The Chico show has always been a favorite of mine. Spring is in the air, and the glass shows up from the past four months of digging. Each year this show does not disappoint. In 1998 there was the bounty from the great S.F. dig. I have seen Clubhouses, Bears, Barrels, Birds, and Horses. This year was particularly interesting as rumor and fact combined all in one place. There are "pairs" of globtop fifths coming out of the ground this year. Two Whiskey Merchants, two J.Moore's, two McKenna's, two F.& P.J. Cassin's...geez what a Winter. I observed some nice glob tops available for sale, and a few which were not. There were some beauties. The McKenna's were a light yellow amber, and whittled, there was a Battery St, Taussig fifth dug in the same hole, and it found a new home. The J.Moore's were crude and well struck. There was a greenish Bird Cutter, a greenish Miller's flask, some Nabobs, Livingston's Blackberry Brandy, a nice aqua Gold Dust, a WICKED whittled Clark's, some circle Cutters, and an O.K. or two. I was able to finally bring a crude, and mint Dr. Miller's Ratafia home which made my show for sure. Dennis E. brought a spectacular Jacob Denzler beer to show...wow what a bottle! Other than the Miller's flask, there were not too many flasks represented. There was a Lilienthal teardrop, two 3 Cities Lilienthal's, and a "High S.F." Lilienthal. That was about it. It is always nice to visit with friends, and hear the digging stories of the past few months. Im sure I missed some good stuff, but you just cannot be everywhere at once.If you like to buy fresh dug glass as I do, this is a great show to attend!
Yes, there were some VERY nice bottles there, but everything looked green in that lighting, even the clear ones. Outside, in the cold rain, the glass was more olive amber and not quite as "greenish" as it appeared inside. Maybe some nicer ones came in on Saturday and we missed 'em.
ReplyDeleteSo many great bottles showed up at this show this year for some reason, I felt like a little kid in a candy store. Not only were they great bottles but many were super specimens. That IXL the Washinton boys had made my hair stand on end, what a bottle. The Dr. Miller's Ratafia, now there's one that's rarely offerd, a surface find complete with original cork. And many others that made some happy campers if you were in the market for some great Western glass. One of my best finds however and a definite motovation for attending besides the bottles I brought home were those home made pies. OMG if you've never tried the pie those girls bake your definitly missing something. Special thanks to the Bidwel Bottle Club for all their hard work with the show, food preperation and another outstanding show!
ReplyDeletewww.oldwestbottles.com
I saw that IXL as it was put on the table, but it was snapped up so fast that my eyes couldn't focus on it. The price was extremely fair, too.
ReplyDeleteWOW! What a bottle. Congrats on another super addition to the collection. Time to update that "bottles wanted" list. You're checking them off at a good clip. A lot of collectors are looking for a Ratafia!
ReplyDeleteMyself included!!
Hey Dale, that RATAFIA is great, super embossing and color! I enjoy seeing the reports on the Northern Cal. shows that I don't get to. Living in So. Cal. makes it tough to attend the shows up north. I still think that the bottle shows are the best way to acquire good glass. I just purchased a bottle from the last GLASS WORKS auction, and was surprised at the excessive shipping costs. Besides having to pay a 15% buyers premium, they charge $30 for shipping. With these bottle auctions consistantly getting higher and higher prices for the bottles they sell, it baffles me why they continue to raise buyer premiums and shipping costs! No buyers premium, and reasonable shipping fees make your bottle site a reasonable way to add bottles to the collection. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteDennis,
ReplyDeleteI agree. I was just talking this morning w someone re: excessive shipping costs at the East Coast auction house. Apparently they have "contracted" out all the shipping to a third party, thus the high cost
AP
There's a sure fire way to stop that nonsense, just refrain from bidding altogether. I haven't bothered with "The Old Traveler's" auctions for some time. I would much rather line a fellow digger's pockets than some auction house from the wrong end of the US.
ReplyDelete