suffolk bitters

suffolk bitters

Philbrook & Tucker

Boston

S 217

Philbrook, Tucker & Blanchard, Boston, Massachusetts

Yellow Figural Pig

Provenance: Ferdinand Meyer V Collection

A popular and favorite figural bottle to many collectors is Suffolk Bitters put out by Philbrook & Tucker in Boston, Massachusetts. Perfectly proportioned and detailed, the pigs can be found in an exciting array of medium amber and yellow glass colors with some having an olive tone. The glass usually has color shading variations depending on which area of the pig you are looking at and the glass thickness. The bottles typically have applied double collar mouths which complete the bottle design from snout to tail.

Joseph W. Philbrook was born in Bradford, Vermont on November 12, 1836. His father was Alfred S. Philbrook and his mother was named Susan. Philbrook married Emma C. Bacon on December 15, 1863, in Boston, Massachusetts. They had two children, Charles (or Clark) and Anna. Charles would later clerk for his father.

J. W. Philbrook surfaces first as a junk dealer in Boston in the late 1850s located at 275 Causeway. During the Civil War, he was listed as a private in 1863 with the Massachusetts Volunteers, Company F. From 1865 to 1874 or so, we see Joseph W. Philbrook and Herman Tucker partnering as Philbrook & Tucker grocers at 103 and 105 Blackstone in Boston. This partnership and locale is embossed on the Suffolk Bitters figural pig.

“Suffolk” in this case means Suffolk County, Massachusetts and not Suffolk, Virginia as one might first surmise. By 1874, Tucker has moved on and we see Joseph W. Philbrook listed as selling groceries and liquors at 103 and 105 Blackstone. His son, Charles C. Philbrook was a clerk. Joseph W. Philbrook filed for bankruptcy on April 3rd, 1874, and died on May 15, 1875, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was only 38 years old.

It is interesting that Carlyn Ring and Bill Ham, in Bitters Bottles, note a surviving label example reading, “In introducing these bitters to the American public we do not claim that they will cure every ill that man is heir to. They are the production of a celebrated English chemist, are purely vegetable, and are composed of roots and herbs of forest growth. To the dyspeptic, the bilious, and debilitated they have no equal. As an appetizer the invigorating of this tonic are unsurpassed.”

The Carlyn Ring and W.C. Ham listing in Bitters Bottles Supplement is as follows:

S 217 SUFFOLK BITTERS // PHILBROOK & TUCKER / BOSTON // c //
10 1/8 x 3 ¾ (10 1/8 diameter behind front legs)
Pig, DC, NSC, and Ground lip. Amber, Common; Yellow, Scarce; Yellow with olive tone, Very rare
Philbrook, Tucker & Blanchard, Sole Proprietors for the U.S. 63 & 108 Blackstone St., Boston, Massachusetts
Label: In introducing these bitters to the American public we do not claim that they will cure every ill that man is heir to. They are the production of a celebrated English chemist, are purely vegetable and are composed of roots and herbs of forest growth. To the dyspeptic, the bilious, and debilitated they have no equal. As an appetizer the invigorating of this tonic are unsurpassed. Copyright secured.
Address dates label to 1870.
Boston Directory: 1840 Philbrook, Jas.; 1849-1860, Philbrook, Geo.; 1870-1874 Philbrook & Tucker (Joseph W. Philbrook & Herman Tucker); 1875 Philbrook & Co. (J. W. Philbrook); 1880 Philbrook & Co. (Thomas G. Anderson)

The Suffolk Pig bottle has also been reproduced in beautiful colors. Early American Glass authority Noel Tomas says that many of the reproductions were made in Taiwan in the 1970s. These are still collectible to some and down the road somewhere may have a broader appeal. Noel even mentioned that he collected them himself a number of years ago.

Support Image: Suffolk Bitters in hand from the Michael George collection. Bright orange amber, bordering a yellow amber through the base and mouth area. This one has the rare squared collar “medicine type” top.

Support Image: Group of four (4) different colored figural bitters pigs in line courtesy John Pastor, American Glass Gallery.

Support: Reference to Bitters Bottles and Bitters Bottles Supplement by Carlyn Ring and Bill Ham. Use of Suffolk Bitters illustration courtesy Bill Ham.

Support Image: Suffolk Bitters with yellow with black speckles from Ed & Kathy Gray – greatantiquebottles.com

Support Image: “SUFFOLK BITTERS – PHILBROOK & TUCKER / BOSTON”, (Ring/Ham, S-217), Massachusetts, ca. 1865 – 1875, medium olive-yellow shading to almost clear in the feet, 10” long, smooth base, applied double collar mouth. Ex. Dr. Burton Spiller Collection, Paul Hadley Collection. – Glass Works Auctions Jim Hagenbuch, Glass Works Auctions.

Support Image: SUFFOLK BITTERS | PHILBROOK & TUCKER BOSTON – yellow with an olive tone in the facial features where the glass is more dense, applied double collared mouth from Norman Heckler, Norman C. Heckler & Company.

Support Image: Yellow-Amber “PHILBROOK & TUCKER SUFFOLK BITTERS” Pig-form Flask, “Boston,” c. 1870, with applied double round-banded collar, embossed lettering, lg. 9 3/4 in. – Skinner (PRG: color description and estimate at $400-$600 way off as this sold for $4,250,.00). This is a fantastic light shade of yellow!

Support Image: Light amber shading to a yellow-amber example of a Suffolk Bitters from the Ferdinand Meyer V collection.

Support Image: Group of four colorful Suffolk Bitters Life Preserver reproductions from the Eric Matthew Richter collection.

Read More: Figural Pig Series | Suffolk Bitters

Read More: 1970’s Suffolk Pig reproductions, but way cool…

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