrieved at the time, the bottles among them.


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## glass man (Sep 11, 2009)

DOUG:I found the mag from july 1980 where the RARE HARRISONS COLUMBIAN MASTER INK WITH EXPANDED JAR MOUTH. HEIGHTH:10 /12 INCHES ,DIA.6 1/8INCHES BRILLIANT DEEP SAPPAIRE BLUE,SHEARED MOUTH-SCARED BASE. IT SOLD FOR $8000 WAS PART OF COVILL'S COLLECTION AND AUCTIONED BY SKINNERS AUCTION HOUSE. 
  I AM ALMOST SURE IT SOLD FOR $80,000 IN 1990,BUT THE BRAIN IS A SLIPPERY THING![] I HAVE THAT BOTTLE MAG. IN THIS HOUSE SOMEWHERE. AMAZED ME TO FIND THE 1980 ONE. I FOUND MY EXPO 96 BOTTLE MAG TOO,WITH A PICTURE OF NINA IN IT! JAMIE


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## beendiggin (Sep 12, 2009)

http://www.americanbottle.com/   A Bryant's just sold recently.  Here's the link.


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## blobbottlebob (Sep 12, 2009)

Great link Beendiggin. I would have liked a little more specifics about the sale but I suppose 'the six-figure catagory' is close enough.


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## glass man (Sep 12, 2009)

> AM ALMOST SURE IT SOLD FOR $80,000 IN 1990,


 DOUG I ALOMOST SURE I AM LOSING IT![SURE THAT SURPRISES NO ONE]  THE ink did sell for 8,000 in 1980 and like you and Jeff told me later sold for $33,000!  [8D] OH WELL! jamie


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