Spring Finds #9 2016

Last weekend (it's probably later than that now) will go down as “yard sale madness” weekend. I went two two yard sales that both had a large quantity of bottles, and the finds were exceptional! First up was a pair of W.N. Orcutt Apothecary Woonsocket, RI meds. Orcutt bottles are very rare, and to find two together? Most impressive!

Next up was another very rare Doctor Bannon's Red Root Balsam. This Westerly bottle comes in a small and large size, but this example is an unlisted midsize!

After hitting the yard sales, I went to an auction in Foster. There were two lots of bottles, and you could guess which one I wanted. That would be the one with a box full of very dusty Rhode Island sodas. Among them was a H. Frank Providence, RI. The address was different than the listed example, so now it is my 6^th Frank bottle.

(picture coming)

A few months ago I was at an auction in East Greenwich. There were four lots of seltzer bottles, and three of them had bottles I wanted. Well, I lost all of them, but kept tabs on who won them. One was a lady who owned an antique shop. Her initial price of $50 each was far too high for me, so I waited. It took a few months, but she finally lowered the price to what I had originally offered. The first seltzer was a B. Weinbaum & Sons Bottling Co. Providence.

The other seltzer was a sided Bell Bottling Co. Providence, RI. I have a round one, and this example makes a great pair!

Spring Finds #8 2016

A RI collector recently purchased a bunch of blob sodas found in an attic. Among them was an Eagle Bottling Co. Providence, RI. They are one of the harder blobs to find, and this unlisted example was a nice surprise.

The same collector also had a Property Providence Bottling Co. Providence, RI blob. While these bottles are typically common as dirt, this one was an exception! Most notable is the very faint but distinct embossed eagle on the small slugplate on the neck of the bottle.

The Little Rhody tailgate show was a smashing success when it came to finding RI bottles. Among the haul was a John J. Hogan Pawtucket, RI etched wine. The only known Hogan bottle is an etched blob, so it appears he was fairly consistent!

The first trip to Brimfield this year was a success! Granted I didn't make any earth-shattering discoveries, I left with a full backpack, which is a good sign. I got one potentially RI/potentially unlisted RI bottle embossed Wood. Vague, right? Well, I have three good reasons to suspect it's a RI bottle. First, the name Wood is found on two RI medicines. Second, the seller of the bottle was from Pawtucket, RI. And lastly, the Wood medicines from Watchemoket, RI are all the same shape, round with a flat front panel. I can't prove it unless someone miraculously fetches a labeled example, but for now it's a pretty good contender!

I grabbed a slightly beat up Earnshaw Drug Co. East Greenwich, RI ath the last Coventry, CT bottle show. I expected it to be a double, but when I measured it, behold! It was my 4^th size of this rather hard to find druggist bottle. It was a surprise that was most welcome!