First time poster - Farm Dump finds - Mystery bottle

[Mike in PA]

Hi all,
First time posting here. Over the years I have been finding bottles on the hillside of a ravine on my property outside of Pittsburgh, PA. It's either a farm dump or there's an old streetcar line (The Harmony Line) that runs through my property over the ravine (privy?). After heavy rains, more bottles would appear so I started digging. I've attached a photo of a group of the bottles.

But I also had a question about one particular bottle (photo attached) Its about 12 inches tall with a blob top. It has a blue tint to it and the words "F.W. Mueller Pittsburgh. PA" are embossed on the front. I can't find anything online about this bottle. Fredrick W Mueller (1847 – February 17, 1907) was Pittsburgh Brewing Company’s president. Any idea why he would have his own bottle? Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[Mudlani]

Mueller was a bottler under his own name before joining the Pittsburgh Brewing Co.

 

[Mike in PA]

Thanks Mudlani! Do you think the bottle is fairly rare? Just curious because I can't find anything online about him before joining them.

 

[Mike in PA]

Mueller was a bottler under his own name before joining the Pittsburgh Brewing Co.

Hi all,
First time posting here. Over the years I have been finding bottles on the hillside of a ravine on my property outside of Pittsburgh, PA. It's either a farm dump or there's an old streetcar line (The Harmony Line) that runs through my property over the ravine (privy?). After heavy rains, more bottles would appear so I started digging. I've attached a photo of a group of the bottles.

But I also had a question about one particular bottle (photo attached) Its about 12 inches tall with a blob top. It has a blue tint to it and the words "F.W. Mueller Pittsburgh. PA" are embossed on the front. I can't find anything online about this bottle. Fredrick W Mueller (1847 – February 17, 1907) was Pittsburgh Brewing Company’s president. Any idea why he would have his own bottle? Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!

Mudlandi, I just found information on F.W. Müller. And you are correct he was owner of F.W. Muller Carbonated Beverages in Illinois. But he had no connection to Pittsburgh or Pittsburgh Brewing Co. My F.W. Mueller (spelled with an e) lived and died in Pittsburgh and had no ties to F.W. Müller. What are the chances of those 2 names being so similar. So I'm still curious why the president of a brewing company would have his own bottle.

 

[Mudlani]

Mueller is a very common German name, and they dominated the beer business back then, so there were probably others as well (the 2 spellings are simply the German and the Anglicized spellings). But my info is from Pittsburgh papers on newspapers.com, so I'm referring to your Mueller, not the Illinois one. (A preacher named FW Mueller also comes up in Pittsburgh). Your Mueller was a distributor for a couple of Ohio breweries. He first shows up in 1888 getting rejected for a retail liquor license on the grounds that he was a wholesaler, and you couldn't be licensed for both. Local brewers also weren't happy about the influx of Ohio beer. I'm not sure when he joined Pittsburgh Brewing, but he was vice president and then elected president in 1900. He died in 1912. Your bottle probably is relatively rare, as it sounds like he wasn't independent for that long, and stayed local, so probably not that many were made. Rarity doesn't necessarily mean more valuable though. If you can, get an opinion from someone who collects Pennsylvania bottles.

 

[Mike in PA]

Damn, your good!! Thanks Mudlani. This makes sense and helps a lot!

 

[hemihampton]

The Bottle looks like it could be from the 1880's to me. Is there any Bottle Maker marks on the Bottle anywhere, usually small letters near bottom or on bottom? LEON.

 

[Mike in PA]

No bottle Maker marks on the bottom, that I can see.

 

[hemihampton]

Anything near bottom edge on outside? they might be faint & hard to see?

 

[FrauHeidi]

I'm coming on here late, but very interested in the bottle. My last name is Mueller, and my family (great-grandparents) originated from Indiana. I will need to go back and do some digging to see if the gentleman from PA was a relative. Super exciting to see this post, even if it was in 2022!

Best regards,

Heidi Mueller (couldn't get more German than that! ;-) )