Winter Finds #3 2026

 A friend was doing some mudlarking and found a G.A. Wagner Berkeley, RI blob top. I was pretty excited because I was looking for the oval slugplate version. It turns out this was a second variant of the oval slug style! What are the odds?

Another friend of mine spotted a Dr. A.Z. Falcon Central Falls, RI medicine at a local show. I have heard of this pharmacist but never knew he had a bottle!

The same friend also picked up a trio of Alex McGunagle Central Falls, RI medicines. While listed, these three sizes were not!

I went to look at a diggers collection, and unfortunately it was nothing remarkable. I did notice one blob that is typically common was different! It was a Roger Williams Bottling Co. Park Place Cranston, RI. Only there is no Park Place, it is Park Ave! Research confirmed the name was never different. What a strange error!

A second spring marsh dig turned up a Colaluca Bottling Co. Providence, RI damaged crown top. This was a heartbreaker as I have never seen this variant before.

 

Winter Finds #2 2026

 I might have gotten a little cabin fever, and to be honest my friends did too. We trekked out to a milk bottle dump from the 1930s and spent over an hour punching a hole in the frost. As I neared the top of the hole most of the bottles were thrown in, I hit a pocket of blown bottles. I was surprised but also encouraged. I saw a whiskey pop out and my jaw dropped when I saw it was embossed Westside Wine Co. Frank Pfeffer & Co. Providence, RI! Frank Pfeffer was a professional baseball player, and I have a matching shot glass to go with this amazing whiskey.

A friend spotted an American Bottling Co. 27 Mathewson St. Providence, RI blob and picked it up for me. The Mathewson St. examples are the oldest and rather scarce compared to the other common variants. This one turned out to be unlisted!

While working on my upcoming book I compared to different S.H. Farnham Pharmacist Wickford, RI bottles. I noticed this older example had a period instead of a comma after Wickford. A nice little bonus variant!

I reached out to my mentor to get a height of his mega sized Enoch W. Vars Niantic, RI pharmacy bottle, and to my shock he ended up giving it to me as a gift! This is definitely the crown jewel of my Vars collection, and I'll always remember his generosity when I see it.

A random email asked me if I was interested in a Silas G. Wright Accuracy Wakefield, RI pharmacy bottle. My response was an empathetic yes! This was one of my most wanted local pharmacy bottles, and I was thrilled to add it to the collection.

Winter Finds #1 2026

 

A friend walked in to where I work and carried in a soda crate full of seltzer bottles! Apparently they were on the side of the road for free. Among the finds was a B. Weinbaum & Sons Providence, RI double etch. I'm not exactly sure how this happened, but possibly from the bottle being rotated while wrapped in the sandblasting metal trace mold.

A chilly marsh dig turned up a damaged Puritan Bottling Co. Providence, RI. I have a bunch of variants from this company, and they just seem to keep coming!

Also from the marsh was a scarce Ruhland & Co. Cranston, RI blob. It turned out to be the same as a crown top version I had, only with a blob top!

I spotted a group of smaller perfume bottles on ebay. Among many common names was a Caswell Massey & Co. New York & Newport. While also a common name, I have never seen a small perfume shaped example!

At the Somers CT bottle show I picked up a D. Miller & Co. Wine Merchants Olneyvvill Sq Prov. RI blob. The embossing is definitely an odd choice, and unlisted!

 

Fall Finds #3 2025

 A friend recently found a G.E. Greene Pure Drugs Wyoming, RI pharmacy bottle. These are extremely rare to begin with, but this one was square with a mortar and pestle, making it a new bottle! I was excited and bummed until another friend of mine showed me one he dug! I was able to trade him for it.

An estate sale in Cranston turned up a T.M. Morris Bristol, RI soda. I was almost positive it was going to be a double until I checked (as I have learned to do).

A friend who owns an old house in Johnston invited me over to look at some bottles that were in his house when he moved it. There were hundreds, and while most were unremarkable, I did find a T. Roswell Parker Olneyville, RI. This is a tough Olneyville med, and it was a new size!

While digging in a local 1930s dump, I was rather shocked when I saw a blown pharmacy bottle base sticking out. I was even more surprised when I saw it was embossed O'Hare's Pharmacy E.J. Gallagher Providence, RI! At 4-3/4” this is was a new size as well.

I was looking through the discard pile at a friend's dump when I spotted a shoulder embossed Sullivan Bros. Providence, RI crown top. It was the first shoulder embossed version from the Sullivan Bros that I've seen!

 

Fall Finds #2 2025

Also from the pharmacy bottle collection was a small Blanding Druggist Providence med. This is a nice earlier example!

Perhaps my favorite find was a Sterrat & Johnson Arctic Centre, RI med. I found a smaller size years ago, and this 4" example now joins it.

An online ad for some bottles looked promising, and sure enough it contained a Moritz H. Meyer Providence, RI blob. I have an example in amber that is also very rare.

A collection of dug bottles from a recently passed professor contained some interesting finds. Among them was a massive 9-1/2" Purogen. This 32oz bottle is one of the largest medicine style bottles from RI, and currently one of two known!

A friend of mine found an old dairy farm dump. While most of the bottles dated to the 1930s-40s, I found a nice late throw German Seltzer Co. Providence, RI crown top. It was a different size and embossing variant than the other smaller size I have!

 

Fall Finds #1 2025

 A friend recently dug a neat medicine embossed McAllister's Syrup of Violets. I wasn't able to find any info on it. However, when we went digging together I found one too and wanted to crack the mystery even more. Persistence paid off, and I found out that it was indeed from RI! It was likely from Lonsdale or Central Falls, RI.

A marsh dig turned up a Kerona Co. Central Falls, RI green quart. These are usually embossed "Old English", but this was probably an earlier variant!

A friend recently purchased a large collection of New England pharmacy bottles. I bought most of them including a few from RI. Among them was a Barbours 18 Broad St. Westerly, RI. This pharmacy has more variants than any other Westerly druggist, and this was a different one!

An A.W. Fenner Jr. Providence, RI was also a new variant.

A scarcer cursive style Otis Clapp & Son Inc. was an unlisted size at 5".

 

Summer Finds 2025 #3

 A recent club meeting produced an A.W. Howe Broad St. Providence, RI pharmacy, a nice variant for the collection!

I spotted a collapsing abandoned barn, and inside was a basket full of bottles! Most were common, but T.E. Hickey & Co. Providence, RI blob turned out to be a new variant. I have the exact same bottle but with a crown top.

In a group of bottles listed online I spied a Standard Bottling Co. Pawtucket, RI narrow blob top. I have seen narrow (aka Aetna style) crown tops from Standard, but not a blob! These have always been one of my favorite styles.

A friend found a farm dump that produced a few milks and a Morris Bros. Bristol, RI ABM crown top. It was a variant I had only seen pieces of, so despite the damage it was an improvement!

Another friend found a Mt. Hope Distilling Co. Providence, RI aqua blob in a river. While common, I know there are a lot of variants, so I looked closely and saw that it was ABM, making it a new variant.