(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) -  The only known example of a Henry Sadler label under glass flask, a quarter-sawn oak advertising chair for the Shea Bocqueraz Company (distributors of Teacup and Teakettle whiskey), and a gorgeous green St. Drake 1860 Plantation bitters bottle are just a few of the expected top lots in American Bottle Auctions’ internet and catalog auction #59.

The 184 rare and vintage bottles will be available for online viewing starting Jan. 8, at the American Bottle Auctions website (www.americanbottle.com). The auction will run from Friday, Jan. 10, to Sunday, Jan. 19, at 7 p.m. (PCT). “Our 59th auction promises to be one of our better sales,” said Jeff Wichmann of American Bottle Auctions, “with examples in many categories.”

These will include sodas (featuring a number of rare variants), whiskeys (both fifths and flasks, some of them rare and unusual), bitters (eastern and western), colored pontil medicines, historical flasks, inkwells, gins, sasparillas and other liquors, early chestnuts, pickle and fruit jars and  more. Catalogs will be available in early January. Phone and absentee bids will be accepted.

The name Henry Sadler is iconic in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he was a liquor importer and wholesaler beginning in 1860. The label under glass flask bearing his name – 5 ¾ inches tall, with original metal cap – is exceptionally rare and in near-mint condition (graded 9.5 out of 10). The woman in the portrait strongly favors Annie Oakley. The flask should realize $2,000-$3,000.

The Shea Bocqueraz Company was a San Francisco-based liquor distributor (1888-1903). The all-original oak chair being sold was made for the firm as a promotional giveaway, most likely to a saloon or other top customer. It stands 41 inches tall, with an 18-inch-wide seat – and has a great carved imp (or Leprechaun) at the top. It is expected to hammer for $2,000-$5,000.

The St. Drake 1860 Plantation X bitters, patented 1862 on the reverse and with an applied top, is colored a beautiful medium green, leaning toward citron. Except for a half-inch-long annealing check in a corner log about halfway up the left side, it is nearly perfect, graded at 9.7. This bottle could easily end up being the top lot of the sale. It’s expected to hit $5,000-$10,000.

From sodas and waters, two bottles stand out. One is a Pacific Congress Water Springs (Saratoga, Calif.) western mineral water bottle, pastel green, in super shape, graded 9.7 (est. $2,000-$3,000). The other is a circa 1851-1863 M. R. Sacramento/Union Glassworks (Phila., Pa.) soda, the variant where “Sacramento” is spelled correctly, blue in color (est. $500-$1,500).

One other noteworthy soda bottle is from Empire Soda Works (San Francisco, circa 1861-1871). It has a bit of a haze and a few scratches, but because of its beautiful green color it’s been given a pre-sale estimate of $400-$700. Also, a beautiful example of a Wister’s Club House bottle, colored a golden yellowish green and graded well at 9.6+, should garner $2,000-$3,000.

An outstanding example of a London Jockey Clubhouse Gin bottle with embossed horse and rider, golden yellow in color (not the usual green) and graded a near-perfect 9.7, should sell for $2,000-$5,000. Also, a 7-inch-tall New England Glassworks concentric ring eagle flask, with the eagle on both sides, in the smaller pint-sized variant, graded 9.2, should fetch $2,000-$4,000.

A scarce Lafayette and DeWitt Clinton half-pint historical flask in an olive/forest green color, with an elongated neck and overall crudity, graded 9.9 (without a virtually undetectable flake repair, masterfully done by Marty Hall) should breeze to $2,000-$4,000. Also, a pint scroll flask, in an uncommon deep blue color with a touch of teal, graded 9.8, should rise to $100-$200.

Two fantastic bitters bottles carry identical pre-sale estimates of $2,000-$4,000. The first is a Greeley’s Bourbon bitters with applied top and smooth base. This “vertical” Greeley’s has an exceptional strawberry puce color, but a little roughness gives it a grade of 9.4. The second is a Catawba Wine bitters with an embossed cluster of grapes, pristine (9.8), with loads of whittle.

A Dr. A. S. Hopkin’s Union Stomach bitters bottle in the square variant, with applied top and smooth base, with “Dr.” embossed on the bottle and yellow-green in color, graded tip-top at 9.9, should command $1,000-$1,500; while a Brinckerhoff’s Health Restorative (N.Y.) bottle, 7 ¼ inches tall and with a price of $1, brilliant forest green, graded 9, should make $1,000-$2,000.

From the medicines category comes an I. Coverts Balm of Life early bottle in a brilliant green, extremely rare, with a top about as drippy as they come and with the open pontil near the side of the base, graded 9.5 (est. $2,000-$4,000); and a Gibb’s Bone Ligament bottle, also early, olive amber colored with a super drippy top and lots of whittle, graded 9.8 (est. $1,000-$2,000).

The standard American Bottle Auction rules will apply to this sale (for details, log on to www.americanbottle.com). To order a catalog (available in early January) call (800) 806-7722, or send an e-mail request to info@americanbottle.com. Anyone interested in registering to bid for Auction #59 may go to the American Bottle Auctions website: www.americanbottle.com.

American Bottle
Auctions is always accepting quality consignments for future sales. To consign a single bottle or an entire collection, you may call them toll-free, at 1-800-806-7722; or, you can e-mail them at info@americanbottle.com. To learn more about American Bottle Auctions and Auction #59 (January 10th– 19th), please log on to www.americanbottle.com.

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