I've been retired about 15 years now....The career I had was one of those jobs that frequently asked for me to come in... on my days off. There were no questions asked...but the pay was good.
It was on one of those days I appeared at my work place in my best attire ready to give it my all. After several hours of waiting, the event was postponed and I was left to find my own designs for the day.
I remember it so well.....for nearby, the little dump site that had produced so much gold rush treasure for cacarpetbagger & I was calling out my name.....Potlidboy....Potlidboy...
Well, who was I to go against fate.....I drove to the site and geared up ready for adventure....I hung my slacks & dress shirt over the front seat of my car....and after a short walk found myself ready on a mild October day to find treasure.
I worked for nearly a hour pawing through all sorts of debris....bits of broken glass were all that I found...The second hour would be drastically different..
I worked into a little area that was confounded by a chunk of metal and tree limbs. As I worked my way through this barrier I saw the edge of a amber square (very Hostetter-like)....It had the short neck.... an applied top...and well you know "the Hostetter look". I was a little less then gentle as I pulled it from it's resting place....
Yowwwwwsaaaa.....the amber applied top "square" was not a Dr. Hostetter's , but an extremely rare Dr. Boerhaave's Stomach bitters...not a chip, ding, flea bite...the cork was still in the bottle....so the story continues.
A very good friend (huntindog) shows his generousity.....he has just come into possession of a green Dr. Boerhaaves. He has admired several sodas that I have had over the years: a Merriam's...a puce Boardman...and a Chase...which now adorn his soda display....and yes ...yay...thank you....I now have "salt & pepper"....(that's code for both colors of the same bottle).....Thank you huntindog...you are a gentleman & a true friend. There isn't a day goes by that I don't appreciate your trade. I only hope you enjoy the puce Boardman & company as much as I did. [
][] The happy faces are for you.
The following is taken from the Western Bitters Blog......
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Dr. Boerhaave's Stomach Bitters
The number of western made 1860's decade bitters bottles can almost be counted on both hands (aproximately 13 embossed on glass brands). Out of almost 100 brands manufactured for the western market, this is a pretty exclusive group. Most collectors would be pretty excited to have an example from this group.
Of those 13 brands of bitters bottles, approximately 4 are known in a square shaped container. This Boerhaave's example is in company with the Rosenbaums Bitters, Alex Von Humboldts Bitters and the G. A. Simon's Bitters as the only square shaped bitters made during the 1860's, (there are of course the Dr. Renz's Bitters and the E. G. Lyon's bottle but these continued into the 1870's decade).
Now that is an exclusive group! This particular example has some wonderful glass characteristics, the surface of the glass is whittled, which is not normally seen on these bottles, the old amber coloration varies in shades from the bottom half of the bottle being darker while the upper half is much lighter, with the neck and top being a darker shade again due to glass thickness. The embossing is quite bold, with the letters themselves being gloppy in appearance (my term used to describe the peaks and valleys of the letters due to the glass not forming evenly in the cavaties). There are currently 11 examples in western collections, 4 are a dark green coloration, 5 are various shades of amber, 1 is a light green color and 1 is a yellow olive coloration.
The firm of Siegfried Wertheimber and Louis Waterman were the manufacturers and proprietors of this bitters. It was first advertised on March 7th, 1868 with the principle depot being at 311 Commercial St, San Francisco, by June of 1868 the firm was advertising this product from their 219 Commercial St, S. F. address. Dr. Boerhaave's Bitters was also being advertised thru the Portland Morning Oregonian newspaper from May 15th, 1868 thru January 28th, 1869, Millard and Van Schuyver were the agents for Oregon. The Los Angeles Star newspaper ran an advertisement for the Boerhaave's Bitters placed by a local druggist for several mos. in 1868 as well.
The pictures are posted for your approval.
It was on one of those days I appeared at my work place in my best attire ready to give it my all. After several hours of waiting, the event was postponed and I was left to find my own designs for the day.
I remember it so well.....for nearby, the little dump site that had produced so much gold rush treasure for cacarpetbagger & I was calling out my name.....Potlidboy....Potlidboy...
Well, who was I to go against fate.....I drove to the site and geared up ready for adventure....I hung my slacks & dress shirt over the front seat of my car....and after a short walk found myself ready on a mild October day to find treasure.
I worked for nearly a hour pawing through all sorts of debris....bits of broken glass were all that I found...The second hour would be drastically different..
I worked into a little area that was confounded by a chunk of metal and tree limbs. As I worked my way through this barrier I saw the edge of a amber square (very Hostetter-like)....It had the short neck.... an applied top...and well you know "the Hostetter look". I was a little less then gentle as I pulled it from it's resting place....
Yowwwwwsaaaa.....the amber applied top "square" was not a Dr. Hostetter's , but an extremely rare Dr. Boerhaave's Stomach bitters...not a chip, ding, flea bite...the cork was still in the bottle....so the story continues.
A very good friend (huntindog) shows his generousity.....he has just come into possession of a green Dr. Boerhaaves. He has admired several sodas that I have had over the years: a Merriam's...a puce Boardman...and a Chase...which now adorn his soda display....and yes ...yay...thank you....I now have "salt & pepper"....(that's code for both colors of the same bottle).....Thank you huntindog...you are a gentleman & a true friend. There isn't a day goes by that I don't appreciate your trade. I only hope you enjoy the puce Boardman & company as much as I did. [
][] The happy faces are for you.The following is taken from the Western Bitters Blog......
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Dr. Boerhaave's Stomach Bitters
The number of western made 1860's decade bitters bottles can almost be counted on both hands (aproximately 13 embossed on glass brands). Out of almost 100 brands manufactured for the western market, this is a pretty exclusive group. Most collectors would be pretty excited to have an example from this group.
Of those 13 brands of bitters bottles, approximately 4 are known in a square shaped container. This Boerhaave's example is in company with the Rosenbaums Bitters, Alex Von Humboldts Bitters and the G. A. Simon's Bitters as the only square shaped bitters made during the 1860's, (there are of course the Dr. Renz's Bitters and the E. G. Lyon's bottle but these continued into the 1870's decade).
Now that is an exclusive group! This particular example has some wonderful glass characteristics, the surface of the glass is whittled, which is not normally seen on these bottles, the old amber coloration varies in shades from the bottom half of the bottle being darker while the upper half is much lighter, with the neck and top being a darker shade again due to glass thickness. The embossing is quite bold, with the letters themselves being gloppy in appearance (my term used to describe the peaks and valleys of the letters due to the glass not forming evenly in the cavaties). There are currently 11 examples in western collections, 4 are a dark green coloration, 5 are various shades of amber, 1 is a light green color and 1 is a yellow olive coloration.
The firm of Siegfried Wertheimber and Louis Waterman were the manufacturers and proprietors of this bitters. It was first advertised on March 7th, 1868 with the principle depot being at 311 Commercial St, San Francisco, by June of 1868 the firm was advertising this product from their 219 Commercial St, S. F. address. Dr. Boerhaave's Bitters was also being advertised thru the Portland Morning Oregonian newspaper from May 15th, 1868 thru January 28th, 1869, Millard and Van Schuyver were the agents for Oregon. The Los Angeles Star newspaper ran an advertisement for the Boerhaave's Bitters placed by a local druggist for several mos. in 1868 as well.
The pictures are posted for your approval.
