News Flash - Blind Squirrel finds acorn!

 

 

Ebay's auction format has earned a much deserved black eye in the antique bottle world. The overwhelming abundance of ignorant sellers and unscrupulous scoundrels is nothing short of amazing.

The lack of photographic skills, kindergarten level spelling and punctuation, combined with inaccurate descriptions or downright deceptions never ceases to amaze me. And the "one of a kind" one line J. H. Cutters, and the unlisted Roth Lawton Rye's with the "no harm 1/2" flea nibble and crack running from base to lip" are always cheap entertainment.

But once in a blue moon, something really awesome makes an appearance. If listed properly, in the right category, and with "Lou-esque" photography, the sky is the limit. Take for example the Phoenix Whiskey that recently sold for in excess of $1450~; without a doubt, a new "high altitude record" for that bottle. Nice; no arguments here, but how much...
 

On the flip side, there are some sleepers still making an appearance. Few and far between, but still out there. I just wish there was a way to design software to sleuth these buys out~ But, until it becomes available, you just have to be in the right place at the right time.

 

The other day I got a call from a fellow collector asking what I knew about Seagrams 7 advertising decanters. "Just send me some photos " and I'll look in my Jim Beam / Ezra Brooks blah, blah, blah, (yawn) catalogue and see what it was worth back in the 70's... A couple of days later I received some pics of the "Seagrams 7 decanter" that he was curious about.

Lousy auction listing photos at best; but good enough to give me a wake up call! The logo, smack dab in the center of this piece literally screamed San Francisco.



Hello Earnest Rueben Lilienthal!

 

And the decanter wasn't some cheesy white glaze ceramic piece, it was glass (probably flint or lead) with ornate etching and a tulip shaped lip topped by an ornate faceted bulbous closure. Oh, and did I mention that it advertised a brand we'd never heard of? Yup, "Noble White Rye".

 

Obviously the Creme de la Creme of the Cyrus Noble Line.

Once in a blue moon, watching ebay pays off.

 
Yep, that squirrel found himself one heck of an acorn!