It's kind of sad, when one needs to photograph a bottle next to an ornamental cabbage to make the bottle appealing. Honestly, I actually pined for this bottle for a long time. I mean who wouldn't. It's milk glass...a great taper gin shape & difficult to find. It's Western....Eureka.(whoops I'm probably over using this explenitive).....but yay.
My bottle quest buddy Cacarpetbagger found a bottle like this one a few years back. I admired it then & unbeknownst to him was a little envious. I mean look at it...it's milk glass, got the taper gin look & it's Western.
I found my S.B. Rothenberg about a month after Cacarpetbagger found his & perhaps in the same area. I was on a bottle quest in the area of Walnut Grove, California. Walnut Grove is a typical delta town. The town was born of river trade & therefore made it's living from numerous docks & steamboat commerce. [
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Thompson & West : The History of Sacramento County...speaks of two Indian trails crossing at Georgiana Slough & Sacramento River...the Native Americans soon to be displaced by Anglo settlers. Walnut Grove is the largest of the upper delta communities & boasts buildings on either side of the river. (imagine that....both sides of the river)
Early glass has come from Walnut Grove. I know of an “arched†Williams & Severance pontiled soda that came from this town. A few Native American artifacts were also found here. Because of the size of the town & it's early history, most of the easy pickings have been picked. Still with a little perseverance & hard work one can make a score.
I began my search about one mile up river from this old town site. There is a farm house at this location & with a palm tree planted near the levee. I geared up & began to search a small trash layer near the palm tree. After one hour into the task, I was completely bust...no bottles...no sign of bottles. ….. only to persevere. The second hour found me in with a faint sign of glass....a small trickle of sherds …..still no whole bottles.
Never leave a trail of glass......no matter how slim. If the bottle gods have you on the scent keep your nose to the ground.
After several hours of absolutely nothing... there it was. In the coal black anaerobic mud lay the exposed corner of the S.B. Rothenberg. The white milk glass sparkled . The bottle “shown like a diamond in the windâ€. I'm not sure where Jeff Wichmann came up with that phrase, but it so fits this moment of discovery. I carefully rubbed the mud from the bottle. It was all there & in pristine condition. It is boldly embossed S. B. Rothenberg Sole Agent US. There is a nice applied seal on the reverse of the bottle embossed: Pat applied for.
In this bottle's defense, as I place it with more colorful bottles of cobalt, green & amber, the milk glass S.B.Rothenberg really stands out. I actually like it....(did I just say that)....I love it.
Antique Western Bitters Bottles.... Jeff Wichmann : a tapered square sixth... 1891-1896. Berliner Magen Bitters Europa & America... Louis Roth......
My bottle quest buddy Cacarpetbagger found a bottle like this one a few years back. I admired it then & unbeknownst to him was a little envious. I mean look at it...it's milk glass, got the taper gin look & it's Western.
I found my S.B. Rothenberg about a month after Cacarpetbagger found his & perhaps in the same area. I was on a bottle quest in the area of Walnut Grove, California. Walnut Grove is a typical delta town. The town was born of river trade & therefore made it's living from numerous docks & steamboat commerce. [
]Thompson & West : The History of Sacramento County...speaks of two Indian trails crossing at Georgiana Slough & Sacramento River...the Native Americans soon to be displaced by Anglo settlers. Walnut Grove is the largest of the upper delta communities & boasts buildings on either side of the river. (imagine that....both sides of the river)
Early glass has come from Walnut Grove. I know of an “arched†Williams & Severance pontiled soda that came from this town. A few Native American artifacts were also found here. Because of the size of the town & it's early history, most of the easy pickings have been picked. Still with a little perseverance & hard work one can make a score.
I began my search about one mile up river from this old town site. There is a farm house at this location & with a palm tree planted near the levee. I geared up & began to search a small trash layer near the palm tree. After one hour into the task, I was completely bust...no bottles...no sign of bottles. ….. only to persevere. The second hour found me in with a faint sign of glass....a small trickle of sherds …..still no whole bottles.
Never leave a trail of glass......no matter how slim. If the bottle gods have you on the scent keep your nose to the ground.
After several hours of absolutely nothing... there it was. In the coal black anaerobic mud lay the exposed corner of the S.B. Rothenberg. The white milk glass sparkled . The bottle “shown like a diamond in the windâ€. I'm not sure where Jeff Wichmann came up with that phrase, but it so fits this moment of discovery. I carefully rubbed the mud from the bottle. It was all there & in pristine condition. It is boldly embossed S. B. Rothenberg Sole Agent US. There is a nice applied seal on the reverse of the bottle embossed: Pat applied for.
In this bottle's defense, as I place it with more colorful bottles of cobalt, green & amber, the milk glass S.B.Rothenberg really stands out. I actually like it....(did I just say that)....I love it.
Antique Western Bitters Bottles.... Jeff Wichmann : a tapered square sixth... 1891-1896. Berliner Magen Bitters Europa & America... Louis Roth......
