Ball Bros. Glass Manufacturing Company (1886-1922)
Ball Bros. Company (1922-1969)
Ball Corporation (1969-to date)
Buffalo, New York (1880-1888)
Muncie, Indiana (1888-1998)
Last glass produced at Muncie was in 1962.
Brief History
Two brothers, Frank Clayton Ball and Edmund Burke Ball, after borrowing $200 from their uncle George H. Ball, started up a small business in Buffalo, New York in 1880, operating under the firm name of the Wooden Jacket Can Company. They made general tinware items including tin cans with wooden jackets that were used for shipping products such as paints, varnishes and oils. The cans ranged from one gallon to ten gallons in capacity. For a time they contracted with another company, a glassworks in Poughkeepsie, New York, to make glass inserts for their tin cans, but eventually they decided to make the inserts themselves, so they constructed a small glass factory in East Buffalo to produce them.
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In 1884, a few years after the original November 30th 1858 patent for the “Mason” jar had expired, they began production of their own glass fruit jars at the Buffalo works. That patent had expired in 1879 and many glass bottle companies, large and small, had since jumped on the bandwagon and were making their own versions of the Mason fruit jar.
Some of the earliest jars made by Ball are marked with simply a “BBGMCO” monogram. A very few of these jars are marked “BALL / BBGMCo (monogram) / FRUIT JAR” across the front. Virtually all of those so-called “Buffalo” jars are believed to have been manufactured during the 1884 – 1886 time frame.
Although the company was evidently already known as simply “Ball Bros” in the circa 1882 to 1886 time period, the business was officially incorporated as “Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Company” in 1886.
A fire in 1886 destroyed their factory in New York and they soon decided to move west and start up a new operation in the up and coming “gas belt” region where large deposits of natural gas had been recently discovered. Many other businesses were moving to that area, establishing new factories and taking advantage of the abundant and cheap fuel supply for their works.
After visiting a number of towns in western Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana, they eventually decided on a new factory location in the town of Muncie, Indiana, located in central Indiana northeast of Indianapolis. The Ball brothers started the construction of the new factory there in 1887, and the first glass made at Muncie was produced on March 1, 1888, according to information on this wikiwand page: Ball Corporation
All five of the Ball brothers were eventually involved in the venture, including George A., Lucius L., Edmund B., Frank C. and William C. Ball.
The company name was changed slightly to “Ball Brothers Company” in 1922, and again in 1969 when it became known simply as “Ball Corporation”.
Ball Bros was headquartered in Muncie from 1888 to 1998. The city of Muncie is very well known as the home of the prestigious Ball State University, which was founded by, and named after those five Ball Brothers!
As time passed, other locations were eventually utilized in glass production in addition to the main factory and headquarters in Muncie. Other Ball Bros. glass manufacturing locations included Sapulpa, Oklahoma; Okmulgee, Oklahoma (1927) ; Huntington, West Virginia; Hillsboro/Schram City, Illinois (former Schram Glass Manufacturing Company plant, purchased in 1925, later to become Hillsboro Glass Company in 1961); Noblesville, Indiana, and Wichita Falls, Texas.
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Ball rapidly increased their glass production after the move to Indiana, and was soon churning out tremendous numbers of glass fruit jars of all types at their Macedonia Avenue factory located on the south side of Muncie. A number of separate buildings covered the grounds of the facility at the height of their glass production. (Incidentally, the main Ball Bros. plant and business offices were located near the Hemingray Glass Company plant, prolific maker of glass electrical insulators. Hemingray’s factory was located virtually across the street, also on Macedonia Avenue).
Ball Bros was the best-known fruit jar (canning jar) manufacturer in the world, but also made a wide variety of other glass containers for the packaging industry during its long history. (See this page on Ball Perfect Mason jars, their best known and most heavily-produced jar).
Many jars that have been made by Ball over the years might be termed “generic” jars, that is, different types of plain, unlettered glass jars (and bottles) purchased by food and other companies to contain their products sold in retail stores. Many of these generic “packer jars” carried the cursive “Ball” logo on the bottom. For example, the photo below shows the markings on the bottom of a jar used to package honey.
The majority of marked containers carry the name “Ball” embossed in cursive script, although some fruit jars made during certain periods of time also had the name embossed in simple, block letters.
NOTE: Glass-making actually ended at the Muncie plant in 1962, but production continued at other Ball factories for years afterward. In 1987, as a result of their merger with Indianhead Container Corporation, Ball-InCon Glass Packaging Corporation was formed and the logo “BALL” in script was discontinued on their packer ware. Ball-InCon (a stylized “B I” logo was used 1987-1994) became Ball Glass Container Corporation in 1994, and the cursive script “B” mark was then used for about a year (see illustrations of these two marks on page one of the Bottle Marks pages).
In 1995, Ball-Foster Container Corporation was formed, with Ball owning 42% and Saint-Gobain owning 58% of assets (which included Saint-Gobain’s acquisition of Foster-Forbes Glass Company at that time) in the merger. The mark “BF” was then used, 1995-2000.
In 1996 Ball Corporation sold its interest in its remaining glass plants to Saint-Gobain and left the glass business altogether to pursue other industries. Most of the former Ball Bros glass plants then became part of Saint-Gobain Container Corporation (subsidiary of Saint-Gobain), later called Verallia. This webpage ( https://www.verallia.com/en/our-group/about/ ) points to the current incarnation of Verallia [2021] which produces glass in Europe, but no longer in the US.
Their glass containers made in the United States (2000 -c. 2014) may be found with the “SG” mark, and afterward (probably with a gradual phasing in c.2014 – c. 2016) with the “upside down Omega” or horseshoe-like logo used by Ardagh Group (see that mark in the “U” listings on Page Five ).
Verallia North America (VNA) was acquired by Ardagh Group (based in Luxembourg) as of April 11, 2014, and all of these glass manufacturing facilities are currently (2021) under that banner.
ARDAGH GROUP PLANTS
The Ardagh Group currently (2023) operates 13 glass container manufacturing plants within the United States. They include factories operating at: Dunkirk, Indiana (operation dating from 1889) ; Port Allegany, Pennsylvania (originally Olean Glass Company, 1896-1912, Wightman Co-Operative Glass Company, 1915-1917, then Pierce Glass Company, 1917 until 1987); Sapulpa, Oklahoma (1913); Seattle, Washington (1931); Dolton, Illinois (1954); Henderson, North Carolina (1960); Burlington, Wisconsin (1965); Ruston, Louisiana (1968); Madera, California (1970); Wilson, North Carolina (1977) and Pevely, Missouri (1981).
Also included under the Ardagh Group banner are two other glass plants, one located at Winchester, Indiana (originally Woodbury Glass Company, dating from 1904, later Thatcher Glass Manufacturing Company circa 1920, then General Glass Corporation, subsequently acquired by Anchor Hocking Glass Corporation about 1937); and the other plant at Bridgeton, New Jersey (former Leone Industries plant, acquired in March 2012).
Notes on glass bottle plants in the US that operated under Ardagh Group, but have recently been closed:
1) Their Salem, New Jersey bottle manufacturing plant (originally Salem Glass Works, from 1863, later Anchor Hocking, later Anchor Glass Container Corporation) was closed by Ardagh Group in October of 2014.
2) The Milford, Massachusetts glass plant (built in 1973, originally a Foster-Forbes factory), specializing in making beer bottles, was closed down in the spring of 2018, and the property was sold later that year. Apparently, there are no plans to continue the property as a glass-making facility. Here is an online article published shortly before the plant was closed: Milford Massachusetts Bottle Factory Closing is Unavoidable
3) The Lincoln, Illinois glass plant (dating from 1942, originally Lincoln Glass Bottle Company, later Lincoln Container Corporation, later Pierce Glass Company) closed down in 2019.
4) 2024 Update: Their Ruston, Louisiana, and Wilson, North Carolina factory locations have closed down production as of July of 2023. See my page on the SG mark seen on containers, with more information on Saint Gobain, Verallia and Ardagh Group. There are links on that page about the Ruston, LA and Wilson NC plant closings.
Ball Corporation headquarters were moved from Muncie to Broomfield (Westminster), Colorado in 1998. Ball Corporation is currently still in existence (2022) but has greatly expanded into involvement in the production of various non-glass packaging products (metal food, beverage and aerosol cans), and a wide range of products connected with the high-tech aerospace industry. Their website is: Ball.com .
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NOTE: New glass fruit jars embossed with the “Ball” cursive logo that are being sold currently (2016-2020) are made by Ardagh Group (at the former Anchor Glass Container Corporation plant located in Winchester, IN, as well as the Dunkirk, Indiana plant) for the Jarden Corporation – their Home products division, Daleville, Indiana, (formerly known as the Alltrista Corporation, the name was changed to Jarden in 2002). Jarden Home Brands has a licensing agreement with Ball Corporation to use the brand names “Ball” and “Kerr” on their products. (Bernadin jars are sold in Canada).
(NOTE: Also, please check out the posts by Chris (from 2015 and 2016) in the COMMENTS section below. He gives more detailed info on some of the Ball jars made at the Winchester and Dunkirk facilities.)
The corporate history of Ball Bros. is very complicated and confusing, and admittedly my overview here is somewhat simplistic. A search of the web should produce more detailed information for the researcher on this glass company and its successors.
NOTE: For a much more detailed article on the Ball Bros Glass Manufacturing Company, please check out this .pdf article written by researcher and archaeologist Bill Lockhart (with input from several others). He includes extensive information on this company and their history:
https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/BallBros.pdf
Click here to go to my Home Page.
Please click here to return to the Glass Bottle Marks pages (page one).
Click here to go to my page on the Ball Perfect Mason jars, with more info there as well as links to other sites with more detailed information for jar collectors.
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I’m looking for a more recent glass product. We purchased a set of juice glasses a few years ago which were marked on the bottom with a logo of opposing “B” s. I assumed this to be a Ball Brothers marking. A couple of theses glasses got broken and we would like to replace them but find them anywhere.
Bob McCullough
Bob, I am not sure if I have seen that mark before. I don’t think Ball Brothers used such a mark. Can you email me with a picture of the base mark? My email address is at the bottom lower corner of the webpage. Thanks,
David
My Grandmother worked at the plant in Wichita Falls Texas. Must have been in the late 30 or 40s.
Hi David, I have a mason jar that stands about 19 in. tall Ball underneath is ideal. On the back it has an eagle.
I broke the lid last night. It possibly holds about 3 gallons. Do you think I could find a lid or have one made? It works great for storing dried beans.
Thank you
Robbie
Hi Robbie,
Honestly, I’m not sure how easy it would be to find a replacement lid. You might try posting a request/query on the http://www.antique-bottles.net discussion forum in case someone there might have a lid available (or know where to get one). Other ideas…….. perhaps make a post on one of the Facebook fruit jar collectors groups, or even on Craigslist in the “Wanted” category.
~David
Hi Robbie. I have this same jar, just missing the wire. Let me know how you make out, and if you wind up with an unwanted wire. From what I recall these jars aren’t very old, maybe reproduction for bicentennial.
Have searched internet. Have a 1 gallon amber jug with Ball logo that I believe is 1933 to 1962. 592-128 and B-6 embossed on bottom. Has a textured glass about 1/3 down below bottom of neck and same textured glass about 1 inch from bottom. Cannot find a match. Can you help identify?
Diana, without seeing it, I would assume it is one of many glass gallon jugs that were made by quite a few glass companies, including Ball. They typically held liquids such as Coke syrup, vinegar and apple cider. Some were used for other types of liquids such as ammonia, bleach, herbicides, etc.
I don’t know what those code numbers mean so I can’t narrow down the date range any tighter.
Best regards,
David
I recently found a Ball white clear-ish glass bottle that has Ball in cursive on the bottom along with the numbers “7-12” and “17-H”. I found them alongside some coke bottles from WWII. Along the neck of the bottle is has “not to be refilled” and “no deposit no return”. Not sure if the Ball glass bottles are from that era as well? Thanks!
Greg,
I can’t provide a specific date, but from my observations I would guess most bottles with the phrases “NOT TO BE REFILLED” and “NO DEPOSIT NO RETURN” date from the 1960s and 1970s and later. It sounds like a Ball “packer bottle” of some sort, that contained some type of food product purchased retail (such as mustard, ketchup, mayo, applesauce, spaghetti sauce, vinegar, salad oil, etc, etc). Or perhaps a beverage bottle for soda, fruit juice or some other drink. I just don’t know. Ball made lots of other containers besides their regular fruit jars used by home canners. In many of those cases they placed their cursive mark on the bottom. Often the mark is very faint and difficult to read.
David
[UPDATE – edited 6/30/2024] Please see the comment left by James Tuttle and my reply to him. Greg’s bottle may have indeed dated from the 1940s as well. “NO DEPOSIT NO RETURN” phrase became standardized on beverage bottles made in the US in 1941.
I don’t think that is correct. I live in Saipan in the South Pacific and most of those bottles here are found along side beer bottles dated with a .4 or .5 which would make them 1944-45 and WW II vintage. The reason I say that is that many of the battle sites here are littered with them. Also from my research, the Duraglas bottles with “NOT TO BE REFILLED” and “NO DEPOSIT NO RETURN” was produced from the 40’s to the 60’s. If they were found next to WW II bottles, I would assume that is also their vintage. I have a bottle of the same vintage found in an old Japanese shrine occupied by the Americans post WW II. It was beside WW II beer bottles. I hope this helps.
Hi James,
You are correct. The “No Deposit No Return” phrase does date much earlier than I remembered in my reply to Greg. However I should mention that the original comment (posted by Greg, in July of 2018) was referring to a Ball bottle. Ball Bros bottles and jars are notorious for not including date codes to help pin down age. Greg did not explain exactly what type of bottle he had found. I neglected to inquire further, as I should have asked for more info, including size and shape, where it was found (somewhere in the US?), what type of context (along a beach mixed in with other bottles of other vintages? Buried in a dump alongside WWII era Coke bottles?). But on rereading his post, evidently it was indeed a beverage bottle, probably a beer or soda bottle!
On many beaches, bottles can be found on the surface that range in age from being made last year, up to 100 years old or more. When buried in a trash dump or privy, as you know, the context is usually much clearer and often the ages of bottles found near to each other are very similar.
In the case of Coke bottles, there is confusion on when they first bore “NO DEPOSIT NO RETURN” embossings. One site says that occurred in 1964, which I believe is in error – it was likely much earlier.
The very first non-returnable beverage bottles were beer bottles made by Owens-Illinois in 1935. During World War II, Owens Illinois produced many, and huge numbers of them were shipped overseas for military personnel. The “NO DEPOSIT NO RETURN” phrase was standardized in 1941. Other glass companies including Brockway Glass, Anchor Hocking and Thatcher Manufacturing Co. also made large numbers of beverage bottles with the phrase embossed on them. You have probably seen this article by Bill Lockhart et al, but I’ll post it here for reference, as it covers the history of nonreturnable beverage bottles:
A History of Non-Returnable Beer Bottles
Thanks a lot for your post!
~David
Hi David, No disrespect or arrogance intended. You are the expert and not me. I knew a little bit because the Duraglas 44-45 bottles for beer and beverage are all over the old WW II battleground here in Saipan. Thank you for all of your hard working knowledge and diligence. Your attachment has helped date a couple of bottles from at bit later (1949-1950, I believe). If you don’t mind I will include pics in another Email. Again, all due respect on my addendum. My wife was impressed that I was correct for once. LOL. Anyway, I will follow up with another post on my two other bottles. Thanks, Jim
Thanks, James!
Since my site isn’t set up to receive photos uploaded directly by readers, please send me an email with photos if you wish. My email address is listed on the “Contact Information” page. Thanks again and best regards!
~David
Hello,
I have a blue, Ball Perfect jar that seemingly dates around the mid 1920-30s, and I am wondering if these jars contain lead? It’s been in my family for what seems years. I don’t really know where it came from or how we got it, but I am wondering if it is safe to use for food storage.
Thank you,
Alexandra Trefrey
Hi Alexandra,
[reply edited 3/22/2021, with addition of new link. An old link from my original reply was no longer working]
No, the Ball Perfect Mason jars (and other typical fruit jars of the time period) were not made with lead as part of the glass formula. Lead was added to the glass formulas mostly for “upscale”, more expensive tableware such as crystal wine glasses, goblets, decanters, etc. Lead adds brilliance to the glass, so this is the main reason why “crystal” or “flint glass” tends to be shinier and more light-catching. Ball Perfect Mason jars were made from common “bottle glass” or “container glass” which did not include lead in the recipe. (well, to be 100% accurate, it is possible that trace amounts might have been occasionally present from the cullet [broken glass] that was used, but it would be negligible).
In any case, true Lead glass is generally considered as fairly safe to use for ordinary household use. However, it is now advised by health authorities to only use leaded / crystal glassware for drinking during meals but NOT for long-term storage such as in decanters or jugs, as evidently, over a period of time small quantities of lead can gradually leach into the product. During a mealtime that lasts a couple hours or so, this is not likely to occur. See more info at this webpage: https://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/wine/lead-crystal.asp
Take care,
David
Thank you for your response! Also, I see I posted this question twice. I thought the first one didn’t go through, anyway sorry about that. 🙂
Hello! Do you, or anyone here, know if these jars were ever made with lead? I have a Ball Perfect Mason jar seemingly from the 1920s-30s, according to a site I found that had the different logos of embossed font on the jars. I don’t know how it came to my family or if it’s been in the family that long. I’m wondering if it’s safe to still use or not. Thank you.
Alexandra, Without destroying your jar to analyze the glass using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis, it would be difficult at best to know how much, if any, lead is in the glass. However, to the best of my knowledge, lead is generally not added to soda-lime glass formulas. That being said, container soda-lime glass has always been considered Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) because the glass is chemically inert. If there was any lead in the glass, it is chemically and physically impossible for it to leach into whatever is in the jar.
I’d say use it if you want to without any reservations, or keep it as a neat display!
Im looking for custom glass jars to be made? Does anyone know where i can get these made
Wish to know: I water bath canned pickles, garlic and peppers without vinegar or salt. Been stored in fridge for 30+ days. They look great, jars are sealed but no flavor. Can these be re canned with vinegar and still be safe?
Hello Tee Jay,
I would suggest you try contacting someone at this site:
http://www.freshpreserving.com/faqs.html
Hope this helps,
~David
Does anyone know where I can buy wholesale the 8oz quilted Ball jar …..cheapest I can find per case of 12 is $7.92 per case …..we are producing larger amounts of Jams and Jellies and selling at local markets and events………running around to walmarts and target stores is getting old …….our business is growing and need better pricing.
Hi Holly, I have no connection with the company who now markets glass jars marked “BALL”. However, I might suggest you try contacting the actual distributor of these containers. Have you tried contacting Jarden Home Brands, perhaps by checking for contact info printed on the jar packaging? Or try contacting someone for information at http://www.freshpreserving.com/faqs.html or the actual website run by Jarden.
Hope this will be of help,
David
David,
I’ll add some additional information since I now work at the Winchester facility. We make 4oz, 8oz, 16oz, 24 oz, 32oz, and 66oz sizes with the Ball, Kerr, Golden Harvest, and Bernardin named “Ball” jars here in Winchester. This includes the plain name-only design, the ‘quilted’ diamond patterns, the 8oz ‘Jelly Pot’ with fruit designs, all in flint glass. We also make the 16oz handled Ball jar mugs. This is in addition to the several designs manufactured in Dunkirk and Henderson. Thanks for all the great info!
Hi Chris,
I really appreciate your information! Thank you for sharing.
~David
David, Have you ever seen Ball jars w/o labels on the side? I have 2 w/ only the 1933-1960 logo on the bottom w/ other serial numbers.
Hi Karen,
Ball Bros Glass Company made large numbers of other containers marked only with their logo on the base – often accompanied by jar style numbers, mold numbers and sometimes other information. Most of those jars and bottles would be classed as “packer ware”, meaning that they were sold empty to various companies (food, beverage, liquor, etc) who then filled them with their own particular products and sold them in retail venues. (As opposed to canning jars/fruit jars that were usually sold empty to the buying public for home canning use).
Hope this helps!
David
Your information about where the Ball jars are manufactured is partially correct. Approximately 4 sizes/variations are produced in the Winchester, Indiana facility, and six sizes/variations are produced at the Dunkirk, Indiana facility. These include the 8oz. round fruit and 8oz. Diamond pattern canning jars, the 250 mL “squat” square canning jar, the 500mL “squat” square canning jar, and two 500ml canning jars (one round and one rounded square). The Dunkirk facility currently only manufactures these containers in flint (clear) glass, and the blue and other colors are made at other facilities.
Chris, your information is very greatly appreciated!! Thank you so much for taking the time to write with these details!
~David
Minor correction: Ball’s HQ today is in Broomfield, Colo., not Bloomfield.
Hello,
My wife and I recently bought a coffee grinding system with Ball jars used as part of the set. They do not say made in USA like I thought they would. How would I find out which plant makes them? And why do they not proudly display Made in USA on their products? Thank you!
Many,many Ball jars are not marked “MADE IN USA”. The company / brand name was so well-known, this may have been deemed unnecessary. Also, any markings on glass involves addition mold-work (tooling, engraving on the inside of the mold, which is labor intensive and costs money!) In general, from what I understand, the “MADE IN USA” marking was not required on glass items until after 1919, and then only when the item was slated for export outside the US. Exactly what type of jar are you referring to? Ball made hundreds of slightly different types over a period of many years. Do you believe these jars came with the set originally, or are “all-purpose” type jars used as replacements?
David
There are series of numbers on the Ball jars which give you lots of information about when and where it was made. If you were to buy fresh stock today, you should see three sets of numbers on the very bottom of the jar. I work in the Winchester, Indiana facility which makes about 50 different styles in several capacities. Anyway, our jar this year will have a 17 at the 9 o’clock position (plant number), a 17 in the three o’clock position (year of the mold), the Ardagh Chalice at noon (company logo), and finally, at 6 o’clock, the individual mold number. Some of the mold designs will have the chalice, plant, and mold number around the heel diameter.
As far as a comprehensive plant list, this would be very difficult as nearly every merger or sale in the industry results in a change to the plant number. For example, prior to 2012, the Winchester jars would display the AG (Anchor Glass) and plant #3.
Chris
Hi Chris,
Thanks very much for your post! I enjoy adding this kind of good information to the site!
Best regards,
David
Hi, I have just recently started collecting Ball mason jars. I have 3 jars that I’ve been trying to find some information on but have not had any luck. And I was hoping someone on here could help me. Jar #1 is a clear glass Ball mason jar that is a liquid drink dispenser. The top is glass that is secured to the jar with the wire closure. A rubber gasket sits between the cover & the jar. The front of the jar says “Ball”, and then underneath that it says IDEAL. On the back of the jar it has an eagle in a circle with a star above it’s head.
Jar #2 is also a clear jar. The cover consists of the typical metal screw on ring, but instead of the typical metal cover, it’s clear glass.
Jar #3 is blue in color. It says Ball and underneath that it says “Perfect Mason”. But the perfect mason is not perfectly aligned under the word Ball. It’s off to the left side. Of the many Ball jars I’ve seen ALL of them that say Perfect Mason the words are perfectly aligned under Ball.
My questions about these jars are: Are they rare? (Especially jar #3) How can I tell when they were made? Anything you can tell me about these jars would be a big help. Please send your response to my e-mail, as I may not be able to get back to this page to see your response.
Thank You for your time
Shally
Shally, have you already checked out my webpage (on this site) on the Ball Perfect Mason jars, and especially the links listed at the bottom of that page, pointing to other sites with more specialized info on Ball jars? There are hundreds of slightly different variants, just of the Ball Perfect Mason. (The “Ideal” was another type of jar made by Ball in very large numbers, with several varieties made over a period of years. The IDEAL was a so-called “Lightning-type closure” jar with a metal wire closure and a glass lid).
The Ball Perfect Mason with the word “MASON” lettering offset more to the left is somewhat less common than the examples with the lettering centered underneath, but they are still relatively easy to find, and only have a slightly higher “market value”. Two of these variants are classed as Redbook jars #343 and #350-1. Your best bet would be to obtain a copy of the latest ‘Redbook’ of fruit jar values. This book can be obtained online by searching bookseller sites, and a copy (albeit an older version in many cases) might be borrowed at well-stocked, “better” local libraries.
You can also try searching through online auction sites for Ball jars, just for informational purposes, comparing different types and embossing variations. Type in relevant keywords in the search box on ebay, and look for similar jars. (Although in many cases, the minimum bid, ‘buy it now’ price, or asking price is WILDLY out of line, especially since many sellers have no ideas on the true market value of older jars, and grossly overestimate their value and rarity). Nevertheless, ebay browsing can be a good way to find out what types of older fruit jars are out there to be found, and the variations in lettering, size, color, etc.
Hope this helps. If any readers can supply additional info, please do.
Best regards, David
The dispenser jar was made approximately the year 2000. The offset BPM was made 1913-1914. Hard to tell which jar you are referring to with the glass lid.
Linda, thank you very much for the info. Hopefully Shally will see your reply!
David
Hello i woul like to know if your could sell from 24 to 27 jars of 24 oz with lid.
Hi Isabela,
I am going to presume your request is not meant as “spam”. This is not a “for sale” site. I do not actually sell glass containers. This site is for background informational purposes only. You might try contacting a local-area or regional bottle supplier by searching the thomasnet.com site here: http://www.thomasnet.com/products/glass-bottles-7041205-1.html. However, some bottle suppliers and manufacturers require a minimum quantity (which is some cases may be rather high) in order to accept orders.
Best regards, David
I have a Ball Perfect Mason with the number 14 on the base. Can’t find any information. Are you able to help please. Thank you for your time.
Hello Veronica,
Most of the more frequently-seen types of aqua or “Ball Blue” colored Ball Perfect Mason jars carry a number from 0 to 15 on the base. These numbers identified the steel mold (or individual mold component/cavity on an automatic bottle machine assembly) from which the jar was made. (The mold numbers have no relation to any particular year or year code). Many of these BPM jars date from the 1920s and 1930s. Please check out my article on this site with more information relating to the Ball Perfect Mason.
Hope this helps a bit,
David
David, we have begun producing the Ball Perfect Mason jars again in flint, in both quart and 8oz sizes. Look for more to come, along with the Sharing and Madison jars in 16 and 28oz sizes.
Hello Chris,
Can you elaborate more on the main differences between these new flint (clear) quart Ball Perfect Masons, as compared to earlier ones, say, from the 1930s, ’40s or 1950s? I really appreciate the info you have offered here.
Best regards,
David
David, as far as exact differences, I cannot say as I don’t have access to the mold drawings from the old school jars, but I know the intent was to essentially duplicate the originals. There are likely minor differences in the font style as moldmaking tools have evolved, but the overall appearance will be extremely close. The jars have the rounded shoulder that slopes from the body diameter to the normal 70mm finish. The Ball logo is raised .031″ in glass with fairly sharp edges, and “Perfect Mason” is below the Ball logo. At this time, we are only making 8 and 32 oz sizes, but more are likely in the works. There are several (maybe 6-7) new designs which I cannot share details of, but they are pretty neat!
Chris, thank you very much, and I really appreciate your input. I am guessing that if the new BALL PERFECT MASON carry plant, date and mold codes on the base (arranged in the typical “clock positions” like a lot of other modern bottles) it should be easy to tell them apart from the older clear BPM jars. Of course, the older aqua or Ball Blue jars don’t have such plant/date/mold markings anyway. I was also thinking that the new jars may be somewhat lighter in weight than the older ones(?) Are these jars already being sold at this time? If so, do you know when they were reintroduced to the market?
Thanks and take care,
David
David, I haven’t weighed the old jars for reference, but yes, they are likely slightly heavier. These days, most low-impact containers (including the Ball jars) have between 0.6-0.8 oz of glass per fluid ounce capacity. This will get slightly lower as size goes up, as the half gallons are about 0.5oz, simply due to the forming process used which is press and blow. The markings are indeed modern style, and only the Ardagh Chalice and mold number are on the bottom of the new jars.
As far as retail availability, we started shipping these in July to the distribution channel, but I have not been able to find any with a quick online search. I do know that Newell Brands (the new parent company of Jarden Home Brands, owner of the Ball jar trademarks) has a large social media team and presence, so they may be a good resource to contact.
Thanks Chris!
~David
Why was colored glass used for canning jars? Mostly, the blue color?
Thanks, Janet
Dear Janet, for more background info on why most older canning jars (and bottles and insulators, for that matter) were made in blue or aqua-colored glass, check out my pages on “What is Glass”, “Ball Perfect Mason” and “Glass Insulator Manufacturers”. Basically, “natural” glass (without adding any ingredients to “decolorize” the mixture) will come out in some shade of blue, green, or aqua because of the iron content of the sand. Nearly all sand used in glass manufacture has trace amounts of iron in it. Years ago (especially before the 1920s or so) it was very common for a lot of the “cheaper” types of glassware, such as bottles, insulators and fruit jars, to be made in the natural color of glass, i.e. without bothering to change or eliminate the blueish or greenish color by adding decolorizers to the batch. As time went on glass factories gradually changed over, so by the late 1930s and 1940s most glass of this type was being made in clear, as customers preferred to see the “true” color of products which could best be seen through glass that was as colorless as possible. Hope this helps and thanks for writing,
David
Hi
Go to THE BALL JAR CCC HOME PAGE FORUM and someone can help you
(This is referring to queries about date/mold codes used on Ball jars). Thank you Larry!
David
Did they ever produce liquor/Whiskey Bottles?
I have two with the Ball marks.
Yes, Ball produced a VERY wide variety of containers, including liquor bottles. Many of their whiskey bottles were produced at their Hillsboro, Illinois plant location, and I assume other plants as well.
David
Hi, David. Are you or anyone else able to tell from which plant(s), and when acl soda pop bottles were made?
Hi Brian,
I am not familiar with the plant codes and date codes Ball used on their containers, including soda bottles. To be honest I haven’t searched in-depth for this info, which may or may not already be available somewhere on the web………perhaps someone out there has this information? I am posting your query in hopes that someone can help out in this regard. Thanks a lot for writing!
~David
Hi, David. I found your website after searching Ball Bros. I worked at Hillsboro Glass Company in Schram City, IL until 1997 when the plant closed. At that time the plant was owned by a middle-eastern company that had purchased it a year earlier from Hiram Walker. We made whiskey and other liquor bottles. Previous to that it was Ball Bros Glass (until H-W purchased it in the 60’s), Schram Glass, and others.
I would like a copy of the Ball Blue Book that was published in 1969 edition 28
Hi Denise,
I am not a bookseller. However, you can probably find a copy of that edition online merely by searching ebay.com or bookfinder.com. Best regards,
David