Dumpdiggers

New York City Bottle Diggers Strike Beauty in Night Soil Story

2009-12-02T21:16:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, Dumpdiggers got an email from an Ole friend in New York City boasting about conducting a clandestine archeological dig in one of the most densely populated places on planet Earth. The Manhattan Well Diggers are tireless explorers and this story highlights their abilities and imaginations.

The author is a dedicated digger that waxes poetic about his trips twenty feet down in the depths of his hometown. New York City has some of America’s most historically fascinating suburbs and the trinkets, bottles, jars and crocks and porcelain potlids that these guys dredge up makes all Dumpdiggers suddenly snap to attention .

In this particular story, Dan and his team dig a deep hole behind a renovated townhouse and there go back in time to recover these wonderful objects. With that same trusty blue shovel Dan and his team recover various pontiled items from the 1850s and early 1860s including an eight sided desk ink: HARRISON'S / COLUMBIAN / INK and a CLIREHUGH'S / TRICOPHEROUS / FOR THE HAIR & SKIN / NEW YORK. Also uncovered was a brown and white potlid with an eagle at the center atop a shield baring stars and stripes, CHLORINE DETERGENT & ORRIS DENTIFICE / FOR / CLEANSING & PRESERVING / THE / TEETH / PREPARED BY / ROYCE & ESTERLY / DENTAL SURGEONS. Soon after we discovered a BARKER'S / CHEVEUX TONIQUE / FOR THE HAIR / BDWAY N. Y

Dan starts his latest adventure by telling readers some historical facts like how in 1851 the Hudson River Railroad opened a station at West 30th Street and how business flourished as breweries and soda-water factories, malt houses, stone cutting yards, large stables and slaughter houses, lumber and coal yards, grew up around the tracks etc. The housing was notably inferior as it was hastily erected to accommodate newly arrived immigrants. The narrow houses and wooden buildings sprang up overnight, sometimes right alongside stretches of stylish brick townhouses (which is what they were digging). In the 1850s and 60s, downtown Manhattan is reported to have contained approx 20,000 structures, mostly small or mid-sized factories and sweatshops.

The fire insurance maps show few of the savory little details however, and do not differentiate between style or function of the buildings beyond showing churches, and hotels. The only way to learn what actual living conditions existed from place to place is to dig.

The nicest piece recovered, in my opinion, is this beautiful teakettle ink circa 1860-65, in mint condition. When positioned in direct sunlight it produces a marvelous deep purple colour. It’s made of dark violet or black-amethyst glass, possibly of English or French origin. Dan describes how it was ferreted out from near the privy floor, and remarks on how the exact likeness has never been seen before (by him).

In all there were nine pontiled aqua medicines with raised lettering, mostly cosmetics for the hair and skin, an umbrella ink, and others. Additionally, another potlid and matching base, one clay pipe, one ivory toothbrush handle, a small quantity of common food bones, and an assortment of fruit and vegetable seeds sprinkled therein. Also discovered was a Barker's Cheveux Tonic; DR D. JAYNE'S / HAIR TONIC / PHILADA; BOGLE'S / HYPERION FLUID / FOR THE HAR; HURD'S / HAIR RESTORER; PHALON & SON / PERFUMERS, N. Y.; DR. D. C. KELLINGER / N. Y; ROUSSEL'S / UNRIVALED / PREMIUM / SHAVING CREAM… / X. BAZIN. / 114 Chestnut St / PHILADELPHIA. The earlier base reads GOLD MEDALS AWARDED / E. ROUSSEL / 114 Chestnut St / PHILADA / PERFUMER

Vist ManhattenWellDiggers.com to read the rest of Night Soil.

Elfshot: Sticks and Stones, an Archeology Blog on Canada Blog Friends

2009-09-26T16:06:00.000-07:00

Tim Rast writes Elfshot: Sticks and Stones , which is an archeology blog centered on his life and work in St Johns, Newfoundland. Tim is a modern day flintknapper and his domain is profiled this week on Canada Blog Friends.

A flintknapper is someone who makes stone arrowheads, and Tim specializes in recreating the authentic points used by the Maritime Archaic Indians, the Groswater and Dorset Palaeoeskimo and the Newfoundland Recent Indians.

"Knapping" is the shaping of flint, chert, obsidian or other stone through the process of lithic reduction to manufacture stone tools, strikers for flintlock firearms, or to produce flat-faced stones for building or facing walls, and flushwork decoration.

Dumpdiggers everywhere could learn a thing or two about Flintknapping by reading Tim's blog. He makes it fun and easy because his writing is terrific. Start with this piece about Dorset Palaeoeskimo knives because it’s a pretty good little snapshot of what the site is, and what Elfshot is all about. It brings archaeology, craft, and the Arctic all together, with a pinch of polar bears.

Tim Rast describes his experiments patinating copper as a fun bit of household chemistry that’s useful for the sort of artifact reproduction work that he does.

Dumpdiggers might also find Tim's first post about the Tuktut Nogait bow that he's working on for Parks Canada to be quite interesting, but the Ioffe Site post is really outstanding. In this piece he describes a site that he found while working as a resource archaeologist for an Adventure Canada cruise last fall.

Tim Rast is Canadian, from Alberta. He has two university degrees including a Masters in Anthropology from Memorial University in Newfoundland. He's a terrific writer, researcher and blogger, and a bright light in the darkness that surrounds the study of the earliest Canadian people.

Passion for the Past Antiques in Toronto

2009-09-13T09:10:00.000-07:00

The writing is on the chalkboard out front of Passion for the Past antiques store at 1646 Queen St West (Queen and Roncesvalles) in downtown Toronto, Ontario.

For ten years now the shop at the top of the hill has been selling fine china, dishware, glass, furniture and jewelry to the people of Toronto. But now the portal is closing.

Passion for the Past goes online!

Joe is going to sell online and reduce his expenses by about 90%. And he doesnt need Smojoe to tell him that selling online is an entirely different business. It requires promotions and online storytelling, and the love and respect of editors, bloggers and discussion forum moderators.

Here's Joe with a prized LORRAINE GLASS CO. MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADIAN HAND BLOWN RED GLASS CENTERPIECE, 27” LONG X 10” WIDE X 10” HIGH, CIRCA 1962-1974 this gorgeous piece of art glass is a good example of what Joe loves to sell at his bricks and mortar store and now online.

The hand drawn signs out front of the venue have the look of frustration and desperation in their manner - 70% off is hard to ignore in any font. And that's what brought me into the store. Once inside I met Joe Clement and his mother and was carried away by their friendly manner and entertaining conversation. Joe has the slight trace of an East Coast accent, but complains that its from working with John and his diction should be French.

Joseph Clement is partners with John Hogan, whom I’d met before when I was in there earlier in the summer. Joe was new to me. He made me laugh when I asked him about certain things and their cultural values? His rather dismissive remarks told me that he worships antiques on an entirely higher level than us Dumpdiggers; perhaps he places craftsmanship above historic value. "Put it this way," he says "If this place were on fire I would waste my time grabbing anything from that case."

2] ANCHOR HOCKING GLASS CO., VINTAGE FIRE KING GLASS MIXING BOWL, 8 1/2" DIAMETER X 5 1/4” DEPTH/HEIGHT, CIRCA 1950-1960

Sadly I didn't get a decent picture of Joe's MIDDLESEX FURNITURE COMPANY ANTIQUE MAHOGANY CHINA CABINET.

See anything you like? Contact Passion for the Past as follows,

John Hogan or Joe Clement
Passion For The Past Antiques
1646 Queen Street West,
Toronto, Ontario,
Canada
M6R 1B2

Phone: (416) 535-3883
Email: infoATpassionforthepastantiquesDOTcom

Store Hours:
Tuesday-Sunday:11:00 AM to 6:00 PM;
Monday: Closed

Here's a Mustache Cup from Germany.

Directions:
1 1/2 blocks East of Roncesvalles Ave. and Queen St. West intersection, between Callender St. and Triller Ave.

The Canadiana Guidebook by William Philip Wilson

2009-08-30T06:27:00.000-07:00

Among the many research tools that I treasure as much as my treasures, is a small paperback book published in 1974 by Greey de Pencier Publications in Toronto called The Canadiana Guidebook and subtitled Antique Collecting in Ontario.

The author, William Phillip Wilson notes in the introduction that Canada is still a young country and is just beginning to understand its heritage. His work sets about identifying all things 'Canadiana' with an eye on buying and collecting antiques as investments. His guidebook comes complete with maps to all the most prominent antiques hotspots in the province (in 1974) of Ontario and pages full of helpful tips, terms and references.

Indeed the Table of Contents sets forth the dimensions of his categorization and includes Furniture, Treen, Iron, tin, brass and copper, Silver, Pewter, Ceramics, Glass, Textiles, prints, painting and framing, and also includes lists of stores, and maps of Upper Canada.

Types of wood furniture are first assembled by making a distinction between softwoods and hardwoods. Mr Wilson teaches how to recognize Maple furniture from Birch, and the unique characteristics of Butternut, Oak, Chestnut and Cherry. He quotes Thomas Ormsbee'a Field Guide To Early American Furniture (Boston: Little, 1951), when he writes on how to spot Hepplewhite armchairs and 'chicken coop' Windsor side chairs in so much clutter at local antiques shops or mismatched, painted and stacked on tables at antiques auctions. Now I want to own a Schrank or clothes cupboard from the 1830s someday...

Treen is an old word. In the same way ‘wooden’ means made from wood, the word ‘treen’ is the old English word that means the object was made from a tree. Hardwood was most often used for treen objects, especially kitchen utensils. Maple was most popular and birch next. Treen objects include splint boxes, bowls, butter moulds, rolling pins, scoops and mashers and the most coveted pieces, and therefore most often faked items to genuine 1800’s Quebec maple sugar moulds.

Iron is broken into two categories, cast and wrought iron and he shows pictures of commonly faked cast iron items. On page 58 I found a sketch of the Naughty Nellie bootjack which I'd once read about elsewhere and heard mentioned in other texts. Commonly found iron Canadiana includes things like vegetable choppers, cast iron ‘T.Eaton’ trivets, corking forks, and cruise (grease lamps), tobacco cutters and coffee grinders and the big ticket items are cast iron parlor stoves, cauldrons, vats, baking pots and tea kettles.

Tin doesn't mean 100% tin as the word is commonly applied to sheet iron objects with a protective tin coating in the lexicon of Canadiana. There were many generations of whitsmiths or tinsmiths in both upper and lower Canada and the most outstanding Canadian tinsmithing is exhibited in weathervanes which are eagerly sought by all Canadiana collectors. The chanteclair or ‘crow cock’ from Quebec is most obvious weathervane, but other variations like banners and horses, fish, cattle and beavers exist. Tole or toleware is another popular field inside this category – the word means tin in French and came into the English language in the mid 1800s to designate tin that has been painted or decorated to distinguish it from other more utilitarian items. Common toleware items would include spice boxes, serving trays, document boxes, and chambersticks (a candle stick with wax moat made ‘for the chamber’).

Brass and copper Mr Wilson mentions a Toronto coppersmith named H.Piper and Brothers as being a prolific mid to late 1800’s Toronto based producer of brass and copper items. Items to look for include decorative candlesticks, brass coal scuttles and cauldrons and most specifically copper tea kettles and brass pots esp a ‘jelly pan’ or kettle that was developed in 1851 made of thinner ‘lathe spun’ brass that allowed jellies to simmer properly on wood stoves. Lastly look for chamber sticks and pierced candle lanterns. William Philip Wilson cautions against buying ‘horse brass’ pieces, that’s what the industry calls the brass decorations that have been harvested from old saddles, because these pieces are the most commonly faked brass items as the age and authenticity of such objects is very difficult to determine.

Books detailing the trade in period iron, tin brass and copper that Phillip referenced include Seymour Lindsay Iron and Brass Implements of the English and American House 1964, and Mary Earl Gould Antique Tin and Toleware 1957, and thirdly he referenced Louise K Lantz Old American Kitchenware 1971 which he says has lots of tin and cast iron pieces illustrated and lastly Margaret Coffin American Country Tinware covers American painted tin authoritatively.

Pewter and Britannia Metal are described next on pg 76. Pewter is an alloy or mixture of metals with tin as its base metal. According to the intended purpose lead, copper, antimony or bismuth, and more often a combination of all three metals were mixed with tin to make pewter.

The finest pewter contains no lead at all and was used for dinner plates, tankards, and cutlery – the cheapest pewter may contain as much as 25% lead and this of course was the subject of much medical inquiry in the late 1800’s after England adopted laws to restrict lead in household utensils. No such law was enacted in Canada, but very little is known about Canadian pewterers. Unlike European productions which had makers marks and sometimes quality stamps, Canadian pieces were often sold unmarked. But there are some exceptions and these include the flying angel mark of Jean Menut and the beaver mark of Thomas Menut, both of Montreal.

Ceramics is broken into three sub chapters, the first being Earthenware. William Philip Wilson defines this as ‘made from local clay’ that turns a buff or red colour in the kiln at temperatures between 1200 and 1500 degrees F. From the earliest days of settlement, earthenware potters in Upper Canada were influenced by three traditions, French, English and Pennsylvania German. Wilson details how the manufacture of earthenware was often a family industry and could be done by farmers at home in the winter months.

Stoneware is made with a high-firing clay (2000 to 2200 F) that was not discovered in Canada until around 1910. Consequently all 19th Century Canadian potteries arranged for the delivery of this particular type of clay from pits in New Jersey. The importation of clay and the more complicated manufacture of kilns and facilities meant that stoneware manufacture required a factory of sorts and had to be run more as a business. Because stoneware contains silica, or natural glass, it vitrifies or bonds together when fired and as a result it does not need a glaze or seal. Typical shapes in salt glazed stoneware include jugs, storage crocks and bottles. Lean glazed stoneware is something else and when its presented with brown slip over yellow the glaze is called Benningtonware in the USA and Rockingham in Canada. The chapter concludes opposite illustrations of common makers marks used by the St Johns Stone Chinaware Company, St John’s, Quebec, 1873-93.

William Philip Wilson's favourite books on Canadian potteries includes my own favourite book by Donald Webster, Early Canadian Pottery which Wilson deems essential, and Elizabeth Collards 19th Century Pottery and Porcelain in Canada Montreal 1967 which he says is very well researched. And the author tips his hat to R.W Finlayson Portneuf Pottery and Other Early Wares, Don Mills Ontario, Longman, 1972. This book is a wealth of information that’s both a good analysis of Portneuf and many other transfer prints and imports.

Finally, after a great chapter on glass which I'll save for another post, and some insight into fine art and framed paintings, and some description of Canadiana painting frames themselves, William Philip Wilson leaves readers with maps to his favourite antiques hunting grounds in Southern Ontario Canada.

Glover Boys visit Meyersburg Flea Market

2009-08-14T06:20:00.000-07:00

An article on Dumpdiggers.com details an Adventure in the Meyersburg Flea Market. The story explains how the youngsters sought information and transported a fresh dug amber cork top food flavouring bottle to that location for appraisal.

Exploring the lush countryside west of Warkworth Ontario the Glover Boys found a surface dump filled with bottles and mechanical debris.

Practiced dumpdiggers they took the time to sink test pits all through the site to identify the historic perimeters in order to gain understanding of the whole sum of buried material. It's important to know the answers to questions like, how old is this dump? and where was the gate by which all the dump wagons delivered the trash? And finally everyone was eager to dig down and find out for certain what exactly was moldered away as antique treasure right beneath our feet?

Three foot deep test pits should show signs of period dumping before any further digging occurs. The tell tale clues generally include white furnace ash soil layers atop bits of glass and pottery and the rubble of bricks and cement. Dig deeper and you'll find orange soil and that's where the old bottles lurk.

Manhattan Well Diggers Excavate Old America

2009-07-23T07:08:00.000-07:00

Dumpdigging in Old American Cities

That would be a good name for a book. Someone should focus on that subject and research and write that best seller; I'd only have to start an online discussion by which everyone involved can contribute their digs and photos. This would amount to half the content. Today that's how people conduct interactive research on a subject. Perhaps a thread on the Dumpdiggers Discussion Forum would help?

On Sunday there came a curious email from someone south of the border. This little birdie was very excited, and very eager to share the thrill and spread the obsession that is the bottle bug virus.

First, remember the cloak and dagger nature of digging relics and why talk of buried treasure engenders such secrets and lies. Only then can you appreciate how difficult it is for anyone to get rare and pretty pictures of a spectacular dig in downtown New York City, because this activity is done in secret. And I believe this blog is the first to display these pictures, another rare honour in this subculture.

You all know how I feel about the heritage police in Canada... Our bureaucracy of backward thinkers have their own blanket rules propagated only to protect their own outdated establishment, and nothing else. True diggers hold a higher moral code which binds them to use the internet and share as much as possible about their quest and their activities. They strive to educate the public by whatever means necessary in order to communicate the subtle excitement of excavating history...

So I was honored to receive these pictures of Dan, Tim & Mya, the Manhattan Well Diggers doing their thing at the bottom of some deep holes in the middle of their great city. Thanks to Joe who sent along some text too, and I love the cryptic tone that hearkens back to the days of adventure on the high seas, when X marked the spot.

Here's what Joe wrote, transcribed, in that cryptic email,

We’ll take the A Train…to The Village that is.

On the way to twenty-one feet of exceptionally fertile night soil
with the Manhattan Well Diggers.

"Rolling swiftly down the tracks in a dark tube, situated under a sizable metropolis, on the way to dig a privy is a fairly unique endeavor by most standards...."

..."Lining up a dig in the heart of New York today is significant. Abandoned buildings, those constructed without plumbing in the mid nineteenth century or earlier, which once dotted the streets of certain key neighborhoods, and the numerous easily accessible open lots containing great digging potential, are basically long gone..."

"...a week ago we had the pleasure of excavating a hundred intact bottles and miscellaneous pieces from 1845-1870. These were unearthed in the privy right next door from today’s adventures. Remarkably, during day two of that project the broken remains of a small photograph, showing a seated gentlemen and believed to be a daguerreotype, were uncovered in the privy. The gold plate which surrounds the glass picture indicates it was most likely taken at KIMBALL 347 BROADWAY N-Y. An 1856 listing was confirmed for that address in New York. The third and final day of that excavation was spent sifting and assembling various shard-piles for the local history professor who owns the property..."

by Daniel McGee

Do you have anything you want to share with the world? My email address is rob AT dumpdiggers DOT com and I'll publish your stories and link to your site and help you share your knowledge and ambitions.

A Dumpdiggers Perusal

2009-07-11T18:12:00.000-07:00

This dumpdigger made a house call today, Sat Jun 10th 2009 the author spent a lovely Saturday afternoon with Dale Thurman, deep in the concrete jungle, east of Yonge St just below Bloor, and right in the heart of Toronto's downtown core. The wise man contacted me seeking an appraisal, and so I've created this post to help relate the experience to you.

Dale Thurman is a building contractor and jack of all trades with a long resume and a career of happy customers. He doesn’t advertise his business anymore, but rather works steady all year long on word of mouth referrals and co ventures. Dale is an old school structural engineer, a restoration expert and savvy pack rat.

He's also a studied historian and the self appointed protector of the Thurman family heirlooms and special keepsakes. His apartment is well organized to accommodate the mission. The living room shelters a drafting table, sewing machines and lathes and the walls are lined with filing cabinets and shelves; its part museum part machine shop. Dale’s office could double as a mad scientist's lair.

He asked me for an honest appraisal.
When I stepped in the door I knew immediately what I was seeing – a bottle bug. Dale is obsessed with glass and at age 56 he's still taking home anything and everything he finds because he can't bear to part with the objects after experiencing the thrill of discovering them at work. After forty years of doing home renovations on the oldest houses in this city, Mr Thurman had unearthed lots of bottles. At one site in particular, near the intersection of Jones St and Queen St (in what I consider the ‘golden triangle’ of Toronto) he trenched into a 1920’s residential dump full of old sodas, medicines, and food bottles.

Visitors in Dale's apartment see immediately, above the front windows, a wide shelf with about two hundred pieces of glass stacked in rows. At first glace it appears to be treasure trove of old bottles, but closer inspection reveals that almost every piece is machine made, most are blanks, one fifth are screw tops and some are badly damaged. In the most severe cases, some of Dale's bottles are partially melted (from the dump fires). However, I soon spied on the wall of his apartment two bottles with faded brown paper labels that I knew were going to be significant.

Even from the floor I could read the labels,

E.E. RUTHERFORD (Re-Astilled Glycerin)

J.F. HARTZ Co., PURE OLIVE OIL

Although glycerin and olive oil are both found in the early 1900s kitchen, these bottles appear medicinal and were probably used in a pharmacological enterprise.

Then we focused on the Dairy Bottles. My experience has taught me that there are more collectors of dairies and sodas than there are for medicines and sauce bottles and food jars (cathedral pickles excluded) even though these genres of glass bottles are also richly embossed and usually just as pretty.

In perusing Dale's milks I lifted each specimen to scrutinize the bottom for pontil mark that would reveal it as a blown bottle, but this tell tale scar is not present in any of Dale's bottles. Although he did have some milks with embossing from local dairies that I have never seen before… These two creatures are new to me:

THOS DOWNING / 127 / CARLAW MILK

J. HOLLINGER + CO / MAIN 2055

Gazing further down the collection I spotted a square cobalt blue bottle sticking its neck and shoulders above a grove of sodas on the far end of the crowded shelf. I directed Dale to fetch down this relic at once, and he lifted it from the ranks. A tall blue E.B Shuttleworth chemical bottle that is so gorgeously almost perfect. A tiny chip on the lip is the only flaw, and its dirty. The bottle needs a good brisk tumbling, but its a gem.

I soon counseled to put this jewel in the window. This one vessel is worth more than everything else and should be polished and specially presented in the sunlight.

Dale also has some antique maps, books and ephemera. He has a brochure from the Lusitania, and a 1912 tourist photo book entitled Canada, From Ocean to Ocean that features good crisp black and white photos of popular hot spots in every city all across the nation. He keeps this tome alongside the 1935 Arrow Toronto Street Guide which has a lovely fold out map glued to the last page.

In closing I congratulated Dale on saving, preserving and keeping safe these lovely pieces of Canadian history.

Time Team America Debuts on PBS

2009-06-19T14:20:00.000-07:00

The British hit TV series TIME TEAM, which plays on PBS on Monday nights has spawned an American franchise. TIME TEAM AMERICA debuts Wednesday, July 8 at 8 PM, ET on PBS. Yes it must be written all in caps, that's how they are branding the name.

Much like the CSI type of experts who drive so much American prime-time TV drama, this group of specialists works 'cases' to probe mysteries in real time.

According to insiders this series has a much different feel than a typical PBS documentary. TIME TEAM AMERICA lets viewers eavesdrop on archaeologist who are grappling with the uncertainties of different excavation situations and testing different, and often conflicting theories. Here's host Colin Campbell (left) and Chief Investigator Adrien Hannus (right).

Just like the hugely popular British series, the American clone follows a team of scholars who are mostly archaeologists, geologists, geophysicists and historians of course. These people will again race against time to unearth some of America's most intriguing archaeological sites.

But its the race against time that I always found most contrived. Anybody who knows anything about time management and digging dumps and forgotten heritage sites trenches knows that the best stuff comes out of the hole at the end of the summer. It takes weeks to find proper goody veins and honey holes in any site, weeks to tell each site's story. So it seems reckless to me to cut apart these old places and not do comprehensive digs.

Check out a sneak peak here: http://pressroom.pbs.org/documents/time_team_sizzle_doc

Preview the full premiere episode, "Fort Raleigh, North Carolina," on the new PBS video portal at: http://pressroom.pbs.org/programs/time_team_america

Beauty Pageant Collectibles

2009-05-24T08:40:00.000-07:00

Beauty pageants were once a large part of our culture. In the old days, before and after World War II, there were beauty pageants for just about everything. I found pictures online that show regional beauty queens in every major tourist destination across Canada, and several corporate beauty queens representing our entire nation. In the age of print media and flash photography, this was seen as a great way to promote a retail business, and get people of all ages to focus on your goods. The prospect of finding and promoting a new celebrity attached to a company's name was a terrific incentive to corporate Canada.

For teen girls in the 1960s, the beauty pageant offered a real chance to finally be recognized as a princess, and start living life as a celebrity, if only for a year.

In my other job as a social media consultant and online marketing strategist, I've been doing some work for Miss Teen Canada and I've been studying beauty pageants and the illusion of stardom and celebrity cult that's so important to each event's overall success. For example, the size of the audience, and marital status of the Host, and of course the Judges themselves are key players in the media mix. The judges must be vaunted celebrities in order to bestow their celebrity status upon eager participants, and the excitement in the room builds as the evening draws to a dramatic conclusion.

Look at the SWAROVSKI CRYSTAL in this vintage 1962 era Beauty Pageant Tiara Crown worth approx $65 US on eBay. This was fashioned in California for some event that goes unrecorded today, but perhaps it was a splashy affair that was televised.

And this is my favourite, look at this 1971 DAWN BEAUTY PAGEANT cartoon comic book advertisement for a doll set that comes with a run way and HOST. This old comic book ad ran in 'Golden Age comic books' and other female teen publications as a promotion. The ad measures approximately 6x9 inches and features Dawn, Longlocks, Dale, Glori, Angie and Jessica.

Cocaine in Antique Patent Medicines

2009-05-11T18:37:00.000-07:00

In the forty years between 1865 and 1905 a great many patent medicines, pain killers, hair tonics and even some relaxing beverages proudly advertised the use of cocaine as an active ingredient. That’s a forty year window of cocaine-as-medicine related collectibles. After I found this great article in the University of Buffalo archives, I just had to share some of it. Yes I've borrowed some images and text, but I've also added my own research and opinions were pertinent.

Cocaine was first synthesized in pure form by Albert Niemann in 1860 when he extracted pure cocaine powder from the leaves of Erythroxylum coca (more commonly known as the coca plant). Soon after it was isolated, cocaine was used to try to cure illnesses and fight pain because drugs composed of cocaine made people happy. A little too happy…

It wasn't long after the isolation of pure cocaine that people became aware of the addictive potential of the drug, which eventually led to the introduction of the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906 (in the United States) which required all American drug manufacturers to list all of the ingredients on the product labels. Today, the use of cocaine as medicine had been tempered by past experience. Nevertheless, standard narcotic remedies like paregoric remained readily available into the early 20th century, and Benzedrine inhalers were marketed without prescription until the early 1950s. Codeine wasn't removed from most over-the-counter cough suppressants until the early 1980s.

Coca Wine, anyone? As the name suggests, this was a mixture of strong wine and cocaine. Metcalf Coca Wine was one of a huge variety of wines with cocaine on the market. Everybody used to say that it would make you happy and as a bonus it would also work as a medicinal treatment.

Mariani Wine’s Vin Mariani was a very popular drink in both Italy and France in the late 1860s, and was perhaps the most famous Coca wine of all time. It’s rumoured that Pope Leo XIII used to carry a bottle on his person. Vin Mariani which was developed in 1863 by the Corsican entrepreneur Angelo Mariani who exported the wine all over the world where it won many international awards including a Vatican gold medal for excellence.

Yes we all know there was once cocaine in Coca Cola, and that’s another reason why early Coke bottles are such spectacular collectibles.

Inspired by the European success of coca wines, the alcoholic beverages that combined wine and cocaine, an Atlanta Georgia pharmacist named John Pemberton developed his own cocktail based on Vin Mariani and called it Pemberton's French Wine Coca. It proved popular among American consumers. But in 1886, when the State of Georgia introduced Prohibition, Pemberton replaced the wine in his recipe with non-alcoholic corn syrup. The new recipe was similar to, but not exactly the same as Coca-Cola.

At the end of the 19th century, the fear of drug abuse made coca-based drinks less popular. This eventually led to the prohibition of cocaine in the United States, and the removal of cocaine from coca wine as well as Coca-Cola, although the coca leaf remained in use in that example.

Maltine was very popular in North America. Produced by the Maltine Manufacturing Company of New York. Period advertising suggested that consumers should take a full glass with or after every meal, but children should only take half a glass.

Here’s a paperweight promoting C.F. Boehringer & Soehne ( Mannheim , Germany ). The object evidences the pride this German company had being the biggest producers in the world of products containing Quinine Sulphate and Cocaine Hydrochlorate. Additionally their 1906 ad states, "Prices no higher than for any other brand"

Cocaine tablets - the article in the University of Buffalo archives has a poor condition and poorly photographed 1900 era newspaper advertisement that reads ‘All stage actors, singers teachers and preachers must have them for a maximum performance. Great to "smooth" the voice.

I found this picture of a product called Forced March on the Cocaine.org information site. The testimonials promises the product, "Allays hunger and prolongs the power of endurance"

Cocaine flavoured toothache drops would make a majestic collectible today. I’m sure this product was very popular with children in 1885.

The 2009 Toronto Bottle Show

2009-04-22T12:06:00.000-07:00

At 6pm on Saturday April 18th the Four Seasons Bottle Collectors Club was busy setting up their annual show and sale. The Toronto Bottle Show is the largest antique glass bottle and pottery exposition (and tins, stoneware, insulators, ephemera and so much more) in Canada, with approx 75 antiques dealers and impressive attendance. There was a palpable sense of excitement in the empty gymnasium as I looked at all the empty tables... In just a few hours the dealers waiting outside would enter and display thousands of historic antiquities for show, sale and trade.

Saturday Night Set-Up
I laboured right alongside the other members of the Four Seasons Bottle Collectors Club on Saturday April 18th to help set up the show. The entire episode is the subject of this article, Dealers Night at The Bottle Show which also chronicles the excitement of watching Malcom and Newf unpack and sell three years of dug treasure to ready buyers and collectors that were the other dealers.

Sunday's Bottle Show

On April 19th 2009 the morning sun warmed the faces of several hundred people outside the gymnasium at Humber College in Rexdale, Ontario as they waited to enter the building and marvel at all the beautiful glass inside.

Dealers included,
Michael Anders,
Dean Axelson and Judy Axelson,
John Barclay and Marie Renault,
Brett Bloxam and Jackie Bloxam,
Robert Brak and Linda Brak,
Mark Clayton and Candice Clayton,
Bill Cook and Bill Ash,
Abel DaSilva and June Ng,
Ron Demoor and John Dunbar,
Mike Emre and Barbara Emre,
Bob Falle,
Ray Ruddy,
John Finlay, Dave Marrotte,
Dwight Fryer and Earl Fryer,
John Goodyer and Mark Wilson,
Frederic Hartl and Jean-Marc Helie,
Bob Hayward and Tyler Hayward,
Grahame Hudson and George Jones,
Ron Hunsperger and Russ Hunsperger,
Barbara Jackson and Randall Mathieu,
Adam Jarzabek, Steve Vasda,
Marcus Johnson,
Scott Jordan and Paul Marchand,
John Knight, John Knight sr,
Robert Lloyd, Blake Woods,
Ed Locke, Sheryl MacKenzie,
Tim and Jim Maitland,
Michael Malanowski and Caitlin Malanowski,
Terry Matz and Evelyn Matz,
Malcom Mcleod and Newf,
Jamie McDougall,
Glen and Cynthia Moorhouse,
Morris Marlowe and Wendy Marlowe,
Steve Mouck,
Robin Newton-Smith, Richard Clark,
Jason Pfeffer and Barb Pfeffer,
Norm Playtor and Jackie Playtor,
Collin Potter and Jennifer Potter,
Michael Rossman and Jan Rossman,
Fred Spoelstra and Bill Comer,
Cliff Stunden and Donna Stunden,
Scott Wallace and John Wells,
Roger Warren and Carol Warren,
Jack Welton and Judy Welton, and Kert Wrigley.

Readers can find more pictures and stories documenting the 2009 Toronto Bottle Show in the Dumpdiggers Library.

New Sherman Jewellery Book

2009-03-26T12:10:00.000-07:00

Sandra Caldwell and Evelyn Yallen have created, or should I say compiled, the most comprehensive book of Sherman Jewellery photographs in existence. If you're like me, and you hunt unsigned Sherman at yard sales, rummage sales and estate auctions, make The Masterpiece Collection your new reference manual.

Sherman Jewellery, The Masterpiece Collection is a 216 page 8-1/2 x 11 hardcover in full colour that features the best of the best of Sherman, including figurals, men's jewellery, unusual colour combinations, beads, art glass, and an illustrated chapter on the signed vs. unsigned debate.

More importantly, Sandra Caldwell and Evelyn Yallen are expert collectors and therefore skilled at summarizing the subtleties of Sherman; every sentence makes readers more aware of the jewelry design business and the realities of the post war Canadian fashion marketplace. The Masterpiece Collection offers a look at some of the rarest Sherman pieces, and focuses on the many colours of Swarovski stones he used to create his designs. Buying and reading this book will make you an expert in Sherman jewelry. More details about Hunting Unsigned Sherman in the Dumpdiggers Library.

Table of Contents

Why We Collect
Sherman: A Brief History
Prices and pricing Sherman
Signed vs Unsigned: The Great Debate
Clear Jewelry
Aurora Borealis and Topaz Jewelry
Black, grey and hematite jewelry
Blue Jewelry
Green Jewelry
Red and pink jewelry
Purple and alexandrite jewelry
Unusual colours
Beads
Art glass, gold tone and men’s jewellery
Figurals and centennials
Multiples
Last but not least

The book details market trends and Canadian competitors like Artistic, Continental and Keyes. It also references American firms like Boucher, Coro, and Trifari. Wisdom is shared in short sentences like, ’Much as Boucher is known for his use of baguette stones, Sherman loved marquise stones and used them liberally. It is one of the features that makes a piece of Sherman jewellery so identifiable.’

Regarding the Great Debate: How much Sherman jewellery is unsigned? On page 12 and 13 there are no pictures. That anomaly alone should immediately signal readers that something important is written here. On these two pages Sandra and Evelyn have laid out their position on the great debate – they get down to business stating why they believe “there is a significant amount of unsigned Sherman” waiting to be found; because,

1. Sherman is hard to fake, and there would be very little profit in replications.
2. Original owners attest to buying both signed and unsigned pieces in same box.
3. Identical designs exist that are both signed and unsigned.
4. Sherman was often sold with cards and tags in gift boxes that served as a signature.

And let’s remember after all, it was just costume jewellery. Designers probably didnt feel obligated to sign their work as often in this fashion genre - because costume jewelery was considered disposable.

Aurora Borealis and Topaz Jewelry
Aurora, which is a technique for coating stones in 1955 by Swarovski, was a novel treatment that gave interesting depth to designs by allowing the same stone to take on a different appearance and colour. the authors state that they believe, based on years of experience collecting Sherman, that there is more Aurora Borealis and Topaz jewelry in existence than any other make

Regarding Green Jewelry
According to Sandra and Evelyn, green jewelry is the least popular colour of all costume jewelry and so accordingly there are fewer green Sherman designs – does this make green jewelry more expensive today? Not necessarily, it depends on the beauty and modern functionality and modern desirability more . But of particular interest is the wide rigid cuff bracelet in an uncommon pale, celadon green with the usual cabochon glass stones

The book shows rare pieces and uncommon designs using unfoiled, reverse set stones. Whenever possible it shows sets where everything matches, and time and time again the necklace is signed but the earrings are not signed or the bracelet is shown in the box with cardboard tag signature etc. This book is like having The Masterpiece Collection.

Sandra Caldwell and Evelyn Yallen have a website http://intotemptation.com, on which there are far more details and ecommerce links to buy the book for $60 dollars.

If you have any questions about Sherman Jewellery or the Masterpiece Collection, they can be reached by email at theshermanbook AT gmail DOT com.

Neal Kuellmer's Exceptional Art Glass

2009-03-10T18:39:00.000-07:00

Here's some of Neal Kuellmer's art glass. He was working on more borosilicate glass (Pyrex) pieces like the ones below when last we met. Click the pictures - they expand.

Have You Ever Met A Borosilicate Lampworker?

2009-03-05T22:55:00.000-08:00

Dumpdiggers met Neal Kuellmer, a borosilicate lampworker at his home studio in downtown Toronto on March 4th, 2009. He explained to me how lampworking is different than glassblowing; it requires a fraction of the energy and produces different results. Today its used to make intricate but functional art glass, jewelry, pipes and bongs.

Artist Neal Kuellmer of Metamorphosis Glassworks provides Canadian society with custom glass and functional art from his studio at 146 Brock Ave just north of Queen St W (other side of the bridge just past the beer store).

Unit 303 is at the back end of the top floor of an old industrial building (owned by Mervin of course) right off the railroad tracks opposite a primary school. The building is probably one of the last ‘artist communities’ left in Toronto, a city where sky high real estate prices have converted almost all of the old manufacturing and warehouse buildings into expensive urban condos. But this building proves there are still pockets of independent art production, here and there, all along Queen West.

Neal has about twelve hundred square feet and two big windows all to himself in which to make his daily bread. The guy is pretty cool, he offered me a cold beer as soon I walked in the door and the beats were pumping. He posed for some pictures by the window before we got busy in his shop.

Neal doesn’t have a big blast furnace like the glassblowers at the Toronto Harbourfront Centre, but rather he uses a fat propane torch fixed to a bench. As I watched he worked a lump of material with glass rods – but I didn’t give him time to do anything fancy. Nor did I pause to learn anything about the processes; I'd have to experience it all over again to really understand it. While researching the subject however, I did find a great page on the history of lampwork in the Online Glass Museum.

Here’s what I do know: Kuellmer of Metamorphosis Glassworks makes functional art, jewelry, and ornaments to suit the public. He sells most of his work in shops along Queen St West and in special shows and exhibitions, some of which occur at his studio. Borosilicate glass is a type of glass with the main glass-forming constituents being silica and boron oxide. Borosilicate glass was first developed by German glassmaker Otto Schott in the late 19th century, and sold under the brand name "Duran" in 1893. After Corning Glass Works introduced Pyrex in 1915, it became a synonym for borosilicate glass in the English-speaking world. The European manufacturer of Pyrex, Arc International, still uses borosilicate glass to make its Pyrex glass kitchen products.

This coming spring and summer, Neal is opening his doors to the public, and will be sharing his studio and his experience with students. Do you want to make your own earrings? or how about a hanging mobile for your kitchen window? Neal is now taking appointments for one on one classes - that's the best way to learn the art and science of borosilicate lampwork. Very small classes (only one or two people each time) will be given five hours of information and practical execution, for one hundred dollars each. This fee covers all expenses and materials, anyone interested in learning the craft can email metaglass AT gmail DOT com.

Dumpdiggers joins the Four Season Bottle Collectors

2009-02-22T10:51:00.000-08:00

Saturday Feb 21st, 2009 at 7:02pm, Rob Campbell (that’s me) sat alone in Meeting Room #1 at Arbor Heights Community Center at Wilson and Avenue Rd in North York (northern Toronto) waiting for the Four Seasons Bottle Collectors to arrive.

This night was supposed to be their monthly club meeting? But one look out the window told me things might have changed. The weather outside was awful, and only getting worse. Eight inches of snow had already collected on the roads, snarling traffic throughout the GTA. I looked at my watch again; perhaps the meeting had been canceled?

Two minutes, to my relief Carl Parsons and Glenn Moorhouse strolled into the meeting room toting large Tupperware containers full of bottles, coffee and cookies. They were surprised to find me in there waiting, especially since we'd never met before.

In the next few minutes a dozen people arrived. More tables were set up, and the meet and greet centered around the collectibles on display between the windows, and the coffee pot in the kitchen.

Although I was a complete stranger to them all, I didn’t have to introduce myself. Everyone already knew who I was. Most had been to website, or read this blog. Some had seen Nancy J White's Jan 24th 09 Toronto Star article entitled Dumps, A Window To The Past, and some of those folks were a little ticked off.

When Mike Duggan made the association he gasped, ‘Oh so you’re that Rob Campbell? I want to strangle you’, and then he proceeded to list all the mistakes in that story.

I listened patiently. Everything he said was true. And I know deep down they all wanted to like me - bottle collectors want young blood around to mentor and shame. Everything went very smoothly after I took out my wallet and officially joined the Four Seasons Bottle Collectors. I paid $25 to become one of them, for a year.

“I've built Dumpdiggers for you” I explained later, "and now I’ll donate time and energy to share this web enterprise and help the subculture. Look upon Dumpdiggers.com as Rob Campbell's contribution to the Four Season's Bottle Collecting fraternity. Send me any messages you want broadcast.'

Four Seasons Bottle Collectors, 21Feb2009 Meeting

After the monthly Business Report and the Treasurer's Update, the president Jamie McDougal once again brought the group's focus back to me, the new member. What did I collect? How can they help me? And that query put the focus squarely back onto Dumpdiggers and all the wonderful things an enterprise 2.0 interactive website can do to help grow a bottle club. It was determined then that I should speak on the subject at the upcoming bottle show - I agreed.

Anyway, I got yet another chance to illustrate Dumpdiggers.com functionality when Glenn Moorhouse revealed he was selling bundles of vintage club newsletters, full of unique information, for approx $25 dollars each. “Why not sell smaller downloads for five dollars each?” I interrupted. The process would be simple enough – scan the newsletters and then convert the files to pdfs. These are called ebooks, and they're a great way to share information and increase a customer base at the same time. IN this case it would be a great way for collectors all across Canada and the United States to access and consume the rare information, and the club could make a few bucks every month for doing nothing.

At halftime, the business portion of the Four Seasons Bottle Collectors meeting culminated in a dollar per ticket raffle for a mysterious prize.

Darren Spindler won the draw. That was exciting. Carl Parsons stood up and presented Darren with an attractive old English whiskey jug. The pottery had a cobalt blue glaze top and looked rather fancy - but I don't think it was worth very much.

Here's Darren Spindler. He’s one of the people I most wanted to meet. His Early Canadian Bottle Works website has always impressed me. It's a nice clean website, simple and socially relevant at the same time. And the digging stories are terrific. I look forward to more cooperation with Darren in the future - maybe we'll even get together dig someday?

Then the gathering turned to Show and Tell – this month’s theme was “Things We Love”, and for the next hour it was easy to see the passion that unites these people. Darren Spindler stood up first and described the five different things he brought - the most interesting of which was a framed Griffin Bros promotional material (a go-with?).

Melissa Clare went next and showed us a hot watering can, and some tins emblazoned with white roses.

The president of the FSBC, Jamie McDougal followed Melissa and described his favourite things; assembled on the table before him was an amber Dahls Ink, a tiny Hudson’s Bay extract bottle (turning amethyst) and a vault light (luxfor - which is a piece of glass designed to transmit light into buildings), that captured everyone's attention. After some research, I found this page which explains vault lights.

Last to present at 9:45pm, Sean Murphy detailed his display. He held up some green glazed (undercoat) crocks and jugs from Peterborough Ontario, an aqua fruit sealer with the correct metal ring and top, and some spectacular yard sale finds including an original but unsigned water colour painting of some quality.

At the conclusion of my first meeting as a member of the Four Season Bottle Collectors club I promised to write about and help promote the upcoming 16th Annual Toronto Bottle & Antique Show and Sale – Canada’s Premier Bottle Show Sunday April 19th 2009, 9:30 am – 3:00 pm, Humber College Gymnasium, 250 Humber College Blvd.

www.canadianbottlecollectors.com

The History Detectives on PBS

2009-02-18T06:06:00.000-08:00

Dumpdiggers love everything about The History Detectives television series on PBS. From the Elvis Costello soundtrack to the state of the art investigative science and technology, this show is a model for grade A infotainment.

The History Detectives concept is the logical extension of what I call 'object fantasy' and that's the precognitive notion that some diggers get when they pick up an item in the bottom of the hole and wonder, what pivotal role in history did this x play? Was this Wilfred Laurier's toothbrush? or perhaps those gin bottles were drained by Sir John A MacDonald? This kind of thinking is how the History Detectives came to exist. Imagine a temporal detective agency comprised of experts, with each member of the elite task force willing to put in the time, researching, digging in municipal archives, or doing chemical analysis in labs. Eventually these scholars determine the probability of truth.

For Dumpdiggers guarding priceless relics, History Detectives is where subjective fantasy meets objective reality.

So imagine my surprise when I opened my Dumpdiggers email yesterday and discovered that Amy R. Baroch the Sr. Project Manager at PBS Engage wrote Rob AT Dumpdiggers DOT com a letter asking for help spreading the message that her publicly funded enterprise is featuring History Detective, Tukufu Zuberi, as part of the ongoing blog series called “Five Good Questions.”

The series features a PBS celebrity or insider and asks visitors to send in questions to be answered the following week. The engage blog series is thrilled to have Tufuku as their feature this week, coinciding with a special episode of History Detectives next Monday, February 23 (9pm local time) dedicated to African-Americans’ impact on history and society.

Here's a chance for Dumpdiggers to ask any questions they want about American history, anthropology or what it’s like to explore and solve some of histories most fascinating mysteries, myths, and folklore. Twitter: amyPBS

Finally, the best thing about the History Detectives website on the PBS site, is the chapter on Investigative Techniques - here's a glimpse at their arsenal of tools and the processes by which they divine an artifact's true identity, point of origin and potential role in history.

The list includes Item Appraising, Ballistics, DNA Analysis, Document Examination, Forensic Anthropology, Geological Analysis, Historical Research, Paper Analysis, Patent Searches, Property Searches, Textile Analysis, Timber Dating and Weapons Dating.

Watch History Detectives Monday Nights at 9pm on PBS.

Historic Book Discovered At Goodwill

2009-02-05T18:57:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, at the bottom of a dusty book bin in a cluttered Goodwill donation outlet, Dumpdiggers found a rare book!

Historic Ontario: "Old Upper Canada" Fog, Frank Maracle Press Ltd.

For relic hunters this book is a double prize for it's not just a historic treasure, it's reference material for finding more historic treasure.

Prepared and distributed by the Canadian government, this 58 page booklet indexes the province's oldest attractions. Divided into historic regions, the book begins by outlining the Highways of New France.

After that introduction there's fifty eight pages of names, dates and facts beside Frank Fog's original pencil sketches of historic buildings presented as they would have appeared in their prime. Its chalk full of interesting stories and little known facts; I learned something on every page. For example did you know there's a cairn beside the Ottawa river near Green lake which commemorates the discovery of Samuel de Champlain's astrolabe? Lost in 1613 this relic was found 254 years later in the spring of 1867 by a farm boy named Edward Lee. He was swindled out of the prize by a steamboat captain...

How old is this book? Unfortunately I can't find a publishing date anywhere, but inside the front cover there's a portrait of John Robarts, who became the 17th premier of Ontario in 1961 and served in that capacity until 1971.

The Historic Ontario book contrasts the settlements at the bottom of Yonge St with growing communities all the way north to Huronia, the capital of the Huron nation near present day Midland.

The book imagines the Battle of the Thames and briefly describes the death of Tecumseh. It pinpoints Crysler's Farm and describes the victory that Lt-Col J.W. Morrison and the British Canadians enjoyed over a superior American force.

There's four pages on the City of Kingston, old Fort Henry and the Murry Redoubt, which I discovered to be a 'Martello tower' in Macdonald Park that once helped protect shipping in Kingston's busy port.

How much is this prize worth? I have to know. Chalk full of valuable information and handsomely decorated with awesome architectural sketches by a Canadian artist named Frank Fog, I have put this find on eBay and confirm its value. Why not sell it? I've already read and digested the contents. If I don't sell this book on eBay now, I'll just end up giving it away for free or it will get chewed by Digger, or suffer water damage and or become blemished by coffee cup rings in my care... so I'll let someone else guard this treasure.

Antique Showsales International - The Winter Sale at Sherway Gardens, Jan 25th to Feb 1st, 2009

2009-01-26T07:54:00.000-08:00

All week long, Antique Showsales International has brought The Winter Sale to Toronto!

From Jan 25th to Sunday Feb 1st there's plenty of antiques filling the aisles and courtyards of Sherway Gardens in Etobicoke, Ontario. This mall is found just west of Toronto where Hwy 427 meets the QEW. There's lots of parking and a TTC bus from Kipling st runs direct.

The Winter Sale is a remarkable week long festival of diverse decorator quality antiques - its remarkable because of the selection it provides shoppers. There's everything here; antique lamps, art glass, Bakelite, coins, Tiffany lamps, fine art paintings and sculptures, ephemera, prints, fine china, stoneware, tools and toys - everything! There's clothing too, lots of vintage dresses and boots and hats and headpieces. Furniture of all descriptions, tables and chairs, dressers and wardrobes.

Dumpdiggers arrived at twelve noon and stayed till close at five. I marveled at the wide selection of costume jewelry and one of the first people I bothered was Carol-Anne of Karol's Kollectibles. I couldn't stop looking at the exquisite display of Mariam Haskell and the beautiful Sherman cuff bracelets she keeps under glass - she has both rigid and soft examples of the collectible Montreal designer's work.

Here's Carol-Anna showing off a spectacular Sherman necklace. This piece was made in the late 1950's in Montreal and it was very popular with women who desired the flash and sizzle of Swarovski crystals - esp after the poverty and suffering of the war of Europe. Although all her pieces are signed, Carol-Anne reminds us, Sherman didn't sign all his work and because of the rhodium plated back plates it's very hard to replicate. If you have any questions about Sherman jewelry she is expert - Carol can be contacted at karolsrunwaygems AT aol DOT com, until she gets her website up and running.

Behold Katherine Choptiany of Nomadic Antiques. Her domain is easily recognized by the giant garden harps and the full length bejeweled Victorian opera dress at its radiant core. She's hard to miss. The base of her space is littered with boots and baubles and 1960's clutch purses. I don't know how she keeps an eye on it all. Lingering in her presence I learned that she's the Festival Director of the Moving Image Film Festival. Katherine's vintage coats and boots and are as breathtaking as her smile, and her conversation is informed and compelling... Dumpdiggers found it hard to break away.

David Burns came all the way from Guelph Ontario to sell his ephemera, beautiful art prints, vintage advertising, and old posters of every description. He handed me an antique business card. We had only talked for two minutes before a queue formed behind him, and his wisdom was soon tasked elsewhere dispensing reference numbers and commenting on laminate stocks and signature ink shades.

Treasure Hut Antiques is home to Pat and Penny George - don't bother trying to find their home base in Paris Ontario, they only display their wares at the big Canadian shows. Pat is a friendly guy and very knowledgeable - Dumpdiggers likes the way he presents his antiques as 'treasures'.

Hugh W Little has a tiny business card. But he's a big dealer and sells quality vintage art prints behind a truckload of ephemera in sorting boxes. He runs Vintageprints.ca online and while I watched he seemed to know quite a few of his customers by name. His booth is perfectly positioned just below the food court stairs and I gazed upon him busily showing paintings and prints as I enjoyed my Manchu Wok beef terriyaki.

Audette Antiques is a century old barn filled with country furniture and related smalls from Orono, Ontario - childhood home of Neil Young btw. They brought nice Canadiana pieces and Vintage tins and tools. They are also purveyors of silver cutlery and antique steel knives and kitchenware. I don't think they knew Neil, but they look about the same age.

Dumpdiggers chatted with Bob Charbonneau of Ivy Manor Antiques and marveled at his wide selection of silver flatware and sterling holloware. There's some Moorcraft and Roseville pottery, and also old coins and even some long forgotten bank notes.

And one minute later I met Marshall Gummer, The Appraiser.ca He was there to help promote the show and accompanied by Marion we three toured the corridor kiosks to say hello to his many friends, some of whom are dealers at The Twindmills Antique mall in Colborne, Ontario. I'll save their profiles for that post when I visit them this spring.

Together we delighted at the model ships on display in The Cellar Door. Here's Gary Dawdy backlit beside a fair sized schooner, a bargain at $1200. Gary and Gayle Dawdy hail from Kingston Ontario where they're also known as Dip and Strip Refinishing.

The carved wood and silver sculptures that I mentioned in the introduction are found in PA or Parisian Auctioneers. This is the domain of Phillippe et Anne Pallafray; the charming French speaking couple are residents of Ile d'Orleans, Quebec, Canada. I think they had some trouble understanding my Toronto English, and I had to work hard to glean exactly what they were saying, but their fine art paintings (some real medieval looking canvases) do all the talking.

Marshall Gummer was on Breakfast Television this morning, at approx 7:50 am. He showed off some of his best art glass and a Harlander painting and gave the audience some great ideas for marquee items to purchase as investments. Stand alone objects d'art really help define your individual style. That's what The Winter Sale is all about - its a buffet of beautiful objects that are powerful bits of Canadian art and culture.

Beware Fake Pot Lids on eBay!

2009-01-22T15:50:00.000-08:00

There are lots of diverse experts on the Dumpdiggers.com discussion forum. The site is a great place to fraternize with relic hunters, privydiggers and antiques collectors of all descriptions. Everyone has something to share, and diggers are now beginning to meet and frequent the boards in search of rare and valuable information.

It was obvious to me that Greg Dean was different right from the moment he arrived. He's an Aussie. And a bottle digger and historian. But most remarkably, he's a man with a message – beware fake transfer ware pot lids on eBay!

It was late November 2008 when Mr Dean first introduced himself as ‘Card Shark’ in the Dumpdiggers Discussion Forum and soon launched discussions about this ongoing fraud. But Greg Dean could talk about anything - his website is chock full of awesome digging pictures, (he has great photos showing thousands of recovered old bottles and pottery pieces beside deep holes in England). But the new member immediately posted links to his pot lids on display in a show somewhere and then proceeded to warn us all about a crises in the world of pot lids. Yes that’s right, pot lids. Crises.

What the heck are pot lids?
In the 1840s, as the steam engine transformed England, the kingdom's foremost chemists, druggists, and toiletry suppliers paid commercial artists to create pictorial labels which could be applied to ceramic containers using new ‘transfer printing’ techniques.

Greg Dean collects pot lids, among other things and some of the prettiest pot lids you ever did see are on display on his website, Dean Antiques.com

On the federation of historical bottle collectors website, there’s a very informative Adobe pdf article outlining the specifics of collecting pot lids. Collecting Pot Lids by Bruce Pynn and Swanson Jr begins by describing the ‘transfer-print’ procedure that makes 'transfer ware'.

The Transfer Print Process
To properly understand Greg Dean’s message, it’s important to understand how this early printing was actually accomplished. The simple process was as follows:
1. Ink is distributed on tissue paper from an engraved copper plate.
2. The art is baked onto the pottery or porcelain surface during the ‘bisque stage’
3. The paper is rubbed and some pressure is applied to assist in the transfer
4. The object is floated in water or washed until all the paper is removed.

What was inside the decorated pottery?
Toothpaste or tooth powder tins were almost always decorated, but also pomade, shaving cream, cold creams, various ointments (bear’s grease), mustache wax, shoe polish, and medicinal salves.

What are fake pot lids?
Some pot lids are very rare, and they are valuable because they are so beautiful and so hard to find. Reproductions MUST be clearly labeled as such and identified here. Greg Dean of Dean Antiques has written articles and posted pictures to help identify fakes, and document the relatively recent phenomenon of reproduction Pot Lids appearing on eBay. Here is a repo beside a genuine pot lid. Can you tell which is which?

Greg Dean writes about how to determine a pot lid label's authenticity on his website, Dean Antiques. From what I can gather it has to do with colour and the particular shade of light that’s reflected by genuine pieces under ultraviolet lamps. Buyers should also scrutinize the density of the lacquer or surface glaze, and the presence and quality of the crazing.

What is Crazing?
‘Crazing’ is the patchwork of fine cracks inside or under the surface of a glaze.

Technology Makes Reproduction Easier and More Effective:
Greg Dean laments that new photocopier technology is what makes it possible for unscrupulous artisans to mimic transfer printing so successfully – especially when these artists skillfully transpose images to a thin transparent film, and then apply this to a blank lid from the same time period.

Greg writes, “Using a blank or acid cleaned original as a base, the image can be easily resized and attached to fit almost anything.” But armed with proper knowledge it is possible to spot these reproductions.

Here are three Rob Smith Bears Grease lids:
The first of these three Rob Smith Bears Grease lids is real. It's extremely rare and has a well known pedigree in the X-Ball Collection.

The next two however are fakes. This art is just a modern photocopy of the original paper label, and from their grainy appearance Greg believes this eBay seller simply copied a reference publication. He writes, “This particular pot lid has been well documented over the years.

The copied label is adhered to a genuine more common antique lid, possibly once a paper label, sometimes even an acid etched lesser valued regional lid of approximate size, then sealed with some form of epoxy or similar. Although the transfer is generally less than sharp, unless you have owned or handled an original, on the spot identification can be deceptive.

Over time the fakery becomes more obvious as all repairs fade. It is not uncommon for repairers to coat their modified lids with urethane, or similar glazes to protect the porous "very workable" repairing compounds used from being discovered. Any discoloration should be carefully examined.

Ryan Stanton's History of Wheeling WV Blog

2009-01-17T09:04:00.000-08:00

Ryan P Stanton writes The Bell Rang blogspot and describes his domain in the subtitle, conversations with a student of history, education and junkism. Okay so what's what's with that name Ryan? Wait a minute let me think about it... Hey it's clever actually. The name shows the passage of time, and suggests an institution, a school. This blog is after school work?

This kid is Dumpdiggers new best friend. Not only is he a shining example of a new breed of collector, a web savvy, super literate relic hunting storyteller rising from the bowels of the internet, he's also a smart and friendly guy that's just agreed to run the Dumpdiggers ARENA Photo Battle Widget in the sidebar of his blog! And it looks great on the white background too.

Stanton is twenty five years old, a Taurus born in the year of the Rat, he favours education and is employed as a history teacher somewhere near Wheeling, West Virginia. He blogs about Wheeling a lot, which is cool, but he does something else that Dumpdiggers love...

Peruse Ryan Stanton’s Flickr photo galleries, to find awesome 'before and after' image sequences of historic locations. Ryan is good about walking and standing in the exact spot to capture the original angles. I wish Flickr had a Taylor dissolve unit so I could see the pictures dissolve into each other – check this out:

And now click here to see the Old Stone House Today. My personal favourite is a recreational adventure post about hiking around The Hempfield Tunnel and Viaduct. Ryan's style hints at something more - he leaves so many interesting story hooks unexplored.

Ryan is proud of Wheeling and its overall contribution to America. His pride shows in posts like The National Bank of West Virginia

And deep inside a remarkable post detailing an old Map of Wheeling West Virginia, Ryan quotes an article that reads, Wheeling's ideal geographic location was well suited for manufacturing, excellent transportation facilities, and cheap fuel (coal and gas). Iron, steel, coal, glass, manufacturing, textile, and retail - Wheeling had it all. Wow! Suddenly this Dumpdigger wants to know a whole lot more about this place.

Ryan’s stories hint at deeper mysteries that hopefully he’ll explore later in life. Dumpdiggers would like to know more about the rise and fall of Coon Island. When discussing the early map of Wheeling, Ryan writes For example, today, you will never find Coon Island on a map because it hardly exists. A small mining or gas community, all that remains of Coon Island is the row of houses that at one time represented something to do with the company. Dig behind them young man, dig up the stories behind those houses and share them with us.

Tell us more about McCollough's famous leap in 1777, Ohio River freight traffic, National Road toll houses, the old Stone House at Roney's Point, the Hobbes, Brockunier & Co. glass works, and the Wheeling Public Library (Wheeling was denied a Carnegie library). And the world will recognize The Bell Rang blog as the first and best online deposit of Wheeling’s immense and fascinating history – Wheeling’s contribution to America.

SC Digger's New Years Eve Plantation Hunt Video

2009-01-13T07:36:00.000-08:00

SC Digger has added another video to the collection...

Metal Detecting Saving History: #34 - New Year's Eve Dig

On December 31st 2008 SC digger woke up early and traveled to an historic plantation site somewhere in South Carolina to metal detect for century old brass and iron relics with special guest Russ Herbert.

This video is well paced and keeps viewers interested despite the fact that SC digger does not find anything extra remarkable in this one. The potential of this new site is revealed in some strange relics like brass caps and flat buttons, and broken heel plates and even a mysterious old padlock. I left a comment wherein I wondered if perhaps the padlock was shed by a runaway slave?

Dumpdiggers Critique

Like Truman Capote or Jean Luc Goddard in the 1950s, Dumpdiggers critiques these new fangled web videos. But first I'll acknowledge the bulk of SC digger's work on You Tube, which for I have tremendous respect, before I submit this genre is still finding itself, and SC digger could help it evolve better storytelling practices by giving viewers more information about the scene; it needs more backstory. If he could find and display some period photos and develop historic families and archetypal characters in the history of location, the found relics would have more meaning. And then when he picks up an old padlock it will be relevant, because it could possibly be linked to that runnaway slave!

Here's SC digger's table in the Dumpdiggers Underground Show and Sale wherein someday it will be possible to click through to his Saving History website and purchase his DVDs.

Colleen Lynch of Dovetail Decor

2009-01-07T07:34:00.001-08:00

Where are all the young antiques collectors? Here they are!

Colleen Lynch is the decorating diva behind Dovetail Decor, and she writes a funky decorating blog in the tips section of that website. Here's a beautiful young woman that really believes in antiques both as an investment and as functional home and office decor. She has made her name decorating with vintage furniture and her style accommodates collectors with too much stuff to display.

Yesterday Dumpdiggers helped Colleen publish her provocative ideas in an article on Prospere Magazine:

Antiques Diva Decorates with Collectibles: Colleen Lynch of Dovetail Decor helps clients take the clutter out of their antique collections

Colleen has lots of advice for bottle collectors. She recommends using picture rails and wall inserts to keep the treasures available for viewing but away from traffic. Glass should be near the window and whenever possible back lit, while pottery should be away from window and front lit.

Dumpdiggers would love to reproduce more of the photos from her amazing portfolio, but alas we would only be duplicating her original pictures and designs and not doing them justice.

But Dumpdiggers had to borrow this photo because its awesome! Click to expand. This is a fascinating look at the design progression of some everyday items and how they've each come to represent a different era of time and design. If you were a set decorator doing an 'art deco' period home, what would the telephone look like?

When antiques collectors say something is 'vintage' or 'retro' to what age are they referring?

What is the next evolution of the alarm clock?

I would like to do a chart like this for soda pop bottles, but I would start in the 1850s with the earliest torpedoes.

The Manhattan Well Diggers

2009-01-01T13:21:00.000-08:00

The Manhattan Well Diggers are a dedicated group of privy diggers, artists, collectors, research historians and educators with a passion for salvaging stories and unearthing bottles and artifacts on private property in the heart of New York City.

Tim Magee and a girl named Mya, and an eloquent writer named Dan who may or may not hide behind the alias Ole Sachem, (which confuses me slightly because I’d like to know the story behind that name) are the primary components of the time traveling task force.

Oh wait. Let’s not forget Dolhathai Srijamsharoen, a professional journalist, photographer and artist from Thailand known as "Little Pooh". She’s actually the most publicly identified digger on the site; there are links to Lit tle Pooh’s sculptures, painting and phot ography in the New York City Triptych article, which is really a MUST VIEW photo essay full of insights into their process and digging rituals.

Unlike other more rural diggers, these guys can’t help but get noticed by all manner of ‘back alley’ folks, which I suppose is anybody with an apartment that looks down on their dig zone. Their stories usually reference at least one visitor.

Over the last ten years, this crew has dug dozens of holes and grown bold. They've developed some telltale Dumpdigger rituals and procedures including lots of signature tools and techniques - just look at that fancy homemade tripod. But most interesting is the research and logistics involved in each digging operation. These guys have to really think about things before they start each shaft because the bottles are so deep its impossible to probe. To readers like me it appears their quests originate in the New York City Archives (there is a picture of somebody standing beside a fire insurance map in the About Us section of the site) and then each quest progresses to the 'securing permission' stage. They have to get legal access to the site to perform some manner of investigation... You know I’d like to see pictures of this team probing and digging test pits, but that element of the adventure seems to be missing from their web stories. But there are however some wonderful before and after shots of their dig sites.

But now that I think of it… One of the things I noticed, especially in the New York Triptych article, is that these guys dig holes on faith. The ‘wells’ are so deep there's no way of telling if anything is down there without going down there to look. I suppose it’s more like drilling for oil or mining emeralds than the surface collecting done elsewhere in the nation.

Dan writes that the group tries 'to locate dwellings from the mid 19th century which were built without the luxury of modern plumbing and therefore most likely have a subterranean privy vault somewhere on the original property. These vaults (loosely referred to as "wells" here in New York City) are generally constructed of fieldstone, schist, brownstone or red brick, and sometimes contain shards of pottery and glass…’

The Manhatten Well Diggers write good articles and take great photos. Their best digging pictures are below the fold in the About Us section of the website, while the section marked Gallery has become a repository of good clean ‘treasures’. This is where they post pictures of their best finds, and there are some truly exquisite pieces here. I hope to add one set to the Dumpdiggers Treasure Alley on their behalf.

Crisp Beavers on Canadian Fruit Sealer Jars

2008-12-27T14:22:00.001-08:00

So just before the holiday that Dumpdiggers calls Christmas started, Tim Braithwaite (stonebottles) bought a beautiful beaver jar at a local auction sale and posted this close-up photo of the crisp embossing in the Dumpdiggers discussion for um, and of course this caused me to wonder about fruit sealers and crisp beavers in general, and how they came to be so coveted? … and what about those ‘left facing beavers’? What’s the story behind those?

Early Food Preservation in Europe and the USA

Let’s start at the start… In France, in the early 1800s, the process of hermetically sealed cooked food was developed by François (Nicolas) Appert, who was by trade a pickler, an expert confectioner, a brewer, a distiller, and a chef. He established the principles for the preservation of certain foods in hermetically sealed glass containers, (which he himself designed for the experiment). Basically he was the first person in the history to prove that air tight containers could preserve food.

Appert really had no explanation for the success of his experiment. He believed the exclusion of air and the application of heat were the major factors in keeping the foods in his experiments from spoiling.

Across the channel, an Englishman named Peter Durand patented the idea of airtight tin-plated iron cans, instead of glass jars, for food preservation. Cooked meat, fruit, and vegetables could now be hermetically sealed in metal containers. The British had lots of tin on their island and were the world leaders of brass munitions, but their first tin cans were actually made out of iron and were terribly heavy and hard to open. Here's one found a few years ago that was made in 1837 and when opened was found to contain perfectly edible veal.

For some reason however the first tin cans were actually patented in the United States in 1825, and by 1839 tin cans were common in General Stores all over the continental US.

The Rise of Home Canning

US patent history records hundreds of successful fruit jar designs, but probably the most well known is the Mason jar. In 1858, John Landis Mason, a twenty six year old tin smith developed and patented a shoulder-seal jar with a zinc screw cap. The "Mason jar" had a threaded neck which fit with the threads in a metal cap to screw down to the shoulder of the jar and in this way form a seal. In 1869, a top seal above the threads and under a glass lid was introduced to the jar. The screw cap pressed tightly against the inverted lid, with rubber seal underneath, thus effecting an excellent seal. Preserving food in a glass home canning jar had now been taken a step further. A type of this closure still is in use today, although augmented with various other closure designs.

In 1861, Louis Pasteur used a microscope to show that microorganisms in un-sterilized food were responsible for food spoilage. Up until this time, even though people boiled the vessels in which they canned their food, nobody really knew why it worked. The common belief was that air caused spoilage and removing the air from vessels prevented spoilage. However, once Pasteur’s discovery was understood, scientists, manufacturers and home canners began developing better preservation methods usually by sterilizing the food as well as the container.

The manufacture of glass fruit jars for home canning accelerated after the US Civil War. Mason's patent expired in 1875 and many other companies began manufacturing fruit jars around that time. Many of these other glass manufacturers capitalized upon the familiarity of the Mason name (or brand) and used it liberally on their own product names and logos.

Fruit Sealer Jar Lids
A multitude of different closures were developed and used throughout the years, which included variations on the screw top lid as well as different designs of clamps, wire bails and wax devices to hold the lids in place. Dumpdiggers has kept a ‘Safety Seal’ brand jar of aromatic coffee beans above the stove for almost ten years – that vessel has a good hinge clamp closure device that sandwiches the lid and bottle together and locks in that delicious smell behind a rubber seal.

Why so many different colours?
While contemporary canning jars are made of clear glass, their ancestors are found in a variety of colors and shades: aqua, clear, amber, cobalt blue, green and occasionally even milk glass. Different colours appealed to different markets and shopkeepers would order exotic varieties based on the population’s economic affluence, the popularity of the brand, the growing season’s potential for a bumper crop, and the type of fruit in the region. Colors were used just like ‘fancy packaging’ is today. I suppose it’s similar to the great beer bottle debate we have today. Are beers packaged in clear bottles more susceptible to spoilage? Do amber coloured bottles better protect their contents from the adverse effects of sunlight? Some say it’s just a marketing gimmick.

And that brings us to the left facing beaver jars. Phil Murphy, an avid collector of fruit jars and host of The Fruit Jar Collector Web Site thinks maybe the left facing beaver jars are something of a marketing gimmick too.

When I emailed him and asked about this, Phil returned this pearl of wisdom, ‘…according to fruit jar researcher Dick Roller, these jars were made after the newly designed Frank O'Neill machines had been installed in the Kingsville (Ontario) plant in the spring of 1901. By September 28, 1901, it was reported that D.A. Gordon, of Sydenham Glass Co., had dismantled the Kingsville plant and taken the tools and machinery to Wallaceburg (where the Sydenham Glass Co. existed). The short span of time that the machines were used at the Kingsville plant may account for the rarity of these jars. So far, all of the left-facing Beaver jars checked have been machine-made..."

Phil goes on to write, that he reckons the ratio of right facing beaver jars to left facing beaver jars to be about 100 to 1, respectively (in the Pint versions anyway) if not higher. They must be rare because I can't find a picture of one to include here in this post.

Fruit Jar Manufacterers
Dumpdiggers would be happy to find fruit sealers from any of these American (and Canadian) glass jar manufacturers. If you're a fruit jar collector, then this is your mission statement:

Acme
Adams & Company, Pittsburg, PA
Ball Brothers Glass Mfg. Co., Muncie, IN
Beaver
Boyd
Brookfield Glass Company, Brooklyn, NY
Brushwick Glass Company, Brooklyn, NY
A. & D. H. Chambers Company, Pittsburg, PA
Clyde Glass Works, Clyde, NY
Consolidated Fruit Jar Co., New Brunswick, NJ
Co-operative Flint Glass Co., Ltd., Beaver Falls, PA
Corning Glass Works
Crowleytown's Atlantic Glass Works, Crowleytown, NJ
Crystal Glass Co., Bridgeport, OH
Cumberland Glass Mfg. Co, Bridgeton, NJ
D. Cunningham Glass Co., Pittsburg, PA
Decker's Iowana, Mason City, IA
Edward H. Everett, Newark, OH
Flaccus Bros.
C. L. Flaccus Glass Company, Pittsburg, PA
A M Foster Co., Chicago, IL
Fowlers
Gayner Glass Works, Salem, NJ
S. George Co., Wellsburg, WV
Gilchrist Improved Jar Co., Philadelphia, PA & Elmer, NJ
Glass Containers Corp., Fullerton, CA (Golden Harvest)
W. Glenny Glass Co., Cincinnati, OH
Greenfield Fruit Jar & Bottle Co., Greenfield, IN
Hamilton
Hawley Glass Company, Hawley, PA
Hazel Glass, Washington, PA
Hazel-Atlas Glass Co., Wheeling, WV, & Washington, PA
Hemingray, Cincinnati, OH
Hemingway Glass Co., Covington, KY
Hero Fruit Jar Co., Philadelphia, PA
Hero Glass Works, Philadelphia, PA
Hermetic Fruit Jar Company, Portland, OR (Kerr)
Hermetical Closure Co., San Francisco, CA
Louis Hollweg, Indianapolis, IN
Illinois Glass Co., Alton, IL
Illinois Pacific Glass Company
Kearns-Gorsuch Bottle Co., Zanesville, OH
Kerr Glass Manufacturing Company, Sand Springs, OK
Keystone Glass Works, Philadelphia, PA
Knowlton
Knox Glass Bottle Co., Knox, PA
Lamb Glass Co., Vernon, OH
J. A. Landsberger Co., San Francisco, CA
Lynchburg Glass Corp.,
Lyndeboro Glass, Lyndeboro, NH
W. W. Lyman
Mannington Glass, Mannington, WV
Marion Fruit Jar & Bottle Co., Marion, IN
Millville
Mission Mason
Mom's
Monarch
Moore Brothers Glass Co., Clayton, NJ
Mountain Mason, Midvale, UT
National Glass Co., Pittsburg, PA
Ohio Container Co., Columbus, OH (Mom's)
Ohio Valley Glass Company
Owens-Illinois Glass Co. - Toledo, OH (Presto) & San Francisco, CA
Pacific Glass Works
F. H. Palmer, Brooklyn, NY
Penna Glass Co., Anderson, IN
Port Glass Works, Bellville, IL
Poughkeepsie Glass Works, Poughkeepsie, NY
Presto
Putnam, Bennington, VT
Putnam Glass Works, Zanesville, OH
Red Key Glass Co., Red Key, IN
Root Glass Company, Terre Haute, IN
Safe Glass Co., Upland, IN & Chicago, IL
San Francisco and Pacific Glass Works
Schram Glass Mfg. Co., St. Louis, MO
Simplex
Skillin-Goodin Glass Co., Yorktown, IN
A. G. Smalley & Co., Boston
Smalley-Kilvan-Onthank, Boston
J. P. Smith, Pittsburg, PA
Sneath Glass Co., Hartford City, IN
Swayzee Glass Co., Swayzee, IN
Terre Haute Glass Mfg. Co., Terre Haute, IN
Thames Glass Works Company, New London, CT
Upland Cooperative Glass Co., Upland, IN
Vacuum Jar & Fruit Package Co., San Francisco, CA
Victor Jar Co., Detroit, MI
Weightman Glass Co., Pittsburg, PA
Wellsburgh Glass and Mfg., Wellsburgh, WV
Western Flint Glass Co., Eaton, IN
Weston Glass Co., Weston, WV
Whitall Tatum
Whitney Glass Works, Glassboro, NJ
Woodbury Bottle Works, Woodbury, NJ
Wormser Glass Co., Pittsburg, PA
R. G. Wright & Co., Buffalo, NY

A Primer on Fruit Jars is an interesting article by Dave Hinson with a good overview on the history of glass fruit jars that have been used for home food preservation in the past.

Mike, Matt and Brian Go Digging in New Hampshire

2008-12-13T02:12:00.000-08:00

Occasionally, Dumpdiggers dot blogspot will publish submissions from other enthusiasts, or those people kind enough to put images to anecdotes in the Digging Stories category of the discussion forum on Dumpdiggers.com

This is one of those occasions. DiggerMatty has uploaded some wonderful photos and prose concerning his most recent adventure in New Hampshire. Here are his images and text:

A Winter Dig by DiggerMatty (every picture expands - just click)

Well, Mikey found us a dump to dig for the winter months. All the dumps up here are getting sketchy due to the police activity, so we had to improvise! Plus it is about time Mikey brought something to the table (Just kidding Mikey)! You know I love ya man! Believe it or not Mikey has invited me on SEVERAL excellent digs!

So back to the story...Mikey called me one day and told me he was on to a decent dump down his way.

A couple weeks passed and the opportunity came about for me to investigate it. Mike, Brian and I all met there for a dig. I came to the conclusion before long that this dump used to be a pond that was filled in with trash in the early 1900's. As you all know I research...

So we did some digging and came up with some pretty good stuff. I dug a fairly scarce jar and gave it to Brian...he collects them. It was a IMPROVED JAM with a monogram on the back.

We scored some Milks, some odd-ball meds, and I dug about 8 Duffy's Malt Whiskey's (6 intact).

It was a fun time. I also dug a NICE stone master ink that was encrusted with something? Wait till you see how that cleaned up!

Here are some pics from the dig! Click on pics to blow them up!

Went digging again down Mikey's way...I met the digger (Greg) who was generous enough to share the dump with us. He found the dump and then he and Mikey got permission from the land owner.

Greg is one hell of a avid digger as well. We had a great time.

So this is going to be our winter dump digging wonderland....at least until spring. I guess all that matters in these hard time is that we can get out as diggers and enjoy each others company...and maybe a few good finds......OR GREAT ONES!

Here are the photos from today’s lucrative dig. Thanks Greg & Mikey.........

I HAD A REAL BLAST...but that Burger King food that Mikey got us had me farting like a mental patient that lost his colostomy bag!

Mikey found a neat Whiskey from the UK.....

I dug an AWESOME mosquito cure.......

and Greg dug a BUNCH OF SWEET STUFF.