Fall Finds #1 2019

A collector reached out to me when he acquired a S.J. Esten squat sod with a double sloping collar lip. This was one of the three very rare variants of the Esten sodas that I haven't seen yet.

In my last visit to the salt marsh I found a 3-1/2” Downing Bros. Druggists Newport, RI pharmacy bottle. Sadly it was badly cracked, but at least it's an unlisted size!

I was about to accept defeat during my latest antiquing run when I spotted a pint whiskey on a shelf. It was facing backward and appeared to be embossed. I was pretty much shocked to see it was a Five Sullivan Bros. Family Liquor Store Providence, RI. It was a different version than the one listed and my second size of this rare whiskey.

I get quite a few emails due to my blog asking about RI bottles. A number of them are people looking to sell a bottle that I reply to and never hear back from. Considering they usually have scarce bottles this can be very frustrating. I was pleasantly surprised when someone with an Albert O. Hull & Co. Central Falls, RI medicine actually responded a few months later. This bottle was completely unlisted so I made an offer and it showed up in the mail a few days later!

The Keene show had slimmer pickings for RI bottles this year but I did get another exciting addition. My friend Carl accidentally nuked a completely unlisted Great Western Wine Co. Providence, RI crown top. It looks just like a Narragansett beer and I was unable to find any records of the company.

Summer Finds #4 2019

A friend picked up this recently dug whiskey last summer and I instantly sat up in my chair. It was a Palmer & Madigan Choice Liquors Providence, RI in amber! The earliest Palmer & Madigan bottles known are from the 1890s so this was a real surprise. I was able to arrange a trade and picked it up at a bottle show.  I'll give this one second place next to the Ira Harvey for best unlisted RI bottle of the year.

A beautiful J.R. Lorah & Co. Newport amber med showed up on ebay. It was an unlisted 2-1/2” size, and despite a fairly high buy it now, I couldn't let it slip by. That makes my second amber Lorah!

I was recently reunited with an old friend who let us dig a massive town dump on his property. He had found a few bottles since we last talked including a 8-1/2” Chemical Industrial Co. R. DeAngelis Providence, RI ABM cork top. This style is unlisted in this large size!

Brimfield produced again this fall with a healthy crop of RI bottles (including two unlisted!) While nuked and damaged this C.E. Walch Providence, RI med was unlisted at 4-1/2”.

I like my late BIM pharmacy bottles with the side measurements, and this Quality Drug Providence, RI was no exception! At 6-1/2” it is an unlisted larger size.

Summer Finds #3 2019

I was finally able to acquire the fourth and final Rocky Point Oysters jar. This half pint has the E.W. monogram. I still need an undamaged ELW half pint but I'm excited to have the complete set nonetheless!

I bought a J.J. Maguire & Co. Providence, RI blob for resale, but upon a casual quick comparison discovered it was a new variant!

One of my favorite antique shops had to move because the owners decided to demo the building for parking (they get a thumbs down from me). The shop was able to relocate to a new (but much smaller) location. Sad as this transition was, I was excited to spot a Shepard & Company Fine Perfumes bottle in the window. This is my first undamaged example and an exciting find! Perfume bottles from the original RI department stores are quite elusive.

Despite the heat I made visit to the big dump and found two criers. I had to take them home though because even damaged I could tell they were new variants. This Francis Gavin Pawtucket, RI blob looks like possibly one of the earliest Gavin bottles!

The second Francis Gavin Pawtucket, RI is also damaged but probably a crudely made crown top. Hopefully there are undamaged versions of these two out there!

Summer Finds #2 2019

The summer tailgate show yielded yet more fun finds. A scarce mini size Gladstone Spring Water Co. Narragansett Pier, RI soda turned out to be the 3^rd variant in this size.

Brimfield was the same week as the show and my one new addition was an Augustin Vitale Providence, RI crown top. This is my 9^th Vitale variant, 8 of which are unlisted!

I haven't seen an O. Sumner & Son Providence, RI in a while. This 5” size was unlisted!

It's been a Gladding kind of year, as my 4^th Chas. A. Gladding Greenwich St. Providence, RI turned up. This 4-3/4” was unlisted.

I was quite surprised to see an even Carpenter & Wood Providence, RI than the listed version! I have to say this is quite a special bottle. It's minuscule size and pictorial eagle make it a perfect window bottle.

Summer Finds #1 2019

A friend of mine was selling off some of his bottle collection so I was able to get one of my favorite Warwick blobs. An Angelo DiFiore Notick, RI (supposed to be Natick) error has long eluded me. I still need a mint one but I'm still very happy with this one!

Another pleasant surprise was a completely unlisted William E. Tierney PhG Providence, RI pharmacy bottle. It's a great little med and quite late for an embossed med too, as Tierney wasn't a PhG until 1920!

Another great find from the tailgate show was a Lawton Bottling Works Westerly, RI ABM crown top. I have only seen two other Lawton sodas but they were BIM.

A short dig at a rather challenging dump produced yet another George A. Peckham Grocers Supplies Providence, RI variant.

A local shop had a John E. Good Importer & Jobber Providence, RI whiskey in the window. The price was a tad high but the shop owner was happy to negotiate.  That makes this my 4th Good whiskey.

Spring Finds #3 2019

A friend picked up a nice half pint Rocky Point Brand Oysters and I was able to complete my set of four! These scarce bottles come in pint and half pint sizes. One version has an E.W. monogram and another has an E.L.W. monogram. Contrary to what most people assume this company was located in Providence and used the popularity of Rocky Point to promote their oysters.

A very elusive shoulder embossed Empire Bottling Co. Cranston, RI crown top teased me with a badly beaten example. It's not much to look at but I've only seen one other so this is a tough bottle!

A J.L. & P. Gannon N. Providence, RI blob looked unusually tall so I measured it. Sure enough, it was a lofty 10” compared to an average 9-1/4” blob top. Blob tops can commonly vary within half an inch but anything more is unusual!

The spring tailgate show produced a few goodies including a J. Scheminger Snow St. Providence, RI. I have a nice collection of these scarce blobs, so I was surprised to find out this was a new variant!

I was also quite happy to acquire a McKenna & Nolan Providence, RI narrow blob. This bottle was made to have an Aetna stopper, which is one of my favorite styles because it's a RI patent.

Spring Finds #2 2019

Well the construction site dig was cut short when the entire area was graded. We almost called it but I decided to have one more go at it. It turned out that they left a thin layer of old dump behind. I was finding a lot of 1860s shards when suddenly a squat soda popped out of a sandy layer! I picked it up and stared in disbelief at an iron pontiled green Ira Harvey! It was my second dug pontiled soda, and an absolutely amazing one at that. This style is only known in cobalt, so this is an unlisted color! It is easily my best dug bottle ever, and probably one of the top 15 best bottles from RI.

A few months back I got outbid on a beautiful A.L. Calder Providence, RI flint glass medicine. A friend of mine was the winning bidder, and after enjoying it for a while he was kind enough to offer it to me. This is the same Calder who sold the hugely popular dentine.

Another friend sold me a couple soda bottles including a Carbonated Spring Water Co. Newport, RI. I thought it was one I already had until I looked at the monogram and saw it was different! Instead of the ES monogram it was E & S. Gotta love the variants!

I was almost positive I had a 4-1/2” E.P. Anthony, Inc. Pharmacists Providence, RI, but before I went to sell it I double checked and surprise! This is my 7^th size of this bottle.

One of my favorite semi-local medicines is the Earnshaw Drug Co. East Greenwich, RI. It's the only RI druggist with a clock on the front. I have one that is nearly identical to this one except the ounce and CC measurements are on the opposite sides.