RETRACTION I need to apologize. Earlier this year I ran a series of articles about the theft of some Wonser Bitters bottles from the Piper Opera House. In those articles I misstated some facts concerning Jeff Wichmann. Jeff Wichmann was not a “principle” or an “architect” of the theft. The “Investigative Report”that I told you […]
For Auction 62, we have traveled the country in search of the best antique bottles for our select customers and are now ready to present these great bottles. We always like to say we have something for everyone and it’s never been truer than this time around. With such a variety of bottles we’ve been […]
As the years march on and we look back 50 years or so at antique bottle collecting, there were a lot of people that began the hobby with wonder and astonishment at the time, the Heineman father and son team were certainly part of that era. Darrell and his son Bret were two characters who […]
By Stephen Hubbell and Eric McGuire Note; to access pictures scroll to bottom. To Western bottle collectors the name Dr. Henley is associated with a wide variety of products ranging from bitters to various types of patent medicines. Some of his better known bitters bottles include Dr. Henley’s Wild Grape Root IXL Bitters, Dr. Henley’s […]
The Kovels.com Top 20 list indicates the interests of collectors who visit the website. It is an indication of the most popular areas of interest among collectors. In March, No. 7 was Purses. We have noticed at shows, shops, and auctions that designer purses made since the 1950s are big sellers. It’s probably because the […]
A Quick Exit for Two Lucky Diggers by Marty Lucich It was one of those rare situations back in the 1970’s, for us, that day luck was on our side. After walking behind some apartments, probing three holes, we needed permission to dig them. Elmer and I knocked on one of the rear doors and […]
Sunshine, Friends and Bottles Highlight the Weekend Another Morro Bay bottle show has come and gone and it was as usual, a lot of fun. Web and Steve Mello, the show promoters did another terrific job setting up a fun-filled Friday and Saturday treating guests to a barbecue late Friday afternoon, with homemade sausage and […]
A Friend and Colleague Succumbs to Heart Disease There are collectors and there are collectors. Ken Schwartz was the collector of all collectors and he did it with class and a sense of sharing that drew people to him and his incredible museum of bottles. His collection of bottles, advertising, shot glasses, back bars…the list […]
In our last article we pointed out that marble collecting is basically divided up into two categories, handmade marbles made mostly in Germany before 1900 and machine made marbles made in America starting around 1900. These dates and geographical locations are simply generalities as marbles were made all over the world at different times. But […]
History Comes Alive Through Buckles of Brass Max Bell has put together his second effort in writing his new book on California Gold Rush Belt Buckles. The book is made even more interesting by the fact that he chose to also include a number of photographs of the men who wore them. Bell says in […]
