C H A R L E S   L E D I A R D 

and his Liquor Products

12 November 2012 (R•020116) (R•061318) (R•070718) (R•082819)

With my post the other day on OK PLANTATION Bitters (see: OK Plantation Bitters – the “Big Boys”), I thought I would circle back and look for information regarding Charles Lediard from New York who ‘supposedly’ represented the OK brand. To me it is quite interesting that Mr. Lediard would use so many shapes and colors for his bottles.

I thought I would find abundant information searching online but most of what I find is a series of pieces of information plus some directory listings from St. Louis listing Franklin Hastings as his St. Louis partner. I guess we need to put the puzzle together. I am specifically looking for confirmation of the brands represented by Lediard, advertising and lable examples, who his partners or representatives were on the west coast and why some some of these bottles are found so far west of the Mississippi. It would also be nice to find out where these bottles were made? Was it Lockport, Whitney or some other glass works? I find all of this interesting because I do possess the triangular OK Plantations Bitters, the square Lediard’s OK Plantation Bitters, the Lediard’s Celebrated Stomach Bitters and the Lediard’s Morning Call Bitters bottles in my collection. These bottles all come in great, drop-dead colors.

Lediard & Co., advertising trade card (top of post and here) – Joe Gourd Collection

Here is a partial listing of Lediard products:

C. LEDIARD / ST. LOUIS Smith 1960:213, 1972:169; Wilson 1981:25

C. LEDIARD / ST LOUIS Wilson 1981:25

LEDIARD’S // CELEBRATED / /STOMACH BITTERS Watson 1965:154; Ring 1980:300

LEDIARD’S // MORNING CALL // STOMACH BITTERS Ring 1980:301

C. LEDIARD NEW YORK Ring 1980:301

LEDIARD’S // OK PLANTATION // BITTERS – 1840 Ring 1980:301

LEDIARD’S // OLD DOMINION // MINT JULEP (PRG added to list)

ROYAL WINDSOR BITTERS

Lediard’s Morning Call advertisement – The Times Picayune, Thursday, May 19, 1859

Lediard’s Choice Liqueurs advertisement – 1860

Alterative Tonic advertisement – The Tennessean, Saturday, May 19, 1860

Lots of Lediard brands just received on the Louisa Moore at Kelly’s Saloon – The Wilmington Herald, Tuesday, June 20, 1865

A number of Lediard products listed in this advertisement in The Southern Intelligencer (Austin, Texas), Vol. 2, No. 1, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 5, 1866

Hastings, Lediard & Co., St. Louis Directory – 1868

Hastings, Lediard & Co. noting a Franklin B. Hastings and Charles Lediard, St. Louis Directory – 1866

Hastings, Lediard & Co. noting a Franklin B. Hastings in St. Louis and Charles Lediard and Jacob and Charles Berlin, New York , St. Louis Directory

Lediard’s O.K. Plantation Bitters advertisement – The Galveston Daily News, Wed, September 27, 1871

Various Notes:

Charles Lediard was a liquor dealer in New York advertising as such In the New York Daily times in 1859-1860. (Digger Odell)

There was a LEDIARD’S // MORNING CALL // STOMACH BITTERS advertised in Mobile in 1860. (antique-bottles.net)

A labeled “Lediard’s Morning Call Bitters”, embossed C. LEDIARD NEW YORK was found in Panama. (antique-bottles.net)

Frank Hastings and Charles Lediard were listed in the 1866 St. Louis Business Directory selling Bitters. This bottle is listed as M130 in the Bitters book and looks to be the bottle I have. It is embossed MORNING CALL // BITTERS. Mine was dug in St. Louis. However, the book indicates a size of 9 1/2″ x 2 13/16″ while mine is 9 3/8″ x 2 3/4″. A six sided, double ring, applied top bottle embossed C. LEDIARD // ST. LOUIS sold at auction in 2008. (antique-bottles.net)

A fragmentary hexagonal bottle of clear greenish brown glass for bitters that bears parts of the legend, “C. LEDIARD // ST. LOUIS”. http://fishhook.cs.ndsu.nodak.edu:4445/2484/

To my knowledge the only example of the Lediard’s Stomach Bitters discovered in Sierra County I watched being broken. A Goodyears Bar digger and I were putting a test hole in the back of a cabin site when he put his shovel through a beautiful teal blue, iron pontiled example of this bottle. The cabin site, above Indian Valley and on the trail to Indian Hill, is one of several cabin sites that were discovered while walking the area. Recent extensive logging operations in the area of the trail and townsite of Indian Hill have pretty much destroyed any traces of the trail and cabin sites that were located alongside of it. Although this is not a western manufactured bottle, collectors believe it was distributed and marketed exclusively on the Pacific Coast. Western, bitters and gold rush collectors rate this bottle as rare and consider it a very desirable addition to their collection. Rick Simi – Western Bitters News

New Addition: Hello Ferdinand, enjoyed the post on the Lediard bottles. I have always been amazed at the variety of bottles produced for his products. I was lucky enough to find one of the Celebrated Stomach Bitters many years ago, it has been one of my favorite bottles. Then about six years ago I got lucky again and found a beautiful Mint Julep (pictured below), yet another Lediard product. Smooth based it looks to be the same color as the Morning Call Bitters. I also remember seeing a pair of the six sided bottles from St. Louis except they were embossed New York. One was green and the other I would say similar in color to the St. Louis one in your post. Got to wonder if there are other Lediard bottles out there. Steve Mello

Select Listings:

1811: Charles Lediard born in England. Both parents from England. 21 December 1817 baptised in England. Father John, Mother Elizabeth

1857: Charles Lediard, segars, 483 Broadway, h. 417 Broome – New York City Directory

1858: Charles Lediard Petition to become citizen of United States (see below)

1859: Charles Lediard, 37 S. William – New York City Directory

1859: Lediard’s Morning Call advertisement (see above) – The Times Picayune, Thursday, May 19, 1859

1865-1867: Charles Lediard, liquors, 13 Dey, New York City – Trow’s New York City Directory

1866: Hastings, Lediard & Co. (1866-1871), S W Hastings & Co. (1872-1878) – St. Louis City Directory (
29-31 Washington Ave (1866), 115-117 Washington Ave (1867-1868), 514-516 N 2nd (1869-1871), this address also appears as Hastings & Berlin, 115-117 Washington Ave (1872-1874), 514-516 N 2nd (1875-1878)

1872: Lediard & Townsend (Charles Lediard and William E. Townsend), importers of wines and liquors, 52 and 54 Murray – New York City Directory

1874: Lediard & Co., warehouse and offices at No. 79 Pearl street.

Lediard & Co., Exporter of Bourbon and Rye Whiskies, Florida Water, Bay Bum, Eau de Cologne, etc., No. 79 Pearl Street.

The importance of the metropolis as the centre of the export trade in liquors and other specialties, can scarcely be over estimated, as the increasing magnitude of the annual transactions at the port of New York abundantly demonstrate. The well-known and reliable establishment of Messrs. Lediard & Co., whose spacious warehouse and offices are eligibly located at No. 79 Pearl street, was established by the present proprietor in 1874, and since its inception at that period, has obtained an extensive foreign patronage, principally in Australia and New Zealand. Lediards’ defuselized Kentucky Bourbon “Short Horn” brand has already commended itself to the trade and to physicians as the safest whiskey for use, being endorsed by Dr. W. C. Tilden, Chemist, United States Treasury Department, as altogether free from impurities, and by Dr. H. C. Bartlett, of London, as perfectly free from fusel oil. Mr. Lediard exports in large quantities, bourbon and rye whiskies, Florida water, bay rum, Eau de Cologne, Zulu water, Sarsaparilla, Bitters, Schnapps etc., and his facilities for procuring goods direct from producers and manufactures are unexcelled by those of any other house in the trade. All orders are promptly filled, and it is the endeavor of Mr. Lediard to merit, by the strictest principles of mercantile integrity, a continuance of the support he has already enjoyed. The bourbon and rye whiskies exported to Australia and New Zealand, have obtained an excellent reputation for quality and fineness at the Antipodes, and are strong competitors with the Scotch and Irish Honors. Mr. Charles Lediard, the sole proprietor of this flourishing firm, is an old resident of New York, and is greatly respected by the community.

1870: Chas Lediard, Liquor Dealer, Age in 1870: 54, Birth Year: abt 1816, Birthplace: England – United States Federal Census

1871: Lediard’s O.K. Plantation Bitters advertisement (see above) – The Galveston Daily News, Wed, September 27, 1871

1876: Charles Lediard, importer, 107 New Church – New York City Directory

1880: Chas Lediard, Exporter, Boarder, Age in 1880: 62, Birth Year: abt 1816, Birthplace: England, Father and Mothers Birthplace: England – United States Federal Census

1885: Lediard’s Morning Call Bitters advertisement (see below) – New York’s Great Industries

1889: Lediard & Company (Charles Lediard), exporters, 79 Pearl, h 744 Union, Brooklyn – New York City Directory

The Carlyn Ring and Bill Ham listings in Bitters Bottles, if appropriate, precedes each bottle:

LEDIARD’S MORNING CALL

L 61.7  LEDIARD’S MORNING CALL Bitters, Circa 1875 – 1885,

L…Lediard’s Morning Call Bitters
LEDIARD’S // MORNING CALL
8 1/4″ x 3 (6)
Round, Olive green, LTCR, Applied mouth, With and without Metallic pontil mark

The cylindrical LEDIARD’S MORNING CALL Bitters in olive green – Meyer Collection

Lediard’s Morning Call Bitters Bottle. Lediard’s Morning Call was one of the may bitters bottles shipped aboard the SS Republic bound for New Orleans. The product of New York liquor merchant Charles lediard, the tonic was advertised as an “invigorating cordial bitter.” Less than a dozen examples were excavated from the site. – Odyssey Marine Exploration

Cylinder shaped LEDIARD’S MORNING CALL in a half gallon size. According to Lou Lambert, it’s a wicked light yellow green with millions of bubbles and non pontiled. – OldWestBottles.com

LEDIARD’S CELEBRATED STOMACH BITTERS

L 60  LEDIARD’S CELEBRATED STOMACH BITTERS, Circa 1870 – 1880

LEDIARD’S // CELEBRATED // STOMACH BITTERS // f //
10 1/8 x 2 7/8 (7 1/2) 7/16
Square, Blue green and Emerald Green, LTC, Applied mouth, Without Metallic pontil mark – Very Scarce; With Metallic pontil mark – Rare
Originated by Charles Lediard, New York, N.Y.

New York City Directory: Charles Lediard originated the tri-cornered Plantation Bitters and Lediard’s Celebrated Stomach Bitters. From 1860 to 1890, Charles Lediard was listed as a liquor merchant and bitters manufacturer with several different partners.

Note: Most specimens of the bottle dug in California. Possibly a bottle made primary for West Coast distribution.

The square LEDIARD’S CELEBRATED STOMACH BITTERS in blue-green – Meyer Collection

OK PLANTATION

O 13.5   OK PLANTATION, Circa 1863 – 1875

OK / PLANTATION / 1840 // motif 7 vertical ribs // motif 7 vertical ribs // // s // PATENTED ( au ) / OCT. 13TH / 1863 // motif window // motif window //
11 1/4 x 3 (6 3/8) 3/4
Triangular, Amber and Puce, LTC, Applied mouth

OK / PLANTATION / 1840 // motif 7 vertical ribs // motif 7 vertical ribs // // s // PATENTED ( au ) / 1868 // motif window // // motif window //
11 1/4 x 3 (6 3/8) 3/4
Square, Amber, Puce, Apricot, and Olive amber, Applied mouth, LTC

The triangular OK PLANTATION Bitters – Meyer Collection

As consumers in the mid-1800s developed a fondness for alcohol-spiked herbal remedies, thousands of bitters brands inundated the market. Under the guise of medicinal tonics, many of these products made from varied ingredients, were sold with vast claims as to the number of diseases and disorders they cured. The enormous profits to be had attracted many enterprising merchants such as Charles Lediard of New York whose OK Plantation Bitters was found among the SS Republic’s assorted consignment of bitters bottles. The four bottles recovered from the wreck site were all empty of their original contents. Listed as a liquor merchant and bitters manufacturer, Lediard sold a variety of bitters brands, including his OK Plantation Bitters uniquely packaged in a tri-cornered bottle. The bottles was produced in varying shades of amber ranging from lighter to golden tones to darker purple-reds. During the 19th-century, as shelf recognition became important for sales, packaging became more distinctive, more colorful and more influential. This three-sided log cabin example is rarely seen today, suggesting it was not one of Lediard’s more successful products. Yet, its scarcity makes the OK Plantation Bitters bottle a prized specimen for modern-day collectors. – Odyssey’s Virtual Museum

LEDIARD’S OK PLANTATION BITTERS

L 62  LEDIARD’S OK PLANTATION BITTERS, Circa 1865 – 1875

LEDIARD’S // OK PLANTATION // BITTERS – 1840 // sp //
Charles Lediard   New York
10 x 2 3/4 x (6 1/2) 3/8
Square, Amber, LTC, Applied mouth, 4 sp, Extremely Rare

Pair of square LEDIARD’S OK PLANTATION BITTERS in amber and yellow. Both extremely rare. Yellow believed to be unique – Meyer Collection

C. LEDIARD   ST. LOUIS (or) NEW YORK

[Previously sold on eBay] For your viewing pleasure today, I am listing a RARE, ST. LOUIS BITTERS bottle. Embossed C. LEDIARD // ST. LOUIS on one panel. This is a six sided, double ring, applied top, unmarked “bitters” bottle from St. Louis. Charles Lediard was listed in Ham and Ring as a liquor merchant and bitters manufacturer. He produced several marked bitters; Morning Call, OK Plantation, and Celebrated Stomach. Because of the ornate shape and design of this bottle it is considered to be a early, unmarked bitters. All the marked examples of bitters in Ham and Ring date to around 1860, some display iron pontil marks, all are listed as rare or extremely rare. An unmarked “bitters” in the mold of the triangular OK Plantation bottle sold on a American Glass Auction a while back for around $3,000. This bottle has been pro tumbled and has no defects that I can find. It does have, many large bubbles throughout; 2 interior bubbles are open. It also has a small piece of glass that has dripped down and add to the side (near the base) when the lip was applied. Just adds to the crudity of the piece.While we are talking about crudity , the bottle was overblown in the mold and has a huge bulge on one of the lower panels (see picture). Reddish amber in color, to my eye, with a smooth six sided base. The embossing is bold and crisp and I would date it to before 1870. Many of these bottles come from South Dakota as this one did. Don’t sleep on this one, somebody is going to snap it up. These bottles are rare and extremely desirable. I would call this a TOP SHELFER at my house, act quick and it can be one at yours as well.

C. LEDIARD NEW YORK – Dick Watson collection (submitted by Steve Mello)

C. LEDIARD ST. LOUIS – past American Bottle Auction

LEDIARD’S OLD DOMINION MINT JULIP

Killer crude LEDIARD’S OLD DOMINION MINT JULEP – Steve Mello

C. LEDIARD NEW YORK & ST. LOUIS 

A new find, a never seen before example of a semi cabin form embossed C. LEDIARD NEW YORK & ST. LOUIS. Amber. Cleaned. – Jeff Burkhardt

LEDIARD & CO.  NEW YORK & LONDON 

LEDIARD & CO NEW YORK & LONDON Applied top. We mentioned the abundance of rare bitters in this auction and none are any more rare than this western fifth shaped Lediards. While there are a few different shaped Lediard bottles, this one in our experience and of the people we have talked to is unique. It’s interesting that it would have “London” embossed on the bottle. Although Charles Lediard himself was quite successful and no doubt became a familiar name around the world. A three-piece mold, there is a ¼” flake off the left collar with a scratch above that. It appears a shovel or some other object came in contact with the top. Not to worry, the bottle displays beautifully in a yellowish green coloration. Fairly heavy, this one has lots of whittle and areas of extreme crudity. This is a bottle you can certainly claim is the only one known, as it’s not even listed in any publication we’ve searched in. Grade: 8.7 because of the top distraction but is otherwise a unique and beautiful example of one of a number of Lediard variants. – American Bottle Auctions #65

ROYAL WINDSOR BITTERS 

The Royal Windsor Wine and Stomach Bitters or Royal Windsor Bitters is referenced in early Lediard advertising centered around 1859. I have never seen a bottle. Here is a billhead from Joe Gourd and an advertisement to support the claim. The brand is also mentioned in advertising above.

Billhead
R 118.5 ROYAL WINDSOR BITTERS, Bought of Berlin & Son, No. 87 South William Street, “Lediard Morning Call,” Royal Windsor Bitters,” “Old Dominion Mint Julep,” &c., &c. New York, December 18, 1862. Products noted are Charles Lediard brands. See L 61 in Bitters Bottles.

Newspaper Advertisement
R 118.5 ROYAL WINDSOR BITTERS, Royal Windsor Bitters! Lediard’s Morning Call. These Stomachic Bitters are the most agreeable, safe and healthful Tonics ever introduced to the Public. Charles Lediard, 37 South William street, N. Y., Brooklyn Evening Star (Brooklyn, New York) February 10, 1859.