62 Winter 2003 Bottles and Extras too great. It’s been too hot and dry and the [Fig. 2] water is too low. The trout aren’t much for BOTTLE COLLECTING eating these days. Too soft.” IN MONTANA L: “Oh! We’re not fishing, although my Ray Thompson husband likes to once in awhile. We are looking for old bottles around the mining For all of you out there who may read camps in the hills over there. We’ve been this, I want to set the record straight. Did here before and did pretty well. There are the Californians get all the good bottles lots of sun colored bottles out there, and from Montana’s gold camps before us some old ones too.” locals woke up, pulled up our suspenders, A: “I’ve seen lots of bottles around where stepped out on the front porch and the old timers used to live, but what’s a stimulated the locals into a bottle muttered, “I wonder what all the excite- sun colored bottle?” collecting frenzy by the early 1970s, and ment is about? That is the third set of L: “Son, those are the ones that are purple, when I arrived home from the Army I was California license plates I’ve seen go by all shades of purple up here.” in a different collector’s world. Everybody here this week. I think that there might A: “Are those worth anything?”, as his had some bottles and was finding them have been one from Oregon, too. I’m eyes lit up and the wheels began to turn in all over Montana. I didn’t need much gonna take a drive up the canyon and see his head. coaxing to getting a collection started my- what those folks are doing.” L: “Not much, but they are pretty and look self. When I traded some friends out of a We did wake up when the caterpillars nice in the windows at home. The dark- Warren Drug from Bozeman, and I dug a started rolling through the ash dumps and colored bitters bottles are worth a little Choteau Drug and a Kessler beer - I was ranchers were saying, “Sure you can go more but are harder to find. My specialty hooked on Montana bottles. That was up and pick up all that junk. I’ve been is collecting the old ink bottles.” thirty years ago and collecting has been trying to get that s#@* out of there for good since. twenty years.” I guess they figured that if The attendant’s work on the car was Collectors in many states have there were so many people from outside done, so he collected his $4.00 and wished experienced ownership of a Montana wanting all these bottles and other gar- them good luck as they headed north out bottle. I say this with some assurance that bage that they must be worth something. of town. So much for the introduction to the large number of folks accumulating An inquiry of a passing motorist at the bottle collecting. I guess they did get quite “state” collections of most bottle types had gas station where I worked in the 1960s a few before the rest of us woke up and at least one in their hands. Some of those kind of went like this: smelled the dumps. handled were undoubtedly rarities while There were seven years between the others were common. Nevertheless, the Attendant: “Morning Ma’am, nice day story above and my first look at a bottle many and varied types, sizes and emboss- isn’t it? What may I do for you?” collection by a Montana collector. It was ments made for a lucrative collectors’ Lady: “Good morning son. We need a tank now only 1967. My collection started that exchange. of gas and please check the oil and tires. year with an aqua Vaseline style bottle and Montana bottles and artifacts are We are going into the hills for a couple several black glass ales. The ales were days and don’t want any problems with the discards in a campground that I was car.” cleaning as part of a summer job. I later [Fig. 3] A: “Sure thing Ma’am, nice rig! What are thought that if they were throwing away you going to do? The fishing hasn’t been 1860s black glass ales and cracked Hostetters, what were they taking home? When I asked the question about where [Fig. 1] to go and what to look for to find some really old bottles, the answer stuck with me, “You won’t find much out there any- more since the Californians got them all.” My excursions to familiar old places were discouraging that summer, since all I found were the shards. I was a believer now, and sort of wore the California story on my sleeve for several years. That story later. Collectors from outside of Montana Bottles and Extras Winter 2003 63 items, and that is the case here. New H. J. ZAYAS in Helena (Fig 1). Was I [Fig. 4] whiskey, soda, beer and drugstore bottles excited or what? And guess how many have emerged in the last year. Going back unembossed shoofly whiskey bottles were for a moment to the statement I made about in that dump? Yup, 21! wearing the successes of the early bottle Many nice examples from nearly 60 diggers on my sleeve, all but two of these proprietors have survived in the larger discoveries were made out of state. dumps. Specie from Anaconda, Butte, Dunno, but I think we still have a few Great Falls, Helena, and Kalispell top the surprises in store. And to end the list for variety of collectible embossed California story, I do not hold you flasks. These examples from Butte responsible for anything except waking us (Fig. 2) and Anaconda (Fig. 3) are up in time to enjoy the fantastic hobby of extremely desirable. sought for a variety of reasons. Foremost bottle collecting. Montana businesses advertised across behind a collector’s urge might be the ro- Let’s move on and discuss some of what the state by stenciling names, businesses mance connected with a relic once part of we have that we are proud of and seek with and products on stone ware jugs (Fig. 4). the 1860s Gold Rush or early 1900 home- an intensity not measured in many states. Our jugs come in the “mini” size up to, steading era. Next might be a connection Since I started out above with a short list, and probably exceeding, 3 gallons. We to a place a family called home or where let’s start there. have cataloged close to 100 different jugs. they had a business venture. Almost all are rare, 1 to 5 known. A few Then there are those of us who have an WHISKEY proprietors have 20 - 25 known, usually affinity for bottle types and collect that In summary, we have several clear in several sizes. state or one specimen from a number of quart embossed cylinders, a shoulder A rarity would be the FIVE TAPS states. And how many of us can be called sealed cylinder in amber and olive green SALOON from Great Falls (Sorry that my casual collectors keeping what you dig, that comes as a quart and a “fifth”. At least photo didn’t turn out) and more common eventually trading for what sparks our 20 coffins and shooflies, that many more are those from the MONTANA LIQUOR interests? If you have dug in Montana, I straight sided flasks, around 10 silver over- COMPANY of Butte (Fig. 4,left). Another am sure you have discovered a few lay flasks, several leather covered flasks, from GOODKIND BROS./ WHOLE- Montana bottles and relics. gold printed with the proprietor’s name SALE WINES/ LIQUORS AND No matter how we all got started, the and business, make for a nice group of very CIGARS/ HELENA. MONT (Fig 4, right) bottom line is, “we like Montana bottles.” collectible bottles. represents the middle range of Montana entrepreneurs of the last There are also a few unique bottles, availability. century and back into the late 19th back bars and ceramics that contained Montana jugs are very collectible and century had their names and businesses liquor. We have evidence that the summer highly desired by both collectors of embossed on bottles representing their of “02” produced fragments of a true western whiskey jugs and those who stick businesses. These bottles came in a pumpkinseed embossed from Butte City. to Montana items. Recent bidding on variety of shapes, colors, and sizes that When this one surfaces for inspection, it available specimens has been phenomenal. match the commonly used styles of the day. will add another special bottle to pursue. Most of us, who have collected for a while, Glass that has been thrown to the four SODAS will recognize a shoofly whiskey flask, an seasons on a rocky hillside has not fared Blob top, Hutchinson, Baltimore loop, enameled back bar bottle, the Hutchinson well. We often find items with a variety of and crown top sodas grace many soda, a stoneware jug, the seltzer, blob top damage. You don’t have to stretch your collector’s shelves. The American soda- beer or soda, and the prescription drug- imagination to understand the fate of the water bottling industry was well on its way store bottle. We have all these bearing fragile shoofly and coffin bottles. when gold was discovered in Montana and Montana places and businesses. One time, during my collecting the great, mid-1860s rushes to Virginia I will portray some of these and adolescence, I asked a veteran collector City, Bannack, Last Chance (Helena) and characterize their uses and histories for how long it takes to find an embossed many smaller unnamed strikes were you. I do not intend to get into a detailed Montana whiskey. He stated, “If you get under way. discussion of an individual item, as that into a single dump and dig around twenty A thirst followed the miners as they information will be aptly presented soon plain ones, you are likely to find one that ventures north to the mines. Some may in a Montana bottle book. is embossed.” The Hellgate Antique Bottle Club of I now have reason to believe he knew [Fig. 5] Missoula began cataloging and describing what he was talking about. I was digging Montana embossed and labeled bottles in a trashy area below an 1895-1900 cabin 1969 or 1970. This effort, through the and was finding whole plain shoofly energy and perseverance of several ardent bottles and other evidence that the former Montana collectors, is about to emerge as occupant believed in cures in a bottle. a definitive book on what our state has to I had dug around 18 plain whiskies offer. when the basket weave of shoofly base As some of you authors have caught my eye. Lo and behold! It was an experienced, you are always finding new embossed Montana, one pint flask from 64 Winter 2003 Bottles and Extras become a state until 1889. Of the bottles [Fig. 6] noted above, Wilson is the only one [Fig. 8] marked with M. T. for Montana Territory. SPECKART & CO./BUTTE CITY/MON. is also an example of a territorial blob top bottle. Montana has two known Hutchinson sodas that are clearly marked M. T. These are from KROGER BROS. in Butte and A. LANDT in Livingston. Several other bottles marked with MON. are also known to be of Territorial vintage. Examples are GAMER & JACKY/PHILLIPSBURG/ MON. (Fig. 6), MONTANA BOTTLING have brought a bottle or two of their CO./BUTTE/CITY/MON., and MON- favorite with them. A few colored sodas TANA LIQUOR CO./GRANITE, MON. from the mid west and California have Most examples of Montana Hutchinson been found here in the earliest mining and Baltimore Loop sodas are embossed camps. This is evidence that it wouldn’t with Montana or Mont., suggesting their be long before the soda bottling entrepre- vintage is after statehood. Some of these neur would set himself up in business in businesses were established prior to lived, tooled top, crown finished sodas this wide open territory. statehood, but we are still researching followed their older cousins, the Hutchs, By the mid-1870s, soda businesses were when some of the bottles may have been into the iceboxes of Montana businesses. being established in both larger and introduced. These are beginning to gain a following smaller communities. The small We have a couple of others that are among collectors, and new examples are community of Coulson on the Yellowstone worth mentioning, since they are some- surfacing annually. River, near what is now Billings, bottled what unique among Montana sodas. One With the advent of machine-made a soda in a unique, dark aqua, heavy glass is the W. H. BULLARD - MILES CITY - bottles (ABM) early in the 20th century, bottle, succinctly embossed W. A. BOOTS. MONT., a six-sided, round bottom, blob the hand-blown examples are surprisingly This bottle has a gravitating (?) style top aqua bottle (Fig. 7). hard to find. While there are nearly 50 of stopper, which is unique among Montana Another is the aqua Hutchinson the ABM types, I can account for fewer embossed sodas. Research is continuing embossed: DEERLODGE/SODA/FAC- than 15 of the tooled top variety. For you on this bottle’s closure, and it may be one TORY. Without the state or city embossed, aspiring collectors, the hand-blown, tooled of the first embossed sodas in Montana. we call these “mavericks,” but I am sure top Montana sodas might be equivalent to Butte and Helena proprietors were on the the folks from the Deerlodge Valley had the proverbial penny stock. heels of this enterprise and had sodas no trouble knowing where the soda fac- bottled in embossed blob top bottles by the tory was, since the town was one of the BEERS early 1880s. biggest in the Territory in the 1880s. Montana has always been a big beer Wm. WILSON of Butte City used a The factory was producing soda as early drinking state. Attesting to the numerous bottle reminiscent of the earlier west coast as 1873, but the known bottle had to date blob top amber and aqua beers in the old blob tops, as did JURGENS & PRICE after the patent of the Hutchinson stopper dumps, many collectors left the bottles on (Fig.5, right) and MERRITT & CO. of in 1879. Is there another blob top out there site for the less experienced to pick up. Helena. By 1885, Merritt had his own from Deerlodge that has yet to surface? I guess that is where the four cases of blob custom mold bottles in circulation Let’s hope so! Statewide, we can account tops in the garage came from. I do keep (Fig. 5 left). for nearly 60 sodas that are either them hidden so when the value goes up As an historical note, Montana did not Hutchinson or Baltimore loop stoppered. I can get them out, clean them up and Several from larger make a bundle! I suppose by now you are towns are relatively all wondering what I’ve been smoking? common and are a Anyway, several Montana businesses good nucleus around chose to advertise their products and which you can start a businesses through the use of embossed very nice collection. beer bottles. Nick Kessler of Helena was An example is the producing beer by 1865 and bottling in HOLLAND RINK/ available discards and the rare shipments BOTTLING/ of new bottles that wound their way up WORKS/ BUTTE, the Missouri River to Fort Benton and then MONT. (Fig. 5, across the muddy, hilly road to Helena. center). We have an interesting conundrum [Fig. 7] Around 1900 with Kessler and when he may have cho- several rare and short- sen to emboss his bottles. Several (I can Bottles and Extras Winter 2003 65

[Fig. 11]

HELENA, MONT., amber blob top split and pint. MILK [Fig. 9] Other populated cities had embossed Milk bottles have recently received blobs or crowns. A nice example of the great coverage in Marvin Michelotti’s account for four found within 50 miles of former style is the W. H. BULLARD/ book Montana Milk Bottles, printed by Helena) blob top, amber beer bottles, with MILES CITY/MONTANA. This a tall Advanced Litho Printing in Great Falls, the letters NK peened into the side near (about 28 oz.) aqua bottle finished for the Montana. His coverage of the collectible the base, have been found by area Baltimore loop closure (Fig. 10). dairy industry bottles and memorabilia collectors. Anaconda, Great Falls, Kalispell and covers items manufactured and used in this The letters on all the examples are simi- Lewistown also produced collectible beers. state between the 1870s and 1970s. lar enough for us to speculate that Kessler As far as we know Anaconda, Kalispell The largest and most prosperous may have had someone mark his bottles and Lewistown had only crown tops. communities had many dairies competing with the hope that they might be returned To finish this section I will mention an for peoples’ patronage. Keeping them for refilling. The other argument is that extremely rare, amber blob top beer. This aware of who was proving their milk was one or several bored miners, sitting around is embossed M. L. CO./GRANITE/ important, hence a variety of embossed and the stove on cold wintry days, tried their MONT. The example I have seen is a split. pyro names and advertisements came into hands at depicting Nick Kessler’s logo on There isn’t a collector in Montana that being. The competition proved deadly to the glass with a nail and the butt of their wouldn’t give up his or her favorite dog many dairies and closures or takeovers pistols. Who knows for sure? It is fun to and a new set of snow tires for one of them. ended the use of their bottles. speculate on the possibilities. If a positive I’ve heard stories told of glass attribution could be made - WOW! BITTERS smashing parties where the embossed or There are less than 20 embossed blob The sole embossed contribution to this otherwise marked containers were broken top and tooled crown top beers from category is an amber, BIMAL, French so that another company could not use the Montana. More may surface and we hope square from Deer Lodge embossed on a bottles. As the small and large dairies they do, but among the twenty, several single flat panel: J. D. EASTMAN/ disappeared, their remaining bottles were are from the same companies. Kessler DEERLODGE, MONTANA. destined to become valuable collectibles. has a least four embossing styles on Mr. Eastman bottled his Oregon his beers, with the pint blob top, plate Grape Root Bitters in these labeled PATENT MEDICINES molded as in Fig. 8. bottles. It is purported to have been These fantastic collectibles were The SILVERBOW BREWING widely distributed around Montana, produced as part of the national “snake CO. of Butte had its crown-top yet very few examples exist. The oil” era when everyone wanted a cure or 22-ounce, amber bottle embossed on product evolved into a tonic under a remedy in a bottle. We have all read the the side (Fig. 9) and also on the Dr. J. H. Owings, who managed base of its bottles. Of interest is the Eastman product line. Dr. the fact that the county, in Owings also had his own em- which Butte is the county seat, bossed drugstore bottles begin- [Fig. 12] is named Silverbow. ning in 1885, but continued to Helena had the most use an unembossed French embossed beers for one city in square for Eastman tonic. Montana with four known. In An unembossed French addition to the Kessler bottles square was also labeled as a bit- there are: CONSOLIDATED/ ters from the mining town of MILWAUKEE BEER/ Philipsburg. This one was for a AGENCY/HELENA, MONT., product called an Herb and Cha- an amber blob top split (Fig. momile Bitters. I do not have [Fig. 10] 8); CAPITOL/BOTTLING the exact name at hand, but you WORKS/HELENA/MONT., get the picture that more than one an amber blob top split; and Montana businessman got into MILCH BROS./BOTTLERS/ the bitters business. 66 Winter 2003 Bottles and Extras preposterous claims made by these number of labeled and embossed house- Wynne of Butte, the Parchen D’Acheul, proprietors. hold remedies, lotions and powders. Only Butte, M. T., any of the Deerlodge and Montanans were not immune to the a few of these were embossed. These Great Falls drugstores, A. P. Curtain, Tri- enterprising peddlers and their wares. include his Witch Hazel Almond Cream, angle Drug Store and the R. S. Hale and Several Montana companies saw profits and Herbicide for the scalp that often came Parchen Drug M. T. bottles from Helena, in this business and jumped on the in half gallon bottles. I wonder if it worked any of the eight Lewistown bottles, J. A. medicine wagon with their own on lice as well as dandruff? Brown & Co. of Livingston, Highborn concoctions. As you can see there are a nice variety Pharmacy of Missoula, Willard Drug from There was the Helena based Giant of collectible patents from Montana Moore, any of the nine Red Lodge Medicine Co., producing Magnetic Oil, businesses. There are others but I think Drugstores, H. Elling & Comp. from Cough Remedy (Fig. 11) and Sarsaparilla. you have a pretty good picture of what we Sheridan, Stevensville Drug/Rexall Store, A Mr. J. E. Steers had his Good have to offer. I believe the discussion of The Terry/Drug Co. / Terry, Mont., Samaritan/Compound. Helena also had patents brings us to a discussion of drug- Hinchman & Alward from Virgina City, the Silver State Veterinary Remedies un- stores and their proprietors. Modern Pharmacy of Whitehall, R. H. der W.C. Crum, which produced a variety McGinnis of White Sulphur Springs and of specialties. All were preceded by the DRUGSTORES R. J. Woods of Winnett. Whew!! Any words Silver State. These included Pain As with many other states, Montana has questions? Exterminator, Distemper and Cough numerous bottles blown with embossing There are other groups of collectible Killer, Overland Liniment, and Instant advertising drugstore businesses across the items from Montana. Some of these are Colic Cure. state. Most communities, that had a the back bar bottles, dose and shot glasses, A few embossed examples of the population of several hundred and were seltzers, and the pottery and ceramic Overland Liniment exist, but none of the stable enough for the druggist to invest in figurals. This is not to mention the labeled others are known to be embossed. We be- his wares, had at least one embossed items and the Breweriana collectibles. Stay lieve one of he earliest embossed Montana drugstore or pharmacy bottle. tuned and we will deal with those at a later bottles is the cobalt blue maverick: When you consider the large size of our time. BENNET’S/MAGIC/CURE. This lini- state and small population, it amazes me By now you are either asleep or ment was patented in 1876. Anyone have when I think that over 200 different looking through your collections to see one? We have heard that examples exist embossings are represented from nearly what is hiding in there. Let’s hope it is in California (Here we go again) and 50 communities. The ghost towns of the latter and that you have learned a little Michigan. Marysville and Virginia City are about bottles that are collectible from Kalispell had Marsden’s Magic represented as are the largest communi- Montana. Liniment and Mountain City Cough Cure, ties in the state, Anaconda, Billings, This was, by any stretch of the the latter being extremely rare. Bozeman, Butte, Great Falls, Helena, imagination, an exhaustive discussion. A Billings company may hold the gold Kalispell, Lewistown and Missoula. Other collectors and I will contribute to star for the most unique name among I think the small homestead era towns Bottles and Extras over the next few Montana patent medicines with its (turn of the century to the Great months, giving you additional information HERBOTONE/THE/BOTTLED Depression) are the toughest to find. The on what our wonderful and unpopulated VACATION/TRADE MARK/MADE BY small initial population and short term state has to offer. CHAPPLE DRUG CO. BILLINGS, prosperity undoubtedly makes their MONT. Do you think a bottle was cheaper druggists’ wares very scarce and References: than a train ride to the west coast or collectible. Hellgate Antique Bottle Club. Arizona? A few of these towns are Choteau, Montana Bottle List, 1976. Butte, with its poor air and water Columbus, Conrad, Grass Range, Hardin, Lutsko, Marc. A Bottle Guide to Mon- quality in the late 20th Century, had a need Hobson, Moore, Terry and Winnett. Folks tana, A List of All Known Bottles, Jugs, for remedies and local druggists were not still make a living in these towns but they Etc.; 2001 Edition. too shy to respond. There was Fair’s do most of their business in larger area Michelotti, Marvin. Montana Milk Pneumonia Cure, Fair’s Pneumonia towns such as Dillon, Fort Benton, Bottles, Advanced Litho Printing, Great Mixture, and just plain Fair’s Nu-mon-ia. Glendive, Havre, Livingston, Miles City, Falls, Montana, 2001. Several labeled bottles indicate that Red Lodge and Roundup. Personal Collections of Ray Thompson, other companies and individuals were also When any of the very early or short- Stuart MacKenzie and Larry Eichorn. in the easier-breathing business. Other lived druggist bottles come up for sale, Research and Documentation of Henry common ailments prompted Gallogly’s there are usually several collectors that Thies. drug to produce a cobalt blue salve-type want them and the bidding (such as on jar, which is embossed on the lid: eBay) can be entertaining. All Photos by the Author GALLOGLY’S/SEAWEED/CREAM and A few examples of rarities are from J. a citrate of magnesia bottle embossed: C. Mannall & Co. and A. T. Playter of GALLOGLY’S/PIPE STONE/ Anaconda, Dr. I. A. Leighton of Boulder, MAGNESIA. the amber Roecher and Alward from However, it was D. M. Newbro Drug Bozeman, and another amber from Butte Co. that produced the greatest variety and embossed J. T. Finlen (Fig. 12), E. W.