# Mary Gregory barber bottles anyone?



## bobclay (Mar 6, 2007)

Hi folks,

 I mainly hang out on the fruit jar boards but thought I'd swing by and ask a quick question.

 Anyone here collect Mary Gregory type barber bottles?

 Thanks,  []

 Bob


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## marjorie040 (Mar 7, 2007)

Hi Bob,
 There are two beauties on this website http://www.trocadero.com/msvictorian/catalog/Popular_Collectibles.html

 IF you've got $900.00!!!
 Co incidently there is one on ebay with a bid of $9.99 (?) Since I don't know anything about these bottles, I'd be interested in your opinion of them....you might as well share alittle while you're here[]
 Marjorie


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## marjorie040 (Mar 7, 2007)

Bob,
 Here is the website for ebay's Mary Gregory
http://cgi.ebay.com/1890s-Antique-Glass-Barber-Bottle-Mary-Gregory-Type_W0QQitemZ260093172099QQihZ016QQcategoryZ13908QQcmdZViewItem
 Marjorie


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## bobclay (Mar 7, 2007)

Hi marjorie040!

 Thanks for the links to check out! That sure is an odd top on that one! The 'tennis player' ones aren't as old as the other types. The ebay link isn't really a Mary Gregory but really called a "Cameo"...not commonly seen with the colored decorations, mainly all white.

 Here's a pic of our small mainly Mary Gregory barber bottle collection, (there's a couple plain white enamel Cameos on the bottom shelf) I was hoping to see if there might be someone else that collects these things around here.







 Thanks!  []

 Bob


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## marjorie040 (Mar 7, 2007)

Hi Bob,
 WOW! I'm very impressed with your beautiful collection !!
 Hopefully they are all worth the $399-$499 like the ones listed in the above mentioned auction!!
 There is also a post on this forum from "Jim" on 7/25/06 with a picture of a freshly dug Mary Gregory this is great!
 If you search "Mary Gregory" you'll see it and perhaps you can contact Jim.
 Thanks for sharing!!
 Marjorie


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## bobclay (Mar 7, 2007)

Hi Marjorie,

 As with most bottles, these do range signifigantly in prices. These range mainly from about $150 to $300, with the exception of the ones with a scene painted on them (middle shelf, center) which range from about $350 to $750+. And, as with most bottles, if the color is really unusual, those always bring more. And the condition, quality and detail of the enamel work is of utmost importance.

 Most of these are from the late 19th century. There are also Czechoslovakian and/or Bohemian Mary Gregory types known, but the child figures are more exaggerated and not as detailed in the workmanship. There were also ones supposedly made in the 40's as were many of the tennis/badminton player ones. Mary Gregory type bottles with flesh colored faces on them are thought to be English.

 I don't know nearly as much about these as I do jars...my wife began collecting barber bottles in general when I started going to jar shows. She had a few of the Mary Gregory types and liked them best so when ebay came around, I sold what wasn't Mary Gregory and added whenever we could. As with any collection of anything, always a work in progress! []

 And I'm always looking to find out more about them.  [8|]

 Bob


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## capsoda (Mar 7, 2007)

Beautiful collection Bob. You and your wife have reason to be proud.


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## GreenMtnSam (Mar 7, 2007)

Bob - What an AWESOME collection!  I don't collect the barber bottles, but I used to collect depression glass, mainly black amethyst and Mary Gregory was the "TOP of the line" for me and many others.... Sally....aka ~sam~


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## Flaschenjager (Mar 7, 2007)

*Wow Bob!* Very nice and well displayed. My favorite of these would be the odd one in the middle top shelf 'cause it looks different.


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## bobclay (Mar 7, 2007)

Thanks for the kind words everyone! The display box is very easy to build, I had four of them for my colored jars at an older home. It is just six pieces of stained 1x6 #2 grade pine and a 4x8 sheet of white showerboard supported top and bottom by L brackets into the studs. Cheap and easy! []

 Meech, odd you should metion that particular bottle. It is the ONLY barber bottle (of any kind) that I've bought here in my home town and is among my wife's favorites.

 I'll post a couple pics of the more uncommon ones here when I get the time.

 Bob


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## Flaschenjager (Mar 7, 2007)

*Bob* - It looks like you used a flash and it is not backlit. I'm building yet another display - built-in, in the form of a bookcase with a backlit display above a doored section for books. I've been searching and shopping for non textured white panels for the back to place lights behind it. These are VERY expensive, at least on the web.


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## bobclay (Mar 8, 2007)

Meech,

 BTW, don't know a thing about the 2 you posted in the jars forum, but sure like the folksy look of the 'rooster jar'!  []

 Yup, have to use a flash with my cheapie camera. If you look at the pic above real closely, you can see I took 3 pics and combined them to make the one. Luckily, I've used Photoshop for over 10 years now so it wasn't too big of a problem.

 Good luck with the back lit shelving! I've seen it done successfully before and  it REALLY makes the glass looks good, especially colors! I have seen pics of one fella's display of colored fruit jars that is a whole wall backlit and it is superb!

 Here are my wife's favorite bottles:







 These are my favorites, especially the one in the middle, "Cherub in Fountain"






 Bob


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## GreenMtnSam (Mar 8, 2007)

I'm so envious! []  Very nice collection....  ~sam~


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## GuntherHess (Mar 8, 2007)

> our small mainly Mary Gregory barber bottle collection


 
 small[] its funny how the definition of 'small' varies 

 maybe a 'small' collection that got out of hand?


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## California Dream N (Mar 8, 2007)

Call it a small or large collection. This is a group of bottles that anyone would be proud of.....Beautiful... I am envious...Congratulations on this  wonderful and gorgeous bit of History..Norene


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## bobclay (Mar 8, 2007)

Hi everyone,

 Again, thank you for the kind words! []

 Gunther, at one time I had right at 3000 fruit jars in my old home. Four of these display boxes, over 300 running feet of shelving in the den alone and jars almost anywhere I could find a spot to put one. It truly did get out of hand! A very near miss by one of our Okie tornadoes made me really rethink my priorities, so I started selling off most of my jars. And I have seen a few barber bottle collections that were MASSIVE, so I really consider this one small. Nice quality, but small.

 When we moved into this house, I vowed I'd never make the same mistake twice and limited myself to only this one display box which I had full of colored fruit jars. We kept the wife's bottles in a lawyer's bookcase. As I sold the colored jars I began moving her collection into the display box and eventually, it took over the entire thing. It holds 51 bottles nicely and we have made up our mind that it will never get any larger than 51 bottles. If/when it gets to that amount, (there's only 45 there now) anytime a new one comes in, an old one will go out. 

 May not work, but it's a good theory on paper ain't it?  []

 Bob


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## WSP (Aug 20, 2007)

THANKS, for posting these really nice barber bottles! I haven't been on here in a while, very nice. And the circa info was good. I've seen these but didn't know the age. I figured some of the european pontiled barber bottles might go into the 20's & 30's but wasn't sure. I have lots of barber bottles but never any of these. Would make a nice article in a bottle magazine. I have mostly opalescent. Still looking for a cranberry spanish lace (corset type mold, I have a sq one) Looking forward to more postings!


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