Early 2024 Finds #1

 I was cleaning up some bottles from the mega-dump and found a damaged Narragansett Brewing Co. Providence, RI beer. I was surprised to see that it was an error bottle with Registered spelled Registerd!

A walk down a secret river spot of mine turned up a seemingly common Warwick Club Ginger Ale Co. green quart. I took it home because the green ones sell and surprise! It was a new variant!

Once my brain started turning on the last bottle I snagged a Warwick Club Ginger Ale Co. clear quart I had left at another dump. Sure enough that one was a new variant too!

A trip to a very familiar dump turned up very little, but I did find a Mt. Hope Distilling Co. Providence, RI crown top. I was surprised because it was a much different shape than all the other Mt. Hopes I've seen!

Another river walk produced an A.H. Williams & Co. Pine St. Prov. RI etched blob. I like the etched ones, and when they are super obscure companies that is even better!

 

Winter Finds #4 2023

 Back at the “cellar hole dump” I found a stellar whiskey! It is embossed The Shepard Company. Yes, the famous department store! Previously they were known to have stoneware jugs, milk and cream bottles, and perfumes. Now add whiskey to the list! It's a nice impressive quart size, and the color and glass stopper just makes it better!

A rare style Caproni Bros. Co. Atwells Ave. Providence, RI blob came out in tough shape. I like these sloping shoulder variants which I suspect to be ginger ales.

I made it back to my favorite river and found a familiar N. Cappelli Providence, RI blob top. Color me surprised again because it was a new variant! Just when you think you've seen them all.

Another one I was pretty certain I had a was a shoulder embossed. American Bottling Corp. Prov. RI. It was BIM, and most examples I have are ABM.

Back at the cellar dump my friend Maia dug a D. & C. half pint flask. She was kind enough to gift it to me, and the Dodge & Camfield family grows!

Winter Finds #3 2023

 Back at an newish spot a friend found, I dug a United Mineral Water Co. Providence, RI. This is the first example known with an address, and the earliest known United Mineral Water bottle!

 

Lightning stuck twice with yet another ABM Sullivan Bros. Providence, RI crown top. And yes, it is different than the last one! Where have these ABM Sullivan Bros. been for the last 24 years?

A common looking James Lavell Providence, RI blob turned out to be a new variant.

This McKenna & Conaty Providence, RI crown top looked like a new variant, and sure enough it was! Shame about the damage.

This dump largely dates to the mid-later 1910s so pharmacies are scarce. I did find a James O'Hare Providence, RI. At 6-3/4”, it is my largest size yet and an unlisted one too!

 

Winter Finds #2 2023

My second dig at the Providence spot yielded a bunch of pharmacy bottles. My buddy dug most of them which he traded to me. The first was a G.E.B. Fairbanks Providence, RI. This one has an address of 394 Wickenden St. making it unlisted.

An early D. & C. (Dodge & Camfield) pint with a double collar lip was next up. I've found so many of these in the last 3 years that I shouldn't be surprised, but the number of variants is still impressive.

My friend dug a nice Wm. H. Hinds Providence, RI in clear, which was a new variant.

Shortly afterwards he dug an even better Wm. H. Hinds Providence, RI in aqua! It was similar to the broken one I dug recently but the embossing was different. Much to my disappointment this bottle decided to pop a large stress crack after cleaning. Again, something that rarely happens to me but maybe 20 bottles over 25 years? Of course it seems to go after the good ones.

A solo and final return trip to the dump yielded another G.E.B. Fairbanks Providence, RI. This one has an address of 300 Wickenden St., which was also a new address!

 

Winter Finds 2023 #1

 At the “local” dump, a visiting friend dug a Thomas J. Bannon Westerly & Watch Hill, RI pharmacy which he traded to me. At 5-1/2”, it's an unlisted size!

I proceeded to dig a mega crier, a S.G. Wright Druggist Wakefield, RI with an embossed fan! If this wasn't damaged it would have made my month. Hopefully there's another one there!

Back in Providence a quickly changing construction site offered an exciting week of digging. The dump had been covered by a parking lot for years which made the ash rock hard at times.  A William H. Hinds 97 Governor St. Providence, RI was sadly introduced to the full force of my rake first. That makes 5 bottles in 25 years I've broken by accident. It always sucks but breaking one bottle every 5 years isn't too bad.

An ABM Sullivan Bros. Providence, RI was an unexpected find. I have an ABM blob, but this crown top was surprisingly a first for me.

The best find of the Providence dump was a James Brown Providence, RI pharmacy. It's hard to beat the thrill of digging a completely unknown RI bottle! Each one is special.

 

Fall Finds #4 2023

 After finding a pile of the common style Lorah, the scarcer version surfaced! A J.R. Lorah & Co. Dispensing Chemists Newport, RI was my second size at 3-1/2”.  While somewhat melted, it's still in one piece with no cracks!

I've dug a couple Narragansett Brewing Co. Famous Lager & Ale Providence, RI at this dump, but finally found a new variant! This one has a period instead of a comma after Providence.

I saw a very overpriced T.J. Lyon Bulls Wharf Newport, RI blob on ebay. I decided it wouldn't hurt to make an offer and it was accepted! Turns out the seller was a retired police officer who was assigned to downtown Newport when it was getting redeveloped in the 1970s. He said there were bottles everywhere!

 

I started digging a dump I haven't been to in 10 years because I wasn't able to secure permission. It was loaded with local bottles, so when I finally got permission from the new owner, the air was full of anticipation! My first new find was a 4” W.C. Clarke Druggist Narragansett Pier, RI. A new size for me and the book!

Next up was a 5-1/2” J. Attmore Wright PhG Wakefield, RI. Listed in a smaller size, this was a new larger one!

 

Fall Finds #3 2023

 The best surprise from visiting my old friend came after some research! I picked up a bottle embossed Clark's Domestic Cleansing Fluid because it looked older and neat. I was amazed to discover that it was a RI bottle! What a nice surprise.

Back at the dump a clear 5-3/4 J.R. Lorah & Co. Newport was added to the family. I must be nearing all the sizes now!

An antique shop produced an Edwards Drugs Pascoag, RI. I thought I had one, but at 3-1/2” it was a new size!

The next dump dig turned up a 5-3/4” J.R. Lorah & Co. Newport in amber! At this rate there may be one amber version for every clear size!

After a lull in antique shops, I found another nice medicine! This W.C. Fuller Druggist Providence, RI was unlisted.