Some of these mystery's are major, some minor. Take for instance the "Western R". Now here's a major mystery. When did the Western curved "R" first appear on western bottles? Is this "R"unique to one particular glass house or did both the SFGW and PGW use the curved "R"? Is this "R" from just one mold maker or was it used by several different craftsmen over a span of years? And just when did they quit using this "Western R"? This, for sure, is a mystery that I have tried to solve for a long time. Every time I think I am getting close to a conclusion another piece of information sends me off in another direction, or backward, and brings more questions than answers.
One of the minor mystery's that seems to be spinning around in perpetual motion is the N. Mills/ Fish's Infallible Hair Restorative. Here's a bottle that has collectors, and myself, debating if this bottle was blown in the west or is just another eastern made piece of glass used to market a western product. Take a look at that unique apostrophe shaped like a 7 and the funky R that seems to be curved in instead of out like the western "R". The only bottles that I can recall that share these qualities are all, I believe, eastern. The Fish's N. Mills, Fish's B.F. Fish, Risley's Buchu, and the Ghirardelli's Branch soda. Having said that, and now have scores of western collectors on the war path, lets move on to the reason for this post: THE WESTERN STAR.
Just when I was happy concentrating on one major, and the minor...small potato's Fish's mystery, Oregon collector Dale Mlasko throws down the gauntlet on "THE WESTERN STAR" Rat's !!!, another darn mystery. If I had any gumption I could let it go, but no, the seed has been planted and its already started to grow into a low rent, although interesting, mystery.
The STAR Of THE UNION star is a exact match to the earlier gold rush buckle star. Crisp, sharp points and canted.
Dale claims that the square bottle with a star and TM embossed on it could quite possibly be a western blown bottle. Dale's contention is that several western merchants have a star prominently displayed or embossed in the glass of their product. That is correct but the star on the bottle is not canted like the star on the advertisement.
Hmm... TM with star, J.F. Cutter Extra has a star in a shield, good ol' Jesse Moore has two stars in its logo and one is canted like the advertisement for the Star of the Union Bitters. The Bay City soda has a star, but its not pudgy like the J.F. or Jesse Moore star. If we are talking stars we had better look at the shape for clues as to whether its an eastern, military, shining, Carl's Jr. or western star, shouldn't we? Having dealt with a few mystery's over the years standard operating procedure dictates that, first off, you get as close to a subject as you can. If that doesn't help, then you get as far away as possible to get a different view of the whole situation.
so.......After a quick trip to Marysville for a Carls Jr. burger I noticed the star on the burger wrapper didn't look anything like our (so-called) western star, its points were rounded and it had a smiley face on it. We can eliminate Carl's Jr.'s star as being modeled after the Star of the Union Bitters star.
Just look at a military star it means business, not bitters!
The Jesse Moore stars are a little more rounded in the web than the Star of the Union Star. The lower star in the Jesse logo is canted like the star in the advertisement for the (so-called western) bitters, but the similarity ends there. The J.F. Cutter star is way fatter and the web is a lot more rounded than the star embossed on the TM bottle.
What does all this information add up to? Basically, with the small amount of detective work that I have done, there doesn't seem to be any connection between the Star of the Union star and any of the stars embossed on known western bottles. Now if any of you have any theories or other evidence to link the TM star to a western product..........
Jesse Moore canted star
I wouldn't say the Star of the Union bottle is western because it has a star on it, but I would say it is most likely western based on the glass characteristics and the similarity to the slick version of the same square that comes out of late 1860s holes on the west coast. Don't forget about the mid to late 1860s Pacific Glass Works star shoulder pickle !
ReplyDeleteI notice that some stars are not centered or straight. The western pickle star is off a few degrees too. Any thoughts?
ReplyDeleteThe "Western R" is indeed used by both PGW and SFGW with examples existing from both factories while they remained independent companies from each other. The pattern maker most likely responsible was likely working at the Vulcan Iron and Machine Shop in S.F. They were making the iron bottle molds for the glass works.
ReplyDelete