ROSENBAUMS BITTERS
N.B. JACOBS & CO.
SAN FRANCISCO
Circa: 1864 – 1868

The first mention of Rosenbaums Bitters is in an 1858 advertisement listing George Thatcher, a liquor merchant residing in San Francisco, as an agent for the product and Dr. Rosenbaum of Philadelphia as proprietor and manufacturer. In 1859 N.B. Jacobs was listed as the general agent for Rosenbaums Bitters while he was working at the George Thatcher & Co. In November of 1859, N.B. Jacobs removed himself from Thatcher & Co. and started his own liquor concern, still advertising that he had the depot for Rosenbaums Bitters. Meanwhile Thatcher & Co. is still advertising that they are also an agent for Rosenbaums Bitters. In 1860, Jacobs starts to advertise more aggressively, pushing the Rosenbaums Bitters in several large ads, stating that he is the sole agent for the Pacific Coast. In an advertisement for Rosenbaums in 1860, he cautions the public about another firm counterfeiting these bitters, saying that it is put up in similar bottles with the name Rosenchief’s Bitters, and to beware that it is of externally similar style, and to look for the name, N.B. Jacobs & Co., branded on the top of every cork. In 1861 N. B. Jacobs becomes the proprietor of Rosenbaums Bitters, suggesting that he is now the owner of such brand and we do not see anymore advertisements with Dr. Rosenbaum of Philadelphia as manufacturer and proprietor in any of his ads.
The Rosenbaums Bitters comes in various shades of green and also in amber. There are two variants of this bottle; the large variant is believed to be the earliest, and is thought to have been blown in the east. The small variant is believed to be a later western blown bottle. These bottles are considered rare with possibly thirty some specimens known.

Relation to Sierra County:
One whole medium green example of the large size Rosenbaums was dug by the author at Indian Hill in Western Sierra County. This bottle had a small base chip and was sold to a collector from Redding California. A broken green small variant Rosenbaums was also uncovered at Indian Hill by a Nevada City digger in the 1990’s. A base of a dark green large size Rosenbaums was discovered above the Ruby Mine by the author in 2008. To my knowledge these are the only examples of the Rosenbaums discovered in Sierra County.

The above post was taken from the forthcoming book "Gold Rush Camps & Bottles of Sierra County" by Rick Simi. This book will be available in September of 2009 at the Downieville Bottle Show

Rosenbaums Bitters: New information sheds light on origin!

My research into the Rosenbaums Bitters bottles has brought new information to collectors of these western distributed bottles. For awhile now, several western glass collectors have hypothesized as to whether the R93 bottles were made in the West or the East. A unique mould mark has been the discussion on another bottle forum by some Eastern collectors who have examples of bottles with this particular nuance. This particular mark has been seen on a Saratoga Mineral Water bottle, Old Sachem Bitters and Wigwam Tonic bottle, Wishart's Pine Tree Tar Cordial bottle and other Eastern made bottles. This mark has also been seen on a Rosenbaum Bitters [R93] bottle.

Rosenbaums Bitters was originally manufactured by Dr. Rosenbaum of Philadelphia. The product was first marketed in the West in early 1858, and the embossed bottle began to be marketed in 1864. Most likely the bottles and mold were made by an Eastern glassworks initially. The colors of the bottles, the style of a tapered collar mouth, the half post hinge mold seam and large dot in the center base of the bottle are typical features seen on Eastern manufactured bottles, along with this unique mark left on other Eastern bottles are a pretty good indication of its original origin.

An interesting letter was discovered by a Western glass collector, whose family ran an early saloon in California. A letter written from N. B. Jacobs, who was the Pacific coast agent for this bitters brand and became the Sole Proprietor for it in the early '60's was addressed to the proprietor of this saloon in answer to his request for six cases of Rosenbaums Bitters. Jacobs replied that he was unable to fill the request and that it would be two months before he could. The letter was written in the year 1866. Several conjectures could be made from this information, one possible explanation could be that the mould was in transport from the Eastern glassworks to the West for use at one of two glassworks in business in San Francisco where Jacobs & Co were located. Private moulds were considered the property of the owner and were kept at the glassworks to fill orders when needed.

This scenario would certainly explain why some R93 bottles have been dug in the West having some variation from what is typically seen on this bottle. A few examples have been found having a tapered collar with lower ring style of mouth, these examples do not have the large dot in the center base and are also found in colors typically seen in western blown glass.