Is this Stoddard "F" mark

[Gone2Far]

Hello all!
Just joined and hope to learn.

I have a 7 1/2 inch tall saddle flask (flat sides).
It has an F on the bottom and I wondered if this was a Stoddard.
I have never seen any mention of saddle flask bottles being made in Stoddard.
Even if it is not - which is most likely - I would love to know the maker, timeframe etc..
It appears to be a single ring applied top (ever so slight second ring)

Thanks in advance!
Gone2Far - many a time.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

How to Research for Treasure Hunting and Metal Detecting From Lead Generation to Vetting - Grab it through Amazon!

[epackage]

It's possible based on the color but no way of knowing for sure. 1885-1900 with a tooled top like that imho....

 

[Bass]

Nice flask and welcome to this forum

 

[Harry Pristis]

Hello all!
Just joined and hope to learn.

I have a 7 1/2 inch tall saddle flask (flat sides).
It has an F on the bottom and I wondered if this was a Stoddard.
I have never seen any mention of saddle flask bottles being made in Stoddard.
Even if it is not - which is most likely - I would love to know the maker, timeframe etc..
It appears to be a single ring applied top (ever so slight second ring)

Thanks in advance!
Gone2Far - many a time.

This sort of bottle is usually called a "strap-sided flask" or more generically, a "pocket flask." The embossed "F" could be a mold code or it could stand for "Fairmount Glass Works" in Fairmount, Indiana (1889-1906). I agree with epackage, this is a late 19th Century bottle.

 

[Gone2Far]

Thank you for the welcome and the replies.
Tooled as opposed to applied and tooled, I see the distinction. No cut off/break line and the side seam does not go all the way to the lip. This site helped in understanding and identifying that: https://sha.org/bottle/finishes.htm
The "F" mark being Fairmount (possibly) and the dating would place this Bottle as being made in the Fairmount IN, not Indianapolis IN since Fairmount was opened in the dating range you provided. https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/FairmountGlass.pdf
Not definitive I know, but fantastic info. Thanks again.
Gone2far - many a time.

 

[Dug]

Just so happens I have a similar version waiting to go into my tumbler. Mine is a plain 6 inch tall strap side with an F on the base and I assume that to be a Fairmont. Mine appears to be later period due to the construction of the top and the base.

 

[NJKLAGT]

I think that Dug's is later, probably the 1900-1906 end of the estimating going on here, and that his 'F' is more likely to represent Fairmount.

Gone2Far's flask, with that nice post-bottom mould, looks much older, closer to the 1885 end, I would say. For some reason my instinct is that the F is a mould letter and not a maker's mark in this case. Not sure why.

Both nice flasks!

 

[Chitlin]

Hey, I have one of those.

I remember this one from back when I worked in the fisheries biz.... out in a boat in St. Helena Sound and had to pee. One of the gals on the boat was a bit of a prude so I had to find a shell bar to pull up on and hide. Found this beauty laying in the mud on the other side... always liked how the sides kind of crisscross at the top.

Cheers!

 

[Dug]

Hey, I have one of those.

I remember this one from back when I worked in the fisheries biz.... out in a boat in St. Helena Sound and had to pee. One of the gals on the boat was a bit of a prude so I had to find a shell bar to pull up on and hide. Found this beauty laying in the mud on the other side... always liked how the sides kind of crisscross at the top.

Cheers!

Always wondered how many old bottles got picked up off the bottom when they were out there dragging their nets around.

 

[NJKLAGT]

Chitlin's flask looks like it's right in the middle between the other two, in terms of age. I take back what I said about the 'F' now though, now I don't know what to think!

 

[Gone2Far]

Well, here's 2 more pics.
A better pic of the bottom and showing the same crisscross as Chitlin's.
The F mark does appear to be larger than the others.

Gone2Far - many a time.

 

[NJKLAGT]

Right Gone2Far, your crisscross (mould seam) continues across the bottom though. Yours has that separate circular base plate. Although post-bottom moulds like yours were used up until the turn of the century, they weren't nearly as common as the more simple moulds being used, and so it's not likely that your bottle is as young as the other two. I mean, there's a chance that it's a late post-bottom mould, but looking at all the other characteristics of your flask, I feel like it's just gotta be older. I'd feel tricked if it wasn't.

I was reading that Fairmount document though, and there is a lot of confusion. The markings are mysterious, they were making bottles by hand much later than other glasshouses, etc. I didn't come to any conclusions.

 

[RelicDude]

Nice flask. Stoddard didn't manufacture strap sided flasks. But there's a possibility it could still be a new Hampshire piece. I have one very similar but a bit earlier and others have attributed it to the lydenboro glass house. Here's a few pics of mine.