Posted 8 years ago
SpiritBear
(813 items)
The first pic has bottles I got for $3 each. 1880s-1900.
The second pic is of an error-bottle given to me. It should be A. G. Jepson of Muskegon, not R. G. Jepson. It's 1870s-1880s.
The third pic is of a Dr. Alfred Brocke druggist also from my town. I paid up on this one at a grand sum of $8. It's 1900-1910.
Nice pieces for my collection of Muskegon, Michigan bottles.
Are bottles with errors more valuable compared to "correctly spelled" ones?
Sometimes. It depends on supply and what the error is. If they spelled the druggist's name wrong and made only a few before catching the error, probably (If this were in amber or teal, that itself makes it more valuable in most cases.)
This one, without the damage, is still likely just a $10 bottle-- typical value of a druggist.
The molds were engraved backwards. Letters too. Often, the S's and N's will face the wrong way.
Valuable bottles are scarcer, have more embossing (raised lettering/images,) and come in colors (teal, not aqua; cobalt blue, emerald green, etc) as well as have pictures (not a mortar and pestle or the spatula seen on one of mine, but such as some from my town with roses embossed on some bottles, or elk heads and such.)
Thank you, SpiritBear, as always, very informative!
BTW, for the etched bottle you first contacted me on-- the one I believe to be a seltzer bottle: The staining in there can be temporarily hidden, supposedly (I've never done it as not every bottle stays in my collection long, and it's not moral to sell a bottle with a temporary "fix,") with Baby Oil. Swirl it around in there, shake it up (bottled corked or with your finger in it, of course,) carefully, and it it drain out: A lot of the staining will be hidden for a while.
ok, thank you for a great tip, SpiritBear! Certainly worth trying.