Roped Squares – Russian Imperial Tonic Bitters
14 November 2011
Yesterday I wrote about the National Tonic Bitters which probably is the most ornate of the roped bitters.
Read: Roped Squares – National Tonic Bitters
It prompted a few responses that leads me quickly to the very similar Russian Imperial Tonic Bitters. This bottle is almost identical in brand and mold design.
R 133 RUSSIAN IMPERIAL TONIC BITTERS, Circa 1860 – 1880
RUSSIAN // f // IMPERIAL // TONIC BITTERS //
9 1/2 x 3 (7)
Square, Aqua, LTC, Roped corners, Applied mouth, Very rare
11 dots over each lettered panel
Note: Panel with Tonic Bitters identical in this brand with National Tonic Bitters. 4th side plain in this brand. 4th side roped and dotted in National Tonic Bitters.
[PRG] There is a surprising lack of information on these bottles. Anybody have any more info like where they were made, are there Trade Cards, is there advertising etc? Warren?
Russian Imperial Tonic Bitters (L) & National Tonic Bitters (R) – Meyer Collection
Russian Imperial Tonic Bitters – Meyer Collection
Russian Imperial Tonic Bitters – Meyer Collection
Ferdinand,
Last time I saw an aqua example of this bottle, was when Randolph Hauman purchased one at the 2006 Reno Federation National show. It is certainly a unique design with not many examples.