Today from the bottle dump, and some stuff from the weekend

[cti4sw]

This past weekend I went to an old park in my hometown. The park has a colorful history; it's been used as a landfill, and one section of it was annexed by the US Army during WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. Anyways, there is a creek running through it that has been used as a dumping ground for decades, so I scoured it for bottle dumps. Found a lot of plain clear and amber stuff, nothing remarkable until the small cobalt Bromo-Seltzer (which I'm not posting bc I have like 6 of them) and this:

Mercitan
Mouth & Throat Lotion
Made in USA
by The L.D. / Caulk / Company
Milford, Del.
Toronto, Can.

Then, back home to Hatfield and the usual creekside dump this afternoon. Dug into a part we haven't hit yet and came out with these:

"Nu Icy: Flavors You Can't Forget"
Minimum Contents 7 Flu Ozs / Bottle Pat'd. March 9, 1920
C955 3
Philadelphia, PA (center) "6" "30E"

Pre-1900 applied taper lip
The Duffy Malt Whiskey Company, Rochester N.Y. USA
"Contents 25 Ounces"
Base mark: Pat'd. Aug. 24 1886 (center) "2"

Theatre Drug Store
R M Bitner
Prescription Pharmacist
Lansdale, PA Phone 4110

 

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[unclemac]

keep on posting, love those odd ones

 

[Azjones]

Very nice finds! Had a good chuckle when I read (throat lotion) sounds to thick to drink! LOL!

 

[surf]

Pre-1900 applied taper lip
The Duffy Malt Whiskey Company, Rochester N.Y. USA
"Contents 25 Ounces"
Base mark: Pat'd. Aug. 24 1886 (center) "2"

Hey cti4sw,

I gotta argue with you a little on this one, because of the "Contents" marking. I've dug Duffys, but none with the "Contents" marking. This is one of those arcane dating marks that put it 1913 or later, as was legislated by the Gould Amendment.

 

[cti4sw]

Hey cti4sw,

I gotta argue with you a little on this one, because of the "Contents" marking. I've dug Duffys, but none with the "Contents" marking. This is one of those arcane dating marks that put it 1913 or later, as was legislated by the Gould Amendment.

That's fine, I was using Joshr's catchall about post-1900 ABM products having a full length seam. I actually have not a clue how to properly date these things, so thanks for the correction, I learned something :-) now....what's it worth?

 

[CoilyGirl]

Nice bottles,pretty displayed with the light shining through them.

 

[surf]

now....what's it worth?

Hey cti4sw,

They are a nice window bottle. Because of Walter Duffy's promotional genius they were very popular. Their short necked stout construction, insured that many, many examples survived in dumps & privies throughout the land.

As an aside, and a psychological profile of one particular pit I dug years ago, that was particularly bottle rich, I found a dozen Duffy's, all smashed to bits. They were nearly the only broken bottles in the hole. Many other far more fragile bottles were recovered intact. The Duffy's were the only liquor bottles present. I envisioned the former owner, perhaps drinking in the dark surreptitiously, smashing the 'evidence' before consigning them to the depths, so as to avoid a floating indictment from the lady of the house...

Jack Sullivan has done an excellent history: Those Pre-Pro Whiskey Men!: How Mr. Duffy Outwitted Uncle Sam

Unfortunately, because of their commonness, there is generally a plethora available at Electronic Auction.