Ginger medicine!

pganjon

Hero Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2008
Messages
572
Reaction score
425
Golden Thread
0
Location
South Central Pa.
Detector(s) used
Garrett Master Hunter 5, Ace 250

Attachments

  • IMG_2519.webp
    IMG_2519.webp
    17.3 KB · Views: 247
Jamaican Ginger Extract (known in the United States by the slang name Jake) was an early 20th century patent medicine that provided a convenient way to bypass Prohibition laws, since it contained between 70-80% ethanol by weight.

In the '30s some 30,000 to 50,000 users of Jake became paralyzed, some permanently, due to manfacturers adulterating the liquid to fool the revenuers.

Source: Wikipedia
 

Thank you for your replies! This particular bottle has seams that stop at the beginning of the neck. I think it should be around an 1890's bottle. My kovels book is a 2006 and list it at $32.00, but reality set it when I found one sold on E-bay for $4.99. I guess the market fell a little since then :crybaby2: It has an indention at the bottom and the book describes it as an open pontil. Still was exciting to find in all that broken glass :icon_thumright:
 

pganjon said:
Thank you for your replies! This particular bottle has seams that stop at the beginning of the neck. I think it should be around an 1890's bottle. My kovels book is a 2006 and list it at $32.00, but reality set it when I found one sold on E-bay for $4.99. I guess the market fell a little since then :crybaby2: It has an indention at the bottom and the book describes it as an open pontil. Still was exciting to find in all that broken glass :icon_thumright:


The open pontil variety of your bottle would be worth every bit of $30, but I do not think that is what you have. A pontil mark is created when the glass blower snaps his pontil rod off of the bottom of the bottle after forming the neck and lip. Ordinarily this mark would be a small near circular pit in the glass itself, probably jagged and sharp if you ran your finger across it. Post a pic of the base to make sure.

http://www.sha.org/bottle/glassmaking.htm#Blowpipe or Open Pontil

Still a great bottle!

Mr R
 

Here are three pictures of the Ginger bottle Mr R :help: The indention at the bottom is very smooth and doesn't feel like it was snapped off a pontel rod! I also took a couple pictures of the neck. Do you think this is an 1890's or earlier bottle? The link that you sent about bottle identification was excellent :headbang: Have a Good one :coffee2: Paul
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2529.webp
    IMG_2529.webp
    14.4 KB · Views: 181
  • IMG_2530.webp
    IMG_2530.webp
    9.6 KB · Views: 191
  • IMG_2531.webp
    IMG_2531.webp
    10.2 KB · Views: 185
Hi Paul,

That particular indentation is not a pontil mark, just a feature of the mold that the bottle was blown into.

Looking at you neck pics, The seam does stop on the neck, and I think the 1890s ia a very reasonable age estimate for what you have.

Glad the link helped,

Mr R
 

A beautiful bottle regardless of value. I would be thrilled to find one like that. Great find!
 

Thanks Mr R and everyone :icon_thumright: Great article too Don!
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Latest Discussions

Back
Top Bottom