✅ SOLVED Unknown glass item fragment

[robertk]

I found this fragment last night while excavating what I think is a privy hole from a late 1800's home site. It looks like maybe the bottom of a jar or vase. It has a scalloped edge all around (so presumably scalloped sides on the complete item) but flat on one side. The writing on the bottom says "MEYERS & NEUBAUER N.Y." I have searched the internet for several variations of that phrase and found zero hits, so I have no idea what that might have been. It is about 2" diameter. Does anyone know what this might have been or who made it?

 

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[Blackfoot58]

I found this fragment last night while excavating what I think is a privy hole from a late 1800's home site. It looks like maybe the bottom of a jar or vase. It has a scalloped edge all around (so presumably scalloped sides on the complete item) but flat on one side. The writing on the bottom says "MEYERS & NEUBAUER N.Y." I have searched the internet for several variations of that phrase and found zero hits, so I have no idea what that might have been. It is about 2" diameter. Does anyone know what this might have been or who made it?View attachment 2094953

Looks like a broken ashtray with advertising. Most likely a furniture store or morticians IMO. A bottom view would be helpful.

 

[Blackfoot58]

It appears there was a famous chess championship in 1899 that was played between H. Meyers and R. Neubauer. Possibly a commemorative piece.

 

[robertk]

Hmmm. Seems pretty small to be an ashtray. Diameter is 1.75” external, probably about 1.5” internal. I think the photo is the bottom, though I guess it might also have been intended to sit on the flattened side. But there really isn’t more to show — that fragment is all there is. The other side is just a jagged edge about 1/8” tall, enough to suggest it had sides, like a modern day “bud vase”. But I can’t say for sure, and it’s odd to have one side flat like that.

The chess championship angle is interesting. I may see if I can dig something up on that.

 

[Blackfoot58]

I see now. I overlooked the 2” comment accidentally.

 

[Red-Coat]

It appears to me to be ‘Meyer & Neubauer’ with uneven spacing. What looks like a letter ‘S’ after ‘Meyer’ is the ampersand between the two names.

There was a company of that name in New York. I couldn’t find anything about them, except that Charles M. Neubauer, as assignor to Meyer & Neubauer, was granted a patent for “an mprovement in fastening devices for bird-cages” in 1878.



Your glass piece doesn’t relate to that patent, but perhaps a bit more Googling will turn up what else the company may have produced or what kind of business it was.

If they made bird-cages, might this be the bottom cup from some kind of watering or feeding device for use in such cages?

 

[robertk]

Bingo, @Red-Coat ! It is apparently the bottom of a small bird feeder, made by Meyer & Neubauer of New York, in the 1870's. There are photos of an intact one (someone else found) here.

This is surprising to me, as I would not have expected a rural homestead to have kept a bird as a pet in the 1800s. But now I know a little more about the early settlers. And it's funny -- my wife and I also seem to have an affinity for birds, as we have several feeders out for the wild ones, and one pet bird inside.

 

[ToddsPoint]

Is that the first unbroken piece from your honey hole? More to come…keep digging! A friend of mine was an outhouse digger and he used a potato fork. You might try it if you have one.

 

[robertk]

Is that the first unbroken piece from your honey hole?

Oh I wish. I haven’t found any completely intact glass objects yet. I found one bottle that is intact but for a tiny chip on the rim, and another that I was able to piece back together to about 90%, but no completely intact ones yet. But I’m only about two feet down, just getting past all the rock fill right now.

The potato fork looks like a good idea. I don’t have one but I do have actual potatoes to dig so maybe I should get one. I’m awful nervous about breaking things with a digging tool though.

 

[Blackfoot58]

Oh I wish. I haven’t found any completely intact glass objects yet. I found one bottle that is intact but for a tiny chip on the rim, and another that I was able to piece back together to about 90%, but no completely intact ones yet. But I’m only about two feet down, just getting past all the rock fill right now.

The potato fork looks like a good idea. I don’t have one but I do have actual potatoes to dig so maybe I should get one. I’m awful nervous about breaking things with a digging tool though.

You can always do like archaeologists. Find an outer edge of the site and slowly work inward and deeper. It takes a while to clear much ground with a 2” brush and scraper, but you get much less damage.