5 Vintage Tuffy Glass Baby Bottles Brockway Glass

When visiting an manor sale, shoppers are often intrigued by antique bottles. Defended bottle collectors, besides known as bottle diggers, can't get enough of classic glassware's intriguing shapes and vintage colors. At that place'south no denying information technology; old bottles have quirks and charms you don't see with modern glassware. But determining a bottle's age can be a challenge. The best place to start is with cognition of product techniques and strategic markings. We'll teach you how to tell the age of a glass bottle, so you can scan through your adjacent manor sale with conviction.

Antique Glass Bottle Production

When determining the approximate historic period of antique bottles, the offset matter to know is how the glass bottle was produced. From the mid-19th century through the early 20th century, virtually glass bottles took shape under a glassblower's watchful middle. However, in the mid-20th century, automation took over the drinking glass canteen industry.

Blown Glass Bottles

In the 1800s, glass blowing was a necessary profession. The skilled glassblower advisedly blew molten drinking glass into a wood or iron mold. One time the hot compound cooled, the artisan applied the finishing touches, including crafting the bottle lip. Bottle-making was a labor-intensive arts and crafts in the 1800s. Finding a glass-blown collectible from that era is a canteen digger's dream.

Motorcar Automation

In 1892, the bottle-making game completely changed with the invention of the semi-automatic bottle car. Generally called the automatic canteen machine (or ABM), this machine molded the bottle lip along with the bottle's trunk. Thus, there was no longer a need to paw-finish the bottles.

Although the motorcar-made bottles are more uniform in appearance, collectors discover them much less interesting than earlier mitt-diddled drinking glass bottles. On average, the machine-made bottles are worth considerably less than their hand-blown counterparts.

Types of Antiquarian Bottles

The antique glass canteen universe contains bottles of many shapes, sizes, and colors. Shine-based, embossed, private mold, and other bottle furnishings provide insights that may be useful in determining an old drinking glass bottle's age.

Embossed Drinking glass Bottles

A glass bottle's embossing effects oftentimes assist to provide positive proof of the canteen's historic period. The embossing may be located on any role of the bottle. Multiple types of embossing effects may announced on a single bottle.

You can frequently determine a bottle'south intended use by viewing its embossing furnishings. In add-on, if a company embossed its proper noun on bottles for many decades, you lot can determine the time period during which the company produced that type of canteen. You must run the bottle through several manufacturing-related questions to accurately determine the canteen's historic period.

Colored Glass Bottles

Antique bottles oft display a lovely palette of muted colors that you don't often see in the modern era. Although color is an of import descriptor of the bottle's appearance, there are iii reasons why color isn't always useful in determining the bottle'south type or age.

First, glass color isn't directly related to a specific type of glass. Colour also has no relation to the drinking glass bottle's production method. Finally, colour is only marginally related to a drinking glass object's function.

Notwithstanding, antique bottle color tin give hints to the approximate age of the bottle. The following are notable glass colors and the eras in which they were nearly popular:

Amber Glass: Mostly in employ from the late 18th century through the mid-20th century
Aqua Glass: Mostly in use between the 1850s to 1880s
Black Glass: Early 17th century European utilise as well every bit apply from the 1840s to 1880s
"True" Blue Glass: Mostly in use from the 1840s through the 1930s (diverse bottle types)
Clear (or colorless) Glass: Originally appeared around the 1870s
Greens (non-olive) and Blue-greens Glass: Mostly made in the 19th or early 20th century
Olive Greens/Ambers Glass: Mostly in use in the 19th century and earlier
Opaque White or Milk Glass: By and large in use from the 1870s through the mid-20th century
Royal/Amethyst/Red Drinking glass: By and large in use from the 1840s to the early on 1880s

Articulate Drinking glass Bottles

Colorless (or clear) glass bottles had express circulation earlier the 1870s. The bottles gradually became more prevalent during the last three decades of the 19th century. The emergence of automated bottle machines in the early 20th century led to articulate glass bottles' increased popularity.

Drinking glass Bottle Shapes

A specific bottle's shape generally indicates the bottle'south employ or type of contents. Nigh antiquarian canteen styles and shapes were tied to a certain type of production. For example, beer bottles, soda bottles, and mineral water bottles were associated with specific bottle shapes. With rare exceptions, bottles of those shapes weren't used for other products.

Glass Bottles from Individual Molds

During the mid-19th century, individual bottle molds came into vogue. Medicine bottle manufacturers and household goods suppliers ordered particularly molded glass bottles. Soda and mineral water companies also jumped on the private mold bandwagon.
Whether the manufacturer wanted a uniquely designed canteen or desired embossing embellishments, every glass company was happy to oblige. In fact, it was around this time that embossed bottles became very popular.

Antique Bottle Bases

The bottle base provides clues to what the bottle was used for and the bottle's historic period. Dissimilar types of bottles were used for dissimilar items and made in different eras. Note that medicine, bitters, liquor, and spirit bottles varied in their base styles. By studying the bottle'due south base, you can go some much-needed data for your bottle dating.

Push-upwards Base

Wine bottles often feature this mutual bottle base manner. Plough the bottle over, and yous'll see that the center of the bottle is pushed upward into the bottle base. This enables undesirable wine sediment to collect in a ridge around the bottle base of operations.

The push-upward base originated in England in the 1820s, when a button-up base mold part became function of the bottle-making procedure.

Dark green drinking glass wine bottles were the first to incorporate the button-up base. Bottle makers in numerous countries eventually adopted the push-up base for use with most bottle types.

Open Pontil Bottle Base of operations

Before 1855, near bottles displayed an open "pontil marker" on the base of the bottle. Glassblowers used an iron punty rod to hold the bottle. They would secure the punty rod to the bottom of the bottle. When they finished creating the bottle, they would snap the punty rod off of the bottle, creating the pontil mark. The rough-looking open pontil marking, or pontil scar, looks like an irregular, colorless hole in the canteen'southward base.

Iron Pontil Canteen Base of operations

The iron pontil bottle as well has an open pontil scar. Withal, instead of the marking being colorless, the atomic number 26 pontil bottle displays a ruby-red or dark-brown residue at the break-off signal. The color is likely due to the color of the iron punty rod.

Most iron pontil bottles were produced from 1845 through the mid-1860s. Still, there is bear witness that these bottles may date from the 1830s until nigh 1870.

Key Mold Bottle Base

From 1850 to 1870, key mold bottle bases became relatively mutual. Bottle bases with cardinal molds feature a semi-circle crafted into the bottom of the bottle. Some key mold bottles display smooth bases, while those fabricated before 1855 display a pontil scar.

Owens Ring Bottle Base

The showtime machine-produced bottles displayed the Owens ring. This characteristic was named after the Owens Glass Company, creator of the automatic canteen machine. The Owens band was symmetrical and did non leave a jagged marking similar the earlier punty rod.

Bottles with Owens rings first appeared around 1904. By 1917, the Owens automated canteen machine figured in production of one-half of the U.South.-fabricated drinking glass containers.

Motorcar-Made Bottle Base

The hand-blown bottle era ended during the mid-1920s when mechanism took over all canteen product. Note that all machine-produced bottles take their mold seams go completely upwards over the bottle'due south lip.

If the canteen was produced on the Owens Automatic Bottle Machine, information technology likewise exhibits a suction scar on its base of operations. The scar often has a feathering effect that results from a deadening mold blade or a poorly fitting or worn mold. That'southward the telltale sign of an Owens machine-produced canteen.

For reference,, the Owens rings bottles were first produced about 1904. The Owens bottles with suction scars (and feathering effects) did non appear until 1905, and were more often than not seen later on 1910.

Glass Bottle Markings

Though the canteen'southward shape may tell you lot about its intended use, and the bottle's colour tin can help with an approximate age, nothing will help you lot more in your bottle dating than the bottle'south markings. Examine older bottles for whatever prove of the glass manufacturer.

Search for the visitor initials, a single letter of the alphabet, emblem, or trademark. In some cases, antique bottles simply contain a numeric sequence. If you can't observe anything except the numbers, information technology volition exist very difficult to determine the bottle'south manufacturer and consummate the old bottle identification.

Base of operations of the Canteen Markings

Bottles that display messages and numbers on their bases were likely made anywhere from the late 19th century to the modern era. In most cases, one- or two-digit numbers are actually mold numbers that betoken the specific canteen mold or section in an automated bottle machine. If numerous molds were identical, each one received its own number.Base numbers as well indicate bottle styles or shapes, manufacturing dates, or factory location codes.

Soda bottles from the Owens-Illinois Drinking glass Company display G-numbers on their bases. These numbers were codes for a sure bottle blueprint, regardless of the canteen color or soda make. For reference, the Owens-Illinois Drinking glass Company name resulted from the 1929 merger between the Owens Bottle Company (of Owens Automatic Bottle Machine fame) and Illinois Glass Company.

Bottles for whiskey and other spirits often show liquor bottle permit numbers on their bases to comply with federal police force. The bases also display the glass maker's trademark and the date lawmaking. Liquor bottles frequently accept "D-numbers" on their bases, signifying distillery identification codes.

Maker'due south Mark

Brand names, trademarks, and other identifying marks provide useful information in determining an onetime bottle's age. When the mark's owner is established and clearer dates tin be matched to the bottle's use, the mark can assistance to positively date the slice. A well-defined maker's marking tin aid y'all constitute an old canteen's age. Some glass containers, such as canning jars, have a prominent maker'due south mark. Other antique bottles lack this telltale identifier.

Embossed Markings

Typical embossed marks include a maker'due south mark or letters on the bottle's side or base. You may likewise encounter mold lines or machine marks.

Missing letters, uneven spacing, or other embossing errors provide clues to a bottle's age. Specifically, collectible Coca Cola bottles and milk bottles often include messages or marks that indicate the bottle's source. These marks may be useful in learning how sometime the bottle is.

Mold Seams

During mold-sourced bottle production, the canteen'south removal from the mold resulted in a hard-to-see seam in the glass. Much of the time, the mold seam height indicates how one-time the canteen is. Machine-produced bottles from 1905 through the 1920s displayed higher, thicker mold seams compared to later machine-fabricated bottles. Equally technology progressed, the seams grew thinner until they reached a pilus's thickness.

If the bottle seam goes to the lip's tiptop, the bottle is likely a machine-produced bottle from 1910 to the modern era. If the seam goes to the neck'south meridian but stops before the lip, the bottle was likely produced from 1880 to 1910.

Nevertheless, unabridged bottle classes stand as exceptions to this rule. For instance, mid- to late-19th century fruit jars and sheared top bottles have their own mold seam designs.

Bottle Lips

You can determine the gauge age of an old canteen merely based on its lip. After the glassblower removed the bottle from the mold, he affixed a hot glass lip to the canteen's cervix. Next, he crafted the practical lip into the correct shape. Pre-1870 canteen lips take a crude finish, while those made afterwards 1880 take more uniformity, due to the creation of a lipping tool. This development set the stage for mass bottle production.

The following are the types of applied lips used in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Apply this lip guide to assistance you lot determine the approximate age of any former bottles you lot find.

1830-1850: Flared lip
1830-1850: Sheared lip
1840-1870: Applied round ring
1840-1870: Applied square band
1840-1870: Applied taper
1840-1870: Applied blob
1840-1870: Applied double collar
1840-1860: In-rolled lip
1870-1910: Tooled with practical band
1860-1910: Early on screw cap with ground lip

Bottle Closures

Old bottle manufacturers finished their bottles with three general types of tops or closures. A bottle closure protected the bottle's contents from spilling, dust, and evaporation. Generally speaking, the canteen's general finish and closure will be similar in grade and function. Viewing canteen tops may be useful in your bottle dating work.

Cork Acme

A cork top, in use since the 18th century, functioned every bit a stopper. The pliable cork could be forced into the bottle's elevation, sealing it regardless of the bottle's shape. When bottling carbonated beverages, the operator had to secure the cork so the carbonation from the beverage wouldn't loosen information technology. Failure to exercise that frequently resulted in carbonation leaking and fifty-fifty popping the cork prior to beverage consumption. To avoid this issue, the operator wrapped stiff string or wiring around the bottle's upper cervix and cork.

When consumers remove cork tops, the tops have a tendency to break and crumble, making it difficult to remove the cork in one piece. This continues to be an issue with the sheared elevation vino bottles in use today. To remedy this issue, inventors take adult non-destructive cork-removing implements.

Crown Top

These Victorian-inspired tops came onto the marketplace in the early 1890s. By 1915, virtually bottle manufacturers had adopted this mode acme.

Looking down at the bottle, the crown top is circular with jagged edges and must exist opened with a bottle opener. Beer bottles and soda bottles typically incorporate a crown meridian.

Crown-topped bottles enjoyed wide distribution during the automobile-fabricated bottle era. Their popularity lasted through the 1960s when spiral tops came onto the market.

Spiral Top

Invented in the early 19th century, screw tops weren't produced with whatever uniform standards. As a upshot, they weren't widely used until machine-produced bottles became commonplace in the 1900s.

Modern bottling product methods dictate the use of screw tops on soda and beer bottles. These 20th-century screw-topped bottles have very picayune value.

To distinguish an early on spiral-topped bottle, look for a roughly basis lip. In addition, the before canteen does non display a mold seam running through the lip.

Antique Bottles vs Copycat Bottles

In the early 20th century, glass bottle manufacturers began using clear glass instead of aqua glass. Embossing also diminished in importance. Food manufacturers demanded more uniform containers, gradually leading to the disappearance of product deviations.

Copycat Glass Bottles

Since about 1930, manufacturers have flooded the market with reproductions that mimic antique glass bottles. The bottle'due south shape and texture may be similar to those of a mitt-blown glass bottle. These appealing characteristics requite it an antique feel and encourage the reuse of this bottle.

When determining if you accept an antiquarian canteen or a copycat, look at all of the determiners outlined in this commodity. Beware of copycat bottles that feature molded pontil marks. Some newly produced bottles brandish jagged marks that look authentic. For visual examples, perform a Google search or view bottles for auction on eBay.

If a bottle displays a pre-1850 engagement or very assuming glass colors, it'due south probably a reproduction. If y'all see a huge number of glass impurities or the glass itself is heavy with a distorted shape, it's a reproduction. An antique bottle maker would take gone to considerable lengths to minimize these issues.

Other Resources

For antique bottle identification, the best antique canteen database appears on the Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA) website.

Included on the website is the Encyclopedia of Manufacturers' Marks on Glass Containers.

View this expansive list of antique glass canteen manufacturers, sourced from the Bottle Enquiry Group's published articles. These works cover most of the larger bottle producers in the United states of america. The directory also includes some Mexican, Canadian, and

Uk bottle makers. Have a wait at the SHA encyclopedia for more data on specific bottle mark details.

Antique Bottle Dating Tin Exist Difficult

It tin exist difficult to determine how old a bottle is. But, with a picayune detective work, you lot'll exist able to identify the approximate historic period of any antiquarian bottle. Accept your newly acquired bottle identification knowledge to your next estate auction. Chances are, you'll expect at antique bottles with an entirely unlike centre.

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Source: https://www.truelegacyhomes.com/age-glass-bottles/