Learn About Antique Bottles and Local Bottle Manufacturing

I wrote a piece several weeks ago about my late father's antique bottle collection, pondering what to do with it. My parents were avid collectors of antique glass back in the 70s. They primarily collected bottles they excavated from the sites of old homesteads where the only thing left was the old stone foundation peeking out from the vegetation and dried leaves, indicating that a family had lived there probably more than a hundred years earlier. I have lots of fond memories of being with my parents when they'd go out on a weekend dig. Their most common excavating tool was a potato digger with its handle cut short. It was always very peaceful and quiet until one of them would exclaim from their dig tunnel they'd found a goodie. And, oh my, the things they found! That article sparked a few people to reach out to me about the Yankee Bottle Club that meets the first Wednesday of each month at the Historical Society of Cheshire County on Main St. in Keene. One of those folks was Steve Seraichick, a long-time member of the club. I invited him over to take a peek at my dad's collection. I asked Steve to share some history on the Yankee Bottle Club and he replied via email, "Our Club's beginning can be traced to our longest standing member, Creighton Hall. Creighton, I've been told, was at the very first informal meeting of what was to become The Yankee Bottle Club in May of 1968. Since that humble beginning, Creighton has remained a member for all 56 years. (55 years for the first Show and Sale, the Club didn't have a Show and Sale the first year). We meet the first Wednesday of each month at the Cheshire Historical Society building in Keene. Creighton prides himself on never missing a meeting and, in all this time, Creighton has missed but a handful of meetings. Along the way, Creighton has immersed himself in the history of antique American glass bottle manufacturing and has always had a lifelong passion for the historical bottles that were made locally in Keene, Stoddard, Lyndeborough and Temple (very little known Temple bottles exist from this factory). Creighton has also worn many hats over the years in the club. He has been a past president and currently is our vice president. He also is the expert on how the Show's dealer tables and chairs need (must) be configured. Don't mess with Creighton on this important duty. Aside from all this, Creighton is genuine, packed with institutional knowledge, and just plainly speaking, a great guy. He's the most valued asset in our club." Obviously, Creighton is highly revered in the club and can you just imagine the knowledge of old bottles he has stored in his head from all these years? Speaking of historical knowledge, executive director of the Historical Society of Cheshire County, Alan Rumrill, serves as the club's treasurer. Steve also shared with me that the pandemic obviously shut the annual show down for a couple years, but it's come roaring back ever since. As of this writing, almost 100 dealers have signed up for tables and they come from all over the U.S. Both collectors and novices come to what's been known as the largest antique bottle show and sale in the northeast. Sunday, October 13 is the date of this year's show, the 55th annual, and it's held at the Keene High School cafeteria from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, visit the club website at www.yankeebottleclub.org. Whether you're a collector or not, I bet there will be lots of fascinating old glass to check out. The day Steve came to check out my dad's bottle collection (what remained of it after some unfortunate breakage over the years) he wound up buying the lot for a fair price. I asked him later what he'd learned about what he took home. He told me there were two Stoddard inkwells from around the 1850s that are highly sought after. There was also a Stoddard whiskey bottle from 1850/60, 9 Saratoga Spring water bottles from the 1880s, a Lyndeborough quart flask, several old pontil medicine bottles as well as a bunch of miscellaneous and unknown pieces. Two medicine bottles I remember were embossed with "Save the Baby" and "Save the Horse." I always got a kick out of those remnants from the long-ago days of traveling medicine men selling their liniments and potions — often nothing more than alcohol mixed with who knows what. I was glad that my dad's little collection would be taken care of and appreciated by someone now that he's gone. Mark your calendar for this year's show and maybe you, too, can find a cool "Save the Baby" apothecary bottle.