We all know the expression to “open a can of worms” – a well intentioned action that ends up having other unforeseen negative consequences. The expression is thought to have originated in the 1950’s but diver Bob Libbey found evidence that it was much earlier – the 1930’s. And yes, they were actually sealed in steel cans that required a can opener to get them out.

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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.

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The J.F. Dallinger hutch from Milwaukee is relatively rare. Recently, a nearly identical variety of this bottle appeared on eBay except that it was embossed with the city of Tacoma, Washington instead of Milwaukee. Then another eBay listing appeared for the Milwaukee variety with a paper label. It was being sold by a different Tacoma area seller who was a descendant of Joseph Dallinger. The seller had a pair of Dallinger Milwaukee bottles with paper labels that had passed down in his family. They were generic stock labels without Dallinger’s name printed on them.
This article gives some background on Joseph Dallinger’s soda business which lasted just a couple of years in the Milwaukee and Tacoma.