Best Of The West Live Auction
November 13, 2026 5:30 PM PT
Golden Gate Bottle Auctions is proud to present the Best of the West Live Auction, featuring 72 exceptional lots from the Jeff Wichmann Collection. This special auction showcases an outstanding selection of rare Western bottles, along with four exceptional insulators. Jeff's longstanding passion for Western bottles and his contributions to the collecting community are reflected in this remarkable collection.
The auction will take place Friday, November 13, 2026, at the Gold Country Fairgrounds in Auburn, California, in conjunction with the 49er Bottle Show. Live bidding begins at 5:30 PM Pacific.
Absentee bids will be updated periodically in the online catalog. Please note that online bidding will not be available before or during the live auction on November 13.
→ Register For The Live Auction
The auction will take place Friday, November 13, 2026, at the Gold Country Fairgrounds in Auburn, California, in conjunction with the 49er Bottle Show. Live bidding begins at 5:30 PM Pacific.
Absentee bids will be updated periodically in the online catalog. Please note that online bidding will not be available before or during the live auction on November 13.
→ Register For The Live Auction
EC&M Insulator
Circa 1870–1878, CD 123, B Mold, 3 3/4". Founded in 1870, the Electrical Construction & Maintenance Company (EC&M) played an important role in the construction and supply of telegraph infrastructure throughout the American West. Although the company was established in 1870, evidence from surviving telegraph lines indicates that these insulators may not have been introduced until approximately 1873. These insulators are perhaps the most well-known and collectible of all Western insulators. While found in several different molds and colors, the majority of examples are found in shades of aqua.
Description & Condition: Deep olive green. Minor 1/4" area of wear along the edge of the wire groove. Minimal chipping on the skirt. An attractive example in great condition.
Min. Bid $1,000 - Est. $2,000–$4,000
EC&M Insulator
Circa 1870–1878, CD 123, A Mold, 4 1/4". Another EC&M insulator, this time in a deep cobalt and a different mold. EC&M molds differ in several identifiable features, including dome and skirt shape, embossing size and style, ampersand form, wire groove characteristics, seam lines, button placement, and the presence or absence of slug plates.
Description & Condition: Exceptional deep cobalt blue. Excellent condition with only minor chipping on the skirt.
Min. Bid $1,500 - Est. $3,000–$6,000
Fisher Electric Railway System
Circa 1887–1889, CD 265, 4". Designed for use with Frank E. Fisher’s pioneering underground third-rail electric railway system. The first known embossed Fisher insulator was discovered in San Jose, with additional examples later recovered in Michigan. The Fisher Electric Railway operated between San Jose and Santa Clara after opening in 1888. Its underground conduit system proved unreliable, with mud and debris frequently interrupting electrical contact, and the line soon failed. Today, these remarkable insulators are prized for their rarity and their association with some of the earliest electric railway experiments in the United States.
Description & Condition: A light green example in very good overall condition. Has a chip to the right arm measuring approximately 1", along with two minor chips to the top measuring 1/8" and 1/16". The base is free of damage.
Min. Bid $2,500 - Est. $5,000–$10,000
California Fire Extinguisher
Circa 1885, applied top, 6 1/2". These unique fire extinguishers, commonly known as hand fire grenades, became popular during the early to mid–1880s as a means of combating small fires. A California newspaper advertisement from early 1885 proudly noted that "the California bear is blown into the bottle," referring to the embossed bear featured on these bottles. Advertisements indicate that the California Fire Extinguisher Company was located at 858 Howard Street in San Francisco and was managed by A. Muiller. Interestingly, we could locate no listing for the company in the 1885, 1886, or 1887 San Francisco city directories. Additional research is needed, but it appears the company and its product may have had an extremely short lifespan. The glass bottle was filled with a chemical solution and intended to be thrown directly into a fire. Contemporary accounts noted that the liquid itself was not primarily responsible for extinguishing the flames; rather, when exposed to heat, it generated large quantities of fire extinguishing gas that smothered the fire and prevented combustion from continuing. Numerous varieties of these so called hand fire grenades were marketed during the 1880s, but few can match the Western appeal of this grenade with its boldly embossed California bear.
Description & Condition: Medium amber with the original cork still inside. Minor 1/8" chip near the base on the reverse, not visible when displayed.
Min. Bid $2,500 - Est. $5,000–$10,000
Cal Electric Works Insulator
Circa 1877–1880s, CD 130.1, 4 1/2". California Electrical Works was organized in 1877 as the successor to the Electrical Construction & Maintenance Company (EC&M), one of the pioneering telegraph supply firms on the West Coast. Operating from San Francisco, the company played an important role in the expansion of telegraph and electrical infrastructure throughout California and the Pacific Coast. The CD 130.1 is believed to have been used on one of California's earliest long distance telephone lines. Constructed in the late 1870s by the Ridge Telephone Company, the line connected French Corral and French Lake in the Sierra Nevada and provided telephone service for the region's hydraulic mining operations. Widely regarded as the most desirable insulator produced by California Electrical Works and one of the premier insulators of any type, it is highly prized by collectors throughout the country. This represents an important opportunity to acquire one of the hobby’s most celebrated insulators.
Description & Condition: A rich, deep cobalt blue. The skirt is in excellent condition. Two of the four fluted wire groove sections are relatively clean, with only a few small chips measuring approximately 1/8". Each of the other two sections has a chip measuring roughly 3/8". Overall, a very good example of this notoriously damage prone form.
Min. Bid $3,000 - Est. $6,000–$12,000