Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Whitman's Retail Establishment Philadelphia PA. Source: File:Whitman's Retail Store, Philadelphia, PA 1894.jpg - Wikipedia |
The other day I took a little walk and found a couple bottles. One was a stopper-top bottle. Another was this Whitman's bottle. Whitman's is the Whitman's you know from their candy samplers. This bottle gives the address of 1316 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA. They moved a few times, so the address should help narrow down the date.
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| Embossed Whitman's Bottle. |
See also Whitman's History | Russell Stover Chocolates which gives a very detailed timeline on the company. More interesting than you'd think.
I haven't narrowed down the date on it yet. Researching the type of screw top should help.
It is the second one of the type that I've found on the Treasure Coast. Besides chocolates, Whitmans also sold other things, such as sauces and dried fruits.
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I don't usually keep screw-top bottles, but this is an older screw top. Do you know when screw top jars were invented?
John Landis Mason actually revolutionized food preservation technology with his eponymous and now hipster-beloved jar, patented 1858; the threaded screw-top made a much safer bacterial barrier for canning purposes; previous methods involved a flat tin top and hot wax to seal the sides, and probably a few prayers. About 40 years later, a UK man named Dan Rynalds patented a screwcap for beverages specifically, not for wine but whiskey; it didn’t quite take off. (Rynalds’ screwcap suffered some technical issues with the metal cap directly exposed to corrosive alcohol.)...
See Who Invented The Screwcap? | VinePair
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Back in the 1980s or 1990s I developed what I call the spiral search pattern. I described that basic pattern back in the early days of my blog. In 2016 I described an elaboration on the basic spiral pattern, which I call the linked-spiral search pattern.
Here is the llink to the post describing the spiral-linked search pattern.
Before I get into more explanation, I should give you the background on the development of the spiral search pattern. I think that will help you better understand it.
Decades ago I was doing a lot of shallow water hunting in rough water conditions. When the water is rough, you probably won't be able to see the bottom in even a foot or two of water. When the water is a little deeper, not only will you not be able see the bottom, but it will be difficult to remain on the spot even when you get a signal. The water will tend to push you one way and then the other.
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| Digging in Five Foot Or So Of Rough Water. |
I remember one day when the waves kept smacking me in the head and knocking my earphones off. That was before I learned a tecnhique I will describe in a little while.
So imagine you are wading in four or five feet of water while metal detecting, and the water is rough. You get a signal, get a scoop of sand, but do not find the target in your scoop. In the mean time, a swell came by and either smacked you in the head and moved you off your spot.
The next thing you have to do is find the hole again - if the target is still in the hole. You can do that with your detector if the target is still in the hole. But if you lost control of your scoop and or detector, you'll have to get them back in position first. You might be able to find the hole by feel with either your foot or scoop.
You can either fight the waves, which to me seems a poor choice, or you can do what I learned to do. Instead of using weights and fighting the waves, I learned to go with them. When a swell comes, and you can feel it coming because it will start to suck you out before it hits you and pushes you the other way. When the time is right, pick up your feet and let it push you one direction and then return you to where you started. If you go with it instead of trying to fight it, it will wash you towards shore and then return you to where you were next to the hole. You should be between the hole and the shore with your back to the shore.
In the following illustration, you see the person washed back from the hole, with feet up and arms extending the scoop towards the hole.
A lot of the time, especially when the wave period is small, you will only be moved a short distance and by extending your arms and scoop handle while picking up your feet, might be able to keep the bottom of your scoop in the hole while during the entire cycle. If you have your scoop full of sand, it will tend to stay put even if you get separated from it. You can then grab it again when you get washed back to it.
Even a single scoop might be interupted by a swell, so it might take two or three cycles to get the scoop out of the sand.
That is one reason I like a wood handle for my scoop. It floats standing up, making it easy to grab once again when you get washed back to your original position. You should be able to quickly find the hole again with your foot even if the scoop didn't remain in the hole.
So that sets the background for the development of the spiral search pattern. The problem is that you can not see the bottom and you will get moved around by the swells. Under those circumstances a tight grid is virtually impossible. It can be challenging enough to dig a single target under those conditions, and a tight search pattern is almost impossible.
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After initial attempts to clean the feet of my gold Christ figure, I have started to clean the body, which has the heaviest encrustation.
I'll keep you up on that progress.
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| Source: MagicSeaWeed.com |
The predicted surf for Monday has decreased a little. Sorry to see that. I hope it increases again, or at least stays the same.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net