{"id":62786,"date":"2025-02-01T19:39:49","date_gmt":"2025-02-01T19:39:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/antique-2\/michael-polak-renowned-bottle-collecting-expert-and-author-dies-at-78\/"},"modified":"2025-02-01T19:39:49","modified_gmt":"2025-02-01T19:39:49","slug":"michael-polak-renowned-bottle-collecting-expert-and-author-dies-at-78","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=62786","title":{"rendered":"Michael Polak, Renowned Bottle Collecting Expert and Author, Dies at 78"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<p>Michael Polak\u2019s obsession with old bottles started innocently enough in 1974 while digging in the dirt of an abandoned dump in Tonopah, Nev. To hear Polak tell it, that dump in the former silver-mining boomtown was just about the most exciting place in the world. <\/p>\n<p>Of course, Polak was a man who found fun rummaging through the remains of long-ago-deserted outhouses. And if you think that\u2019s odd, well, you\u2019re not alone. As Polak once confessed, \u201cjust bring that up at a family gathering and you\u2019re sure to kick the conversation into high gear.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p>                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.antiquetrader.com\/.image\/c_fit%2Ch_800%2Cw_1200\/MjExMTE2MjE3Nzk1MDk0MDA0\/m-polak-bottle-collector-web.jpg\" height=\"800\" width=\"639\"><figcaption>Digging for bottles can be addictive. And so it was for Michael Polak, a renowned bottle collector and author, who died Oct. 6, 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Image courtesy Michael Polak<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For a half century, Polak was a passionate bottle hunter, collector, historian and author, becoming one of the country\u2019s leading authorities on bottle collecting. That community lost a dear friend when <a href=\"https:\/\/obituaries.forestlawn.com\/obituaries\/michael-polak\">Polak passed away Oct. 6, 2024, after a short battle with cancer. He was 78.<\/a> <\/p>\n<p>Polak wrote more than a dozen books on bottle collecting, including what has long been considered the \u201cBottle Bible\u201d by collectors: <em>Antique Trader Bottles: Identification and Price Guide<\/em>, which sold more than 100,000 copies during its eight editions. Known as the \u201cBottle King\u201d by many or \u201cTonopah Mike\u201d by his bottle-collecting friends, Polak was smitten with a collector\u2019s enthusiasm, reflected in his personal collection of more than 3,000 bottles. <\/p>\n<figure>\n<p>                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.antiquetrader.com\/.image\/c_fit%2Ch_800%2Cw_1200\/MjExMTE2MjE1Mzc5MTc0OTAw\/bottles-book-web.jpg\" height=\"800\" width=\"533\"><figcaption>Known as the best resource in the bottle-collecting community, the &#8220;Antique Trader Bottles: Identification &amp; Price Guide,&#8221; 8th edition, by Michael Polak.<\/p>\n<p>Kovels Antique Trader file photo<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Polak was also a contributing editor to <em>Kovels Antique Trader<\/em>. Earlier this year, he reported on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.antiquetrader.com\/collectibles\/phoenix-bottle-show\">Phoenix Antiques Bottles &amp; Collectibles Club\u2019s show in Phoenix<\/a> and was always available to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.antiquetrader.com\/collecting-101\/mystery-of-the-iridescent-bottle\">help readers identify old bottles<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p>                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.antiquetrader.com\/.image\/c_fit%2Ch_800%2Cw_1200\/MjExMTE2MjEzNzY4NTYyMjIz\/mike-polak-at-phoenix-bottle-show_web.jpg\" height=\"800\" width=\"702\"><figcaption><em>Author and bottle expert Michael Polak at the Phoenix Antiques Bottles &amp; Collectibles Club\u2019s Show with chairperson Betty Hartnett.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Courtesy Michael Polak<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A multi-faceted person, Polak lived a fascinating life beyond collecting. He worked 45 years in the aerospace industry, getting his start as America raced to the moon. He was later involved in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/space-shuttle\/\">Space Shuttle program<\/a> and the development of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.f35.com\/f35\/about.html\">F-35 fighter jet<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Polak is survived by a son and daughter, nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, as well as a legion of friends and appreciative collectors. He is preceded in death by his beloved wife, Jaqueline.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>You May Also Like:\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.antiquetrader.com\/collectibles\/bottle-trademark-identification\"><strong>How to Identify Old Bottles<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.antiquetrader.com\/collecting-101\/mystery-of-the-iridescent-bottle\"><strong>The Mystery of the Iridescent Bottle<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.antiquetrader.com\/collectibles\/fire-grenades-history-and-collectability\"><strong>Vintage Fire Grenades are Hot Collectibles<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Michael Polak\u2019s obsession with old bottles started innocently enough in 1974 while digging in the dirt of an abandoned dump in Tonopah, Nev. To hear Polak tell it, that dump in the former silver-mining boomtown was just about the most exciting place in the world. Of course, Polak was a man who found fun rummaging [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":62788,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12037],"tags":[3685,639,6366,1552,4687,1823,34453,22451],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-62786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antique-2","tag-author","tag-bottle","tag-collecting","tag-dies","tag-expert","tag-michael","tag-polak","tag-renowned"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Michael Polak, Renowned Bottle Collecting Expert and Author, Dies at 78 - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=62786\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Michael Polak, Renowned Bottle Collecting Expert and Author, Dies at 78 - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Michael Polak\u2019s obsession with old bottles started innocently enough in 1974 while digging in the dirt of an abandoned dump in Tonopah, Nev. 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