A Powell & Stutenroth “Favorite Bitters” bottle, one of only a few known and graded 9.7 out of 10 for condition, soared to $64,960 at the 50th Internet and catalog sale conducted by American Bottle Auctions. The bottle was the top lot of the more than 300 rare and vintage bottles sold. Most dated from the mid- to late Nineteenth Century. The auction went online May 24 and concluded June 1. Internet bidding was brisk all week.
“Overall, the sale was a success, but, as any auctioneer will tell you, auctions are a scary thing,” said Jeff Wichmann of American Bottle Auctions. “You’re only as good as your last sale. For example, we sold a Lediard’s Celebrated Bitters bottle in this auction for $1,500, but the last time we offered one, it went for more than $5,000. And we couldn’t give away inks and pickle jars.”
Overall, however, the successes far outweighed the disappointments. The Powell & Stutenroth bottle was a good example, sailing past its high estimate of $20,000 to hammer for more than three times that figure. The bottle, a precursor to the later “People’s Favorite Bitters,” still had the original cork (albeit with a hole punched through). But overall it was nearly perfect.
The auction featured bitters, fruit jars, medicines, historical and Western flasks, Western whiskeys, sodas and more.
A Bryant’s Stomach Bitters (B-242) cone bottle, the best whole one of several that were recently unearthed in Sacramento, sold for $40,320. Bryant’s is considered by some to be the top Western bitters bottle. This example, a brilliant emerald green, was restored by Marty Hall, but even close examination belies it was repaired. This bottle was made in the East, sold in the West.
A W&B Shasta Superior Mineral Water bottle (Union Glassworks, Philadelphia) brought $15,680. With original closure and all-original graphite pontil, the bottle showed just a slight amount of wear and had obviously never been in the ground. Shasta bottles are considered by collectors as one of the top Western sodas, if not the top. This example boasted a grading of 9.
A Washington/Bridgeton (N.J.) bottle with sheared lip and pontil and having a very rare tobacco amber coloration coasted to $9,520. The bottle was a brilliant example, graded 9.7 and having overall good crudity and character. Only the slightest amount of wear †not even as much as a few light scratches †kept this bottle from scoring a 10.
A pair of bottles fetched identical prices of $7,840. One was an Old Bourbon Castle Whiskey flask (F. Chevalier & Co., Sole Agents), one of only a dozen or so known and having an applied single roll collar, a very drippy top and a light to medium amber coloration. Castle Whiskey flasks, made from 1870 to 1875, are highly desired by collectors. This one was graded 9.4.
The other $7,840 bottle was a London Jockey Clubhouse Gin specimen with embossed horse and rider, applied top and smooth base. The bottle is one of only two ever seen with a gorgeous almond yellow, wheat and straw color combination. It was absolutely loaded with bubbles and was not pontiled. With a great aura and very little wear, the bottle was graded 9.6.
A Choice Old Cabinet Kentucky Bourbon bottle, a mainstay of the Western whiskey world, topped out at $5,376. The bottle, with embossed crown and applied top (Barnett-158), was superb, with light whittle and strong strike. It did, however, have a quarter-inch hairline crack in the left shoulder and a 3/8-inch flat chip in the top, resulting in a price-lowering grade of 8.3.
A very early Wister’s Club House Bottle, with applied top, graphite pontil and a rare coloration that can only be described as apricot orange and pink, rose to $4,704. Wister’s bottles were made from 1851 to 1855 and sold only in the West, specifically northeast of Sacramento. This one had all the original graphite intact and was loaded with crudity. It was graded highly, at 9.5.
Rounding out the top lots, a Pearson Brothers hutch (or gravitating stopper-style) bottle, a relic of the once-bustling but now ghost town of Bodie, Calif., breezed to $2,912. This particular bottle is probably the most desirable of any known Bodie bottle, and only the second one seen in as many years by American Bottle Auctions. With barely a visible scratch, it had a grade of 9.8.
All prices quoted include a 12 percent buyer’s premium. For information, 800-806-7722 or www.AmericanBottle.com .
