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Midwest Miniature Bottle Collector’s
Newsletter Vol. 34, Issue 4 Oct Nov Dec 2013
US – the early years The documented history of Johnnie Walker miniatures in the US really starts with the repeal of the ‘Volstead Act’ in 1933, ending Prohibition. For many months Scotch whisky distillers had been discussing how to take advantage of this and start importing (legally) into the US again. In late 1933 Canada Dry
Ginger Ale formed a Wine and Spirits division, looking to capitalize on their na-tional distribution model, which few others could replicate. At the time Canada Dry was selling 6 million cases (of 24 bottles) nationwide per year – approximate-ly 5% of the soda market. That year it was chosen to exclusively represent John Walker & Sons, Ltd. and its Scotch whiskies in America. 1st miniature (figure 1 – Red & Black Label) – 1933-1934 Distinguishing features: Lead weight used to open seal around cork; All labels with straight corners Top label: “Johnnie Walker” Red or Black Label Middle label: Product of Scotland; Special or Extra Special Blend of Old Scotch Whis-ky; Prominent Kilmarnock crest; John Walker & Sons, Kilmarnock (Registered). Con-tents 1.6 Fluid Ounces. Alcohol by Volume 43.4 Percent Lower label: Red - “Highest Exhibition Awards - Sydney 1880 through Christchurch 1907; Guaranteed Same Quality throughout the World”. Black - Guaranteed over 12 Years Old and Same Quality through-out the World; John Walker & Sons Limited. Tax strip is overprinted – Canada Dry Ginger Ale, Incorporated, New York, N.Y. Note the Illinois tax decal for 1934 on the Red Label. Also rear label on Red Label states “Bottled in March 1934” and confirms official importer as Canada Dry Ginger Ale Incorporated, 122 East Forty-Second Street, New York. It is like-ly that these were some of the first to be officially imported into the United States.
History of Johnnie Walker miniatures in the US – Part I
1934-1966: ‘The Canada Dry Years’ Frans Op den Kamp
1934 US advert showing same bottles in larger size
Figure 1 (side & back view)
Article continued on page 16
Your Ad Missing? Must mean you either didn’t read last issue where I said I was changing the ad page this issue and needed to hear from YOU, or you were so busy last couple of months you forgot to let me know, OR I somehow got the info and screwed up. In any case if you want an ad on the Ad page, let me know.
We have another “newbie” (to article writing, not collecting) this issue. Bill Gentry put together his first (of many I hope) articles. This one has some super pictures of Marco Bottles with information he got on them from Bob Snyders bottles in Miniature books. The pictures and info were delivered to me at the show (no computer needed) and TA..DA.. You all have a very interesting article. Goes to show all you need is an idea and a little extra time and YOU can also contribute to the rest of us. Thanks again Bill (and also to all our regular contribu-tors) looking forward to seeing your next article.
Our New feature “meet your fellow collector” has been a smashing success except for one minor issue...No one has sent in an article about themselves. It can be as simple or complicated as you want to make it..include pictures if you like, tell how you started collecting, about your favorite bottle (or type of bottle) its really simple to do. You can mail me a hand written (or typed) article or you can e-mail it to me. Board members I’m talking to you too. I can get through this issue but you will be forced to hear more about me, but I’ll need some response be-fore the next issue, so do it today while you are thinking about it.
It’s never too early to book your rooms for next years show. If something changes you can always cancel , however if you wait until the last minute there is no guarantee you will get our spe-cial rates. This year being the 35th annual show it should be a big one.
The UKMBC is running a new member drive. They already have the “regular” auction that comes out quarterly, now they have introduced a new one called auction Xtra that is all single malt whiskies. They are also offering a trial 1/2 year member-ship for 16 pound. Visit their website for more details www.theukminibottleclub.co.uk And speaking of memberships drives have YOU started work-ing on yours? If you find other collectors let them know about the MMBC, when looking for bottles let the liquor store owners know about the club (they may be able to pass info on to other collectors that have no idea mini bottle clubs exist) The more you let other people know, the greater the chance of bringing new collectors into the club. And just when I think Bill Gentry is the only “newbie” to get me an article, I get a 7 page (that I somehow fit on 4 pages) arti-cle from Bret Senters telling about his recent trip to Scotland. If you are a Scotch collector (and even if you are not) you will find the adventure interesting and maybe it will inspire you to do a distillery road trip in Scotland (I know I sure would like to someday).
Ron’s Ramblings…...and Club news tidbits
Deadline for the Next Issue is Sept 1, 2013
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Send Newsletter Submissions to: Ron Gabbard
5412 South K Street Tacoma, Washington 98408
Email: [email protected]
Next years Show bot-tle will be something completely different. Here is a picture of the bottle, a window bottle and it’s a vod-ka. There will be 100 of these available and I expect them to sell out. If you are inter-ested in getting one of these, let me know and I’ll start a wait-ing list. Not sure about the price yet, I’ll let you know in a future issue of the newsletter.
And as if there weren’t enough new authors this issue (we can never have too many though) I also started a 10 (yes 10) page article from Frans den Kamp on Johnnie Walker. I’ll continue the article in the next issue (or 2). Thanks Frans for the very informative article. My recent vacation to Yellowstone taught me a couple of things about the state of Montana. There is a liquor store/Casino on every corner (and at just about every gas sta-tion) but finding minis, well that is a challenge. The one liquor store I thought MIGHT have a chance (since it was-n’t connected to a grocery store/Casino/Gas Station) was closed when we went by it. Lucky for me I did find a few new bottles when we stopped at a liquor store in Idaho so the trip wasn’t a complete bottle hunting loss. Finally those of you world travelers planning for your big bottle excursions, remember in addition to the MMBC show and NWMBC show here is the good old U S of A. There will be shows in Italy, the UK, Peru, Russia, (and a AGM in New Zealand) plus more I am probably forget-ting , any of you planning on hitting all (or most) of them. Well tell us about your adventures if you do.
The President Speaks…..From Your MMBC President, Wayne Full NY
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Collectibles Pro—Serious Software for Serious Collectors
If you didn’t get a community free copy you can get it at www.collectiblespro.com (You also need to register at the site to get your community free copy operational)
Discount Code to get 60% off of price of standard or ultimate editions MMBC60
Hi, my fellow bottle collectors, Hopefully Mother Nature’s fury wasn’t too hard on you and yours, but she did deal out some nasty weather this year. Seemingly endless tornadoes in the mid-west, for-est fires in the west, floods in the northern mid-west and elsewhere, extreme heat and drought in the south-west. Hopefully we can look forward to a great fall and a mild winter. Despite all the bad weather, I hope that your summer trips were safe and brought you the opportunity to do some successful bottle hunting along with some great times for you and yours. Remember, this club, its membership and its newsletters do not run themselves; it takes you the members for this Club to survive, prosper and hopefully grow. So talk up the club and the hobby. We can tell them of the country-wide (even world-wide) friendships that we have made through bottle collecting. Better yet, get them inter-ested and then talk them into joining MMBC. Someone who wants to join should contact: Keith Cochran P.O. Box 16912 Raytown, MO. 64133 They should include their name, address, city, state (country), zip code, telephone no. and e-mail along with a check or money order (U.S. funds), payable to MMBC. The phone no. and e-mail are optional. They should also say if they want the newsletter mailed to them or sent to them via e-mail and if they want to be included in the e-mail Bottle Blast. The e-mail copy of the newsletter is great because all of the pictures are in color and the Bottle Blast shows you new bottles that other collectors have found. Effective June 1st, 2013, Club dues will be $12.00 if you receive the newsletter electronically, $20.00 if you choose to get a paper copy of the newsletter within the U.S.A., and $25.00 if we mail the newsletter to a foreign country. Remember, if you get the newsletter electroni-cally, you get all the bottle pictures in color. The Bottle Blast is an electronic publication where members submit pictures of bottles they have found recently and Ron Gabbard puts them together along with other bottle infor-mation into a monthly publication. It is never too early to think about next year’s St. Louis show which will be April 25th, 26th and 27th, 2014 Make your reservations now and let’s make MMBC’s 35th Show the best ever. If you really want to book a room early, the 2015 show dates are April 17th, 18th & 19th. The hotel room rate will be $109.00. Make your reservations now and don’t forget to mention MMBC so the Club gets credit for the room nights. I am sure that Ron Gabbard can use articles for the newsletter’s new column, “KNOW YOUR FELLOW COL-LECTOR”. Let us flood Ron with articles or at least some thoughts about you and your collection. If you think you can’t write, give Ron the information and some pictures and he will put an article together. This is not only true for the “KNOW YOUR FELLOW COLLECTOR” column, but for an article about any bottle or bottles. Until next time, have a great fall of mini bottle collecting and always THINK MINIES. WLF
WAYNES WORLD BY WAYNE FULL
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With the help of a fellow collector, I have something unusual in this issue, ICE CIDER! These bottles all are produced in Quebec, Canada. The bottles are Domaine Pinnacle, Neige and Domaine Lafrance. These are all 50 ML bottles and contain 11, 12 and10 percent alcohol by volume respectively. The Pinnacle bottle’s label has gray and white snowflakes at the top of the label and the bottom is blue, with a dark blue apple behind the silver lettering. The round sleeve is labeled similar to the bottle on the front and has serving suggestions on the back. The label has text in both French and English. This product was produced by Domaine Pinnacle of Frelighsburg, Quebec, Canada. Neige’s label is white with gold and black labeling. The back label ( not shown in the photograph) has a woman’s face sur-rounded by a fur hood. As with the Pinnacle, the label has text in both French and English. The product was produced by La Face Cachee De La Pomme of Hemmingford, Quebec, Canada. Domaine Lafrance has a white label with gold and black label-ing. The label also shows a branch of apples with snow on the apples and leaves. The square box is labeled similar to the bot-tle on three sides and has information about the product on the back. Some of the text is in both French and English. This product was produced by Les Vergers Lafrance of Saint-Joseph-eu-Lac, Quebec, Canada. As with so many bottles, these would make a fine addition to any collection and certainly do to mine.
WLF
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It’s My Pleasure By Jim Crawford, Ohio
Every once in a while, a bottle comes along that is so different and pretty, that it catches your eye, and you just have to have it! Well that is exactly what happened when I first saw this new set of Premium EUPHORIA AB-SINTH miniature bottles. This set of 4 minis is available now in the Czech Republic. It is pricey, but well worth the cost. As you can see the shape of the bottle is what immediately catches your eyes. Then the uniqueness of the label, with its shape, color, and the “Green Fairy” image just seem to add to the overall beauty of the bottles. All of the bottles are 50 ml in size, and are glass. The first bottle is EUPHORIA CANNABIS ABSINTH. This mini has a lot of Cannabis seeds lying in the bottom of the bottle. This label is a little different with a picture of a Marijuana leaf. The contents of this mini is 70% Alc./Vol. Next is the EUPHORIA BLACK ABSINTH. The liquid in this bottle actually looks more like a very dark blue color than black, which just makes the appearance even more intriguing. The Black background of this label makes the Green Fairy really stand out. The contents of this mini is also 70% Alc./Vol. Next is the EUPHORIA 80 ABSINTH. This mini has some plant leaves inside, has a dark green & gold label background color, and is a potent 80% Alc./Vol. The last bottles is the EUPHORIA ORIGINAL ABSINTH. This mini also has some plant leaves inside, has a light green label background color, and is a 70% Alc./Vol.
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The Club Directory
Kiski Beam & Spec. Club: c/o Mr John D Ferchak Jr, 8916 Cranberry Dr, Monroeville PA 15146 Ski Country Decanters Club, Lavon Daugherty E-Mail: [email protected] or write to: Ski Country De-canters Club, PO Box 473, Sugarcreek OH 44681-0473. Web-site at www.skicountrydecanters.com Midwest Miniature Bottle Collectors’ (MMBC): c/o Jim Craw-ford, 6934 Brittany Ridge Lane, Cincinnati OH 45233. Site at http://miniaturebottles.com Northwest Miniature Bottle Club: 5412 South K Street Ta-coma, Wa 98408 , Attn Ron. www.minibottleclub.com Annual bottle show August , 2015 Graham, Washington Associazione Collezionisti Bottiglie E Mignon Club Delle Mignonnettes: Via Gaibola 25, 40068 San Lazzaro De Sav-ena (Bo) Italy Hong Kong Miniature Liquor Club Ltd: Unit C, 16th Floor, Century House,3-4 Hanoi Road, T.S.T., Kowloon, Hong Kong. Chairman: Mr. Wai Man Ch(n, Man’s. URL: www.miniaturehk.com. Email [email protected] Verein Der Miniatureflaschensammler Deutschlands E.V. (The Assn of Germany’s Miniature Bottle Collectors, Regd.): c/o Klaus Polster, Dr. Wilh. Külzstr. 13, D-07381 Pößneck , Germany Website: www.miniaturflaschenverein.eu Osaka Miniature Bottle Club: c/o Mr Taizo Shiratsuchi, 11-2 Hakucho 1-Chrome, Habikinoshi, Osaka 583, Japan New Zealand Miniature Bottle Club (formerly Port Nicholson Miniature Bottle Club): c/o Mr. David Smith, 11 Trevor Terrace, Paremata, Wellington ,New Zealand Email [email protected]. www.minisnz.com The Mini Bottle Club UK: c/o Jacky Drake, 22 Falcon Road, Calne Wiltshire, SN11 8PL, U.K. The club website is at http://www.minibottleclub.co.uk/ (UPDATED WEB ADDRESS)
Inactive Clubs—Lilliputian MBC, Great lakes MBC, California MBC, WestNY MLC
MMBC MEMBERSHIP
Dues are $20.00/year for U.S and Canadian Members and $22.00 for international members or $15.00 for “online members” (members getting electronic version of the newsletter). You will receive quarterly newsletters. Mail a check, payable to “MMBC” to our membership chairman:
KEITH COCHRAN
PO BOX 16912
RAYTOWN MO 64133 USA
Please include the following: Name Address City ,State and Zip Country Phone: (Optional Email(Optional
New Members
Jeff Anderson-Everett Washington
Welcome to all our new members
Visit the MMBC club site at: http://miniaturebottles.com.
Remember to do your part for the club and help Recruit new members.
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WANT ADS
For Sale (and in some cases trade)
Looking for the newest and most interesting vodkas (Five Wives), tequilas (Dulce Vida) and a great many more bot-tles, then write for my list. David M. Spaid at [email protected]
FOR SALE – Many interesting glass liqueurs, cordials and cocktails from 40+ year collection including: Arrow, Hiram Walker, Jacquins, Marie Brizzard, Leroux, Heublein, Cointreau and more. E-mail: [email protected].
For Sale or Trade-I have over 500 bottles some old, some new, and everything in between. All type of Liquors. If there is bottle you are looking for or a type of Liquor, let me know I might be able to help. Selling either individually or as groups, or willing to trade for Scotch, Absinthe, Tequila or Vodkas. Contact Ron Gabbard at [email protected] or call me at 253-241-8213
FOR SALE: Approximately 1200 minis offered for sale from 40+ year collection in the following separate groups: 72 Blends, Bourbons and Whiskeys 109 Brandy, Cognacs, Tequilas 88 Canadians, Gins, Japanese, Greek and Chinese Liqueurs 66 Miscellaneous, Mixed Cocktails, Vermouths 241 Scotch and Wine 94 Rum and Vodka 537 Miscellaneous Liqueurs Approx. 99% glass, sealed, excellent condition. Many purchased from old collections. Selling as entire lot, or in above listed groups. E-mail: [email protected] to advise your category(s) of interest
Looking for Bottles
Figurals, what have you got? Send me all of them! Come to think of it I probably don’t have the room. Just send me the photos for Miniature Bottle Library and I will love you forever (in a purely platonic way guys!) Send to [email protected]
WANTED: I am looking for any type of minis from USSR, Russian, Ukrainian, Armenian, Uzbekistan and any other Post Soviet Union countries. Also any minis with Cyrillic letters on labels. Will offer good trades or will buy. Mikhail Madar e-mail:[email protected]
WANTED: Still looking for good Irish whiskey ,preferably older ones... I would be happy to buy any, but, I also have several (for trade only), many of them good to very rare.. Plus, I wouldn't be above trading out of any other category for some good ones.. If interested, email me,or call me I’m located in Northeast Ohio. Bill Orr at [email protected] phone: 330-425-2365
WANTED: Las Vegas Hotel-Mgm Grand, Ski Country Indians, Hoffman Mr. Dentist (Leprechaun) and older Flat bottles. Con-tact Tom Pocius 815-254-5791 or e-mail [email protected]
Where’s My Ad?????? Either you sent me an e-mail letting me know to keep running it and I missed it (in which
case I apologize) OR
You didn’t read last newsletter where I said ads would be pulled unless I heard from you or you forgot to contact me. (then it’s on you)
It’s easy enough to get your ad back in (or place one if you haven’t) just contact me at
[email protected] , call me at 253-241-8213 or drop me a line at 5412 S. K St. Tacoma, WA 98408
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MELOS MINIS By Mike Olson
Until next time . . . . MELO . . . .
Finally, I have been checking collections from other parts of the world. Several things struck me. First is that many of the displays were really nice, if fact they are probably worth more than the bottles. Also, the bottles were all so new looking, which I guess is to be expected with all the turmoil in the world. There were some older scotches and cognacs, but there is also alot of "cookie cutter" bot-tles. By this I mean the same brand with minor changes on the label. I like variations but how many Absolut vodkas are enough 40, 60 a 100?
Bottle number three is High Bridge Straight Bourbon Whiskey from Kolmar. This bottle would have been a good addi-tion to my last article for MMBC. I have a Rye variation of this brand in a flat bottle. Next is Bardwell Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey from Barton Distilling Co. and was an export circa 1970. Last but not least is Eddy's Red Letter R. I. Whiskey from The Eddy & Fisher Co. Providence R. I. This bottle is in remarkable condition for a pre pro, it must have been in grand mumms sideboard. Maybe is was Liz Taylor's?
Bottle number one is Union Jack Straight Whiskey with a blue label and Bottled for G & W out of Detroit. Years ago this bottle sold for over $350 on the internet. Anoth-
er one was sniped from a seller before it got listed and yet another sold recently on a buy it now for $15. The last one was doing alot of barking. The next one is Old Sullivan Straight Kentucky Whiskey with a green label. This is one of the great Lionel bottles from Chicago. I
also have the flat version of this bottle which has the same label.
I can not believe I have been retired for over a year! Where does time go? I have not really been bored and my to do list is not getting any shorter. I have man-aged to pick up a few new bottles, so that's a good thing. Those asshole kids killed a good thing on evilbay, but I was collecting long before they came along.
Anyway let's get to the goodies.
9 A Journey to Isle of Islay – Home of the “Peaty” Scotch
By Bret Senters
My wife, Stephanie, and I recently took a vacation to Scotland. My journey actually stated about a week earlier for business pur-poses, but to spare boring (or non-bottle) details, our MMBC-oriented vacation started in earnest once we reached the Isle of Is-lay. I do not like all Scotch, but do enjoy the “peaty”/smoky ones which are common among Islay Scotches. We stayed at a for-mer warehouse of the Lochindaal Distillery, closed in 1929, and renovated. For that reason, I am interested in finding any scotch-es from that distillery (may also be known as Port Charlotte or Rhinns Distillery). The first full day we drove to the town of Bowmore and visited the Bowmore Distillery. There were only three others in the building and they were watching a video presentation. So we moved to the empty and inviting bar and sampled some products. For those that have done Scotch trips, Islay is different than many of the other Scotland Distilleries in that they provide more gen-erous measures. I suspect this is due to their lower visitor turnout because they are off the beaten path.
Stephanie sampled a cream liqueur and fell in love with it. It was from their sister distillery, Auchtenshan, which we also happened to stop in at while driving through Glasgow. There I purchased an interesting sample set. As for Bowmore, I had most of the currently offered miniature bottles, of which there are several, but I did buy the following bottles (Glen Garioch is a sister-distillery):
After leaving Bowmore we stopped in at an Off-License store nearby where I was able to purchase a few bot-tles, including this special Port Ellen Distillery mini. The Port Ellen distillery went out of business many years back, but the casks were allowed to continue maturing in the warehouse. So, this mini came from the casks that were set aside and is quite rare.
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Next up was Laphroaig. Laphroaig does not currently produce many miniatures, just the 10yr (or so I thought). So, here is a key take-away for MMBC members – sign up for the Friends of Laphroaig program (free) if you visit the distillery. They gave each of us (which means I have two!) this free cask-strength 10yr mini. As far as I know it is not otherwise available! Later on our trip, I did see this mini for sale at a store for 25 GBP (~$40) and asked about it. The owner said it was his only one and he also got it through the Friends of Laphroaig program.
Just down the road from Laphroaig is Lagavulin, home of one my favorites – Lagavulin 16yr, where we sampled more. Unfortunately, we did not find any minis. And in fact, we later learned there are several (12?) distilleries owned by Diageo PLC (some others include Oban, Caol Ila, Talisker, Cragganmore, Glenkinchie, Dalwhinnie, Clynelish). They generally do not produce minis and we confirmed that to be the case at Lagavu-lin, Caol Ila, and Oban, all of which we visited on our vacation. So, if you have picked up a bottle from a previous year’s production run, hang onto it.
Number four on the list of six for this first day was Ardbeg where I picked up an interesting set. (pictured on the next page). Ardbeg also has a nice restaurant, where we indulged in a smoked salmon sandwiches. Our fifth stop was Kilchoman. This “farm” distillery is very new (est. 2005), has low production (~100K liters) and is a little spartan in its presentation and visitor center. They usually produce one mini a year and the 2012 (Machir Bay) was available during our visit, with the 2013 mini set to be released in a few weeks. You may not have any of these in your collection due to the reasons outlined above.
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I was also able to add the following two Kilchoman bottles later on the trip (the 2011 was a gift ac-quired at the Tar-tan Tavern in Oban, and the cask strength was purchased in Ed-inburgh, both are separate stories).
Our last stop for the day (first full day on Islay was a long one), was Bruichladdich. They have also stopped producing minis, although they did give me a free plastic mini. They offer a large variety of products, including a Gin which Stephanie thoroughly enjoyed.
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I fell in love with Bruichladdich (pronounced “Brook-Laddie” because of the warm and laid-back visitor center and friendly staff. They definitely do not take themselves too seriously (notice the legs hanging out of the still in the photo above). They have recent-ly purchased a dormant distillery in Port Charlotte (part of the old Lochindaal Distillery previously mentioned) just up the road and will be producing at that location as well. Bruichladdich minis can still be found at a few stores, especially the 12yr and 15yr vari-eties. The 10yr, 17th hole, 17yr, Wave, and Peat are a little more difficult to find, and I was able to add the 20yr to my collection from the same store I got my Port Ellen mini. Just to be clear, we visited many other sites on the isle (Cultoon Stone Circle, pubs with live local bands, abandoned church ruins, Dunyvaig Castle ruins, peat fields, etc.), but the distilleries were the mini-bottle sites we visited on Day 1. One additional side note – you may be in possession of a Finlaggan miniature which is produced by The Vintage Malt Whisky Company Limited. There is no Distillery named Finlaggan on Islay and the actual distillery that produces the scotch is very discreet about it, though it is one of the Islay distilleries. The actual Finlaggan, no real connection to the scotch, was the seat of the Lords of the Isles and of Clan Don-ald during the 13th to 15th centuries. The ruins are worth visiting. You can read more about it at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finlaggan
On Day 2 we headed for the Northwestern town of Port Askaig and caught the ferry to Jura. After a 20 minute drive we arrived at the only distillery on the privately owned island (~7 estates own the island). The three minis available I already owned. I was hoping they would have Prophecy in miniature since I had tried it recently while camping in Northern England on a separate trip – another story. No such luck and no such plans to produce it in miniature. But I was able to sample Superstition and the Jura 16yr, both of which were excellent. After seeing other sites on the island (standing stones, old cemeteries, red stags, etc.) we returned to Islay and made our way to Caol Ila and Bunnahabhain.
The former is owned by the Diageo group, which as I stated earlier is not currently interested in producing minis, so none were found dur-ing the visit. You can however, get the occasional Connoisseurs Choice (I have seen the 1998 cask in more than one store) or Signato-ry Vintage miniature containing a Caol Ila Scotch. These are compa-nies not associated with the distillery, but have purchased casks to produce their own bottles. At Bunnahabhain, I picked up a few min-is, including some from sister distilleries. Of note, there is a movement towards not using “chill filter”. So these minis are higher in alcohol content than previous ones I had from this distillery. This concluded the Islay portion of our Scotland visit. In a future newsletter, hopefully, “Oban and the Tartan Tavern”.
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SHOW JUGS (and Bottles) We have 2005 through 2013, they are 05 Archer, 06
soccer, 07 Tennis, 08 Hockey, 09 30th anniversary, 10 Race Car, 11 Golf ,the 2012 Bottle with the Monkey
and the 2013 bottle with leprechaun.
Limited time offer
$5.00 Each Quantities are limited and they will be sold on a first come first serve basis, when they are gone, they are gone. Shipping (to the US) is $4.95 for the first one and $1.00 for each additional one. They make great
additions to you collection or even great stocking stuff-ers. Contact me by mail (Ron Gabbard 5412 South K street Tacoma, WA 98408), e-mail ([email protected])
or phone (253-241-8213). Get yours today!!!!!
Support the club and order yours today!!
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Marco
Bill Gentry “Indy”
The Marco Liquor and Importing Company of Chicago, established
1888, and presently a Liquor store, used some very beautiful perfume bottles. They were imported from France and Czechoslovakia in 1937 by R.C. Williams Company, New York; Tower Wines and Spirits
Corporation, New Brunswick, New Jersey; and Triton Corporation,
Boston Massachusetts. They were bottled with imported liqueurs by Philip Blum Company of Chicago for exclusive sale in Marco Liquor Stores. There are approximately 500 of each bottle and they were
personally selected by Mr. Marco. The number of different bottles is unknown. Marco miniatures on
this page are hand blown and have ground stoppers, The bottle molds on the Czechoslovakia bottles fit so perfectly it is nearly impossible to find a seam. Three are blown in three—and —four part molds.
Marco also imported the Verdier in 1937-1939. The Marco bottles all had colored ribbons around the
neck. Avon used at least 2 of these bottles in 1936. Avon collectors
should be alert to these bottles as books on Avon list them at over
$100. (This information came from Bob Snyders Bottles in Miniature Vol. III Pages 59-60, the book was
published in 1972 so not sure if Marco Liquor is still around and
the Price from the Avon books are also from that date).
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KNOW YOUR FELLOW COLLECTOR
Hello, My name is Ron Gabbard and as the newsletter editor you probably already know more about me than you want to. But for those of you that don’t know the story yet here goes. I started collecting around the summer of 1977. I was still in High School and I started by buying a collection from a guy at a local flea market. My early display consisted of a small shelf and a small timex watch case. At that time since I wasn’t old enough to buy bot-tles in liquor stores when my parents would take me to look for bottles it was “my mom’s collection” I would just stand back and say “you don’t have that one or that one, but you already have those”. The collection grew to a few hundred (probably 500-600) over the next couple of years. I attended a few meetings of the NWMBC with a co-worker of my Dad (who was also president of the club at that time) and I got a chance to see his much more impressive collection, as well as the collection of a few of the NWMBC members. Then Life hit...I got married, had a son, moved to a new state and my bottle collecting was kind of put on hold. Everything was stored in boxes but I would still buy the occasional bottle when I got the chance and sometimes I would get some as gifts. Fast forward through my divorce and re-marriage (with more kids) and finally the kids were almost grown. I opened some of the boxes and displayed some bottles in the Bedroom . Once kids started leaving I got a room of my own (mainly because my wife wanted the computer out of the bedroom) so I was able to display more bottles. (and found after pulling them out that I must have liked certain bottles as I kept buying them over the years when I saw them and so I had 4 or 5 of certain ones). At the time I was working for a Hot Tub company as a service Technician and I would go into peoples houses, occasionally I would see small collections of bottles and com-ment on them. One day I went to a house and they had a larger than usual collection, when I commented I found out that they were members of the MMBC (actually the President at the time). I was invited to a meeting and the rest is History.
My collection quickly grew (to where it’s at now about 3500) and I started to special-ize in Scotch bottles. I joined other clubs (including the MMBC) and was forced at gunpoint to become the newsletter editor after attending a couple MMBC shows. Currently I am a member of 5 mini bottle clubs, newsletter editor for two of them, and treasurer for one. My most recent turn has been adding Absinthe to one of my specialties (so it is currently Scotch, Vod-ka, Tequila, and Absinthe with the primary focus on Scotch and Absinthe). It’s hard to turn away a cool looking bottle so I will sometimes pick up things outside of my specialties. It has been a great experience meeting collectors from all over the world (and being able to WOW non collector friends with bottles they have never heard of).
Early Vodka Display
Left-My Scotch collection before I moved rooms and put in 8 foot high “WOW Wall”
Right– My Absinthe collection still small but grow-ing
I call it the “Wow wall” since that‘s what most people say when they see it.
8 feet tall and 12 feet long with over 1000 different Scotch Bottles
One of the 6 cases on my “WOW WALL”
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2nd miniatures (figure 2 – Red & Black Label) – 1934-1936 Differences: 1st bottle specifically designed for US market, with importer name and address on label. Complete re-design of labels; Middle label: Imported by Canada Dry Ginger Ale Incorporated, 122 East Forty-Second Street, New York; Old Blended Scotch Whisky; Now clearly states John-nie Walker Red or Black Label; Blended and Bottled by John Walker & Sons Ltd., of Kilmarnock, Scotland; 100% Scotch Whiskies All 8 Years Old (Red) or All 12 Years Old (Black). Contents 1/10th of a pint, 86.8 Proof; Lower label reads “By appointment to His Majesty the King” – this refers to King George V, who granted John Walker & Sons a royal warrant in 1934. The warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the royal family, so lending prestige to the supplier. King George V died in January 1936. (Royal warrants expire 5 years after the death of the grantor; John Walker & Sons has remained an official purveyor of Scotch whisky to the British Royal Household ever since).
Variation (figure 2a – Red Label) – 1934-1936 Imported by Muller, Phipps & Nicoll (Hawaii) Ltd. , Honolulu. Hawaii only be-came a US state in 1959 and had a differ-ent importer for many years. Note the word “Registered” remains on main label as opposed to Reg. U.S. Pat. Off . on the US import bottles.
3rd miniatures (figure 3a – Red & Black Label) – 1936-1939 (pictures on next page) Difference. Top label: Canada Dry address has changed from 122 to 100 East Forty-Second Street. Note the rope around the neck with a Striding Man figurine attached on the Black Label. It is unclear whether this was a feature of both Johnnie Walker miniature labels at the time. As can be seen from both bottles (Red La-bel with an Illinois tax decal for 1937 and Black Label with a Maryland tax decal for 1939) bottles were still being produced with the George V royal warrant for some time after his death.
History of Johnnie Walker miniatures in the US – Part 1. 1934-1966 cont. Frans Op den Kamp
Figure 2
Figure 2a
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History of Johnnie Walker miniatures in the US – Part 1. 1934-1966 cont. Frans Op den Kamp
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Figure 3a
Variation (figure 3b – Black Label) – 1936-1939 Differences. Different bottle shape (larger) and closure (clip top cap). Contents 1/8th of a Pint. Main label: removed word ‘All’ from in front of age statement – just states 12 Years Old, though the word ‘All’ remains on bottom label. These bottles were sold at the same time as the cork capped bottles, just with a larger content. 1/10th
of a pint and 1/8th of a pint were standard fill non-metric sizes.
Figure 3b
4th miniatures (figure 4a – Red & Black La-bel) – 1939-1944 Differences. No lead weight any more. Main la-bel: removed word “All” from in front of age statement. Red now just states 8 Years Old, Black 12 Years Old. Bottom label: states “By appoint-ment to the late King George V”. Also removed the word “All’ from bottom label on Black The Red label bottle shows a Maryland tax decal with the name of Maryland’s Comptroller from 1939-1947 Variation (figure 4b – Black Label) – 1939-1944 Another Black Label bottle in the larger size – 1/8th of a Pint
Figure 4a Figure 4b
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5th miniatures (figure 5a – Red & Black Label) – 1944-1950 Differences. Middle label: word ‘Old’ removed – now both just state ‘Blended Scotch Whisky’ at top. Reference to 8 years old and 12 years removed from lower gold edge of label. Bottom label: Com-pletely re-designed. Reference to royal warrant removed. Red Label now states “Highest Awards – Sydney 1880 through Christchurch 1907; Same Quality throughout the World”. Black Label states “Same Quality throughout the World; John Walker & Sons, Limited; Distillers, Kilmarnock, Scotland”
Figure 5a
Figure 5b Figure 5c
Variation (figure 5b – Red & Black Label) – 1944-1954 Imported by Muller & Phipps (Hawaii) Ltd. , Honolulu, T.H. (abbreviation for Territory of Hawaiʻi, dissolved on August 21, 1959 when Hawaiʻi became a state). Variation (figure 5c – Black Labels) – 1944-1950 Two more Black Label bottles in the larger size – 1/8th of a Pint, with different caps
Coming up next issue
1950– 1966 Variations 6-10th (or as much as I
can fit)
History of Johnnie Walker miniatures in the US – Part 1. 1934-1966 cont. Frans Op den Kamp
Any comments, opinions, additions or corrections welcome. I am sure this is by no means a definitive guide to all the early US Johnnie Walker miniatures issued, but only what I have been able to discover from my own collection. There are clearly several missing including other airlines - if anyone has any of these or other variations I would be delighted to update and correct this article and I am always willing to trade or buy bottles. Pls contact [email protected]
MIDWEST MINIATURE BOTTLE COLLECTORS
35 th ANNUAL SHOW
April 25th-27th 2014
SHERATON PLAZA HOTEL 900 West Port Plaza St Louis MO 63146
Phone 1-888-627-7064 & reference
Midwest Miniature Bottle Show in Sheraton Westport Hotel—Plaza Tower
OR
To book at special Sheraton MMBC site online.
MMBC Room Rate Until March 26th, 2013, or until our block of rooms is GONE! Reserve EARLY!!!
$109. 00 + Tax** Free Shuttle From Airport/Hotel
Friday, April 25, 2013 5:00 PM Member’s Sandwich Buffet 6:00 PM Meeting 7:00 PM Member’s Consignment Auction Location: To Be Announced
Saturday, April 26, 2013 Show Hours 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM Hospitality Suite Open After The Show
Sunday, April 27, 2013 Show Hours 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
For Additional Information, Contact:
Thursday night pre show dinner with Judy Fink.
Contact Judy at [email protected]
Jim Worsley-Table Chairman (785) 234-2857 Email: [email protected]
No Telephone Reservations Reservations Accepted
Check out the MMBC Website at: http://miniaturebottles.com
Show Chairman
Bill Baker [email protected]
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Golf Tournament is back on this year con-tact Bill Baker ASAP to reserve your spot.
Seems that Cupid Distillery of Loveland Ohio has had a busy year. This is their second release of a
mini this year, this time a bourbon.
Congratulations to Rotem and Yael
Midwest Miniature Bottle Collectors (MMBC) 5412 South K Street Tacoma, Washington 98408 Forwarding & Return Postage Guaranteed Address Correction Requested President………………..Wayne Full President Elect ………...Jim Baiers Treasurer………………..Bill Baker Secretary………………..Linda Voris Membership…………….Keith Cochran Show Coordinator………Bill Baker Newsletter……………….Ron Gabbard Website…………………..Keith Cochran Printer……………….FedEx Kinko’s 3815 S Steele St Tacoma, WA 98409
Online Bonus Picture
Mauricio Pons posted this picture on Facebook
3J Tequila set
