# Breslin Bischoff & Co Bottle - "Dew of the Alps"???



## Blackdutchie (Aug 7, 2014)

Just pulled this black (VERY BLACK) glass bottle from a pit in Philly. Reads "Breslin Bischoff & Co" on one panel and "Geneva" on the other. A quick search online for these guys showed that Udolpho Wolfe was apparently importing a "Dew of the Alps" cordial made by Breslin Bischoff & Co. These ads start in 1866 and seem to run through the 1870s. The base on this bottle is strange, as it's sort of a stepped smooth base (though tough to photo). Does anyone know anything about these bottles? Is it one of these "Dew of the Alps" cordials? Is it actually an imported European bottle as advertised or was it an American-made product? I've attached the first 3 photos here, more to follow below. Thanks for the help!


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## Blackdutchie (Aug 7, 2014)

Here are 3 more pics:


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## Blackdutchie (Aug 7, 2014)

And the last 2:


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## Bert DeWitt (Aug 7, 2014)

Can you post a pic of the bottom and of the embossing? It is hard to really see what's on the bottle in those pics.


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## Bert DeWitt (Aug 7, 2014)

I like it, it is a really cool bottle!


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## botlguy (Aug 7, 2014)

That's a great looking bottle and while the collar doesn't look applied the base appears to have and Iron Pontil. That observation may be incorrect. If the collar is applied it would probably date back to the early 1860s. The over all look leads me to GUESS late 1870s early 1880s. What was the context of the rest of the pit or could you tell? I'm guessing European made and imported here.


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## Blackdutchie (Aug 7, 2014)

botlguy, The finish actually is applied, the pic doesn't show it very well but here is actually some drip over the neck. The base was very tough to show but it is in fact smooth base. The very inner area is highly patinated and somewhat rough/pitted but does seem to be smooth. The privy itself seemed to date from the late 1860s or early 1870s into the 80s, as you said (in terms of newspaper ads for Breslin Bischoff & Co. and their "Dew of the Alps" they first seem to show up in 1866 and I can't find them after the early 80s). It's certainly an unusual looking bottle and the first I've seen of something like this. The glass literally lets NO light through it, so it appears straight up black. I'm hoping to do more research into the company and the possible product. Needless to say, I got really excited with the possible Udolpho Wolfe connection. I'm also planning on getting it professionally cleaned, I think it might be worth it to see it shine again.


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## botlguy (Aug 7, 2014)

Yea, that looks like a good candidate for tumbling. I am not in favor of that if the iridescence it outstanding but yours has only some it appears. Please come back and show us a "Before & After" picture. Great Luck with your research, there may be some on the forums who can help with that. Me, I'm a computer Dummy.  []    Jim P.S. GREAT pix and presentation.


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## Blackdutchie (Aug 8, 2014)

Been through all the historical newspaper databases now searching for Breslin, Bischoff & Company and their "Dew of the Alps" cordial. They first appear in October of 1866 reprinting a letter from July naming Udolpho Wolfe as their sole agent for the Americas. The last appearance in any newspaper that I can find for either the company or the "Dew" (as it was called sometimes) was November of 1879 in the San Francisco Chronicle. Most of the ads for the product appear in southern newspapers, particularly in New Orleans, Galveston, and Wilmington, NC. The ads appear more infrequently in New York papers and San Francisco (in the late 1870s). Haven't found any depictions of the "Dew" bottles as of yet, but there is mention of capacity, which I'll check out with my bottle. Seemed to have been a relatively expensive product, listed for 1 and 2 dollars per bottle. As far as I can tell, Brelsin, Bischoff & Co never imported any other products so I'm fairly certain that's what this bottle is. I'll add updates as I do more research.


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## cowseatmaize (Aug 10, 2014)

Gilka knockoff or a knockoff of a Gilka, I don't know. It does look older than any Gilka I've seen but I haven't traced their origins..


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## Blackdutchie (Aug 10, 2014)

Eric, Thanks for the tip, I had never heard of the Gilka bottles but after a quick google the form is definitely very similar, though as you said looks earlier than the Gilka's. Makes me wonder if this is some kind of predecessor of the Gilka's. The bottle certainly seems to be imported now though. As I've been digging a little more into Breslin, Bischoff & Co, it seems the "Dew of the Alps" they imported through Wolfe and the one showing up in the San Francisco papers in the late 1870s were different products, and though the CA Henley's "Dew of the Alps" has been described as a "white whale", period photos show a bottle completely different than mine. Either this isn't a "Dew of the Alps" bottle, or Breslin, Bischoff & Co.'s product came in a different bottle (and it was a bit earlier: The Swiss company doesn't show up in newspapers after the late 1860s, though "Dew of the Alps" was advertised through 1879, as I mentioned above).


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## goodman1966 (Aug 11, 2014)

I think the reason you are seeing two different bottle is their may have been two products. I found this ad on cronicalingamerica. It says toward the bottom "liquor and cordial". Hope this helps.  Mitch


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## goodman1966 (Aug 11, 2014)

Oops forgot the ad ![attachment=image.jpg]


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## Blackdutchie (Aug 11, 2014)

Thanks for the great post goodman! I wonder where my bottle fits then, whether it's a liquor bottle or a cordial. I'm guessing a cordial by the form. It's interesting that the ad mentions quart-sized bottles, as mine holds 20 oz exactly if filled to the very top of the rim. I'm wondering if the smaller version that I have is an earlier bottle. I had found an ad in the 1870s stating that Breslin Bischoff & Co introduced the product initially as an "experiment" (as it was termed in the ad) and how the demand for the product had since outgrown the supply. I'm wondering if my bottle falls under this "experimental" period when the product was first introduced in the 1860s. I'll try and find that ad and post it. Thanks again!


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## Blackdutchie (Aug 12, 2014)

I've attached a couple newspaper clippings below regarding Breslin Bischoff & Co. The first (longer one) is the earliest mention I can find for them (October 5, 1866), and includes a supposed statement from them naming Udolpho Wolfe as their sole agent for the Americas, as well as a similar announcement from Wolfe. The second clipping is the last mention I can find for the company (December 5, 1876) and talks about the introduction of the "Dew of the Alps" and the increased demand since. While the product, "Dew of the Alps" shows up all over the place in historic newspapers during the late 1860s and 1870s, Breslin Bischoff & Co. is only named a handful of times from what I can find, 8 times in 1866 in the Times-Picayune (New Orleans), twice in 1867 in a Galveston, TX paper, and lastly in 1876 in the Times-Picayune again. I'm still not sure how Henley's 1870s (California) "Dew of the Alps" relates to the Breslin Bischoff & Co. product. I'm beginning to wonder if Henley's is a domestic copy of an earlier imported original (B.B. & Co.). As usual, with more research, there are more questions than answers.


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## cowseatmaize (Aug 13, 2014)

Down Under Moses Moss and Co advertised 

...The time-honoured Helvetian Tonic and restorative known as "Dew of the Alps" (Rosée des Alpes), has (been a health restorative) in Switzerland for more than 400 years....http://www.auspostalhistory.com/MOBI/articles/1848.php It didn't mention Breslin etc but most other adds from them did. Anyhow, I guess the term was used for quite a while and Henley probably just borrowed it.


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## RED Matthews (Aug 31, 2014)

Interesting research study,  I saved quite a lot of it.  RED Matthews


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## Blackdutchie (Sep 17, 2014)

Still been digging into this bottle and I've found that at least by the early 20th century (though this particular bottle is at least several decades earlier) the bottle form was being called a "Kimmel Bottle" and being grouped with the various liquor bottles in the catalogs. I've attached a couple Illinois Glass Company catalog pages from 1906 and 1920. According to different liquor sites online, "Kümmel, also known as kimmel, is a German, sweet, colorless liquid flavored with caraway seeds, cumin, and fennel." This fits with the Breslin Bischoff bottle being a German/Swiss product. Makes me wonder if the "Dew of the Alps" would have fit the description for traditional Kimmel beverage.


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## Blackdutchie (Sep 26, 2014)

Just scored this Breslin Bischoff & Co. Dew of the Alps advertising token off ebay. Figured I could throw it in a small display with the bottle. If you notice, the double underline under the "o" in "Co" on the token is identical to the bottle. Makes me think the bottle is probably indeed a "Dew of the Alps" and contemporary with the token. The logo on the front with the feathered hat and shield with the Swiss cross is pretty cool, I wonder if that's what the paper label would've looked like. Thanks for everyone's help!


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## Jeffrey Reich (Apr 9, 2016)

Dear Sir

I purchased a piece of property in Matagorda, TX last year. Just this last week we were doing some dirt work on that property and unearthed one of these bottles. To me, it appears to be in very good condition however I am no expert on these matters. Can someone tell me if there has been any further communications at all regarding Blackdutchie's post above? I am quite interested in finding out about this bottle, it's history, value and so on.
Thanks very much for the assistance.
Regards


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## botlguy (Apr 9, 2016)

To my knowledge, and I've been on these forums awhile, there has been no other talk about these. The archives might prove me wrong, again.
Jim


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## Jeffrey Reich (Apr 9, 2016)

Hi Jim
Thanks very much for the response. I will continue to dig around and see if I can uncover any other information on this bottle but at first glance it appears to be quite rare.
Thanks again
Jeff


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## El ToroLoco (May 30, 2018)

Jeff,

You're messages are a couple years old but hopefully you see this. I actually just picked up one of these off of ebay. It is very similar to the black one shown but does seem to be a different mold (a bit wider, squatter, with a thicker neck and lip). It is a very reddish amber (rather than black) and has the same embossing and same weird stepped base as the black one. I will post some pics in a day or two. Any chance the one I purchased is the same one you found on your property? I have no idea where mine was found (the seller didn't say) but it's interesting that a couple of the probably very few known examples were found so far apart (Philadelphia and Texas). Dew of the Alps sure seems to have reach a fairly wide distribution despite the bottles' apparent scarcity!


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