Object Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Louis Taussig & Co. Western Whiskey Bottle, 1902 |
Object Name |
Bottle, Spirits |
Description |
Louis Taussig & Co. Western Whiskey Bottle, 1902. Amber colored rectangular whiskey bottle with a ring in the next just below the tapered lip. In the middle of the whiskey bottle, is the insignia of Louis Taussig & Co. which is a medium sized circle with the imprinting of a "T" in the middle, a "L" on the one side of the "T"and a "&", a "C" towards the bottom of the "T", with a small "O" that is on each side. On the back of the bottom of the bottle, are some imprinted lines that parallel to one another. On the very bottom of the bottle, imprinted in bold with medium lettering, the text reads "PATENTED / FEB 4 1902". Bottle appears to be empty. |
Date |
c. 1890-1902 |
Creator |
Unknown |
Role |
Manufacturer |
Catalog Number |
2017.012.025 |
Dimensions |
H-10.5 W-3 D-0.125 inches |
Collection |
3D - Food Service Tools & Equipment |
Inscription Text |
"L T & Co" (imprinted in a circle in the top middle of the bottle with a "T" in the middle, a "L" on the one side of the "T"and a "&", a "C" towards the bottom of the "T", with a small "O" that is on each side) "PATENTED / FEB 4 1902" (imprinted in bold with medium lettering on the very bottom of the bottle) |
Provenance |
Part of donation that included 6 cases of beer and whiskey bottles dating from 1850 through the 1890s. These are the type of bottles that would have been present in San Mateo County during that time period. |
Notes |
"Louis Taussig & Company, Importers and Wholesale Liquor Merchants, first surfaced in San Francisco business directories nine years later, in 1865. It was located at two successive addresses on Sansome Street from that year to 1872. As Taussig’s business expanded, he moved frequently, serially to two addresses on Battery (1873-1883) and then to 26-28 Main Street...The Taussig Co. soon became one of the largest wholesale liquor outfits in the West, eventually opening offices in Cincinnati at 15 Sycamore Street, and New York City at 9 Delancy Street. Those outlets gave Taussig access to markets nationwide. He also had an eye for packaging his goods attractively in embossed glass. The "Grand Prize Bitters" bottle shown left recently sold for $1,000." "Louis Taussig, San Fran Whiskey Man". Published by whiskeymen.blogspot.com, on March 17, 2015. [https://pre-prowhiskeymen.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-untold-life-of-louis-taussig-san.html] "The 19th century produced few whiskey bottles compared to the 20th century. For most of the century Bourbon and Rye whiskeys were sold by the distiller in the barrel. A few retailers offered bottled whiskey to customers but the majority of the consumers furnished their own bottle, flask or jug and had it filled from the barrel. It is not until the 1880s that machine blown glass bottles were developed, making it profitable for distillers to bottle their own product. These first machine blown bottles used two piece molds similar to those used to make decorative flasks. These bottles had a seam that ran up the neck of the bottle. Unfortunately, this made the neck a weak point in the glass and the bottles with long necks tended to break easily. In the 1890s a three piece mold was developed with the neck being the third piece. The seam in the glass runs up to the shoulder of the bottle and disappears... Hand blown bottles will have be less uniform than machine blown bottles, unless they were blown into a mold. The mold seams are clues as to when machine mold bottles were made. The bottle itself will tend to have air bubbles in the glass. There is also a wide variation on the glass color from clear to amber, to violet to smoky grey, to olive green..." [http://www.gobourbon.com/dating-old-whiskey-bottles-from-the-19th-century/ 5/24/2017] |
Search Terms |
Alcohol Bottles San Francisco Whiskey |
Subjects |
Alcoholic beverages Bars Bottles Whiskey |
Credit line |
Courtesy of John Shroyer |