First off, a belated Happy 2018 New Year to all my fellow bottle collectors. I hope that the New Year is going well for everyone so far. I know it is for Bottle Collecting, so I thought I better get back into action with the latest and greatest news and events.
For the collectors and diggers on the East coast, I know the weather isn’t the best for hunting, exploring, and digging for bottles. But, there are a lot of great shows with a selection of every category of bottle that will hopefully take care of the bottle itching bug, and it’s warmer. While there were only 7 shows in January to kick off the new year, the after burners are wide open for February with 10 shows from Oregon to Georgia and Florida, and New Jersey, Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, Connecticut and South Carolina, and so far 8 shows are lined up for March. I never can say enough about how everyone in the hobby needs to support these shows which supports and strengthens the overall hobby.
Along with the shows, there are a number of auctions that have happened already this year and some great ones planned for the near future. Jim Hagenbuch of Glass Works Auctions completed this ‘First of the Year’ auction with 325 lots that closed on January 8th. Glass Works Auctions will also be holding auctions in 2018 for the ‘Charlie Kota Collection of Colorful Historical Flask’, a major collection of Poison Bottles, and the ‘Bitter Bottle Collection’ of the late Larry Umbreit.
Fred Holabird of Holabird Western Americana Collections completed a successful 1st auction of the year with 2700 lots that closed on January 21st that included some great Western Bottles: A Pontiled Medium Cobalt Blue California Gold Rush Soda, ‘M R & D (1863-1864) that sold for $2,500, A Battle Mountain, Nevada ‘Lemaire Soda Bottle’ (1890-1892) that sold for $1,750, and a Seven Troughs, Nevada ‘The Owl Pharmacy Co.’(1909-1914) that sold for $1,812.
Another great one was from October 13-22, 2017, not 2018, Auction No. 64 that deserves attention by Jeff Wichmann of American Bottle Auctions, and consisted of 260 lots. Some of the highlights of that auction included a rare medium green ‘Indian Queen Bitters” bottle patented in 1868 that sold for $14,375, a ‘Lafayette DeWtt Clinton half-pint lime green flask that sold for $10,925, and a collection of 75 Western Sodas from the Ken Salazar collection sold for an amazing $80,000.
If all of these Bottle Shows and Auctions aren’t enough to keep you busy, how about attending the Federation of Historic Bottle Collectors (FOHBC) 2018 National Antique Bottle Convention & Expo August 2nd -5th at the Huntington Convention Center in Cleveland, Ohio. There’s going to be plenty of great Displays, Educational Seminars, a major Bottle Auction, a delicious Banquet, and over 200 Dealers with a great selection of Bottles and Historical Artifacts for sell. For more information contact Louis Fifer at: PH: 330-635-1964 or Email: fiferlouis@yahoo.com.
Another major event, especially for all of the Perfume Bottle Collectors, is the International Perfume Bottle Association’s 30th Annual Convention April 26th -29th at the Sheraton Tysons Hotel, Tysons Corner, Vienna, Virginia. They will also have Displays, Educational Seminars, a major auction that is also top notch, and dealers offering various categories of Perfume Bottles for sale. For more information, contact Rusty Hernandez at conventions@perfumebottles.org.
With all of these Bottle Shows, Auctions, and Events, 2018 is shaping up to be another fantastic year for the hobby of Bottle Collecting. Remember, “Always Have Fun With The Hobby of Bottle Collecting”.
Mike