Fifty vintage whisky bottles show some of the alcohol products that were made in the Distillery District compound and distributed all over the world.
At the back of Pure Spirits seafood restaurant, between a coffee shop and underneath a content marketing ad agency there are fifty paper label whisky bottles in no particular order and with no information besides their beautiful labels. Ballantines Scotch and some of the more recognizable brands were bottled here, the liquid coming in wooden casks from Scotland. Each bottle has a different story of course, some of the most unlikely spirits were actually made here (rum and vodkas) while some simply used the bottling plant. Obviously whomever made the exhibit was just trying to put some merchandise on display.
Here are some of the bottles that show the evolution of the gorgeous Gooderham and Worts labels which proves that someone at the company was beginning to think about the brand. The green Lemon and Lime 'Tom Collins' Mixer bottle hails from a different age when highballs were very popular and almost everyone drank after work. I remember from my bartending class that the Collins were brothers and Tom drank gin while John drank rye. Tom Collins is still remembered today, while John Collins rye drink is a distant memory.
G&W whisky was carried to the most remote regions of the world and so names like
Government House, Twin Seal and Bonded Stock had additional meaning as secure from counterfeit.
The Prince Regent brand of whisky was very popular in Canada and helped make Gooderham and Worts with its black and white stallions around a red G&W stamp into an easily recognizable brand. The idea that a Prince had his own private stock of whisky appealed to Canadians, who all wanted a taste.
Congratulations Greg Toney otherwise known as SCdigger, Saving History is a good show that is getting more professional and more exciting to watch every episode. I have known the YouTube Personality SCdigger for about five years. He's a metal detectorist and a skilled relic hunter - this blog profiled him a few years ago, SCdigger is Saving History on YouTube
SCdigger or South Carolina Digger was one of the early adopters on Dumpdiggers.com my antiques and collectibles social network (now just a discussion forum) (which nobody can join). SCdigger was one of the premier experimenters; he had his own table and uploaded relics to the photo galleries and even some curious classified ads. I came to really like his energy.
Of course anyone interested in metal detecting and hunting military relics tends to keep an eye on a guy like that, and I watch his videos when they pop up in my YouTube feed (those videos on your homepage when you first log into the site). becuase I subscribe, so that's when I think to watch him, and over time I've noticed something. These videos are getting really good.
Saving History Episode 56 PART ONE Published on 15 Nov 2012 is an excellent relic hunting adventure story with colourful characters and great historically relevant discoveries. In the description SCdigger writes,
Colonial "coppa's", silver and
relics!!! Join us as we continue our "Coppa's & Lobsta's" Tour with
an amazing hunt in a colonial field in Western Mass. This is PART ONE of
a two part series. Amazing finds are made throughout part one, but part
two ends with the rarest of rare! Join us as we Save History, now in
HD!
SCdigger is the guy wearing the brown vest on the right, and I'm not sure who the fellow is on the left? What his name is, but he is a chatterbox with colourful diction and so is an excellent guest. Television producers love a guy like that... You'll see what I mean if you watch the video and listen to his chatter. In PART TWO of a two part series, he really does discover a wonderful rare find.
I'm telling you this video is as good an adventure as I've ever seen, and I think SCdigger did a great job capturing it all, and from a participant's perspective. It is both authentic and action packed media - it really is. I predict Saving History will soon be recognized and celebrated as the truly ground breaking metal detector adventure show that it is, and SCdigger will rise from relative obscurity to internet fame as the most prolific relic hunter in America. He doesnt need a TV show - his web show is pioneering a new form of storytelling.
However, if I were directing this for television and had a production budget, I would get wide shots of the group in the field, which SCdigger never gets, (because he's one of the guys in the field) and which the show desperately needs. I would attempt more sophisticated storytelling by finding some pictures of Redcoats in American Colonies ie their buttons and coins. I'd take a break from the constant discoveries and describe the role of the metal items as I panned the camera slowly over stock pictures of British Army captains and colonels in red and white coats with shiny brass buttons, their Brown Bess muskets, musket balls, playing cards and coins and other minutia (a frizen pin?) that is worth so much money today as it appears dirty and muddy under the squawking metal detector's coils. I would do dissolves from the group in the field to Civil War battles from the same perspective and in this case (Episode 56) Revolutionary War battles and tell two or three stories at once.
I predict here on the Dumpdiggers blog that SCdigger will have his own cable TV show by this time next year, if he doesn't already have a deal in the works now. Check the comments.
Scribner Auctionis proudto host the 2nd Annual February Long Wknd MULTI-CONSIGNOR ANTIQUE & COLLECTIBLE AUCTION
Saturday Feb 16, 2013, 10am start. Attendees can expect to see some very high quality pieces and some very rare items at this Antique Auction! This sale features an entire private collection which includes a large variety of glazed crockery, wooden duck decoys, tins, lamps and more items.
MUST REITERATE! THIS SALE HAS AN ENTIRE COLLECTION OF ANTIQUE WOODEN DUCK DECOYS & A COLLECTION OF ANTIQUE GLAZED CROCKS !!!!
ANTIQUE WOODEN DUCK DECOY COLLECTION!
Katrina Scribner, the Auctioneer/ ManagerScribner Auction Ltd.Wainwright,
AB wrote a little about the Collector. She wrote,
"... Sandy is a great lady, who works tirelessly as the owner of a Pilot Truck Service in Saskatchewan,
Canada.
This business has taken Sandy to most points
through Western Canada, and has afforded her
some opportunities in visiting a few different Auction Sales. When asked how
she started collecting, Sandy
says “I’ve been collecting Antiques my whole life, but about 30
years ago, I decided on Crocks & Decoys”. Sandy
attends as many auction sales as her schedule will allow, and truly enjoys the
challenge of finding this type of Crockery & Wooden Decoys, as they are more
scarce in Western Canada. So one Crock
lead to another, and one Duck lead to a flock, and, well you get the idea. Sandy stated that
“I love my Crocks & Decoys, but I was and still am attracted to any
thing with a Country Look”.
The decision to sell her
entire Antique Collection was not an easy one, but the sale of her 5 story
country home, and a move that took Sandy
to a smaller house, made the decision necessary. Sandy has since expressed a
bit of relief, and now awaits the sale of her Collection by Public Auction on
Feb 16th in Wainwright, AB so that she can look ahead and perhaps,
her Crock & Decoy quest will continue, but on a smaller scale.
Written:
Katrina Scribner
Below are individual Pictures of the Decoys - Special Thanks & Consideration to Steven Lloyd, International Historic Decoy Expert who generously gave his time to provide the descriptions and dates below.
Mallard Hen Maker - Circa 1920's
Peterbourgh Canoe Company
Mallard Hen Maker - Circa 1920's
Peterbourgh Canoe Company
Bluebill Hen by Victor Decoy Co.
Circa 1920's - 30's
Mallard Drake by Victor Decoy Co.
Circa 1920's - 30's
Whistler or also called Golden Eye Drake Swimmer (rare)
Unknown Carver Circa 1830's - 1840's
Bluebill Drake
Unknown Carver
Whistler Drake - Unknown Carver
Circa 1930's - 40's
Blackducks - Unknown Carver
Circa 1930's - 50's
Bluebill - Mason Decoy Compnay
(painted over original)
Mallard Drake - Unknown Carver
Circa 1940's
Mason Decoy Company
Circa 1890's - 1920's
Blackduck - Unknown Carver
Circa 1940's - 50's
Mason Decoy Company
Circa 1890's - 1920's
Great FOLK ART - Unknown Carver
Circa 1930's - 50's
\
McWilliams : Mason Decoy Company
Circa 1890's - 1920's
Bluebill - Unknown Carver
Bluebill Hen - Unknown Carver
From Lake Erie
Bluebill Drake - (Head ?)
Mason Deco Co.:Circa 1890's - 1920's
Unknown Carver
Brant Goose Decoy from BC
Unknown Maker
No Description Yet
No Description Yet
No Description Yet
No Description Yet
No Description Yet
No Description Yet
SALT GLAZED CROCK COLLECTION! - INCREDIBLE!
Below are individual pictures of the Glazed Crocks of many different varieties and patterns!
Fifty vintage whisky bottles show some of the alcohol products that were made in the Distillery District compound and distributed all over the world. 
The Prince Regent brand of whisky was very popular in Canada and helped make Gooderham and Worts with its black and white stallions around a red G&W stamp into an easily recognizable brand. The idea that a Prince had his own private stock of whisky appealed to Canadians, who all wanted a taste.
