North American Glass Web Site
If you are looking for Fruit Jars and related information I suggest you connect with Greg Spurgeon who directs North American Glass. I signed up and receive email notes for all his auctions which are primary centered around Fruit Jars. There are other areas represented so you need to keep an eye on his auction news.
It seems like Greg is the man for selling Fruit Jars. I really enjoy watching the variety of jars that continually show up on his web site.
Antique Western Bitters Bottles by Jeff Wichmann
Last December 2010, during the Auburn 49er Bottle Show, I had the good fortune of meeting Don Dwyer from Oroville, California. Don mentioned that he had an extensive Western Bitters Collection and asked if Elizabeth and I would like to visit. That was all it took.
On Monday morning, we checked out of our hotel in Auburn and headed north to Don’s remote house. This was fun. Great scenery and a fun time talking to a rather unique individual who is quite passionate about his bottles.
The thing that I found most interesting, was that Don had purchased a copy of Jeff Wichmann’s (American Bottle Auctions) The Best of the West, Antique Western Bitters Bottles and had used this as his guide and motivation to get great examples of many of the bottles in the book. I too had purchased this nice book in 2002 and it has inspired me too. Let me tell you, Don has a good number of the bottles listed. The book was so dog-eared and used, that you could really get a sense of connectivity with Don and his driving desire to meet his collection goals.
Only one other person, Don noted, has seen his collection so I thank Don for this rare opportunity. If you are wondering…. Warren Frederich has been up there too.
Some of Don's Bottles. Like that Asher Taylor.
Exciting shades of Green. Love that Catawba Wine Bitters!
Toneco Stomach Bitters with floating Herbs.
Jeff Wichmann, owner of American Bottle Auctions in Sacramento, California recently published (15 March 2011) a rather well done article on his website blog, www.american bottle.com called Collector Profiles: Sandor Fuss – A New Breed of Collector?
Jeff is one of the best writers out there in any hobby and Sandor certainly is worth writing about. Check it out!
Fuss Family Portrait
FOHBC Membership Booklet Ad - 2011
FOHBC Memphis National Show Program Ad - 2011
FOHBC Wilmington, Ohio Program Ad - August 2010
Old Sachem
Label: From an old Indian recipe in possession of the family of the proprietor for upwards of a century is now offered to the public as one of the most healthy and wholesale beverages extant and as a tonic is unsurpassed. Sold by principal grocers, druggists and hotels throughout the union. Endorsed by a professor at Yale College. Drug Catalog: 1871, Schieffelin New Haven Daily News, April 7, 1859, Harpers Weekly, October 8, 1859.
Old Sachem / Bitters / And / Wigwam Tonic is usually about 9 1/2 inches tall with a smooth base. It is also known with a blowpipe pontil in 9 1/2 and 9 3/4-inch heights, as well as a 10 1/4-inch aqua variant with a blowpipe pontil. An array of shades of colors with smooth bases also exist.
According to Dr. Richard Cannon, there is a broadside of Old Sachem Bitters and Wigwam Tonic (pictured above), which has been reproduced. It pictures a stern Indian Chief who appears to be very strong and armed for battle. There’s an Indian village in the background with warring Indians and settlers on the outskirts. Above, it gives Geo. Hunnewell, Agent, New York, and below, Wm. Goodrich, New York. Just under the picture in small print is Lith. of Sarony, Major & Knapp, 449 Broadway, N. York. Also in cursive writing in the lower margin is Deposited in Clerk’s Office, Southern Dist., New York, Aug. 5, 1859 and then stamped 25 Nov. 1859.
Apparently George Hunnewell was not the same person as John L. or Joseph W. Hunnewell of Boston who began to put out Hunnewell’s Tolu Anodyne and Universal Cough Remedy in the 1840s. We know that William Goodrich was the proprietor and was located at 145 Water Street. Old Sachem Bitters & Wigwam Tonic was advertised in April, 1859. I do not know how early the product appeared, but probably earlier that 1859. Merrick and Moore Company was in control of the brand when they appeared in the New Haven, Conn. City Directories, 1864-1867. Mr. Merrick resided in several of the local hotels during this period.
Old Sachem Bitters Color Run - Meyer Collection
The C. H. Atwood bottles do not get much attention because they are not embossed with the word “bitters”. This doesn’t concern me the slightest. Over the past years, I have managed to put together a color run starting with three bottles I picked up in the Bottles and More, Galleria Auction XXI in April 2007.
Produced in Boston by Charles H. Atwood from 1860 – 1875, the quart bottles are round and about 10-1/2″ tall though height varies. They have fluted necks and nice applied mouths. The colors are very desirable and the bottles usually have a lot of glass character and presence. They are great window bottles too. I recently added two new bottles to my color run from Glass Works Auction 91 in March 2011, including the spectacular labeled example pictured above.
As this post was updated in 2018, I have added two, smaller half-pint size examples to my collection which are pictured further below. One is dark puce while the other is green. The puce example has no C H Atwood embossing while the green example is embossed C H Atwood, Boston.
Atwood’s Quinine Tonic Bitters color run – Meyer Collection
Atwood’s Quinine Tonic Bitters examples – Meyer Collection
The Carlyn Ring and W.C. Ham listing in Bitters Bottles is as follows. As you can see, the listing needs to be updated.
The new listing in Bitters Bottles Supplement 2:
Charles Henry Atwood was probably born around 1822 in Massachusetts. We find him first listed as a druggist selling ‘Fluid Extract of Sienna’ in 1845 which was most likely a predecessor of his Atwood’s Quinine Tonic Bitters. Quinine was first isolated in 1820 from the bark of a cinchona tree. Peruvian bark extracts have been used to treat malaria since at least 1632.
C. H. Atwood would sell his Quinine Tonic Bitters from about 1860 to 1871. This is when his bottles were made and used. He used the letter “Q” with a cinchona tree stem in the middle for a logo. Atwood was listed many times in Boston city directories as a chemist whose signature can be found on each bottle label. He is also listed as a highly respected importer of choice chemicals and medicines. Besides the fluted bottles, there is also an aqua medicine bottle embossed Atwood’s Quinine Tonic Bitters.
Atwood will sell the rights to his bitters to Alvah Littlefield who was listed as the proprietor of C H Atwood’s Quinine Tonic Bitters in 1871. He operated a drugstore within and under the United States Hotel in the 1870s. Littlefield’s wife would later hang herself in 1875 on a chamber door. Apparently she had become “deranged” as news reports stated.
Charles Atwood died on 12 May 1877 in Boston. There is reference to his bitters surviving and being sold as late as 1906.
There are a number of sources online (one listed below) that state that Moses Atwood was the inventor of the Atwood’s Quinine Tonic Bitters. These reports ignore Charles Henry Atwood. Since C.H. Atwood was a chemist and druggist, I’m going to give him the benefit of doubt until I can dispel or prove the connection.
Read: Moses Atwood – Atwood’s Jaundice Bitters – Georgetown, Massachusetts
Read: Manhattan Medicine Company v. Wood
[Excerpt] This volume in the American Antiquarian Cookbook Collection, published in New York in 1877, is a cookbook, patent medicine advertisement, and medical manual all combined in one small volume published by the manufacturer of a well-known and widely used nineteenth century home remedy, Atwood’s Bitters.
Historical records assert that in 1840, Moses Atwood of Boston created what became a widely used and very popular patent medicine, Atwood’s Quinine Tonic Bitters. Rights to the product were eventually bought by John Henry, who added another remedy, Dr. Roger’s Compound Syrup of Liverwort, Tar & Canchalagua, to his collection and created the Manhattan Medicine Company to manufacture and sell the concoctions.
The Manhattan Cook-Book is a small volume that is essentially a promotional flyer for the company’s patent medicines. Recipes and recommendations for hair care and personal toiletry are threaded throughout with patent medicine ads, so that page 1 of the content touts Dr. Rogers’ Compound Syrup, and page 2 lists “receipts” for Tea Biscuit, Delicious Lemon Jelly Cake, and Rusks. Every page is headed by an exhortation to, “Take Spalding’s Pills for Costiveness,” “Take Dr. Johnson’s Bitters for Indigestion,” “Use Phalon’s Hair Invigorator for the Hair,” and many more. Recipes for tapioca, coffee cake, and strawberry tartlets are sandwiched in between medical advice (using many of the medicines advertised) for whooping cough, asthma, pneumonia, and other diseases. This charming example provides fascinating insight into contemporary cooking, medicine, and lifestyles.
This edition of The Manhattan Cook-Book by the Manhattan Medicine Company was reproduced by permission from the volume in the collection of the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1812 by Isaiah Thomas, a Revolutionary War patriot and successful printer and publisher, the Society is a research library documenting the life of Americans from the colonial era through 1876. The Society collects, preserves, and makes available as complete a record as possible of the printed materials from the early American experience. The cookbook collection includes approximately 1,100 volumes.
The Manhattan Medicine Company was founded by John Henry in 1877 to manufacture and sell various patent medicines to which he had acquired rights including Atwood’s Quinine Tonic Bitters, Dr. Rogers’ Syrup of Liverwort, Tar, and Canchalagua, Phalon’s Hair Invigorator, Spaldings Cephalic Pills, and many other popular remedies of the day.
This beautiful and sexy piece of glass is a CD 726 Insulator that sold for big dollars in the recent Pole Top Discoveries Auction #64 conducted by Ray Klingensmith. Ray wrote it up as follows:
Lot #227 ….. CD 726 ….. Unmarked. ….. Milky violet blue. ….. This example was the only CD 726 known in violet blue until recently, when two more surfaced, not far from Quebec City.
CD-726 Beautiful and sexy piece of glass
The CD 726 has been found in widespread areas along Canadian railways, ranging from Ontario to the Maritime Provinces. Some have surfaced on railways which were completed in 1869 and 1870, indicating this style was likely produced into the late 1860’s and possibly the early 1870’s.
They have been found in a rainbow of exotic colours, ranging from the more readily available aquas, various blues, a couple green shades, purple and cranberry red. Blackglass purple and a couple variations of blackglass olive and olive amber have also been reported.
The Canada Glass Works, in what is now Hudson, Quebec, is known to have produced threadless insulators including some CD 726’s. The company manufactured various types of glassware including ornamental wares such as lamps, thus utilizing a wide range of glass colours. Pioneer insulator collector Jack Hayes, of Pakenham, Ontario excavated the old factory site decades ago, finding fragments of various threadless styles, including the CD 726.
An abundance of milky opaque impurities in the glass add great beauty. Overpoured glass at the base creates a wonderful tilt! Excellent condition. Ex Dean Axelson, ex John Dorge. Dale Evoy collection.
Opening Bid: $6,500 Winning Price: $ 20,160.00 (including 12.0% buyer’s premium)
John Roots Bitters – Meyer Collection
The recent Glass Discoveries Auction #64 in March had a wonderful example of a John Roots Bitters in a strong bright olive green color. There were also original labels. I inspected this bottle at the FOHBC Wilmington, Ohio National Show in 2010 when Ray Klingensmith gave me a early preview. There was also another very similar example at the show that had just been dug that had been brought to my attention. Unfortunately I did not get this bottle to add to my color run (left three bottles). I’m in the hunt though. The Glass Discoveries lot is listed below:
Lot #115 RH R-90.4 1834 JOHN ROOT’S BITTERS 1834 BUFFALO, N.Y. Bright olive green. 10-1/8” Semi cabin form. Smooth base. Circa 1866-1875. Original labels, front and back. An extremely rare and attractive color variant that is unlisted in Ring-Ham. All the more desirable with the original labels! Bottle in excellent condition. The paper thin cover glass on a base corner bubble is partially incomplete. Labels have some wear and loss, but mostly intact. Rare!!! Bob Watson collection. Opening Bid: $5,000. Winning Price: $ 12,320.00 (including 12.0% buyer’s premium)
Main Street Looking North from Seneca Street – Illustrated Buffalo, Queen City of the Lakes, 1890
Francis Root, manufacturer of John Root’s Bitters. No. 308 Seneca Street.
The establishment where these bitters are manufactured was founded as far back as 1834 by the man whose name they bear, at No. 292 Seneca Street, and since that time the reputation of this infallible remedy has steadily increased. In 1874, Mr. Francis Roots, on the death of the founder of the business, succeeded to the latter, and by his ability and experienced energy has proved himself worthy of the house he was at that time called on to manage. In 1890, the growing demand for its products necessitated the removal of this establishment to the larger and more commodious premises it now occupies at No. 308 Seneca Street. Unlike many other preparations generally classed under the name of bitters, these are a purely medical compound prepared soley from vegetable sources, and contain nothing that is not salubrious, cleansing and restorative. They cure fever and ague, dyspepsia, jaundice, liver and kidney…. typhoid fever, and is highly recommended for the absolute purity and tonic effects. The sale of these goods is very large, extending all over the United Stales. The manufacturing department is under the immediate supervision of the proprietor, whose long experience and ability are sure guarantees of the excellence of its products. Although the house is constantly in receipt of thousands of certificates to the value of these bitters as a never-failing remedy, yet it has always followed the policy of the bitters speaking for themselves, and the immense sales may testify to the great confidence the public has in them. Mr. Root, like his predecessor is a Canadian by birth but has been a life-long resident of Buffalo where he is held in high esteem for his honorable and upright dealings, and his many personal qualities. All orders entrusted to him receive prompt and careful attention and no industrial house in the state enjoys a greater popularity with the trade generally.
Reference: Illustrated Buffalo – Queen City of the Lakes, 1890
John Roots Bitters advertisement – The Leavenworth Times, Wednesday, September 1, 1869
Depicted below is a nice John Roots Bitters Advertising Note I picked up on eBay.
John Roots Bitters Note – Meyer Collection
This scarce original early 1870s trade card advertises John Roots Bitters, manufactured by Roots & Tyrer of Buffalo NY. The image is of several astronomers gazing through telescopes at the full moon with the product name on it. Printed by Clay, Cosack & Co., also of Buffalo. ebay (January 2013 addition to post)
“JOHN ROOT’S BITTERS / 1834 – BUFFALO, N.Y. / 1834″, America, 1865 – 1875. Yellowish honey amber, rectangular semi-cabin, applied sloping collar with flat band – smooth base, ht. 10 1/8”, very near mint; (some in-manufacture crazing lines in the neck and some dried interior contents or residue, most of which would almost certainly soak out). R/H #R90.4. Very rare in amber, and this example has plenty of yellow in it! Note, this example is fresh to the market, discovered at a local auction near the Southern Ohio / West Virginia area. Beautiful color, almost a butterscotch tone. And, as mentioned, the interior appears to have dried medicine or contents that should easily soak out. – American Glass Gallery Auction #13
Read: Very Scarce Amber John Roots Bitters found by Jack Stecher
