Our Own Southern Bitters – Memphis
26 January 2014 (03 April 2014 Bottle Pictures Added from Russel Poole) (R•092115)
Filling the hole in, Stumpy, I mean Buddy, finds this stump for filler! We didn’t get as many pictures as we wanted but after going 26 feet in this one, we only found about 12 bottles – about 5 beveled edge snuff, 3 nice Ginger Beers, J.W. Bull’s Cough Syrup, an early Doll Head, and the one that got away was a super rare bitters from Memphis; “Our Own Southern Bitters // C. H. Ebbert & Co”. What a crying shame. The hole didn’t go like we wanted it but maybe we’ll get a great one next week!
TheMemphisDiggers.com
While tracking down John Parham Dromgoole (English Female Bitters) yesterday, who spent some time in Memphis, I came across this really neat 1867 advertisement for Our Own Southern Bitters (see below) put out by C.H. Ebbert & Co. The Stonewall Jackson art is crisp and strong. I wasn’t familiar with the brand but see that Carlyn Ring and Bill Ham have designated it as O 94.5 in Bitters Bottles and said it was a labeled, square bitters.
The Memphis boys put this as No. 11 on their “Hope to Find List” and said, “A very rare bitters from Memphis. On the panels ‘O O S B’. There were two different molds for this bitters; a paneled and a non-paneled.” I hope one of them reads this and can get me some pictures of this rare bird. This brand wasn’t aground long, probably just in 1866 and 1867.
Our Own Southern Bitters C. H. Ebbert & Co. advertisement – Debow’s Review: Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial Progress and Resources – J. D. B. DeBow., 1867
Ebbert CoPartnership Notice – Memphis Daily Appeal, 02 December 1865
Listing:
The new listing by Bill Ham for the forthcoming Bitters Bottles Supplement 2:
O 94.5 S (in circle pattern) / (motif-wreath ) / B (in circle
pattern) // DEPOT / MEMPHIS TENN // f // C. H. EBERT & CO //
L . . . Our Own Southern Bitters
9 3/8 x 2 3Ž4 (7) 1Ž4
Square, Amber, LTC, Applied mouth, Extremely rare
Eric McGuire example that sold at the 2015 FOHBC Chattanooga National Antique Bottle Show “Rolling Thunder” Auction.
Select Timeline:
1865: A. H. Davis sells his interests to C. H. Ebbert. Ebbert starts a Wholesale Liquor and Rectfying Business with John F. Cameron and Benjmin F. Folger (see notice above).
1865: C. H. Ebert & Co. (spelled incorrectly), wh liquor dealers, 324 second – Memphis City Directory
1866: C. H. Ebbert & Co. (Charles H. Ebbert and Aaron H. Davies), rectifiers, 342 Second, Memphis City Directory
1867-1868: Charles H. Ebbert, (C. H. Ebbert & Co.) r Vance, ne cor Orleans (Charles H. Ebbert, John F. Cameron and Benjmin F. Folger) wholesale liquor dealers and rectifiers, and proprietors “Our own Southern Bitters”, 342 and 344 Second – Halpin City Directory of Memphis, Tenn
Ebbert Saloon advertisement, Alfred J. Ebbert – 1865 Memphis City Directory Not sure of a relationship but I bet it is there.
Our Own Southern Bitters advertisement – The Bolivar Bulletin (Tenn), July 21, 1866
Our Own Stomach Bitters advertisement – Memphis Daily Appeal, 15 August 1867
Read More: Hot on the trail of the elusive O.O.S.B.
