2010 Toronto Bottle Show and Sale

Well all I can say is, who thought a vintage bottle sale would be so darn interesting - even sexy?

When Rob Campbell of the Toronto blog Dumpdiggers invited me to the 2010 Four Seasons Bottle Collectors Club Show and Sale, a.k.a. the Toronto Bottle Show, last Sunday, April 18, 2010, I was skeptical:

Who was this Dumpdigger guy (below left, in the green), and why the heck would I, Kelly Gadzala, a.k.a. the Grunge Queen chic-is-cheap gal, want to troll around with him looking at dusty old bottles on a sunny Sunday afternoon?

Natch, my curiosity got the better of me, so Rob and I ended up taking the long trek to Humber College's north campus to 'cess out the show.

Before I delve into my story, you'll notice one thing, below: the bottle show is full of men, mostly middle-age.

Mmm. I'll be writing soon about the Toronto Vintage Costume Jewellery Club Show & Sale that was yesterday, April 24, 2010 at the Leaside Memorial Gardens.

That club is full of women, largely middle-aged.

Maybe the two clubs should get together. If they combined their show and sales they'd attract a more diverse crowd (ie: both genders), and heck, throwing a bunch of male and female collectors in a room could make for some interesting chemistry, hee hee.

I won't deny that there wasn't some good junking Karma between Rob and I (you know my thoughts on romance and thrift). He's definitely a guy who is entranced by the thrill of the hunt.

I was entranced by this table of old poison bottles like a shopping addict to a credit card.

So ironic, considering the bright hues were meant to warn people that the bottles contained noxious liquids.

But as collector Dwight (below) explained to me, often the bright colours attracted children to the bottles. Oops.

According to Dwight, before the 1860s bottles with toxic cleaning fluids and such in them looked like all the other bottles. After the 1860s laws dictated that bottles containing poison be not only coloured, but also textured, so people rummaging around for their medicines in the cabinet, perhaps in the dark or in a dimly-lit Victorian room, wouldn't swallow the bad stuff thinking it was their medicine.

Speaking of textured bottles, I was crushing on this old Crush bottle from the 195os (?).

I'm too young to know this but that little dude on the top of the bottle was known as "Mr Crushie" or "Crushie."

Poor Mr. Crushie. He didn't make the grade, did he?

While we're on the topic of pop logos, pop bottle collector Bill explained to me that 7Up used to have a "Bubble Up" girl on the label of the bottle - apparently she was there in 1949 but not in 1950. Seems at odds with our contemporary philosophy regarding sex and marketing, but back then, it seems, pop was all about being wholesome and healthful, not sexy.

Don't believe me?

Check out this 1937 Pepsi-Cola bottle.

Yup, Pepsi was marketed as "A Sparkling Bracing Beverage" ... "Refreshing" and "Healthful."

But I don't think it was just spin - soda was indeed considered healthful back in the day (see below for more on link between soda and druggists).

I guess I'm tainted by my own sexed-up modern sensibility, 'cos when saw the "Penetrating Oil" bottle below I wasn't thinking it was made for industrial use ....

Bad Grunge Queen.

I liked this collector's stuff as he kept the original liquids in the bottles and they were more valuable to him that way - though perhaps not as valuable in the rest of the collecting world.

It just adds another layer of history to actually see and smell what's in the bottle - no drinking or ingesting though!

This collector, Jamie, also has a thing for brightly coloured labels with interesting names and neat graphics on them.

Some of the products at another table, and the slogans on them, were a hoot.

Take this sample of Turpo "Turpentine Ointment," made from, you guessed it, turpentine!

Kondon's "Nasal Jelly" sounded pretty freaky/disturbing too, and I had to wonder what Lykes' "Comfort Powder" was meant to minister to? Yikes.

While we're on the topic of mysteries, any idea what this glass chain is??

I wasn't sure, but I just think the idea of a glass chain is such a neat paradox - fragility vs. strength.

Apparently these chains were made by glass makers for their friends and family, according to collector Jamie. They were never available on the market and were used as decorative hanging pieces in windows.

Needless to say the jewellery junkie in me thought it would make a neat necklace!

You'd have to be really careful wearing it, though. No jostling, please.

It was $175 so I had to leave it these, alas.

This photo of moi is courtesy Rob Campbell of Dumpdiggers.

The "Then & Now" display was totally cool - all those brands that you know, love and still use have been around for years and years and were once made in glass bottles ... Pond's face cream, Palmolive soap, HP Sauce, and more.


That was the uber neat thing about chatting with the collectors and looking at their bottles: so many of the bottles were tied to Toronto and Toronto-area companies. Hearing the stories behind the bottles uncovered pieces of Toronto's business history for me and made me hunger for more info.

I just had to show you this pic of Bill looking at a 1920s bottle of grape pop with the juice still in it - I loved it as all of his bottles still had the original pop inside.

He's looking for the date that's etched in the bottle. I really dug this bottle on sight for a few reasons: the funky bulbous top that is so uncharacteristic of the other pop bottles; the fact that it held purple (mon fave colour) liquid; the fact that Bill was such a good sport posing with it.

You may not know it but many of the druggists of the day also were, or eventually became, soda pop makers because soda pop was initially mixed and made at drug stores at the soda fountain - I'm a fountain of information aren't I?

Corny, I know.

This is my big purchase for the day, a teeny doll bottle with "A Reliable Doll" etched on it - for a buck.

I'm nothing if not a reliable doll.

A quick internet search reveals that the Reliable Doll Company was a Toronto-based company that existed from the 1920s-90s. This was obviously a bottle for a doll that dates way back.

I wonder if I should have given this to Mr. Dumpdigger, in memory of our day together? No, I like it too much ... and I'd like to think he needs no reminder of the Grunge Queen ....

But he did buy me a blue ribbed poison bottle with "Sulpholine" inscribed on it. Not sure what sulpholne was used for... hopefully I didn't make him think he wanted to poison me!!

All in all, fellow grungers, it was an intriguing day.

I learned a lot, met a new grunging pal, and I kept myself open to new possibilities and experiences I may not have otherwise tried or done - you only live once, right? I suppose I have Rob to thank for that.

Now I will always look at old bottles in a whole new way.

I'll be posting all my pics on Flickr soon so check 'em out.

You can read about the 2010 Toronto Bottle Show on Dumpdiggers too.

Jewellery Show & Sale post coming soon!!