Fish Bottle

[dcheryl83]

Hello I am new here. I do not have a photo yet but am curious about a bottle I have had for 3 yrs (found in the woods). It is dark brown, 7" long, 2 inches wide and its a rectangular shape (except for the neck...which is round). It has a fish on it running lengthwise. The fish is about 3 inches long, has 3 fins on top, 2 on the botton and the entire fish (except head) is scaled. Kind of looks like a carp. The rest of the bottle has a design that is suppose to look like scales. Its a very interesting bottle and I have it displayed on a shelf. Will try to get a picture posted asap. Until then, it anyone has a clue, please let me know.

Thank you for you time.

 

[TheDiggerBoy91]

You have a castor or codd oil bottle from the 30's.

 

[S.C. Warner]

Yep, Diggerboy91 is right about that!
It's always been one of my favorite bottles as appearance goes. kind of looks like a carp, maybe more prehistoric and great detail!
The artist did a great job on the design. You've found a really nice treasure! Have you checked out the rest of the area where you found it?
And please post the picture when you can!
best,
sc

 

[dcheryl83]

Cod Liver Oil huh? How appropriate. Appreciate the replies. It really is a beautiful bottle. I will get a picture posted as soon as I can.

Is the bottle itself worth anything?

 

[dcheryl83]

Forgot to answer your question SC. I did find 3 other bottles in that area. Will try to describe.

Bottle 1: A little over 9 inches tall (the neck being about 3 1/2 inches) It is a medium green and the base is almost a tear drop shape. On the front of the base (from top to bottom) appears to be some sort of ribbon or bandana. Under this is the profile of a full length bird. He has another ribbon of sorts in his mouth which flows underneath him and crosses over a rectangular object that has a leaf attached to it.

On the back there is a coat of arms with vines on the outside of it (left and right sides only). Above the coat of arms there are 13 tiny stars . In the of the coat of arms (at the top) there looks to be 2 fists touching knuckle to knuckle...altough you can only make out the fingers of one of the hands. At the bottom of the coat of arms it says UNION. There are 3 small stars (top to bottom) on the left side and 2 small stars on the right. These stars are a liitle bit bigger than the stars on the outside of the coat of arms. The bottle neck has no threads and I assume it hasd a stopper in it a one time. I have placed a cork in it.


Bottle 2: 7 inches tall, with the neck taking up 1 inch. Dark brown (same as the cod bottle) round like a pepsi can, with a seam on either side. At the top and bottom there are 3 grooves circling it. No other distinguishing marks on the surface itself. The cap is metal and threaded and it is still intack and rusted on. Under the bottle it says " ABBOTT LABORATORIES " (in a horseshoe shape) Inside the horseshoe it says "MADE IN U.S.A." and there is a 2 under that.

Bottle 3: about 11" tall, with the neck taking up about 3 1/2 inches. Again Dark Brown. Top is not threaded and there is a circular ring around it bout 3/4 of an inch down. Must have had a stopper in it at one time as well.

On the front it says "Philadelphia (underneath this it says) FAMOUS SINCE 1894"
Directly above this (just before the bottle narrows into the neck) it says (in smaller type and in two rows)
"FEDERAL LAW FORBIDS SALE
OR RE-USE OF THIS BOTTLE"

On the back (at the bottom) it reads: 4/5 QUART
Underneath the bottle there is a symbol that looks like a capital T with other lines on either side of the base of the T. Then it says:

D-90
4-49
2691
2

Hope these descriptions give you some idea as to what I found. We have a digital camera at work and I will try to remember to take the bottles with me and photograph them tomorrow.

 

[medbottle]

Hello dcheryl3, and welcome to the forum. The bottle you mentioned with the eagle on one side and clasped hands on the other is, if genuine, an historical flask. There are several with embossing similar to yours. They were usually used for whiskey. From your descriptions, this sounds like the earliest piece of the group, and probably dates to the 1870's or earlier. A picture would really help us identify it further. Also, is the base smooth, or does it have a rough glass or metallic deposit ? (known as pontil marks)

 

[dcheryl83]

The base is not smooth. I guess you could call it rough. I forgot to bring the bottles with me to work so I'm gonna see if bossman will let me take the digital cameral home this evening to take the pictures. Will post them as soon as I can.

Thanks for your interst. Are these bottles worth anything? I'm not really a collector...I just found them when I use to live in the country and thought they were nice. They are all in excellant condition. It appears someone just dumped them in the woods. They weren't buried, nor did they look like they had been outside for a very long time before I found them. We owned 34 acres at the time and I now wish I done some more searching.

 

[medbottle]

Hello again. If genuine and without damage or stain, the eagle / union bottle starts around $40 and goes up from there, depending on the particular embossing and the color. Some may disagree with the $40 starting price, but I see a lot of these at shows, and when I see an historical flask in a shop its usually one of these or one of the many George Washington / Taylor flasks. If its a true medium green and not aqua, its definitely worth more than $40. I took a closer look at your description, and the size sounds like a quart, which is worth more. However, the part about being tear drop shaped bothers me. It may be a reproduction. A picture should solve that question easily.

Your cod liver oil bottle, while nice looking, doesn't have a high value. Its fairly common, and most collectors are looking for older specimins. Still looks good in a window though, especially with other interestingly shaped bottles.

The same can be said for bottles number 2 and 4. Abbott Labs produced chemicals and/or medicines...I don't know the time period, but I'm sure someone here does. On the fourth bottle, the line "FEDERAL LAW FORBIDS RESALE..." etc. was used on spirits bottles between 1933(4?) and 1966.

I need more details (or a picture) of bottle 3 to determine what it is.

All in all, it sounds like you have a nice start on a bottle collection. [] Keep lookin', and send us those pictures when you can.

 

[dcheryl83]

Pictures

I had no idea how hard it was to take pictures of bottles. The digital camera I borrowed is old (uses a floppy) and the lighting isn't all that great. Tried using the flash and it made the pictures worse. I am posting the 4 best ones I was able to get.

 

[dcheryl83]

Fish Bottle Picture

Here is the one with the fish