Antique John Moffat Phoenix Bitters NY New York Open Pontil Crude Bottle Mint For Sale

CIRCA 1850 JOHN MOFFAT’S PHOENIX BITTERS

A spectacular circa 1850 example of the celebrated John Moffat’s Phoenix Bitters bottle, blown in beautiful early aqua glass and preserved in genuinely attic-mint condition.

The four boldly embossed panels read:

JOHN MOFFAT
PRICE $1.00
PHOENIX BITTERS
NEW YORK

This is the recognized Ring & Ham M-112 variety. Although the form is broadly cataloged from 1840–1860, the combination of its aqua glass, applied rolled collar, crude mold character, and deep tubular pontil-rod hole supports a narrower working date of approximately 1845–1855, with circa 1850 being the strongest single-date attribution.

DEEP PONTIL-ROD HOLE

The base displays a large, deep tubular pontil scar or pontil-rod hole—not merely a shallow roughened pontil mark.

This dramatic hollow scar was left when the bottle was held from its base on a pontil rod while the glassworker completed the mouth. It is powerful physical evidence of the bottle’s individually hand-finished manufacture.

The deep pontil-rod hole is one of the bottle’s most desirable early characteristics and gives the base just as much visual interest as the boldly embossed panels.

EXTREMELY CRUDE EARLY GLASS

This bottle is wonderfully crude and loaded with authentic mid-19th-century glassmaking character:

• Heavy orange-peel texturing

• Strong mold whittling

• Numerous annealing lines

• Irregular glass distribution

• Rippling and hammered-looking surfaces

• Deeply raised embossing

• Hand-applied rolled collar

• Deep tubular pontil-rod hole

• Beautiful early aqua coloration

The abundant annealing lines, orange-peel texture, and irregular surfaces are all original in-manufacture characteristics—not damage. Turn the bottle in the light and the entire surface appears to move.

This is considerably cruder and more visually exciting than the smoother aqua examples ordinarily encountered.

STRONG EMBOSSING

The embossing is exceptionally bold, deep, and sharply raised on all four panels. The letters practically stand off the glass, producing dramatic shadows and tremendous shelf presence.

Measurements: Approximately 5 1/4" tall × 2 1/2" wide

MOFFAT’S CELEBRATED “UNIVERSAL CURE”

John Moffat introduced Phoenix Bitters in New York during the mid-1830s. The preparation was heavily advertised alongside his Vegetable Life Pills as a restorative remedy for an astonishing variety of illnesses.

The phoenix—rising renewed from its own ashes—was an inspired emblem for a patent medicine promising restored health and vitality.

The prominently embossed “PRICE $1.00” is particularly evocative. One dollar represented a substantial purchase around 1850 and positioned the product as a premium proprietary medicine.

PERFECT ATTIC-MINT CONDITION

The bottle is in extraordinary, essentially perfect condition:

No chips. No cracks. No haze. No scratches.

Bright, clean, shiny, and apparently untouched by time. The visible annealing lines and textured surfaces are entirely original to manufacture and constitute an important part of its crude early character.

With its exceptionally strong embossing, heavy orange-peel texture, numerous annealing lines, applied rolled collar, deep pontil-rod hole, and attic-mint condition, this is an outstanding example that would be extremely difficult to improve upon.

A centerpiece-quality bottle for an advanced collection of pontiled bitters, patent medicines, New York bottles, or early American glass.

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