# "Greatest Hits" From My Modest Collection



## Shades of History

As I mentioned in my new member intro thread, I don't have a very big collection and I'm sort of a "budget" buyer(nothing really over $100 for a single bottle, mostly $20-$40 pieces, haven't found any good spots to dig my own). That being said...I think I've got decent taste and an eye for good deals and I really enjoy my little collection. It'd be an honor to share here for other hobbyists to enjoy. What do you all think?

Not letting me edit posts over my phone to upload photos to my reserve posts, so I'll have to just upload as I go.


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## Shades of History

reserved


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## Shades of History

reserved


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## Shades of History

I got this recently over the holidays. It's one of my more "pricey" bottles, but worth more than what I paid for it. It's a late 1800s mini whiskey, which are uncommon enough...but the color is what really makes this one stand out. The synthetic lighting I have doesn't do it justice. It looks like black glass on first appearance, but it's a deep "amethyst puce"(I see it as a red-violet). Natural sunlight brings out the purple hues more.


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## Shades of History

Two early machine made cork tops with expectional color. The yellow one is the most pure, bright, rich shade of yellow I've seen. Not Canary but not amber, just pure yellow. It has some maker's mark I haven't identified and made in Japan(perhaps soy sauce or some other popular household good). The other one is a basic medicine with a unique peach color I've never seen on any other bottle. It's between pink, orange amber, and cranberry. Both of these look like 1905 the earliest and 1925 the latest, probably WW1 era.


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## Shades of History

I got this one on eBay for dirt cheap. Have not researched the embossed logo/brand. It is a late 1800s(maybe as early as 1870s) emerald colored cologne with an odd logo and an even odder shape that doesn't self-stand well(hence the stand). It may or may not be rare, either way, it was a must have for the shape and color. And yes, there's that tabletop jam dispenser bottle in the back of a lot of the photos. Cranberry with thumbprints on the inner layer but smooth and clear outer. The seller didn't say/know, but I bet it's a Hobbs.


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## tsims

Shades of History said:


> I got this recently over the holidays. It's one of my more "pricey" bottles, but worth more than what I paid for it. It's a late 1800s mini whiskey, which are uncommon enough...but the color is what really makes this one stand out. The synthetic lighting I have doesn't do it justice. It looks like black glass on first appearance, but it's a deep "amethyst puce"(I see it as a red-violet). Natural sunlight brings out the purple hues more.


Beautiful colour when held up to the light, really like it!


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## TxBottleDigger

Shades of History said:


> I got this recently over the holidays. It's one of my more "pricey" bottles, but worth more than what I paid for it. It's a late 1800s mini whiskey, which are uncommon enough...but the color is what really makes this one stand out. The synthetic lighting I have doesn't do it justice. It looks like black glass on first appearance, but it's a deep "amethyst puce"(I see it as a red-violet). Natural sunlight brings out the purple hues more.


Red black glass? Maybe some other more longer time collectors can tune because I have only seen green black glass and actual true black glass. Interesting that they chose red instead of typical green black glass. Really interesting and certainly a neat bottle.


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## Shades of History

Time to share some more. Here's a nice example of a late mold blown bottle. A 1910's embossed Sanford's master ink in a rare light topaz color, blown with ground lip. A little haze staining( I bought it but it's a dug bottle), otherwise perfect condition. Nice whittled/striated crudeness on the neck. This piece has a ton of character, and contrasts some of my more "artsy" colognes and stuff nicely with its utilitarian charm.


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## Shades of History

TxBottleDigger said:


> Red black glass? Maybe some other more longer time collectors can tune because I have only seen green black glass and actual true black glass. Interesting that they chose red instead of typical green black glass. Really interesting and certainly a neat bottle.


I've seen a few pop up for sale, but never with this amethyst/violet red. I'll have to get a pic with a natural light source, because it looks different, much more purple. It's a unique bottle for sure, I'm glad I was able to get it for a reasonable price(less than $75 all together with shipping if I remember right) and glad to have it in my collection.


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## Shades of History

I've got quite a few more on my main shelf I haven't shared yet, plus one a couple still on the way. Think I might post a couple more tonight, just not sure which ones first.


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## Shades of History

Alright, got some time to post a couple more. This one is an 1890s ammonia bottle with a really nice citron yellow green color. It's slick except for the little 3.A. embossing on the bottom. SUPER crude/whittled. It has a bit of haze staining but otherwise perfect condition.


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## Shades of History

Here's a little cologne in an odd and cool color, sort of a peachy apricot orange amber. It's blown in mold and embossed with these little ocean waves or something, some sort of pattern. Not sure how old it is but it isn't recent. My guess is late 1800s to early 1910's.


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## Shades of History

Dusted and reorganized my main bottle shelf last night. Here's some pics of more of my collection, starting with colored milk glass. The purple cosmetics is probably 1890's-1915, the blue jar is 1890s and still has the lid.


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## Shades of History

Some little late bright colored 1800s BIM slicks, all super clean and minty. think they are all medicines but definitely the cobalt is. These were all inexpensive bottles 10-$15 a piece on eBay. The one with the cork(probably original) is a three piece mold. The four sided one, I just love the shape and color combo, some nice tooling marks around the neck. The blue on the cobalt vial is just outrageous, and the glass is thick and crude and full of bubbles.


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## Shades of History

I sort of explained about my "style" in another post, but in case it isn't obvious by now it's a bit ecclectic with a few defining categories and themes. I collect mainly slick bottles and a few embossed ones, mainly pre-1900 but I do have a section of very nice early machine made bottles. some things I really like: odd and attractive shapes, unique and rare colors, oddballs with character, early pontils and utility bottles, and anything cool that just catches my eye.


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## Shades of History

And here's my early pontils. The "newest" in age and to my collection is the applied handle one. It's British(pretty sure English specifically). It's a utility bottle with a crude and slightly off center applied handle and open pontil from the 1850s. Nice thick found glass, crude in some areas but well made and structurally sound. Little one is New England, 1830s the latest utility, medicine, maybe ink. The Aqua is a great archetypical example of your standard 1840's pontils "puff" medicine, twisted looking neck and crude applied top. The big one is my most expensive. It's a big Danish utility from the 1770s. I got it for )$110 shipped and all, but seen similar European bottles go for close to $500 on the high end. It has an extreme amount of character and is the centerpiece to my early pontils and perhaps my entire collection.


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## tsims

Shades of History said:


> I sort of explained about my "style" in another post, but in case it isn't obvious by now it's a bit ecclectic with a few defining categories and themes. I collect mainly slick bottles and a few embossed ones, mainly pre-1900 but I do have a section of very nice early machine made bottles. some things I really like: odd and attractive shapes, unique and rare colors, oddballs with character, early pontils and utility bottles, and anything cool that just catches my eye.


Different and unique is where it's at, every piece it's own character right?


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## Nickneff

Shades of History said:


> Alright, got some time to post a couple more. This one is an 1890s ammonia bottle with a really nice citron yellow green color. It's slick except for the little 3.A. embossing on the bottom. SUPER crude/whittled. It has a bit of haze staining but otherwise perfect condition.


 if that bottle was embossed on a face woo-wee that sucker would be a killer piece even though it doesn't have writing it still sweet I like the color you could try some baby oil on a rag that could possibly get your cloudiness out but all in all that's a really nice bottle


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## Nickneff

Shades of History said:


> Some little late bright colored 1800s BIM slicks, all super clean and minty. think they are all medicines but definitely the cobalt is. These were all inexpensive bottles 10-$15 a piece on eBay. The one with the cork(probably original) is a three piece mold. The four sided one, I just love the shape and color combo, some nice tooling marks around the neck. The blue on the cobalt vial is just outrageous, and the glass is thick and crude and full of bubbles.


Nice Cobalt


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## tsims

Shades of History said:


> And here's my early pontils. The "newest" in age and to my collection is the applied handle one. It's British(pretty sure English specifically). It's a utility bottle with a crude and slightly off center applied handle and open pontil from the 1850s. Nice thick found glass, crude in some areas but well made and structurally sound. Little one is New England, 1830s the latest utility, medicine, maybe ink. The Aqua is a great archetypical example of your standard 1840's pontils "puff" medicine, twisted looking neck and crude applied top. The big one is my most expensive. It's a big Danish utility from the 1770s. I got it for )$110 shipped and all, but seen similar European bottles go for close to $500 on the high end. It has an extreme amount of character and is the centerpiece to my early pontils and perhaps my entire collection.


sound like a good score


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## Jake2150

Shades of History said:


> And here's my early pontils. The "newest" in age and to my collection is the applied handle one. It's British(pretty sure English specifically). It's a utility bottle with a crude and slightly off center applied handle and open pontil from the 1850s. Nice thick found glass, crude in some areas but well made and structurally sound. Little one is New England, 1830s the latest utility, medicine, maybe ink. The Aqua is a great archetypical example of your standard 1840's pontils "puff" medicine, twisted looking neck and crude applied top. The big one is my most expensive. It's a big Danish utility from the 1770s. I got it for )$110 shipped and all, but seen similar European bottles go for close to $500 on the high end. It has an extreme amount of character and is the centerpiece to my early pontils and perhaps my entire collection.



Great collection. Love the diversity of color and shape. Thanks for sharing it.


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## tsims

Shades of History said:


> Alright, got some time to post a couple more. This one is an 1890s ammonia bottle with a really nice citron yellow green color. It's slick except for the little 3.A. embossing on the bottom. SUPER crude/whittled. It has a bit of haze staining but otherwise perfect condition.


Very nice, love the yellow bottles. I bought some mini lights that look like a cork on top (Amazon or dollar stores) and bottles look so nice at night with the lights inside, amber bottle make the lights look yellowish while green bottles look bright white. Fun to do with different glass bottles with unique shapes.


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