Dug several unusual "Firsts" in 1880-toc privy

[cannibalfromhannibal]

Man a whole load of nice keepers you got. The larger size local pharmacies are my favorites. I've been collecting SF pharmacies for years, and the larger 16 oz are rare as hens' teeth. Interesting that you started digging in California. Did you keep your California bottles when you moved to Missouri?

I did keep them originally, but sold the sodas, beers and local pharms, keeping only a few of my favorites like my blue Dickey's, my Crystal Palace pumpkin seed, an unlisted SF flask, and a few commoner but sentimental bottles. Still have one of 2 bottles from my first dig in 1964, an early plain extract bottle from about 1880 from the Dana adobe in Nipomo from when I went there with the Boy Scout troop I was in to clear the yard of weeds and debris. We discovered remains of an old fountain in the back yard and while pulling weeds from it there were bottles trapped in the roots. I got to keep a couple I found and one broke years ago in a move, but still have the extract. Worth maybe fifty cents on a good day, priceless to me. And you are so right about the 16 ounce sized pharmacy bottles. To dig 5 in one hole is unprecedented for me. I did dig a 32 oz. one once years ago. It always looked funny among the smaller sizes since it so much outsized them it looked fake.

 

[cannibalfromhannibal]

Boy!! I love that ginger jar, dug quite a few over the years, and it is rare to get the lid with the jar, as for who made it, there were lot of them made in California during the gold rush, there was and still is large Chinatowns in California, one of the makers was in Stockton for awhile, must have dug fifty in and around Stockton over the years. And I haven't seen but maybe two or three that were any nicer than yours!!.....Andy

Thanks Andy, dug our local Chinatown in California and never found a piece of something like this. I went online to research auctions for similar jars and though they generally were sold for about $100 on average, none had their original lids. As you say, this seems pretty unusual. Glad I hung onto it. Mostly because I couldn't figure out what it was or even made of. The glaze on top looked like glass and the rest just looked cruddy! I think it is my favorite piece from the hole. Jack

 

[andy volkerts]

Hello Jack. I just went into my digging records, and found some more info on prices. I sold two jars similar to yours three years ago for 225.00 each, with the lids, one lid came with the jar, and one I dug separately but it fit ok. they were of similar color, maybe a bit lighter than yours. Like I said that jar is a good one!!.....Andy......Wherabouts were you in California??

 

[cannibalfromhannibal]

Thanks for the info Andy.....the prices I looked at were several years old, so good to know. I grew up in the ultra-conservative (for digging) town of San Luis Obispo and area. The city crews were chasing my butt out of the creek beds and old city dump by the late 60's! Now they have ordinances relating to "unauthorized use of the creek areas", mostly aimed at the homeless camps but vague enough to include about anything from bottle hunting to picking wild blackberries! Just a note for the trivia buffs, SLO town was the first to outlaw smoking in bars and restaurants.

 

[andy volkerts]

WOW! running you off for digging bottles in an old dump. It never ceases to amaze me how govt can be so Nazi like. Here in Sacto they didnt care where we dug, as the property was going to be cleared off and paved or built over anyways, same in Stockton where I also dug. The only people who sometimes ran us off were private property owners who didn't like the mess bottle diggers usually left. for the most part whenever on private property I always.s threw the trash back in the hole, was easy enough to do, and I didn't get run off much.

 

[Plumbata]

Sweet digs! I especially like the big druggies! I've dug one of those green glazed ginger pots before (no lid that I recall) and didn't know what it was. Think it came from a ~1910 spot. Didn't know what it was until reading the discussion here, thanks people!