The Dr. Renz's Herb Bitters are another example of the early period of western manufactured bitters bottles. The "small letter" Renz has been described incorrectly in several of the most well known bitters references as being the later of the three versions on this bottle. For some unknown reason, this variant was described as being made in the late 1870's to 1880's. I always smiled when in the photo's one could clearly see the crude and nasty "small letter" Renz , with its crooked and sometimes different style top and overall crudity, compared to the other two variants. I suppose the consistent mold repair seen on the small letter Renz, was originally thought to indicate this must be the latest version of this square. It has since been learned, that the earliest Renz is indeed
an Alex Von Humboldt's recycled mold...thus the repair.
I just love this earliest Renz, being a late 1860's bottle blown in the West, and the beautiful colors they were made in. These were blown around the same time as the Cassin,s and Lacour's Bitters. They also share almost the exact color spectrum.
Here is my version of Lou's Old West Bottles Home Page...minus the crazy colored light pastel green specimen...Maybe some day! DM
In my research for writing the book, I came across information which showed that the Dr. Renz' s Herb Bitters was first introduced to the public in California by Carl Renz, John Renz' s father on August 31st, 1867.
ReplyDeleteKiller Renz's, Glassaddict! Thank you for consistanly shareing beautifiul bottles and writing some great post.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful color run of the variant 1 Renz's
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