# Payment For Labor:



## Robby Raccoon (Aug 17, 2015)

I got these bottles [the paver-blocks are my own and make good platforms for photography-- my iconic red picnic-table some of you may recall will no longer be used] as payment for several days of labor:
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 The first bottle is a Michigan Maid from '46. He gave it to me because I had found only 1/3rd of this Dr. Pepper-owned product one day in the dunes.  The second bottle should ignite more excitement among local collectors. He likes to have only one of a bottle instead of owning identicals, so he gave me this damaged one as his undamaged one was on display: 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Here's why it is an exciting bottle beyond that Jepson was here from 1875 to 1886 and based out of an Opera House (being burned out thrice, tooIt's an Error-Bottle: It should be A. G. Jepson and not R. G. Jepson. Base is unmarked. Mouth is chipped.  This next bottle I have been looking for for a few years now-- the first antique bottle-shard I found had been to one of this size (this bottle comes in two sizes,) shade, embossing, and it was also made by Root. It's how I learned about my favorite company to collect now: Muskegon Brewing Company. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	







This one is a crude tooled-crown circa-1901 and has so many bubbles-- many looking like scars-- in it. It had been tumbled.  Here's a solid amber-colored Muskegon Brg Co. bottle that I thought came only in blob for this style. Also Root-made, this nice tooled-crown had been outside for 10 years covered in grass and surrounded by the gravel of his driveway. I, in helping him with stuff, found bottles he dumped and left there one day a decade in the past. We pulled out quite a few. My blob-version is S. B. & G. Co.-made and is BR'G not BRG. The back.
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Here is one very exciting one to me: I've been searching for about a year and have found where all but one seemed to have ended up: Michigan Bottling Co. of Muskegon has a likely-complete collection of variations now found about one main-road away from me. I had thought that this company would have more than 2 different bottles as it was around from 1889 to 1901, but I could never find anything on the company let alone its bottles until just the other day. Now I have found 5 different bottles. They even had a very early tooled-crown. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	







The Baltimore Loop-Seal seemed to have been preferred by this company, but this is the crudest "Balto"-top that I have ever seen. It gives some indication of having been applied, but that's very unlikely due to that it was made in a more modern era (1880s-1890s.)Base and heel are unmarked. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




A Hutter stopper that I found in his driveway and commented on. He gave me it too.As I cleaned it-- you can see that it was very dirty.


----------



## botlguy (Aug 17, 2015)

Nice presentation as usual Bear.


----------



## Robby Raccoon (Aug 17, 2015)

Thanks, Jim.   ???????????????•??•??????????


----------



## andy volkerts (Aug 17, 2015)

nice gets Bear! The Jepson drug bottle is kinda rare, at least that is what somebody on here a while back stated, but for the life of me I cannot remember who it was. 9Sigh) just getting old I guess..........Andy


----------



## Robby Raccoon (Aug 17, 2015)

Thanks.  I'm not finding any results on it here, Andy. [>:] Are you sure it was a Muskegon Druggist by the name of Jepson? Before I came on here, there didn't seem to be any Muskegon druggists up on the forum (and very few online in general.) They hardly pop up even in shows.  One day a man brings a handful to the bottle-club for cheap liquidation.  I got all but one that he had.I found one in an antique store. And now I got one pulled out of the truck of the man that I did work for. My photographs turned out terribly due to operator-error, glare, lighting, and being just so overwhelmed, but... Here's the collection of the man who gave me these bottles:https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/105829219381567141804/albums/6182616455805704785 There are a few different Jepson's in there.  These are most of his druggists barring repeats and a few more shelves:
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 At least I figured out where they all went. A number of them are very rare-- I don't know the commonality of this Jepson bottle, but it's only this make of bottle with the error.


----------



## andy volkerts (Aug 17, 2015)

Geez Bear, It was back when the forums were the old blue pages, I know everything didn't make it thru the change to the current iteration. The only reason I recall the post is I have a buddy in the bay area named Dan Jepson spelled with an o not e just like your bottle...............Andy..........but he was from Iowa, but, the bottle looked like yours, but, maybe not Muskegon


----------



## andy volkerts (Aug 17, 2015)

not to change the subject, but those are KILLER bricks especially the one on the left which is more of a stone, the brick collectors would love those...........Andy


----------



## Robby Raccoon (Aug 17, 2015)

I hear about the 'old forum,' but it's an enigma to me. Does anyone have a photograph of what it used to look like? I'm not sure about Iowa, but Michigan has a lot of places with Bay in the name...  On my threads, change topic as much as you want so long as my questions get answered.  ---- You mean the paver-blocks?I pull the paver-blocks off Muskegon Avenue for the most part. Currently, it looks worse than what it would have before pavers were laid down: Totally torn up, huge holes, mounds of dirt, etc.  Here are some of my favorites:
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




^ Not pulled off of Muskegon Avenue ^ 1905 - 1925 for those 3. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




^ 2 of like 25 that I've pulled off of Muskegon Avenue. ^What I like about this Metropolitan block is that it is both embossed and debossed-- I just don't see that. Most Metro blocks are debossed. It's my only 'brick' like that.  The Nelsonville has some excellent mottled glaze that shows sparkles under bright light.  Those are my best examples.... Most end up looking like this:
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




1890s - 1920 for the others above.  Before my bike got smashed, I could bring home 4 at a time in its baskets.Now it's only two at a time in my pack. (They really weigh one down.)I use them to edge the garden, pond, and put a square safety-ring around our fruit-trees to keep those safe from the ravages of a mower. The two I take pics on might at some point end up inside, for I like them so much...  Here used to be my turtle's pond, but then he ran away.[] So I abandoned the pond, but you see the blocks around it.


----------



## andy volkerts (Aug 17, 2015)

Bear. There is a brick collectors site, I found it once on the internet, but I lost the url a while back when my computer screwed up royally. if you could find it they would love some of your pics, maybe even buy some of your bricks if you should decide to sell............Andy


----------



## andy volkerts (Aug 17, 2015)

International Brick collectors association........they have a search by state, and haave a whole page of Michigan bricks, I noticed a few from Bay City.........Andy


----------



## Robby Raccoon (Aug 17, 2015)

Royally, eh? I like that word-choice there.  As you can see, most of my pavers aren't worth anything. I try to get old mortar off-- and indeed: much of it crumbles away-- but not all comes off, and many of my blocks are missing large chips. These are also outside of the era most collectors like: Mine are mainly post-1900, where as the day for creative blocks was the 1890s. The 1893 Worlds Fair Paver is a very interesting one, for example.  ---- Thanks for the site-name. In Muskegon, we mainly get Ohio-made bricks.


----------



## MichaelFla (Aug 17, 2015)

Generally, members of the IBCA (http://www.ibcabrick.com/) prefer to share bricks, not sell them. Generally, if we have an extra somebody wants, we will give it to them for the price of shipping. I have met one person who charged $1.00 per brick. Of course, I have not met all of the people there, so there may be plenty who charge for them, but the few people I have met there are always willing to share.Now, that being said... If you are willing to part with some, shoot me some prices and I'd be interested in picking some up. I can only imagine what shippiing will cost, because ... Yeah! they certainly weigh a lot!


----------



## Robby Raccoon (Aug 17, 2015)

I read that. I was still going through different variations of my bricks and comparing them to theirs on the site.  The Buckeye Block pictured is my nicest in terms of condition of the 3 that I own, and that block is going to an Ohio-State-loving Pastor as a door-stop type of gift; and the Metropolitan block pictured with the glazed Nelsonville block are gonna stay here along with at least one Streator, but I can likely find other examples of bricks-- most being damaged/covered in mortar. I know of a Harris Paver from Zanesville sitting along a sandbank-- as I have a few, I didn't brick it back with the extra weight.  I keep a record of all my dig-finds (it's new, so I'm still building upon it, but it includes what they are, when from, and where found,) and I have in terms of paver-blocks/bricks at least.... 3 Buckeye Blocks, 2.8 Harris Pavers, 2 Saginaw, 1 Ottawa, a few Athens blocks, 4 Metropolitan Blocks in 2 variants, 5 Nelsonville blocks in 2 style-variants with only one being so nicely glazed, 8 20th Century Blocks, 1 Bolsen, 1 Streator Paver; and a bunch of bricks embossed with such as 1 A.P. Green/Empire D.P., 3 Standard, a damaged cornerstone-shaped Star 6, Mex-R-Co. and Mo-Rex, etc.  So... a large number of 1900s pavers, blocks, and bricks. Most are in poor shape to where reading them is at times impossible.  Some are only half there, such as one that I can read Guard Side on.


----------



## Robby Raccoon (Aug 17, 2015)

To show poor shape, here are how I commonly find them:Chipped-up,Clay-overflow,Mortared-over,Severely cracked  (one above the Nelsonville,)Very faint,Broken,And, my favorite way to find them: Just plain dirty. Anyone still interested? LOL.  Micheal, if you are still interested, in which (other than the debossed/embossed Metro block and the Nelsonville that is very-nicely glazed)? I can get pics. I can also get more of most of these. Some in better condition that my current examples.


----------



## Robby Raccoon (Aug 17, 2015)

Correction: With bricks, they're debossed. It's the pavers that are embossed.


----------



## iggyworf (Aug 17, 2015)

Those are some great local bottles. Good job!


----------



## Robby Raccoon (Aug 17, 2015)

Thanks; they really are.


----------



## sunrunner (Aug 21, 2015)

good show . little Bear ! you prove agene a new horizon !


----------



## Robby Raccoon (Aug 21, 2015)

Little, hmm?                 ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????•??•???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????


----------



## Robby Raccoon (Aug 21, 2015)

Alright, I had only not said that the top certainly was applied on the Michigan Bottling Co. bottle because it was too late of period to be applied; and I'd never seen a Baltimore Loop Seal with applied top, but it's obvious under continued examination that it is applied.Next time, I'll not go based on general, accepted facts, but will go based on what I'm seeing. I have continued looking to see that the mouth is just tooled, and I've continued to compare it to my other bottles (tooled-only and applied,) but all physical indications are that the mouth is indeed applied.I've never seen this on a Baltimore Loop Seal. I'd not have expected it of an American bottle from circa-1889.  The "slop-over" on the exterior hide it in the pictures, and when looking in it you mostly see the inside ledge; but the neck inside looks like any other applied-top, and the blob wraps around that as it seen by the eye and felt when using a special tool-- it is not even semi-snug against it, which would be giving it a semi-smooth bore down.  Has anyone else seen an applied-top Baltimore Loop Seal bottle?


----------



## Lordbud (Aug 21, 2015)

My bottle digging partner also collects bricks. 99% of his he found himself in landfill piles, etc. Brick collectors generally trade for bricks they want. And postage is a heavy price indeed. Speaking of heavy postage this cast iron oven door cost nearly $20 to ship to me. But what a piece of iron!


----------



## Robby Raccoon (Aug 21, 2015)

Beautiful door. When is it from?


----------

