Historic Bottle Website "Map"

HOME: FAQ's: Website map

The following is a listing or "map" of all the main subject pages and connected sub-pages found within this Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website.  The main subject pages are in bold capital letters and the sub-pages are listed underneath the related main page title in smaller, non-bold lettering.  (Recent significant updates, additions and revisions to the site are noted further down the page.)

HOME PAGE

DATING PAGE (including beginning of Bottle Dating Key)
    Bottle Dating Key - Mouth-blown bottles
    Bottle Dating Key - Machine-made bottles
    Dating Examples

BOTTLE TYPING/DIAGNOSTIC SHAPES PAGE
    Liquor/Spirits Bottles
    Wine & Champagne Bottles
    Beer & Ale Bottles
    Soda & Mineral Water Bottles
    Medicinal/Chemical/Druggist Bottles
    Food Bottles & Canning Jars
    Household Bottles (non-food related)
    Miscellaneous & Foreign Bottles
    Labeled Bottles
    Illinois Glass Co. 1906 bottle catalog
    Kearns-Gorsuch Bottle Co. 1916-17 catalog
    Illinois Glass Co. 1920 bottle catalog
    Illinois Glass Co. 1926 bottle catalog
    Owens-Illinois Glass Co. 1933-35 bottle catalog

GLASSMAKING & GLASSMAKERS PAGE
    Glassmakers Marks

BOTTLE/GLASS COLORS PAGE

 

BOTTLE BODY CHARACTERISTICS & MOLD SEAMS PAGE

BOTTLE FINISHES & CLOSURES PAGE - Part I
   Part II: Types or Styles of Finishes - Page 1
   Part II: Types or Styles of Finishes - Page 2
   Part II: Types or Styles of Finishes - Page 3
   Part III: Types of Bottle Closures

BOTTLE BASES PAGE
   Pontil Marks or Scars

BOTTLE FRAGMENT IDENTIFICATION PAGE

BOTTLE GLOSSARY PAGE
    Bottle Morphology

REFERENCE SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY PAGE

HISTORIC BOTTLE RELATED LINKS PAGE

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ'S) PAGE
    Historic Bottle Website "Map" (this page)

ABOUT THIS SITE - Caveats, Acknowledgements & Miscellaneous PAGE

SITE USER TIPS
   Metric Conversion Table

Historic Bottle Website Authors Note 5/21/2022:  With the completion of the basic versions of the complex of Typology/Typing pages in 2019 this website is considered complete.  Corrections to and elaboration of the existing information as well as additional historic bottle examples, pertinent manufacturing and other related information will be added/expanded on the various typology pages as well as the other subject pages.  Also ongoing in the future will be revisions of the completed Makers Markings articles - revisions which began in 2021 by the primary author of that section of this site (Bill Lockhart).

NEW SHA HISTORIC BOTTLE IDENTIFICATION BOOK!

Schulz, Peter D., Rebecca Allen, Bill Lindsey, and Jeanette K. Schulz, Editors.  2016.  Baffle Marks and Pontil Scars: A Reader on Historic Bottle Identification.  Society for Historical Archaeology, Special Publication Series No. 12, Germantown, MD. 

This huge (555 pages), recently released work is one of the best "bottle books" there is for helping with the complicated subject of bottle dating & identification.  This book includes - for the first time in print - a summary of this websites (Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website) bottle dating key as a chapter entitled "Summary Guide to Dating Bottles" by this author (p. 33 to 49).  It also includes "Bottle Dating Worksheets" (p. 51 to 55) by Dr. Rebecca Allen and this author to assist in the systematic dating of an historic bottle based on the information in that dating key as well as other information on the website. 

In part, the book fulfills this authors long time desire to have a hard copy "field guide" version of this website for use by archaeologists (and others) by having at least the dating portions available in printed form to take to the field.  Beyond that the book includes more information about historic bottle identification (typology), bottle production, and more than can be summarized here. 

The book is available at www.lulu.com at the following link:  Baffle Marks and Pontil Scars.  It is available softbound with either black & white or color images.  It is also available as a downloadable PDF file. 

All proceeds from sale of this book go directly to benefit the work of the
Society for Historical Archaeology!

 

ADDITIONAL IMPORTANT INFORMATION

"ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MANUFACTURERS MARKS ON GLASS CONTAINERS"

This work is a massive treatise on American glass container manufacturers from the late 18th century to the present day more or less. As of early 2021 all of the Makers Markings sections are complete!If printed out (well over 6000 pages!) it comprises the complete 14 volumes of the "Encyclopedia of Manufacturers Marks on Glass Containers."  Although complete now, Bill Lockhart (U. of New Mexico [retired] and the primary author of these articles) and the Bottle Research Group are now in the process of revising many of these completed and published articles adding additional information found since the original publishing date.

Final copies of all the alphabetical "Logo Tables" - PDF tables of the actual markings, the associated glass makers that used them, and dates of use - are posted in their entirety just below.  All of the "A" through "Z" manufacturers article links are found on the Bottle & Glass Makers Markings page.  Supplementary files to complete each alphabetical section - e.g., "Preface/Introduction & Table of Contents" and the pertinent "List of Factories" and "Logo Table" of actual bottle markings - have been posted and linked in the appropriate alphabetical section on that same page. 

Makers Markings Logo Tables

As a part of the above noted "Encyclopedia of Manufacturers Marks on Glass Containers" project is the completion of the "Makers Markings Logo Tables" by the BRG - a major milestone in assisting with the dating of historic bottles.  This alphabetical listing of specific embossed bottle/glass containers makers markings includes the marks used by various bottle/glass making companies in the United States and Canada as well as some in England and Mexico.  The actual makers marking "logos" are listed along with the name of the company that used the marking, the date range for the use of that marking, and the makers marking article(s) that cover that particular marking and maker.  These tables taken as a whole constitute essentially a "quick reference" dating guide to the makers markings found on historic bottles!

A comprehensive history & markings of the Owens-Illinois Glass Company

Base of an Owen-Illinois produced beer bottle.Questions pertaining to the products of the Owens-Illinois Glass Co. outnumber many fold the questions this websites' author receives about any other particular glass/bottle maker.  The previous article(s) on the company posted on this website have also received significantly more user downloads than any other makers marking article.  (Image to the right of an O-I produced beer bottle base.)

Given that there is much new information gleaned since the 2015 article (Lockhart & Hoenig 2015), Bill Lockhart recently combined all of the currently known information on the complicated history of the company into two separate articles - Part 1 which is the overall history of the company and various plants and, Part 2 which is an explanation of the various makers markings, date and plant codes and related features f0und on their products.  Both articles follow and are part of the above noted "Encyclopedia of Manufacturers Marks on Glass Containers":

Lockhart, Bill, Russ Hoenig, Beau Schriever, Bill Lindsey and Carol Serr.  2018t.  Owens-Illinois Glass Co. Part 1 - History.  Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website, E-published October 2018.  This is an in-depth overview of the history of this important 20th and still currently operating company, including the myriad of plants the company used and still use. This article is available at the following link:  Owens-Illinois Glass Company Part 1 - History.

Lockhart, Bill and Russ Hoenig.  2018u.  Owens-Illinois Glass Company Part 2 - The Bewildering Array of Owens-Illinois Glass Co. Logos and Codes.  Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website, E-published October 2018.  (Note: Russ Hoenig is a now retired senior engineer of the Owens-Illinois Glass Co. and a rich source of information.  Thanks Russ!)  This is an important and substantive update that goes further in explaining the array of markings used by the company on its products over the past 90 years.  This article is available at the following link:  Owens-Illinois Glass Company Part 2 - Logos & Codes.


Other recent articles of interest

The following articles are on very commonly encountered bottles: Pitcher's/Fletcher's Castoria, Bromo-Seltzer's, Vaseline, California Fig Syrup, Phillips Milk of Magnesia, Dr. Price's Flavoring Extracts, W. T. Rawleigh Co., Horlick's Malted Milk and Curtice Brothers Catsup. The history of these products and their glass containers is useful to archaeologists (and others) due to their ubiquity in that the many different varieties of bottles used for the products can be reliably dated (within ranges).  This potentially allows for the dating of other historic bottles and items found within the same context.

Lockhart, Bill, Beau Schriever, Carol Serr, and Bill Lindsey with contributions by Joe Widman.  2014.  Pitcher's and Fletcher's Castoria Bottles - An Uncommon Study of Common Bottles.  Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website, E-published October 2014.  Article on the fascinating history, bottles and (some) makers markings of this well know product (Castoria) that is still in production (Fletcher's Castoria) today. This article is available at this link:  http://www.sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/CastoriaHistory.pdf

Early 20th century Bromo-Seltzer; click to enlarge.Lockhart, Bill, Pete Schulz, Bill Lindsey, Beau Schriever, and Carol Serr with contributions by David Whitten.  2014.  Bromo-Seltzer in the Cobalt Blue Bottles.  Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website, E-published December 2014.  Another exclusive article published here only; this one on the fascinating history and bottles of another well know product (Bromo-Seltzer) that is still in production today. This article is available at this link:  http://www.sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/Bromo-Seltzer.pdf  (Image to the right of a small, mouth-blown Bromo-Seltzer.)

Lockhart, Bill.  2015.  A Tour Through Time in Vaseline Jars.  Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website, E-published August 2015.  Another exclusive article published here only; this one on the fascinating history and bottles of yet another well know product (Vaseline) that is still in production today. This article is available at this link:  http://www.sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/Vaseline2015.pdf

Lockhart, Bill and Beau Schriever.  2018.  California Fig Syrup: The Company and its Bottles.  Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website, E-published June 2018.  Another exclusive article published here only; this one on the fascinating history and bottles of another well know product (California Fig Syrup) that is still in production today. This article is available at this link:  http://www.sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/CaliforniaFigSyrup.pdf 

Lockhart, Bill, Beau Schriever and Carol Serr.  2018.  The Bottles of Phillips Milk of Magnesia.  Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website, E-published June 2018.  Another exclusive article published here only; this one on the fascinating history and bottles of another well know product (Phillips Milk of Magnesia) that is still in production today. This article is available at this link:  http://www.sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/MilkOfMagnesia.pdf  

Lockhart, Bill.  2020a.  Dr. Price's Delicious Flavoring Extracts.  Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website, E-published March 2020.  Another exclusive article published here only; this one on the fascinating history and bottles of another well known product (Dr. Price's Flavoring Extracts) which was produced and very popular during the last quarter of the 19th century until at least 1938. This article is available at this link:  http://www.sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/PricesExtracts.pdf

Lockhart, Bill.  2020b. W. T. Rawleigh Co.  Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website, E-published March 2020.  Another exclusive article published here only; this one on the fascinating history and bottles of a major patent medicine producer (W. T. Rawleigh Co.) who began in business during the late 19th century and is still in business today (or at least as late as 2018). This company used a wide variety of largely machine-made bottles for their products.  This article is available at this link:  http://www.sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/RawleighCompany.pdf

Lockhart, Bill, Bob Brown, Beau Schriever, Carol Serr and Bill Lindsey.  2020.  Horlick's Malted Milk.  Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website, E-published November 2020.  Another exclusive article published here, this one being on the history and bottles/jars of the Horlick's Malted Milk Co.   The product was produced in various forms (powder, tablets, liquid) and was advertised as "Horlick's Malted Milk for Infants, Invalids, the Aged and Travelers" as it was sterile, portable and easy to consume (by those with no teeth?).  The company began business in the U.S. during the last quarter of the 19th century expanding into England by the 1890s and continuing through the entire 20th century.  It is still is being produced in England (the U.S. factory closed in the 1970s) for various markets around the world.  This company used a wide variety of mouth-blown and machine-made bottles for their product during that time period.  This article is available at the following link:  http://www.sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/Horlicks.pdf 

Lockhart, Bill, Bob Brown, Beau Schriever, and Bill Lindsey with contributions from John Lord and Barry Bernas.  2022b.  Curtis Brothers - The Pepsi-Cola of Catsup Packers.  Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website, E-published October 2022.   This is an article on the history of and bottles used (many types) by Curtis Brothers (New York and other locations) for bottling their catsup/ketchup from the origin of the company during the American Civil War until after the mid-20th century when it merged with another company which is still in business today.  This article is available at the following link:  http://www.sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/CurticeBrothers.pdf

Lockhart, Bill and Bob Brown.  2022c.  Moxie Nerve Food - Bottles and History.  Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website, E-published December 2022.  Article on this well known product which began as a patent medicine ("Nerve Food") and eventually morphed into a beverage/soda which is still sold in New England today.  This article is available at the following link:  http://www.sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/MoxieArticle.pdf

...probably more product bottle specific articles to come in the future.

 

 

Tintype of a man and his Drake's Plantation Bitters - ca. 1865-1875.Lockhart, Bill and Bob Brown (with contributions by Chris Weide and Russ Hoenig) 2019.  The Glamorous Applied Color Labels.  Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website, E-published September 2019.  A comprehensive article on the history, processes and use of ACL labeling beginning in the early 1930s.  This article is available on this site at:  http://www.sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/ACLArticle2019.pdf     

Schulz, Peter, Bill Lockhart, Carol Serr, Bill Lindsey and Beau Schriever.  2019b.  A History of Non-Returnable Beer Bottles. Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website, E-published February 2019.  Another exclusive article published here only; this one an in-depth and fascinating history of non-returnable beer bottles.  Though not an era that has completely ended, the heyday of no-deposit, no-return bottles was primarily from the 1930s to 1970s.  This article covers styles, dating, and much more about this category of bottles which are ubiquitous on 20th century historic sites.  This article is available at this link:  http://www.sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/NRBeers.pdf

Lockhart, Bill, Tod von Mechow, Beau Schriever, David Whitten, Bill Lindsey and Carol Serr.  2014.  William Painter's Baltimore Loop Seal. Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website, E-published January 2014.  This article is web published here exclusively for users!  It is about this late 19th century (but used into the 1910s) closure type used for beer and soda bottling and invented by William Painter, who went on to much bigger fame as the originator of the crown cap closure and finish.  This article is available at this link:  http://www.sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/BaltimoreLoopSealarticle.pdf

Lockhart, Bill, Bill Lindsey, Beau Schriever, and Carol Serr.  2012.  New Insights from the Bottles Excavated at the Fort Riley Hospital Privy. Privately published by Bill Lockhart & the Bottle Research Group.  This well illustrated work highlights the recent reanalysis of hundreds of bottles and bottle fragments systematically excavated in 1984 from a large privy at Fort Riley, KS. used from the late 1850s into the 1890s.  The reanalysis resulted in the identification of several previously non-attributed makers markings as well as provided a significant amount of information to affirm and refine many of the concepts and dating guidelines found on this site.  This copyrighted work is available for sale as a softbound book via www.Lulu.com (search using "Bill Lockhart") or as a free, downloadable .pdf file which may be saved or printed out to make your own book for no cost!  The file is available at this link: http://www.sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/FortRileyReport2012.pdf  

O'Neill milk bottle machine in 1908; click to enlarge.Another significant addition to this website, which will be ongoing for some time, is the inclusion of a series of articles primarily authored by Bill Lockhart on the early bottle making machines from the very late 1800s to the first couple decades of the 20th century.  These are highly informative, interesting and well illustrated articles on the early days of bottle making automation!

Bernas, Barry.  2011.  The Evolution of Jar Machine. (Originally privately published as part of the 2011 Fruit Jar Annual.)  This article is being made available here compliments of the author and is a fascinating history of the late 19th century evolution of wide mouth, press-and-blow jar making technology and machines.  Click on the following link to access this article:  http://www.sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/evolutionjarmachineBernas.pdf

Lockhart, Bill.  2014.  Frank O'Neill and the O'Neill Glass Machines. Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website, E-published February 2014.  Another great article web published here exclusively! This article is about some significant late 19th to early 20th century, press-and-blow, semi and fully automatic machines that were eventually able to make narrow neck bottles as well as wide mouth bottles and jars.  This article is available at this link:  http://www.sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/ONeillmachines.pdf

(The 1908 photo above right is from the Lewis Hine collection at the Library of Congress and shows an early, probably O'Neill (Barrett 2011) semi-automatic 4 mold press-and-blow milk bottle machine, with the following caption:  "Machine that blows 4 milk bottles at a time. No "lung blowers" employed. Travis Glass Co., Clarksburg W. Va. Manager says machines are fast coming into play in bottle industry, plans eventually to have machines in place of "carrying in boys." Location: Clarksburg, West Virginia" [Library of Congress].)

Lockhart, Bill and Barry Bernas.  2014.  Turning Blue: Charles Blue and the Early Jar Machines.  In the "Guide to Collecting Fruit Jars: Fruit Jar Annual 2014" by Jerry McCann , pp. 19-47.  Privately published.  As noted in the articles introduction:  Charles Edwin Blue created the first really successful jar and wide-mouth bottle machine. Between 1894 and 1912, Blue patented ten such machines, corresponding to the rise of the Atlas Glass Co. – from 1896 to 1902. This study examines the earliest machines – made by Blue and others – the manufacturing characteristics they left on jars, and ramifications applied to identifying early jars made by the Atlas Glass Co.  This article is available on this website at this link: http://www.sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/TheBlueMachine.pdf

Lockhart, Bill, Beau Schriever, Bill Lindsey and Carol Serr.  2014.  The Ashley Semiautomatic Bottle Machine.  Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website, E-published June 2014.  Yet another great article web published here exclusively! This article is about what was most likely the first narrow mouth, press-and-blow, bottle producing machines originating during the very late 19th to early 20th centuries.  These were nicknamed the "Johnny Bull" machines.  This article is available at this link:  http://www.sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/AshleyMachines.pdf

...possibly more machine specific articles to come in the future.  Also of interest is the following Owens-Illinois Glass Company, 1956 manual as described:

Owens-Illinois Glass Company.  1956.  "Operations Manual."  Owens-Illinois Glass Company, Toledo, OH.  This is a fascinating internal bottle machine manufacturing company manual (with no overall name) that is divided into three parts as noted below.  It is dated as from 1956.  Each part is linked separately to files on this website for ease of downloading:
Part 1 - Bottle Defect Definitions & Corrections  (This section is full of illustrations about various manufacturing defects, corrective measures and general information pertinent to machine manufacture.)
Part 2 - I.S. (Individual Section) Bottle Machine Information & Operation  (This section is an illustrated work about the functioning and operation of the blow-and-blow type I.S. machine - a type that is still in operation today I believe.)
Part 3 - Job Duties Manual  (This section outlines the various duties of workers in the operation of the above noted machines.)


Some suggested references

-A recently created website on the bottles of the Michigan's Upper Peninsula entitled "Copper Country Bottles" is available at the following link:  https://coppercountrybottles.com/   To quote from the website homepage - "This site catalogs old bottles of the Copper Country, a historic copper mining region, settled in the 1840s and encompassed by Keweenaw, Houghton, Ontonagon, and Baraga counties in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  Our focus is on the local bottles made by the traditional method of mouth-blowing glass into a mold and hand finishing the top.  Such Copper Country bottles date from the 1860s to 1910s.  We hope this site can facilitate the collecting and studying of old bottles as artifacts of local history."  This website was created by Jason Oyadomari and Richard Dana and is very well done.  It is full of well researched information relative to the dating of bottles which may have broader application outside the noted area of coverage.

-Noted soda bottle researcher Ron Fowler recently completed a website that includes a searchable database of over 21,000 (!) different embossed Hutchinson soda bottles that he has cataloged, including images of thousands of them.  It is available a this link:  http://www.hutchbook.com/default.html  This website is a marvelous resource for those trying to identify soda bottles and fragments as well as so much more.

The following recently published books are useful references on some interesting historic bottle "niches" that include American, English and/or Continental European bottles made from the 17th century into the 20th.  All are exceptional books on their field of study and worthy of addition to ones historic bottle library:

Farnsworth, Kenneth B. and John A. Walthall.  2011.  Bottled in Illinois - Embossed Bottles and Bottled Products of Early Illinois Merchants from Chicago to Cairo 1840-1880.  Illinois State Archaeological Survey, Prairie Research Institute, Studies in Archaeology No. 6, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois.

This is a truly monumental work on historic bottles dealing with 19th century Illinois bottles made during the period noted by the title.  It certainly ranks as one of a handful of the most well done books on bottles and their history ever published in the U.S. Click Bottled in Illinois to read more about the book and where to acquire it.

Burton, David with research by Christopher Mortimer.  2015.  Antique Sealed Bottles - 1640-1900 - and the families who owned them.  Antique Collectors Club Ltd., Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. 

This a recent, incredibly comprehensive and massive (3 volumes, 1711 pages, and about 20 pounds!) work on the sealed bottles of the world, which were primarily the products of English, Continental and some American glass makers.  Thousands of high quality color images and a wealth of historical information that is almost unbelievable in scope.  Highly recommended for anyone interested in the legend, lore and history of sealed bottles...and anyone interested in a work on historic bottles that stands head and shoulders above the rest.  It is also a very useful work on the evolution of bottle shapes and styles as it covers many hundreds of sealed bottles with dates from the mid-17th century through the 19th century.  This work is obviously the authors life work (Mortimer died in 2008).

Jones, David.  2017.  Saving the Fizz - The Evolution of Patented Bottle Closures Since the Humble Cork.  Ligare Pty. Ltd., Riverwood, NSW, Australia. 

This is a truly monumental work (616 pages) by the late Mr. Jones which is highly recommended for those interested in the closures bottles used; closures (and related finishes) which can be quite useful in dating historic bottles in the US, Australia as well as much of the world.  Profusely illustrated (thousands of images and illustrations) covering patented closures - and the finishes that accepted them - from the early 19th century through much of the 20th.  As the name implies, it concentrates somewhat on closures for soda/mineral water bottles, but covers all types.  This book is still available (for about $200 US shipped) from Wayne Harris in Traralgon, Victoria, Australia.  His email is waynhbotl@yahoo.com or by visiting the following website - www.savingthefizz.com

One more recently published book of some interest is the following on the products of the J. C. Ayer & Co.:

Hoyt, Cliff & Linda.  2018.  A Century of Cures - Dr. J. C. Ayer & Co. Lowell, Mass. U.S.A.  Lowell Historical Society, P.O. Box 1826, Lowell, MA. 01853.  A monumental, almost 500 page work on everything about this dominant patent medicine producer which spanned a century from the 1840s to 1940s.  History, full color illustrations of bottles, advertising, and in particular dates on the plethora of different bottles used by Ayers during its long history.  This is a very worthwhile book to have in my opinion.  This book is available from the authors for $50 plus postage via their website: www.cliffhoyt.com


Group of historic bottles dating between 1840 and 1930.


SEARCHING THIS WEBSITE
To do a word/phrase or image search of this website one must use the following Google search link: 
Search the SHA/BLM Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website 
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1/1/2024


This website created and managed by:
Bill Lindsey
Bureau of Land Management (retired) -
Klamath Falls, Oregon
Questions?  See FAQ #21.

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