Stoneware Advertising Jugs, ca. 1900
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GUEST:
Well, what little I know about them. I probably purchased them about, oh, 30, 35 years ago. And I either got them at an auction or a yard sale. I probably gave them around $20 for them apiece. And as far as the age, I don't know the age or don't know what... I've never had them appraised or nothing.
APPRAISER:
Okay.
GUEST:
That's about the extent of what I know of them.
APPRAISER:
All right. Well, these jugs tell a long story for me. When I very first got in the antiques business, one of the first places I went was to an attic in a barn, or a loft, and the family had been there in that house since back in the 19th century. And upstairs was a moonshine still and about 50 jugs like this.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
So from that day on, I always called them moonshine jugs.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
And what they are is, they're factory-made stoneware pottery. And usually when you see them like this, when the sides are straight like that, that tells you that it's, like, up around 1900. And usually when you see the brown, and the tan on the bottom, that tells me that it's later in the 19th century, early 20th century. But your jugs have an even better story to tell, and we can drop the moniker of moonshine and add bourbon. Because here we are in, in the...
GUEST:
Right. Bourbon country.
APPRAISER:
We are in the middle of bourbon country. And back then, if you wanted to buy whiskey, you could buy a whole jug of it. You might go to the bar to do it, or the drugstore.
GUEST:
Right, yes.
APPRAISER:
I guess if you felt bad, you went to the drugstore to get it. If you wanted to feel good, you went to the... (laughing) You went to the local saloon to get it.
GUEST:
Right. Yes, sir.
APPRAISER:
And this one over here is fabulous.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
It's from a saloon, and it says, "Nothing new but the jug."
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
So we know it was good, aged Kentucky bourbon. Jugs like this are selling online anywhere from $200 to $300 each.
GUEST:
Oh, that's, yeah, surprising.
APPRAISER:
And, you know, the one from the saloon...
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
...is probably the better of the two.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
Because it has that saying on it.
GUEST:
Yes, sir. Well, that's surprised me. That's more than I thought they would be worth. I have to thank my sister, because she got the tickets for the ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
APPRAISER:
(laughs)
Appraisal Details
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