Every 5-10 years, a really
special RI bottle surfaces. When I saw an unlisted pontiled bottle embossed
Mineral Waters Providence, RI ICW
show up on ebay, I got a pretty good dose of adreanaline! Pontiled
RI sodas (or mineral waters) are pretty hard to come by. They are
also well documented, so it's very exciting for a brand new one to
show up. It took me some time, but I was able to match the initials
to an Isaac C. Williston, a bottler in the 1850s. The owner had
second thoughts about selling it, and pulled the listing, but after
messaging him, we were able to settle on a price. It is now one of
the most important RI bottles in my collection!
Speaking of special bottles, you could
imagine my surprise when someone posted a recently dug Ashworth &
Jackson XCLR Mineral Waters Lonsdale, RI
Codd on Facebook! Despite missing the top, it was the second best
known example. Even more surprising is that it was different than
the one I have! Is has A & J embossed on the base. I was able
to buy it from the person who dug it, and now have a total of four
different RI Codd bottles.
That same digger also had another
exciting bottle embossed F.W. Westcott Fine Perfumes Pawtucket,
RI. Perfumer bottles from RI are few and far between, and this
one was no exception!
Also found at the city dump from the
last post was a beautiful John E. Potter Providence, RI
medicine. While a few of Mr. Potters bottles are listed, this one
had all the embossing in a fancy ribbon.
One of the criers from the dig was a
damaged John Metzger Apothecary Providence, RI. There is only
one listed Metzger bottle, and it's not this one!
