Bottles and Extras Summer 2004 53

WESTERN WHISKEY:

THE WHOLESALE MERCHANTS

by Bret Heinemann

CassinAround 1850, Francis Cassin

was involved in the liquor businessin San Francisco. In 1861, Francisbegan working for the Patrick RileyCompany at 519 Front Street as abookkeeper. Patrick and Riley hadbeen dealing with the wholesalewines and liquors since before1860, and by 1867, would move to505 Front Street. Also, Riley

closed in 1867. Francis and Patrick Cassin

opened a business at 523Front Street that went welluntil 1885, when FrancisCassin became ill and had toenter St. Mary’s Hospital.He sold his interest toPatrick, who operated thebusiness until his death in1891, and in 1892, thebusiness shut down.Patrick’s widow sold theproperty in 1893. Thebrands they sold included O.K. Plantation.7

ChesleyBorn in New

Hampshire, George W. Chesley arrived inSan Francisco in 1884 at the age of 22,where he would learn the wholesalebusiness. He moved to Sacramento duringat the start of the Gold Rush and openedan auction business with the help of theStevens Company. In the 1851 election,he became high constable for Sacramentofor only one term. In 1852, a firedestroyed his business, so he returned toSan Francisco and went into real estate,where in time a street would be namedafter him.

After moving back to Sacramento in1856, Chesley went to work for Bradleyand Company as a salesman in theirgrocery and liquor business and had hisown business by 1866, after which he soonopened a separate wholesale liquorbusiness in Sacramento.

In 1872, an importing warehouse andoffice was opened in San Francisco on 51Front Street that operated from 1866through 1891. In 1877, his agent, SiebeBrothers, was placed in charge of the SanFrancisco business and made Sacramentohis headquarters. Chesley lived indowntown Sacramento near the statecapital and became involved with civicduties until he died in 1891. After 1891,E. A. Fargo handled the Jockey Clubbrand.8

Wholesale liquor merchants soldwhiskey in quantities of not less than fivegallons; which were subject to specialtaxes in the places where business wasconducted. However, they would beexempt from having to purchase specificwholesale liquor licenses for everylocation that they conducted business in.The places of business were defined as theplace where the transfer of ownership ofthe product took place. This policy wasreaffirmed by a Treasury Departmentdecision on January 21,1898. A merchantwas classified as a rectified if he attemptedto purify or to refine the product in anyway other than simply pouring it througha cloth to strain out impurities.1

Along with the arrival of largerquantities of good whiskey from the Easton the railroad in 1869 came the increaseduse of authorized agents. These agentswould, in addition to promoting sales,help guarantee quality and encouragebrand loyalty. There would be, bythe 1880s, fifteen distilleriesoperating in California.2

BunemanHenry Buneman was in business

by 1871, along with EmiloMartinoni from 1881 to 1895,and then alone until hisdeath in 1897. N.Grange, Henry’s friend,managed the businessuntil the 1906earthquake destroyed it.After the earthquake, thefamily opened a generalmercantile store in themission district, wherethe business operatedfrom 1906 until 1914.3

CampeIn 1862 Henry Campe

began with a grocery andliquor store at the cornerof Second and TehamaStreets. In 1883, heformed a partnership withGeorge Siebe that lasteduntil 1886. After that,Henry operated on hisown. Campe was a

wholesale liquor merchant fromaround 1888 through 1916. His son,Harry, joined the business at thesame time George Harms becameinvolved, by 1900. Henry Campedied in 1901 and Harry Campeoperated the business untilProhibition. The businessincorporated in 1907. Thebrands sold included AmericusClub, Old Campe Rye, andOld Campe Gin.4

CarrollIn 1859, John S. Carroll

opened a wholesale liquorbusiness at 50 First Street inSan Francisco. In 1860,Richard T. Carroll beganworking for the business as abookkeeper, and by 1869, wasa full partner. One year later,Richard formed a partnership

with a Richard Brainard to start his ownwholesale liquor business. Thepartnership would last until 1874,when Brainard bought Carroll out.In 1882, a new partnership was formedwith George L. Carroll and JohnAbrahm. In 1887, Abrahms sold his

share in the business to the Carrolls.The Carrolls sold the business

in 1898 to 1902 to theirmanagers, McDonald andCohn. The name of thebusiness was not changeduntil 1903, and the businesscontinued until 1911.5

Cartan & McCarthyIn 1873, Frank M.

Cartan and Timothy F.McCarthy opened awholesale liquordealership at 513Sacramento Street in SanFrancisco. Frank ownedmost of the business by1900, and by 1909,Frank’s son, Henry, waspresident. The vice-president and secretarywas a Mr. John B. Nevine,and the business operated

until 1919.6

Bottles and ExtrasSummer 200454

Kentucky, was one of the first ones to beestablished there. From about 1883 to1885, Braunscheiger was in a partnershipwith Bumsted. Also, at this time, hebecome the agent for Bear Grass Whiskey.In 1895 through 1913, he also sold GoldenRule Whiskey, and in 1905, the businessmoved to 5 and 7 Drumm Street.

Paper label bottles were used from1885 to 1895.13

Goldberg & BowenIn 1871, Henry and Charles Bowen

started a wholesale grocery store in SanFrancisco; and in 1874, the LouisLebenbaum Company of New York sentJacob Goldberg to San Francisco toestablish the firm there. In 1882, the twomerged, but in 1886 they split up, only toonce again merge in the years 1892 to1895. Both the San Francisco or Oaklandoutlets quit selling liquor after 1908.14

HoelscherWillam Hoelscher started out in the

liquor business with John Weilands in1860. Later, he was a partner withMausshardt and I. DeTurk from 1874 to1877. After that he was a sole proprietor,and the business continued untilProhibition forced it to shut down. Thelocation of the business, from 1898 untilthe 1906 earthquake, was at Turk andTaylor Street in San Francisco. LauralCrown was one of the brands he sold.15

JevneThere are two different ones, not to be

confused.H. Jevne arrived in the United States

from Norway in 1866 and moved to LosAngeles in 1883. H. Jeyne was the directorof two banks and the owner of a retail/wholesale grocery business.

ChevalierIt was a 30-year-old Fortune

Chevalier who arrived in SanFrancisco in 1851, eventuallysettled in Placerville and opened astore there in 1857. Afterwards, heworked for a wholesale liquordealer in Sacramento.

In 1873, his brotherAlbert sold avegetable business tobecome Fortune’sjunior partner in awholesale liquorbusiness in SanFrancisco. The twoalso purchased aninterest in the CastleDistillery ofKentucky, and by1880, they owned thedistillery completely.

The Chevalierbrothers hired anexpert staff to blend,rectify, and bottlewhiskey at their SanFrancisco location,and eventually ‘droppedthe “0, K,” from the bottle after it was nolonger bottled in Kentucky. Theyeventually bought a vineyard in St.Helena. They sold whiskey, gin, andCrown Bitters.9

ClaudiusP. Claudius began his career in the

liquor industry as a salesman for CrownDistilleries in 1895 to 1904 before hewould operate a business of his own.

ClinchAt the age of eight, Charles Clinch

arrived in Nevada County, where in 1883,he opened a mercantile business in GrassValley, and in 1893, he was elected asmayor. The brands he sold included M.P.Dyer and Company.10

CockrillTheodore G. Cockrill got his start with

E. Bradley in a San Francisco business in1868. Seven years later, he became theSan Francisco Chief of Police. H. E.Blocks and James L. Horner were alsoinvolved in his business as silent partners.His advertisements circa 1876 includedPeerless Whiskey.11

DierssenIn 1894, George E. Dierssen got his

start in a retail liquor business in

Sacramento at 719 J street which heexpanded to include wholesale,instead of just retail, and also beganselling wine and cigars. Thebusiness would last until 1909. The

brands he sold included Old PrivateStock Bourbon and Buffalo

Bourbon.12

Fenkhausen About 1861,Amandus Fenkhausengot his start in thewholesale liquorbusiness in SanFrancisco. In 1867, heconducted business at327 Montgomery Streetand also operated asaloon on KearneyStreet. After about twoyears, he converted theKearney Street Saloonto a wholesale business.Amandus formed apartnership with C. P.Gerichten, which

would last until 1874. Their business was

well established on California Street whenthey sold it to Wolters and Fecheiner in1874. Two years later, Fenkhausen openeda wholesale business at the corner of Frontand Sacramento Streets, which heoperated alone until 1878, when heformed a new partnership with HermanBraunscheiger at 414 Front Street thatwould last until 1882 or 1883. After 1882,Amandus Fenkhausen ran the companyby himself until his death in 1895. After1895, Braunscheiger became the soleagent for William H. Spears’ Old PioneerWhiskey. The distillery, which JacobSpears founded in Bourbon County,

Bottles and Extras Summer 2004 55

C. Jevne was in the tea business inChicago, and probably sold either whiskeyor bitters circa 1892 to 1900.16

Kolb E. A. Kolb started out as a salesmanfor Kohler and Van Bergen in the early as1890s.17

KirkpatrickIn 1873, John Kirkpatrick started his

San Francisco-based wholesale liquorbusiness at 608 Front Street. Later, hemoved to 313 Pine Street, and in 1874,formed a partnership with McCue, aKentucky distiller. In 1875, Kirkpatrickformed a new partnership with WilliamCutter, and in 1876, formed anotherpartnership with R. B. Gentry.

In 1877, Kirkpatrick left San Franciscoand R. B. Gentry continued the businessuntil 1878.18

LandreganT. C. Landregan started out as the

owner of a brewery in Berkley, whichoperated until 1906. A year later inOakland, he formed a partnership withDennis A. White to sell wholesale liquors.White had previously been the owner andoperator of a saloon in Oakland.19

LilienthalErnest R. Lilienthal (born 1850 in

Lockport, New York) got his start in theliquor industry after his uncle, Rabbi Max,persuaded a friend by the name ofFreiberg, of Freiberg and Workum,to hire him. Ernest had some goodcredentials since he was a graduatefrom the Cincinnati Law School andhad been admitted to the bar. He,however, would never practice lawprofessionally.20

Freiberg and Workumwas a distilling, rectifying,and wholesale liquoroperation in Ohio andKentucky. Ernest startedwork for the company inthe blending departmentbefore becoming asuccessful salesman forthe company in New YorkCity. Through his uncle,Max Rabbi, he securedcredit from Freiberg andWorkum to open awholesale liquordealership in SanFrancisco. Arriving in SanFrancisco in the summer of

1871, he opened the Lilienthal Companyat 223 California Street. In the beginning,Lilienthal was a wholesale agent for theFreiberg and Workum Company. TheCyrus Noble brand would be named afterthe superintendent at the Lynchburg, Ohiooperation. A friendship developedbetween Ernest Lilienthal and theFreiberg brothers, J. Walter andMaurice.24

Lilienthal prospered in abusiness where his personalitymade him an excellent salesman,his legal training gave himanalytical and debating skills andhis wisdom and good luck ledhim to make the rightdecisions at the righttime. As the businessgrew, salesmen, likeHugo Arnold, wereadded. Arnold was atraveling salesmanthrough much ofCalifornia andNevada. Oneinteresting incidentoccurred when Arnoldarrived in Eureka,Nevada, shortly after thetown had burnt down.Arnold had an order forwhiskey, which emptiedthe San Franciscowarehouse.

Albert Lilienthal, Max’syoungest son, arrived in

San Francisco to developthe hops and grain side of thebusiness, and although he was

successful, he did not care forCalifornia and returned to New York.

There, with his brother Theodore,Albert opened Lilienthal

Brothers. The two wouldbecome successful agents,selling hops in theEast purchased byagents of the SanFrancisco firm inWashington, Oregon, andCalifornia.

By 1890, Lilienthal wasone of the largestwholesale liquor dealers inthe West, selling inArizona, California, Idaho,Montana, Nevada, andUtah - as well as in Mexicoand Central America.

The LilienthalCompany would be divided

into two parts in 1896, but each part wouldremain under the same management. Theliquor side of the company would becomeknown as Crown Distilleries. The brandsLilienthal sold included CrownDistilleries, Cyrus Noble, the products ofW. A. Gilbey and Robert of London, andW. A. Lacey Whiskey.24

McCleod-HatjeMcCleod-Hatje conducted

business from circa the 1890s untilProhibition. The company becameMcCleod O’Donnell shortly around1915.

Naper, Alfs & Brune 1875 would find

Henry D. Naper andErnest Brand inbusiness together.Naper, in 1880, formeda partnership withHenry Brune andWilliam Alfs, whichlasted until Prohibition.The San Francisco basedbusiness sold PhoenixBourbon, which was apopular brand in thewestern states during thelate 1800s and early1900s.25

NabobIn 1877, George

Simmonds arrived in SanFrancisco, but it was in

Boston that he had gotten his start in theliquor business. He opened an office onMontgomery Street (not far from MarketStreet), where he sold medicated barleyand whiskey products throughout theWest. The product became quite popularand was well distributed.26

OulahanEdward Oulahan began the Pioneer

Wine House in 1890 and changed thename to the Pioneer Liquor House in

Bottles and ExtrasSummer 200456

1896. Frank Dake became a proprietorin 1896 also .27

ParkerGeorge F. Parker was the owner of the

Parker’s Bank Exchange in San Franciscofrom 1863 to 1873. He was the sole agentfor J. H. Cutter and eventually moved toChico.

PowersOperating out of Sacramento, the

wholesale liquor business of L. Powerswould grow to be one of the largest in theCentral Valley of California.28

Rathjen Henry and Martin Rathjen operated theRathjen Company, which later becameknown as the Rathjen MerchantileCompany. Henry was president andMartin was secretary. The brands theysold included Val Blatz Beer, CalienteMineral Water, Great WesternChampagne, Old Quaker, and OldGovernment.29

RichterThe Jacob Richter Bottling

Works in Fresno, Californiabegan selling wholesaleliquor and wine as well asbottling soda water circa1901. Previously, in1896, the Fresnobusiness was an agentfor Buffalo Brewing andJackson Napa Soda, andthey were also agents forRainier Beer.30

RoseSelden F. Rose

operated awholesale andretail liquorstore in 1912-1913 at 437

Georgia Street inV a l l e j o ,California.

In 1918, itwas transformedinto a candystore.31

RothIn 1859,

Joseph Rothstarted hiswholesale liquorbusiness in SanFrancisco. He had

several partners over the years, and in1878, the name of the business changedto Roth and Company. The brands soldincluded Capitol Whiskey and BlueRibbon Whiskey.32

SchweyerJohn Schweyer was owner of a saloon

by 1877, and in 1882, became a wholesalemerchant.

Schweyer then became a distiller from1899 to 1900, when he returned to beinga wholesale merchant until Prohibition.33

SheaJames Shea got his start in theliquor business in Boston. In1868, he moved to San Francisco

and opened a wholesale liquorbusiness at Front and

Jackson Streets. In1871, a partnershipwas formed withRobert Mckee(owner of TeakettleWhiskey) andAntoine Bocqueraz. The Teakettlebrand would bepopular in Nevada,and in 1886, they

became agents for theTeacup brand of

whiskey.34

Siebe & Plagemann Around 1875, John S. Siebeworked for George W. Chesley as asalesman. In 1877, afterChesley moved back to Sacramento,a partnership was formed withhis brother, Frederick C. Siebe. Oneyear later, J. F. Plagemann joinedthe partnership, with Frederickas president, Plagemann as the vice-president and John as secretary.

J. F. Plagemann’s brother, Oscar,worked as an agent for theIllinois Pacific Glassworks.

The brands they sold includedJockey Club Whiskey and RosedaleWhiskey.35

Spruance & StanleyJ and J Spruance got

their start in San Franciscoin 1868 and continuedthrough 1872. In 1873,John Spruance andSamual Stanley joined ina wholesale liquorpartnership that lasteduntil the earthquake of1906 destroyed it.36

StulzJoseph A. and

Charles Stulzoperated theirwholesale grocerybusiness inSan Francisco. Jos.A. Stulz was alsothe president of theConsolidated Yeastand VinegarCompany in 1895,and president of theSan FranciscoDirect Line PhoneCompany in 1905.37

Taussig Louis Taussig arrived in California

between 1849 and 1856. He would latersay that he got his start in the wholesaleliquor business in 1856 at 723 Sansome

Street in San Francisco, but wasprobably working for someoneelse, since the earliest record ofhim being an owner of a liquorbusiness in San Francisco is as apartner in the firm of LouisAltschul and Company.

Louis later took overthe business in 1864, when heformed a partnership with DavidL. Lederer (formerly of the

Fletcher and Ledererbakery), which would lastabout one year. Taussigalso operated the CongressHall Saloon at 318 BushStreet in San Francisco fora while in the 1860s. From1869 to about 1871, LouisAltschul would again bethe majority partner.

By 1873, Louis Taussigmoved the business to thesouthwest corner of Batteryand Sacramento Streets,where the business becameknown as Louis Taussig and

Company. That same year,

Bottles and Extras Summer 2004 57

Louis Taussig formed a partnership withAdolph Fried and Adolph Eisenbach.After 1874 through Prohibition, LouisTaussig became one of the largestwholesale liquor merchants on the WestCoast. Somewhere between the mid1870s and 1900, Louis Taussig andCompany opened distributing outlets inCincinnati and New York City. TheTaussig San Francisco addresses included205-207 Battery Street and 26-28 MainStreet.38

By 1877, Gabriel Taussig worked for thecompany, where he would eventuallybecome president. Rudolph Taussigstarted working for the company as atraveling salesman in 1885; and in 1888,Edward and Hugo Taussig also startedworking for the company. 39

The estimated value of the company in1883 was between $75,000 and $125,000;and in 1915, the company increased invalue to between $300,000 and $500,000.Louis Taussig became increasinglyinvolved in real estate, working out of the26 and 28 Main Street store. In the early1890s, he and John J. Carroll becamepartners. Louis Taussig died around 1900and the family continued to operate thebusiness until Prohibition.40

The brands they sold over the yearsincluded P. Morvilles AAA whiskey andCarrol Rye.41

TreadwellTreadwell got started by 1868 in San

Francisco in the hardware business, whichlater became a general mercantile.Treadwell was in partnership with Minerin 1904-1905 at 111 Sacramento Streetand was on his own until the 1906earthquake shut his business down. Thebrands he sold included Old Phil LacyWhiskey.42

Walter & LieberWalter and Lieber operated a wholesale

business in San Francisco in the late1870s. M. Walter operated alone in 1881and was not involved in the distillingbusiness until 1901.

The 1906 earthquake destroyed his 811Montgomery Street building and he thenoperated at 140 Clay Street from about1909 to 1912.43

WeilThe Weil Brothers (William, Leopold,

David, and Joseph) started their wholesaleliquor business in 1871. William andLeopold handled the San Franciscooperations, while David and Joseph

handled the distribution out of Shasta,California. They eventually would maketheir sons part of the business in 1887,which continued until 1915. The brandsthey distributed included Standard OldBourbon.44

Westheimer & EpsteubAs early as 1868, Westheimer and

Epsteub were partners in a wholesalebusiness selling grocery, liquor, andtobacco products in St. Joseph,Missouri. In 1871 through 1882, twobrothers, Ferdinand and SamualWestheimer, were partners in awholesale liquor business, and in1882, they separated into differentlocations. Ferdinand’s sons wouldbecome partners in 1887 andcontinue until Prohibition.Throughout the years, the businessof Ferdinand and Sons operated outof Cincinnati, Ohio, and St. Joseph,Missouri. The brands theydistributed were Red Top Gin andRye.45

Wheeland & CollinsSalvin P. Collins started his San

Francisco wholesale liquor business in1869 at 329 Montgomery Street. Apartnership was formed in 1884 withJames Wheelands. A few years later, abranch opened on California Street and,in 1895, Salvin’s son Silas took overSaIvin’s half of the business. The businesswould continue until 1914.46

Wichman & LutgenJohn Lutgen (born in Germany in

1847) arrived in the United States in1868 where, in 1879, he formed apartnership with Henry P. Wichmanthat lasted until Prohibition. Thebrands they sold included OldGilt Edge Whiskey.47

WilmerdingIn 1853, Calvin W.

Kellogg was in thegrocery business at 25Commercial Street, SanFrancisco. The sameyear, he was also a liquorsalesman for Faigo andCompany. By 1860, heand J. C. Wilmerdingbought out Earl A. andJerome B. Fargo’s company,but the name wouldn’tchange to Wilmerding,Kellogg and Company until

1871.In 1877, Kellogg disassociated himself

from the company and did not reenter thewholesale liquor business until around

1897. It was sometime in 1896 thatWilmerding and Louis H. Loeweformed a partnership that would lastuntil Prohibition. The brands theysold included Hard to Beat, Kellogg’sNelson County, McKennas, SuperiorHand Made (S.H.M.), and United WeStand.48

WoltersAugust and George

Wolters were in the liquorbusiness in the early 1870s. In1872, Henry Wolters andCharles Fecheimer started awholesale liquor business in SanFrancisco at the southeast cornerof Third and Market Streets.The business moved in 1874 to221 California Street, and in1878, Charles Fecheimer soldhis share of the business toHenry’s brother, August. Hence,after 1880, the business became

known as Wolters Brothers. In 1880, Edward H. Bumsted becameinvolved as a silent partner, and in 1885,the business moved to 115 and 117 FrontStreet and continued operating until 1896,A year later, the firm of Jones, Mundy,and Company took over their warehouse.The brands they sold included OldHorshoe.49

Wormser Louis Wormser started his

liquor business in San Francisco in1850, and his brother Isaac joined the

business in 1856. S. I. Wormserwas the secretary.

In 1873, Braeg andFrank took over thebusiness at the Frontand California Streetlocation while Isaacwent into real estatesales in 1873. In 1895, Issac waspresident of theGolden GateD i s t i l l i n gCompany.50

Continued on page 63

Bottles and Extras Summer 2004 63

Continued from Page 57

References1. Mida, William. Mida’s Compendium ofInformation for the Liquor Interests: Chicago:Criterion Publishing, 1899, p. 203,213.2. Wilson, Willam and Betty. Spirit Bottles of the OldWest: Wolfe City, Texas: Henington PublishingCompany, 1968, p. 139.3.Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 35.4. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 41.Thomas, John L. Whiskey Bottles of the Old West:Maverick Publications, 1977, p. 3.5. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 104.Thomas, Whiskey Bottles of the Old West, p. 4.6. Thomas, Whiskey Bottles of the Old West, p. 4-7. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 44.Thomas, Whiskey Bottles of the Old West, 5.8. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 45.9. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 47.10. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 49.11. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 90.12 .Thomas, Whiskey Bottles of the Old West, p. 19.13. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 39, 65,14. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 72.15. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 84.16. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 88.17. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p,. 12.18. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 133.19. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 92.

Continued from Page 59Another application being advanced in

the early 1850’s was the use of vulcanizedgutta-percha for gas and water pipes, formany of these were made out of lead forthe smaller diameters. Gutta-percha wasstronger, cheaper and more durable thanthe heavy metal, lead. Dr. Thomas Smithof Cheltenham, England stated:

“Many serious and alarmingdisorders, such as mania, epilepsy,sudden death, nervous affection,paralysis, consumption hydrocephalus,heart disease, etc. owe their origin insome instances, their intractablecharacter in others, to the gradual andcontinuous infinitesimal doses of lead,copper, etc., introduced into the systemthrough the channel of our daily drink.”

While I have only just scratched thesurface of Mike Woshner’s book here, Ican only say that I have learned muchmore of reality of what I have onlysuspicioned from my many years ofcollecting Civil War artifacts and now ofBaby Bottles. At first Teresa drug me intocollecting Baby Bottles kicking andscreaming, but since she had been sopatient with me for about the first 15 yearsof our married life while I was out diggingCivil War artifacts I finally decided thatit was in my best interests to at least show

an interest. Well, to say the least — I amhooked on it??!! Also, don’t tell her, theCivil War relics are disappearing and/orgetting too expensive to buy. Just the otherday I even traded one of my prized CivilWar belt buckles for a baby bottle for her.You probably saw it at the Fort Meyersconvention. Oh, well...

PS: Mike Woshner recommendstreating any old, or just slightly old,rubber, soft or hard, with ArmorAll©Protectant like you use on the dashboardof your car. It keeps the ozone, which

causes a chemical change to rubbersimilar to rusting in metal, from gettingto the rubber and deteriorating it. TheArmorAll does make it slick though, sobe careful not to drop it, especially if it isattached to a valuable bottle. Also forcurled up rubber that is supposed to beflexible he recommends setting it out inthe warm sun for an hour. That will softenit enough to allow it to be uncurled andthen laid in a cool place for it to take onits new or original shape. Sounds neatdoesn’t it?

Charles S Harris, 6808 Benwood Drive, Ooltewah, TN 37363; E-mail: relicnut@earthlink.net

20. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the OldWest, p. 95, 96, 98.25. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the OldWest, p. 117.26. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the OldWest, p. 108.27. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the OldWest, p. 114.28. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the OldWest, p. 119.29. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the OldWest, p. 119.30. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the OldWest, p. 121.31. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the OldWest, p. 123.32. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the OldWest, p. 123.33. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 128.34. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 131.35. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 131.36. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 135.37. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 137.38. Thomas, Whiskey Bottles of the Old West, p. 139.39. Thomas, Whiskey Bottles of the Old West,p. 45-46.40. Thomas, Whiskey Bottles of the Old West,p. 45-46.41. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 139.Thomas, Whiskey Bottles of the Old West, p. 45-46.42. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 142.

43. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 145.44. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 147.45. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 119.46. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 149.47. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 149.48. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 151.Thomas, Whiskey Bottles of the Old West, p. 54.49 Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 153.50. Wilson, Spirit Bottles of the Old West, p. 155.