Have fun collecting bottles

#Middlebury #Antiques

Why not start a bottle collection this year? It’s fun and encourages healthy exercise and family outings. It creates new friendships and sometimes a lucky find brings money. Bottles can be found in stores, house sales and even dug up from old dumps.

There are thousands of bottle collectors who go to shows, meetings and even on trips to add to their knowledge and collections. Prices of bottles range from a few dollars to thousands of dollars. The top prices are for antique bottles that were made in a mold or blown. The most expensive of these are figural flasks of the 18th century that have the design raised in the glass. Almost all are listed and pictured in the books by Helen McKearin, so you can find out when and where they were made.

Would you have priced this 5 1/4-inch long figural whiskey nip (a small bottle that holds one shot) at $702? It sold at a Glass Works bottle auction in Pennsylvania in 2018. The rare bright-blue color added to the value.

Or search for less expensive inks, poisons, medicines, bitters, perfumes, figurals, old sodas, milks, mineral waters, miniatures and even modern Jim Beam, Avon, perfumes and children’s shampoo bottles. Some people collect and display the advertising that was used to sell the products in the bottles. You can even find groups that dig for bottles in old areas. Each type of bottle has been researched, and there are books, websites, museums and clubs that share information about rarity, prices and fakes. You can even join the National Federation of Bottle Clubs, which meets in many cities and welcomes new members. It’s easy to search online for information. All types are listed by name.

The Kovels’ online price guide shows hundreds of examples with prices. There also are numerous Kovels’ books about bottles. This week’s pictured blue clamshell-shaped bottle held whiskey. It has a screw-on metal cap used on many 1885-1900 bottles.

Q: I’d like information about a teddy bear I have. It has long mohair, felt pads on its feet, glass eyes, straw stuffing and a growler. The arms, legs and head move. It’s in good condition. There is a label that reads “Made in Federal Republik of Germany.”

A: Your teddy bear was made between May 1949 and October 1990, when the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) was in existence. Bears made before World War II are more desirable than newer bears. Without a maker’s name, it’s not possible to give a value for your bear.

Current Prices
Humidor, bust, red cheeks, teeth, yellow scarf, red bowtie, painted, Austria, c. 1900, 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches, $90.
Kitchen, churn, wood, crank, stand, Standard Churn Co. 1910, 22 x 38 inches, $250.
Map, globe, terrestrial, paper, composition, Art Deco, 1920s, 9 x 14 inches, $340.
Barrister’s bookcase, quarter-sawn oak, graduated sections, leaded glass, Globe-Wernicke, c. 1910, 12 x 34 inches, $740.

TIP: Look behind all hanging pictures once a year to be sure there are no insect nests, dust or loose wires.

For more collecting news, tips and resources, visit www.Kovels.com.

© 2020 King Features Synd., Inc.