New here! Found Hood's Sarsaparilla and some horseshoes

[tonytheplumber]

Good morning folks,
Glad to join a cool forum like this.
I was working at a construction site in Watsonville, CA (Monterey Bay Area) and dug up an old bottle of Hood's Sarsaparilla and 4 old horseshoes (one pretty hefty one and 3 smaller ones)

I am mostly curios about the Hoods bottle. Is there any way I can date it? The number on the bottom is 79. Blank backside, sides of bottle say "C.I. Hood & Co" and Lowell Mass

Any cleaning tips or general information (even about the horseshoes) would be welcome!

Thanks!

 

[gdog68]

Nice finds! The hoods sarsaparilla bottle would date around the 1880s to 1890s. Most of the Hoods sarsparilla bottles have apothecaries embossed on the back, the one I dug has that on the back. For cleaning I usually use CLR.

Hood’s Sarsaparilla, Lowell, MA

Founded by Charles Ira Hood in 1875, C.I. Hood & Co. of Lowell, Massachusetts was among the largest patent medicine companies in the United States and offered a number of personal health produc…

oldmainartifacts.wordpress.com

 

[tonytheplumber]

Nice finds! The hoods sarsaparilla bottle would date around the 1880s to 1890s. Most of the Hoods sarsparilla bottles have apothecaries embossed on the back, the one I dug has that on the back. For cleaning I usually use CLR.

Hood’s Sarsaparilla, Lowell, MA

Founded by Charles Ira Hood in 1875, C.I. Hood & Co. of Lowell, Massachusetts was among the largest patent medicine companies in the United States and offered a number of personal health produc…

oldmainartifacts.wordpress.com

Yea that's what's strange mine doesn't have apothecaries on the back. But I will try CLR. Went with the white vinegar method but didn't really get the job done

 

[DeepSeaDan]

Yea that's what's strange mine doesn't have apothecaries on the back. But I will try CLR. Went with the white vinegar method but didn't really get the job done

Get some stiff brushes ( I buy mine at pet stores / aquarium supplies ); try "Barkeepers Friend" - a mild acid scrubbing powder - that oughta get things clean. Even better, get some 12ot electrical wire, strip off the insulation, then take some wire cutters and snip off small pices. Take the pieces, put half a bottle-full of bits in the bottle, add some barkeepers friend and some water, then shake like it's 1906 in L.A. - works great!

 

[tonytheplumber]

Get some stiff brushes ( I buy mine at pet stores / aquarium supplies ); try "Barkeepers Friend" - a mild acid scrubbing powder - that oughta get things clean. Even better, get some 12ot electrical wire, strip off the insulation, then take some wire cutters and snip off small pices. Take the pieces, put half a bottle-full of bits in the bottle, add some barkeepers friend and some water, then shake like it's 1906 in L.A. - works great!

That's a great idea. I've seen that barkeepers friend on the shelf I'll grab it.

Any thoughts on these thickly rusted horseshoes? Watched a lot of YouTube in the past 2 days on it and seems like a few weeks in "evapo-rust" would get it done but definitely interested in other options

 

[willong]

That's a great idea. I've seen that barkeepers friend on the shelf I'll grab it.

Any thoughts on these thickly rusted horseshoes? Watched a lot of YouTube in the past 2 days on it and seems like a few weeks in "evapo-rust" would get it done but definitely interested in other options

Be careful of changing temperature too rapidly when preparing to wash the bottle. Room temperature bottle and soaking/washing fluids are advised.

You could trying washing the horseshoes in dish detergent first (to get rid of loose dirt, especially if alkaline). Then try a long soak in white vinegar before washing and scrubbing again. White vinegar is much cheaper than the commercial rust removers; so, you are not out much if it doesn't produce the desired effect.

That larger shoe might have been from from one of the smaller breeds of draft horse. In our computerized and mechanized world, many people tend not to think about how things were done less than a century ago. Fans of old bottles and other antiques are different in that respect.

Photo is my paternal grandfather with a "workhorse" he used to tend a small family farm in western PA. Era is likely during the Great Depression, but the photo is not dated, so that is my best guess judging by granddad's apparent age.

 

[willong]

That larger shoe might have been from from one of the smaller breeds of draft horse.

EDIT: I made that reply before viewing the photo enlarged and seeing your boot toe for scale. Now, I am wondering if the smaller shoes might have been mule shoes.

I suspect some equestrian member of the forum will enlighten us on the topic. I look forward to learning more.

 

[DeepSeaDan]

That's a great idea. I've seen that barkeepers friend on the shelf I'll grab it.

Any thoughts on these thickly rusted horseshoes? Watched a lot of YouTube in the past 2 days on it and seems like a few weeks in "evapo-rust" would get it done but definitely interested in other options

If there's enough meat left - sandblast, then rustloeum paint in your fave colour. Or, take a wire-wheel to it, then paint.