Portland Oregon Blumauer & Hoch Shot Glass Old Kentucky

Each edition of SOTW will begin with some stats on sales in the past 28 days to give us all a sense of where the hobby is going.  In the past four weeks, 134 pre-pro glass auctions closed, 35 closed with no bidder, average price of the glasses that sold was $29.82.   Ten glasses sold for >$100, none sold for >$1,000. 

Labor day is finally here, signaling an end to the oppressive heat and humidity common to Hotlanta (maybe) and traditionally also an escalation in both the number glasses listing on eMart and the number of collectors willing to throw huge wads of cash at them in attempts to wrest them away from the competition.  But these past few weeks have been far from boring, with a number of high-end, left-coast shots being offered for sale.  Here's some of the highlights:

This is the one that caused my eyebrows to rise so high that they almost merged with my receding hairline.  The glass sports a fused-bead label that's so thick that it almost looks trowelled on; it reads "GOOD ROADS WHISKEY".  The issuer was F W Bradley Co. Inc of San Diego, a company that also produced a a nice picture glass that Barb Edmonson has listed in HSG.  Even accounting for the California factor,  it's difficult to fathom the fervor of the bidding that erupted when this one listed.  It ultimately cost the high bidder (sdmb) $140.49!

Two "fancy" glasses listed in the past few weeks and both were nabbed by atakeda. Both are fairly common -- if one can make such a statement about an enamel or label-under glass.  The first was a pretty Jed Clayton with a pastel-enhanced, white enamel label and with gold flourishes - it closed at $229.61.  Akiro also won the Foust Distilling label-under.  It has a nasty rim ding which brings down the value considerably, but the also-rans chased him up to $177.50 before he crossed the finish line.

Here's my picks for best picture glass, Truog glass, and colored-label shot glass that appeared in recent weeks.  First up is this beauty from Lynn Mass (below, left) - complete with a stunning image of the Egg Rock lighthouse, compliments of W H Hennessey.  Hennessey produced three picture glasses that I know of - this one is probably the most attractive.  The glass shown below is in minty-mint condition, which makes it a sure winner.   It ultimately sold for a respectable $179.49. to wilsonson2mq4. 

The Fan-Tan Cigars shown in the middle spot below is not a whiskey glass but it is an original Truog design.  Even better, this one is signed by George himself, although one can't really discern that in the image below.  I have one of these glasses in my own collection.  Until recently, it was the only known example and hence while the Truog attribution was strongly suspected, it was not a 100% certainty.  This listing confirms it: bluroc ran off with it for $180.16.

The Magnolia glasses are always winners and the one shown at right above is no exception.  The red label is rich and looks to be about perfect: xxxtruk grabbed it for $143.49.   Given that this is both a colored-label glass and from Oregeon, one might have expected the price to have gone higher, but the listing stated that "There is a haze on the inside the glass" and sick glasses remain about as popular as a dose of swine flu. 

Speaking of glasses of color -- so to speak -- here's an interesting tale of two variants.  Both were overpriced - oldwhiskey got just pennies change from $200 on each of them.  The first is a predominantly white-etched Old Rookery Malt, with the Stoehr Bros. monogram etched in red at the center of the design.  Stoehr Bros. were located in Boston.  It's an uncommon glass but nothing much to distinguish it other that the red/white etch combination and a pleasing design.   The glass is listed in the database with a Kevin Wade tag on it - except after I'd received the glass, washed it, photographed it and was filing it, I saw that the "Hand/Made" and "Canadian/Malt" descriptors that appear to either side of the monogram are reversed!  The glasses are identical otherwise (compare upper and lower images).  One could clearly spend a lifetime collecting variants of even the common glasses -  Dick, sounds like another likely "Common Stuff" article to me !  (start with Detricks? - Ed)

The second red/white notable was a Metropole Whiskey from Theo Gier of Oakland, CA.  The one in question is shown in the middle position below.  Metropole glasses are also pretty common as west-coast glasses go, and it's also listed in the database (reproduced at far left below).  Except, that upon closer examination, you can see that the feather design at the top of the glass and the contours of the water (the San Francisco bay?) are different in the listed glass.  Indeed, it appears to be a red/white variant of the white-etched Metropole (shown at far right below).  Both of these glasses (middle and right) show significant wear so perhaps they are older than the one at left - I haven't seen enough examples to know whether this is a coincidence or a significant observation.  May be one of our CA-collecting colleagues can weigh in on the matter in the chat room.

Note that we now have T-shirts that feature the Metropole (left above) on the front and the design that appears on the home page on the rear: if anyone wants one, give the glassmaster a holler.  They're ash grey and run around $20.

So what about an SOTW?

 

When it listed, I figured that the Kentucky Pooch at right was a sure thing.  It's a San Fran glass that was listed by fansee,  along with a handful of other CA glasses.  Whoever put this collection together obviously knew a thing or two about pre-pro shots because they were all in nice condition.  When it listed, I figured this one would close around $600 with lakerdude33 sitting in pole position. I was correct about the winner, but ultimately, however, and after a week of suspense, the auction fizzled at $302.50 with no serious contenders.   My conclusion is that all the big-time CA collectors have one already, but within a couple of days of the pooch paddling in The Bay, a new SOTW raised its pretty little head.

This week's/month's pick is an unlisted, unknown, minty-mint condition "Old Kentucky Home Club" from Blumauer & Hoch of Portland, OR.  The company was responsible for many stunning glasses and this one is no exception, but the feature that makes it a sure winner is the monogram.  At first, I thought the "B&H" looked a little weird - as if the swells of the letter "B" had been clipped. 

But in fact, the monogram actually reads "EH" - as in Eugene Hoch.   Hoch was orginally in business with Daniel Kunkel, but in the late 1800's bought him out and he lists without partners until 1901.  In 1899, he formed a partnership with Solomon Blumauer and the two operated as Blumauer & Hoch from 1901 until Prohibition.    The implication is that this is a bridge glass - from the earliest days of partnership.  Most likely Hoch brought the "Old Kentucky Home Club" brand with him to the new partnership, which is why it's his monogram that appears on this glass rather than the B&H seen on all other known glasses.

The auction turned out to be yet another two-way battle between oldwhiskey and bluroc, with Kevin Wade walking off with it for $205.00.   Thanks so much Kevin ... and congratulations!

 

Note that you can browse many previous  choices for SOTW in the Archives.