Embossed Soda Bottle - Salem Witch

[Sam_MaineBottles]

Hi Folks and Happy New Year to you all!

I've been going through some of my 'to sell' bottles and came across this rather different one. It's a seven ounce BIM crown top embossed soda bottle from J. Edward Hennessy from Salem, Mass. I'd say the bottle is from the 1900-1915 era. Embossed in the slug plate is a witch riding a broom and holding a trident (?). I've never seen one of these bottles before and the couple of Google searches I did came up with nothing on this bottler or the bottle. Before I put it on eBay I'd like to have a little background info if possible. Can anyone shed any light on this one for me?

Thanks - Sam

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[Sam_MaineBottles]

Sorry about the size of the last pic - my computer says it's a lot smaller than the size it shows up as - hopefully this closeup won't be so large.

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[TheDiggerBoy91]

Yah.. that's what I'd say too... BIM crowns weren't made very long. I couldn't find anything, but even finding nothin helps (Just like the Who song-"Nothing is everythiiing"[]) it means the bottler wasn't in business very long and/or didn't have wide distribution.[]

 

[kastoo]

I'd keep it but if I want a value I'd spend the money on listing at Ebay and jack the reserve up high and see what who is willing to pay.

 

[Sam_MaineBottles]

I've listed this bottle on eBay - it's at

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=13915&item=6146772550&rd=1

if you'd like to check it out.

-Sam

 

[WhiteLighting]

This is an interesting bottle,Someone should keep records of Embossed bott's like this...
I dig the bottle though!pretty cool,and in my opinion a good piece of american folklore......


Also I do think its a beer bott,,

 

[wootten]

well-please let us know how you did on ebay-did you get your reserve? That bottle seems like a cool addition to any collection. HAve you found out any more history? wendy

 

[Ryan]

Hi Sam, I couldn't resist purchasing that bottle from you. I was actually at the eye doctor while it was closing (darn waiting rooms!) so I had my mom bid on it for me using an id I set up for her. Thank god for computer literate parents lol...

You know what's strange is it appears I'm the only bottle collector that bid on it, all the other people were witch collectors. Good thing you put witch in the title. Anyways do you mind if I ask where you acquired this? I'm always curious about any known history of bottles in my collection. Did you dig it? Or was it a yard sale or antique shop find? If so, what town did you find it in?

Thanks for listing it, I'll give it a good home,

-Ryan

 

[Sam_MaineBottles]

Congrats, Ryan, on winning the witch bottle, I'm glad it's going to someone who will appreciate it. I really had no idea what it would end up going for price-wise. I also had three hutch soda bottles listed at the same time at what I thought were reasonable prices and not one of them sold. A mini stoneware souvenir jug that I bought for $2 went for $29.60 - you just can't tell with ebay.

I wasn't able to find out much on the bottle's history - guess it was a short-lived bottling operation.

I found the bottle in a junk shop this past summer while out on a 'tiquing trip further south on the Maine coast in the town of Damariscotta. It was pretty sad-looking then, looks like someone had tried to clean it with BBs and had forgotten about it, the lower half was dotted with rust marks. I gave it a hit of CLR which helped quite a bit. You might give it another shot of that after you get it Ryan, I bet it will clean up some more.

-Sam