Part 2 of the Ken Fee collection of mostly Western bitters bottles will be sold online, Feb. 14-23
The Californer/10060639

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Californer -- Part 2 of the legendary Ken Fee collection of mostly Western bitters bottles will be offered in online auction #67 that begins on Friday, February 14^th, and ends on Sunday, February 23^rd by American Bottle Auctions (www.americanbottle.com). Part 1, held in November, featured a bluish teal Cassin's Grape Brandy Bitters bottle that soared to $155,000.

Almost no one had seen Ken Fee's collection of over 300 bottles in four decades. It only came to light following his death in November 2018. Jeff Wichmann of American Bottle Auctions has been working with the family ever since to sort through it all. Many are outstanding examples that were expected to bring anywhere from a few hundred dollars to many thousands of dollars.

More exciting and rare Western bitters bottles will come up for bid in the Part 2 sale, as will some hard-to-find bitters from the Eastern part of the country. "What people saw in Part 1 will be repeated, with new specimens taking the place of the previous rare items," Mr. Wichmann said.

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Just a few of the expected top achievers in the auction are as follows:

• An American Life Bitters bottle (Peiler Manufacturer, Omaha, Neb.) with applied top, a rare cabin-shaped bottle in near-perfect 9.5 condition, expected to sell for $7,000.
• A Wonser's Indian Root Bitters bottle, not a super rare bottle but one that's popular with collectors and always in high demand. It should bring $10,000.
• A Chalmer's Catawba Wine Bitters bottle in a beautiful blue aqua, a great specimen and one that should easily top the $10,000 mark.
• A Lacour's Sarsapariphere Bitters bottle, a rare green variant in mint condition that's estimated to sell for a minimum of $10,000.
• An E.G. Lyon's early San Francisco bitters bottle in a yellow amber color, expected to fetch $5,000 or more.
• A Catawba Wine Bitters bottle in a beautiful green color, with loads of whittle and crudity, in mint condition. This bottle should reach $5,000.
• A Rosenbaum's Bitters (N.B. Jacobs, San Francisco) with applied top, circa 1864, off-green, a smaller version than the first variant, graded 9+, estimated to go for $3,000.

To learn more about American Bottle Auctions and Part 2 of the Ken Fee collection (online from February 14^th-23^rd), visit www.americanbottle.com.