Whiskey BottlesLate 1800s early 1900s

[Greg F]

Looking for any information. Rariety of certain makers. Best ones to purchase to start a collection. I'm new to it so anything information would be great.

Thanks

 

[CanadianBottles]

Welcome to the forum! I don't think that's the sort of question that can really be answered in a forum post. There are thousands upon thousands of whiskey bottles out there. The rarest ones are so rare that you aren't at all likely to ever encounter one (and there are a lot which would fall into this category). For starting a collection I'd suggest to just buy bottles which you like the look of and which don't cost too much. There are no inherently "best" bottles.
Definitely don't pay very much for a Duffy, which is probably the whiskey that you're most likely to come across from that era. Don't pay too much for UK whiskies either, since most can be purchased for very little. They're often beautiful bottles but, at least around here, can frequently be found in the dollar box.
Be careful of bottles with paper labels, because people often put unused labels onto generic bottles and try to sell them for a premium over what the label and bottle would sell for separately. Sometimes they even put fake labels on. A real antique labeled bottle will usually show some obvious signs of wear.
Once you get more familiar with what's out there you'll be able to better recognize the good ones and get a sense for value.

 

[Greg F]

Thanks for the reply! I more or less want to stay on the western whiskey bottles. I have seen some are semi common and don't command a crazy amount. I'm all about the embossed stuff so I dont care about getting anything with paper labels.

If you know a few companies that would be good starters outside the duffy let me know. Thanks!

 

[CanadianBottles]

Thanks for the reply! I more or less want to stay on the western whiskey bottles. I have seen some are semi common and don't command a crazy amount. I'm all about the embossed stuff so I dont care about getting anything with paper labels.

If you know a few companies that would be good starters outside the duffy let me know. Thanks!

That I couldn't tell you, assuming you live out west it's probably best to go to antique stores and bottle shows to see what's out there. Or look on Ebay if you don't mind paying the shipping. Anything you find for a fairly low cost will probably be a good one to start out with, I don't know of any specifically western ones which are so common that you're going to want to avoid them unless they're practically giving them away.

 

[Dogo]

The "Best" old whiskeys are the figurals, but there are so many reproductions that you should stay away from them until you have some experience. Try following the bottle auctions, such as American Bottle Auctions or American Glass Gallery. Pay close attention to the descriptions and follow the bidding. You can do this on line for free. There are several other reliable bottle auctions as well. It is a great collecting category, just keep in mind that American whiskey production stopped with prohibition and did not resume until 1933. From 1933 to 1963 they were required to be marked "Federal Law Prohibits the Sale or Reuse of This Bottle" That is a big help in dating bottles. There were some whiskies produced as medicine during this time, but I don't know how they were sold.

 

[CanadianBottles]

The "Best" old whiskeys are the figurals, but there are so many reproductions that you should stay away from them until you have some experience. Try following the bottle auctions, such as American Bottle Auctions or American Glass Gallery. Pay close attention to the descriptions and follow the bidding. You can do this on line for free. There are several other reliable bottle auctions as well. It is a great collecting category, just keep in mind that American whiskey production stopped with prohibition and did not resume until 1933. From 1933 to 1963 they were required to be marked "Federal Law Prohibits the Sale or Reuse of This Bottle" That is a big help in dating bottles. There were some whiskies produced as medicine during this time, but I don't know how they were sold.

The medicinal whiskeys that I've seen look pretty similar to "Federal Law Prohibits..." bottles, only without that warning. Similar to the Canadian bootleggers' bottles as well. Often highly decorated ABM bottles shaped like an oversized hip flask. I get the sense that even the "medicinal" ones weren't geared exclusively towards medicinal use (I'm not sure what you would even use whiskey for in a medicinal setting).

This is a fairly typical one that I see posted online often:

 

[willong]

(I'm not sure what you would even use whiskey for in a medicinal setting).

I'd say for anxiety relief, albeit temporary. Therefore, it is perhaps surprising that the labels did not include "repeat dosage as required" advise.