Payment For Labor:

[Robby Raccoon]

I got these bottles [the paver-blocks are my own and make good platforms for photography-- my iconic red picnic-table some of you may recall will no longer be used] as payment for several days of labor:

The first bottle is a Michigan Maid from '46. He gave it to me because I had found only 1/3rd of this Dr. Pepper-owned product one day in the dunes. The second bottle should ignite more excitement among local collectors. He likes to have only one of a bottle instead of owning identicals, so he gave me this damaged one as his undamaged one was on display:

Here's why it is an exciting bottle beyond that Jepson was here from 1875 to 1886 and based out of an Opera House (being burned out thrice, tooIt's an Error-Bottle: It should be A. G. Jepson and not R. G. Jepson. Base is unmarked. Mouth is chipped. This next bottle I have been looking for for a few years now-- the first antique bottle-shard I found had been to one of this size (this bottle comes in two sizes,) shade, embossing, and it was also made by Root. It's how I learned about my favorite company to collect now: Muskegon Brewing Company.

This one is a crude tooled-crown circa-1901 and has so many bubbles-- many looking like scars-- in it. It had been tumbled. Here's a solid amber-colored Muskegon Brg Co. bottle that I thought came only in blob for this style. Also Root-made, this nice tooled-crown had been outside for 10 years covered in grass and surrounded by the gravel of his driveway. I, in helping him with stuff, found bottles he dumped and left there one day a decade in the past. We pulled out quite a few. My blob-version is S. B. & G. Co.-made and is BR'G not BRG. The back.

Here is one very exciting one to me: I've been searching for about a year and have found where all but one seemed to have ended up: Michigan Bottling Co. of Muskegon has a likely-complete collection of variations now found about one main-road away from me. I had thought that this company would have more than 2 different bottles as it was around from 1889 to 1901, but I could never find anything on the company let alone its bottles until just the other day. Now I have found 5 different bottles. They even had a very early tooled-crown.

The Baltimore Loop-Seal seemed to have been preferred by this company, but this is the crudest "Balto"-top that I have ever seen. It gives some indication of having been applied, but that's very unlikely due to that it was made in a more modern era (1880s-1890s.)Base and heel are unmarked.

A Hutter stopper that I found in his driveway and commented on. He gave me it too.As I cleaned it-- you can see that it was very dirty.

 

[botlguy]

Nice presentation as usual Bear.

 

[Robby Raccoon]

Thanks, Jim. ???????????????•??•??????????

 

[andy volkerts]

nice gets Bear! The Jepson drug bottle is kinda rare, at least that is what somebody on here a while back stated, but for the life of me I cannot remember who it was. 9Sigh) just getting old I guess..........Andy

 

[Robby Raccoon]

Thanks. I'm not finding any results on it here, Andy. [>:] Are you sure it was a Muskegon Druggist by the name of Jepson? Before I came on here, there didn't seem to be any Muskegon druggists up on the forum (and very few online in general.) They hardly pop up even in shows. One day a man brings a handful to the bottle-club for cheap liquidation. I got all but one that he had.I found one in an antique store. And now I got one pulled out of the truck of the man that I did work for. My photographs turned out terribly due to operator-error, glare, lighting, and being just so overwhelmed, but... Here's the collection of the man who gave me these bottles:https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/105829219381567141804/albums/6182616455805704785 There are a few different Jepson's in there. These are most of his druggists barring repeats and a few more shelves:

At least I figured out where they all went. A number of them are very rare-- I don't know the commonality of this Jepson bottle, but it's only this make of bottle with the error.

 

[andy volkerts]

Geez Bear, It was back when the forums were the old blue pages, I know everything didn't make it thru the change to the current iteration. The only reason I recall the post is I have a buddy in the bay area named Dan Jepson spelled with an o not e just like your bottle...............Andy..........but he was from Iowa, but, the bottle looked like yours, but, maybe not Muskegon

 

[andy volkerts]

not to change the subject, but those are KILLER bricks especially the one on the left which is more of a stone, the brick collectors would love those...........Andy

 

[Robby Raccoon]

I hear about the 'old forum,' but it's an enigma to me. Does anyone have a photograph of what it used to look like? I'm not sure about Iowa, but Michigan has a lot of places with Bay in the name... On my threads, change topic as much as you want so long as my questions get answered. ---- You mean the paver-blocks?I pull the paver-blocks off Muskegon Avenue for the most part. Currently, it looks worse than what it would have before pavers were laid down: Totally torn up, huge holes, mounds of dirt, etc. Here are some of my favorites:

^ Not pulled off of Muskegon Avenue ^ 1905 - 1925 for those 3.

^ 2 of like 25 that I've pulled off of Muskegon Avenue. ^What I like about this Metropolitan block is that it is both embossed and debossed-- I just don't see that. Most Metro blocks are debossed. It's my only 'brick' like that. The Nelsonville has some excellent mottled glaze that shows sparkles under bright light. Those are my best examples.... Most end up looking like this:

1890s - 1920 for the others above. Before my bike got smashed, I could bring home 4 at a time in its baskets.Now it's only two at a time in my pack. (They really weigh one down.)I use them to edge the garden, pond, and put a square safety-ring around our fruit-trees to keep those safe from the ravages of a mower. The two I take pics on might at some point end up inside, for I like them so much... Here used to be my turtle's pond, but then he ran away.[] So I abandoned the pond, but you see the blocks around it.

 

[andy volkerts]

Bear. There is a brick collectors site, I found it once on the internet, but I lost the url a while back when my computer screwed up royally. if you could find it they would love some of your pics, maybe even buy some of your bricks if you should decide to sell............Andy

 

[andy volkerts]

International Brick collectors association........they have a search by state, and haave a whole page of Michigan bricks, I noticed a few from Bay City.........Andy