Favorite Find That You Kept

[BellwoodBoys]

Thanks Bobbycommonbottles, Love the stock farm embossing! And nice sunrunner, I have always loved the hirschfelds. ever dig anything embossed Belmar?

 

[botlguy]

Here's 2 I found in 1964 or 65, my first bottles. The green flask came out of the attic of an 1884 house in Tustin, California, the WARNER'S SAFE K. & L. CURE came from under it the next day. It was the Warners that really got me hooked. I sure wish I still had all the bottles I found in and around that house. Like Eric, it's the sentimental part that makes them priceless. Jim

 

[Ace31]

I know it's broken but this is the bottle (Copp Guelph.C.W.) I found back in 2010 that got me started into the hobby.

 

[CanadianBottles]

Man, even broken that Copp is a heck of a way to get started!

 

[coldwater diver]

Nice Stoddard dome ink, 1/2 pint stoddard eagle

 

[cannibalfromhannibal]

Well okay, I can never seem to pass up the chance to show off my favorite bottle. But first, I have to show off my first favorite bottle. This was found in an old California Spanish adobe backyard fountain that had been filled in with trash probably by the 1880s. I went there with the Boy Scouts on a weekend to do some cleanup on the property in 1964. Yes, I can honestly say the Boy Scouts corrupted me! We stayed at the Adobe overnight, and the next morning we tackled the backyard where the fountain was. Not knowing exactly what it was, we began pulling weeds and bottles came up clinging to the roots! I got to keep a couple bottles, but one, a very tiny medicine, was broken accidentally in a move. This one that survived 50 years with me is a common everyday extract bottle worth all of 50 cents on a good day, but to me priceless! The second bottle pictured was found sometime in the late 60's in, of all places, Crescent City, California. How it wound up there I'll never know, but I'm glad it did. I took the Greyhound bus all the way up from central coast California to visit one summer with a high school friend who had just moved away to this town. We spent the week or so that I was there knocking on every door we could find asking permission to crawl around under their floorboards looking for old bottles. We had assorted luck here and there, but the best finds were located under one house. I remember after getting permission from the lady of the house, one of her kids tried to inform her that old bottles were worth money. Fortunately, she didn't think that they were, and pretty much ignored the child. This kid could not have been more than 10 years old, but already smart for that age. My buddy and I got to poking around under the house, and I recall finding bits and pieces here and there, but nothing whole. There was a big wooden box in the corner that looked like a fire wood box. The space was barely high enough for us kids to stand stooped over, and so when the lid to the box was opened, there was barely room enough to see inside of it. They were gunny sacks and rope, and fortunately what we were looking for-bottles! I recall we stood on either side of the box hanging over the edge to the point where we almost fell in while reaching for bottles. Back in those days there was nothing mentioned about splitting our finds, as we were used to dump digging rules-what you find you keep. So he had his pile on one side of the box while I had mine on my side. In my pile I had a number of San Francisco whiskeys, the best being an inside screw thread P. Claudius. I also pulled out a bottle wrapped in wicker that I sort of threw to the side with little interest. I don't really recall what my buddy pulled out except for a sparkling apple green masons 1858 jar. I had never seen a green one before and it knocked me over. We gathered up our booty and moved it into the sunlight. After examining all the others, I finally turned attention to the wicker covered thing. The wicker was pretty rotted and falling off, so I just helped it along its way. You can imagine my surprise when I see this beautiful palmetto tree staring back at me with South Carolina dispensary embossed! My ride home on the Greyhound bus was memorable to say the least. Lastly is my most recent favorite found in 2012, and likely will remain my most valuable favorite, the Dr. Wilcox's Fever and Ague Cure. It has everything going for it: it's color, it's pontiled, it's a cure, it's in perfect condition , and super rare! The auction guys at ABA have appraised it at a pre-auction estimate of $10-$12,000! So far none have ever come up for auction, so who really knows? Maybe I will someday, just not today! Jack

 

[coldwater diver]

Jack that Dr. Wilcox is sweeet! Great color, shape, and embossing. How did you come across that one? Could you show a picture of the bottom please. Did you research where Dr Wilcox was from? Kevin

 

[cannibalfromhannibal]

Jack that Dr. Wilcox is sweeet! Great color, shape, and embossing. How did you come across that one? Could you show a picture of the bottom please. Did you research where Dr Wilcox was from? Kevin

Thanks Kevin. If you do a search for Wilcox's Cure here on abn, scroll down to about the 7th post which was my original with insitu shots and fresh dug pics, as well as cleaned up and the IP base. It is also embossed Albany (NY) and was apparently a short lived product as the advertising was from about 1846 to 1851 from what I was able to find. They also produced a gorgeous sarsaparilla in the same color and one variant with a backwards "S" that sell in the 4-6k range. Seems there are a dozen or so out there of the sarsaparillas, so far only 4 cures and I heard one had some damage. It was found in an 1870's privy in Quincy Il. and was a late throw along with a pontiled ice blue Townsends Sarsaparilla in pieces. The Wilcox was only the second bottle from the hole at about 3 feet deep and had me quite excited. Even though I had no clue to its rarity I knew it was a good one for the reasons mentioned. I dug 25 productive holes in 49 days and this was from hole #21. Mine is also the one in Knapps book on medicines. (My bottle is famous, I'm not.....Just the way I like it! Ha!) Jack somebody-or-other........

 

[Bass Assassin]

There are a lot of great finds on this post. And for each person, there is sentimental value that is unlike monetary value. I have enjoyed looking at everyone's favorite finds. Jack, the palmetto SC Dispensay is a really great bottle. It would be a fantastic day for me to find one of those. Then you showed the last bottle and it is plain and simple a jaw-dropper. Unbelievable. Finding that one would be a dream come true. With that said, I'll post my Garry Owens Strengthening Bitter's, New Orleans, LA. It was the 1st bitters I ever dug and still my favorite bottle.

 

[cannibalfromhannibal]

Now THAT's a cool bitters! You musta felt spoiled after being the first bitters to find. (And I thought Gary Owens started with Laugh-In!) HA! Jack