Miscellaneous Bottles

This Miscellaneous & Foreign bottles page is one of two typology pages (in addition to the Household bottles [non-food related] page) which largely comprise the "catch-all" sections for American-made bottles that do not neatly fit in any of the other major typology pages. This particular page also includes a smattering of foreign bottles which were commonly imported into the U. S. and Canada and likely to be found on U. S. and Canadian historic sites. It will also briefly address the subject of reproductions and modern (mid-20th century or later) "fantasy" bottles about which this author gets many questions.

This section of the typology pages probably doesn't need any further discussion or introduction; it just contains moderately significant categories that are not otherwise covered anywhere else within this website. The other typology pages (e.g., "Liquor/Spirits bottles", "Food Bottles & Canning Jars", etc.) have larger introductory sections than this page or the "Household bottles (non-food related)" page. This is because the "miscellaneous" and "household" categories are much wider ranging in diversity, lacking an overall binding "theme" compared to the other major categories. Instead, this page will have specific bottle type introductions incorporated into the opening paragraphs within each given section listed. Given this structural difference, the introduction for this page is considered complete; please scroll down to the "Organization & Structure" section below to begin.

Fire Grenades

Fire grenades are an unusual and somewhat limited class of bottles which can vary widely in shape, though were generally shaped and sized like those shown here - at least during the couple decades of the 19th century through the first few decades of the 20th. Dr. Cecil Munsey's 1970 book "Collecting Bottles" sums up concisely, what a fire grenade was:

"Early in the 1870s, it became popular to have round glass bottles filled with carbon tetrachloride stationed at critical points in homes, businesses, trains, and other appropriate places. These bottles were designed to be thrown into fires, where the impact would shatter the bottle, spill the carbon tetrachloride*, and extinguish the fire. It is not known who was the first to invent this ingenious method of extinguishing fires but it is known that the first American patent granted for a fire "extinguisher"** was awarded to Alanson Crane of Fortress Monroe, Virginia in 1863."

(*Other chemical solutions were also used like the carbonic acid noted below. **Alanson Crane's patent #37,610 was for an "Improvement in Fire-Extinguishers" which was a water pipe and sprinklers system for buildings, not a throwable and/or breakable container.)

The 6.5" tall, turquoise blue fire grenade pictured to the left above and to the right was one of the first commercially produced and most commonly encountered today. As the images show, it is bulbous bodied with an overall diamond quilted pattern covering the body as well as four flattened circular areas evenly spaced around the body. The first side (above image) is embossed on the front top to bottom with HARDEN'S HAND / FIRE / EXTINGUISHER / GRENADE. The next side is embossed with AUG 8 71 / PAT' AUG 14. 83 indicating important patents dated August 8th, 1871 and August 14th, 1883 (more below). The third side has an embossed star with the word STAR in the middle. The fourth side is flattened but absent any embossing; likely it originally contained a paper label.

The 1871 patent (#117,891) was issued to Samuel B. Johnson of Philadelphia, PA. for the concept of a breakable ("...constructed of metal, glass, or other material suitable for the purpose intended..."), fire extinguishing "grenade" that could be hurled into a fire to put it out. Johnson did note that "It is preferable that the vessel be in the form of a grenade or bomb, and constructed of glass, that it can be easily thrown or discharged, and break when it strikes the spot against or towards which it is intended."

The 1883 patent (#282,981) was issued to John J. Harden of Chicago, IL. for a "Hand-grenade for Fire-extinguishers." Apparently, Harden acquired rights to Johnson's 1871 patent for a throwable glass grenade, but refined his product further with the 1883 patent which was basically for a glass bottle with a specific finish and seal. Click view of the neck and finish to see a close-up of the grenade's neck, finish and closure which still retains the cement seal - which fills the length of the neck also - and most of the original contents (some evaporation through the seal). The patent was for - "A hand-grenade for fire-extinguishing purposes, consisting of a receptacle formed of glass or other frangible, material and having an orifice provided with a stopple fitted therein, the stopple being provided with an interior recess opening into the interior of said grenade, containing the requisite acid and alkali, forming a charge of carbonic-acid, or other fire extinguishing gas, said orifice being also provided with an enlargement above said stopple, and ending with an inwardly-inclined flange...". This translates from that patent-speak into a throwable glass bottle ("grenade" which was not specifically patentable at that juncture in time) with the unique finish shape and cement seal ("stopple") as shown (which was patentable).

All of these Harden's bottles were mouth-blown in a two-piece, (probably) cup-base mold in the experience of the author, i.e., none were machine made. This indicates a manufacture between 1883 and the 1910s. They have a crudely cracked-off finish rim with the two-part "finish" (the bulbous ring and the outwardly flared upper portion) having been fully molded by the full length bottle mold and received little if any finishing work/tooling after being removed from the mold and cracked 0ff the blowpipe. The finish formation is similar to the improved tooled finish except that there was no actual tooling. If anything was done to "finish" the finish, it was a bit of grinding of rough rim to make it much less sharp (and dangerous) though they are still very rough as shown in the view of the neck and finish.

The turquoise blue fire grenade pictured to the left is a Hardin's fire grenade variation, most likely a bit later in manufacture (early 1900s) though mouth-blown manufactured in the same fashion as the example above. It is about the same size and dimensions as the example above, but differs in the body design which is numerous vertical ribs broken in the middle by a protruding body encircling band. The band is embossed with HARDEN'S HAND GRENADE FIRE EXTINGUISHER and on one shoulder side has the word STAR inside a star in a circle, the same as found on one side of the earlier discussed bottle.

There were many other types of fire grenades made in various shapes from the 1870s until 1920s or later; see Munsey (1970:196-197) to view a more types illustrated there. This author knows of no book dedicated to the subject although there is some information and additional images of these type bottles in Freeman (1964:350-351) and Ferraro (1966:63-67). A few additional 1870s to 1910s "grenades" are listed as follows:

Hayward's Hand Fire Grenade - Three different examples of this competitor to Harden's product are shown to the right. These are usually embossed in some way with HAYDEN'S HAND FIRE GRENADE along with the same patent date (August 8, 1871) as on the Harden's grenades, which as noted earlier, was for the concept of a throwable and breakable container filled with a fire retardant liquid to squelch a fire when small. All these fire grenades were made in about the the same way as the Harden's discussed above - mouth-blown and in bright colors though often (usually?) with a more conventional finished lip, i.e., tooled to form and not just left as a rough, cracked off rim with cursory grinding. (Photos courtesy of Glass Works Auctions.)
More glass fire grenades may be listed in the future...

Dating summary/notes: The dating of these type bottles based on manufacturing related diagnostic features closely follow the guidelines presented throughout this website and summarized on the Bottle Dating page; see that page for more information. There are no significant bottle type specific, manufacturing related diagnostic features or dating trends that have been noted by the author with one exception. There is a strong trend in these bottles towards having cursory, crude and largely untouched (slightly ground down) "cracked-off" finishes, like the two examples illustrated here. This isn't as much a dateable feature as almost a finish style that is virtually only found on mouth-blown fire grenade bottles; a feature of possible use in fragment identification.

Carboys & Demijohns

The term "carboy" and "demijohn" are largely alternative names for the same category of large glass bottles - those with a capacity of about a full gallon on up to 15 gallons and even larger on occasion (Illinois Glass Co. 1903, 1920; Munsey 1970; McKearin & Wilson 1978). The most commonly observed sizes range between about 2 and 5 gallons (empirical observations).

A few of the references consulted noted either a functional or design differentiation between these two large bottle names. For example, Odell (2008) mentioned that functionally "Demijohns were for potable and non-corrosive liquids" with "carboy contents...strong chemicals - mostly acids." Munsey (1970) noted stylistically that "Demijohns were usually manufactured in a bulbous or bladder shape and have rather long necks; carboys, on the other hand, were generally cylindrical in shape and had short necks." For example the large olive green bottle to the left would be a "demijohn" with the 5 gallon bottle illustrated to the right below being a "carboy." The latter "carboy" shape has been commonly used for drinking water - a decidedly potable and non-acid liquid - from at least the early 20th century to the present, though typically plastic bottles today. (In fact, the 5 gallon "carboy" illustrated below right - and from a 1920 bottle makers catalog - is labeled as a "water bottle.") To add to the confusion the 1906 Illinois Glass Company catalog scanned and located on this website shows a listing for a cylindrical, short neck "demi-john" (page 110) and a bulbous/bladder shaped "carboy" (page 112) - the reverse of Munsey's styles differentiation. For simplicity sake, the term demijohn is largely used here for all large capacity glass bottles.

Large capacity, bulk bottles were used in America at least as early as the middle of the 18th century although at that time they would have been predominately imported from Europe. Such large bottles, however, date back to at least the 14th century in France although the term demijohn (sometimes hyphenated "demi-john") seems to have originated in the 17th century, possibly in Persia. In any event, origin of the term is obscure today (McKearin & Wilson 1978; Odell 2008). Even though the first demijohns were reportedly made in America by the 1760s, significant production in the U.S. did not occur until the 1820s with companies such as the New England Glass Bottle Company (formed in 1827) producing up to 3000 a day (McKearin & Wilson 1978; Odell 2008).

Demijohns were typically covered tightly with wicker for protection, i.e., covered with woven thick grass (including bamboo), reeds, sedges, and/or in particular, narrow willow twigs; leather was also sometimes used. The process was called "wickering" not surprisingly (Soetens 2016). Such large glass bottles, especially when full of liquid and heavy, were quite fragile and easily broken with even minor bumping against each other or any hard surface. The wicker covered example to the right is of a bladder shape similar to the olive green demijohn above. Click group of three wicker covered demijohns to view wicker covered demijohns ranging from about a gallon to about five gallons. Click U.S. Patent No. 348,665 to see an 1886 patent for a base related innovation for applying wicker to a demijohn. The shape of demijohns were typically like those shown in this section largely because these shapes were the easiest to cover quickly and effectively with wicker; essentially a mandatory requirement for proper protection. The wicker work was typically done by children, including girls, inside the glass factories or outside as contracted work (including with orphanages). This was one of the rare documented instances in the 19th century of females being regularly involved in the manufacturing of bottles (Odell 2008).

From the mid-19th century on, most American glass companies that produced hollow-ware (aka "bottles") also produced demijohns for bulk liquid storage. An example of the typical limited offerings available in the U.S. can be viewed in the 1906 Illinois Glass Company catalog scanned and available on this website at the following link: 1906 Illinois Glass Company catalog. (See pages 110 to 115.) Page 111 of that catalog shows a (likely) cylindrical demijohn inside one of the many vehicles used to both protect the large demijohns from breakage and to dispense the contained liquid in an efficient manner. Often the bottle inside these wooden cases were wicker covered also. Wicker baskets in lieu of wooden cases was also commonly employed to protect these bottles, particularly the larger ones (Soetens 2016).

The large oval/bladder shaped demijohn pictured at the top of this section is a mid-19th century, mouth-blown, most likely European made example. It holds at least 5-6 gallons, was blown in a 3-piece mold, has a large applied "oil" type finish, and likely is pontil scarred in some fashion. A demijohn of this size certainly spent its useful life covered in wicker to have survived breakage, though the wicker was removed (or rotted off) at some latter point in time and then stored away for decades. Demijohns of various shapes and sizes are commonly encountered today as they were usually reused for many years and not disposed of unless broken, often being stored away and forgotten. The wicker being dried vegetation most often fell apart with time though examples with wicker (images above) are not uncommon if the demijohn was stored in a dry place like an attic or cellar.

The relatively small, though commonly encountered size/shape, demijohns pictured to the right are almost certainly American made and date from the last quarter of the 19th century. These both are about 15-16" tall, 5-6" in diameter, have applied "oil" type finishes, were blown in two-piece post-base molds, and hold upwards of two gallons. As already discussed, these bottles were virtually always covered in wicker for protection, sometimes with a woven in wicker "handle" (for carrying and pouring) spanning the area between the mid-shoulder and the upper neck. This general type of tall and relatively narrow bodied demijohn was blown in a myriad of glass colors although a very large majority of them were blown in shades of aqua or amber glass, as illustrated. Examples blown in shades of moderate to deep green are more uncommon and this author has even seen a few blown in sapphire and cobalt blue! This is a very common shape produced and used in the U.S. for a myriad of liquid products though were probably most commonly used for wine and spirits. A vast majority of demijohns of this shape were mouth-blown being made up until at least the mid-1910s. The shorter necked, wider bodied demijohns were a generally later design; these are discussed next.

The illustration to the left shows the Illinois Glass Company's "5-Gallon Machine Made Water Bottle" produced by their new (January 1919) "Carboy Factory" in Alton, IL. This illustration is from that company's 1920 "Bottles of Every Description" catalog. (That entire catalog has been scanned and is available on this website by clicking on the following link: 1920 Illinois Glass Company catalog) The illustrated bottle is typical of demijohns made for storing and transporting all liquids, though this one notes it is a "5 Gallon Machine Made Water Bottle." (Note: The author of this site was a home brewer for many years and used 6 to 7 gallon bottles almost identical to this, albeit made of plastic, for fermenting beer). Although a few mouth-blown examples of this particular shape - large, wide body with a relatively short neck - have been noted by the author, a large majority of them were machine-made; versions of these demijohns in glass are still being made today.

Dating summary/notes: The dating of these type bottles based on manufacturing related diagnostic features roughly follow the guidelines presented throughout this website and summarized on the Bottle Dating page; see that page for more information. There are, however, several manufacturing related diagnostic features or dating trend trends that have been noted by the author that don't follow those found on smaller utilitarian bottles.

The first is that these large bottles tended to be made by mouth-blown methods later than when a majority of most other bottle types were being made on machines. For example, the 1920 Illinois Glass Company catalog linked above notes that their new carboy factory in Alton, IL., completed in January 1919, had "...installed in it an Automatic Machine, the capacity of which is devoted exclusively to the manufacture of Carboys, Water Bottles and large Containers, ranging from two to twelve gallons." This implies that prior to that time the production of carboys and "large Containers" was likely still done by hand methods, aka "mouth-blown." In addition, Soetens (2016) noted that the first fully automatic bottle machine in Europe was first used sometime shortly after 1923. That author also mentioned that demijohns were still being produced by hand - i.e., mouth-blown - at least as late as 1950 in Germany. And finally, a recently noted YouTube video indicated to be filmed at Gayner Glass Co. (Salem, NJ) in the 1940s shows workmen still making demijohns by largely hand methods that late into the 20th century. (That video is available at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CzMik9oelU&ab_channel=ricgrass )

Related to the above is the observations is that older bottle making methods were used much later on very large bottles as demijohns were were still being held for finishing with pontil rods after the general end date of around 1870 for smaller, utilitarian bottles (Jones & Sullivan 1989:45; empirical observations). The other bottle type specific dating irregularity noted is that mouth-blown demijohns tended to have applied finishes later than most other bottle types as well as being produced in molds with a post-base configuration mold later. Specifically, applied finishes are thought to have been used on mouth-blown demijohns - like the two amber examples to the above right - into the late 1890s and possibly early 1900s, which was well after most bottle types were having finishes formed by tooling. See the main Bottle Finishes & Closures page for more information. In a related fashion, post-base molds were used into the early 1900s with those types of commonly encountered demijohns, again well beyond the period that most other bottles (excluding many mouth-blown fruit jars and beer bottles) were being largely made in cup-base molds. See the post-base (aka "post-bottom") mold section of the Bottle Bases page for more information.

So in summary, the dating of mouth-blown demijohns isn't the most exact science since they were produced that way for a very long time after virtually all other bottle types were being produced on automatic bottle machines.

The most useful references known to this author on this genre of large bottles - and leaned on heavily in the preparation of this section - are noted below:

Odell, John. 2008. Big Bottles, Big History - Demi-Johns and Carboys. Antique Bottle & Glass Collector 25(7):28-33. Excellent article on the subject. This article is available online at the following link: http://www.bottlebooks.com/demijohn/big_bottles_big_history_demijohn.htm

Soetens, Johan. 2016. A Brief History of Demijohns and Carboys. Antique Bottle & Glass Collector, 33(4):32-35 (August 2016). As the title notes it is a brief history of this class of large bottles though does include some very interesting images including the process of applying wicker to the outside of these bottles - a very common addition to protect these relatively fragile containers.

Also see the book "American Bottles & Flasks and Their Ancestry" (McKearin & Wilson 1978:255-259).

Foreign bottles

Many types of foreign-made bottles are commonly found on historic sites in the United States and Canada. The number of uniquely different bottles made outside those countries would certainly rival the immense variety made within, i.e., many hundreds of thousands in both regions. Although beyond the scope of this website, which deals with historic bottles made in the U. S. and Canada between the late 18th century to mid-20th century, a few commonly encountered foreign bottles are briefly covered here. More may be added in the future.

Chinese/Asian bottles

Chinese (and other Asian made) bottles are commonly found in many places within the eleven Western states, Hawaii and Western Canada in areas known to have significant Chinese populations from the mid-19th on, which was just about anywhere. In the United States, Chinese bottles are most commonly encountered in the three Pacific coast states and British Columbia with diminishing probability as one moves east (empirical observations). The Chinese also immigrated to many other portions of the U. S. and around the world, so Chinese bottles can be found in Peru, Mexico, New Zealand and Australia, the Caribbean and Southeast Asia.

In the western U.S. the Chinese were particularly drawn to the "Chinatown" sections of big cities (notably San Francisco and Portland in the 19th century), mining camps virtually everywhere in the West (the author found an "opium" bottle [discussed later] next to his BLM office in Ely, Nevada - a long time mining area), along the railways (the Chinese provided a majority of the labor for the Central Pacific Railroad from Sacramento to Promontory Point, Utah), salmon canneries along the Pacific Coast from California to British Columbia, various agricultural areas, and other places that were desirous of a highly effective workforce. The Japanese also immigrated into Western America - particularly California - in significant numbers by the late 1800s and even more so during the first three decades of the 20th century (Wegars 1993; Ambrose 2000; Ross 2009; Wikipedia 2017).

Although glass bottles are commonly found on historic sites with Chinese occupation, glazed ceramic containers/fragments are even more commonly encountered since much of what was imported for Chinese use was contained in these crude, ceramic containers. The dark brown glazed ceramic jug to the right is an example of one of the most commonly encountered shapes; a container with a pouring spout frequently used for soy sauce. A wide variety of shapes and sizes of ceramic, stoneware and porcelain containers and dishware were imported into the U. S. by and for the Chinese here. Works such as Felton et al. (1984), Wegars (1993), Merritt (2010) and other works deal with Chinese ceramics; a subject beyond the scope of this website. Many if not most Asian made beverage bottles found on Chinese occupied historic sites were actually of Japanese origin; more on that subject below (Ross 2009). Now on to some of the more commonly encountered glass bottles...

The three small (~2.5" tall) bottles pictured above left (label side up) and immediate left (reverse side) are commonly encountered Chinese medicine bottles ubiquitous to virtually all areas occupied by the Chinese from their first immigration into this country during the early days of the California Gold Rush in the 1850s until at least the 1930s. These bottles are referred to by collectors as "opium bottles" although it is unlikely such small, narrow bottles with a capacity of a small fraction an ounce would ever be used for a sticky, thick substance such as opium which was packaged primarily in metal tins (Wegars 1993). They typically held various Chinese medicines of different types - some liquid, other more of an oil based substance. (It is possible that opium was one of many ingredients in these medicines?)

Pictured to the right below (click to enlarge) is a grouping of these type bottles showing some of the variety of sizes and shape. (Note: The two larger [~3" tall] bottles in the upper center are Chinese hair dye bottles from the same era.) These small medicine bottles were relatively narrow, typically square to very slightly rectangular in cross-section though cylindrical examples have been noted by the author. These bottles typically range from about 1.5" to 2.5" tall; the examples in the grouping to the right range from 1.4" (lower left and likely missing a bit of the neck) to 2.5" (third from the lower left). (Photo courtesy of a website user; all of the bottles except the two hair dye bottles were excavated within the old "Chinatown" area of Portland, Oregon in the 1960s.)

The vial types (lower row of seven) were often made of proportionally thick glass compared to their capacity and poorly annealed as they would actually crack and/or fall apart easily with changes in temperature. The upper row (right and left pairs) are more "bottle-like" in that the bodies are rectangular to almost square, but much wider than the narrow necks. All of these Chinese medicines held a miniscule amount - usually a small fraction of an ounce capacity (lower row) although larger ones (upper row pair ends) were a bit larger holding possibly a half ounce or so. Glass colors were usually aqua though colorless glass is frequently encountered. Other colors are unknown to the author, but are possible. These bottles were always hand-blown, apparently in small dip molds given the lack of mold seams but with typically flat, uniform body sides. Some have been observed with Chinese characters embossed on the base. Beyond that, little is known to this author about these bottles though it is suspected that they were made the same way for many centuries and possibly as late as the early 1930s, as such bottles have been observed by the author in context with American made bottles that firmly dated no earlier than the late 1920s (empirical observations).

The aqua and cobalt blue hair dye bottles which have identical Chinese characters (translated by a Japanese friend, though the characters are Chinese) were found in a similar early 20th century context in an eastern Nevada copper town. They are also mouth-blown with tooled finishes although they were found with mostly all machine-made bottles dating from the mid-1920s to mid-1930s.

The crude medium to deep blue-green bottle to the left is a style that is frequently seen in areas with Chinese, and in particular, Japanese immigrants residing from about 1900 through at least the 1920s. This example was reported to come from the lower Columbia River in Oregon - an area with numerous salmon canneries during the late 19th to early 20th centuries which almost certainly employed Japanese immigrants and likely Chinese also. Many/most have horizontal rings on the lower neck (example below) though many do not, like the example to the left.

These type bottles are typically believed to have been used for beer but certainly could have been used a variety of liquid products (e.g., rice wine?). Recently, the author of a 2009 article entitled "Identification and Dating of Japanese Glass Beverage Bottles" (Ross 2009; full reference and link to a copy noted at the bottom of this section) contacted this websites author and noted that these bottles were also used for cider. (See the discussion of the green ring necked bottle to the below right.) The article, based on Ross's doctoral dissertation, also notes that these style of Asian bottles were indeed used for beer as well as mineral water, medicinal liquor, and soft drinks (Ross 2009). Ross also notes in his article that "...most Asian-made beverage bottles found on Chinese sites are Japanese in origin. China did not industrialize as early as Japan and continued to ship most indigenous beverages in ceramic containers, manufacturing few Western-style beverage bottles until well into the 20th century."

The earlier versions of these bottles were crudely mouth-blown often exhibiting the faint horizontal concentric rings on the body, shoulder and neck of being spun in the mold (aka "turn mold" production). Some were not spun in the mold exhibiting the usual vertical side-mold seams, though they don't seem to be as common as turn-molded examples (empirical observations). The style usually, if not always, have crown finishes, the mouth-blown examples being tooled though sometimes applied and tooled. Crown finishes/caps were not invented until 1892, and saw very limited use until about 1900 giving a pretty firm initiation date for this style bottle. (See the Bottle Closure Types page for more information on crown caps and finishes.) The example here is about 9" tall, quite crudely made with hundreds of small bubbles in the glass, a finish that is very poorly tooled, and a neck that is quite off center as the image shows. Click close-up of the shoulder, neck and finish to see such. Click base view to see the unembossed base with a small round indentation in the middle or unknown utility or meaning. Later examples (post 1920 or 1930s) were machine made with much less crudity though about the same conformation. These type beverage bottles are usually seen in various shades and intensities of aqua, green and blue-green glass; occasionally in amber.

The other similar, though more pure green, example pictured (right) has a thick horizontal ring at the neck/shoulder junction - a common feature on these type bottles. The precise date these bottles were made is unknown; they may date from the early 1900s or possibly as late as the 1920s or even 1930s when similar ring neck, export and champagne style beer bottles were being commonly made by American glass companies. A possible emulation of that style during that time? This bottle is also about 9" tall, mouth-blown with a nicely symmetrical tooled crown finish, and also exhibits the faint horizontal concentric rings on the body indicating that it was produced in turn-mold.

The image of the base of this bottle shows that it is profusely embossed with three Asian characters interspersed with what appear to be three barley heads with a "B" in a circle in the center; the latter two possibly indicating the contained product was beer. However, Ross (2009) points out that the characters are Japanese, the "barley" heads actually arrow fletching symbols and the product sold in the bottle was the brand Mitsuya "Three Arrows" cider. Origin solved! Of particular interest with this bottle is that it is certainly a turn-molded bottle which also has embossing on the base - something rarely seen on turn-mold bottles. Although the exact process used to make these bottles with embossing on the base is unknown, it was likely a base plate that rotated as described in the turn-mold discussion on the Glassmaking & Glassmakers main page at the following link: turn-mold rotating base plate discussion.

The tall, relatively narrow amber bottle pictured to the left is of Asian origin, but whether Chinese or Japanese, can't be determined for sure. It was excavated in Portland, Oregon decades ago in an area that had a large community of Chinese immigrants, though the area certainly could have had Japanese also. This example was mouth-blown using the turn-mold process which precludes embossing on the sides. It is 12" tall, has an applied mineral style finish and a slightly domed base with what could be interpreted as a flattened circle with a dot in the middle (embossed dot is very light; this potential Dai Nippon marking is discussed below). Click base view to view the base. Click close-up of the upper body, neck and finish to view such. The body does have faint turn-mold induced horizontal striations which are not picked up in the images but easily visible in real life. It likely dates from the 1890s to 1910s based on context and manufacturing features.

Based on Ross's work (2009) and noted earlier, it is quite likely that this style was largely made by the Japanese though such are found on Chinese historic sites western American and Canada. The style was certainly used for beer as identical shaped examples have been noted by Ross and this author with embossing indicating such use. For example, bottles with TEIKOKU BEER embossed on the lower body have been noted in Oregon and British Columbia (Ross 2009; empirical observations). The noted examples were mouth-blown with tooled (possibly applied) finishes; they were not turn-molded as body embossing is impossible with that manufacturing technique.

Bottles identically shaped bottles with etching indicating use by the Dai Nippon Beer Company have been noted in California and Oregon by this websites author; likely they are also found in British Columbia (empirical observations). This company used a sun (dot-in-circle) as their registered trademark along with Japanese characters identifying the company and the product (Ross 2009). (Note: The Dai Nippon embossed example illustrated and described in Ross's article is of the export body style with a crown finish and made on an Owen Automatic Bottle machine in the 1920s, Japan having received an Owens machine sometime prior to 1920 [Walbridge 1920:78].)

Click HERE to view an image of a Dai Nippon beer bottle with the "sun" trade mark and characters etched into the glass on the lower body. The linked bottle was photographed in an antique shop in Fresno, CA. - an area which received a lot of Japanese immigration from the late 19th century on. It has a tooled "mineral" style finish and was mouth-blown manufactured using the turn-mold process thus the need for acid-etched body "embossing." (Note: The image shows a long vertical line on the body which is a scratch not a mold seam.) Ross's article shows the embossed and etched versions of the embossing on page 12; a link to the article is found below. Since sake was also "brewed" (not distilled) it is likely that these same breweries and others who specialized in sake, used these type bottles also as they are very similar in shape to known sakes - and even resemble the shape of bottles used today. The author welcomes any information - or images with labels - of such use from users of this site!

Dating summary/notes: The dating of these type bottles based on manufacturing related diagnostic features only very roughly follow the guidelines presented throughout this website and summarized on the Bottle Dating page. It is certainly that mouth-blown bottles were still being made in China (and probably other Asian countries) a decade or two beyond when the U. S. had made the changeover to fully automatic machines. As an example, the Chinese aqua and cobalt blue hair dye bottles briefly described above were found amongst firmly dated 1920s and 1930s machine-made U. S. bottles. Small bottles of such a product were unlikely to have been kept around the house for several decades; they were more likely one use and throw away.

A great website for information on and images of Chinese artifacts excavated in Montana is available at the following link: http://www.cas.umt.edu/germangulch This website - sponsored by the University of Montana - is based on the German Gulch (a defunct mining camp near Butte, MT.) collection of artifacts being analyzed by Bill Norman at the U. of Montana. The site primarily covers various ceramic and metal artifacts, though does include some glass items.

The following is Douglas Ross's excellent article on Japanese bottles noted above:

Ross, Douglas E. 2009. Identification and Dating of Japanese Glass Beverage Bottles. Society for Historical Archaeology, Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology, 2009, 4:7-17. Informative article on a little covered category of bottles often found in the Western United States based on Ross's doctoral dissertation at Simon Fraser University (Burnaby, British Columbia). This article is available as a download from this website at the following link: http://www.sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/JapaneseBeverageBottlesDouglasRoss2009

European bottles

A wide array of bottle types originating and largely produced in Europe made their way to North America in vast quantities. Suffice to say that the few bottles here do not even scratch the surface of the variety of European bottle types that could be found on historic sites in North America. This section will explore just a few of the more commonly encountered European bottle types and may be expanded in the future.

Codd Soda/Mineral Water bottles: The Codd's ball stopper soda water (rarely beer) bottle style was by far the most successful of an assortment of internal ball type stoppers for soda bottles devised during the second half of the 19th century. It was first patented in 1870 in England with patents for the most commonly seen types granted in 1872 and 1873; it was first patented in the United States in 1873 (Munsey 1970; Goodacre 1995). Most of its success was in England or the Commonwealth nations like Canada, India, and Australia. Similar to the round bottom sodas, this closure & bottle style was infrequently used by American soda bottlers (primarily due to the fierce competition from the Hutchinson and later crown closures) and was known to have been produced in only one U. S. glass factory - the Whitney Glass Co. (Glassboro, NJ) beginning in 1886 (Toulouse 1971; Goodacre 1995). There were, however, a few seldom seen non-Codd ball types which were made in the U.S. (Riley 1958; Graci 2003). Part of the reason for its lack of success in the U.S. reportedly was because American kids had a tendency to break the bottles to get at the internal marble for their youthful games, though that must have occurred in other countries also (Lief 1965).

The bottles were produced by a method that required the use of an applied finish until well into the 20th century which is long after virtually all other bottle types were being mouth-blown with tooled finishes. According to one author the mouth-blown bottles were produced as follows: After being mold blown the bottles were sheared at the neck and allowed to cool. Then a glass marble, made from glass of a hardness twice that of the bottle was dropped into it. The bottle was then re-heated and the neck welded on (finish applied), so containing the marble (Goodacre 1995). Eventually fully automatic bottle machines were adapted to produce Codd bottles (example pictured below right).

This type of internal ball closure was self-sealing via a rubber gasket mounted inside the bore of the bottle against which the marble was firmly held in place by the carbonated contents. The contained beverage was accessed by pushing down on the marble to release the pressure after which the marble dropped to the constriction ridges in the lower part of the neck. Click Codd opener for a picture of a tool used to push down the marble. The illustration below left shows the upper portion of a Codd bottle with the marble in the sealing position inside the bore. The photo to the right below shows a late 20th century, machine-made Codd bottle from India with the gasket in place in the middle of the finish and the marble in the unsealed "resting" position low down in the neck on the internal constriction ridges. This side view of a Codd bottle also shows why these bottles are sometimes called an "elephant" or "pig" bottle (Elliott & Gould 1988). Some resemblance, I guess? The "eyes" are actually diagonal indentations in the neck that held back the marble when pouring the contents out after opening, keeping it from impeding the flow (Fowler 1986). During the 1920s and 1930s most of the English machinery to produce Codd bottles was shipped to India where the bottle may still be produced (Goodacre 1995).

Besides size, there are a few variations to the typical bottle as pictured here. What variations there are, are primarily in the body as these bottles shoulder/neck (hard to differentiate the two separately) and finish had to be largely as shown in the pictures for this closure system to work properly. One interesting variation is that there were some round bottom and torpedo sodas bottles that have Codd ball stoppers - some of which were made in England for U. S. soda water manufacturers (Elliot & Gould 1988). This makes for a very unusual looking bottle to say the least and given the purpose of a round bottom - to ensure that the bottle is laid on its side to keep the cork wet - somewhat pointless, since there was no cork.

The English Codd bottle pictured to the above left is embossed NORTH LINDSEY / MINERAL WATER CO. / SCUNTHORPE. It is also embossed on the reverse REDFEARN BROS / BOTTLE MAKERS / BARNSLEY indicating that the bottle was made by this glass company - business dates unknown. The towns of Barnsley and Scunthorpe are located in central England so of course this bottle is English made, most likely during the late 19th century, i.e., 1880-1900. It has a crudely applied long tapered (outwards towards base) "oil" type finish (for want of a better finish fit) with a groove on the inside of the bore for the gasket which the marble sealed against; a ubiquitous finish on a Codd bottle. Some residual gasket is remaining as shown in the picture. The bottle has no apparent evidence of air venting and was blown in a post-bottom mold. These features would date the bottle - if U. S. made - from the 1870s to mid-1880s. However, as noted on other portions of this website, European manufacturers were "behind" the U. S. in adopting new bottle production techniques so it is possible that this Codd bottle could date as late as 1900-1915 as Codd bottles from that era are known with these diagnostic traits. It could also date from the 1880s also and would need local research on the company (or glassmaker) history to pin down the date more. Click on the following links for more views of this bottle: base view; close-up of the neck and finish. Though English made, it is essentially identical to the bottles that were used infrequently by soda companies in the U.S.; bottles that were almost certainly made by English glass companies like Redfearn Bros.

Dating Summary/Notes: As noted, the Codd bottle/closure was a minor element in the American soda bottle/closure market. Hutchinson closures followed by the crown closure (both covered below) were far and away the most popular sealing methods for soda and mineral water in the U.S. One researcher, however, has tallied 25 or so different Codd bottles that are identifiable as used by American companies spanning the country (Graci 2003). In Hawaii, the state where soda companies used the Codd bottle the most, there were at least 14 different Codd or Codd type bottles used by 4 different companies between 1884 and 1898 (Elliott & Gould 1988). It is not known how many American soda concerns used unembossed Codd bottles with proprietary labels attached, though it was likely just a fraction of one percent and miniscule compared to the Hutchinson and crown closure bottles; Codd bottles are rarely found on historic sites in the U.S. (empirical observations).

The general date range for the mainland American use of the Codd closure is probably similar to the date range noted for Hawaii, though it is known that some Codd bottles were used into the early 1900s by some companies. For example, one Western embossed Codd bottle with a true applied finish (BIGGAM BROS. / YAKIMA, WA) is known to date from between 1911 and 1913. These bottles were marked as having been manufactured by NUTTALL & CO. - a glass works in St. Helens, Lancashire County, England which was merged out of existence in 1913 (Fowler 1986, Whitten 2005). A good cut-off date for the limited use of Codd closures in the U.S. is the mid 1910s (Newman 1970).

Worldwide, Codd bottles were used for an immense range of time from invention in the early 1870s to the late 20th century, as indicated by the bottle pictured to the above right which is machine-made and has as base sticker noting it was Made in India. Mouth-blown Codd bottles can date as late as the 1920s with applied finishes which were required by the process needed to produce these bottles noted earlier. Eventually fully automatic bottle machines were adapted to produce these bottles. (One wonders how the automatic machine worked in order to get the marble in place?) During the 1920s and 1930s most of the English machinery to produce Codd bottles was shipped to India where the bottle may still be produced (Goodacre 1995). The machine-made Indian example pictured above right was purchased new from an import store around 1990!

For more information on Codd bottles take a look at these two articles posted on this website courtesy of a pair of well known authors in the bottle world:

Dr. Cecil Munsey - Codd (Marble-In-The-neck) Bottles Soda-Water Bottles - THEN and NOW! This article covers the long history of these bottles, as well as their use still in various parts of the world.
Bill Lockhart - Zang's Mystery Codd Bottle. This article also provides an overview of the history of the Codd bottles yesterday and today, catalyzed by a modern (Indian) example acquired by Zang Wood (author of the New Mexico soda/mineral water book).

Dutch "Case" Gin bottles: The large (well over a quart) case gin bottle pictured to the right was produced in the late 19th century (i.e., probably between 1880 and 1900), although virtually identical bottles were also produced earlier and later than that date range. A wide variety of similar "case gin" bottles like the commonly encountered example pictured were imported into North America from producers in Europe. This example is embossed A VAN HOBOKEN & CO. / ROTTERDAM on opposite sides and is - as the embossing indicates - of foreign origin (Wilson & Wilson 1968). (The pictured example was found by the authors brother in Malaysia.) However, Hoboken bottles are frequently found on historic sites in the U. S. This particular bottle is of typical shape and proportions for a case gin, was produced in a two-piece cup-bottom mold, has a crudely applied "blob" finish, no evidence of air venting, and has a blob seal on the shoulder. This bottle is an example of how American manufacturing based dating ranges can not be reliably used for foreign made bottles. If American made, a bottle with these diagnostic features (except maybe for the cup-bottom mold feature) would likely date from between the mid-1860s and mid-1880s. Click on the following links for more images of this bottle: base view; side view; close-up of the shoulder, neck, finish, and blob seal. One-part blob or oil finishes on mouth-blown case gin bottles are typical of items made from the 1880s to about National Prohibition in the late 1910s.

Benedictine bottles: Benedictine was (and is) a liqueur made with a wide assortment of herbs and spices. Reported to have originally been made by monks during the Renaissance, it was first commercially produced in France during the 1870s. Judging from the relative commonness of these distinctive bottles in the U.S., Benedictine was quite popular here during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The product is still produced and bottled today in a similarly shaped bottles (see discussion below) though of course they are made via more modern manufacturing methods. (Information from the Benedictine website found at the following link: http://www.benedictine.fr/anglais/histoire_frame.html)

Benedictine bottles are very distinctive in shape with a long sloping neck and flaring shoulder which abruptly ends at the top of the body which then tapers inwards gradually towards the base; see the picture to the left. The base is usually variably pushed-up and domed, sometimes deeply. Sizes are most commonly the pictured "quart" size and a smaller "pint" size which has the same conformation, just proportionally smaller. Most mouth-blown versions are three-piece mold, though two-piece molds have also been noted (empirical observations). The finish on Benedictine bottles are somewhat unique and could be basically described as a two-part finish with an outwardly tapering (top to bottom) upper part with a flaring rounded ring lower part. The collars usually (but not always) have distinct indentations or grooves on both sides to facilitate the wiring down of the cork closure. The glass is typically very heavy and virtually always in some shade of olive green or - in older versions (pre-1890s) - olive amber. Benedictine bottles often have the word BENEDICTINE embossed on one shoulder by itself or with small crosses (like the pictured example), though they are very often not embossed. The majority do have a distinctive crescent embossed on one shoulder, opposite the embossing if the bottle is embossed.

The example pictured above is a quart size dating from from around 1895 to 1910. It is a medium olive green in color with very heavy glass, a kick-up domed base, produced in a three-piece mold with a separate base plate, and has a true applied finish. Click on the following links for more view photos of this bottle: reverse view showing the embossed crescent; base view showing the deeply domed configuration; close-up of the finish showing the grooves in the ring collar; close-up of the shoulder, neck, and finish. These bottles were often (usually?) foreign produced but are covered here because of their commonness in the U.S. and the fact that they may have been produced in the U.S. also. Click on the following link to view the Benedictine bottles offered by the Illinois Glass Company in 1906: Illinois Glass Co. 1906 catalog page 138 (listed on the left page in pint, quart, and a 2 oz. sample size). Whether the listed bottles were a domestic product made by IGCo. or an offering by them of a foreign produced product is unknown, though it is likely these were imported as the listing notes the offering available in an "Imported Color" (Jones 1961-1968).

The amber, 8" tall, Benedictine type bottle pictured to the right is much more recent, mid to late 20th century, machine-made example which shows well the continuation of form features that define the style, including the vertically grooved finish (apparently the modern manifestation of the indents of old), embossed crescent on the shoulder, deep kick-up/push-up base, and overall conformation and proportions. Click on the following links to view more images of this bottle: finish view showing the vertical grooves in the finish (looking down from above); base view showing the relatively high kick-up the height of which also shows in the image to the right; reverse view showing the embossing BENEDICTINE on the shoulder and B & B which indicates this bottle contained B&B which is a blend of Benedictine and brandy. (Photos courtesy of Deb Bankes.) This bottle is very similar - if not identical - to the bottles the product comes in today; click on the following commercial Benedictine liqueur website link for more information: http://www.benedictine.fr/anglais/histoire_frame.html

Dating summary/notes: Benedictine style bottles can date from the 1870s to the present. Since they were apparently usually made overseas and exported, the manufacturing based diagnostic features do not necessarily follow those noted on this website for U.S. produced bottles. Most notably, these bottles were made with true applied finishes into the early 20th century and mouth-blown Benedictine bottles appear to have been made up until at least 1920 (empirical observations). Mouth-blown bottles seem to date from the 1920s or before, with machine-made items dating from that time or after. This general shape was (and is) also used generically for various other liqueurs in the 20th century (Lucas Co. Bottle Co. 1940s; empirical observations).