Has anyone seen this c1880 “Noble Catcher” baseball player bottle?

[CarltonHendricks]

If anyone has seen this bottle before and/or have knowledge what the original cap looked like please contact me.

12 inch tall


















A week ago today I found the 12 inch tall bottle above in an antique mall in Sacramento….I see the dealer of the booth around at shows and was chatting with him earlier that morning at an antiques fair. Recently he told me he drove from California to Cooperstown N.Y. and bought the contents of a sports collectibles store of some kind. He was excited all the baseball mits he got were selling readily. I speculate this bottle came out of that haul.


Similiar figural bottle of a cobbler

Finding it caught me by surprise…I saw it in a locked case and gradually fixated on it. It seems like I may have seen it before…like maybe in a grouped lot of an auction, years ago….nevertheless I knew it was very rare. It was seriously priced with “firm” noted on the tag. At the bottom front it says “Noble Catcher” I’m pretty sure it’s from about 1880. The catcher has no catcher equipment or glove…..but most of my dating is from the patina of the top where years of dust and oxygen seem to have left a mottled finish.


c1930ish three sided bottle, showing Ruth side, shot on location 2009 National

Some may not be impressed with it, and I can understand that. Figural bottles don’t have a lot of definition like a statue….but take it from me….any bottle from 1880 shaped like a baseball player would be rare. I believe I’ve seen a figural bottle of John L. Sullivan…and I did once have a similar bottle of a cobbler….and I have seen a three sided 1930ish bottle with Ruth, Thorpe, and Sullivan that Gregg Rudd had at the 2009 National.


Only on line reference found from a 2008 auction, with "Noble Pitcher" mate

I feel confident it was a Cyrus Noble Whiskey bottle. I can only find one reference to it online. There was one that sold at an auction in Feb. 2008 along with a mate “Noble Pitcher”….The listing refers to them as cologne bottles, but 12” tall seems big for a cologne bottle. There was and still is a Whiskey called Cyrus Noble Whiskey. From what I can ascertain Cyrus Noble Whiskey first appeared around the late 1870’s and was most famous in San Francisco and the west.

It was supposed to be just a quick run thru the mall as I was supposed to shortly meet up with friends at a nearby movie theater…So I sort of had to buy it in a hurry…run to the movie and dinner afterwards…by the time I got home it was late and I finally got a chance to look it over. Phew!...It was one of those purchases where after the dust settled I was very I glad I pulled the trigger!!...

I found a guy online in Seattle that does artistic glass restoration…After some discussion and photos to show him what I wanted he quoted me $800.00 to $1,000.00 to create a glass top shaped like a pill box cap…He explained the process he’d have to go thru …including matching the frosted finish…and that he anticipated he would need to make several before getting it right if he could do it at all…He wasn’t positive he could match the finish but was willing to try….so his price made sense…..and could even be a bargain!

On the other hand I was perplexed what the original cap looked like and was made of….I would be using artistic license by creating a pill box cap top since I’ve never seen the original and would only be guesstimating….After I got the $800.00 to $1,000.00 estimate I started thinking it thru and wondered if the top was originally glass after all. I speculated a fine decorative decanter would have been glass but a production bottle wouldn’t have.



In my mind’s eye I could easily envision a worn nickel plated pill box cap top. One friend said just have one carved of wood for $100.00….another friend said he felt the frosted finish would have had a matching frosted glass top…But a clear bottle would not have. The only thing close I’ve seen is a Tappan’s baseball bat perfume bottle I got in 2008. It’s clear glass and has a nickel cap.

I emailed photos to Keith Schneider of Gasoline Alley Antiques in Seattle who speaks figural, and Josh Evans of Leland’s…neither has seen it before. Again if anyone knows anything about it please contact, thanks.
-Carlton

[Scott Garner]

Carlton,

Really neat piece, and it presents quite the puzzle. Good luck finding your answer. I love reading your posts. You have to have one of the most cool, ecclectic collections going. Congrats!

[baseball tourist]

Great item. Can't help on the identification unfort. My suggestion would be continue the research with the Cyrus Noble experts.

[CarltonHendricks]

http://www.antique-bottles.net/forum...-494423/tm.htm
Thanks guys glad you appreicate it. For anyone interested...I started a thread on this bottle on an antique bottle forum, link above. No answer yet but interesting to see it from the bottle collectors perspective

By the way...Leon...Net54Baseball is way easier to use than the bottle forum...Net54 rides like a cadillac compared

[CarltonHendricks]

Picked up the "Noble Pitcher" mate to my "Noble Catcher" bottle...Guy I know that specializes in figural bottles had both...each without the baseball cap top...He got one with the cap...so sold me his old one without the cap)...






I gave $249.00 plus CA sales tax for the catcher back in early 2012...so when he offered me the pitcher for a buck seventy five...I sort of had to get it to go with my catcher...I stored the receipt for the catcher in the perfect spot... inside the bottle
















Above is a group shot of the sellers bottles before he sold me my hatless pitcher...and glad to have it....A long time ago someone sent me photos of an example they had of the catcher with a cap that had been broken and glued back together...It took five years to get the pitcher to go with my catcher...so I'm not holding my breath waiting for examples with the caps...I plan to just have some carved or something...At least I have photos of the caps to go by...

[steve B]

With some rough dimensions you could have someone 3-D print a couple caps in clear plastic and add a cork. The top looks more like it should be a cork at least, since it's a bit irregular. The printing would probably come out frosted naturally.
There's probably a basic baseball cap already drawn that could be adjusted, and that would make it pretty inexpensive.

Steve B

[CarltonHendricks]

Steve...heck of an idea....thank you

[steve B]

If you need it done, I know someone. (Not me, I can do it, but it will take a lot longer an probably won't be as good. )