Texas Collectors

[Semar]

I've had two of these; one got broken.
What can you guys tell me about this bottle?
It was obviously commissioned by a periodical; it must have been made at the height of bottle collecting fervor.
Below the Eagle are the words: 'Collector's Weekly' below that: 'Kermit Texas'.
Harry Truman is pictured on the other side with the quote: "The Buck Stops Here." and the dates 1884 1972.
No pontil, just the numbers :BPKGW followed by a triangle.
It has been flashed so it is carnival cobalt glass.
Anybody?

 

[nhpharm]

BPKGW stands for Big Pine Key Glass Works. Collector's Weekly was a newspaper put out for a few years in the early 1970's by Frank Knight of Kermit, Texas. There are something like 13 different molds of these flasks he had made as premiums for the folks that bought his newspapers.

 

[Semar]

Thanks nhpharm!
BPKGW, I wonder if they're still in operation.
Time to fire up the search engine.

 

[nhpharm]

The glassworks closed in 1973 when Lester died in an auto accident sadly.

 

[Semar]

What a shame.

I think I recall seeing a couple of issues of the mag back in the 70's when I did most of my digging .
Life has a way of moving you on to different priorities.
I was unaware of the Western Collector bottles until 10 years or so ago when I found one of these; it got broken; but then I ran across another example of the one that broke and I bought it.