Hey Matt,
That Bonney Barrel is a thing of beauty. Thanks for the excellent photos. Is it pontiled? I wanna see the base and any other parts that you'd care to highlight, please.
William "Ink" Bonney had some great bottles made, and this is one of them!
"Three W.E. Bonney ink bottles. This ink maker was located in So. Hanover, MA. The master ink bottle in the center (C-660) has a pouring lip. The label says (in part) "Bonney's National Writing Ink, Snow, Boyden, & Knight, Sole Agents, One Cornhill, Boston" The small bottle on the right (C-238) has a label which reads: "BONNEY'S FRENCH WRITING INK" The bottle on the left, a small master measuring 4 1/4 H x 2 3/4 D. It is embossed: W.E.BONNEY. It is an unusual size. Bonney bottles, with the exception of the small barrels (except those which are pontilled), are considered scarce or rare. It should be noted that the small barrells come in two forms. One has an oval panel, the other a round panel, for labels. The barrel which has a pontil may come with an oval panel only. The Bonney cone ink is embossed: W.E.BONNEY, SO. HANOVER, MASS. There are some Bonney ink bottles in cobalt blue. These are rare and seldom seen. Here is a Bonney master ink bottle with a nice label. Crates which were used for shipping bottles are not plentiful. Here is a box which is in fine condition.
This illustration (C-703) is from an 1868 catalogue of Snow, Boyden & Knight Co.
The ink bottle is an unmarked W E. Bonney ink. Enough remnants of this bottle were dug at the Bonney factory site by Noel Tomas and Christopher Lawson (occupant of the site) to attribute this to the Bonney factory. This bottle, as well as the small, aqua barrel bottle, have been found with pontil marks. This indicates that they were some of the first bottles used by Bonney. His business began in 1865 and ended in 1910.
The W.E. Bonney home on Broadway, So. Hanover, MA. where he lived during the time he manufactured ink. Photo © 2001-2008.
The Bonney Ink factory which operated from 1865 to 1905. This was located next to his residence. After various uses during most of the 1900's it is now a private residence. Photo © 2001-2008.
The grave of William E. Bonney located in the Hanover, MA. cemetery. He was born Aug. 29, 1829 and died Nov. 7, 1917. His wife, Emeline, died July 9, 1887 age 52 yrs., 8 ms., 9 ds. Photo © 2001-2008.
A local Hanover, MA. historian, Barbara Barker, has written: "Another business in South Hanover was the Bonney Ink Factory located on the north side of Broadway just east of Goodriches. William Bonney, known as "Ink Bonney", did a good deal of experimenting before he had a product he dared to offer in competition with other established companies, but eventually he had them coming to him. He had a two story shop where he had mixing vats, dyes, and pots, and other paraphernalia he used in the manufacture of his special ink for about 40 years from just after the Civil war into the early 1900's. An accident nearly blinded him, and his daughter, Cora tried hard to carry on, but she finally sold out the dyes and formulas to the Carter Ink Co.." From the wonderful resource that is:
Emmett and Marjorie Baker's Web Page
