My antique bottle collection

[TheVTCGuy]

Well, you had all better start treating me with a little respect around this place now! Yep, at out monthly meeting, the first one of the year where we have election of Officers, I was voted… Wait for it…. VICE PRESIDENT of the SAN DIEGO ANTIQUE BOTTLE COLLECTORS CLUB. Yes sir reeeee! You are now looking at real Royalty here I realize this is a very impressive title, but I want you all to know I still am, and always will be, the same, humble, un-assuming Dorklehead you have come to know and love. How I became interested in antique bottles.

I had a pretty interesting teenage life, born and raised in SOCAL, I attended a military boarding school in the Midwest, lived in Mexico for a few semesters, and worked the summers on the Great Lakes for a professional Diving company. That’s right, starting at age 15, I dove to shipwrecks (mostly) on Lake Huron. I was one of the youngest instructors PADI (no, not the mod here ) certified at 16. My interest in bottles started one dive when I was (I think) 17, this is back in 19 and blah de blah. Anyway, we were hitting the wreck of the two-masted schooner: A.B. Williams, sunk in about 70’ of water near Port Sanilac Michigan. Visibility was about an inch, and my dive buddy and I were pretty much feeling around the main cabin. She was carrying coal when she wend down in 1862, and after storms the coal would shift this way and that, sometimes allowing access to the main crew cabins other times not. If you search around Youtube I think you can find video of more recent dives to that wreck. Anyway I entered the cabin, mostly feeling around the pieces of coal on the deck, and found that ink well. It is marked: “J.J. Butler, Cin” Thus started my antique bottle collection.

After that, it was (and is) pretty random, others that I found underwater, and a large collection of pharmaceutical bottles (don’t ask me why, just think they are cool). It also kind of lead to another collection, of relics from the monitor-top refrigerator. Some of you have seen a couple of my clocks that were in the appearance of, and given away to buyers of the GE monitor Top refrigerators back in the 20s and early 30s, well those water bottles were also given away as free gifts when you purchased the appliance. For whatever reason, I thought that stuff was cool and started collecting refrigerator items as well.

Now, I look back at the stuff I found underwater, on those shipwrecks, sometimes hundreds of feet underwater in the cold and the dark, and reminiscing, ask myself: WHAT THE FIWJ$% WERE YOU THINKING!?!?!?!?

Of course, after professional diving all during my college years, and graduation, I took on a much safer and mundane profession; a Navy Fighter Pilot.

I leave all the adventure to you younger kids today. Have fun!

Hope you like my bottle collection And as the VP of the Antique Bottle Collector’s club you may now all refer to me as: SIR Dorklehead

[Spectre38]

This shines a whole different light on you Paul. Now I don't know whether to bow, genuflect or perhaps just wave from a respectful distance.

[Pw92676]

Sir Dorklehead: great post. I got great pleasure reading your story. And now that you have been elected, don’t forget about us little people.

[1William]

Very cool.

[Beo3]

All Hail Vice President Dorklehead!

Great story Paul and congrats on your promotion.

I really think that you need to find a hobby....

[brandrea]

Congratulations on the appointment Paul

I’m impressed with your affinity toward antiques

[fmc000]

You are a very interesting person, Paul. First electric clocks, then honey, now bottles... I wonder if there's more to come.

[RW16610]

Congrats, Paul! This is a very cool hobby as well.

[rmagoo57]

Congrats and thanks for sharing your other collection!

[MrGoat]

I love seeing your collections Paul!! The stories are great too, congratulations on your appointment.

I too collect bottles but mine have been found while digging. Amazing to see how your collection has progressed, mine started with an early coke bottle and then an ink well and then some medicine bottles.

I will try to add a pic when I get home.


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[Mendota]

Wow! That's awesome and very interesting!

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[Atone]

That’s super cool Paul.

[swils8610]

Very cool Paul. Love the salt and pepper shakers!


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[Knappo 1307]

Paul, I have a small antique bottle collection from mainly my area. Here's one I found a few years ago while walking my dog. It was on the side of an elevated trial, they brought fill in at some time to build up the trial, and over time some erosion had occurred, and I came across this. It's neck was sticking out of the dirt about 2 inches. I did some research on it, and it's from the 1850's. It was a company in Chicago that manufactured hair tonics and extracts. The imperfections in the bottle (air bubbles) are really cool! This picture was when I just brought it home.

IMG_1056.JPG

[Letsgodiving]

Very nice collection. Here is a bottle of Calders Dentine I recovered from the wreck Eureka that went down off the coast of Virginia in 1888. Interestingly, the cork stopper (that you can see a little in the photo) was pristine when I found it after over 100 years at the bottom of the Atlantic but it shriveled up once I brought it to the surface.

[Toony]

Cool stuff. My wife collects depression era candy dishes. Very colorful. The candy in the dishes are good too.

[TheVTCGuy]

Awesome bottles guys! Love the stories about how you found them. Here is a video on YouTube of the wreck of the AB Williams. When I was on her, the visibility was much much worse. If you would rather not click, do a search and you can find it. Keep those bottles and stories coming!

https://youtu.be/JEAwAGQIo6E

[sski]

Curious if you've come across any message in a bottle? (time capsule from another period?) Always enjoyed reading experiences of folks that have come across any.

[330ci]

Congrats vice president dorklehead xD! I had a pretty impressive collection of early pop bottles growing up, but I think they were donated when I moved out. Haven't seen them in ages, but I used to love searching for different brands and variations. I got into Mason jar collecting a few years back and had an early patent 1858 jar that I was pretty fond of, unfortunately it broke and I was pretty upset with myself for it lasting 160+ years until I got it.

Beautiful bottles though! Congrats on the new position. Sounds like a fun club, I was thinking about joining the local coin club. I met some old timers the other day at the coin shop(all like75+) and I feel like it could be fun meeting them and talking with people who collect locally

[SemperFi]

I love bottles too Paul but most of them are from Scotland and Kentucky.
In all seriousness though that’s a very unique collection and congratulations on your promotion.

[tritium8]

Congrats! Another cool story, too. I remember doing my PADI cert in a man-made lake in Arkansas. There was so much cool stuff at the bottom of that lake. I remember it being freezing cold, too.

[AzPaul]

What's the bottle collecting community's stance on cleaning up a bottle after you find one?
Kinda curious because with a lot of vintage items, cleaning and/or shining is a big no-no.
Is it frowned upon, considered a necessity, or basically just up to the collector to do as the wish?
As a sitting VP, I expect you to have an answer.

[Chewbacca]

Snake oil user.

Explains everything Jocke does to punish you.

[m j b]

Well, aside from my congrats on your election, I feel obligated to point out to you that as a citizen of the USA, not British, you cannot be knighted.

I may be wrong. So, no Sir for you, bud.

But I will refer to you, respectfully, as Veep Dorkle.

Oh, and it is always interesting to read about folks here and their backgrounds. Diving, flying, etc. all very cool.

I have dived, but never more than about 40 ft. because I'm a big baby. I have flown too, but only once in the cockpit and even then I was just a passenger.

[Boopie]

Very cool collections! It’s amazing that unbroken examples that old can still be found “in the wild.” They are glimpses into everyday life back then, as opposed to objects made to be decorative (such as ceramic vases and figurines).

[TheVTCGuy]

Originally Posted by AzPaul

What's the bottle collecting community's stance on cleaning up a bottle after you find one?
Kinda curious because with a lot of vintage items, cleaning and/or shining is a big no-no.
Is it frowned upon, considered a necessity, or basically just up to the collector to do as the wish?
As a sitting VP, I expect you to have an answer.

That is actually a great question and there are varied responses from varied members, but GENERALLY, it is looked at as a necessity. Most members agree that a VERY light soapy water is bath is appropriate (excluding ones with paper labels of course). As the VP… I HAVE SPOKEN

Originally Posted by Chewbacca

Snake oil user.

Explains everything Jocke does to punish you.

RE and PORTED!!!!

Originally Posted by m j b

Well, aside from my congrats on your election, I feel obligated to point out to you that as a citizen of the USA, not British, you cannot be knighted.

I may be wrong. So, no Sir for you, bud.

But I will refer to you, respectfully, as Veep Dorkle.

Darn!!!! Well, thank you for the respect of calling me Veep Dorkle anyway

[BNA/LION]

Fantastic Paul! Great collection.

[DoraTheExplorerII]

Fascinating. What are the ultimate grails for antique bottles? Would it be a Ming dynasty thing?

[TheVTCGuy]

Originally Posted by DoraTheExplorerII

Fascinating. What are the ultimate grails for antique bottles? Would it be a Ming dynasty thing?

Another great question. Everyone in our club has their own grail of an antique bottle, I guess just like watches. For me, it is generally the older the better. I would love to own something from Roman times, or even better, Ancient Rhodes (Greece).

[MARTIN1264]

Cool!