2col bottle

Bottle show attendees look over the bottles and “go withs” on display at last year’s show.

photo sent e-m

9-19

MERRIMACK VALLEY ANTIQUE BOTTLE SHOW WILL BE SEPT. 28 AT ELKS CLUB , 1 cut

AVV/GS SET 9/10 #750798

LOWELL, MASS. — On September 28 at the Lowell Elks Club, the Merrimack Valley Antique Bottle Show will open its doors for the 34th time.

Last year the show featured 54 dealers,  primarily from New England, displaying their wares on 87 tables and expects a similar number for this edition. More than 80 tables will be laden with bottles, postcards, advertising, stoneware, milk bottles, fruit jars, insulators and other desktop collectibles.

A number of club members also take a table at the show, featuring items from their collections or perhaps duplicates they have obtained through the years.

For more than a third of a century, the Merrimack Valley Antique Bottle Club has provided a venue for collectors and dealers to buy and sell antique bottles and many associated items. The associated items or “go withs” are as important to the show as the bottles themselves since bottle collectors almost always collect more than just bottles.

Many companies that sold their products in bottles also advertised using postcards, trade cards, posters, wooden crates used for shipping, fans, games and toys — all of which are often categorized as ephemera. Ephemera collectors also buy “go withs” that include bottles, completing the circle.

Show hours are from 9 am to 2 pm. The Lowell Elks Club is at 40 Old Ferry Road. Dealer tables are still available; 8-foot tables for $25. Admission is $3 per person with early buying at 8 am for $15.

For more information, www.choyt48.home.comcast.net/mvbc.htm or contact Cliff Hoyt at 978-458-6575.