What was this used for? Old Odd Bottle with round bottom

[riverpie]

Does anybody know what this old bottle would have been used for. It was found at on old house years ago. It has air bubbles in the glass but also has a seam around it. I think you should be able to see the seam in one of the pics.

Thanks for looking,
Riverpie

 

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[diggummup]

Here's a little more info.-
Rounded bases were designed to do the opposite of most bottle bases - to ensure that the bottle was not left standing upright. The point behind the rounded bottom was to ensure that the bottle was left on its side so that the wired down cork would not dry out and shrink allowing the contents to loose carbonation and/or evaporate (Riley 1958). The typical rounded base bottle was made of thick heavy glass and used for carbonated soda, mineral water, and in particular, ginger ale (Munsey 1971). Some rounded bottom soda bottles actually have a small flattened area in the middle of the base that allows for the bottle to stand upright though somewhat precariously. These are referred to as "club" or "tenpin" in shape, "semi-round", or "egg-shaped" (McKearin & Wilson 1978, Elliot & Gould 1988, Jones & Sullivan 1989).

These type bottles are commonly referred to as "round bottom sodas" or "ballast bottles" since it is believed (and may be true) that many of them were imported from England as "ballast" (weight) in ships returning to the United States. A common variation is the "torpedo" bottle which is distinctly more pointed on the end with an bulging "amphora-like" body. The torpedo style was first used in England at least as early as 1809 when a patent was granted to William F. Hamilton. These type bottles are often referred to as "Hamilton's" by English collectors (McKearin & Wilson 1978). Torpedo bottles are also known by some as "bombs" (Elliott & Gould 1988). A picture of a typical pointed base torpedo soda bottle is pictured below right. It is embossed with "Walkden Aerated Water Co." (Manchester, England) and dates from approximately 1880-1890.

Round bottom & torpedo bottles were usually produced in a true two-piece mold where the neck, shoulder, body, and entire base (and sometimes all or a part of the finish) were produced by the two halves of the mold. As such these type of bottles are simply a rounded base version of the "hinge" mold discussed earlier and exhibit one continuous mold seam that runs from one side of the body, around the base, and then up the other side.

The bottle pictured above is a Berlin Mineral Water (Boston, MA.) that likely dates from the 1880s as it has an applied blob finish and evidences no mold air venting. Click round bottom soda to view a picture of this entire bottle. The majority of these type bottles found in the United States were imported from Great Britain and frequently embossed with company names and cities from England and Ireland - Belfast being a very common point of origin. However, some were - like the bottle pictured - either made in the United States or made overseas for U.S. bottlers. They were advertised in the catalogs of U. S. bottle makers during the early 20th century as "Round Bottom Ginger Ale" bottles (Illinois Glass Co. 1903, 1908, 1911).

The majority of these bottles - round bottomed or torpedo - date from the 1870s to the 1910s, though there are some American made torpedo bottles (Eastern Seaboard) that date back as early as the 1840s (McKearin & Wilson 1978, Baltimore Bottle Club 2002). Most have a blob style finish, occasionally an oil or mineral finish, though some were made with a Codd finish/closure and later ones (early 20th century) were produced with a crown finish (Elliott & Gould 1988).

The vast majority of rounded or pointed base bottles were designed and used for non-alcoholic, carbonated beverages. However, like with most types of bottles there are exceptions. Some mid-19th century liquor flasks came with rounded bases, though the bottles are flattened in cross section ("flask shaped") not round. There were also oddities like the bottle pictured below which is embossed Aromatic / Disinfector / Pat. / Sept. 9, 1890, which research (on the internet) shows to be from a company located in at least Philadelphia and New York. It has a rounded base like the soda bottles but has a flattened back so that the bottle will not roll on a flat surface. The contents of this bottle were some type of hand or general use disinfectant solution. The bottle was inserted upside down into a metal appliance that allowed for the controlled dispensing of the contents; thus, the upside down embossing (Rochester Midland Co. 2005). The extreme rarity of this bottle as well as some diagnostic features (applied finish, air venting pattern of a single mark on each shoulder) indicates that it was very likely produced for a very short time after patenting, i.e., around 1890-1892 (empirical observations).





BTW-Torpedos were also used on land during the civil war-
Torpedoes: Today called mines, Civil War torpedoes were mostly used by the Confederates. Sometimes they were buried in the ground in the enemy's path to explode when stepped on. Mostly they were used as water defenses. They floated below the surface of the water and exploded when the hull of a ship brushed against them.

 

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[riverpie]

Thanks for everybody's help. Yal are great. Those websites and others I found from the information given are great for looking up bottles too. Thanks again.

 

[SimonLakeSub]

Thanks for the information Digg, In my opinion, Munsey's "Illustrated Guide To Collecting Bottles" is one of the best all around books on bottles. I included it (Bibliography) in my book, "Bottles of Old New York" A Pictorial Guide To Early New York City Bottles 1680-1925. I chose to concentrate on embossed styles of bottles Mostly sodas and beers.
Thanks again.

Regards Simon