Page 41 - April 2024

FOHBC Virtual Museum and commodity for men, women, and children.
In 2009, the Federation of Historical Bottle
Collectors (FOHBC) set out on a course to
develop the most extraordinary virtual experience
in the world of antiques and collectibles. With
a team of founders, visionaries, curators,
fundraisers, designers, researchers, web
technicians, and 3D imagers, the FOHBC
opened the Virtual Museum in 2020 with much
fanfare, excitement, and anticipation.
The FOHBC Mission Statement set the foundation
and direction for the project as it stated that the Virtual
Museum was established to display, inform, educate, and enhance the
enjoyment of historical bottle and glass collecting. The museum an abrupt end to that era.
website would be the tool to deliver and provide the online virtual
experience that would parallel what visitors find in an actual “bricks
and mortar” museum. Visitors could explore, at their leisure and
pace, four levels and wings containing the museum’s permanent
galleries, rotating exhibitions, donor hall, research library, gift
shop, public areas, and other support functions to enhance the
visitor experience.
The new Virtual Museum contains but is not limited
to, three-dimensional and static support images of
each bottle and glass piece, a written description of
the objects, videos, and, if available, the history of
each item, along with an estimation of rarity.
The museum was designed to be expandable in
every dimension in order to cover the evolution
of glass used throughout history. As technology
progresses, so will the museum, but the mission
will remain the same.
Through the generosity of members, glass
lovers, and patrons, the FOHBC has received
donations of over $100,000 designated specifically
for the design, maintenance, and growth of the
museum. This funding is independent of any other
FOHBC projects. With imaging stations positioned
throughout the United States, Virtual Museum photographers visit
significant collections to photograph historical rarities that the average
collector may never see. These imaging stations are also portable, and
one will be set up at the FOHBC 2024 Houston National Antique Digital memberships are also available. The robust and visually
Bottle and Glass Exposition this coming August 1-4, 2024.
Attendees can bring their treasured objects for imaging
with prior reservation. [See the front inside cover Houston 24
advertisement.]
The first Virtual Museum gallery to open was
Historical Flasks, which were generally produced as
a product container. Retailers had purchased the
glass containers, sold them empty to customers,
and then sold the contents to them. Those
bottles were used repeatedly since the cost of the
bottle was more than anything they put into
them. Many flasks, for example, can be traced to
a specific glasshouse but not to any particular
retailer. They were often linked to historical
figures or events and are highly collectible.
The second space to open was the Bitters
Gallery. In the late 17th century, alcohol was a
vital part of colonial life as a beverage, medicine,
Consumption of alcohol was widely accepted and
wholly integrated into society, but drunkenness
was not. As the Temperance Movement gained
momentum, proprietors pushed their bitters
products as a drink stimulant or a proprietary
medicine. The Civil War also played a significant
role in the use and production of bitters. Of course,
greedy proprietors loaded the bottles with all kinds of
questionable ingredients, usually alcohol or even
opium or heroin. The brands, fascinating figural bottles,
advertising, and stories that go with the “bitters era” shed light
on an important part of American History before Prohibition brought
Besides the galleries noted above, the Virtual Museum has many
newer galleries that receive visitors at any hour and any day of the
year. This includes galleries for Ales & Beers, Blown Three
Mold, Cures, Druggists, Fire Extinguishers, Foods & Sauces,
Freeblown & Pattern Molded Tableware, Inks, Jars, Lightning
Rod Balls, Medicines, Poisons, Soda Pop, Soda Water, Spirits,
Spring & Mineral Water, Target Balls, Utilities, and Perfume,
Scent & Cologne. Future galleries will include German
Half Post, Marbles, Stoneware, and European and
Middle Eastern glass.
Corn for the World–Monument Historical Flask, Purple, Quart,
Baltimore Glass Works, Baltimore, MD, GBI-4, C. 1860-1870.
This almost impossibly beautiful bottle is one of only three
recorded examples in this startling shade of purple.
The goal of the FOHBC, a non-profit
organization, is to promote collecting, studying,
preservation, and displaying historical bottles
and glass, flasks, jars, and related items and
artifacts and to share this information with other
collectors and individuals. Membership is open to
any individual, club, or institution. Membership
benefits include Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
(AB&GC), the official publication of the FOHBC, and
the leading magazine for those interested in antique bottle and
glass collecting and all associated ephemera. The annual subscription
includes six issues of the all-color, 72-page plus covers publication.
engaging www.FOHBC.org website has also archived all past
issues and indexed all articles by topic since the organization
was formed in 1969.
FOHBC Members also have access to the Auction
Price Report, where they can search using a smart-
phone, tablet, or desktop computer for the last
ten years of antique bottle and glass sales results
from the top auction houses. For a complete
list of FOHBC membership benefits, go to
www.FOHBC.org
“Tippecanoe” Figural Cabin, Emerald Green, Pint, Mt. Vernon
Glass Works, Vernon, NY, GVII-2, c. 1840, Historically
significant, only two known examples.
Interested in joining? Please complete our
online membership application or contact
Elizabeth Meyer, FOHBC Business Manager, at
fohbcmembers@gmail.com
April 2024 39