looking for ANY info on three bottles

[stanleyva2009]

Been awhile since I posted. I usually have trouble with pics so I am going to describe as best I can three bottles recently given to me. ANY info would be greatly appreciated. I may keep them or they may go on ebay. If anyone thinks they are of value I will try to post a picture or two on this site. Ok here we go.
Bottle 1: Callahan & McCgruden Philadelphia embossed on one side. C&McC embossed on the opposite side. Light green in color. Rounded bottom and a total height of 7," old cork type top bottle.
Bottle 2: Hutchinson bottle, Wendling & Berger, New Rochelle, NY.embossed in round slugplate on one side. Opposite side Registered, this bottle, not to be sold embossed. Light bluish green in color, 7" tall and still has the wire around the neck.
Bottle 3 and my favorite: WM. D. Barry, Reliable family liquor store, 2024 fourteenth st.n.w., Washington, D.C. embossed. Looks like the old style flat medicine bottles. 7" tall and clear.
I know these are vague descriptions by collector standards so I'll venture into posting a pic. Thanks for any info on age, rarity, value, anything.

 

[stanleyva2009]

Pic of the three bottles

 

[carobran]

The one with the wire around the neck is a blob,not a hutch. Is the Philadelphia bottle pontiled? The DC bottle is my favorite also and probably your best one,depending on whether the Philadelphia is pontiled and whether or not its a common one.

 

[carobran]

This is the top of a hutchinson bottle. Notice the difference between it and your blob top.

 

[stumpknocker]

Callahan & McCgruden Philadelphia is listed as smoothed base on http://www.sodasandbeers.com/

http://www.sodasandbeers.com/SABFindBottleByFirm.aspx?Firm_Name=Callahan&Search_Name=Search_Start&City=&Area=&County=&Region=&State=&Country=&Start_Year=&End_Year=&Get_Firms=Find+Firms

Both of the bottles are blob top bottles however one design utilized the Putnam Swing Closure and the other one used the Hutchinson Closure.

 

[stanleyva2009]

Ok...blob top...thanks for that info. I collect milks and meds. These bottles were given to me so the info you guys are providing is greatly appreciated. I'll check out the site for the Philly bottle. Any idea of the age of the bottles. The Philly bottle appears smooth on the bottom.

 

[stumpknocker]

http://www.sha.org/bottle/closures.htm#Cork closure



With carbonated beverages (soda, beer, champagne) the cork had to be secured more positively to prevent the content pressure from loosening the cork and slowly leaking the carbonation or even popping out prior to consumption of the contents. To accomplish this some type of tightened wiring or strong cord or string was wrapped in various ways around the upper neck and finish area with a portion looping over the cork to maintain it securely in the bottle. The picture to the lower right shows an early 20th century (1900-1910) King's Pure Malt "beer tonic" bottle (Boston, MA.) with a blob finish and the cork in place. Though somewhat loose now, the wire that held the cork secure is also still present. The upper, thicker wire looped over the top of the cork (which was pushed in level with the top of the bore) and was held tightly in place by the smaller wires tightly (originally) encircling the neck just below the lower portion of the finish. This type closure is called a "wired cork stopper." Another popular type of simple cork retainer was the more solid wire Henry Putnam patented (1859) design as pictured below. This type wire bail had the benefit of being reusable and was particularly popular on soda and mineral water bottles during the 1860s through 1880s like the Hoffman & Joseph "blob-top" soda pictured which dates from the mid-1880s (Fowler 1981). The utility of the blob type finish was that it provided a large ridge for properly securing the wire below the finish. Many variations on these basic themes can be found on 19th and early 20th century cork sealed bottles (Lief 1965; Jones & Sullivan 1989; Graci 2003).

 

[surfaceone]

Our member, Chosi, may be able to supply some deep background on the Barry.

From.

 

[chosi]

Did someone call my name?

The one in the middle is listed in our Potomac Bottle Collectors book as uncommon, worth $23-27. It comes in both a 1/2 pint and 1 pint sizes.

I've done extensive research on Washington DC beer & soda bottlers, but not liquor stores. So I really can't tell you anything about Wm D. Barry. Probably no relation to former Mayor Marion Barry.

 

[AntiqueMeds]

Wm D. Barry. Probably no relation to former Mayor Marion Barry.

rumour has it Wm D Barry tried to run for mayor of the city but was caught smoking an opium pipe in the back of his horse drawn coach. The people still loved him anyway[]