Pontiled small bottle marked with only an "M",Hand applied lip,help with date etc...

[MrMarsHill]

Pontiled small bottle marked with only an "M",Hand applied lip,help with date etc...

Hi everybody! I do believe this is my first post in this particular forum. I collect old glass, when I find it. I personally have a thing for the (1930s-1960s?) liquor bottles printed with "federal law forbids reuse... " so I find stuff I like quite a bit... I'm too easy to please I reckon, lol! The words FEDERAL and FORBIDS just make it seem like trouble, lol. I have no books on bottles etc. Just find some cool stuff now and again and have fallen in love with old glass along with everything else lol. I'm looking to learn more, but I have very little knowledge on the subject now. A very basic knowledge from researching my finds etc. I found this bottle though at one of my old dumps I pick through now and again. I usually find items in this area from the late 1700s up to modern junk, but I'd say the bulk of the surface trash is 1930's-50s. I find some cool, though not valuable so far, junk/treasures. Depends on how you look at it. I headed to the specific spot where I have found my oldest stuff on or near the surface here and proceeded to cleas r the surface and dig just a bit under the soil. About 6" down, along with lots of broken glass, I found this. I started checking it all over and didnt see any Mark's at first, but I knew it was old because of the pontil scar and the lip, plus it is just a cool little bottle! Older and cooler than most my bottle finds atleast. It's got a good aqua color, very crude finish(in a good way!) And most surprisingly NO DAMAGE! It is stained with an iridescent milky look inside(I'm used to it, but it usually cleans out?), but I imagine further cleaning may clear it up more? I like it now anyway if its stuck like this. When I got it home I rinsed it and this big "M" showed right away at the bottom center. I got a bit more excited, atleast it has SOME embossing/marking etc. As far as the details you can see in the pics the way the lip was applied, the pontil scar, the "M" mark, the whittling/crude finish of the glass etc. I measured it now, and it is 5" tall, 1.25" deep and about 2.25" wide. All are approximate and this is a handblown, I guess in mold?, very crude bottle with imperfections in the shape and surface of the glass. Is this considered an eight sided bottle? Why does the glass feel very strange(weird "hollow" lightweight almost papery feeling to the glass itself)? Does anybody have a good date range for me on this one? I'm looking for a civil war winter camp right in this area and I believe this bottle may be even a little older than that? I have researched quite a bit, just looking for expert opinions at this point. Does anybody have any info on this "M" mark on a handblown bottle like this? I saw the mark listed for a company that made nothing this old, and saw mention of handblown bottles with this mark, but the site didnt give a definite answer on maker. Any guess on what it may have held? With its size I'd say med or something similar, but I guess the possibilities are endless lol. Maybe the shape or mark on the bottle tells one of you guys something?Basically any info anybody has or would like to share is welcome! I also wonder, was the lip applied in this manner to aid in pouring? It's almost as if a tiny "spout" was formed on the lip, but I know hand applied lips are just crude also. Is this something I could call "Civil war era" and throw in that specific collection, or just an old bottle? Is this a good sign I may be onto a dump site from the camp or atleast finding their trash? I know I need to get back and do some more digging, trust me I will ASAP! Time was limited when I dug this, I'm lucky I even got to get out at all! In the meantime, any info is much appreciated! Thanks for the support and stay safe everybody!

 

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[sandchip]

I'd be tickled to find it. The top is not applied, but sheared and inwardly rolled. More than likely a medicine bottle dating 1840-1850. Don't know what the M is for, but it's fascinating how much it resembles the first M in Montgomery on this rare bottle. Nice find!

 

[islamoradamark]

Wow thats a great find and thanks for the pictures

 

[MrMarsHill]

Thanks for the info! As stated, I'm new to all this as far as the terms and ID go Haha! The lip was very crude so I just imagined it was hand applied. Great info and it does match that "M" very well! The look and shape of the bottle are strikingly similar too, though I guess the shape is probably pretty common. Other than the color and the rest of the writing, it's a very similar bottle! I'm super stoked on the 1840-1850 approx date for this... definitely in the date range we are all hunting for lol! I'll be sure to post some of the fragments I've found in this spot as well. I believe I have other pontiled bottle bottoms and very crude pieces of bottles etc. While not whole, they may help you guys help me date the general age of the area I am working. In my experience, in my local area anyway, it seems people dumped in the same spots FOREVER. It appears most unregulated dumps ended about the 1970s or so because that is the latest date items I find in atleast 3 different dumps I've found, besides the random modern trash tossed in etc. But the earliest trash goes back to pottery fragments and other items that are 1800s or earlier easy. Just gotta get below the modern stuff. Atleast most my dumps arent buried over... just kinda thrown down hills lol. Instead of digging a 15' deep hole, I climb a steep, bottle covered hill, and dig through the glass lol. Now I know when I'm in the right spot, because I have a WHOLE bottle that predates the civil war. Anything whole is welcome in my book lol. I'll scrutinize that specific area as well as I can with all the stuff going on currently. I live in a tiny mountain town, but we are on sort of a "lockdown" too, if you can call it that Haha! Stay safe everybody! Keep the replies coming, I know somebody else has seen a bottle like this!? If not, is this a rare bottle? Lol, obviously it's pretty generic but I cant believe I cant come up with a specific manufacturer. The support is always much appreciated! Ya'll rock!

 

[epackage]

Great bottle, it's in Matt Knapp's Medicine nexus but no info is known about it....

 

[smokeythecat]

It is a great bottle. I also would say 1840's to 1850's.

 

[redbeardrelics]

I recognize that bottle, we dug one of those from a privy in Baltimore in the mid 1990's. Some of the older timers there had seen a few before, or shards, but no one at the time seemed to know anything in detail about them. Hope you get into a nice thick layer of that age material in your dump.

 

[MrMarsHill]

Thanks everybody! I concur with the1840s-50s date as well after your info on the lip etc and more research. I should probably pick up a copy of that book... but I'm still saving for the civil war bullet ID books, so it's a way off lol. I hope I have found the secret of this dump as well! I knew where I pulled the oldest stuff from the surface, but nothing as old as this. Well, nothing whole anyway lol. My county just went onto a "shelter in place" order, no arguement here! Lock our little mountain town down and do all we can I say! Either way, we are allowed to go out for exercise etc(just no gathering and social distancing etc), and my dump is just off a local hiking trail. When I jump off the trail and scale the hill full of thorns and broken glass, I'm atleast 30' away from where any (sane) person walks. It's a fun site to dig, and lots of whole bottles, just not old enough. I'll never whine again after this one though. But I hope it has some COMPLETE family members out there just under the surface, just out of sight like this sweet baby! This is honestly nicer than most much newer bottles I dig. It has the milky, irridescent rainbow like staining I cant get rid of, but the bottle is beautiful and not even the slightest knick or chip that I can see... great condition! I'll post more finds soon and any further Info or opinions are much appreciated! I can see by what is said here, it's a known bottle but not identified. That's probably all the info available unless someone uncovers something new. Just for kicks, what would a bottle like this be worth? I cant imagine more than $10 or so, but I've also sold 1950s and 1960s bottles for $10 +/-. I really have no clue. It's not something I plan to sell obviously, just curious. The thrill of the hunt and the find were priceless to me and the bottle is the trophy lol. Again, thanks for all the info, opinions and general support! I hope everybody is well and I hope you are doing all you can to be safe! Happy, safe hunting to all!