While former RI bottle collector extraordinaire Al Otis no longer collects bottles, he still has his
game! He spotted a construction site in Cumberland with bottles
lying all over the place. Needless to say it was a field day! A
mega crier Paterson Bros. & Co. Valley Falls, RI medicine
was still fun to find. This 8” behemoth has different embossing
than the listed Paterson bottles.
Another exciting find was my first P.J.
Gaskin Valley Falls, RI medicine. Well, make that two! I found
the listed 3-1/2” size, as well as an unlisted 6” size.
Perhapst the biggest surprise in the
dump was a completely unlisted Redman & Sands Pawtucket, RI
medicine. Shaped like a common Fletcher's Castoria, it gave me
quite the surprise when I read the embossing!
The last bottle from the mega blob
collection is one of the best! It's a McManus & Meade
Nasonville, RI amber blob! Now McManus & Meade amber crown
tops are pretty common, but blobs? This is the first one I've seen!
There is a McManus blob listed, but it says Western Hotel on it,
which this one does not.
One of the most common RI medicine
bottles around is the famous Dr. Hayne's Arabian Balsam
Providence. If it wasn't for their appealing 12-sided shape I
would have grown sick of them a long time ago. All of the handmade
examples (except for a large size) are aqua, so when I saw a clear
one it was certainly a surprise!
