FAVORITE BITTERS | PEOPLES FAVORITE BITTERS

Barrel Series – Favorite Bitters & Peoples Favorite Bitters

14 July 2012 (R•111916) (R•011217)

Here is a strong barrel in two forms that you do not come across often. I have only seen examples in the great Feldmann and Ferraro collections and have not been fortunate enough to obtain an example. High on the desirability list, Favorite Bitters and the later People’s Favorite Bitters from Naperville, Illinois.

FAVORITE BITTERS Patent Drawing – Tony Shank

The Carlyn Ring and W.C. Ham listing in Bitters Bottles is as follows:

F 6  FAVORITE BITTERS (see below)

FAVORITE BITTERS / POWELL & STUTENROTH // c // s // PAT APPLIED FOR // c //
9 1/4 x 2 5/8
Barrel, Amber, LTC, Applied mouth, Very rare
Design Patent No. 3141, dated July 28, 1868 by Morris B. Powell and Charles W. Stutenroth of Naperville, Illinois. This is the earlier bottle. Once the patent was received the mold was changed: Peoples added to the title and Patd July 28, 1868, on the shoulder. See People’ Favorite Bitters

Favorite Bitters – Bitters Bottles Supplement

“PATENT APPLIED FOR / FAVORITE BITTERS / POWELL & STUTENROTH”, (Ring/Ham, F-6), Illinois, ca. 1868 – 1875, amber barrel, 9 1/8”h, smooth base, applied tapered collar mouth. Perfect condition. Morris Powell and Charles Stutenroth were in Naperville, Illinois. Of the two “Favorite Bitters” barrels this is the earlier one. After the patent was received a new mold was made to include the word Peoples. Both bottles are extremely rare making it a real challenge to own both. Purchased from Glass Works Auctions, ‘The Dr. Burton Spiller Collection’, in 2000. – Glass Works Auctions – Bob Ferraro Collection – Part 2

P 41  PEOPLE’S FAVORITE BITTERS (see below)

PEOPLES FAVORITE BITTERS / POWELL & STUTENROTH // c // s //  PATD JULY 28 1868
10 5/8 x 2 1/2 (8)
Round barrel, Amber, LTC, Applied mouth, Extremely rare Ribs swirl from ring on shoulder to base uninterupted but for 10 ribs which are interrupted for panel with lettering.

“PATD JULY – 28 1868 / PEOPLES FAVORITE BITTERS / POWELL & STUTENROTH”, (Ring/Ham, P-41), Illinois, ca. 1868 – 1875, yellow amber barrel, 10 3/4”h, smooth base, applied tapered mouth. About perfect. One of the rarest of all barrel bitters bottles, three possibly four known examples of which this is possibly the nicest! Ex. Tony Shank, Dave Bowers and Carlyn Ring Collections. Purchased from Glass Works Auctions #42 in 1996. Winning Bid: $ 30,000 (28 Bids) – Glass Works Auctions – Bob Ferraro Collection – Part 3

Peoples Favorite Bitters – Bitters Bottles Supplement

Broadside: Testimonials 1880 P.W. Hubbel & Co. as agent for J.W. Perkins & Co. See: Favorite Bitters

[Glass Works Auctions] Newspaper advertisement – April 21, 1869 A medicine so potent, palatable and pure that wherever known it becomes at once the Favorite of the people. In all cases of Dyspepsia, Liver Complaint, Headache, Loss of Appetite, Humors in the Blood, Blotches and Pimples on the Face, Weakness of the Kidneys, General Debility, Nervous Complaints, Impurities of the Blood, Chills, Fevers, and Diarrhea, The People’s Favorite Bitters should be used. The unimpeachable testimony of ladies, farmers, mechanics, commercial and professional men who have practically tested the mixture of The People’s Favorite Bitters, prove it to be beyond question, the best medicinal compound for the above diseases now offered to the public. If a reasonable attention to diet be given, and The People’s Favorite Bitters be taken strictly according to the directions, and no relief obtained in any or all the ills mentioned above, THE PRICE OF THE BITTERS WILL BE REFUNDED by the proprietors, or any of their authorized agents. The reason The People’s Favorite Bitters have met with much unprecedented success, and are now so generally and highly esteemed, is because they ASSIST nature, instead of exhausting her; they give tone to the stomach and the digestive organs, enrich the blood, and tend to build up rather than tear down; in short, they import vigor to the entire frame, and help the system to throw off disease. The following are the ingredients of The People’s Favorite Bitters: Sarsaparilla, Dandelion, Wild Cherry, Buchu, Cubeba, Orange Peel, Anise, Gentian, Columbo and Sassafras. Any one, at all acquainted with medicines, will know at once that no better or more wholesome Bitters could be made. One trial will convince the most skeptical that The People’s Favorite Bitters are all that they are recommended. For LADIES they are excellent; for TRAVELERS invaluable; for mechanics, farmers, persons of sedentary habits, for professional men, overtaxing the brain at the expense of the body, The People’s Favorite Bitters are a necessity. During sudden changes in the weather, in time of general sickness, these Bitters can be taken with advantage. At any time they are useful, and should be constantly on hand. If you want to save money, preserve your health, do the most good, and get the greatest happiness, use The People’s Favorite Bitters. Price, $1.00 per Bottle. POWELL & STUTENROTH, Proprietors and Manufacturers, Naperville, ILL. Powell & Stutenroth’s Favorite Bitters

FAVORITE BITTERS Patent – Tony Shank

[Glass Works Auctions] By Tony Shank

A number of years ago I acquired a People’s Favorite Bitters, a very rare bitters barrel. With the exception of being 1 1/4″ taller and having a patent date of July 28, 1868 on the shoulder, this barrel has the same design as the Favorite Bitters. The Favorite Bitters has “pat. applied for” on its shoulder. I was always curious about the patent date on the People’s Favorite and often wondered what information, if any, was available on this bottle. Then, Zane and Barbara Shaffer entered the search. While talking with Zane at a bottle show I happened to ask if he knew anyone in the club who could obtain information from the patent office. “Sure,” said Zane, speaking freely of Barbara’s time, “my wife works at the patent office.” So, after much hard work on Barbara’s part, she found the patent date, July 28, 1868, listed on the People’s Favorite Bitters to be the date that the patent was approved for the Favorite Bitters. After the design of the Favorite Bitters was patented, the size and appearance of the bottle changed a little and the name became People’s Favorite Bitters. From this we can surmise that the Favorite Bitters was bottled a year or two before 1868 and the People’s Bitters was bottled after July 28, 1868…..

PEOPLE’S FAVORITE BITTERS (left) and the earlier FAVORITE BITTERS – Feldmann Collection

PEOPLE’S FAVORITE BITTERS from the famous Carlyn Ring collection sale

FAVORITE BITTERS – Ferraro Collection

A Powell & Stutenroth “Favorite Bitters” bottle, one of only a few known and graded 9.7 out of 10 for condition, soared to $64,960 at the 50th Internet and catalog ever held by American Bottle Auctions. The bottle was the top lot of the more than 300 rare and vintage bottles sold. Most dated from the mid-to-late 19th century.

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