Who Collects Black Glass?

[Harry Pristis]

There is a great deal of black glass available to the digger/collector. Show us your favorite piece(s). Here are some of mine:

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[Bottlemanstx]

Here is a recent find I made in the USVI about two weeks ago. Dating this bottle around 1740 - 1780. This has to be one of my favorite finds to date.

 

[Likely Guy]

Here is a recent find I made in the USVI about two weeks ago. Dating this bottle around 1740 - 1780. This has to be one of my favorite finds to date.

Bottleman, that piece is in the later 'gin bottle style'. Would yours have contained gin or was it just a common bottle style of the time? (They would nave been handy to store in crates for shipping as there was less 'dead space').

Very nice bottle by the way. I still get excited when we find one 100 years old and intact. (Too many rocks around here.)

 

[Harry Pristis]

The case bottle is a nice find! There are divers and diggers that will never in their careers recover a case bottle!

I agree with 'likely guy' that this case bottle is later than 1740-80. A 1740s bottle would still be straight-sided, rather than tapered, and the shoulders would be squared. I would estimate 1800-1830 for this one, depending on whether it has a pontil scar. But, it's difficult to pin down a close date on these generic bottles.

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[Bottlemanstx]

Thanks for taking a look and clarifying a few things. I am still a rookie when it comes to dating bottles but appreciate the heads up. After I found it, I brought it to a good friend who collects mainly ribbon sealed bottles and he placed a quick date on it for me. As far as the contents are concerned I would have to believe that it contained Gin but you never Know. I will go through some of my reference books and see what I can find.

Harry Pristis those are are some beauties you have there and by chance do you have any ribbon seal bottles? Just curious as my buddy is always looking for rare ribbon seals.

Thanks again

 

[Harry Pristis]

According to Van den Bossche, the tapered case bottle was born in the 1770s when the world-wide increase in the consumption of gin created an enormous demand for bottles (See Plate 84 on pp. 132). By 1830, these bottles were being made without being empontiled.

If they weren't so fragile, there'd be a lot more of them around today. By the 1870s, case bottles generally were more robust -- thicker side panels -- so there are quite a few of them available.

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[Harry Pristis]

Come on, guys! There must be more black glass images to share.

How 'bout you, 'likely guy'?

Here's a shelf of nice, but not rare, case bottles.

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[Likely Guy]

Sorry Harry. All the black glass found around here is in pieces. Like I said, too many rocks. That's one of the reasons I joined this forum, so I can see what my 'bottles' are supposed to look like.

 

[Harry Pristis]

I see, you're in the mountains, on the Quesnel River. Where do you find black glass (even broken bottles) there . . . old mining camps? What do people do, these days, in Likely? Is it mining and tourism?

The other side of the Commonwealth coin is Guyana, formerly British Guiana, where there are no rocks for miles and miles into the interior jungle. Guyana is the source of many black glass bottles which were preserved in the mud. (Plus, there were no stones for kids to throw.) Here are some utility bottles I brought back from Guyana:

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[Harry Pristis]

Black glass was used for many sorts of bottles, not just spirits bottles. Here's an example of a master ink bottle in black glass with a cobalt blue example for comparison. Both are American-made.

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[Likely Guy]

I see, you're in the mountains, on the Quesnel River. Where do you find black glass (even broken bottles) there . . . old mining camps? What do people do, these days, in Likely? Is it mining and tourism?

The other side of the Commonwealth coin is Guyana, formerly British Guiana, where there are no rocks for miles and miles into the interior jungle. Guyana is the source of many black glass bottles which were preserved in the mud. (Plus, there were no stones for kids to throw.) Here are some utility bottles I brought back from Guyana:

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Sorry again Harry. I missed your post from a few days ago (busy at work). The oldest site around here is a few miles downriver at Quesnel Forks (established 1859) but there were many smaller gold camps around during the Cariboo gold rush. To name a few; Keithley Creek, Harvey Creek, Cedar City, Antler Creek etc.

Most of the broken black glass that we've found so far is of the case gin variety, 'Blankenhym & Nolet' (if I spelled that right) being the most popular. If they didn't get broken when they hit the ground, or broken through compaction they suffered an all too similar fate. A friend of mine who was born and raised here (now in his 60's) remembers going down to the Forks with his friends, gathering all the bottles, Chinese jugs and dishes they could find and using them for target practice. He still kicks himself about that. But he said that they were so numerous 'they couldn't have had any value'.

What do we do these days? Yep, mining and tourism. Logging used to be a mainstay but with the mountain pine beetle and the lack of housing starts these days it's gone by the wayside.

I've got my 'notify me of replies' on now so I should be a little more prompt in replying!

 

[Harry Pristis]

Most of the broken black glass that we've found so far is of the case gin variety, 'Blankenhym & Nolet' (if I spelled that right) being the most popular. If they didn't get broken when they hit the ground, or broken through compaction they suffered an all too similar fate. A friend of mine who was born and raised here (now in his 60's) remembers going down to the Forks with his friends, gathering all the bottles, Chinese jugs and dishes they could find and using them for target practice. He still kicks himself about that. But he said that they were so numerous 'they couldn't have had any value'.

That's an interesting bit of history. Here on the East Coast, we don't know much about Canadian gold rush history. I had to do an Internet search to find out more.

That's a good story, if a bit wrenching, about target practice on those worthless old things at the Forks. I know that wrenching feeling, having dived on colonial sites on the East Coast. Oh! The glass!!

Is there a good deal of interest in collecting bottles in your area? Other collectors nearby? A club? Bottle shows? There are several good shows per year here in Florida. It's a great way to educate yourself -- there are always things to be learned. These day, the Internet is a great learning tool. I'm always eager to share collecting experiences.

 

[Likely Guy]

There is interest between a few locals in bottle digging, around some of the old (prospectors) cabin sites though most of the intact bottles we do find aren't that old (20's & 30's). The problem we have around here is that the bush swallows them up (the cabins) after only a few decades. Once the snow goes (we still have a few feet of it) a group of us intend to find a place called 'Pedro's Camp' on the north side of the Cariboo River that I found on a map from 1886.

About the only place where there are bottle clubs and shows are the more populated cities to the south and like you most of the education that these days is via the internet. I will post if we do find anything.

Cheers from the Great White North.

 

[Harry Pristis]

Good hunting to you, 'Likely Guy'! May all your bottle finds be intact!

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[Road Dog]

Here's one of mine.

 

[Harry Pristis]

Here's one of mine.

Nice! Good image, too!

These long neck wine bottles are dated to circa 1760s, and I admire the form.

Your long-neck wine is the first I've seen with a molette mark. The molette was a rod, sometimes with a toothed head, that was used to make the kick-up before the pontil rod was attached. The molette was in common use, but unless it had a toothed head, it didn't make an obvious impression.

I just checked, and none of my long-neck wines have the toothed molette mark. Before now, I've seen these marks only on onion bottles. Here is an image of the base of an onion bottle on which a toothed molette was used. I think you can make out the ring of toothmarks around the pontil scar.

Thanks for sharing. Show us some more of your black glass bottles.

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[Road Dog]

Thanks for the great info. I collect mostly pontil Meds and Sodas. Have a few Black Glass Items. Here is a Onion I have.

 

[Harry Pristis]

Thanks for the great info. I collect mostly pontil Meds and Sodas. Have a few Black Glass Items. Here is a Onion I have.

Nice bottles, 'Road Dog'! I like your onion -- Dutch or German, don't you think? Does it have the molette mark?

I have a few bottles of most categories, but I think I have more black glass than anything else. Here are my window bottles:

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[Road Dog]

Purty Window Shot! Love the Gins!. The Onion if I had to guess ...Dutch. It has no molette mark.

 

[Harry Pristis]

Purty Window Shot! Love the Gins!. The Onion if I had to guess ...Dutch. It has no molette mark.

Thank you, 'Road Dog' -- the gins are pretty good, late 1700s, I think. My favorite bottle in the window, though, is not a case bottle. It is the sherry wine bottle.

This sherry bottle has an applied seal that says XERES. The word is the name of the wine and the name of the town that for centuries has produced this wine. "Sherry" is the English corruption of "Xeres" and "Jerez." Xeres was the name given to the city after it was re-taken from the Moors by the Crusaders. Jerez de la Frontera is in the province of Andalusia, Spain. The bottle was recovered in France.

The bottle itself is heavy and crude -- a good scatter of small air bubbles. The color is a pale olive-green. It has slight roughness from application of a pontil rod. There are no seams or mold-marks! The bottle appears to have been free-blown and marvered! The neck is thick and full of stretch-marks. It is a very well-made bottle, that has tons of character when you see it up close.

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