Make it Schnappy, Herr Russ

[5 gallon collector]

Hi, folks,
It's not a 5-gallon beauty, so I'm out of my depth on this find -- picked up by my son this afternoon while he was rock-hounding in CA gold-rush country, en route home from a meteorite hunting trip to northern Nevada. He's not a bottle person, but stumbled (best not to stumble on broken glass) across a bunch of stuff, surface stuff, including some broken glass and this bottle. He spent no time looking for more, nor did he dig. He plugged the bottle with a piece of paper/foil because there were ants inside. I'm not sure I know a pontil from a pontiff or a pontoon, but is that a pontil?

 

[5 gallon collector]

Addendum: Newspapers.com has a couple of references to Russ' schnapps, in Marysville CA,1860, but I found no hits in New York. Found with the bottle was a very corroded lard tin fragment: "JEWELL HARRISON & C" and "27 WATER ST NEW YORK" and "LARD REFINERS". The California Digital Newspaper Collection had reference to that lard being sold in Marysville in 1857. So I'm guessing the bottle dates from about 1857-60 +/-. Does the structure fit with that date? Any info about this find appreciated; perhaps familiar to NY collectors?...and of course value - will it pay for a tank of gas at the current high cost of fuel?

 

[5 gallon collector]

Here's a picture of the lard can. Still (partly) legible after ?160 years! Wonder what they were frying, to go with their schnapps.

 

[sandchip]

Killer! I would thoroughly search(dig) the spot where you found that beauty!

 

[saratogadriver]

Open pontil beauty. I know the Russ's is considered a very good often found in the west bottle, but can't tell you more. Undamaged? Definitely gold rush era. Your son needs to do some serious digging in that spot. Likely anything whole is going to be good stuff, pre-civil war

Jim G

 

[saratogadriver]

Could only find one on Etsy. Nowhere else useful. Label for Boston a plus, but that one was a smooth base with an E on the bottom and some "lip roughness". It is sold and his original asking price was 325. Don't know what he got for it though. So you have something special your son brought home for sure.

Jim G

 

[5 gallon collector]

Thank you Sandchip and Saratoga driver. I'll have to put in some time boning up on pontils-- not too many of them on the 1920's and later 5 gallon water bottles! And more NY research needed, for sure.
The bottle seems to be quite intact. No schnapps left; the ants finished it.
20 gallon gas tank - fill-up likely paid for. Great.
Don't you love the "Russ's" -- the confusion as the how to form a correct possessive with a name ending in s (and with plurals) has been there forever and will likely be there for ever. Keeps teachers of English employed. Better to stick with "of Russ", but that would be a little strange-- AROMATIC / SCHNAPPS OF RUSS / NEW YORK. Actually, quite good.

 

[saratogadriver]

It's interesting that the labeled one on etsy had a retailer in Boston selling the product. The label was definitely for Russ's...

Jim G

 

[Huntindog]

Love that one. Congrats on the find.
If you are going to part with it let me know, I'm interested.

 

[Bottlebot]

Addendum: Newspapers.com has a couple of references to Russ' schnapps, in Marysville CA,1860, but I found no hits in New York. Found with the bottle was a very corroded lard tin fragment: "JEWELL HARRISON & C" and "27 WATER ST NEW YORK" and "LARD REFINERS". The California Digital Newspaper Collection had reference to that lard being sold in Marysville in 1857. So I'm guessing the bottle dates from about 1857-60 +/-. Does the structure fit with that date? Any info about this find appreciated; perhaps familiar to NY collectors?...and of course value - will it pay for a tank of gas at the current high cost of fuel?

No info but , geeez that’s a real nice one I would say no on the gas because it’s nuts!!! What we are all going through at this time!!