We buy, consign and sell antique bottles in our online auction - including old whiskey, bitters, sodas, water,

beers, inks, flasks, spirit, medicine, historical, fruit and pickle jars, utility, barber, gin, Dutch onion, nippers and more!

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800-806-7722     Email: info@americanbottle.com

2523 J Street Suite 203,  Sacramento, CA 95816

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Click Here For Kerr Auction VII Catalog!

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American Bottle Auctions Presents...

Kerr Auction VII

Alex Kerr VII will open for preview July 3rd, bidding will begin July 7th and close July 15th at 8pm Pacific.  Brochures will be sent out free, if you’ve received a brochure before you are already on our list.  Remember, when the collection is gone, it's gone.

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Auction 45 is on Its Way...

Summer wouldn't be the same without bottles and American Bottle Auctions is the place to get them!  Join us for another outstanding auction opening for preview on July 26th,  bidding will begin on Monday July 28th and close on Tuesday, August 5th.  We'll feature some terrific bottles including bitters, whiskeys, inks, sodas galore, you name it.  In addition, we will be presenting more of the Bryan Grapentine 50 state hutch collection.  For all of our current bidders, we'll be sending out a full-color catalog free of charge!  This is one sale certain to have something for everyone! 

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By Jeff Wichmann

The Lid stays put even when the jar is turned upside down.

If you’ve been following our story on a newly discovered one-of-a-kind Lupton Jar, you might be happy and maybe even amazed to know that an original lid has been found for this extremely rare fruit jar! That’s right, when we announced this new jar to the bottle world, collectors began the search for what they thought might be the glass lid as described in the patent. Well, before long I got a call and then a glass lid that fit, well it fit like a lid made for the jar. The patent describes the application of a rubber band around the lid edge which when pushed down into the mouth of the jar, forms a perfect seal.

Well, as the light apple green lid first was inserted, it was a little loose. We had a stack of rubber bands that we went through and after a little trial and error, we applied one around the edge of the lid. To our astonishment, it fit so well, you can see one picture of the jar being held upside down with the lid perfectly inserted. A self-sealing lid! It’s likely they had something covering the lid, as they mention either metal or wooden, we’d have to guess metal but all in all, the marriage of a one-of-a-kind jar meets the possibly one-of-a-kind lid. Although the colors don’t match perfectly, it’s a story we love to tell. To find not only a jar so rare, but the lid to go with it is quite amazing. The jar will appear in American Bottle Auctions 45th sale sometime in July.

Who would’ve thought this rare lid would've shown up?

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A recent email to American Bottle Auctions turned out to be quite interesting. The sender mentioned he had a jar, his father had recently passed and before he did, told his son to sell the jar, it was time. The seller whose name is Bill said his father had bought a jar at a flea market years ago and it had remained safely in their house ever since.

We had another interesting email a few months before this one. It ended up resulting in the Dalbey jar, which by now has sold in our recent auction. This time the potential seller, Bill, said he had checked the landscape and decided he liked the way we did business, he decided to consign it and we didn’t mind that one bit. I told Bill that we are more than happy to give opinions on bottles, we do many everyday.

After some brief small talk I asked him what he had. "A fruit jar that has Lupton’s embossed on it," was his reply. As I talked I went to the bookshelf, pulled out Doug Leybourne’s Redbook and Jerry McCann’s Fruit Jar Annual for 2008. Not a Lupton jar in sight. I figured it was a turn of the century jar made in his area of the country that just didn’t have the interest of either author. "Does it say anything else" I asked? "Yes it does," he replied. "Self Sealer Pat May 29th 1866." He had my attention. Surely Doug or Jerry would include a jar from the 1860’s? I needed more information.

I called Doug Leybourne who told me he was not familiar with the jar. I called Bill back and told him the news, unlisted, no real news to give him except that it could be an exceptionally rare and possibly valuable jar. I needed to see it.

The next day we sent Bill a Fed X label, which comes in handy. You email a label addressed to us and he prints it out, glues it to the box and it is back in our hands within a day or two. Dave told me his dad, Fred, and his family had settled near New Jersey. He had done some research on the jar and pointed me in the right direction. I went to the Google Patent search and there it was as plain as day. Not only the entire patent, number 55128, but a picture of the jar and its unique lid. Designed, according to the patent abstract, to be pressed onto the mouth of the jar, placed in boiling water with some weight added to the top and the contents, when the jar and contents cooled, would seal itself. A self-sealing jar, just like the embossing said.

As I read the United States Patent Office abstract dated May 29, 1866, I could tell the Lupton brothers thought they had a unique and possibly groundbreaking invention. They explained "by means of which fruit cans can be sealed air-tight in such a way that the fruit can be kept sound and sweet for any length of time, and the stopper can be removed when required without difficulty and without injuring the stopper; and it consists of a fruit-can stopper formed by combing an india-rubber or equivalent lining or surface with a wooden or metallic cap; as hereinafter more fully described." A novel idea indeed. The patent went on to describe the different materials that could be used for the container including, tin, glass or earthenware. "Among the advantages," the patent reads, "our invention it may be mentioned that the operator can always tell whether the can is sealed or not…for if the sealing is not perfect the stopper can be lifted from the can." Joshua and Nathan Lupton signed the patent on February 19th, 1866. Witnessed by a Mr. I.F. Oshel and a Mr. Levi Morris. The patent also states that the Lupton brothers were from Stafford, Ohio. A town that as of 2000 still had a population of only 86. A lot of jars were made in Ohio. In addition, a picture of their invention is shown, the jar or can, exactly as it appears now in front of me, without the embossing. A most unusual lip applied to the top of the jar, the very top a ground or polished finish. It’s called a fruit-jar on the abstract and a fruit can on the picture.

Looking at the jar or can, it is a nice bluish aqua with some good overall character. Lots of tiny bubbles, plenty of light whittle overall, and that odd flat top with signs of grinding or polishing. It’s obvious they wanted the flattest lip possible to insure a tight seal. The bottom has no pontil, just a slightly indented 2" diameter circle in the center of the jar. The condition is about perfect; it appears it wasn’t used much. As it turns out, it held right around 60 ounces, almost a quart and stands 8" with the base being 3 3/4" in diameter.  An odd size for an odd jar.

Well, it’s a guessing game now, what happened with their new invention? Why didn’t it catch on? Did the first user die of botulism? Did the brothers die in a fire? Even the oddest of the odd have some place in record books. Even a blind squirrel finds an occasional nut. The fact that they went through the process to patent the "can" as they called it had to be something they felt was a promising venture. It should have been more important than this. How could one jar survive? Just one?

So a man named Fred, gone at age 79, many years ago, strolling through a flea market reached into a box and pulled out a jar he liked enough to fork over a few bucks for. Just a glass jar that might have held the dreams of two men, brothers who like so many others during their time, pursued that pot of gold near a rainbow. What is the price or value of a dream? Was it all for naught, the remains of two visionaries found at a flea market? How can the smartest of the smart and the strongest of the strong not succeed? It was a self-sealing jar for God’s sake. Now, besides the patent and the jar, what is left? Is there a Lupton family in Ohio? A great grandson or daughter perhaps? What are dreams truly made of, what makes a dream come true? And do they have to become true to be a real dream?

Editors Note; we did find a Nathan Lupton who died in Warren County, Ohio in 1916.  Also, this jar will be included in our next auction.

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Don't Miss These Terrific Upcoming Bottle Shows!

Upcoming Bottle Shows

Montana Bottle Collectors Association
6th Annual Show and Sale
Saturday & Sunday July 12th and 13th from 10 AM to 3 PM
Early Buyer Sat. 8 AM - 10 AM
At Montana Tech. in Butte, Montana
Info:  Bill Henness/Phone 406-459-3038/Email bhenness@bresnan.net
Info:  Tom Brackman/Phone 406-227-5301

The Reno Antique Bottle and Collectibles Club
45th Annual Show and Sale
Friday & Saturday July 18-19th  (Dealers 10 AM/Early Birds 12 PM)
Admission:  Early Bird $10
At Sparks Convention Center
4590 South Virginia Street, Reno
INFO:  Helene at 775-345-0171
INFO:  Willy at 775-746-0922

Antique Bottle Collectors of Colorado    
Annual Show and Sale
Saturday July 26th 2008 from 9 AM to 4 PM
At the National Mining Hall of Fame & Museum Convention Center
117 10th St., Leadville, Colorado
Info:  Jim & Barb Sundquist
Phone 303-674-4658

The Downieville Antique Bottle Show & Sale 
Featuring the great "Western Bitters Bonanza"
Saturday September 13th, 8 AM - 3 PM/Early Buyers 8 AM - 10 AM
At the Downieville School Gym
Special BBQ event for all dealers (Fri. 5 PM - 10 PM) at (Simiville) the old Downieville Brewery
Info:  Rick or Cherry Simi/Phone 530-289-3659/ Email seeme@sccn.net
Info:  Lou & Leisa Lambert/Phone 707-823-8845/ Email maxbitters@comcast.net

The Los Angeles Historical Bottle Club Proudly Presents its
Antique Bottle Fruit Jar, Antiques and Collectible Show & Sale
Saturday September 13th 2008 from 9 AM to 4 PM
Admission $2.50/Early bird $5.00 starts at 8 AM
At the Arcadia Masonic Temple
50 West Duarte Road, Arcadia, CA
Info:  Don Wippert/818-346-9833
Info:  Dick Homme/818-362-3368
Website:  www.lahbc.org

The Phoenix Antiques, Bottles & Collectibles Club
Annual Show and Sale
Friday October 10th 2008 from 10 AM to 5 PM (Early Bird 10 AM - 12 PM) &
Saturday, October 11th 8 AM- 4 PM
Admission:  Early Bird $10, General $3, Children under 12 are FREE
At N. Phoenix Baptist Church (NPBC) with over 10,000 sq. ft. available for setup!
NPBC is located at 5757 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ
INFO:  Betty Hartnett at 602-317-4438
email is bettchem@cox.net
Website:  www.phoenixantiquesclub.org

Northwestern Bottle Collectors Association
One Day Show
Saturday October 11th 2008 from 10 AM to 4 PM (free)/Early Lookers 8 AM - 10 AM ($10)
6 AM - 8 AM Dealer Set-up
At the Sonoma County Fairgrounds - Finley Hall Building
Santa Rosa, CA
Info:  Bev. Siri / Phone 707-542-6438

Jefferson State Antique Bottle & Collectibles Show
Saturday October 18th 2008 from 9 AM to 3 PM
Dealer set-up/ Early admission Friday 12 PM to 7 PM
At the Seven Feathers Hotel and Casino Resort
I-5 Exit 99
Info:  Bruce Silva, PO Box 1565, Jacksonville, OR 97530
Phone 541-899-8411
email is jsglass@q.com / http://www.ecandm.com/canyonville/

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To view the Grapentine auctions click on either Part III, II or I below.

Click Here to View The Bryan Grapentine Auction Part III Catalog
 

The Bryan Grapentine Auction Part II ended on August 29, 2007.
To view Part II please click here.

The Bryan Grapentine Auction Part I ended on April 11, 2007.
To view Part I please click here.

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Headlines on the Front Page
State law puts stiff restrictions on artifacts people pull from the ground

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New to the hobby and wondering what makes a bottle valuable? Click here to see our Bottle Value Checklist.

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All photographs and editorial copy appearing on this website are the exclusive property of American Bottle Auctions and may not be reprinted, quoted or re-published without the permission of Jeff Wichmann, the owner of American Bottle Auctions.