3 DIFFERENT HOSTETTERS STOMACH BITTERS

[imadigger]

Hi again...
I have three different Dr. J. Hostetters Stomach bitters...The older one(at least I think it is)
is kind of a yellow amber and has L&W 8 on the bottom...The other one is a dark amber
and has IGCo.L 50 on the bottom...the third is a dark greenish yellow amber...but I think it is the newer of the three because the mold seems to go through the top....nothing on the bottom....
Ill try to send pics. What would they be worth?
any ideas? they will go on e bay probably..
imadigger

 

[bearswede]

Hi Ima...

I think we'd like to see the greenish yellow amber one...

Ron

 

[BRIAN S.]

Hi ima !
I also would like to see a pic of your Greenish Hossi ! Any base embossing ?
Brian

 

[diginit]

I'd like to see the Olive Amber hoss. also. Depending on the exact sizes, all of these could be valuable. The Honey amber at 8 3/4" was worth $45.oo in 1998 according to Kovel's. I believe the 9 " are the most common if my memory serves me correctly. I'll have to review my backup disks. There are many mold variations.

 

[BRIAN S.]

Hi again ima !
The Amber Hossi's aren't worth very much $$$ wise.....unless it's a rare mold variant ( such as pontilled , backwards " J ", misspelled HOTSTETTER'S , Sample , rare base marking , or the larger H 194 mold in Amber, ect.)
There are at least 75 different variants of the Hostetter's Stomach Bitters . It was the most popular American Bitters ever manufactured , and thus that's why they are so common in Amber. A whole lot of them out there ! The price rises drastically when you get a color variant , such as the different shades of Greens ! There is even one known example of the Hostetter's Stomach Bitters that is Puce , and it's is believed to be unique in that coloration.
I had a Great grouping of mold and color variants in the Hostetter's line at one time. And sold them off as a group on ebay in 2000 . I wish I could buy them back now for what I sold them for then !!!!! My interests changed , and I sold them to free up some cash for my Semi cabin bitters taste .
Here's a pic of the grouping I sold on ebay all in one lot . I met the buyers at the National Show at Louisville for the first time and I offered there money back on them....they just smiled !!!

 

[David E]

The first ones were 47% alcohol bottlemakers include several Pittsburgh Glasshouses.
(have names and dates if needed)
Alchol reduced to 25% after 1906.
Demise in 1958.
Have heard it said that Hostetter helped the Union win the war as they ordered it by the trainload (47%)
Many varients and colors,recent varients were amber, short, round and unembossed.

Dave
Found IG Co.Ihmsen Glass Co , Pittsburgh PA 1870 to 1898


I.G.Co. Ihmsen Glass Co 1895

L&W Lorenz & Whiteman PA 1862 to 1871

Dave

 

[Msweet]

I have a medium dark amber with the mark: AGW/C That's AGW over the letter C. Any idea who the maker was.
I see that you have some history on these.
PS: Were most of these made using a three piece wood mold?

 

[cyberdigger]

[font="sans-serif, arial, helvetica, geneva"][*]A.G.W.................in some cases, American Glass Works, Pittsburgh, PA (1866-1905). This company, which was officially known as "American Glass Works, Limited" after 1880, MAY have produced some glass marked "A.G.W." during the time period of 1866-1880, although I am not aware of any definitive proof that they did. American Glass Works reportedly manufactured mostly window glass prior to 1880. After 1880, the mark was most frequently "A.G.W.L.", although various bottles that date after 1880 (such as certain hutchinson sodas) do carry "A.G.W."(no L) so I tend to believe that both mark variants were used, at times, during the 1880-1905 period. (See next two entries).
[*]A.G.W.................American Glass Works, Richmond, VA (1908-1925) and Paden City, WV (1918-c.1935). Bottles (especially crown-closure soda bottles) of the teens and 1920s from the VA and surrounding area with "A.G.W." marked on the base are virtually certain to be products of this company (not to be confused with the earlier American Glass Works of Pittsburgh, an unrelated company). Machine-made bottles date after 1916 (Toulouse 1971:23). The Richmond plant burned in 1925 and was not rebuilt. This company also reportedly used an "A in a circle" mark on some bottles. In any case, that mark was primarily used by the Armstrong Cork Company from 1938 to 1969. http://www.myinsulators.com/glass-factories/bottlemarks.html[/font]

 

[GuntherHess]

PS: Were most of these made using a three piece wood mold?

I doubt any Hostetters were ever made in a wood mold. It would be tough to have embossing on a wood mold.
They were typically either post or key molds for the early ones.