Repro update - a comparison

Repro update.

The first line in the prior post read; " It's not western, but it is a bitters - sort of."

 

In an effort to allow everyone an opportunity to form their own opinion about the current reproduction issue, I managed to place an order for one each of the cabins and barrels currently on the market. They got here yesterday.

 

Here's where the rubber meets the road. "It's not western", is an understatement. Although I have no way to prove it, I can safely conjecture, that these particular reproductions are, drum roll please, ................................. (you guessed it) - "Made in China"! The raunchy cardboard boxes with that unique and funky odor and haphazardly placed staples, that both bottles were packed in (most probably at the factory since they were a perfect fit), were the first clue.

 

 

 Reproduction Old Sachems barrel / Reproduction Drakes cabin

 

At first, I felt comfortable in stating that they were easy to spot as fakes because both the Drakes and the Old Sachems have tooled tops. That lasted all of about 2 minutes; until I pulled an original tooled top four log Drakes that I've had for close to thirty years off the shelf. Moving onto individual deviations from the originals...

 

 

St. Drakes / 1860 Plantation / X Bitters; The repro / fantasy piece that I purchased is a four log variant. The color is somewhat intriguing and or convincing, and could by some stretch of the imagination be confused with an original, but that's where the attraction stops. As stated, the top is tooled. I've seen a couple of tooled tooled top 4 logs in the years that I've been around the figural bitters block. Still, they are an exception to the rule and nearly all have applied tops, done with varying degrees of skill.
 

Fake tooled top

Original tooled top

 

 

Original applied top

 

 

Let's address the problems on the fake, line by line;

 

1) The embossing is a joke. Not even close. Amateurish at best. Refer to the side by side photos. "1860" is slanted upward from left to right. "Bitters" is slanted in the opposite direction. On the reverse "1862" is offset far to the left. As mentioned, all embossing is poorly rendered and notably weaker than on the original.

 

Fake
 

 

 

Original

  

 

Fake

 

 

Original

 

 

 

2) The bottle was severely under blown, resulting in notably "squashed in" side panels.

3) The bottom log is placed significantly up on the base, compared to the real deal. This in turn, results in a taper of over 1/2" from the base edge to the bottom of the first log.

 

4) Label; it's a mystery, but it's coming apart at the seams. It appears to be a thin transparent piece of film laid over a piece of white paper. Probably velum. The front label of this one has a tear through the middle of the top label, and the rear label is de-laminating and the top layer is peeling at the edges.

5) Measurements, the fake is 10 7/16" tall - 3 1/16" across at the widest part above the top log, and 2 5/16 across the base in both directions. The base diagonal measurement is 3" corner to corner.

6) Base mark; the X is pretty close to the original, but a large indented "dimple" is present adjacent to the X; possibly something to do with the production techniques employed. The original has diagonal base mold seams present, the fake does not.

 

Fake

Original

 

 

 

Overall Impression - Close, but absolutely no cigar. The color is intriguing and could pass as a variant in a Drakes "rainbow of colors" display, but it's unlike any I recall seeing. The glass has a different "ring" than the original. It has an overly bright tone compared to an original when tapped with a metal object. I suppose a beginning collector could be fooled because it's glass and looks like a Drakes. It doesn't outright scream "fake", but it is still significantly different than the originals.

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Old Sachem /  Bitters / and / Wigwam Tonic; The repro / fantasy piece that I purchased has a tooled top; a dead giveaway. The color can best be described as a smoky greenish amber. it's an odd duck.  As stated, the top is tooled. I only have two originals to compare against the fake, but both originals are nearly identical so am using them as a comparison. Feel free to chime in if you have an original that differs significantly from mine.

Fake on left / Original on right

 

Let's address the other problems on the fake, line by line;

 

1) The embossing is a joke. Not even close. Amateurish at best. It is chunky and sloppy. Refer to the side by side photos to compare the two. The bottom line of embossing intrudes into the barrel ring beneath it.

Fake

Original

2) The top barrel band is bulkier than the originals. The neck is notably wider. The base is wider. These issues contribute to making the fake look "less delicate" than the slimmer original.

 

3) Measurements, both are 9 5/16" tall. The fake is 2 1/4 across the base, whereas the original is only 2 1/16". The original is 3 7/16" wide at the widest point in the center, the fake is 3 1/2". The fake is 1 7/8" across the top barrel band, whereas the original is 2".

4) Barrel bands; the fakes first band begins at the base. the originals first band begins over 1/4" up from the base. Both have 10 bands beneath and 10 bands above the embossing.

5) Base mark; the original has a straight line base seam across the center, the fake has none.

 

Overall Impression - Maybe "kinda close", if you use your imagination. The glass has a different "ring" than the original. Not "dead" like modern glass but a notably different sound when tapped with a metal object. Again, the color is intriguing but it's unlike any I recall seeing. And once again, I suppose a beginning collector could be fooled because it's glass and looks like a barrel bitters. It is significantly different than the originals. Unfortunately, unless compared side by side, the differences could be overlooked.

 

Additional thoughts and comments are encouraged~

 

A quick PS in response to questions posed; The fake bottles do not have a greasy or slick feel to them. Handled side by side with an original I can detect no tactile difference. Same goes for off odors. None detected once the fakes had a chance to air out after being pulled from the factory packaging.