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A random search
on eBay ended in a new acquisition for my RI collection
and, surprisingly, a new variation on a listed
whiskey bottle.
And a trip to an
antique center in the same weekend results in
the same thing!
While searching
the online auction site for Providence items,
a Heather Blossom Whiskey, RI-965, came
up. A seller from Pennsylvania was offering a
quart in pristine condition with the exception
of a "pin nick" on the left side at the heel.
The bottle carried a reserve of $15.00 which had
not been met. Knowing an example of this bottle
had sold for six times this amount, I decided
to try for it with the intention of putting it
out for resale and hopefully make a few bucks.
I already had a quart, a pint, a half pint, and
a sample bottle so I didn't need it for my own
collection. I put in a bid of $40.00 and waited
for the end of auction.
To my surprise the
bid stood for five days until the end of auction.
Final price was $19.05 ($15.00 + 3.20 P&H
+ .85 Insurance). Upon receipt of the bottle the
first thing I noticed was an undisclosed second
pin nick on the front shoulder. Not a huge problem
considering the price but it should have been
noted for accuracy. Other than that the bottle
was a sparkler. I set it next to the example I
already had and noticed something odd. The embossing
was a different size and there was a wreath around
the BHR monogram. The example listed in ABofRI
had no wreath so this turned out to be a "new
find".
It went right into
in my collection. I guess I won't be making anything
off of it after all.
The day after I
received the Heather Blossom, a friend and I were
to take a long overdue jaunt to Putnam, CT to
visit several antique shops we hadn't been to
in a while. Well, he bailed on me so I went alone.
It's more fun to go with someone else especially
if the ride is an hour long so I decided to try
a little closer to home and save Putnam for a
few more weeks.
I headed out Route
44 to the Greenville Antique Center where I had
had pretty good success at finding new additions
in the past. While there were a lot of interesting
non bottle items that caught my eye, the search
only produced two fruit jars, an amethyst pint
Economy for resale and an Atlas E-Z Seal in light
green with a strong amber swirl through the side
and around the bottom that was added to my Atlas
collection when I got home.
I had previously
bought an unlisted OLD ENGLISH / KERONA COMPANY
CENTRAL FALLS, R.I., very similar to RI-799
but embossed KERONA on the base and in
clear, with a paper label for Grape Soda at this
same booth a couple of months before. As I headed
away with the two jars I spotted another Kerona
with a paper label only this one was for Orange
Soda. At $2.00 I couldn't pass it up. The bottle
is in mint condition and the labels are very good,
some light wear but 100% intact.
Another hour and
a half of searching through the rest of the Center
produced no more bottle purchases, so I paid my
bill, a whopping $6.42, and headed out the door.
But wait. The story
doesn't stop there.
As I pulled out
onto Route 44 I thought, "It's too early to go
home. Should I try Chepachet or Pomfret, CT?"
We could do Chepatchet when we went out to Putnam
in a few weeks so off I went to the Pomfret Antique
Center.
It took me longer
to get there than to go through the place. With
ninety dealers, this consignment antique center
had produced some decent bottles in the past.
Not this time. Bottles and jars were very weak
and what was there were machine made screw tops
and unembossed junkers. I've put out better stuff
for the recycle guys. It took only 15 minutes
to go through the entire shop and I found what
I was looking for in the last ten feet.
As I turned the
corner to the exit, I spotted an amber cylinder
shaped whiskey sitting on a table with an unembossed
case gin. I could see there was embossing on the
whiskey but almost kept going. Lucky I didn't.
The whiskey turned out to be an unlisted two part
mold AMERICAN BOTTLING CORP. / PROV. R.I..
At first I thought this was the example listed
in the book as RI-960 but upon further inspection
realized it was a "new find". RI-960 is listed
as a three part mold and is embossed CO.
not CORP. . RI cylinder whiskeys are fairly
rare and here was one, super clean, lots of bubbles,
with a tiny flake off of the bottom, sporting
a $3.00 price tag. Good thing I didn't keep walking.
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