Posted 6 years ago
maverik101
(1 item)
This is an estate auction find here in Montana, and as far as I'm aware it's a one of a kind set in the public domain.
I can find no mention anywhere on the internet regarding anyone finding a complete, unused 3 in 1 Co. bottle with the paper label completely intact, let alone that it was in the original cardboard box it was marketed in, please let me know if I am wrong on this.
I had to gingerly cut open the seal on the box to ensure the contents were genuine, and inside I found a completely full, corked 1 ounce glass bottle of 3 in 1 lubricant, as well as a large folded, illustrated pamphlet explaining all the uses of the lubricant.
The original pamphlet is in excellent condition, probably as it was infused with the oil diffusing from the cork over the last 85 years. It has a copyright label date of 1930, meaning that the set was manufactured between 1930 and 1936, when research shows the 3 in 1 Co. phased out bottles and started using cans for their product.
I'm an avid collector of antiques of all kinds, and just wanted to share this with a community that understands my excitement at this kind of find.
Again, any opinions, comments and prior knowledge of this set would be appreciated.
A very interesting and lubricating upload maverik101. Welcome to CW. I can say that this is right up my rusty alley of interest. RER
Well, if you want to know:
Three in One Oil has been the most prolific general lubrication on the market for over a century (I use two different types). I'm sure others, from one time or another, are still out there in boxes and with labels (though boxes are generally harder to find than just labels) ; myself and other diggers have dug dozens of glass ones from the dirt-- thus telling us that the bottles were plentiful, so there's a good chance of labeled examples still existing. But I, too, have bottles with no online references, yet are considered only scarce and even some are called 'common' by more seasoned collectors. Non-automotive oil bottles are not very sough after by avid bottle collectors and aren't usually remembered by tool- and small-machine guys, so they may just be ignored in the general market. As the modern internet is only just over 20 years old, with most Americans only having access in the last 10 years (approx. 75%), not everything is yet on the modern internet.
If you Google 'Arctic Frost Bite Cure bottle", you'll see a few (most of the images I pop up are my own). Those were relatively unknown till recent times when a hoard was uncovered (company went under). I didn't see the trailer-full that was described, but I've seen an entire original display of 50 boxes. Still, they only occasionally pop up (one's on eBay right now and I saw one at the last bottle show.) They seem uncommon, but as far as I know that Cure has a thousand examples in the basement of the one who found the trove. And Cures are usually a highly collected market.
What's also less common than the box, though, is the pamphlet. Often a box is found, but it's been opened and the pamphlet thrown out. So, it's nice to have all three in one!
SpiritBear, appreciate the reality check lol, but you do make very relevant points, thanks for the input.