The 2025 Milwaukee Antique Bottle show will be held at the Waukesha Expo Center. Show chairman Sid Hatch expects we will sell out all of the 140 tables again this year, so get your contracts in early. 

Click here to view the flyer 2025 Bottle Show

During the Pandemic, I came across a Miller Brewing Company advertising sign that caught my attention. I occasionally browse the internet for vintage Miller High Life Girl in the Moon breweriana. The vintage advertisement focus is on one character attending a baseball game. I call this advertisement ‘The Red Miller Man.’ I believe this is another work by Mid-Western commercial artist and relative, Thomas Wallace Holmes. The composition shows a sports fan among a sea of fans heads. I compare him to Thomas Holmes 1926 photograph of his sister-in-law, my grandmother, Ruth Strauss pictured alongside a

The well-known pontil marked bottles from druggist Henry Fess that are embossed “HENRY FESS FR. / JAUNDICE BITTERS / MILWAUKIE”. Fess came to Milwaukee in 1846 and started a druggist business that lasted into the 1890’s.

This article by Ferdinand Meyer V of Peachridge Glass provides a detailed look at the man, his business, and the bottles he used.

Click on the photo to read the article.

 

The well known aqua bitters bottles embossed "HENRY FESS JR. / JAUNDICE BITTERS / MILWAUKIE WIS." shown here are some of Wisconsin's first embossed glass bottles. Fess came to Milwaukee in 1846 and was in the druggist business for many years.

This article by Ferdinand Meyer V from Peachridge Glass provides a detailed history of the man, his druggist business and the bottles he used.

Click on the photo to see read the article.

One of the more unusual privy digging finds recently was this teal blue pressed glass object. It is embossed “COLLAR PAD NO. 3 PATD JAN. 31, 1888”. It is broken into two pieces and is missing a corner but is still an interesting and attractive piece of old glass. We assumed it was part of a neck brace for a human, but a review of the patent proved otherwise.

Click here to read the article

In April 2022, a short road trip to the antique shops in Watertown resulted in the discovery of an early style stoneware bottle marked “F. SCHWARZ & Co MILWAUKEE.” It had been someone’s subject for an art project. When I spotted it, I immediately recognized the style as a Milwaukee made bottle, but upon examination I was overjoyed to see the stamp!

Click here to read the article

Many bottle collectors are aware of Edwin H. and C.J. Merrill and their 1847 U.S. Patent number 5,206 for a process for making pressed, molded stoneware bottles by machine. Less well known is the 1868 Merrill patent for improvements to the machine (Figure 1). The redesigned equipment improved quality and efficiency. It also enables today’s collectors to determine if a molded bottle was made before or after 1868 from markings on the bottoms, much like glass bottles can be dated based on the presence of a pontil mark. In the case of pressed clay bottles, however, the older ones have smooth bases while those with rough bottoms date from after 1868. 

Click here to read the article

The opening Chase Valley Glass Company marked the beginning of a 30-year era of glass manufacturing in Milwaukee. Although the Chase Valley works operated only one brief season, four successive glassworks operated at the same location. The Chase Valley glassworks also left behind a rich legacy of bottles and flasks for collectors. Many are embossed with the glass company on the bottom or near the base on the side:

C.V.G. Co MILW
C.V. No 2 MILW (sometimes with mold number in the center)
C.V. No 1 MILW (sometimes with mold number in the center)

 This is the1 1th article by Linda Hoffman crediting Miller High Life Beer's iconic Girl in the Moon artist Thomas Wallace Holmes with his original brewing advertising creations, that he was never recognized for by the Miller Brewing Company.

Click the image to read the article. 

An early prototype Hobbleskirt Coca Cola bottle with large verticle embossing from Milwaukee came to light recently.

One of the staple products offered to settlers, farmers and local residents was utilitarian pottery. In the Territorial years most of it was imported via Great Lakes shipping from Ohio or New York. After pottery manufacturing started in the late 1840's some merchants sold locally made and imported pottery, both stoneware and earthenware. Some pieces were made to order with merchant names stamped into them. Some were sold with product inside, other pottery was sold as containers for use on the farm or in the home. This presentation covers pre-civil war examples of pottery and the history of the merchants who sold them.

From time to time you come across bottles that are so unexpected, so amazing that you have to look twice. When this E. ANHEUSER CO came up I was so shocked I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.

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A recent discovery of an unusual bottle in the Lake Geneva area adds an amazing footnote with a mysterious but strong Mukwonago connection.
  
Mukwonago had its own patent medicine manufacturer!  Quite a creative one too in terms of the fanciful branding of his product.  The bottle shown was recently found in an old collection of pharmacy items, and to the author, a collector of local bottles for half a century, a quite significant one.  The aqua glass bottle exhibits glass blowing technology of the late 1880’s to about 1905 and is 8 5/8” tall. 

Click the photo to read the article.

A newly discovered variety of a Wisconsin early 1860s smooth based medicine was dug mixed in with turn of the century bottles in Lacrosse - apparently a late throwaway. It is important because there are very few embossed medicines that are this early known from Lacrosse. The bottle was made for the Uriah Perry Jr.’s wholesale druggist business in Lacrosse, probably around 1859 or 1860.

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While sorting through some of the ephemera I have collected over the years related to bottle collecting, I recently ran across a scrap of paper that I acquired at a farm auction south of Sussex, Wisconsin.   The hand writing style and quill or fountain pen ink indicate it probably dates to the mid-19th century.  While interesting enough for me to save it at the time, it takes on additional relevance as I deal with the aches and pains of arthritis in my advancing years.  As many of our club members are in the same general age bracket, I thought I would share with you the old recipe that is on this piece of paper.  You might find it quite useful but probably pretty dangerous as well.

Click the photo to read the article.

This quart earthenware bottle was discovered recently in Portage, Wisconsin. The bottle was made at a Portage City Pottery for Ben Atwell of Madison who put up Table Beer in the bottle. It is lead glazed and wheel turned. This is the first bottle found from Atwell who ran a retail grocery store on the corner of State and Johnson Streets who operated from 1856 to the 1860's. By 1870 he was a "Market Farmer" presumably selling produce from his farm. The bottle dates from 1859 to 1863 which are the years that the Portage City potteries operated.

When Bella Masterson went missing in the Spring of 1896 did anyone notice, or even care? Surely her family, friends or neighbors wondered. Sadly, they would never know because she simply vanished without a trace. Some seventy years later, diver Charlie Daniels found a sealed Hutchinson soda bottle neck down in a lake 35 feet under water containing a note that suggested the answer. But it would be another thirty years before another underwater discovery would confirm Bella’s fate.
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In this article Linda tells about a meeting with Richard Bennett, a collector of vintage Ringling Circus advertising items. He was also an actor performing with Jimmy Durante, the Three Stooges, the Lone Ranger and others. She discovered that there were several coincidences is their past. It's a small world indeed.
Click the photo to read the article.

When we go out hunting for antique bottles, we hope to mark the spot. We hope to remember it with all of the early, rare, and crude artifacts we find. This story describes how one spot left its mark on me.

I started collecting antique bottles because of another hobby; scuba diving. While diving with my buddies, we found bottles and eventually got hooked on collecting them. There are, of course, other ways to find bottles. You can buy them or dig them from the ground. Privy digging has been refined to an art form nowadays. There are collectors who dig for bottles with machine-like efficiency. However, don't let that fool you. It is not an easy way to find things. You need a whole new skill set.

Continued... Click the photo to read the full article.

A recent addition to my collection spurred an investigation with surprising results and proved once again that the history behind the glass and ceramic containers that we collect can be absolutely fascinating. The bottle is a clear quart cylinder whiskey embossed in a bold slug plate, “Fred W. Pawinski Marble Hall Milwaukee.” It is pre-machine made and I judged its age to be in the 1900 to 1910 age. I wondered who was this Fred guy and what was “Marble Hall.” It also intrigued me that in my nearly five decades of collecting I had not seen any other bottle from Pawinski. I presumed his business must have been an obscure, short-lived venture. My assumption proved to be wrong on several levels.

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In August, I went to look at the Ringling Brothers Circus posters in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Upon entering the main circus museum building, my husband Brian spotted the enormous, framed, wall-size advertisement of the famous high-wire performer Bird Millman with parasol located between the men’s and women’s restrooms in the lobby hallway. (Figure 1) The star-filled night sky encircled in gold reminds me of my great uncle Thomas Holmes Miller High Life ‘Girl in the Moon’ beer tray rim. Bird Millman’s outstretched graceful arm and parasol grasped in the other to provide balance, also remind me of Tom’s previous photographs for illustration work with his wife and sisters-in-law Pearl and Ruth. Tom used a parasol as a prop with ‘Strolling Girl’ 1904, Pearl Strauss with parasol photo appeared on page 30 of the American Breweriana Journal issue #182 in my first article Proof of Ruth and another one with Ruth and Helen in 1906.

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The 2019 Milwaukee Antique Bottle show is history now. The show location was the Waukesha Expo Center which is 30 miles west of Milwaukee. Show chairman Dave Kapsos reported that there were more than 150 dealer sales tables and more than 450 paid admissions. Dealers reported brisk sales and many pieces of rare historic glass and advertising items changed hands.

The show featured a number of exhibits by collectors and several door prizes were awarded.

There were three outstanding presentations. Topics included
- The Waukesha Water Wars by John Schoenknect
- Wisconsin Territorial Merchant Stoneware by Henry Hecker
- The History of Thomas Holmes Girl in the Moon by Linda Hoffman

This show is once per year. The 2020 show show will bey be held on February 2nd in the same location.

The first full-faced Miller High Life ‘Girl in the Moon’ appeared in 1943. Her looks were updated to fit the current fashion trends depicting healthy, wholesome young women as ‘pin-up girls’. This European female characterization caught on here during World War II.

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Although this unlisted quart stoneware bottle is unknown to most collectors it has been in the collection of the Kenosha Museum for many years. The stamp reads F. BUTTRFIELD MONROE and was probably made by the Charles Hermann & Co. stoneware factory in Milwaukee around 1880. Based on the bottle style it probably was used for Small Beer which was a type of non or low alchohol content brewed beverege such as Root Beer, Lemon Beer, Sarsaparilla, etc. Little is known about Mr. Butterfield. There is a Fred Butterfield listed in the 1880 Census for the City of Monroe but he lists his occupation as Dentist so he may or may not be the owner of this soda bottling operation. No other bottles, advertisements or other references have surfaced yet from F. Butterfield. More information is needed on this company.
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Within the Mukwonago Historical Society’s collection are two very old wood and iron signs that by their construction and style would seem to date to the mid-nineteenth century. It is believed that these signs were used to direct weary travelers to establishments in the Mukwonago area to rejuvenate and spend the night. This was a time when stagecoaches ferried people from Milwaukee to points west on plank roads, to Prairieville (now Waukesha), Janesville, East Troy, Mequanigo (Mukwonago), South Port (Kenosha), Whitewater and other destinations. Stagecoaches were the primary source of transportation, save for horseback and by foot for the heartiest souls, until the advent of the railroads starting in the 1850's. One sign directs travelers to the “J.M. Stockman Inn” and the other to “J.Smith’s Inn.”

Click on the photo top see read the article.

A well known amber medicine bottle from Milwaukee is embossed Sherman Primley Iron and Wahoo Tonic. Less well known is an aqua Sarsaparilla from the same company and an extremely rare bottle from the same firm embossed Primley's Speedy Cure for Coughs and Colds. Another rare variety is this gorgeous olive green variant from the Jones & Primley partnership in Elkhart, Indiana that sold in a Glassworks auction.

The fact that there are also similar bottles from Sherman Primley from Elkhart Lake Indiana leads you to surmise that Mr. Primley operated out of both cities or had a main office plus a branch. Questions about the company are well explained in this article we found on the Bottle Pickers web site. According to the article, Sherman Primley moved from Elkhart to Milwaukee in 1897 and later moved to Peoria, leaving a trail of clues in the form of embossed bottles from all three cities.

Click on the photo top see read the article.

I began to research my family’s ties to the iconic Miller ‘Girl in the Moon’ twenty years ago in 1998. She spectacularly appeared as Chicago commercial artist Thomas Holmes prototype pre-World War I era ‘Girl popping like Champagne’ from a Miller High Life bottle in 1905, standing on a beer crate by 1907 and flying to the moon as Prohibition took its place in the United States.

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Thomas Wallace Holmes used the Strauss Girls and their families as models for his Girl in the Moon original creations for Miller High Life brand beer His forerunner, ‘Strolling Girl’ 1904 was modeled after his wife, Carrie Strauss, with the fluid, waving lines of the Art Nouveau period. (Figure 1) Tom reversed the image in 1905 turning Carrie into a human rocket bursting from a bottle of Miller High Life Beer. He incorporated Symbolism in the artworks placing a single stylized rose in the Gibson hairstyle, placing a beer and a whip in her hands, and setting her on the crescent moon in a star-filled sky. (Figure 2) Furthermore, his graphic designs served as the inspiration for current GITM advertising for the Miller Brewing Company.

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This bottle was part of an old collection and recently came to light. Neither the brand nor this particular bottle was previously known to collectors. A. Breslauser was a large and successful Milwaukee whiskey dealer. Many bottles and advertising shot glasses are known, as well as quite a few brands that he promoted, including:

• Old Hickory
• Graham Club
• Cheddington
• Connet
• Henry Van Erden Gin
• Kilbourn
• La Belle
• Old Chessy
• Palm
• Standard Club
• Top Cliff Gin

Simon Jung was a wholesale liquor dealer in Milwaukee that operated from 1889 until prohibition in 1918. He partnered with his father-in-law Abraham Breslauser for his first year of business. A Breslauer was a large and well-known Milwaukee liquor dealership. Simon later also partnered with M. Wiener for a year. His business was initially located at 425 Chestnut St but later moved several times. From 1908 to 1918 his business was located at 244-246 E Water Street. That building still stands.
S. Jung brands include Mountain King Rye, Homer Club Whiskey, Ole Bull Bourbon and Underhill Whiskey. Some of the advertising items known today include several varieties of shot glasses and backbar bottles. There are probably many other S. Jung advertising items not yet known to collectors.
Jack Sullivan posted an article on his “Those Pre-Pro Whiskey Men!” blog entitled “Simon Jung Gave Milwaukee His Best Shots”. Click here to read the full article.

Thinking of selling a collection of antique bottles or advertising? You’ve come to the right place. The Milwaukee Bottle and Advertising Club is an association of many of the top collectors and dealers of these types of items in the Midwest. We have experts about many types of old bottles including beer, soda, medicine, whiskey, bitters, historical flasks, seltzer, pharmacy, pontil marked bottles and food containers. Also antique advertising – from tin signs, lithographs, trays, tins, paper to label under glass advertising signs we have expert who can help. To see our member profiles go to the Members tab on this page or click here.

If you would like to get an idea of the value of your item(s) check with one of our members. Member profiles include their contact information. They can make you a cash offer or give you estimated values of one items or a collection. Member profiles will give you an idea of the type of items they collect or are looking for. And if they’re not interested or don’t know about your item(s) they can refer you to someone who can help. Selling directly to collectors is faster and easier than selling by auction or consignment. You avoid the fees and time and for the right items can get the best price for your items.

Country Springs Hotel on February 12th, 2017. Ralph was selling a Girl in the Moon charger in fair condition at the show. (Fig. 1) The pre-Pro stone lithograph charger was displayed on an easel. Ralph’s charger was in fair condition. The night sky was badly faded from midnight blue to a daytime hue. The stars were transformed to smudges. These large chargers remind me of the snow coasters for sledding from childhood . . . Ralph’s asking price “as is” was $2200 Firm. 

Click on the photo to read the article.

I found this bottle at an estate sale in Antigo, Wisconsin about 10 years ago. It is a machine made corker about 5 inches tall with a label reading from the top of the label downward, “Genuine Jean Batiste’s SQUAW SMOKE in liquid form As Effective Safeguard Against the Bite of Mosquitoes and Other Insects, DIRECTIONS Apply to Exposed Parts, SERVALL LABORATORY, Antigo, Wisconsin.
This little bottle with the now politically incorrect brand name on the label seems to date to the 1920-40 decades and is still half-filled with what is presumably the concoction produced by Servall Laboratory. The cork is quite tight and I have not tried to open it for fear of destroying the original seal and unleashing what today might be a potential chemical spill Even if it is not that lethal, I have no interest in applying some and testing it on the mosquitoes the size of sparrows that we get here out in Mukwonago. But here’s the rub of a different sort, I have completely struck out on finding anything on Jean Batiste, Squaw Smoke, or even Servall Laboratory. Presumably Servall was some small, fly by night, or from-home operated business in Antigo.
Does anyone know anything about this company and other products it might have produced?

I first saw the illustrations at the Serb Hall beer show in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2014. The seller (Bill Hefnider from Minnesota) acquired the pair of pre-1928 Miller High Life’s Dry-Cereal Beverage advertisements from the Jon Brandt collection auctioned in Kewaskum, Wisconsin. Each lithograph contains an outdoor scene, a brown glass bottle with a label showing Thomas Holmes ‘Standing Girl’ in the Moon and Fred Miller Brewery identified below her. These illustrations were created by my great uncle Thomas Holmes. The models used in Tom’s illustrations were my maternal grandmother’s family. The asking price for the rare Prohibition lithograph pair was hefty, but Bill allowed me to take a picture and we exchanged phone numbers. I showed the pictures I took to my mother, Joanne Voss; she immediately stated “Uncle Tom did those.”
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Thomas Wallace Holmes used his nephew, Earl Shopen, the son of Olga Strauss as the model for several 1940’s-1950’s Miller High Life Beer advertisements. Tom’s colorful artworks captured the American spirit for Miller beer designs of two men fishing in a boat, the same two men relaxing on a porch and again at a gentlemen’s barbeque party. (There is no doubt more works) Thomas Holmes, a Chicago artist and illustrator from the turn of the 20th century worked in lithography and photography in the boom of advertising spanning a successful sixty year career. Tom’s wife was Carrie Strauss. He chose Carrie’s family members to model for his illustrations as illustrators were known to do. There were 10 Strauss sisters and their children to choose from. In Thomas Holmes’ spare time and on trips, he painted landscapes including streams and barns in Wisconsin.
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