# Saturday dump digging. The Owls were in season again.



## Macaco (Jun 16, 2014)

Hello All,

The team went for a dig at one of our dump sites on Saturday. 

I didn't take a group shot of my bottles this time because the wind is blowing so hard outside I was afraid they would be toppled and broken.

My keepers,

A heavy, green bottle with stopper. The stopper moved freely in and out of the top of the bottle when I pulled it out of the hole. We were astonished the two pieces remained together. I suspect it is a smelling salts bottle based on some research Sharon did on another green bottle I found last trip. Digger Charles found some information that provides more evidence.
Smooth base, no embossing anywhere on the bottle or stopper. 3.75” tall with stopper installed,








My first one of these. Warner's Tablets bottle with brass screw cap intact. 2.75” tall,





This one turns out to be pretty common but it's the first one I have found. Aqua, 5.75” tall,
/THE E.E. SUTHERLAND/MEDICINE CO./PADUCAH.KY./,





An old brass lantern,





A Dundee Marmalade jar. There is a chip off the rim on the reverse. The logo glaze is weak and it smeared when they fired it,





A nice Chinese soy sauce jug,








An Owl Drug Company whiskey top! 6.25” tall. I like these. This is my second. Jim Sinsley helped me identify the first one I dug. It has two tiny bruises on the reverse and one on the top. There is a small, 1/8” flash on the reverse near the shoulder. Still a keeper.
I posted a picture of it with the one I found before. I like how different the owls are,









Owl Drug Company, Standard Pharmaceuticals. 8” tall. It has a big chip in the rim. I know because I put it there! The glass where the chipped out piece was is clean. I need to be more careful packing my bottles,











Charles dug some keepers,

Baja bitters. 11.25” tall. Perfect condition. 10 for sure. No haze, no sick. I'm sure it's a tool top but it looks like it's applied,








This one is a bit of a mystery. Is it a grocery store brand whiskey? I suspect it is. It has a whiskey top and the look of a whiskey. 9 11/16” tall. /WELLMAN, PECK & CO. DISTRIBUTORS/SILVER THISTLE GROCERIES/,








Any intact poison is good. Small chip on the rim,





A good Palmer bottle. 7” tall,





Digger Scott dug a few good ones. This one is excellent. Square base. A little haze but otherwise perfect. 'French Hospital' was a San Francisco hospital founded in 1851. From the research I did it existed through at least the mid-1970's. Has anyone ever seen one of these bottles or something similar? Any idea what an approximate value could be?,








Thanks for looking.


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## botlguy (Jun 16, 2014)

Dang it Steve, why couldn't those Owls be different! Maybe then I could talk you out of one. Outstanding! Even with the damage it's a WINNER.Several of those items found are GREAT, the WELLMAN, PECK is almost certainly some sort of food item, they were big in the business back in the day. It could have held an alcoholic product but I doubt it. Probably something like salad dressing, vinegar, vegetable oil, ketchup, ammonia, etcetera. Betty Zumwalt lists your bottle as common in her book: KETCHUP - PICKLES - SAUCES. She does not list the contents but they do not advertise any alcohol. The company existed in that name from 1864 through 1918.Please let me know if you decide to part with any of the small stuff. I have TRADERS, 1 S.F. piece.


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## Macaco (Jun 16, 2014)

botlguy said:
			
		

> Dang it Steve, why couldn't those Owls be different! Maybe then I could talk you out of one. Outstanding! Even with the damage it's a WINNER.Several of those items found are GREAT, the WELLMAN, PECK is almost certainly some sort of food item, they were big in the business back in the day. It could have held an alcoholic product but I doubt it. Probably something like salad dressing, vinegar, vegetable oil, ketchup, ammonia, etcetera. Betty Zumwalt lists your bottle as common in her book: KETCHUP - PICKLES - SAUCES. She does not list the contents but they do not advertise any alcohol. The company existed in that name from 1864 through 1918.Please let me know if you decide to part with any of the small stuff. I have TRADERS, 1 S.F. piece.


Hi Jim,Thank you!I thought about you when I dug this one. I figured I could get one to you but then I saw how different they were and now I wouldn't be able to even decide which one to part with. I haven't forgot you want one. I was hoping the Wellman, Peck that Charles found was a whiskey. From your research it seems it's more likely a sauce or oil or etc. bottle as you say. Was there any indication in your library about whether Wellman, Peck was a San Francisco company? Thanks again,


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## sandchip (Jun 17, 2014)

Great finds.  I like the smelling salts jar.


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## cobaltbot (Jun 17, 2014)

Nice find, sounds like a fun dump!


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## RED Matthews (Jun 17, 2014)

Hello Macaco.  I took notice of the Warners tablet bottle and the threaded top.  I have some bottles with internal hand tooled threaded finishes.  I have one that I think was an external hand tooled thread.  So my thought was to question you regarding this bottles thread.  The question is, Are there vertical seams on it - or linear tool marks from a hand tooled thread.  If it is hand tooled I would like to borrow it or at least get some good pictures of the finish. Have you been to my home page?  RED Matthews   email <bottlemysteries@yahoo.com>


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## 2find4me (Jun 17, 2014)

Once again, another great dig! The number of Owls you find is amazing! Are they all coming from the same dump?You are right about the smelling salt, the dark teal color, stopper, and small size usually gives it away. The Brass Lantern is an interesting find. The Chinese Soy Sauce is a cool find, it is a wonder it wasn't broken. The French Hospital is a good one. Warner & Co. Tablets,(WM. R Warner from Philadelphia) currently on eBay(Overpriced). A bit of HISTORY, & some more HISTORY, & even more HISTORY. (Not to be confused with H.H Warner from N.Y., who manufactured the well known Safe Cure & Remedy. It is possible WM.R & H.H Warner could have been related, but I doubt it.) E.E Sutherland sold on eBay & an earlier THREAD. There are quite a few different variants & sizes I have found they come in so far: 5 3/4"(Ring around Neck), 4 3/8"(No Ring), 8 1/2"(No Ring, different finish), 6 7/8"(Ring, different finish), & 7"(Ring, different finish from 6 7/8"). Different Owl Drugs FOR SALE, they come in different sizes and colors such as amber, green, and clear. ARTICLE on whiskey top owls. Pair of two different sized Owl Drug Standard Pharmaceuticals which SOLD for a steal. James Keiller & Sons. Dundee Marmalade, one of the many different priced ones on eBay & HISTORY. Very common jar of course. Earlier THREAD. TreasureNet THREAD.There are many different variants, such as the "A" under the wreath (Yours). I have found letters A, I, N, (S in wreath, Q below). Shorter Versions(Not embossed Great Britain) letters, O, X, H, V. There are many more variants than this, maybe there is a book or website listing them. Damiana Bitters, what is was USED for. Currently selling on eBay. WELLMAN, PECK & CO from San Francisco, California. Existed from 1864-1918.  Amber Posion Three-Sided on eBay, not sure if it is the same size. Palmer Teal Bottle, common, eBay.


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## 2find4me (Jun 17, 2014)

BTW, keep up the digging and beautiful pics!


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## cannibalfromhannibal (Jun 17, 2014)

Wow , you are in a gold mine! I miss digging the Chinese stuff. I was going to mention I had found a clear whiskey top owl under a house that had a partial label stating "olive oil" but washed it off thinking it was in such bad shape it detracted from the bottle and had no value. That is until I tried to convince a collector at the local bottle show it was olive oil, to which he replied, "Well MINE is a WHISKEY!" I could understand his firmness on his stance when I noted the price of $350, and that was 20 years ago! I wish I still had it but wasn't keen on an olive oil bottle even if it was an owl, so I traded for a Microbe Killer skelly bottle and thought I got the better end of the deal. Still think so, but that's just me and olive oyle! Ha! Good article on the owls, purporting the different products, including the cursed olive oil. Jack


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## botlguy (Jun 17, 2014)

Steve, don't you worry one bit about not parting with one of those small Whiskey Tops. Keep them both and be proud. They are tough to come by and I wouldn't part with one if I had both. Sharon provided the answer as to Wellman, Peck being a San Francisco company. Thank you Sharon for that and all the other informative links. Wish I could do that!


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## Macaco (Jun 18, 2014)

RED Matthews said:
			
		

> Hello Macaco.  I took notice of the Warners tablet bottle and the threaded top.  I have some bottles with internal hand tooled threaded finishes.  I have one that I think was an external hand tooled thread.  So my thought was to question you regarding this bottles thread.  The question is, Are there vertical seams on it - or linear tool marks from a hand tooled thread.  If it is hand tooled I would like to borrow it or at least get some good pictures of the finish. Have you been to my home page?  RED Matthews   email &lt bottlemysteries@yahoo.com>



Hi Clarence, It's a pretty common bottle I believe. I will attempt to take some better pics of it for you. I need to soak it for a while to see if the lid will loosen enough to unscrew.


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## Macaco (Jun 18, 2014)

2find4me said:
			
		

> Once again, another great dig! The number of Owls you find is amazing! Are they all coming from the same dump?You are right about the smelling salt, the dark teal color, stopper, and small size usually gives it away. The Brass Lantern is an interesting find. The Chinese Soy Sauce is a cool find, it is a wonder it wasn't broken. The French Hospital is a good one. .....................


Hi Sharon, Thank you for the research.


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## Macaco (Jun 18, 2014)

cannibalfromhannibal said:
			
		

> Wow , you are in a gold mine! I miss digging the Chinese stuff. I was going to mention I had found a clear whiskey top owl under a house that had a partial label stating "olive oil" but washed it off thinking it was in such bad shape it detracted from the bottle and had no value. That is until I tried to convince a collector at the local bottle show it was olive oil, to which he replied, "Well MINE is a WHISKEY!" I could understand his firmness on his stance when I noted the price of $350, and that was 20 years ago! I wish I still had it but wasn't keen on an olive oil bottle even if it was an owl, so I traded for a Microbe Killer skelly bottle and thought I got the better end of the deal. Still think so, but that's just me and olive oyle! Ha! Good article on the owls, purporting the different products, including the cursed olive oil. Jack


Hello Jack, We are finding some decent stuff. Of course I don't post pictures of the days when we don't find much or just get some slicks.I am disappointed that you washed off the olive oil label! I would have liked to have seen a picture of it. Next time.


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## Bass Assassin (Jun 18, 2014)

Nice group of finds sir. Love the wellman & peck and the bitters as well. The jug is awesome too. How can you sleep at night knowing there are still bottles to be dug out of that dump. I would go nuts! Thanks for sharing and the photos are great


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## Macaco (Jun 18, 2014)

Bass Assassin said:
			
		

> Nice group of finds sir. Love the wellman & peck and the bitters as well. The jug is awesome too. How can you sleep at night knowing there are still bottles to be dug out of that dump. I would go nuts! Thanks for sharing and the photos are great


Hi Mark,Thank you sir. The sheer variety of what is in the dump makes it really interesting.


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## Bass Assassin (Jun 18, 2014)

Agree. It's a goldmine and i can't wait to see more.


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## Lordbud (Jul 7, 2014)

Digger Scott dug a few good ones. This one is excellent. Square base. A little haze but otherwise perfect. 'French Hospital' was a San Francisco hospital founded in 1851. From the research I did it existed through at least the mid-1970's. Has anyone ever seen one of these bottles or something similar? Any idea what an approximate value could be?, The SF druggist/pharmacy bottles have been doing pretty well on ebay the past couple of months. I don't recall ever seeing one of these French Hospital bottles. To me it would be a Keeper.


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