Bed Bug Bottle found in wall, any ideas?

jerseyben

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Picked up two 48 star parade flags at a yard sale back in June. Didn't realize they are a coveted item. Cool.
 

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djm of PA

djm of PA

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sorry for the delay guys, between the storms and our hunting season I just haven't found the time to get there until this a.m. I did make an error, he didn't find "13 starred flags", he found 13 flags with 45stars each. anyway, here are pics of the items that were all found together in the wall. I couldn't find the cane and dad wasn't home. hopefully i'll be able to get a pic of that yet. Indian head is an 1863 and in GREAT shape, full liberty and detail.
 

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djm of PA

djm of PA

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and more!
 

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jeff of pa

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WOW Cool Poison Bottle on the end !
 

capt-zero

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Wow! I love all of that. Every item stirs me up. Is there anything in the Buzzer bait box? That German book(?) leaf looks, from the photograph, to be laid paper from the 18th century. Very nice!
 

capt-zero

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Wanted to add an addendum to the above. Since you have posted in the "What's it Worth" section, I'm assuming you are interested in value. I personally can't place an exact value on anything here, but will say that it's all very collectable. The flag, the Buisiness college broadside, and the bait box all date from the late 19th to the early 20th centuries. As I mentioned earlier, the German page appears to be 18th century paper. If you look at it held to a window, you might see "crosshatching" which are artifacts from the paper making process left from that era. However, that being said, you can buy "laid paper" from any art supply store today. The 45 starred flag was only in existence for very few years so are highly prized by collectors. The flags, bait box, and pharmecuetical bottles are most likely the most sought after of your collectibles and should sell well at auction. As with any auction item, the more detailed your research is the better the item will sell.
I have not contacted them since the creation of the web, but the National Bottle Museum has helped me in the past find the history and value of antique bottles before. They are very nice and helpful people if you contact them. I do know that they have an annual auction you can consign to.
Good luck with the items, and I would have a great deal of regret letting go of any of it.
 

nsdq

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i have a casket flag with 48 stars on it
 

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djm of PA

djm of PA

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to answer a few questions, sadly the buzzer bait box is actually just a buzzer lid, no box.
capt-zero, on second thought my dad is not going to sell any of it, he knows as you stated that he would regret it. instead it will be displayed in the house when all the renovations are complete. I am going to bug him about the cane, I really want you to see that yet, it was pretty cool.
 

jeff of pa

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FYI Buddy, Schuylkill Blue Book p.318 reports that MARTIN ZERBE kept the leading hotel at Newtown. It also says that his brother Henry helped build the hotel. An iron plate, inscribed 1810, was embedded in the wall.

Since I'm fairly Certain your dad's place is the first Hotel there, this may be relevant.

try and find the 1810 plate. maybe on a corner like a corner stone,
under the shingles or to the right side of the original Bar entrance.
where a door bell would normally be places today.
should be easy to run your probe around and listen for a scream :laughing7:

Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: Genealogy Report: Descendants of Martin Zerbe
 

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djm of PA

djm of PA

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Another bottle found this week in a ceiling rafter!
 

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epackage

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The Bed Bug without label doesn't have any real value, the repurposed beer/soda with the poison labels might be a $5-10 piece tops, unless it has interest to a local collector looking for something with a paper label from that specific pharmacy. The last bottle is a cologne also missing it's label and could be in the $20 range if sold.... An enjoyable group of items you found...congrats...Jim
 

bottles10

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Readers of this post seem to be missing the checks and bumps on the bottle itself that without the label identifies it as a poison bottle. A few years ago when there where many big money poison bottle collectors it would probable have brought 100.00 or 150.00 Now it is the label that makes it so. If it has a pontil and it may be. Your green bottle is. It could be more.
 

epackage

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Readers of this post seem to be missing the checks and bumps on the bottle itself that without the label identifies it as a poison bottle. A few years ago when there where many big money poison bottle collectors it would probable have brought 100.00 or 150.00 Now it is the label that makes it so. If it has a pontil and it may be. Your green bottle is. It could be more.
I don't know about your part of the country but a repurposed crown top beer/soda with a few labels like that would never have brought more than $5-10 unless someone from the Kennedy Family was looking for one of grandad's original labels. The cologne is pontiled but without their labels they don't bring alot and are fairly common on Ebay, it may bring a few more dollars if it was some great color.... IMHO
 

duffytrash

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the little glass shoe is prob fenton glass...some chance it could be viking or new martinsville glass....google that and you may be pleasantly suprised....
 

SODABOTTLEBOB

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I can't speak for the other items, but if the "Crown-top Poision" ...


1. Is a BIM (Blown In a Mold) bottle then it would likely date circa 1892 to circa 1910.

2. Is a machine made bottle, then it would likely date circa 1910 to circa 1920s-30s.

There are various ways to determine how it was made, thus approximately when. Start with the location of the mold seam and then go from there.

Sodabottlebob
 

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