Saratoga Bottle Show Experience (June 4th 2023)

[UnderMiner]

Had a great day at the Saratoga Bottle Show in Ballston Spa N.Y. today!

I learned so much about bottles and history. I even figured out the identity of my only stoneware ginger beer bottle. A nice guy named Dave helped me out with a reference book and revealed my stone bottle was produced for Alexander & William Feyh in NYC in about 1859, so cool!

I bought "a few" bottles while I was there too, but nothing fancy, these are the first antique bottles I have ever bought. I kept my purchases in the $5-$10 range since I don't consider myself advanced enough to discern the difference between a $100 and $1,000 bottle. The people all seemed quite honest and integral though, and I'm sure there were some good deals to be had in the $100+ range. For example a freshly dug 1810-20's open pontil case gin asking just $100, I was tempted, but didn't trust my own experience enough for such a purchase, may have gotten a good deal if haggled down a bit.

This is my favorite purchase from the exposition, an 1873 Hennessy and Nolan from Albany. Just $10:

And here's what I assume to be a barn-salvaged bottle, also from Albany, by a company called Hoxsie. It's dirty but not broken, still with contents too!:

This is an 1895 Rice Brothers from Pittsfield Massachusetts:

And here is jist about everything I purchased:

So thankful for everyone who came to this show and shared their stories and experiences with me, you are all truly an interesting bunch. Hope to see you all again soon! -U.M.

 

[Cola-Coca]

Nice selections!

 

[Roy]

Had a great day at the Saratoga Bottle Show in Ballston Spa N.Y. today!
View attachment 247267
I learned so much about bottles and history. I even figured out the identity of my only stoneware ginger beer bottle. A nice guy named Dave helped me out with a reference book and revealed my stone bottle was produced for Alexander & William Feyh in NYC in about 1859, so cool!
View attachment 247266
View attachment 247268

I bought "a few" bottles while I was there too, but nothing fancy, these are the first antique bottles I have ever bought. I kept my purchases in the $5-$10 range since I don't consider myself advanced enough to discern the difference between a $100 and $1,000 bottle. The people all seemed quite honest and integral though, and I'm sure there were some good deals to be had in the $100+ range. For example a freshly dug 1810-20's open pontil case gin asking just $100, I was tempted, but didn't trust my own experience enough for such a purchase, may have gotten a good deal if haggled down a bit.

This is my favorite purchase from the exposition, an 1873 Hennessy and Nolan from Albany. Just $10:
View attachment 247269

And here's what I assume to be a barn-salvaged bottle, also from Albany, by a company called Hoxsie. It's dirty but not broken, still with contents too!:
View attachment 247270

This is an 1895 Rice Brothers from Pittsfield Massachusetts:
View attachment 247271

And here is jist about everything I purchased:
View attachment 247272

So thankful for everyone who came to this show and shared their stories and experiences with me, you are all truly an interesting bunch. Hope to see you all again soon! -U.M.

Nice choices, I looked at at least three of the bottles that you picked up and almost bought them.
I only bought two that day. It seemed to me most of the bottles were priced a little higher than last year but then maybe I am just looking at the more expensive ones as my taste in bottles keeps evolving. At least one dealer I know has pretty much doubled his prices and I razzed him about it.
I was there at 8:00 until about 10:30.
If you were there then we might have been standing right next to each other some of the time.
I was particularly looking for one of those ( COMMON ) ,,, JOHN T. DALY bottles just to get a price but I saw none.
Maybe next year.

Roy

 

[UnderMiner]

Nice choices, I looked at at least three of the bottles that you picked up and almost bought them.
I only bought two that day. It seemed to me most of the bottles were priced a little higher than last year but then maybe I am just looking at the more expensive ones as my taste in bottles keeps evolving. At least one dealer I know has pretty much doubled his prices and I razzed him about it.
I was there at 8:00 until about 10:30.
If you were there then we might have been standing right next to each other some of the time.
I was particularly looking for one of those ( COMMON ) ,,, JOHN T. DALY bottles just to get a price but I saw none.
Maybe next year.

Roy

I recall someone blabbing on about wanting John T. Daly bottles, no doubt it was you. I was there from 9:45-2:00 and didn't even find my way into the second building until around 12:00.

As for pricing at the show I was honestly suprized at just how flexible many of the dealers were. One bottle marked $30 (the 1873 Hennessy and Nolan) another $15 (the demijohn) , managed to buy them together for $20 total, this was around 2pm so easier to get good deals at the end when people are packing up.

Cost me $75 in gas, tolls, and 7+ hours driving, just to go see some bottles people threw in the trash years ago. But it's so much fun!

 

[Roy]

I recall someone blabbing on about wanting John T. Daly bottles, no doubt it was you. I was there from 9:45-2:00 and didn't even find my way into the second building until around 12:00.

As for pricing at the show I was honestly suprized at just how flexible many of the dealers were. One bottle marked $30 (the 1873 Hennessy and Nolan) another $15 (the demijohn) , managed to buy them together for $20 total, this was around 2pm so easier to get good deals at the end when people are packing up.

Cost me $75 in gas, tolls, and 7+ hours driving, just to go see some bottles people threw in the trash years ago. But it's so much fun!

So sorry to disappoint you, but I never said a word to anyone about the DALY bottles while I was at the show. Maybe someone else read about my questions on this forum was also looking for a DALY bottle. I have been to quite a few bottle shows in the last couple of years and haven't seen one yet. I was fairly certain I wouldn't see one at the Saratoga show before I went.

Most of the dealers will come down some on their prices even in the early morning but they definitely do want to make a deal later in the day.

I like to get there early because I have missed a few good deals by just a couple of minutes.

I don't mind paying the early fee since it helps support the bottle museum in Ballston Spa, which I visited again after the show.
All in all, another great show.

Roy

 

[hemihampton]

7 Hours sounds like a long drive. 3 bottles show near me range anywhere from a 10 minute drive to a hour drive. Luckily. LEON.

 

[Roy]

7 Hours sounds like a long drive. 3 bottles show near me range anywhere from a 10 minute drive to a hour drive. Luckily. LEON.

This one was 2 hours 15 minutes for me, and no tolls.
2 and 1/2 hours is about all I want to drive. Roy