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November - December 2012
evening.Ó What really blows my mind here is the fact that this was a telephone sale! This must have been madness! When I asked John how he was able to obtain so many of the Ring bottles, he slyly mentioned that he set up five phones at the appointed hour and worked the phones with military precision. Using himself, his son, neighbors and anyone he could find, he was able to do this for each of the Ring telephone sales. This tells us so much about John. He is sly, wry, competitive and organized. He gets things done. Mike Dickman says, ÒAlthough I live 2,000 miles from John Feldmann, my in-laws live in Wantagh, N.Y., near John and SheilaÕs home in Amityville. So, IÕve been able to visit with John and his fabulous bottles on several occasions over the years. I expect that many folks will comment on the collection, and particularly his outstanding figural bitters (although I understand that he recently sold many of them). You can get a good idea of the scope and rarity of these bottles by perusing the color photographs in the Carlyn Ring and Bill Ham ÒBitters BottlesÓ and ÒBitters Bottles SupplementÓ books. The supplement alone is where 38 of JohnÕs bottles are depicted including the four Indian Queens on pp. 140-41, both KellyÕs Old Cabin Bitters on p. 145, the American Life Bitters and CareyÕs Grecian Bend Bitters on p. 147, the two Favorite Bitters on p. 155 (my personal favorites) and all four bottles on pp. 156-57.Ó ÒMy quintessential story about John comes from seeing him at the Baltimore bottle show a few years ago. He had just purchased an early hand-tooled crown-top soda in clear glass embossed with the name of an Amityville soda manufacturer. John, who was born and raised there and collects Amityville bottles, showed me the bottle and excitedly explained how, despite living there all his life, heÕd never heard of that particular bottler. JohnÕs excitement and enthusiasm over his new find were palpable and infectious, and equal to his excitement and enthusiasm over acquiring a unique figural bitters. The price sticker on his new treasure? $12!
Act VI: The Assessment As with any major purchase or sale, it is important that both sides have a clear understanding of the transaction. From our viewpoint, it was very important to get an inventory of JohnÕs bitters bottles. We quickly decided to exclude many of JohnÕs other non bitters bottles, which included a run of blue Wynkoops Sarsaparillas and other areas such as jugs, foreign bottles, Goofus jars etc. The bitters portion alone consisted of roughly 550 bottles excluding the many German bottles. Jeff Burkhardt and myself, in natural light, under special lights and in sunlight, assessed each bottle meticulously, during a special trip to the FeldmannsÕ. Every bottle was written up and cataloged. In many cases, John mentioned to us Òhe collected bottles and not conditionÓ
Bottles and Extras
when we were noting condition and flaws. We had to remind him, that in the ever so changing world of bottle collecting, as in many hobbies, condition is critical. We reminded John that an auction house would do the same.
Jeff Burkhardt conversing with John in the bottle room
Quite honestly, we did find many bottles with issues that were passed over by our group but the underlying agreement was that when a bottle was so crazy in color and or rarity, condition plays second fiddle. Jeff Burkhardt recounts the following about John and Sheila: ÒBeing a fellow bitters collector, I've known John Feldmann probably for 30 years. The first and most important thing that comes to mind is that John has always been a collector friend first and foremost, and perhaps a competitor only on a few occasions. More on that in a minute. John's even-tempered, good nature has always been replete with a smile and a quick-witted joke relative to what was happening in the moment, whether it be an auction, bottle show or just life. So it is always a pleasure to see John appear at my sales table as he attends most major shows. ÒThe first time I visited John and Sheila to see his large and wonderful collection was likely in the late 80s or early 90s, the ÔheydayÕ of major bitters collections being disbursed. To name a few, there were the Carlyn Ring, Judge McKenzie, Elmer Smith and Chris Batdorf collections. By the time I saw John's collection, he had already successfully acquired some of Ôthe best of the bestÕ in these collections, including a few bitters that I had also bid aggressively on, only to become the under bidder to John. John was an aggressive buyer back then.Ó ÒJohn and Sheila were and are the most gracious of hosts, putting me up overnight on my first visit and then feeding me that Entenmanns crumb cake which Shelia continues to buy whenever I have visited. What a sweetie John's wife is! JohnÕs collection not only included 500+ bitters and go-withs, but an amazing array of whiskeys, pottery, medi