Thursday, March 13, 2014

Phil Blumauer- Portland, Or.

Here is another "mystery bottle" from Oregon. I have lived in Oregon my entire life and had never heard of this bottle before this example was recently dug over 500 miles from it's city of origin. The Celro Cola brand was produced from about 1905 through 1920 and is known to come in machine made amber squares, often with a label. This example appears to be older and in fact was dug in 1880s context. I have checked with the old time Portland diggers as well as those currently exploring the Rose City, and not one has ever heard of this bottle, let alone dug one! Now that is rare. I have since found one other collector in eastern Oregon who has another example, so this makes two known to me.
 What is odd is that the druggist "Phil Blumauer" was known to have operated a drug store in Portland for two years, 1896-7, however since this square was found in total 1880s context, the dates just do not add up. The embossing "Celery Kola" is also different from the "Celro-Kola", so the plot thickens. This is a full size "bitters" square, and if you look closely, the neck was purposely lengthened by almost an inch making for a very long neck. Why would they do this? As one who appreciates Oregon glass, this is one I am grateful to have in my collection. Any more of these out there? DM

2 comments:

  1. There is an ad in Feb. 24 1899 Oregon City Enterprise that states (sorry having trouble copying it) "If tired out with your days work and too nervous to sleep well, Dr. Barkers Celery and Kola compound will give you restful sleep and restore your strength. For sale only by C. G. Huntley, Cut Rate Druggist. Price 65c for the dollar size."

    seems likely to be related somehow - A longer, but similar ad again via C.G. Huntley, appears in the March 17 1899 edition of the same paper. This like "might" work
    http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn00063700/1899-03-17/ed-1/seq-3/#index=1&rows=20&words=barker+Kola&sequence=0&proxtext=barker%27s+AND+kola&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=range&page=1

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