New to this but need help...I have a huge 40 yr-old collection!

[RED Matthews]

Hello Richard, I have sent you some material to read over to decide whether your bottles have value or should be recycled. There are a lot of them that will have some interest to collectors and a lot of them that are best suited recycled. I realize that - that is a tough pill to take down but I got the same reading from other posts on this thread of thoughts.
I have collected and studied glass making, and (worked in the glass industry for about 40 years) for a total of about 76 years at this point. That is my track record of learning about glass making. I probably have seven hundred collected specimen pieces of glass work and a library of over a hundred books I have read on glass making history. So I have taken the liberty of giving you my two cents. RED Matthews

 

[frozenmonkeyface]

I am new at collecting as well, but I will tell you, these guys (and gals) know their stuff! Whatever they tell you I would trust! They will tell you if they don't know so you don't have to worry about them pulling your chain! Red has SO much info! He is a great help!

Good luck! I hope you have some that are worth some big bucks! =)

-Wendy

 

[OSUChE]

Thanks everyone for your valuable advice!

@Red: Did receive the email and found it very helpful and informative. Bet you've seen a few bottles in your day!

I should point out that what I pulled from storage may not be representative of what's there...only the first ones on the top of the crate. Since they are all individually wrapped in pages of the Medford Mail Tribune, (cir. 1983) and even a few still in the pages from The Prescott Courier (cir. 1970's), unwrapping them is a bit like x-mas...

@Jay: Some of those treasures you mentioned might be in there...we'll see!

Now I have a better idea as to how to go about paring down the load and moving on...

I'll update this post as I move along.

Thanks once again!

Rick

 

[tangomango]

Hey - Know what, they may not have much monetary value, but on the other hand people collect for all sorts of reasons. I pick up a bottle and cannot help but think who touched this, used it, bought it, where has it been all the years and all the events this bottle has existed through. Yea, I may have a few that are worth a few $$ (maybe) but to me the joy of the bottle is not associated with its monitary value. Well, sounds like your not going to be able to retire on the bottle collection (so sorry), but they're still pretty "COOL". I would take em in a "Skinny Minute" if we were closer. Good Luck . . . sure someone will love to add them to their collection.

 

[MisterSilverSearcher]

If you have any West Virginia Sodas I'll buy them.

 

[OSUChE]

Well I took a while...but I went through, hand washed, semi-sorted and photoed the five boxes of bottles. Sure are some pretty ones in there and most are in remarkable condition! Shamefully, I chipped one of the nicer ones with - of all things - a tooth brush; a tiny pontiled stamped medicine []. From what I could research, it was rather scarce....

My favorites are the two Brisley Drug Co bottles from my hometown of Prescott. They are in perfect shape. I could only find a bit of history about them here:

2. HARRY BRISLEY BURKE HOTEL BLD'G
PRESCOTT, A.T. [Fig. 2] Another very rare territorial marked bottle with some nice fancy lettering.
Harry Brisley came to Prescott from Tempe in 1890 and became a partner at Dr. Robert Robinson's drugstore. In 1893 Brisley became sole owner of the then Mountain City Drugstore. A second store was opened in Jerome, Arizona the following year and in 1895 Brisley moved his Prescott store into the Burke Hotel. In 1899 a further move occurred with the purchase of the old Corner Drugstore. This store as well as most of the town's business district was destroyed in 1900 in a great fire. Brisley soon rebuilt and continued to run his store until 1925.

Another favorite (there are many) are the two purple ink(?) bottle lids; one has the 'N' in 'NY' reversed!

@MisterSilverSearcher: I do have 25+ pop bottles, some very old but all now belonging to my daughter...they are from Flagstaff, Phoenix,. Prescott, and quite a few from Mexico. The closest to your location is one from Corpus Christi TX...sorry.

@tangomango: I agree[]: They're all wonderful bottles close to my heart as I can recall where some were found in my travels 'round the mountains and deserts of AZ on my old trail bike. The original plan was to build a home with a window dedicated for displaying these beauties someday...but...well, that's another story...

Have fun perusing the hundreds of photos I sure there's something you'd all enjoy seeing and some "recyclables" as well.

Thanks for your valued opinions!

Rick

 

[OSUChE]

PS: The Brisley photos are still uploading[]

 

[zecritr]

So that's were i lost my JD bottle LOl Lots of Very Cool jars in There.thanks for posting them,still enjoying looking through them

 

[zecritr]

Bottles lol

 

[OSUChE]

Yeah, that JD miniature is cool. I think the 'Bottled for American Airlines" is nice too!