Blog Archive

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Blue Ribbon Graduated Pharmacy Bottle by Standard Glass Company, Marion, Indiana. Quality and Purity.

 

Graduated Pharmacy Bottle with Blue Ribbon in Small Block Letter on the Bottom.


This is a small (4 inches high) graduated pharmacy bottle made by Standard Glass Co.  The shoulder area on one side is embossed 3i on one side.  The three is actually a symbol meaning ounce.  It is a one oz. bottle.  It is four inches high.

On the other side "QUALITY" is embossed on the shoulder, and "PURITY" on the heel.  

On the bottom, in very small block letters is "BLUE RIBBON."

There are some nice bubbles in this blown bottle.  The brown tint is from staining.  The glass is clear.

The pharmacy would add their own paper label.

From sha.org...

 Toulouse (1971:87) dated the mark [BLUE RIBBON] as being used from 1920 to 1930. However, the patent and trade mark registration dates, as well as date ranges provide for individual bottles by the sources listed above and early advertisements, suggest that the bottles were used much earlier, almost certainly by 1908. Production almost certainly continued into the 1920s and may have extended until the company sold in 1932. For most firms, mouth-blown prescription bottles were discontinued by the mid- to late 1920s,...

Below is the link for more information.

StandardGlass.pdf (sha.org)





Thursday, August 22, 2024

PRESTO Canning Jars

 


PRESTO SUPREME MASON Jar with Top.

Maybe a couple months ago I did a post showing some Ball Mason jars and mentioned some of he other brands.  On the heal is embossed MFG. by Illinois Glass Works.

Unlike many, this jar has its metal top intact, as shown below.

Top of Same Presto Canning Jar.

 The Illinois Glass Co. merged with the Owens Bottle Co. in 1929 to create the massive Owens-Illinois Glass Co.  This jar was therefore manufactured prior to 1929. 


Three Other Presto Jars From the Treasure Coast.

The left most jar is embosssed PRESTO GLASS TOP and on the heal, Mfg. by Illinois Glass Works.

Center, PRESTO and on the heal Mfg. by Illinois Glass Works.

And right, PRESTO Superior Mason, and on the bottom (not the heal) OWENS ILLINOIS GLASS COMPANY.  So this one would presumably be from after 1929.

Here are a variety of jars produced by the Illinois Glass Company.


Presto Canning Jars by Illinois Glass Co.
Source: IGCo.pdf (sha.org)

For much more information on the Illinois Glass Company, which made many other kinds of jars, see IGCo.pdf (sha.org).

By the way the metal tops, if in good condition, are worth a couple dollars.

---



Sunday, July 14, 2024

Embossed A1 Sauce Bottle.


Aqua THE A 1 SAUCE Embossed Bottle.


The bottle shown above is an A1 Sauce bottle.  Below is what I learned about it.

Friday, June 28, 2024

Henry White & CO. Embossed High Kick-up Liquor Rum Bottle.

 

Henry White & Co. Liquor Bottle.

Here is another bottle I found the other day.  It has a high kick-up and some nice embossing, which reads as follows.

BOTTLE MADE IN ENGLAND.

HENRY WHITE & CO.,

LONDON, ENGLAND.


Embossing on Henry White & Co. Bottle.


I haven't found much on the Henry White and Company.  Here is what I have found.

Henry White is another name that eventually figured in the founding of URM. In 1888, he registered the brand red Heart rum and in 1981 was honoured by becoming Master of the Vintners Company.

On Monday, February 25, 1889, a trademark application was filed for HENRY WHITE AND CO.'S RED HEART RUM LONDON with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. 

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

WM TEACHER & SONS Scotch Whiskety Bottle, Glascow, Scotland.

 


Embossed on shoulder: FEDERAL LAW FORBIDS RESALE OR RE-USE OF THIS BOTTLE.
On heal: BOTTLE MADE IN UNITED KINGDOM.
On bottom: WM TEAHER & SONS LTD.





This is not a really old bottle.  There are no bubbles in the glass.

A family-owned company until its takeover in 1976, William Teacher & Sons started out as a large chain of ‘dram shops’ in Glasgow before becoming a distiller and blender supplying whiskies worldwide...

In 1851 the company moved into the wholesale wine and spirits market, opening a warehouse in Argyll Street in Glasgow, and started creating bespoke blends to its customers’ individual requirements.

Teacher died in 1876, the same year his youngest daughter Agnes married Walter Bergius, bringing the other controlling family name into the company. In 1884, the company registered a brand name for its most popular whisky blend, Teacher’s Highland Cream, and also opened an office in London. A second office in Manchester followed in 1886. A year later, the company expanded its export markets and also began shipping mature barrels of whisky to Australia and back, believing the long sea voyage added complexity to the ‘Australian bonded’ brand. This practice continued until sea freight costs became prohibitively expensive in the 1920s...

Here is the link for more about that company.


If you can date it for me, let me know.

TreasureGuide@comcast.net

Sunday, June 9, 2024

Ball Mason Jars.

 

Aqua Ball Perfect Mason Jar.

Below is a table that will help you date Mason jars.


Ball Mason, Perfect Mason, Ideal, and Special Wide Mouth Jars.




Looks to me like the aqua jar at the top of this post might fall in the 1933 - 1960 range.  That seems reasonable, especially considering the popularity of canning food during the WW II years.


It all started with John Landis Mason, a New Jersey-born tinsmith who, in the 1850s, was searching for a way to improve the relatively recent process of home canning. Up until then, home canning involved using wax to create an airtight seal above food. Jars were stoppered with corks, sealed with wax, then boiled. It was messy, and hardly foolproof. Before canning, people in cold climates relied largely on smoking, salting, drying and fermenting to keep themselves fed through winter...

In 1858, a 26-year-old Mason patented threaded screw-top jars “such as are intended to be air and water-tight.” The earliest mason jars were made from transparent aqua glass, and are often referred to by collectors as "Crowleytown Jars" as many believe they were first produced in the New Jersey village of Crowleytown. Unfortunately for Mason, he neglected to patent the rest of his invention—the rubber ring on the underside of the flat metal lids that is critical to the airtight seal, and made wax unnecessary—until 1868, a full decade later. By this point, mason jars were being manufactured widely. Mason tried to regain control of his invention, but after various court cases and failed business partnerships he was edged out. He died in 1902, allegedly penniless...

Here are a couple links for much more information on Ball Mason jars.

Saturday, June 8, 2024

Coca Cola Star Soda Water Bottle

 


Banged Up Coca Cola Soda Water Bottle.


This bottle is really banged up but a great example of an early bottle.  On the shoulder and front, the bottle is embossed as follows.

First there is a five-pointed star on the shoulder, under which is

SODA WATER

PROPERTY OF

COCA COLA

BOTTLING CO.



The other side has the star and
SODA WATER


Another View of the Same Coca Cola Soda Water Bottle.

On one side around the heel is
MINIMUM CONTENTS
6 FLUID OZ.

On the other side around the heel is
PROPERTY OF COCA COLA
BOTTLING WORKS. 

You can see the bottom below.




I've found other Coca Cola Soda Water Bottles.  They are different.   I thought maybe I posted them before, but couldn't find any.  I think I sold all them.

I also need to do some more research on this one to nail down the date.  

I posted not too many days ago that the Fort Pierce bottling works began in 1914, so the date would be after that, but I don't think very much after that. 


Saturday, May 25, 2024

Two Sizes Canada Dry Embossed bottles.

 

Large Canada Dry Bottle Showing CANADA DRY twice on shoulder
and CANADA DRY BOTTLING CO of FLORIDA INC and CONTENTS 1 PINT 12 FLUID OZ around the heal.


Below is the big bottle shown above along with a similar smaller bottle labeled CANADA DRY on the shoulder.

Pint CANADA DRY bottle (left)
along with smaller CANADA DRY bottle

The entire surface of both bottles is textured, which doesn't show well.


Smaller Bottle without embossing on heal.

The smaller bottle,unlike the pint size bottle, does have a makers mark on the bottom.


Bottom of smaller CANADA DRY bottle.

The maker's mark indicates CANADA DRY, also Consumers Glass Co.  

Here are two good links.  One is on Canada Dry and the second is on the Canada Dry bottling works in Silver Springs.

HISTORY OF BEVERAGE: History of Canada Dry (beveragehistory.com)

Vol48No2_MCStory.pdf (montgomeryhistory.org)


I have not yet dated these embossed bottles, which show no evidence of ACL or paper labeling.


Friday, May 17, 2024

Atlas Mason Jars.


Atlas E-Z Sea; Mason Jar.

The first canning jars emerged around 1809, when inventor John Landis Mason patented the Mason jar. His innovative design integrated a threaded screw top with a rubber seal to create an airtight container for food preservation. You would find this jar design vastly improved storage capabilities and extended the shelf life of preserved goods.

Over the years, other jar designs and innovations appeared, such as:The Lightning jar (invented by Henry William Putnam in 1882): This jar featured a bail-type wire closure and glass lid that secured with a metal clamp, providing a reliable seal.

The Atlas E-Z Seal jar (introduced around 1900): These jars showcased a glass lid with a heavy wire bail that locked down on the outside of the jar. This design innovation effectively sealed the jar without the need for a separate cap or screw-on lid.

Ball jars (produced by the Ball Corporation in 1885): Recognized as one of the most popular canning jar brands, these containers were made from high-quality glass and featured a variety of designs and closure styles over time. ( Source: 
Antique Canning Jars (Identification & Value Guide) (valuableantiques.org))

In the case of canning jars, the jar was the product.  They were bought for the canner to use, instead of coming with the product inside.  That means that the embossing on the jar gives the name of the brand of the jar.

Canning jars are common finds on the Treasure Coast.  Ball is the most common,followed by others such as Atlas, Kerr, Presto, Tropical etc.

Above is an exceptionally nice and clean older example of a blown Atlas bottle.  You can see some nice bubbles in the base.  The one below is more like the typical find.

Atlas E-Z Seal Jar.

Its about the same age, but not in such nice condition.\

Here is another Atlas jar.  This one is a Strong Shoulder Mason.

Atlas Strong Shoulder Jar.

The Atlas Strong Shoulder Mason jar, produced roughly between the 1920s and 1940s, is valued for its unique logo design. The logo showcases block letters that say “Atlas Strong Shoulder Mason.” The jar has a reinforced “strong shoulder” to prevent breakage when sealing, which highlights the technological advancements of the time...


Embossed SLOAN'S LIMIMENT Bottle


Old Sloan's Liniment Bottle Find.
;

This history was well supported by the Boston City irectories. Sloan was first listed in the Boston directories in 1880 and by 1882 he was listed at his first Portland Street location, 166 – 175 Portland, where he remained until 1887. This advertisement in the March 6, 1886 edition of the Black Hills (South Dakota) Daily Times confirmed that by this time Sloan’s Liniment was not just being marketed as a veterinary remedy.

The man or woman that has rheumatism and fails to keep and use “Sloan’s Liniment” is like a drowning man refusing a rope...

Ad for Sloan's From the 1880s.

For more: Sloan’s Liniment, Kills Pain – Bay Bottles

Saturday, May 4, 2024

Certo Pectin brown embossed bottle. 1947.

 

Embossed on shoulder: CERTO / REG. U.S PAT. Off.

This is a bottle for CERTO pectin, which is used to make fruit into jam.  You add it to your natural fruit.  In Florida you could make citrus jam, sea grape, or Surinam cherry, or many others types of jam.

Certo was invented in the United States by a Robert Douglas from Scotland. He formed a company to sell it named the Certo Company. The Certo Company was bought by the Postum Corporation in February 1929: Certo was being advertised as early as 1921. Originally, it came only in bottles.

Embossed: FOR 1/2 BOTTLE / POUR TO HERE with arrows pointing to line.

Certo Pectin is still made but comes in a pouch in a box.  Below are some vintage ads.

See Certo Pectin - Healthy Canning in Partnership with Facebook Group Canning for beginners, safely by the book

I believe the date code on the bottom of the bottle indicates 1947.



Friday, March 29, 2024

Brown Embossed PABST Beer Bottle. WF & S. William Frazen & Son. MIlwaukee

 

Brown Embossed Pabst Bottle.


Embossed as follows

PABST
B
MILWAUKEE
THIS BOTTLE
NOT TO BE SOLD.

Base embossed WF&S MIL horizontally with no. 7 below.

 5. Horizontal on base – WF&S MIL with number (ca. 1913-1921) Our sample contained only a few of these, all with crown finishes – although Mobley claimed that one example had a “molded” crown finish (Figure 13). The older date in our range (ca. 1913-1921) is there solely because of the Mobley example. Because these were otherwise only on machine-made bottles and were so few in number, we would otherwise have selected ca. 1915 (or even later) as a beginning date.  From WilliamFranzen&Son.pdf (sha.org)

Reed and Co. Massillon Glass Works Bottle. Export Beer Bottle.


R & CO (Reed and Co.) Aqua Bottle.


The date given for Reed and Co. is 1887 to 1904.  The plant was known as the Massillon (Ohio) Glass Works.

Reed and Co. Bottle.

For more detail see MassillonGlassWorks.pdf (historicbottles.com)

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Adolphus Busch Glass Manufacturing and American Bottle Company Blown Aqua Bottles.

All of the following bottles look like beer bottles to me.  The first four are Adolphus Busch bottles.  All of those are aqua and show some nice bubbles in the glass.


From the maker's marks on the bottoms, I can tell that the first four are from an Adolphus Busch glass plant, while the others are from the American Bottle Company, which made bottles for Busch after the Busch glass plant burned down. 
 
Four Aqua Adolphus Busch A B G M Co Bottles.

Of the Adolphus Busch bottles, only the third (most right above) bottle has a crown top.

Going left to right, the bottoms are embossed as follows. 

A. B. G. M. CO. in an arc with K86. 

A. B. G. M. C.  Not listed in SHA) full circle and larger letters than the first.  J in the middle.

A. B. G. M. CO.  straight across - not in an arc.  K23 below.  

All three of those would be from the 1892 - 1916 period according to the SHA.org site.

Crown bottle tops were invented in 1892 in England and were relatively rare for Busch bottles.  They were sometimes corked too.

Here is a great study on Busch bottles.  AdolphusBusch.pdf (sha.org)

Below is one older Busch Glass Co. bottle (far left) and three American Bottle Co. bottles.

Old Aqua Adolphus Busch Bottle (left) and 3 Crown Top American Bottle Co Bottles.

The Adolphus Busch bottle would be the oldest and is embossed on the bottom A. B. G. Co. straight across with an 8 below.  The G is indistinguishable from C.  The periods are very faint.  The age range of that bottle would be 1886 - 1892.   There is a very distinct line showing where the applied lip was applied to the neck of that bottle.

The other three bottles were made by the American Bottle Company.

Those three bottles have maker's marks as follows (left to right).

A. B. Co.  straight across with A 30 below. 

A. B. Co. same as above but F25 below.  

A B Co across without periods.  41 below.  This one, without periods, is not listed in SHA.org sitem but maybe the periods are just very faint.

From SHA.org, here are those marks.


Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Embossed Marnier Lapostolle Cognac Bottle.

 

\
Embossed: MARQUE DEPOSEE
MARINIER-LAPOSTOLLE
MADE IN FRANCE
FEDERAL LAW FORBIDS SALE OR REUSEE OF THIS BOTTLE



Grand Marnier was founded by Louis-Alexandre Marnier Lapostolle in 1880. His father-in-law, Jean-Baptiste Lapostolle, established what would become Grand Marnier’s first distillery when he began making fruit liqueurs outside of Paris in 1827. Louis-Alexandre came from a winemaking family in Sancerre and started out as an assistant to Jean-Baptiste’s son, Eugene. While working at the distillery, he had a revolutionary idea to pair Cognac with a then-exotic ingredient, oranges, in the Lapostolles’ laboratory. After 10 years of experimentation, Grand Marnier was born.

Louis-Alexandre Marnier Lapostolle had the audacious idea to combine cognac with a rare variety of oranges from the Caribbean. The idea of blending them was simply avant-garde. This was the beginning of Grand Marnier orange and cognac liqueur, whose recipe has remained unchanged ever since.

The brand began in 1880 but continues to this day.  The bottle shown above might be called vintage, but certainly not antique.  Although of a distinctive shape and attractive bottle overall, it is not a blown bottle.  Probably no older than the sixties or seventies.

You can see some of the history of the company and the bottles by using this link.

Our Heritage and Origins | Grand Marnier


Shapely but slender lady's leg with a nice kick-up.  No, I'm not talking about one of the Radio City Rockettes.  It's just a bottle.  Not a real common bottle, but one that might catch your eye.

Reading the embossing, we find Marnier Lapostolle draped across the shoulder.  So what does that tell you?  

The liquor is still sold.  The bottle shown above might be called vintage, but not antique.  And there are several clues to its age.  The Federal Law Forbids Sale message places the bottle after 1935.

If you could look into the glass, you'd see no bubbles.  You'd also see that the seams to all the way to the top.  And the overall look of the bottle is modern.  The glass is thin and of uniform thickness.  I'd guess, without doing any further research, that it dates to maybe the sixties or somewhere around there.

The first bottles were very square in cross section.


The bottle shown at the top of this post is longer and thinner than the iconic shape adopted in 1892, but I have yet to date it precisely.  

It is a brand you can still purchase today.

===

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Embossed Silver Nip Bottle. Frostproof, Florida.

Silver Nip Bottle.
Embossed: 

DO NOT REFILL REGISTERED
SILVER NIP (both sides)
MIN CONTS 6FL OZS

And on the bottom: 
FLORIDA
12
SILVER NIP
Owens Illinois mark.
TRADE MARK REGISTERED.


 The Silver Nip brand was first trademarked in 1928. The producer of this drink was a company called Florida Fruit Canners, Inc., which was based in Frostproof, Florida, (Justia, 2023). This company was owned by citrus tycoon Latimer “Latt” Macy, who started his citrus enterprise in 1917 when he opened Lake Reedy Packing Company in Frostproof(Florida Citrus Hall of Fame,n.d.)..

August-2023-AOM.pdf (stofthpo.com)

And here is an informative video.

Silver Nip | Antique Bottle Stories (youtube.com)

Although he was not the first to plant citrus in the Frostproof area, Latt Maxcy was undoubtedly the most important citrus figure in the region’s history. He was inducted into the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame in 1971. He passed away in August of that same year...

Latimer "Latt" Maxcy - Florida Citrus Hall of Fame

 

Monday, February 12, 2024

1884 to 1920 Brown Flask-Shaped Bottle Bearing Edgar Breffit and Co. Mark.

 


Brown Flask Shaped Bottle bearing E B & Co Ld on the bottom.  The bottle would date to between 1884 and 1920.

It has small bubbles in the glass.



Flask shaped bottle with E. B. & Co. Ld. on bottom.

The mark indicates the glass maker as Edgar Breffit and Company and indicates a date of 1884 to 1920.

Here is a detailed article on the mark and company.

EdgarBreffit&Co.pdf (sha.org)

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

TRIPSONS DAIRY embossed quart milk bottle. From Vero, Florida.

 

TRIPSONS Dairy Quart Milk Bottle.


I picked this one out because I didn't remember having a Tripson's bottle.  The bottom has a 54 on it, which is probably the date.  that would make sense given the style of the bottle.

Waldo Sexton started the Vero Beach dairy in 1924.  His grandson, Tipson, took over the Vero Beach dairy, which became Tipson's. 

I'm sure I have Vero Beach dairy bottles, but don't know that I've posted any of them.



Bottom of TIPSON'S DAIRY Bottle
embassed witht the following.

VERO BEACH FLA 
Duraglass
54


Duraglas bottles were first introduced in the 1940s by Owens-Illinois Glass Company as a more durable alternative to traditional glass bottles.

Sunday, February 4, 2024

1953 ROXY Soda Bottle. Hicksville Bottling Works.

 






Above (center) is a ROXY soda bottle I found.  I've found a lot of painted label soda bottles, but haven't posted many of them because they are usually in poor condition, like this one.  The painted labels just don't last where I find them.

The example on the left is from the internet and shows what mine would look like if it was in good condition.  I can make out enough of the label to tell it is the same bottle.

The back of the bottle tells that it came from the Hicksville Bottling Works (NY).

The bottom tells that the bottle was made by Owens Illinois in 1953.

I found good research on the company and product.


Long Island New York’s Hicksville Bottling Company had its roots with the mineral water business of a man named Edgar Davis. When Davis started the business is not clear, however, bottles produced for the Hicksville Bottling Company in the 1940’s and 1950’s include the phrase “Since 1873,” so it’s possible that it’s inception extended back that far....




The “Roxy ” brand came in a wide variety of flavors including cola, orange, cream, sarsaparilla, ginger ale and root beer.


Here is the link for that information, a lot more detail and additional bottle pictures, including older full embossed bottles.

Hicksville Bottling Co., Hicksville, N. Y., “ROXY” – Bay Bottles

Thursday, February 1, 2024

Brown Debossed HY-PRO Bleach Bottle. Maywood Glass. Glass Bottle Blowers Association.


Two Views of HY-PRO Bottle.

I couldn't get a real good photo of that one.  And I haven't found much on the Hy-Pro product or company.  The marks on the bottom of the bottle were helpful though.


Bottom of Hy-Pro Bottle.

The glass bottle manufacturing company that made this bottle is indicated by the MG mark, which indicates the Maywood Glass Company.

In 1936, Maywood operated two continuous tanks, making “flint amber and green proprietary ware, beverage and liquor bottles, packers’ ware, bottle specialties” by machine.

Here is the link for more about that company.


The stylized GBBA mark is also interesting.  It indicates the Glass Bottle Blowers Association.

Here is some information about that workers group.

In 1891, after four years of labor unrest, the two KOL glass blowers' divisions merged to become the United Green Glass Workers' Association of the United States and Canada. The glass blowers disaffiliated from the KOL in 1895 and formed a new, independent union, the Glass Bottle Blowers' Association (GBBA) of the United States and Canada.Denis A. Hayes was elected the new union's president in 1896, a position he held for the next three decades. 


Sunday, January 21, 2024

HORLICK'S Malted Milk Bottle. Racine Wisconsin and England.


b
Uncleaned Broken Horlick's Malted Milk Bottle Find.

Top to bottom front reads: 

HORLICK'S

TRADE

m.m.

MARK

MALTED MILK

RACINE - WIS - U.S.A.

SLOUGH, BUCKS. ENG.


Too bad the bottle is broken, but I found a lot of information concerning the product and the company.  Here is some of that.


Born in London in 1844, James Horlick and his brother, William (1846) eventually became the founders of Horlick’s Malted Milk. James became a licensed chemist (pharmacist) in 1869, the same year William migrated to Racine, Wisconsin. James worked for the Mellin Co., making infant food before joining William in Racine in 1870. Three years later (1873), the brothers formed the J&W Horlick Co., a Chicago corporation, to promote the dried baby food formula – called Horlick’s Food – developed by James (Bay Bottles n.d.; Grace’s Guide 2018; Horlick 1937; University of Wisconsin 2016). 

he brothers returned to Racine in 1875, where William added milk to the vacuum dried formula and patented the firm’s Malted Milk (Patent No. 278,967) – a sterile powder for use by babies and invalids – on June 5, 1883. On February 2 of that year, the brothers dissolved the original partnership and formed the Horlick’s Food Co. (Racine Journal Times 2/2/1883). The brothers received Trademark No. 14,856 for “Malted Milk” and for “M.M.” in a circular logo on October 5, 1887. The “M.M.” was produced in a strange font the looked almost like lower-case letters. Although we have not discovered a first use declaration, it was almost certainly in effect earlier, possibly as soon as 1883 (Figure 1). One of the most dramatic moves of the firm was to promote the product to soda fountains, where it became the “Malt” or “Malted Milk Shake” – a drink in great demand in the U.S. during the first half of the 20th century. James returned to England ca. 1890 to establish an office in London at 39 Snow Hill Rd... 

This bottle shows some nice big bubbles in the glass.

Here is the link for much more about the company and their bottles.



Blue Ribbon Graduated Pharmacy Bottle by Standard Glass Company, Marion, Indiana. Quality and Purity.

  Graduated Pharmacy Bottle with Blue Ribbon in Small Block Letter on the Bottom. This is a small (4 inches high) graduated pharmacy bottle ...