Why was this old bottle wrapped in leather?

[Vermont treasure hunter]

I was doing some antiquing with a friend of mine around Vermont and I got this item. It seemed cool to me when I saw it and it wasn?t very expensive so I got it. It is a glass bottle that has been encased in leather. It also has a metal Cain around the neck which connects to a cork, which also has some leather on it. From what I can see on the top of the bottle, the seam lines go all the way through, which means (I think) that it was made by an Automatic Bottle Machine, which mean it can?t have been made before 1903. Last but not least, it has two different symbols that are in the leather. One of them looks a bit like a bottle and the other one is a circle with an I through it. That are symbols on all four sides, each side alternating what symbol is used (sorry if this sentence is a little confusing!). Any help with this is greatly appreciated!

 

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[Vermont treasure hunter]

By the way, I will not be able to respond for a couple weeks, starting Wednesday. I am going to Maine and will not have a device with me. Just so you know.

 

[NJKLAGT]

You're right, it's machine-made, probably a later bottle, my hunch is that it's a decorative piece made to look older than it really is.

As far as "why" bottles were wrapped in leather, wicker, etc., the answer is protection. Protection from breakage of course, and also to protect the contents from sunlight and spoilage (green, amber, and cobalt coloured glass is still used for this purpose, the light doesn't penetrate as much as it would through clear glass).

But I think yours was wrapped to make an uninteresting (to each their own) bottle a little more interesting, and it worked, since the interest here is in the wrapping and not the bottle itself.

Cool piece, nonetheless!


NJ

 

[Vermont treasure hunter]

You're right, it's machine-made, probably a later bottle, my hunch is that it's a decorative piece made to look older than it really is.

As far as "why" bottles were wrapped in leather, wicker, etc., the answer is protection. Protection from breakage of course, and also to protect the contents from sunlight and spoilage (green, amber, and cobalt coloured glass is still used for this purpose, the light doesn't penetrate as much as it would through clear glass).

But I think yours was wrapped to make an uninteresting (to each their own) bottle a little more interesting, and it worked, since the interest here is in the wrapping and not the bottle itself.

Cool piece, nonetheless!


NJ

Thanks!

 

[NJKLAGT]

It reminds me of some of those European machine-made bottles, in style anyway, but I couldn't say where it was made, I do wonder how old it is!

 

[islamoradamark]

maybe in them days that was some form of a coolie cup