Plumbata
Well-Known Member
Gotta keep this "short" for now, but wanted to get the post started. Will finish it up in a few days.
From the 4th through the 7th of this month, My father and I went digging at our 'ole 1920s dump. It is usually hit-or-miss, but I plowed through a layer/pile of rubble (bricks, tile, crete chunks up to 100 pounds, ROW posts, etc) and on the other side was some of the best digging I've ever had in the dump. I am quite certain almost all the garbage came from the Bradley University (or Polytechnic Institute, as I believe it was known then) and seems to be the kind of stuff young adults would be tossing. Sodas, milks, bootleg whiskeys from Canada and overseas (T'was still prohibition at the time, but it didn't stop them!), bromos and milk-o-mags to treat the hangovers ([
]), cosmetics, foods, and absolutely no toys, marbles, or items one would associate with the rather young or old.
Assuming I'm right, those college kids were pretty darn wasteful! Times really don't change do they, lol. [] I'd imagine that the milks and sodas would have normally been returned for a deposit, but that didn't seem very important to whoever contributed to this section of the dump. Out of the piles of sodas and literally hundreds of milks, most were broken or cracked and tossed after cleaning, but I still managed some stellar keepers and several crates worth of flea market stuff.
On the 2nd day, my father and I were "dream-talking" about finding a Peoria, IL Chero-Cola in the dump. We had never seen even a shard of one in this dump before, but the very last bottle of the day, totally upside-down and backwards, was the telltale swirly form of the most desirable 20s soda from Peoria that I can bring to mind. Dug 3 SS cokes, all cracked to hell, but they're no match for the Chero. It's quite a rarity as far as I understand, and though I have no idea what they are worth, I saw one on craigslist for 165, and the listing was taken down not too long after so I wonder if someone bought it? Not that it matters; it isn't going anywhere unless I find a better one! [] I believe this one was made in 1923.
Most of the time I'd agree that 20s dumps aren't worth digging... But I'd dig this place any day, especially now that I've opened up this awesomely productive section and got a 12 foot trench with gobs of glass exposed on all sides. And reading the topography and past experience, I'm still about 15 feet away from the "epicenter". Stoneware, BIM druggists (made in the 20s, likely the last handblown locals to have been made), and other nifty stuff add to the excitement. It doesn't seem like a typical mid-late 20s deposit. Fine by me. [8D]
The most noteworthy aspect of this area of the dump is the density of milk bottles. Throughout several distinct layers, milks are quite abundant. Most are pretty common or blank, but we pulled a few intact rarities that I never anticipated finding, and damaged examples of milks that are absolutely unlisted! Though the stuff closer to the surface can date to the later 1920s, the milks from this layer were all from 1926 and before. Once you get into the earlier 20s, those rare variants or totally unlisted dairies can start appearing. I can only speculate, but it is possible that I'll hit a mountain of milks somewhere in the area, perhaps as I get closer to the "epicenter".
Just look at this juicy stuff, lol:
Out of that jumble of visible milks (some only slightly visible) I got 3 keepers. a half pint "400" chocolate milk, a generic quart "Pure milk pasteurized" in slugplate, and a very tough local I've never seen intact before, anywhere in person or online. It's listed, but few are known. Blew me away to pull this fine piece of glass out (a 1924 methinks):
From that same general layer, but not visible, was this most interesting, but damaged quart milk. Absolutely nothing from this guy whatsoever is listed, and Springfield milk collectors are a dedicated and competitive bunch. Consulted the "Illinois Milk Guru" and he was astonished to hear about it. It's cool that new discoveries, very old or less than a century in age, can still be made. I'm inclined to see what it would bring on eBay, if anything, but only if the guru doesn't want to have it. He has high standards for what gets placed on his shelves, so we'll see.
Also pulled a keeper milk from Wisconsin, and broken milks from Chicago, St Louis, Kansas City, and a few other locations. Quite the interesting variety.
More pics and commentary to come later! []
From the 4th through the 7th of this month, My father and I went digging at our 'ole 1920s dump. It is usually hit-or-miss, but I plowed through a layer/pile of rubble (bricks, tile, crete chunks up to 100 pounds, ROW posts, etc) and on the other side was some of the best digging I've ever had in the dump. I am quite certain almost all the garbage came from the Bradley University (or Polytechnic Institute, as I believe it was known then) and seems to be the kind of stuff young adults would be tossing. Sodas, milks, bootleg whiskeys from Canada and overseas (T'was still prohibition at the time, but it didn't stop them!), bromos and milk-o-mags to treat the hangovers ([
]), cosmetics, foods, and absolutely no toys, marbles, or items one would associate with the rather young or old.
Assuming I'm right, those college kids were pretty darn wasteful! Times really don't change do they, lol. [
] I'd imagine that the milks and sodas would have normally been returned for a deposit, but that didn't seem very important to whoever contributed to this section of the dump. Out of the piles of sodas and literally hundreds of milks, most were broken or cracked and tossed after cleaning, but I still managed some stellar keepers and several crates worth of flea market stuff. On the 2nd day, my father and I were "dream-talking" about finding a Peoria, IL Chero-Cola in the dump. We had never seen even a shard of one in this dump before, but the very last bottle of the day, totally upside-down and backwards, was the telltale swirly form of the most desirable 20s soda from Peoria that I can bring to mind. Dug 3 SS cokes, all cracked to hell, but they're no match for the Chero. It's quite a rarity as far as I understand, and though I have no idea what they are worth, I saw one on craigslist for 165, and the listing was taken down not too long after so I wonder if someone bought it? Not that it matters; it isn't going anywhere unless I find a better one! [
] I believe this one was made in 1923.
Most of the time I'd agree that 20s dumps aren't worth digging... But I'd dig this place any day, especially now that I've opened up this awesomely productive section and got a 12 foot trench with gobs of glass exposed on all sides. And reading the topography and past experience, I'm still about 15 feet away from the "epicenter". Stoneware, BIM druggists (made in the 20s, likely the last handblown locals to have been made), and other nifty stuff add to the excitement. It doesn't seem like a typical mid-late 20s deposit. Fine by me. [8D]
The most noteworthy aspect of this area of the dump is the density of milk bottles. Throughout several distinct layers, milks are quite abundant. Most are pretty common or blank, but we pulled a few intact rarities that I never anticipated finding, and damaged examples of milks that are absolutely unlisted! Though the stuff closer to the surface can date to the later 1920s, the milks from this layer were all from 1926 and before. Once you get into the earlier 20s, those rare variants or totally unlisted dairies can start appearing. I can only speculate, but it is possible that I'll hit a mountain of milks somewhere in the area, perhaps as I get closer to the "epicenter".
Just look at this juicy stuff, lol:
Out of that jumble of visible milks (some only slightly visible) I got 3 keepers. a half pint "400" chocolate milk, a generic quart "Pure milk pasteurized" in slugplate, and a very tough local I've never seen intact before, anywhere in person or online. It's listed, but few are known. Blew me away to pull this fine piece of glass out (a 1924 methinks):
From that same general layer, but not visible, was this most interesting, but damaged quart milk. Absolutely nothing from this guy whatsoever is listed, and Springfield milk collectors are a dedicated and competitive bunch. Consulted the "Illinois Milk Guru" and he was astonished to hear about it. It's cool that new discoveries, very old or less than a century in age, can still be made. I'm inclined to see what it would bring on eBay, if anything, but only if the guru doesn't want to have it. He has high standards for what gets placed on his shelves, so we'll see.
Also pulled a keeper milk from Wisconsin, and broken milks from Chicago, St Louis, Kansas City, and a few other locations. Quite the interesting variety.
More pics and commentary to come later! [
]
