Green Whittled Sixth

Nice Green Sixth, Heavy on the Whittle, from the West.

J.F. Cutter

Here is my current little family of J. F. Cutter fifths.    I have three of the old variant 1 (type a) bottles.  Otherwise known by various names... stovepipe top, barrel top, fat boy.    The fat boy on the left was my obsession for a few years,  and yes it is quite green.   The center example will be closer to the one in the ABA auction,  I think. 

They are close in color for sure,  but the stovepipes fall just a bit short on the green o meter to a few examples of the (type b) tapered tops that I have seen over the years.   Lance has a great example!

My old (type b) in a similar color to Lance's is resting comfortably with a collector that posts here on occasion.   Maybe he will chime in...      It was dug high in the mtns. above Salt Lake City.               It needs to come back home

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Colored Cutters

Merry Christmas to all, from the Cutter Family!

Gold Rush Buckles and Belts

 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

 

Friendships are the most important

part of our hobby. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've been losing a little weight,  and had to pick up a new belt.     I don't know if it will look as good on me as on this dandy.    It does have an adjuster.. which might come in handy after all the holiday treats and goodies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The PIONEER Idaho Bottle or Nevada Bottle - a little of both.

These F. C. Brown and company sodas are pretty scarce.   They are a interesting link to significant mining booms that occurred in the Boise Basin District (Idaho City 'placer gold') and White Pine District (Hamilton/Treasure City 'silver chloride'). 

Brown followed the crowd into Idaho and set up his soda business in 1867.   The bottles were ordered and blown by either the Pacific G.W. or the San Fran. G.W.   He must have placed a fairly large order,  possibly more than one order,  as examples are known in 3 fairly distinctive colors and with somewhat different top styling.    A number of years ago,  we traveled to Idaho City and met with an interesting gent. that dug some bottles in that area in the early 1970's.   This was my first awakening as to the early 'western connection' of the Boise area.  This guy had a yellow Lacours, S.H.M. fifths,  Pacific Glass Works "star" pickle,  other embossed fifths and S.F. sodas.  He also had 3 or 4 of these Pioneer sodas.    I didn't pay attention to them,  probably could have picked one up from him at the time.  No,  I was drooling all over the Lacours. 

This ex-digger had flown choppers in Vietnam and that was his occupation in the mid 1970's if I remember correctly,  flying fire fighters around the thickly wooded region during the fire season.
He was involved in helicopter crash and had torn up his back pretty bad.  Done with digging,  but he had some great stories.   We were sitting out in the back yard listening to the stories as he went through the daily pain killing process.   His rock garden was full of interesting shards and topless bottles and I bet there were a dozen broken Pioneers in the pile.   Anyway,  he passed away shortly after our visit with him.   His sister was very active in the Idaho City Historical group and that is where his bottles are now.  Another museum to deal with!

Brown's Idaho City business declined in 1868/1869 and he decided to relocate in eastern Nevada. 
He had caught White Pine Fever and joined the rush to Hamilton,  taking his embossed bottles with him.   Several examples have been dug in the White Pine area.   White Pine was short lived,  by mid- 1869 people were rushing back to where they had come from.   Not sure where Mr. Brown headed to after Hamilton,  but his bottles have been found in Virginia City, and in California.  

A very good account of F.C. Brown and the Pioneer soda can be found in Fred Holabird's book on Nevada Bottles V.1.   Did I miss volume 2 or is it still coming?  


An interesting bottle and another early product of the west coast glass works.

N. & E. BOUKOFSKY - EARLY UTAH DEALERS

Since we are talking Miller's

thought I would bring back this old post about the Boukofsky brothers.

 

 

Utah has produced more than it's share of Miller's flasks.  Both large and small embossing circle variations.  Also it has produced many, many J.F. Cutter Extra (Star in Shield) fifths.   Nelson and Edward Boukofsky ads first appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune in 1871. 

The Boukofsky's were probably the largest (most successful) of the 4 major dealers of San Francisco whiskies in the Utah Territory market.   If the number of embossed containers is any indication,  they certainly were the most successful.  Miller's Extra and J.F. Extra was shipped throughout the state.  Every early town/ mining district I have poked around has remains of these containers scattered about. 

They were also the Utah agents for Baldwin's Superior Hand Made Old Bourbon (S.H.M.)  and McKennas.

It didn't take long for the E.Martin (J.F. Cutter) / A.P. Hotaling (J.H. Cutter)  feud  to show up in the local Utah papers.  Early in 1872 Cunnington and the Boukofsky's started taking potshots at each other as to which was the "true and genuine' Cutter whiskey.

It is interesting to try and calculate the survival rate of some of these bottles.  Cunnington's ad indicates Hotaling's purported warehouse inventory of J.H. Old Bourbon in early 1872.  Besides all the barrels and casks,  5000 cases of bottled product!    I don't think these would be circle cutters... early 1872! 

 

Boukofsky's owned the market in Alta, Utah.  At least 30 intact star/shield fifths have been found in this lofty mining town.  Probably over 20 Millers flasks.   Cunnington did a pretty good job early on as the early J.H.Cutters with and without crown are found here.

The more famous Utah dealers, the Walker Bros.,  had a hard time selling whiskey in Alta.   They made their pile at the Emma and Prince of Wales mines,  but when they gained access to an early mining claim that basically included the entire business district of Alta,  and threatened to make townsfolk re-purchase their lots or move... that didn't go over real big!

Very few circle Cutters in here,  just a couple of shards of Suits.  Alta was all Boukofsky after 1872.

  

Gold Rush Gins

My collecting goals are constantly in flux it seems.   I have really grown to appreciate these Booth and Sedgwick bottles.   All of the early embossed squares are appealing to me.  It's that darn gold rush thing. 

The Jockey Club House gins are so pricey now,  some of the others might be "little more affordable".    

It is really difficult to find nice, mint, pontiled squares.   Seems like everyone is after them.


                   I brought these two home from Roseville.    I love em!!
   

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Added them to my other two,  and I have a decent little start of a grouping.    The large   size  comes in quite a few different colors,  so I have a long way to go.