Hostetter's Stomach Bitters

[BarbaraInCalif]

Can't seem to find any specific information about this nicely textured applied top Hostetter's in my, albeit limited, reference material which includes the old Ring Bitters book. The maker's mark of I.G.CO.L (Ihmsen Glass) gives it a date range of 1878 to 1900. Can you give more information on it's age? Is it worth the $17.50 paid for it?

Thanks for the help,
Barbara

 

[BarbaraInCalif]

Base

 

[ombudsman]

Hi, Barb,
Yes, it was worth it. Hostetter's is one of the most common bitters and can sometimes be had a little cheaper. I'd say on the market it's worth ~$20.00. Just my opinion, though.
Dave

 

[ombudsman]

I should have added, it's a real nice specimen!

 

[BarbaraInCalif]

Thanks David...I like it!

 

[madman]

NICE BOTTLE!

 

[CALDIGR2]

Barbara, as indicated by the base mark, your Hostetter's was made in 1878. There are 3 mould variants with I. G. Co L and numbers. These are all dated 1878-80. A nice buy for what you paid. Hostetter's come in a myriad colors and many are woefully crude. That's the ones everyone wants. I dug one recently that was so bent that it hardly stood on it's own. Still relatively inexpensive, some real beauties can be had for less than 50 bucks. As you probably noted, there were dozens available at Antioch.

BTW, what blob quarts are you seeking? I probably have several around here somewhere.

 

[cyberdigger]

So how does a #3 date?

 

[cyberdigger]

..compared with the #2 base? This is interesting stuff.. HOS stuff!! [8D]

 

[CALDIGR2]

Judging by the size of the marking I would say late 1870s. I have a pretty good source for Hostetter's base markings. It is "WESTERN BITTERS", by Bill & Betty Wilson. Originally printed in hard cover in 1969, it is long out of print, but a huge source for information on bitters bottled and/or sold out West.