Yep, that is the story behind this recently discovered gem. You see the KELLYS OLD CABIN BITTERS around in amber often enough, but not olive green. Darn…wish I had been watching ebay that week, because I would have bid!

Kelly's Bitters, recently liberated from storage

And here is the color:

Woosh! olive green

Group shot of bottles and glass in Heckler auction #88

The highlight of the auction was lot 99 – a GII-69 Eagle Cornucopia in yellow olive with just the perfect coloration. The color simply glows. Bidders agreed and ran the hammer price up to $39,000.

GII-69 Eagle Cornucopia in yellow olive - Lot 99

Lot 36 was eagerly anticipated by New England collectors – the GX-27 Granite Glass Works “Stoddard Flag” closed at $21,000, a price which reflects both the high demand for flasks and the particular interest in this iconic piece of Americana.

Free blown and utility glass was perhaps a bit weak across the board – a group of snuff bottles brought $1500 and a set of nine graduated chestnuts just $2500. Prices realized for these items were not unlike those seen a decade ago, showing that there are at least some good buying opportunities out there.

See the prices realized list at: http://www.hecklerauction.com/Auction88/auction88ppl.html

The auction flyer with color photos:
http://www.hecklerauction.com/Auction88/Auction88web.pdf

Rare Van Vliet jar in amber

Check out this auction yourself at ebay.com

EG Booz Whiskey Bottle

Do you have an original EG Booz bottle? It might just be one of the 31 different reproduction molds documented by Tom Haunton in Tippecanoe and E.G. Booz Too! – A book about cabin bottles Tom’s book (available now only on CD) describes each in detail and the book is richly illustrated throughout. He even went to the effort of assigning a McKearin classification number to each mold.

Search for EG Booz Whiskey bottles on ebay – you can get a good idea what different variants are selling for by examining the auctions, especially by searching completed auction results.

Several bottles appeared on ebay this week described as 18th century “Naval Deck Sweepers” and “Naval Boarding Weapons.” What a lovely and charming story filled with illusions of military battles, gunsmoke, sea journeys and explosives. Most bottle collectors would instantly recognize the freeblown form as what we collectively and quaintly call “Persian Saddle Flasks” or “Mexican tourist trade glass.” No matter what euphemism by which you choose to call them, it is commonly accepted knowledge that such freeblown pieces with exaggerated crudeness in manufacture and intentional ‘coarse’ glass containing significant bubbles and impurities are the work of 20th century glass manufacturers. Such glass has been around for decades, and may have been blown in Mexico, South America, Europe or the mid-East.

While it is not uncommon to find such bottles at any bottle show in the range of $35, it is quite shocking to see that numerous bidders have signed on to the battle and run up the bidding in excess of $500.

P.T. Barnum would not be the least bit surprised.

Update:
Here is another page showing photographs of the Naval deck Sweeper bottles in question.

Benders Bitters rare cabin $4100.

Deep cobalt umbrella ink, mint! $2105

Gibbs Bone Liniment pontiled medicine, don’t see many of these anymore…$2102

Poole’s American Insect Powder, aqua pontiled poison bottle got 39 bids! Closed at $538

Many dealers have been grumbling for several years about lackluster attendance and poor sales….Perhaps this is a sign of a rebound to the economy and the sale of antique bottles at shows in specific? We hope so.

Owners Waring Gates and Bill (sorry, I forget your last name Bill!) are anticipating 4 auctions per year. More information can be found at their web site, http://www.delmarvauctions.com

We’ll be covering upcoming auctions in further detail…

See auction listing