One fun dig!

[jgas]

Dug an 1870-1880 privy the other day and grabbed up some pretty cool glass. So far we have dug 5 pits in this small yard and still have atleast 3 more to go. This turned out to be the funnest one so far. The pits were dated from post prohibition 1933-35 to a very old CH Phillips 1873 bottle. I think the Rumsford Chemical and the Warners Cure bottle are the best. The Paines Celery Compounds were not too shabby either. All in all it was a great day in the pit. Enjoy the pics. jgas

PS. Who makes the yellow amber cone inks? No name on bottom...Just wondering. Thanks jgas

 

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[bcboy]

Those are some very nice bottles, way to go. Hope you find alot more in the other 3 holes. Good luck.

 

[duffytrash]

looks like somebody dropped their chamberpot...was it broke??

 

[fistfulladirt]

Very nice! I'm surprised that the Warner's survived, they just seem so fragile in their design. I have one, also have the Paine's too. ffd

 

[Unicorn]

Dontcha just love finding old bottles, I know I do.....Great finds

 

[jgas]

Yep, the ole chamber pot has a crack in it by the handle. It would have a been a great find. Maybe tomorrow we will get back out....Thanks for the replies. jgas

 

[BuckleBoy]

Wonderful finds, and some GREAT photos too!

That amber cone ink is lovely.

 

[gleaner1]

Unusual lip treatment on that killer honey cone ink. Keep at it jgas, your posts never cease to amaze.......

 

[jgas]

Thanks guys, yea that cone ink was killer. I am finding a lot of different colored glass in these pits. I went back today with my buddy and he dug a couple test holes and found 2 more privies with some 1880 circa glass at 3 feet. The probes suggest a decent use layer on one. I can't wait to get back when I get more time. Soon tho.....Real soon...Take care. jgas

 

[halfdime]

I'm envious!

 

[sodetraveler]

Dug an 1870-1880 privy the other day and grabbed up some pretty cool glass.

jgas, those bottles look more like late 1890's to me. I dug up the same exact Paine's Celery Compound and Rumsford Chemical bottles in a Hawaii dump that is solidly dated between 1895 and 1898. We can nail the dates pretty accurately because we have precise dates for the Hawaiian BIMALs that come out. The authors of the "bible" of Hawaiian BIMALs actually looked up the original purchase orders for the bottles and published the dates for each variety

Here is a picture of the keepers that came out of the hole. You can see the Paine's on the left in front of the two tall wine bottles and the Rumsford on the far right. The second picture shows the Hawaiian BIMALs (still dirty). The inside screw is dated as 1898, the others are all dated as "late 1890's" in Hawaii Bottles of Long Ago

 

[jgas]

Yea Sodetraveler, I think it was more like an 1890 pit now that you mention it. I did find some casket flasks and some other glass that was a bit older(1873 Phillips bottle) but I would say that it was an 1890 pit. Still searching for the civil war era pit...I can only hope. Nice pics BTW, those bottles are nice. Thanks for the replies guys. jgas

 

[fistfulladirt]

Jgas I'm just curious, when probing, is glass damaged, or is that just part of the process?

ffd

 

[sodetraveler]

jgas, although I'm quite familiar with the typical botles that show up in dumps dating from the 1890's to present, I've never dug anything older than that in Hawaii

I did jump into a trench here in California near the old Santa Clara Mission (est. 1777) where I was lucky enough to dig up two pontil bottles using a kitchen knife

I understand that there are several diffent types of pontil marks that can be used for dating bottles

My question for you is: What's the most recent date that you would expect to see pontils?

I'll see if I can find which box I have the pontil bottle in so I can post a picture. The one I have left (the other one was "lost") is square, aqua and quite sick - gin perhaps? Anyway, I'll go look for it now and post the picture tomorrow if I can find it

 

[jgas]

Fist and Sode, the probes are only 5/8th inch thick rods so you really won't damage the bottles. It's all in the feel that you get. I would not smash through any bottles. I would just usually hit a bottle while pushing the rod in the ground and if I hit glass, then just pull back and reprobe close by. You would be amazed at how many times I have probed and found a pit thinking that it was empty but when I dig it it was loaded with glass. My probe is 6 feet long and most times, atleast around here, I can touch the "use layer" at around 5 to 6 feet. But some are even deeper. I dug one this summer at over 10 feet and grabbed a great 1899 decantor with a maple leaf motif, stopper and all in perfect condition. As far as the pontils and dates go. The latest you will get a pontiled bottle is around 1860. Then the process changed for the blown glass, ABM's and such. You can have open pontils, iron pontils etc. They are hard to come by around here. My city was founded in 1865. So we are happy to find blob beers, Hutches, and hinge molds. They all date to around 1880-1890 with the hinges around 1870. Hope that answers a bot of the mystery of bottles. jgas

 

[sodetraveler]

As far as the pontils and dates go. The latest you will get a pontiled bottle is around 1860.

Perfect! That's just what I needed to know

Mahalo!
Sode

(PS. That's Thanks in Hawaiian)

 

[BttleDiggerDrew]

Dug an 1870-1880 privy the other day and grabbed up some pretty cool glass. So far we have dug 5 pits in this small yard and still have atleast 3 more to go. This turned out to be the funnest one so far. The pits were dated from post prohibition 1933-35 to a very old CH Phillips 1873 bottle. I think the Rumsford Chemical and the Warners Cure bottle are the best. The Paines Celery Compounds were not too shabby either. All in all it was a great day in the pit. Enjoy the pics. jgas

PS. Who makes the yellow amber cone inks? No name on bottom...Just wondering. Thanks jgas

Top notch Jgas!