Stoneware Bottle

[deershed]

While checking out a new area for some bottle digging I found this bottle laying on the surface.

I'm still new at trying to figure these glass bottles out never mind stoneware.Can anyone help me identify this bottle or tell me what time period it might be from?








This was on the edge of the bottom of the bottle.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A Handbook of Civil War Bullets and Cartridges - Grab it through Amazon!

[epackage]

That form is typical of the 1890-1920 period...

 

[deershed]

That's Awesome!!Thanks!!

We were thinking early 1900's like the last old foundation we were digging.It's so nice to have some very knowledgable people on here to confirm what your thinking.
We were afraid it would turn out to be some more modern bottle that was dropped in that area.

Thanks again!!

 

[surf]

Hey deershed,

Jim's got it right. There's a great many of these out there. They're still great to find.

"Thomas Rathbone & Company got into financial difficulties in the first half of the 19th century and the pottery closed in 1850. The premises, on the east of Pipe Street and the harbour, were taken over by Dr W A Gray in 1856 who with his sons began a very successful enterprise manufacturing white and brown stoneware. Unfortunately, it did not survive the Depression of the 1930s." http://www.portobelloheritagetrust.co.uk/gallery.pdf

"Their near neighbours, W. A. Gray & Sons of the Midlothian Pottery, produced almost identical utilitarian stoneware, if not quite so extensive in its range. They were famed for their patented white marmalade jars." Pottery Manufacture

Portobello pottery kilns, Pipe Street:: ​

 

[Oradden]

I've got one just like that, it contained Ginger Beer I'm pretty sure. Google image search some antique ginger beer bottles. Nice find though!

 

[surf]

Hey Oradden,

Perhaps, yes, but good old fashioned beer or ale is equally a possibility, I believe.

Christian Moerlein liked the style:

Collection 48 Pottery USA UK Beer Bottles Stoneware | eBay

 

[Harry Pristis]

I've got one just like that, it contained Ginger Beer I'm pretty sure. Google image search some antique ginger beer bottles. Nice find though!

A stoneware ginger beer will be marked as such with an under-glaze stencil. Unmarked stoneware bottles like this one are ale bottles.

I think some confusion about this has arisen because ale bottles were often re-cycled to contain home-made ginger beer. This misnomer has become part of collector jargon, particularly in the Northeast, even making its way into one collector guide that I know of. Archeological evidence is to the contrary.

 

[NOLA.river.rat]

Looks like I found a similar version of your bottle. Anyone know what the number 9 represented? Was it maybe the kiln #?

 

[glass half fool]

Never found anything that was stoneware that was intact Very nice find

 

[NOLA.river.rat]

Never found anything that was stoneware that was intact Very nice find

Thanks! I was really lucky this one survived the construction site hazards.

 

[Harry Pristis]

I think the number "9" may represent the mold number. These bottles were cast in a mold, I believe. The maker's cartouche was impressed while the clay was soft but coherent. They were dried thoroughly, then glazed, then fired. British potteries produced a gazillion of these bottles for export, along with a fabulous variety of stoneware for domestic use. North Americans opted for glassware instead of stoneware for utilitarian purposes, so American stoneware is not as abundant as British.

I have only a few stoneware bottles in my collection. Here are images of some of those bottles; only one is British, the one with sharp shoulders:

 

[NOLA.river.rat]

Interesting thanks for the info Harry! I never would have thought it was made with a mold since it doesn't have any seams. My buddy has the same one with the sharp shoulders. It appears to be stamped at the base with a square or an M.

 

[NJKLAGT]

I think the number "9" may represent the mold number. These bottles were cast in a mold, I believe. The maker's cartouche was impressed while the clay was soft but coherent. They were dried thoroughly, then glazed, then fired. British potteries produced a gazillion of these bottles for export, along with a fabulous variety of stoneware for domestic use. North Americans opted for glassware instead of stoneware for utilitarian purposes, so American stoneware is not as abundant as British.

I have only a few stoneware bottles in my collection. Here are images of some of those bottles; only one is British, the one with sharp shoulders:


View attachment 1694996 View attachment 1694997

Nice collection, Harry! I like the middle one. Hey, we could use your help with a black glass flask a few threads down, the thread is titled "Date and ID Help Please!". We're curious about date and origin.

 

[Harry Pristis]

Interesting thanks for the info Harry! I never would have thought it was made with a mold since it doesn't have any seams. My buddy has the same one with the sharp shoulders. It appears to be stamped at the base with a square or an M. View attachment 1695041

Cool! The hand-thrown bottles in my image are the E C Seldorff and the black bottle. The seams on a molded stoneware bottle are easily removed with a simple tool while the clay is still soft, then the bottle is glazed after thorough drying. The glaze disguises scuffing.

I brought my larger-than-average sharp-shouldered bottle back from Guyana, a former British colony. These stoneware bottles are locally called "flambeaux" because they were re-used as oil lamp reservoirs -- a little lamp oil and a wick in a stable and heat resistant bottle.

 

[A2coins]

Wow thats a great find hope theres more