About 10 years ago, one of my clients in Southern Oregon mentioned her family history and her great, great, great Grandparents had traveled across the US from Ohio to seek a new life in California in 1852. What was different was that unlike most gold seekers which were 90% men, both husband and wife made the trek for almost seven months to seek their "El Dorado" and a new life in the untamed west. Her story was very interesting and very clear in detail even though removed by many generations. She told me about the dreaded cholera and it's impact on the wagon train, taking young and old to their graves.Upon arriving in San Francisco in November 1852, They BOTH headed for the gold fields for a grueling Winter. She would be the only woman for miles and it was as uncivilized as it gets. Being very worried about disease and cholera. they had their own private "stash" of herbs, and medicines prepared by an apothecary in Ohio. For some reason , some of the medicine was stored in a blue soda bottle.. It is believed that the thickness of the bottle would protect the precious liquid from being broken and lost during travel in the mountains.
Fast forward to 2004, when after expressing my fascination with the California Gold Rush, and it's artifacts ( especially bottles), this sweet little German woman pointed to a curio cabinet in the living room. In the back of this cabinet was the unmistakable large top of a blue soda...an EARLY soda. I asked her if I could look at it, and she agreed. It was covered with dust, but I was holding a deep cobalt blue B&G San Francisco pontiled soda. A beautiful example with the giant flying saucer top, and full iron on the pontil. She knew I loved bottles, and although this was a VERY important bottle to her family, she offered it to me. The only condition was that I must keep it and keep
her family's history alive. I made the promise and the bottle has been in my collection in a box ever since.
What is incredible about this soda is that it has NEVER been cleaned or used for that matter. It retains it's full luster as the day it was made. No wear, no stain. It is as attic mint as an 1850s soda can be. While going through boxes looking for sale or trade stock to buy a western bitters, I came across this beauty again. All I can do is recall Judith's story...I do not know how accurate it is, but I will always cherish this bottle and wanted to share it with all of you. Can you imagine where this gem has been? DM
Dale,
ReplyDeleteTerrific example of that bottle and a great history of its use to go with it. Thanks for sharing it.
What a beautiful bottle and interesting history.
ReplyDeleters
Best example I have seen. Thanks for the story and the photo. While Peck Markota did an admirable job of documenting western soda bottles I once posited a different origin of this bottle than he did in an article that I wrote many years ago, and I believe the idea still has merit. The general wisdom is that the bottle is embossed B & G for the partners who had the bottles made. Peck made the reasonable assumption that the proprietors were Batje and Gratjan, two San Francisco druggists. I am suggesting that the initials may actually be B & C, which represents Buffum and Cammet, two well documented individuals who operated a San Francisco soda works very early in its history. This would include the same John Buffum who later became successful as a bottler in Pittsburgh, PA.
ReplyDeleteThe story of Buffum and Cammet would probably never be known except for the fact that Buffum's diary ended up in the California State Library, which tells of their odyssey of operating their soda works in San Francisco and their sale of the business to Wm. H. Burt in 1851.
The big question that needs to be resolved is whether that second embossed letter is a G or is it a C? Personally, I believe it may be a C. If it is a G, it is rather poorly formed. If it is a C, the bottom termination is rather strong. Unfortunately, with the advent of optical character recognition technology being able to scan old newspapers, no answers have been forthcoming in the historical record, and the jury is still out. I would love to hear from anyone who may have any knowledge or opinions on this subject.
What a killer example Dale ! And, wow,,, the provenance doesnt get any better !!
ReplyDeleteAs for Eric;s theory, it's so interesting to read what he is always turning-up research-wise. He's definitely the scholar of Western bottles and the "go-to guy" for Western glass questions ! As for the suggestion that the B&G is actually B&C, I'd like to chime in on that from a digger's context point of view. It's great to think out of the box and see other possibilites on some of the initials found on bottles, and it got me thinking about the B&G's I've dug over the yrs in outhouses, not dump layers such as the Embarcardero. I thought about the age context of each different privy where I scored a B&G, and I'm gonna stick with it being a "G". All of the examples I've found have come out of late 1850's pits. Eric stated that Buffum & Cammet sold to WH Burt in 1851. That would be too early for any of the pits where I've dug B & G sodas
AP
If you look at the G in B&G it looks totally different than the C's in San Francisco. I would have to lobby for it being B&G not B&C.
ReplyDeleters
I would like to see any ads for Batje and Gratjan if possible. Did they advertise as being in the soda business? DM
ReplyDeleteAlso, based on the timeline for this particular example, it would have been blown before 1852. Most of the B&G's ( or B&C's), I have seen have the indicators of having been used heavily for quite awhile. Lots of wear, and dings which lead me to believe these bottles were used over and over for years. It would make sense to find them in late 1850s context.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments and observations. They are all valuable in potentially determining the true origin of this bottle. Hopefully, an advertisement or article will eventually turn up that gives us a definitive answer. BTW, Bache & Grotjan began business in San Francisco in early 1851 and the partnership was terminated between July and October of 1854. Grotjan & Co. operated until October 1855 when he advertised the sale of the business. While they never advertised as selling soda water, they did periodically advertise the sale of soda water bottles, as well as druggist's glassware. I doubt that they would have had their initials embossed on the soda bottles that they sold unless they also actually entered the bottling business. The answer remains mute for now.
ReplyDelete