DR. HENLEY’S
WILD GRAPE ROOT
IXL
BITTERS
Circa: 1868 – 1871
One of the more popular bitters products of the western states, Dr. Henley’s Wild Grape Root IXL Bitters, was introduced to the public in 1868. L. Gross & Co. of San Francisco was the manufacturers and proprietors of Henley’s concoction of alcohol, wild grapes from Oregon and flavorings.
The first and oldest embossed bottle that contained Henley’s Bitters does not have a circle embossed around the IXL. These early examples come in various colors with amber being the rarest and one of the most sought after, although any colored Henley’s is extremely desirable and collectable.
The first and oldest embossed bottle that contained Henley’s Bitters does not have a circle embossed around the IXL. These early examples come in various colors with amber being the rarest and one of the most sought after, although any colored Henley’s is extremely desirable and collectable.
The variant pictured above was a product of the Pacific Glass Works. In a stereoscopic view photo taken at the 1869 San Francisco Mechanics Institute Fair of their glassware exhibit, an example of the above was identified by magnification, and was able to read a portion of the embossing on the bottle. Dr. Henley's Wild Grape Root IXL Bitters was entered in the 1868 State Agricultural Fair where it won a silver medal over a rival competitor, Dr. Renz's Herb Bitters. This bitters became such a success market wise that F. & P.J. Cassin began marketing a second bitters called Cassin's XXX Wild Grape Root Bitters in a similar shaped bottle and began a marketing blitz near the end of 1868, pushing this brand and apparently having success with it. Louis Gross so objected to this that he sued the Cassin brothers over infringement rights and lost the lawsuit, which the Cassin's played up in their newspaper ads for their bitters product.
For some reason, the colored IXLs have totally evaded my shovel. A few years ago, I dug a farm privy that had those bottles stacked in it, but not one was anything but aqua. The upstairs walls of the house were papered with 1879 newspapers, but nothing great came from the earliest pit. The owner was a wino, but didn't drink whiskey, much to my dismay. If some future digger re-investigates those privys, he will find several dozen wines and a few IXLs that were so poorly embossed that I threw them back.
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I have found one with the circle around the ixl it is imilucent green when light is held to it does not have cork how much is it worth?
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