18TH / 19TH CENTURY WINE OR SPIRITS BOTTLES FROM THE CELLAR OF HEZEKIAH BEERS PIERREPONT (AMERICAN, 1763-1838), LOT OF FOUR, dark olive-green or amber glass, cylindrical forms, applied double-collared mouths, each blown in three-piece or turn molds, two of the four bottles with pontil marks. One bottle empty, the other three full of tawny brown or reddish liquid at either the high-shoulder level or base of the neck, seemingly well-sealed with cork and red wax. Four pieces total. Bottles second and third quarter 19th century. 11 1/2" H.
Literature: Abbot Low Moffat - The Pierreponts, 1802-1962; the American forebears and the descendants of Hezekiah Beers Pierpont and Anna Maria Constable.
Catalogue Note: These bottles are part of a small assemblage which descended through the Pierrepont family, originally of Brooklyn, NY. Monticello acquired this group from Anne Pierrepont Luquer, great-great-great granddaughter of Hezekiah B. Pierrepont, each bottle said to have come from the famed Pierrepont family wine cellars in Brooklyn Heights, with many having related paper labels. The Pierreponts were an 18th and 19th century New York mercantile dynasty whose patriarch, Hezekiah Beers Pierrepont, is most famous for his 1790s seafaring adventures and unlucky involvement in the complicated geopolitical issue of "French spoliation". Hezekiah chartered a ship named the Confederacy, partaking in lucrative international trade without incident until 1797 when his ship and all its cargo were stolen/seized by French privateers (pirates). The Confederacy and its cargo were soon sold at public auction in Nantes. Aboard the ship was a large quantity of Madeira, at least some of which was re-purchased by Pierrepont at that auction, and re-imported to New York City.

The empty bottle has a 20th century typewritten "MADEIRA 1807" label and an earlier handwritten label "Madeira 1807 / Imported by HBP / ___?____ (illegible) by / C. E. Dudley / Bottled 1860". HBP's initials are self explanatory, and Dudley is probably Charles E. Dudley, a New York merchant and politician, twice Mayor of Albany, and United States Senator from New York from 1829 to 1833. His relationship to the Pierreponts and to the bottle is unknown, but both he and HBP had passed away by 1860 when their descendants apparently bottled their Madeira. The other three bottles in this lot, each full, do not have any legible labels or indication of what their contents might be. Until the bottles are opened, no one can say for certain.

Each bottle appears to be in excellent condition with nothing more than minor exterior wear and including some dirt, staining, and grime all over. Empty bottle's labels are in average condition with some yellowed and peeling tape; others' labels are completely destroyed or nearly/entirely absent.

Please Note Before Bidding: The buyer acknowledges that he/she is acting within compliance with their state and local laws in regards to the purchase, transportation and delivery of possibly spirituous liquors. The buyer acknowledges that he/she takes possession of purchased lots upon the fall of the hammer. We can make no guarantees to the conditions under which these bottles were cellared, and all details of their handling prior to Monticello's accessioning are unknown to us. Purchases are at the buyer's risk, and no returns will be accepted. Buyers may make arrangements including an in-person auction house pick-up or designating a third party to complete delivery of purchased lots.