Redington & Co. San Francisco (Monogram)

Redington & Co.

San Francisco

(Monogram)

John H. Redington, San Francisco, California

Cylindrical Yellow Amber Bay Rum

Provenance: Eric McGuire Collection

This wonderfully shaped and elegant pint-sized Bay Rum bottle was made for Redington & Co. in San Francisco, who were pioneer druggists in the state. Bay Rum is a distillate initially made in Saint Thomas and probably other West Indian islands from rum and the leaves and berries of the West Indian bay tree. It was first fashionable in New York and other American cities before being available in Europe.

The yellow-amber bottle is embossed prominently on the face with a decorative “R & Co.” monogram with ‘REDINGTON & Co.’ embossed and arched above the monogram and ‘SAN FRANCISCO’ beneath in a concave under-arch, all set in a sans serif typestyle. The “R” in “Francisco” uses a curved leg, a signature of western-blown glass. There is a deep kick-up base and a glass ring applied below the mouth. The bottle is similar to the Crane & Brigham Bay Rum bottle on the adjacent gallery display. Both companies were located on Market Street during the 1870s when these bottles were made.

See the museum example of a W. E. Mayhew S.F. Bay Rum bottle.

John H. Redington

John Hobby Redington was born on July 12, 1824, in Waterville, Kennebec County, Maine. He was the second son of Silas Redington and grandson of Asa Redington, a revolutionary patriot who served during the entire Revolutionary War and was present at the surrender of Cornwallis; being at that time an officer in Washington’s bodyguard, of which he was the last survivor.

Redington received his education primarily at the Waterville Academy and the Liberal Institute in Maine. At eighteen, Redington left his home to acquire commercial training with his uncle, a prominent lumber merchant in Boston. In three years, Redington advanced from a junior clerk and bookkeeper to a partner in the firm with full participation in the business’s profits. In a few years, this advancement enabled Redington to embark on a new enterprise, becoming part owner and superintendent of the East Boston Iron Company. With the discovery of gold in California, Redington lost no time in severing his connection with the iron company and gathering all his available means, he left for San Francisco in July 1849 via the Isthmus, arriving on September 14 of the same year. It took Redington a few weeks to recuperate from the fatigues of his journey and to survey his business opportunities.

In December 1850, Redington founded the drug house of Redington & Company which at that time was the only firm strictly in the wholesale drug business on the west coast. The pioneering business was a success from the start advertising themselves as Importers and Wholesale Dealers in Drugs and Medicines. They were located at 107 Clay Street.

Redington & Co. suffered almost total destruction by the San Francisco Fire of 1851, a catastrophic conflagration that destroyed as much as three-quarters of San Francisco and again suffered severely on two other occasions. However, Redington & Co. would always continue their operations without more than a temporary cessation. In 1852, Redington traveled back to the east coast and remained as a resident partner in New York for four years. He returned to California in 1856 and shortly after united with the wholesale drug house of Rier & Coffin. Next, A. G. Coffin would go to New York and establish Coffin, Redington & Co. By now, Redington & Co. was one of the top wholesale druggists in the United States, not only because of capital invested but business done. Their reach extended to Mexico and all the South American countries on the Pacific, also to China, Japan and Australia.

In 1851 John H. Redington married Mary Elizabeth, daughter of Christopher Gore, of Boston, Massachusetts. She died in San Francisco in 1861, leaving no children. In 1861 Redington was elected supervisor of the city of San Francisco on the Republican ticket. As a mark of public appreciation, he served in this position and received the nomination by the same party for State Senator. His election followed; there being a long and a short term to serve, Redington drew the long term and attended to his duties for two years.

In 1864 Redington married a new woman named Julia, who was the third daughter of J. H. Poett, Esq., of England, and shortly after made an extended European tour, to which he devoted the next two years, visiting most of the points of interest throughout the old world during his travels. So long an absence from his senatorial duties, which he considered detrimental to his adopted state’s interests, he tendered his resignation in 1866.

By 1871, the company was operating as Redington, Hostetter & Co. The partners were John H. Redington, David Hostetter, Andrew G. Coffin, Isaac S. Coffin, Horatio P. Livermore, George W. Smith, William Geary and Samuel Heitschu. Besides being importers and jobbers in drugs and medicines, paints, oils, etc., they were sole agents for Redington Quicksilver Co. and Hostetter and Drake’s Plantation Bitters. The company was now located at 529-531 Market Street. Redington was also president of Home Mutual Insurance Co.

One of the most important enterprises of John H. Redington was the great Redington Quicksilver Mine, located in Napa County, where he was president and principal owner of the company. Under his management, the mine paid out in dividends alone over one million dollars in addition to the immense sums distributed for labor and machinery employed. The products of the mine found a market principally on the west coast, though much of the quicksilver produced was shipped to Europe and China. Redington also had real estate interests in the counties of Kern and Fresno, California, which were extensive, covering many thousands of acres, much of it settled and under cultivation. He perfected extensive irrigation works upon the land, which, when completed, rendered the property highly valuable, being close to railroads and within easy access to a profitable market. The grounds were well stocked with sheep, cattle, and horses, the yearly increase rapidly adding to the value of the investment.

With his second marriage six children were added to the family, all growing up at the Redington San Francisco city residence in the southwestern corner of California and Franklin Streets. The handsome mansion, in a modern style of architecture, was surrounded by beautiful grounds. The Redington summer residence was in Oak Grove, San Mateo County, which included a fine piece of wooded, orchard, and farming land covering over eight hundred acres.

John Hobby Redington died very wealthy on May 17, 1890. By 1891, his company was still operating under the Redington & Co. banner at Nos. 23, 25 and 27 Second Street in San Francisco. Coffin, Redington & Co. also had offices on 72 John Street in New York City. Redington & Co. would continue to be one of the leading drug houses in America for many years.

Primary Image: Redington & Co. San Francisco Bay Rum bottle imaged by Eric McGuire, FOHBC Virtual Museum West Coast Studio.

Support Image: Embossed aquamarine “Ague de Florida De Cocheu Redington & Co San Francisco” Florida Water bottle from the Eric McGuire collection.

Support: Reference to Contemporary Biography of California’s Representative Men by Alonzo Phelps, page 217.

Support: Reference to various posts on Western Bottle News.

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