Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
The above photo and following email message was received Friday from the Mel Fisher organziation.
The Dare crew, currently working along the historic trail of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha. The team has recently recovered TODAY an intriguing piece of silver—what appears to be the neck or handle of a vase. This artifact may provide new insight into the types of items transported aboard the Atocha during her fateful voyage in 1622.
In addition to the silver piece, a small ballast stone was uncovered. These stones were used to help stabilize Spanish galleons and are strong indicators that we are still on the correct path toward the heart of the wreck site.
Each discovery, no matter how small, adds to our understanding of this incredible shipwreck and brings us one step closer to the untold treasures that still lie beneath the sea.
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Dubbed the father of modern treasure diving, McKee also uncovered the sites of the Infante, Herrera, Chaves, San Pedro and San José. His exploits are chronicled in a remarkable exhibit at the Florida Kehys History of Diving Museum in Islamorada.
The Keys' most famous wreck is immortalized at Key West's Mel Fisher Maritime Museum. The museum showcases artifacts and treasures from the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha, lost in a 1622 hurricane and discovered off Key West in 1985 by shipwreck salvager Mel Fisher. Items on display include gold chains, cannons, navigational instruments, coins and heavy silver bars.
That excerpt came from the site of the Keys History of Diving Museum. Here is the link to that site.
Early Wreckers, Treasure Hunters and Modern Divers Seek Keys Shipwrecks
That is another nice place to visit if you are down in the Keys.
I remember the first time I was down in the Keys and talked to Art one day when his museum was already closed. He was always known as a friendly helpful guy.
I posted several times about Art McKee and his museum, which. Here is a link to one of those posts.
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Here is a bottle that had me puzzled for a long time. I finally learned about it.
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| Cliquot Club Bottle. |
On the shoulder the bottle is embossed as follows:
TRADE
CLIQUOT CLUB
MARK.
On the heel there is a big bold REGISTERED and a very small 84C or 84G.
And on the bottom is an R in a triangle, which is the maker's mark, which is an important mark.
Clicquot Club Ale—pronounced “Klee-ko”—has a fizzy legacy that dates back to the 1880s in Millis, Massachusetts. It all began when Charles LaCroix, of the LaCroix Fruit Farm, teamed up with Henry Millis to bottle sparkling cider under the name “Clicquot,” inspired by the French champagne Veuve Clicquot.
By the late 1880s, the company shifted focus from cider to ginger ale, which became its signature product. Henry Millis was a stickler for quality, using premium Jamaican ginger and Cuban cane sugar, which gave Clicquot Club Ginger Ale its standout flavor. The brand quickly gained popularity across New England and beyond.
In the early 20th century, under new ownership by Horace and H. Earle Kimball, Clicquot Club exploded in popularity thanks to savvy marketing. They introduced “Kleek-O the Eskimo Boy” as a mascot, lit up Times Square with a massive animated sign, and even sponsored a radio show called The Clicquot Club Eskimos.
At its peak, the company was one of the largest ginger ale producers in the world, with a factory so big it had its own train station. But by the 1960s, changing tastes and competition took their toll. Clicquot Club was sold to Cott Beverage Corporation in 1969 and eventually dissolved in 1980.
Source: Clicquot Club – Bay Bottles
The R in a triangle maker's mark indicates the F. E. Reed Glass Co.
For detailed information on that see FEReed.pdf.
I just posted that bottle in tgbottlebarn.blogspot.com.
As stated above Cliquot Club was inspired by a champagne.
For information about that, here is a link.
The Widow Who Created the Champagne Industry
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