WEIS BROS

KNICKERBOCKER STOMACH BITTERS

05 March 2013 (R•101113) (R•031615)

[Incoming email today] “My mom recenly passed and I remember her telling me about a bottle she had found and she thought it was worth some money. Attached are photos of the bottle (See Below). Can you tell me anything about it. Thank you, Nia”

See Picture 2 + See Picture 3 + See Picture 4

This email above and the attached pictures is a nice prompt to develop the next segment post in the Lady’s Leg series. The quart Weis Knickerbocker Bitters is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin bottle made in a turn mold with a gorgeous large applied seal. Very few bitters bottles have applied seals.

Picture 1 – A pretty raw WEIS BROS KNICKERBOCKER STOMACH BITTERS (source e-mail)

Three shots of the same WEIS BROS KNICKERBOCKER STOMACH BITTERS – Meyer Collection

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

W.68  WEIS KNICKERBOCKER STOMACH BITTERS, Circa 1885 – 1895

WEIS ( au ) / BROS / KNICKERBOCKER / STOMACH (au ) / BITTERS (.ad ) //
12 1/4 x 3 3/8 (6)
Round ladys leg, Amber, ARM, Applied mouth, Extremely rare
Name on 2 inch seal on shoulder. One example dug in Ishpeming, Michigan

Weis Brothers receipt mentions Knickerbocker Stomach Bitters – Joe Gourd Collection

Weis Bro’s Knickerbocker Stomach Bitters sign advertisement – The poster was found as the backing to a 19th century painting by a Pennsylvania antique company

Weis Brothers wholesale wines and liquors delivery wagon – Milwaukee Public Library

WEIS BROS. CO. Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1879 – 1918

[From Pre-Pro.com]

Three Weis Brothers Fine Whiskies shot glasses – Pre-Pro.com

1881 directory (p. 690) contains a graphic display ad., showing them to be agents for various vineyards.

Manitowoc City Directory for 1880 – Advertisement for Weis Bros. Wines and Liquors

The company used the brand names: “Balmoral Club”, “Crawford”, “Fox Lake”, “Knickerbocker Stomach Bitters”, “Mountain Cave”, “Old Bedford”, “Old Norman”, “Policy”, and “Tom Cooper.”

Business name timeline: Weis Bros. (1879-1906), Weis Bros. Co. (1908-1918)

Address timeline: 383 E. Water

Appearance in directories: 1879 through 1918

Detail applied seal on a WEIS BROS KNICKERBOCKER STOMACH BITTERS – Meyer Collection

Here you can see a WEIS BROS KNICKERBOCKER STOMACH BITTERS lady’s leg sitting proudly on the top shelf of the legendary John Feldmann bitters collection. These lady’s legs all reside in other collections now.

Weis Bros. Milwaukee Knickerbocker Stomach Bitters. This is one of the more interesting antique bitters bottles from Wisconsin is this quart size ladies leg bitters bottle with an applied seal. The bottle was made in a turn mold and the seal was attached after the bottles was removed from the mold. The seal is embossed “WEISS BROS KNICKERBOCKER STOMACH BITTERS”. – MrBottles.com

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