Rare Circa 1840 William Henry Harrison and Tippecanoe Log Cabin Bottle! – on eBay!

Rare Circa 1840 William Henry Harrison and Tippecanoe Log Cabin Bottle! – on eBay!

18 September 2012

Apple-Touch-IconAI think my first prompt was an email or text from Tom Doligale alerting me to something interesting on eBay. I was in transit and looked at the post on my phone and was a bit surprised to see a clear Tippecanoe cabin. I also noticed a post developing on facebook over at Bottle Collectors on the same bottle. Lots of dialogue seemed to be occurring.

“North Bend” – “Tippecanoe” Historical Cabin Bottle, GVII-1 – Frank Brockman (photo Ferdinand Meyer V at the FOHBC 2012 Reno Expo)

It has been an interesting month with the classic North Bend Tippecanoe cabins as I was able to handle and photograph a stellar dark green example at the FOHBC Reno Expo in July (see picture above), and Heckler has another green example up for auction this October. I even developed a post on these rare bottles recently. Read: “North Bend” – “Tippecanoe” Historical Cabin Bottle in Heckler 100 Auction

Screen shot of eBay listing

eBay Listing & Description

Doubtless one of the rarest of all the bottles and flasks I’ve offered over the last few weeks!  Clear glass Log Cabin bottle with HARRISON embossed on obverse over door; TIPPECANOE on reverse over door. Condition is excellent with one minor chip at spout (see photo) – 4″ tall by 3″ wide with rough pontil on bottom as shown. A superb early political glass rarity! See my other auctions for a hard cider barrel inkwell commemorating this same 1840 presidential election for Wm Henry Harrison – what a great set both would make displayed together!

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Late yesterday evening I received an email from the gentleman posting the bottle on eBay.

Dear Mr. Meyer,

I read with great interest your postings regarding the rare Wm Henry Harrison log cabin bottles to be auctioned this fall by Heckler. It so happens that I have a remarkably similar bottle (although in clear glass) that I just listed on eBay. It hasn’t been up there for quite 24 hours and has received 180 hits and is up to $610.

You don’t suppose this could be from the same Mt. Vernon Glass Works in NY? I’m located in NY and acquired the bottle here. I would appreciate your opinion of this item and your estimate of value. If it is in the same vicinity as the Peachridge pair – I may have to re-evaluate whether to let the auction run its course or stop it. Attached is a link for your review to the eBay posting. I hope to hear back from you soon and thank you for your time.

(Name and contact info withheld)

I did a few quick emails and called the seller back. This has every hallmark of being legit even in the face of some of the recent eBay scams. The gentleman was very knowledgeable about the bottle who he was selling for a friend in the Political Memorabilia field. Both gents are into this type of material and collecting big time.

sold back in the 90s… it brought $13,500. The more recent example in the Mebane sale brought around $10,000. It is an important bottle, even with the damage. The downside is that it is an ink and lacks color. There are a couple of known examples, and the Watt White example.”

I sent Mike George an email and said “Just talked to the guy who has it on eBay. Story checks out and has wings. Read your thoughts on Facebook. How many of these are out there? Could it be a later piece?” Mike responded, “sold back in the 90s… it brought $13,500. The more recent example in the Mebane sale brought around $10,000. It is an important bottle, even with the damage. The downside is that it is an ink and lacks color. There are a couple of known examples, and the Watt White example.

Brian Wolff adds: As you have contact with this individual, I would like to suggest the seller/buyers remove of the “probably Mt. Vernon” attribute from the equation. That statement is mere conjecture. Although somewhat similar in design to the GVII-1 the lip treatment on this bottle does not match up to any known finishes produced by that factory. This bottle should stand on its own merit.

Here are the eBay pictures. It will interesting to watch this one.

Rare Circa 1840 William Henry Harrison and Tippecanoe Log Cabin Bottle! – eBay!

Rare Circa 1840 William Henry Harrison and Tippecanoe Log Cabin Bottle! – eBay!

Rare Circa 1840 William Henry Harrison and Tippecanoe Log Cabin Bottle! – eBay!

Rare Circa 1840 William Henry Harrison and Tippecanoe Log Cabin Bottle! – eBay!

Rare Circa 1840 William Henry Harrison and Tippecanoe Log Cabin Bottle! – eBay!

Rare Circa 1840 William Henry Harrison and Tippecanoe Log Cabin Bottle! – eBay!

About Ferdinand Meyer V

Ferdinand Meyer V is a native of Baltimore, Maryland and has a BFA in Fine Art and Graphic Design from the Kansas City Art Institute and School of Design. Ferdinand is the founding Principal of FMG Design, a nationally recognized design consultation firm. Ferdinand is a passionate collector of American historical glass specializing in bitters bottles, color runs and related classic figural bottles. He is married to Elizabeth Jane Meyer and lives in Houston, Texas with their daughter and three wonderful grandchildren. The Meyers are also very involved in Quarter Horses, antiques and early United States postage stamps. Ferdinand is the past 6-year President of the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors and is one of the founding members of the FOHBC Virtual Museum.
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