AB of RI - New Finds 13

Yeah, that's right, I took a break for a couple of months. I didn't want you to get too used to the idea that I would be updating this page on a regular basis so I purposely blew it off. Actually, I didn't have much in the way of new and exciting stuff and still don't, but it's raining and I can't work in the yard so I figured I'd do an update before I got fired (insert laugh track here - I've been out of work since March).

The Merrimack Valley Bottle Club held it's annual bottle show and sale on September 30th in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. This show has consistantly produced something new for me in the way of Rhode Island bottles every year and this year was no exception. None of the items I picked up will add much to the "Dave Andrews Retirement Fund" but they weren't listed in the book and I like them even if they aren't worth hundreds of dollars. The first item on the agenda is a blob top which I thought was listed in the book but found out differently when I got home. Embossed GEORGE FINCK / 138 PINE, / COR. PAGE STR. / PROVIDENCE / R.I. (in a slugplate) and THIS BOTTLE / NOT TO / BE SOLD (on the reverse), this aqua, smooth base bottle was pretty clean and complete with the closure. I picked it up as a replacement for a Finck bottle that I already had but is heavily stained. When I checked at home I found this new one to be different in a couple of ways. My example is listed as iRI-765 in the online version of Antique Bottles Of Rhode Island and as RI-592 in the printed version. The size and embossing are the main differences. It turns out that the new example is the same as iRI-764 (RI-591) except that it is a smooth base, not iron pontilled. Other than that it is identical in every other way. This new version is now listed as iRI-764.1 online.

The second item is a 2-7/8" Cross Pen Company ink bottle which normally wouldn't be all that interesting, but the color in this is different than any other CPC example that I've seen. These inks almost always come in aqua with very little variation even in density and hue. The only other color known prior to this new find is a dark green so to find an apple green example is definitely unusual and previously unheard of (Antique Bottles Of Rhode Island - iRI-1309).

Last January in New Finds 8, I reported an unlisted size of this desk ink in the common aqua color. The Cross Pen inks are known in two different sizes of the desk version and two different variants of the master ink but only the standard 2-7/8" size has been found in any color other than aqua.

And finally, here's a bottle that I thought I already had but found the opposite to be true.
I saw this MODOX bottle sitting on the table of a dealer who collects Moxie related items. Normally I wouldn't have given it any thought as I already have a bunch of these and sure didn't want another one. But what struck me was the condition, how clean it was and the fact that it was complete with the closure. Usually these bottles are lightly stained and missing the wire and stopper. I picked up the bottle and of course the dealer went into his sales pitch. I have a tendency to block out a lot of the selling related babble, hearing only, "Blah, blaaaah, blah, blah, blaah, blah, blah, blaaaaaah. Blah." Not that the guy is a bad guy, he's really okay, but I just wasn't interested in buying it. My fault. And I was even more sorry when I saw the $35.00 price tag. Then one word broke through my protective barrier - aqua. The bells and whistles went off and I thought to myself, "He's right. When have you ever seen one of these in aqua?" He must have seen my hesitiation as he immediately dropped the price to $25.00. Oh, you know the rest. I paid the man and walked away knowing I had another New Find to add to the book.
Just a quick history on these Modox bottles: Modox was a drink manufactured by the Nickletone Manufacturing Company in Providence, RI in the later 1800's. The Moxie Company evidently thought Nickletone was infringing on the Moxie name and patent by using a name that was too similar to their own. Moxie took Nickletone to court, sued and won their case. The court ordered Nickletone to stop using the Modox name and have the name removed from their bottles. Fortunately for today's collector, they weren't successful in grinding all of the bottles. There are several different variations of the Modox bottle which can be viewed in the online book. Click here for a look-see.

Oh, and by the way. YOU could contribute to this page, too! If you find something not listed in the book, please email the information to me at dandrews@littlerhodybottleclub.com so I can add it.