Spring Finds 2023 #3

A friend recently posted a Dr. Flint's Stomach Bitters for sale on Facebook. This is the rarest of the Flints bitters by a mile, and to my amazement it was a totally different version! Mine has the embossing on the front and back panels, and this one was side embossed! While not super showy, finding a significantly different variant of a RI bitters is pretty much unheard of and quite exciting!

Back at the new dump another John M. Callahan Newport, RI med showed up! This one was 4-1/4” making it size number 3.

My friend dug a pharmacy bottle simply marked Cotton. Research showed that William Cotton was a pharmacist in Newport. It is possible the bottle was made after his death in 1900 as his estate continued to operate the pharmacy for a few years.

All this digging of Newport bottles must have willed this one to show itself! A friend had a nice large size Wright & Hay Newport, RI. At 7” it is the largest one known!

The Lorah family continues to grow with a 5” J.R. Lorah & Co. Newport. 

 

Spring Finds 2023 #2

 At the new dump I ran into a giant pile of broken etched wines and sodas. Among them were a few torpedoes embossed Newport Club Soda PF. I had seen one before but was unable to confirm that it was a RI bottle. Dug with a pile of bottles marked Peter Faerber it became quite clear what the PF stands for, and I was able to confirm it was from RI! Sadly they were all broken on purpose but I got a few that were mostly intact. (picture of undug intact example)

Also in the carnage was a P. Faerber Newport, RI etched crown top soda. A neat addition!

Nearby I dug my second The F.L. Powell Pharmacy Newport, RI in a new 5-1/4” size. Again this was the new shape compared to the listed size!

I hit a pocket of Charles M. Cole Newport, RI meds with sunken panels. Sadly they all had damage but they were a new style Cole!

The streak continued with a large 6-7/8” Charles M. Cole Newport, RI med. This style is listed but the size is not!

Right next to the last bottle was it's big brother at 7-3/4”!

Spring 2023 Finds #1

My last visit to the new dump proved to be an incredible one! One of the first bottles I uncovered was a J.R. Lorah & Co. Newport in cobalt! I knew these came in amber, but cobalt was a new one! You can pretty much count the cobalt RI pharmacy bottles on one hand, so this was easily my find of the year!

Not to be overshadowed was an unlisted style H.A. Kalkman Graduate in Pharmacy Newport, RI med! This is his earliest bottle, and I didn't know it existed!

A third John M. Callahan Newport, RI joined the family, and this one was an imposing 7”!

A more familiar Charles M. Cole Newport, RI also joined in the festivities. This one was 3-1/2” and had oz and cc markings, making it a new style.

The last nice surprise was a J. Engel & Son Newport, RI etched wine. I have only seen his embossed crown tops, so this was a neat addition!

 

Early 2023 Finds #2

A fellow collector gave me a great surprise when he brought a F.J. Brightman Apothecary E. Greenwich, RI to the club meeting! Yet another completely unlisted East Greenwich med! I need to start digging in that town!

Another late add from the big collection purchase was a J.J. Corcoran Liquor Dealer Providence, RI. Not only is this a brand new flask, but a good looking one too!

Back at the new dump another great find! A John M. Callahan Newport, RI in a 3-1/2” size! Two is a family!

A friend was able to snag a J.H. Blackler Westerly, RI abm clear soda at a local auction. I have a bunch of these but this was another new variant!

Another trip to the new dump turned up my first The F.L. Powell Pharmacy Newport, RI. When Frank L. Powell died the pharmacy continued using his name. The listed version is an oval with flat sides, this one is a rounded rectangle!

 

Early 2023 Finds #1

Another nice find from the collection was an 8-1/2” Bugbee & Brownell Providence, RI dressing bottle. I have this bottle but it is a smaller size, this big version is new!

I was excited to see a rare Wright & Hay Pharmacists Newport, RI show up on ebay. This bottle was unlisted until I bought one a few years ago, and at 3-3/4” that makes two sizes!

Another 1920s-30s dump turned up a real crier, a Mineral Spring Bottling Co. N. Providence, RI green deco soda. These are common in clear but I have yet to see an intact one in green! This is getting pretty close!

Back at the dump I turned up a nice J.R. Lorah & Co. Newport in a 6-1/4” size. That's the biggest one I've seen yet!

A return visit to another collector's attic produced an unknown Calder's Tooth Powder that was only shoulder embossed! What it lacks in looks it makes up for in rarity!

 

Winter Finds #5 2022

I picked up what I thought was a rare double Ferro China DeAngelis Industrial Chemical Co. Providence, RI, but it was in fact yet another variant! My other example has Chemical Industrial so it's switched.

I haven't found many new etched sodas so this Houle Bros. Exchange St. Prov was a nice addition.

A McLaughlin's Soda Works Woonsocket, RI BIM quart rounded out my Woonsocket collection a little more.

A Bare Rock Spring Soda Co. Centerdale, RI ABM quart was a surprise variant. I won't complain as these are fairly tough to find.

Most American Bottling bottles are extremely common, so they aren't normally associated with the word rare. An American Bottling Co. 27 Mathewson St. Providence, RI was a first with the rare early address.

 

Winter Finds #4 2022

 

Some fantastic blobs were part of the collection too! A J.S. Bryne East Greenwich, RI error blob was probably my favorite. This is already a very rare blob, and to see an error version is amazing.

A C.A. Traeger Newport, RI blob is a rare bird, and also a variant!

I have a T.E. Hickey Providence, RI squat soda, but this one has a more traditional blob top versus a double sloping collar lip.

A long elusive Eagle Brewing Co. Providence, RI blob finally joined the collection! The only listed version was the etched example I found many years ago.

A new Thos. B. McLaughlin Woonsocket, RI blob joined my McLaughlin family. There are quite a few variants from this bottler!

 

Winter Finds #3 2022

 I had the rare opportunity to pick through a huge collection of RI bottles, and it was a great one! Kicking off the party was a Wm. K. Reynolds Providence, RI medicine. At 6-1/2” it was a new size!

A same size embossing version James O'Hare Pharmacist Providence, RI was also a new size at 5-1/2”.

An older style Geo. L. Claflin & Co. Pharmacists Providence, RI was unlisted. Of note is how the embossing is backwards compared to almost every known RI med.

A large rectangular W.A. Helmer Pharmacist Providence, RI was an exciting addition. While listed in this shape, the large size was new.

I haven't seen a square O. Sumner & Son Pharmacist Providence, RI in quite some time.  This was a large unlisted size.

Winter Finds #2 2022

A retired excavator was selling off some bottles he dug over the years. While most of them were super common and relatively worthless, he had a few hidden gems. My favorite one was a People's Drug Store Phenix, RI pharmacy bottle. The only other known People's bottle from Phenix is a smaller and plainer example, this one has the classic mortar and pestle which I can't get enough of!

The other highlight was a C.A. Glancy & Co. Pawtucket, RI medicine. This is only the second known Glancy bottle from Pawtucket so it's as rare as they get!

After what seemed like an eternity of being without a decent pre-1910s dump, I finally found a good spot! The first RI bottle to show up was a J.A. Bernard Westminster St. Providence, RI med. This was the first Bernard med to have an address and is probably his oldest bottle!

The second bottle was a great surprise, an unknown John M. Callahan Prescription Druggist Newport, RI med. Finding known Newport meds is hard enough, so a brand new one was a treat!

That was quickly followed by one I have been after for years, an Emil S. Blumenkranz Dispensing Pharmacist Newport, RI. At 5-3/8”, it was an unlisted size!

 

Winter Finds #1 2022

An out of state collector with a knack for collecting rare RI bottles finally decided to let one go! It was a D.B. Griffin Druggist (pictorial owl) Wakefield, RI pharmacy bottle. At 5-3/8” it was an unlisted size!

While I normally find unembossed wine bottles to be garbage, this one had an original metal stopper stamped Sockanosset Bott. Co. Prov. RI. While that name is now associated with a street in Cranston apparently it was used in the big city too!

I grabbed some minty looking Coutu Bros. Central Falls, RI blobs for resale, but when I did the final check I spotted a variant! I'm pretty sure I have all the different Coutu bottles now.

Another bulk resale purchase was a group of Hope Club Beverages Providence, RI deco sodas. I had originally identified two variants, but this group produced a third!

It should come as little surprise when another George A. Peckham Grocers Supplies Providence, RI surfaces. At least I've gotten to the point where most examples that I'm digging or finding are not new variants, there used to be a new one every month!  This one was a nice earlier version.