GLASS BOTTLE MARKS ~ HOME PAGE
Hi there ~ I’m interested in the general history of the glass manufacturing industry in the United States, especially that of container glass, electrical insulators and tableware (both pressed and blown). Antique bottles, Fruit jars, Glass electrical insulators, EAPG (Early American Pattern Glass), Depression Glass, Milk Glass, antique children’s mugs, fishing net floats, and other items are some of the forms of glass I enjoy learning more about. My “GLASS BOTTLE MARKS” website attempts to discuss those subjects and more.
A lot of great information about glass is already available on the web, as well as in many books and magazines, but I’ve tried to gather some of the very best, basic info together onto this site, in particular concentrating on glass manufacturers’ identification marks found on bottles, fruit jars, insulators and tableware. I’m also in the process of adding various research articles to this site, with histories or summaries on a number of glass companies, and information about different types of collectible glass and glass items.
The glassmaking industry in the United States is a huge field that dates back to the seventeenth century, and covers a vast array of items and applications, including both handmade and machine-made glass.
According to historian Rhea Mansfield Knittle (Early American Glass, 1927), one of the earliest glass manufacturers in the US (not counting the unsuccessful attempts at Jamestown in 1607 and 1621) who may have produced considerable quantities of glassware and actually met with some degree of success, was Johannes Smedes (or Jan Smedes), who operated an establishment — probably making bottles for the most part– sometime in the period of 1654-1664 at New Amsterdam (now known as New York City) .
What is glass?
Although some collectors and researchers might consider this a question with a fairly “obvious” answer, it’s not quite as simple as that. For a brief, basic discussion on glass (especially concerning the most common type of glass used for containers and tableware), check out my webpage here: What is Glass?
Every glass object, even the most lowly, commonplace glass bottle, has a story behind it, although all of the precise details may never be known. Where was it made? What was the name of the company or factory where it was produced? How old is it? Is it handmade? Was it mass-produced by machine methods? What type of glass is it made of? What elements/chemicals were included in the glass formula or “recipe”? Why is it a certain color? If it’s an older, hand-blown bottle, who was the glassblower who fashioned it? Who was the last person who used it and handled it before it came into your possession? Where was the physical location of the sand supply that eventually was turned into the glass piece that you hold in your hand? Is it American-made, or a piece that was produced outside the United States? Are there letters, numbers, emblems or other graphics embossed into the glass itself? Can the factory or company/glassmaker be identified by the markings on it? What do the markings mean?
Some or all of these questions might come to mind to the collector or layman, student, flea market shopper, historian, researcher, archaeologist, or casual hobbyist. And my site attempts to answer, in at least some cases if possible, these questions: Where, approximately when, and by what company was this piece of glass made?
ADVERTISEMENT
Glass making factories in earlier days were, for the most part, rather unpleasant places … the general inside environment could be, and often was, brutal. It was extremely hot (especially in the warmer months), noisy, dirty, and dangerous for a number of reasons. Injuries, especially burns and cuts, were commonplace. Fire was always a potential occurrence, and many early factories were destroyed by fire, sometimes leading to the complete closing down of a plant and/or failure of a company.
Antique and vintage glassware of all types and styles that are collected, studied and appreciated today are the tangible artifacts and testaments to the remarkable creativity, sheer hard work, energy, endurance, perseverance, and innovation of those men (and women, as well as many young children in the days before the enactment of child labor laws) who worked in those earlier factories.
Five of the webpages on this site list glass manufacturers’ identification marks (alphabetically listed) seen on container glass (bottles, jars, flasks, jugs, etc) and on other types of glass including handmade and machine-made tableware and cookware.
A few examples of “glass bottle marks” on utilitarian containers would be “I inside a diamond” , “B in a circle” “R & CO” and “N inside a square”.
Please click here to go to “PAGE ONE” of the alphabetical mark listings, with introductory information and explanatory comments: Glass Bottle Marks
On this site are a number of individual web pages with basic information on some of the glass factories that operated in the United States. To read any of the glass company profiles I’ve posted (so far) on the Glass Bottle Marks site, and other articles pertaining to glass, please look along the right-hand sidebar of any page (on a computer screen) or at the bottom of the page (on mobile devices) for the menu of “Glass-Related Articles”, and click on any link in that list. I hope to post more articles and add more information as time and energy permits!
One page in particular within this site is a list of glass factories that manufactured, or are believed to have produced, glass electrical insulators for telegraph, telephone and/or power lines. Although mainly listing U.S. factories, a few Canadian and Mexican factories are listed also. Click here to go directly to that page: GLASS INSULATOR MANUFACTURERS.
If you have additional information, please contact me (at the email address listed at the very bottom of any page on this site) as I’m continually looking for the most accurate data available on these companies. Sources of some of the information is included after each entry if I have it available. I’d appreciate any additions, corrections, or suggestions you may have!
ADVERTISEMENT
Some of the information on glass insulators is from research originally compiled by N. R. Woodward, creator of the “CD” (Consolidated Design) numbering system now used worldwide by collectors for identifying and cataloging insulators. A portion of the info in this site pertaining to insulator manufacturers is drawn from various articles in the classic 2-volume reference book “INSULATORS: A HISTORY AND GUIDE TO NORTH AMERICAN GLASS PINTYPE INSULATORS “ by John & Carol McDougald (published in 1990).
The glass insulator pictured here, a blue aqua or “Hemingray Blue” CD 257 “Mickey Mouse”, is a type made for power lines, made by the Hemingray Glass Company at their factory that operated in Muncie, Indiana.
This site is a “work in progress” started in February of 2004. Originally, the core material was posted as a “sub-page” on the umbrella site https://myinsulators.com (hosted by webmaster Bill Meier), but in September of 2012 I moved to my own domain name, and have since expanded this site with additional articles. I would also like to thank the many people around the country (and some from outside the US) with whom I’ve communicated by email, and who, over the years, have sent me photos of glass marks, some of them posted in the alphabetical listings.
I hope this website will be of help in your quest to discover more information concerning the wide world of glass and glass manufacturing. Please be sure to bookmark my site, and return often!
Thank you!
~David
ADVERTISEMENT
David – I think I have a revision to one of your listings: I-R & Co – on the base of a Loop Seal beer bottle “F. BERNHARD / CANAL DOVER / OHIO // blank // 1-R & CO the “I” in your listing is actually a “1” which makes the bottle a Reed & Co instead of an unknown maker as below. I can provide a photo . THANKS – Gregg
I-R & CO ……….. unknown. This mark, presumably that of a short-lived glass company, has been recorded on the base of two beer bottle variants (from F. Bernhard, Canal Dover, Ohio, and Bruckman Brewing Company, Cincinnati, Ohio). This unidentified company was likely located in Ohio, and judging from the years the above two firms were operating, those bottles would have been made sometime within the 1890-1901 time period.
Hi Gregg,
After viewing your base photo of the bottle, I am sure you are absolutely right. I will re-edit my entry on that mark. In this case the mold number “1” was engraved so that it appears to the left of “R & CO” instead of below those glassmaker initials, which is the usual position on most of the “R & CO” bottles.
Take care, David
Hi David,
I have found an old jar that I’m curious about.. it has 20830A then under it 18 3 then under that a old navy anchor/ sailors symbol.
Joseph,
I sent you an email asking for photos, but never received a reply. Please check your spam folders! I wanted to see the jar, if possible. I don’t recognize the jar from your description.
Best regards,
David
Amber bottle looks like 32 oz. side seams, bottom marks have the O with I and “Saturn ring” best way to describe, left number 6, bottom number 1, right number 2. The 1 and the 2 have a Dot after them. Dug up in Central Maine, if I read research info I believe its 1932 or 1942. Wondering anyone else’s opinion. Thank you!
Hi! I’ve looked through all of the sites, and cannot find this. I have a round decanter with embossed stars. The cork top is a small replica of the bottle itself. It is a liquor bottle with the federal law comment toward the top of the bottle.
At the bottom, it says the following:
“OLD MR BOSTON BRAND” and “FINE LIQUORS”
Then, there is a mark that I thought was the manufacturer. I cannot tell if the marks surrounding the “D” are the letters “I” or just bars. But, it looks like this: “I D I”
Beneath that, it says:
“PAT APP FOR”
Beneath that, there is an “A” with a circle around it, and the numbers 12 and 50 on either side.
“12 A 50” but there is a circle around the A.
I appreciate any information about this bottle.
Also, thank you for your website! It is amazing. I will be sharing it with many family and friends.
Hi Pamela,
I found two similar bottles in the Worthpoint site database, and one has the original labels still attached. See the listing here: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-mr-boston-empty-egg-nog-1797660685
Evidently this special decanter was originally sold containing eggnog. I presume it was a limited edition bottle. Your example bears a 1950 date code, and the example on Worthpoint bears a 1951 date code, so we can probably narrow down the period of sale to that time period. The bottle was made by Armstrong Cork Company (A in a circle trademark). I don’t know what the “I D I” means. Hope this helps, and thanks for your kinds words about the site!
David
I have a pheasant Avon decanter and a Avon Canadian goose decanter . They were my dad’s. The labels are still in good shape on the bottom, except they are mixed up. The pheasant decanter says Canadian goose and the goose one says pheasant. The labels fit the bottom shape and don’t look to have ever been tampered with. The pheasant is full the goose is empty. Have you ever heard of that before? Was there a time when some were produced with wrong labels? They are both in excellent shape but no box for either of them. I’m just curious if you had ever heard of that from anyone else.
Hi Tammy,
Honestly, I don’t know. Perhaps a reader who is familiar with those decanters can give you more info.
Take care,
David
Hi David! I have a couple clear glass Atlas E-Z Seal mason jars with glass lids. They looked completely run of the mill to me until I looked at the bottom. They both say “ATLAS E-Z SEAL”. One also has “TRADE MARK REG.” The other one says “TRADK MARK REG.” They look identical with the exception of that one letter. I looked on the internet for an explanation but couldn’t find anything. Do you have any insight on this?
Hi Linda,
You have an “error jar” and that particular variant is listed as jar #109-3 in the “Redbook” reference and price guide used by fruit jar collectors. There are a number of error jars known among the many Atlas E-Z Seal varieties that were manufactured over the years.
Many individual molds were made over the years to produce these jars, and in some cases we find what might be called “mold maker error” – in some cases the mold engraver cut the wrong character (letter) into the mold, perhaps being in a hurry, or under pressure to finish the work on time, or maybe, in some instances just from mere sloppiness or inattention! Engraving the lettering into the inside of the metal molds (which had to be done backwards, so the lettering appears correctly on the finished product) was laborious and time consuming, and mistakes sometimes happened. Error jars are definitely sought after by jar collectors.
I hope this helps,
David
Thank you! I learned something! Very interesting.
I am so happy I found your site! I am an avid collector of all things “glass” and have recently inherited a storage full of a collector’s paradise! I am researching each bottle. If I get stuck, I know where to go! Thanks for sharing your knowledge! I’d love to send you a picture of my collection!
Hi! I am pretty happy I came across your site! I didn’t realize how many other people were into figuring out what the symbols etc on old bottles represent. your information here is so so helpful. Thanks for putting so much time into the research and making this site!
Thank you Lindsey! I’m glad you have found this site helpful!
David
David,
I have a very old stemmed glass. The American Brewing Co. makes a half moon around an Eagle and St Louis is under that. Do you have any knowledge of this glass. Probably was a rather small beer glass.
Hi Gerald & Patricia,
I’m afraid I don’t have any detailed information on the glass, but I did see a couple examples of the piece listed on Worthpoint. From the sellers’ description it is a Pilsner type beer glass, Pre-Prohibition era, possibly dating from the 1910s.
Thanks for writing!
~David
I found a small bottle with 02 and what looks like a four leaf clover on the bottom. It’s very tiny and has threads for a cap. I’ve been trying to find out what was in it and have had no luck. Anyone have any ideas?
I think this is a perfume sample called lucky
Hello,
I love this site, awesome information.
I have one question, if you get to it great, if not I understand fully.
I have a 5 gallon blue glass diamond pattern carboy with 71 G.P.D. on the bottom, nothing else on it.
Could you possibly tell me more about this carboy ?
Thank you, take care.
Hello Dvaid,
The G.P.D. mark stands for the “Glass Products Division” of the Arrowhead and Puritas Water Company of Los Angeles. The “71” is almost certainly a date code for 1971. This webpage article written by Bill Lockhart has some information on the Arrowhead water bottles, with brief mention of the G P D mark: https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/AOther.pdf
Hope this helps!
David
I have an Arrowhead 5 gallon water jug with the Arrowhead/Los Angeles logo and arrowhead raised design and it has a shield with M 25 on the bottom. I’m trying to see what the M stands for? Would it be McLaughlin Glass Company? Most of the others that I’ve seen online have an L and a year. Additionally, this jug has an oddity – in the glass a 3 penny finish nail and a small piece of metal seem to be embedded in the glass. It doesn’t affect the ability to hold water, but it’s kind of strange. Any help appreciated.
Thanks,
-Patrick
Hi Patrick,
Please check out my alphabetical list of marks – here is “page 4” which includes the M entries. I have an entry under “M in a shield”. https://glassbottlemarks.com/bottlemarks-4/
I might also add that the inclusion of a nail and other “impurities” embedded in the glass certainly adds value from the collectors’ standpoint. They are a reflection of the glass crudity, and of a time when the quality control at the factory was not nearly as good as it is today.
Thanks and best regards,
David
I have a green wine bottle with no marks on it big dimple it bottom no mold line looks hand blown.
Hello David & all!
I have an aqua bottle with only the base markings ABCC o 10. Help!
Hi Carolann,
I was wondering if your bottle is actually marked “A B CO” but the “C” is “double stamped”?? If so, the bottle would have been made by American Bottle Company and is probably a beer bottle. Also, please let me know if there are any faint markings along the lower heel of the bottle. You are also welcome to email me pics of the bottle. My email address is noted near the bottom of the webpage under “Contact Info / Notes” .
Best regards,
David
David,
I just found an old W Brookfield insulator 4 on my property which runs along an old railroad here in Camron, NC. Can you tell me anything about it?
Hi Shawn, can you please check your email inbox as well as your spam folder? I sent you a direct email in reply. I would need to see pictures of that insulator, since many different styles/types are marked with “W Brookfield” and the mold or shop number “4” on them. Thanks and best regards,
David
I am helping a friend try to identify an old bottle she found. The information on the bottle:
Paul Klepa, Blitz Bottles that made hollywood famous, Bottled California Air, It is a Brown Bottle with a tilt, California Copy Right 1952.
11/7/2021 I found a piece of green bottle bottom about 20 miles or so NE of Globe Arizona with AB connected on top with X 3 below today
Nice find! Here is a link to the GBM page for the connected AB – https://glassbottlemarks.com/ab-mark-beer-bottles/
Hello J.Metzger,
I’ve added your find to the database here.
Thanks!
David
Hi David! You are a wealth of knowledge! My name is Jenny and I am a one-room schoolhouse teacher on a remote island off the coast of Maine- I have been collecting antique bottles and jars, some that I know are over a hundred years old, since I moved here. I am having a heck of a time finding information about any of them online. Can we please connect… maybe you can point me in the right direction? My email is [email hidden]. Thank you kindly in advance! I was so upset because I know the wind just broke a super valuable ball jar outside on my porch this evening and it has me wondering what I actually have in my collection…
PeAcE & LoVe,
Jenny
Hi Jenny,
I sent a reply directly to your email. You may need to check your spam folder, as I have not received a reply and it has been about two weeks.
Thank you and best regards,
David
Hi David, thank you so much for your wonderful experience on this subject! I found my Aqua-colored, connected AB (P 16 on the bottom and 7-B or 8 near the bottom) yesterday while walking on the beach, Bainbridge Island, Washington. As you can imagine, it had a few barnacles on one side and it was full of mud and seaweed. As I carefully cleaned the bottle I noticed it has what looks like waves etched into it, from the top to the bottom, it’s also full of wonderful bubbles. It’s quite beautiful.
Hi Amy and thank you for your post!! I appreciate the kind words. I believe the “etched waves” effect you describe is the result of some slight gradual deterioration of the glass surface (wherein a tiny percentage of the sodium carbonate [“soda”] has slowly leached from the glass), and this actually results in a faint swirled, banded or marbled look that reflects the original “flow” of the molten glass when it was being blown into the mold at the time of manufacture.
By the way, since you mentioned a heel marking of “7-B” that would probably indicate a date code of 1907, and manufacture at the Belleville, Illinois glass plant.
Thanks again!
David
Is there a picture of it too?
I have a bottle with the number 27 on it. I was just wondering who made it.
Hello Michael,
Most bottles with only numbers on the bottom (but with no other identifying marks) are hard to identify as to maker. Please check out my page on Numbers seen on the bottoms of glass bottles.
Take care,
David
Hi David, I’d be really grateful if you would happen to know whether popular American glass manufacturer Whitall Tatum & Co manufactured bottles solely for the USA, or whether they happened to have a European presence and were well known by Europeans?
Thanks in advance!
B
Hi Bethia,
I don’t have exact citations here at hand, but I am 100% sure Whitall Tatum produced bottles that were exported around the world including to countries in Europe. Here is a very brief reference to glassware from Millville being sold to “foreign countries” in 1919:
https://reference.insulators.info/publications/view/?id=6534
Whitall Tatum Company sold lots of different types of empty bottles to many “end user” companies, and, in turn, some of those companies sold their products both inside as well as outside the United States, meaning WT containers eventually could have ended up virtually anywhere in the world.
I would invite any readers who have more background info on this question to chime in!
Thanks for your post!
David
I can’t find how to comment on your page so I’m hitting reply to the latest post – I need help! I can’t find on your site or any other this bottle – found in a trunk of my Father’s and Grandfather’s things (WWI and WWI vets – their memorabilia was in the trunks). It’s a clear glass bottle about 5-6 inches tall with a glass stopper, and has the markings – B-K-H-Co Germany S.F. – on it. Any ideas about the bottle? My Dad is 99 and has dementia so going through his things he doesn’t remember much about the items. I’d appreciate any help you can give. I love old glass – this isn’t anything really special, very plain but I like the shape and the glass stopper….
Hi Judy, I was not familiar with that marking, but by doing some internet searching I found that the initials on the jar stand for Braun-Knecht-Heimann of Germany. That company (according to info I found, but presently cannot guarantee is 100% accurate!) was founded in 1862. They eventually sold and distributed large quantities of all kinds of laboratory, medicinal and pharmaceutical products. They had a distribution center / business office in the San Francisco area for some period of time. The Univar Company bought them in 1950. Most of the glassware marked with those initials are laboratory-type bottles with stoppers. My guess is that your bottle would date from sometime in the 1900-1920 time period but that is just my guess. I noticed there are lots of different products listed on ebay that were sold by Braun-Knecht-Heimann. Best of luck to you and your Dad, and with your search for more information! Thanks for your post, and I hope this may help a bit.
~ David
I am going through family glassware and have found a Capstan Glass Company jar (about the size of a shot glass) 3″ tall. Has the Capstan on the bottom with the number 5 above and the number 2 below. I cannot find any information on this particular piece. Any help would be appreciated.
Hi Peggy,
The only information I have concerning Capstan is posted on my page about Capstan Glass Company, here. I am not familiar with the code number system that was used by Capstan but I would assume one of those numbers is a mold number. Sorry I don’t have better info for you.
Best regards,
David
Recently found the bottom of a glass bottle in Long Island, NY. Bottle reads “Myer 1890 Bott. Co. Inc. New York, NY” There is also a large M in the center of the bottom and a 3 47 type logo. Any information on this company? I’ve found minimal online.
Hey found several bottles in backyard, I think it’s a garbage pit. I got several medicine bottles, I’ve looked on the internet and can’t find out what the (3ii) or (3iii) mean. Thanks for any info and I love your page.
Hi Bridget,
The “weird 3” symbol means an “apothecary ounce”. The letters to the right of that symbol are Roman numerals. Thus, 3ii means the bottle holds 2 ounces, 3iii means the bottle holds 3 ounces, etc. These symbols are often seen on older medicine / druggist / prescription bottles, especially bottles made and used before the (approximately) 1940s or 1950s. More info on this symbol and others can be found at various sites on the internet. Here are a few webpages:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apothecaries%27_system
https://textcreationpartnership.org/docs/dox/medical.html
http://pkperfumes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Apothecary-Weights-and-Measurements-Tutorial-rev6-12.pdf
http://www.chosi.org/drugstore/faqs.html
Thanks for your post, and I hope this helps!!
David
Thanks for the info David, the house next door to us is from the 1910’s. Who knew putting in a new drain field was going to be so interesting.
Hi David,
We live in northern NJ and are doing some excavating in our yard. I recently found a Mason’s Patent Nov 30th 1858 CFJ Co jar with 1286 on the bottom. I cannot seem to authenticate the jar. The embossing is pretty faded but still visible. The jar is in solid condition; it was partially filled with (I believe) some type of oil. We have found other very old antiques in our yard; pottery and China pieces from the mid 1800s, large chunks of other glass bottles with embossing that date back to the early 1900s, a few other bottles that are intact. Any help is greatly appreciated! I can send you a picture if this jar if that will help! Thank you kindly!
Hi Celine,
You definitely have an older, authentic CFJCO “NOV 30TH 1858” type jar. Huge numbers of those types of jars were made….. quarts, half gallons and some pints (one type is called a midget pint), with the “C F J CO” monogram / logo on the front or the reverse. The most common color is a light aqua but other colors are found occasionally. Most of the CFJCO monogrammed jars have a letter/number combination on the base which I believe served as identification of a particular mold that was in use at the factory. Many different molds would have been in use simultaneously. A number of different factories produced these jars. Scanning information on internet sites and various books and magazines, it is evident that a very large number of different molds were used, probably throughout most of the 1870s, 1880s and probably into the 1890s. I believe that it’s probably “I” (letter I) 286 on the bottom although the letter “I” might look like the number 1 (one). There are so many different letter/number combos known that it may be hard to find mentions online of another jar with that exact mold letter/number combination.
If you have time you might check my article about the Mason’s Patent Nov 30TH 1858 jars here.
Sounds like you have found an area where assorted trash was dumped many years ago. You never know what neat artifacts you might run across in your digging! Good luck and thanks for your post!
David
Thank you so much, David! I really appreciate your insight. It is exciting to have found a little piece of history in our backyard. And I did read your article- it was super helpful! :). Thank you again!
I have a half-gallon light blue canning jar that has the following embossed on the front: The Ball Jar and underneath that is Masons Patent 1858. The lettering is block style. The mold number is 18C. It is lighter in weight and color than my other half gallon Masons patent jar. I cannot find any information about the embossing and what year it would have been made. Thank-you for you assistance.
Hi Kay,
If you have some free time, please check out my replies to comments on similar jars, at these URLs:
https://glassbottlemarks.com/#comment-15098
https://glassbottlemarks.com/masons-patent-november-30th-1858-antique-jars/#comment-19285
Hope this helps!
David
Hi, David,
Your website is definitely my go-to for all things glass. What an extensive labor of love. Kudos!
Without a picture, I realize it is difficult to identify glass, especially when all one has is but a shard, but here goes.
Found in Oklahoma, a light blue (similar to the old canning jars) glass shard bearing what appears to be the following letters:
The last letter of the first word looks more like a C than a G.
The first letter looks like an A, possibly an R?
…R L I N G or …R L I N C or …A L I N C
Second partial word – U R E D ?
Third word – C O M P (Company?)
Many thanks for any suggestions. I realize this is a difficult one.
The letters are not perfectly uniform, leading me to believe this is an older piece
in a not-so-state-of-the-art mold?
Hi Karen,
Thanks for your kind words. I am not sure about that shard. I tried emailing you directly to ask if you can send me pics of the shard, but received a “mailer daemon” indicating the email address you gave was unavailable or invalid. Can you contact me at my email address (shown in the “Contact Info / Notes” at the bottom of the page) as I would like to see the shard and see if maybe it would “ring a bell”. Thank you and take care!
David
Hi David! I recent found a “federal law forbids sale or reuse of this bottle” liquor bottle on the beach. The number on the bottom is R-499. I checked the PDF document you have posted on your website but there’s no listing for R-499. Would you have any ideas about this?
Hi Tressy,
I honestly don’t know what that rectifier number would stand for. Also, the pdf file I link to has no direct connection to my site, (and I didn’t compile it) but I merely linked to it as it contains some useful information. I’m not sure who originally posted that information online.
Thanks and take care! If you find out what the R-499 stands for, please post again and let us know!
David
Thanks anyway. I don’t know if this helps, but on the front of the bottle near the bottom it says 16-6.
Tressy, I’m not sure what those numbers would indicate. Also, just in case a reader should wonder about it, I wanted to include a link to that online list of rectifer and distiller numbers we referred to…… it is here: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/51379b83e4b02119d184b2a2/t/584a336ee4fcb59adb85c48b/1481257838281/User+Permit+numbers.pdf
Thanks again and take care,
David
What is a Roman numeral III on the bottom of a cranberry (lady face on it) gold filigree glass vase? Can not find this mark ID anywhere online. Thanks
Hi Julie,
I’m not sure if that would just be some kind of mold number or mold identification mark(?) Perhaps a reader will land on this site and have information on it for you. Take care, David
Hi David,
I found a bottle that is a small, screw top, amber color bottle. It is rectangle shape and has a few numbers on the bottom.
It has bubbles in the glass (I dont know if that means anything)
The numbers are 27-S-B and in the upper right it says a 4 and upper left is a 1.
Please let me know if you find out anything. (Love your website btw, Very helpful!)
I found a piece of sea glass with square edges & SS on it. Just wondering how old & where it came from. It was found on Plumb Island, MA.
Hello,
I have a 4.5 inch apothecary bottle that has an oval with a diamond intertwined on the bottom. It looks like the Owens-Illinois symbol without the letter “I” in the middle. Have you ever seen that symbol? It has the numbers 12, 6, and 5 around the symbol. My other bottles are from TCW-Co and these are from my Aunt’s estate…likely from between the 1938-1970 range.
Hi Laura,
The “Diamond and oval” mark used by Owens-Illinois Glass Company can vary somewhat in appearance from one bottle to another, and many times the letter “I” is either completely absent or just barely discernible. This is likely because the mold engraver sometimes had difficulty in producing a trademark that looked bold and clear on each and every mold, looking the same from one mold to the next, especially on small bottle molds with limited room for fine details such as the “I” in the center. Sometimes when the bottle was blown (by machine, as most were), the molten glass, when being blown into the inside of the mold cavity, didn’t “fill” the engraving completely, leading to a poor embossing, a “smeared” look, or missing elements of the marking on the finished bottle.
In any case, the “12” which I assumed you meant is placed to the left of the logo, is a plant location code and stands for their factory at Gas City, Indiana. The “6” to the right is a date code, and would stand for 1936 or 1946. I don’t know which year would be the correct one, but 1936 is more likely, as single digit codes were used more often in the 1930s (with exceptions). The number “5” placed below the logo is a mold number. Hopes this helps!
David
Hello Everyone. I’m trying to get info on the AC Tall jar. I was told it stands for Atlantic City but cannot find any documentation to confirm that. I live outside of AC and we did at one time have many glass factories in the area because of the sand.
I found a 2 inch Amber double embossed poison with the Owens Illinois mark on the bottom. I’m trying to date it but can’t find an example like it on your blog. The logo doesn’t have the I in the middle and there is a 7 to the left which I take is the plant code with a 4 on the right which I take is the date code. It’s not followed by any periods so I assume it’s 1934 but on the edge of the mold seam is the number 2 and it’s vertical which is throwing me off. I was wondering if you could tell me more about it and the date.
Hi Derek,
I would guess you are right and it is from 1934. The “7” stands for their main factory at Alton, Illinois. The “2” is a mold number. In a fair number of cases a number may be positioned oddly on the base of bottles. Not sure why, perhaps the whim of the moldmaker, or they felt it would be easier to engrave, or the number would “fit” better on the base in that position. Thanks for your post!
David
Hi David,
I found a clear glass, one pint flask type bottle with screw top. Only thing embossed is Federal law warning and one pint on front and back. on the bottom of bottle on far right side is Anchor Hocking logo. Upper center D-9 with M-1673B under it. Far left has an 8, next to it is 67 with a 6 underneath it. Which number represent year and what liquor was in it? Thank you in advance
Lewis
Hi Lewis, the date code is “67” meaning the bottle was made in 1967. I believe the “8” is a liquor bottle permit number. The “D-9” is a distiller code number. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you what type of liquor was in the bottle.
Best regards,
David
My husband found a bottle buried in Lock Haven PA. It says CASTORIA on one side and Chas H. Fletcher on the other. There is a back label, almost all intact, with “Alcohol: 3 per cent” on the bottom line of that label, but no front label. The bottom is marked S 70. Hard to tell if the bottle is clear as the entire contents are still inside with the cork. It looks like the consistency of molasses. The seam seems to go up the side of the bottle to the neck then appears to go astray crooked the rest of the way. I’ve been trying to figure out the age. Would appreciate any information you could share. I haven’t seen any bottles with the actual content, so I’m excited that this seems rare.
Hi Theresa,
Thanks for your post. If you haven’t already, when you get a chance please check out my webpage on Fletcher’s Castoria. There is a lot of uncertainty and confusion on the exact date ranges of bottles marked “Chas. H Fletcher” as well as the similar “Dr. Pitchers” Castoria bottles. I would assume your bottle dates from sometime in the 1895 to 1930 period, but that is just my guess, and I know that is a wide range. Bottles with contents and original labels are definitely much harder to come by than the ones which are empty and have no label, which are exceedingly common.
Best regards, David
Found in a thrift shop Fernandina Beach, FL, an AB connected bottle with T35 on bottom.
Bonnie, thanks and I have added that to the list!
~David
Hi David. Thank you for this wonderful website and sharing your knowledge. I work at the Filson Historical Society in Louisville, Ky, and your site came up while I was doing research on our collection. It is a wonderful resource!
Hi Maureen,
Thank you very much for the kind words about my site!! I appreciate it very much!
Take care,
David
Greetings , I have an amber square 2 oz cap bottle, screw on lid markings on bottom of bottle are f in hexagon 648 with horizontal 1 how old is is? Was it a medicine bottle
Roger, the bottle was made by Fairmount Glass Company at their second factory located in Indianapolis, Indiana. That firm used the “F in a hexagon” mark on many of their bottles. I can’t tell you how old it is, as that mark was used for a very long stretch of time on a wide variety of containers. The “648” is a mold design number. If you have time, please check out my page on Fairmount Glass at this link: Fairmount Glass Works / Fairmount Glass Company
Thank you,
David
I have a Kerr mason jar that is seriously flawed. The logo is so warped it’s hard to read and there are indentations where the tongs picked it up while hot. Can you please give me info on where it was made, how it got past an inspector and can I use it. Thank you. Love your site
Hi! I hope Im commenting in the right area…but I have a question about a piece of sea glass that I found. Its a was at one time a clear bottle, the piece that I have is the bottom of the bottle and it has the embossed number 188. I found it at the Jersey Shore and I do have pictures if that helps. Ty!
Hi Beth,
I would assume the “188” is a mold number, or a bottle style number assigned to that particular design. It would be difficult to find out what company made the bottle or how old it is. If you have some free time, please check out my webpage about numbers on the bottoms of bottles. The link is here: Numbers on the bottoms of glass bottles and jars
Hope this helps a bit,
David
Hi! Found a beautiful old wine bottle in a mucky river in FL. Clear, very thick glass, but with beautiful grapes and vines and 4/5 Quart on bottle sides. On bottom it has the I in a diamond and oval. Number 7 to the left and 0 to the right and a horizontal dash beneath, no periods. Then the word “WINE”, then under that a “W1242”. After researching on your site I think it’s from Owen Illinois company from 1930? Is that right? It’s really beautiful though the very top is broken. Was thinking of sanding down the jagged top so it could be used as a vase, but would that be inadvisable and harm it’s worth? Any idea on the value. It’s very elaborate with the grapevine and grapes. Thanks so much!
Catherine
Hello Catherine,
Yes, your bottle was made by Owens-Illinois Glass Company at their main plant located in Alton, Illinois (plant #7). However, I doubt it was made in 1930. Although I could be wrong, I think it’s more likely to date from 1940 or 1950. But I can’t tell you which year is correct.
The reason I believe that it dates later is because there appear to be comparatively few Owens-Illinois bottles that were marked with date codes during the first couple years of the merger- 1929 and 1930. (It probably took quite a while to get all the hundreds (more likely, thousands) of bottle molds then in use re-tooled after Owens Bottle Co and Illinois Glass Co merged in 1929).
The “W1242” is a bottle catalog/inventory number assigned to that mold style. I don’t know this for a fact, but I believe the “W” is a code letter for “Wine”. I have seen other wine bottles with a number and the “W” letter prefix.
As far as the value is concerned, most clear Owens-Illinois bottles have very minimal monetary value to collectors, at least at present. This is due to several reasons including the mere fact that they are of clear (colorless) glass which is in less demand…. colorful glass (green, blue, amber) is usually more desirable, at least in a very general sense…… but there can be exceptions here and there depending on what type or style of bottle is being discussed.
Also, Owens-Illinois made large quantities of those type of wine bottles, jugs and decanters over many years’ time, so there are still quite a few of them around, and they get listed on ebay fairly often. I do think that it would be a good idea to turn the bottle into a “vase” although, needless to say, it would have to be done in a very careful and safe manner. Cutting off, or grinding down the top of glass containers can be very dangerous if not done properly.
In it’s present state, with the top broken off, it has almost no value (from a collectability or monetary standpoint). A whole, intact bottle would have the most value, but one which has been carefully/professionally altered into a vase would certainly have more value than a broken example.
I hope this helps a little, and thanks for writing!
David
Thanks so much, David!
I knew you’d have awesome feedback. Your website is outstanding!
It’s a beautiful and sturdy bottle. They sure don’t make them like they used to! And it’s so very cool that it rested in the muck for 70-80 yrs before I came across it on a kayak trip. (I make it a rule to clean up where I play, and it caught my eye. I actually pulled it out of my collected garbage.)
We’ll turn it into a pretty vintage rooting vase, we’re crafty, and hand it down another 100 years.
Warmest regards, Catherine
Catherine, that’s a great idea! I really appreciate your posts. Take care, and the best of luck with future kayaking trips!
David
Hi! I just found a glass bottle, and I can’t find any information about it. It’s a clear Glass bottle with a screw top and has the “Federal law forbids sale or reuse of this bottle” going across the top of the bottle. On the bottom center it has D396, and Ball 47 on the bottom right corner. There is also J2 6LW 73 all on the bottom left. It also says One Pint and has the number 2 beside that. Any ideas on this bottle?
Laci, to be honest, I’m not sure about the details on your liquor bottle. It was made by Ball Bros Glass Manufacturing Company, and I think the “47” could be a date code for 1947. Not sure about the other markings.
David
Looking for some info on a glass carboy that came in an old wooden transport box, with lid and hasp. I’m guessing it contained wine maybe. Anyway on the bottom of the carboy there are the following markings: 4 2 P t and also an underlined 7. A friend picked it up an estate auction in western Maryland. Thanks. Great website.
It was a law enacted by the government to try to prevent moonshiners from re-using these empty whiskey bottles. If you were caught using these bottles again you could be charged with a federal crime, depending on how much you were transporting.
Hi David I have inherited quite a collection of glass bottles. Some were dug, some collected. Of course I would want the value of them but WHERE do I go to find out the values? Are there sites? Is there a bottle appraiser? I have everything from medicine, beer, soda, water, perfume, ink, vaporubs, black, green, purplish, masons, jugs. Help – where can I go to have them appraised??? I am in the Catskills, New York and BTW your page is amazing!!!
Hi Linda,
There are no quick, easy answers but, in my opinion, the best way to find out values (or at least some ballpark estimates) on old bottles is by searching the ebay.com auction site. That site (with all it’s faults) is probably still the best way to find out what collectors are actually paying for items in today’s collectible market. And I am not referring to the “BUY IT NOW” prices or some of the outlandish minimum bids, as those asking prices are, or can be, HIGHLY inflated and unrealistic, and being asked by persons who honestly have no idea on the value of items they list on the site. The best way is to use keyword searches relevant to the items you are trying to research, and then check the “COMPLETED ITEMS” box on the “Advanced search” page. This can be very time-consuming and sometimes difficult to do. Hope this helps,
David
What David said. Search for “sold”. Listing price does not reflect the current market price.
Hi David.
I found a small bottle in my back yard. Apparently, this area was a dump site for decades.
Anyway, the bottle is pristine and all info on the bottom indicates that it was made in Brackenridge PA, in 1932.
However, the manufacturers mark is Owens Ill. BUT the I isn’t an I. it’s definitely (used a loupe) a simple dot.
This symbol doesn’t show anywhere in any “Marks chart” I have seen.
Could this simply be a stamp flaw? Brackenridge ran from 1932 to 1940 so could this be the case? New mold?
Hi Kenny,
This is a case where the mold engraver simply didn’t engrave a clear “I” within the mark. This happened occasionally, especially on small bottles where room was very limited. Please keep in mind that the mold engraver had to work with small tools (hammer and chisels?) by hand, and engrave the characters into the inside of a metal mold, and I am sure it was tedious and very difficult to get each mark to look “right” and the same from one bottle to another. And if the mold engraver was in a hurry, he more than likely was not always concerned about the “I” being sharp, neat and clear, so a mere dot might suffice. This can sometimes be found on bottles made by Owens-Illinois, as well as predecessor Illinois Glass Company, in which a plain “I in a diamond” was used. Even on some modern Owens-Illinois bottles with the “I inside an O” mark, sometimes the mark is so small that in reality there is either a tiny dot (or virtually nothing) visible inside the oval!
Hope this helps,
David
Hello, I recently ran across a piece of “art” that was created from a Whitall Tatum Insulator No 1. Whoever created it stretched the insulator and created an abstract CAT figure out of it. It appears to have been created in the early 20th century. I have not been able to locate any information about it. Can you help? I would be happy to forward a picture. thank you.
Hi Karen,
You have what is called an “INSULCAT” within the insulator-collecting hobby. This is a novelty or “craft” type “art glass” item that was popular for a while, mostly during the late 1960s into the early to mid 1970s. They were sometimes collected as “go withs” by insulator collectors. Here is a URL that will point to a few webpages with insulcats pictured. Insulcat search
Hope this helps,
David
Hi David,
Found a buried bottle on our island in Muskoka, Ontario. D in a diamond with RD 1926. Also a small AR. Really interesting shape of ridges.
Please help! I have a glass bottle and on the bottom is an S and 3 suns, flowers above and a 6 on the opposite side..
//Jessica
We have a small round amber glass bottle with a “B” in a circle in the middle of the bottom. 1148 is over the B, 5DR is below the B, the is a dot to the left and a perpendicular line the right. Believe it to be a Brockway Glass bottle but love to hear from you. Thanks!
Hi Tammy,
Yes, I am sure it was made by Brockway Glass, but I don’t have any specific info on that particular bottle. They made thousands of different styles of containers over many years. The “1148” is probably the mold design number or “catalog number” assigned to that bottle style, and used in invoices, other paperwork and communications at the company.
David
Hello- I have a Horlick malted milk jar that I think was colored purple but I wanna know if it can be IDed for age
Lynn, I sent you an email but it was returned as an invalid address. Sounds like an irradiated jar. Horlick did not make purple jars.
David
I am curious about a jar that I found. I am thinking it is a prepackaged store jar, but I found the Ball name on the bottom of it. If you have any info to share, I would really appreciate it.
Hi Aimee,
Ball Bros Glass Company (later Ball Corporation) made gobs of jars and bottles of many descriptions (besides their better-known canning jars) including “packer jars” for pre-packaged items sold retail, containers for food products such as mustard, beverages such as whiskey and beer, and containers for other products. Please see my webpage on Ball.
Take care,
David
While “Social Distancing” i decided to go through boxes of Grandma’s things i have kept. I found several Atlas Mason jars. Most of them have the H over A. One i couldnt find any info on. On the bottom is the H over A then a Q then the number 14. Any info would be great. Hope you and other readers are well. Thanks
Hi Cheri,
The “Q 14” is probably a mold identifier. I don’t have information on mold codes used on their fruit jars. I would imagine that a lot of different numbers and/or letters can be found on Hazel-Atlas-made jars. In most cases they probably merely identified a particular mold (one of many identical molds) being used at the factory.
Hope this helps,
David
I found a old pale green bottle only mark us root embossed on the bottom
Hi Christina, please see my alphabetical mark listings on this site. The “ROOT” marking was used by Root Glass Company, of Terre Haute, Indiana, and appears on the base or heel of many beverage bottles, especially those for soda and beer. The mark also appears on fruit jars. It’s listed on “Page 4” of the “Glass Bottle Marks” listings.
~David
Hi David! I was beach combing and found a the bottom of a bottle, it is green. I was so curious about its origins and history, but at this point its seaglass and at least for me kind of hard to decipher. The bottom of the bottle has a design in the middle it just looks like a circle stamp that has lines or like squigly lines through it. On the outside of that circle I can decipher the words NOT TO BE REFILLED and O GY 187320 (? my best guess?) SZ03T ? and a clear and bigger number 14 above the other numbers. The glass is pretty smooth and opaque all around from being in the ocean so I imagine it was floating around for some decades..its just like a round disk. Hope you can provide some insight! Ive tried looking it up and wasn’t too successful!
Hello David – fantastic information here!! Do you know of any reliable glass mold pattern index or means to identify patterns – specifically Fenton. I have a ruby red amberina lidded candy dish, marked with vertical oval -script ‘F’ inside, ‘0’ at lower left and ‘USA’ vertically down right side of oval. I know it is a piece made from a Fenton mould made 2000-2009. I would really, REALLY like to identify the pattern. Thank you SO much!
Hi Dave,
I have found a bottle and am wondering if you can tell me its use. It has the Foster Forbes emblem on bottom. The emblem is in the middle with the number 46 to its left and 70 to its right. It is a screw top, clear with two side seams. At base of bottle it reads: Not To Be Refilled (one seam) and No Deposit*No Return (other seam). Thank you for any information.
Laura, that phrase was used mostly on soda and beer bottles. The “70” indicates the bottle was made in 1970.
David
Hello, I have a small “Apothecary” (?) clear bottle, 3 1/2″ tall, looks old, with the name “TAYTONS’ on the bottom. The only thing I could find on “TAYTONS” was on “cosmetics”. I smelled this, and no faint scent of perfume. Do you know anything of this name?
Hi Tracy,
I did not know anything about it, but doing some brief searching, I found only a few brief mentions of TAYTONS and it does appear to have been a company that sold cosmetic products. There are mentions of a milk glass container. https://www.etsy.com/listing/749500507/vintage-set-taytons-an-old-english-name That appears to have been a container for makeup (foundation or “cover”)?
A search on google of “Tayton Co” and “Kansas City” brings up a source from 1940 that indicates the Tayton Company of Kansas City was a distributor of cosmetic products. I don’t have any info on what the clear bottle might have held, but it might have been some type of perfume, or maybe some other kind of product. I don’t know. If it has been cleaned years ago, it is possible no scent would remain.
David
Thank you, David. It doesn’t appear to have been cleaned, and I don’t smell a scent. It’s so odd I can’t find it under “TAYTONS” cosmetics at all. It does have a screw on lip. No lid though. Thank you for your help. I do have another bottle I’m curious about, if you don’t mind.
It’s a very faint amethyst colored, almost brown, except in light,
and in researching, the “lip” is 1840-1870. It does have a “3” in a circle on the bottom. It’s 3 1/8″ in height, and a cork closure, (looks to be original cork). The only seams I see are two at opposite corners. But that’s the only seams I see. Any thoughts on this?
Hi Tracy,
Please keep in mind that a given company or brand might have produced a lot of different products over the years, and most of the containers involved (whether cans, jars, bottles, or other kinds of containers made of glass or other materials) would have been discarded long ago, and there may simply be no (or very little) record of them to be found now. Searching the internet can be a big help, but it is not all-inclusive. There are thousands of obscure bottles of all types and descriptions that have never been photographed or posted on the web. Hope this makes sense. About the other bottle, you are welcome to send me pics to my email address, which is shown at the bottom of any page on this site. I strongly doubt the bottle is from the 1840-1870 period. There is a lot of misinformation on the web about bottle lips (“finishes”) and how easily a bottle can be dated just by the appearance of the lip. The “3” is probably a mold number and it sounds like it might date from the 1890-1920 period. best regards,
David
Hi David,
What can you tel me about the Duraglass trademark Soda bottles made in Venezuela?
Glad I found this site! Not sure if anyone could help me as I’m in Adelaide, South Australia. I found a palm-sized clear glass bottle that looks to have had a stopper or cork rather than a cap, and on the bottom is a star with “323” in it. Can’t find any info about it anywhere!
I have a brown glass bottle with a diamond and circle on it 7 on one side 4 on the other and a 10
Hi Clarissa,
Please check out my webpage on Owens-Illinois Glass Company. From your description, the bottle carries their “Diamond and oval with I inside” trademark. The number on the right side of the logo (4?) would be a date code, standing for 1934, 1944 or 1954. I can’t be sure which year is correct. The “10” below the logo is a mold number.
David
I found a tiny clear bottle im trying to identify. It has a diamond on the bottom with a ( b ) above it. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!
Hi Chris,
I can’t say for sure, but I would guess your bottle was made by either Illinois Glass Company of Alton, Illinois, or Diamond Glass Company of Royersford, Pennsylvania. I have brief summaries of both of those companies on this site. Most very small bottles were used for either medicines or perfumes. You can send me a photo by email if you wish. My email address is listed at the bottom of the site.
Thank you, David
Hello David.
I have one question and one bit of information. I recently found an old beer bottle from The Stark-Tuscarawas Breweries Co. Canton O. And on the bottom it’s marked F. I. Co. Your list states it is an unknown manufacturer. I happen to live in the area and the Mark is for the Franklin Industrial Co. of Massillon Ohio. It was in massillon in 1919 according to an old ledger I found online but I believe it was in a different city at some point as well.
My question is that I found what appears to be a clear medicine bottle, metal twist off cap that is sealed. There is a dry white powder substance coating the inside of the bottle. On the bottom is a P inside a circle which I take to be Pierce Glass. In addition, above the P are the letters “HSP”, left of the P is “325”, right of the P is “3 OZ.”, and below the P is the number “5”. I’ve read the history of the pierce glass company as well as done exstensive research online and I cannot find any information on the additional letters and numbers. I thought perhaps HSP stood for hospital but found nothing to support that. Any info you may be able to offer would be greatly appreciated. Wonderful website. Thank you very much for your time.
Jim
Hi Jim,
I really appreciate your post! I can’t say with certainty what the other markings mean on your clear bottle, but I would assume the “325” is a style number assigned to that particular bottle. The “5” is probably a mold identifying number. I can’t say what the HSP means, but of course we can be sure it was made by Pierce Glass Company.
I am especially intrigued by your information on the “F I CO” mark. I appreciate it very much. Doing some searching on the internet, I find that Franklin Industrial Company is identified as the maker who used “F I CO” on a couple bottle-related sites (links below). (I am always running behind, as there is new information being uncovered continually on glass companies and their products). But, in any case, it seems that F I CO was actually formed in 1906 as an “umbrella” corporation to control several types of area businesses having to do with clay, sand, gravel and stone products, and that included the Warwick Glass Company of Warwick, Ohio, which had already been operating for several years. One brief reference indicates Warwick was an area just south of Clinton, Ohio.
The Warwick Glass Company was, according to one source, started in 1901 by a Maria Warwick. On the .pdf file from npgallery.nps.gov (link below), we read “Founded in 1901 by Maria E. Lavake Warwick, the Warwick Glass Factory produced mainly produced glass bottles and operated until 1915. The Warwick Glass Factory employed 150 men on the bottle making line. The glass bottles were hand blown by craftsmen and the operation was extremely labor intensive. The work environment proved to be extremely hazardous and many employees developed Silicosis from inhaling silica dust.” According to footnotes provided, that quote is supposed to be copied from the October 19, 1969 issue of the AKRON BEACON JOURNAL.
Here are some links(on the first one, using the CTRL and F keys with the word “GLASS” will pinpoint the relevant entries quickly):
https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/b9274a69-a831-43a8-8321-3c505f3ec9b9
http://www.sodasandbeers.com/ManufactureNotes/SABManufNotes64826.htm
https://books.google.com/books?id=KbU-AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA96&lpg=PA96&dq=%22warwick+glass+company%22+%22ohio+journal+of+commerce%22&source=bl&ots=S_iONeeHaK&sig=ACfU3U2MzYN3hSCrt3dMW-btNceKNqKtmQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjC2oKd4fznAhXGna0KHToqCMwQ6AEwAHoECAEQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22warwick%20glass%20company%22%20%22ohio%20journal%20of%20commerce%22&f=false
https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/FLogoTable.pdf
http://www.sodasandbeers.com/SABBottleManufBeerSoda.htm
Any more info you can pass along would certainly be appreciated! Take care and thanks again!
[Answer edited 4/2/2020 – I have added a little more information to the F.I.CO. mark entry on “Page 3”. Warwick was a small unincorporated community within Clinton (northwest of Massillon) but is no longer noted on the great majority of road maps].
~David
Hi Jim – I found an older, brown Kerr bottle on our family property west of Austin.
At first glance I assumed it was just an old beer bottle missing it’s label, but after a quick inspection I noticed the Kerr logo on the bottom with a few other letters and numbers. I didn’t think Kerr made beer bottles so I was suddenly intrigued. Quick searches across Google didn’t really provide much info either.
If you’re looking at the bottom of the bottle like it’s a compass – the Kerr logo is north. The letters “WI” are west of the center of the bottle. The number “83” east of the center of the bottle. And the number “20” is due south.
This bottle even has a screw top and for all intents and purposes – it looks like a beer bottle. And if I had to guess, I’d say it’s an old Miller Lite Steinie bottle. Especially since Miller is brewed in Milwaukee, WI.
So my question still stands – did Kerr make beer bottles or am I look at something else? Fun fact – Not far from this bottle I’ve found everything from old horseshoes and rifle cartridges, to Comanche arrowheads so I’m secretly hoping there’s a cool story behind this find as well.
Thanks so much. Jeff
Jeff,
Yes, Kerr, along with many other bottle makers, made beer bottles. Some may be marked “KERR” or “A H K”. The “83” in the “3 o’clock” position of the bottle base is a date code for 1983. Many bottle manufacturers (not all, but many) placed a date code to the right of the center of the base of bottles, especially on a lot of their soda, beer and other beverage bottles of the 1930s-1990s and later. Hope this helps!
David
David: The bottle may have come out of Kerr Glass Container in Wilson, NC. Now it is an Ardagh Group Plant.
Hi John,
Thank you for your post. Can you give us more information on why you believe that bottle was possibly made at the Wilson, North Carolina plant? Thanks and take care!
David
David: Concerning the Kerr amber bottle with the “WI” mark just an educated guess. I know Kerr Wilson, NC was supplying beer bottles to A/B in the early/mid 1990’s. Also, they were probably supplying bottles to Miller Brewing in Eden, NC and Schlitz//Stroh’s in Winston-Salem, NC. And possibly Miller Brewing, Worth Worth, TX (relatively close to Austin, TX). Basically, I just knew Kerr, Wilson, NC was making beer bottles around that time.
Hi John,
Thank you for the info. I was wondering if the “WI” marking on the base could indicate the Wilson glass plant, but I can’t say with certainty whether it does or not. I am not really familiar with the mold and date coding system(s) used by Kerr during their many years of operation. Take care!
David
Found a ab connected k42 on the bank by tea table key Florida
Thanks Ami!
I’ve added your bottle to the AB/Connected mold code list.
David
I have a coin shaped piece of glass with the markings NTI on top, U.S.A on the bottom, what looks to be an N within an eye shape and the number 2 to the left of it. Anyone have an idea of what it may be?
What color and dimensions , this may help others to help out here.
I have ab bottle p21 with label I would like to send a picture to you. How do I get it to you
Hi Deborah,
My email address is listed on the bottom right hand side of any webpage on this site.
Best regards,
David
Does anybody know what company manufactured the J.W. Dant glass bourbon decanters in the 1960s called Americana and featuring historical scenes with an embossed eagle on the other side? I know they were shipped from NY to Cambridge, Ohio to the former Cambridge Glass factory to have the historical scene decals fired onto the bottles. But I don’t know who actually made the bottles. Thanks in advance!
We found a ruhrglas beer bottle with a 22 and a 63 on the bottom. Any suggestions?
I have an Owens-Illinois glass from what I believe to be the 1930’s. It’s a octagon shaped jar. Would you know what it may have been used for?
Leila, I think it was made to contain honey, pickles or mustard, perhaps other food items? Not really sure.
David
This could be the Owens-Illinois “Counter Jar” or “Hoosier Jar,” which WAS made 1936 on. Does yours have a green lid? These did. A Hoosier Cabinet (you’ve probably heard of these) would probably be one place these were used. For tea, spices, etc.
I have a pint jar that has The Barn with fancy cursive writing on the glass. Can you tell me anything about it
Hi David,
My mother gave me a set of 6 small clear jars from her mother. The jars have a capital K on the bottom with what appears to be a baby or child ‘hiding’ behind the K. There is a thin circle on the K but not enclosing it. My grandmother was from Ohio and Germany and I cannot find this mark looking in either of those locals. Curious if you’ve seen a K mark with a baby? Thank you!
Sincerely,
Heather
Hi Heather,
[Readers, we communicated directly by email, and Heather later found information that these jars were made by Kruger Glass, evidently a company located in Germany. She also sent me a base photo of this mark which I have inserted in the “K” alphabetical “Glass Bottle Mark” listings, on “Page three”.] Thank you for the information, and the photo!
David
PS. If anyone has more detailed information on Kruger Glass company or these jars, I will be happy to post it on this site.
David,
I have a blue “3L” Ball Jar with the word Mason under the logo, and what appears to be the roman numeral XII on the bottom. I have not been able to find anything on this specific combination.Do you have any knowledge on Ball jars with the different numbering on the bottom? Any info would be appreciated. Thank you
Diane
Diane,
There are lots of minor variations in the markings seen on the base of “BALL MASON” jars. I don’t know much about those jars, which preceded the “BALL PERFECT MASON” jars. I do think most of them date from the 1890s into the 1910s. Your best bet for finding detailed variant listings of those jars is consulting a “RED BOOK” price guide used by fruit jar collectors.
Best regards,
David
Hello again — I did manage to trace the butterfly trademark it is from Heinrich Hoffman glass perfume bottle apparently 1930s Art Deco Czech. Unfortunately, mine is missing the top which is shaped like a huge bird that towers over the bottle. Well the etch work on the bottle is still there and I enjoy it. Thank you very much for your interesting site!
Hi Maria,
Thank you for your posts, and I appreciate the information and you kinds words about the site! Take care,
David
Hi. I looked with interest through your pages trying to identify a glass from the bottom mark, which is quite elegant. It looks like two water drops, or something like two single quotation marks, one upside down and “fitting” to each other almost like the Buddhist symbol for yin and yang. I tried Google search and other engines with no luck. I just like they way they break, like safety glass… no really sharp shards. And they’re strong… no chance of tearing my hand open with cheap glass when washing. I know I’m imposing but could I send a picture. If not and you know a good logo search site, perhaps you could tell me that. Cheers.
Hi Dan, thanks a lot for your post! (Readers, we communicated directly by email, and after several emails and more research, the glass maker who uses this “two drops” marking has been identified!) The mark is used by a glass company located in the country of Turkey, named Paşabahçe (pronounced, roughly, PAH’ suh bah’ cheh). Paşabahçe has been in business since 1934 and produces large quantities of upscale tumblers and wine glasses for home and restaurant use as well as other glassware. Much of it is sold through various distributors and retail outlets. As a direct result of his post, I have inserted a new mark listing under “Drops” in the alphabetical listings on “page two”. Glass Bottle Marks – 2 I am also using Dan’s photo of the base mark, which he kindly gave me permission to insert on the webpage. THANK YOU, Dan!
Take care, David
You’re very welcome, David, and thank you too. There must be some relationship between curiosity and civility. This has been a very pleasant experience. All the best to you, Dan
Omgoodness this is amazing that Dan got his answer, I’m so excited.
Hello David.
My former father-in-law, Harry C. Johnson Sr., worked for Kerr Glass in Sand Springs and in Santa Ana until he retired in 1975 when he was Vice President. He began sweeping floors in the factory. I toured the factory in 1966 and my ex worked there when he was a teenager. Is there any way I could help him find his former girlfriend who worked there in the mid 1950s? Is there an employment roster at Santa Ana? Her first name was Alma. Our son cares for his Dad now who is 83. He has a special retirement run of jars and the mold ….. I think. Family heirlooms. Thank you. Martha
Hi Martha,
I have no idea on the answers to your questions about the Santa Ana factory and who worked there, but just in case this will help you find information, I am posting your query here on my site. Perhaps someone will land on this page and have some information that can help you in your quest for answers.
Take care, David
I found an aquamarine colored bottle with a couple of bubbles in the glass. A seam that ends before the lip or top of the bottle and the seam does not cross the bottom of the bottle. The glass around the seam is also a bit raised compared to the rest of the bottle glass. The bottom appears to be stamped with letters B T K or maybe B T C. The ‘T’ is obviously larger font than the letters on either side of it. Additionally there is a number 5 under the stamped letters. I found it while diving around the island of Guam at a depth of about 100ft. I’ve been scouring for information and came across your site and ended up reading about bottles all night. Thank you in advance!
Eric, thank you for the pic [He sent a pic by email of this “new” marking, which I have inserted in the alphabetical mark listings on this site]. Hopefully we will find out what this mark stands for eventually!
Take care,
David
Thank you David, for the great information. I would assume old glass dumps aren’t easy to find. I don’t know where my 20lb yellow piece of glass came from, got it at estate sale.
Hi David!
I found your site looking for info on a 2 1/4 in. green glass bottle I found while metal detecting(what fun!) in my yard. I found 2 coffee pots, bottle w/buttons, P D & Co. bottle, other pans/pots – this area is next to where the SOO RR lines had a spur in the late 1800/early 1900’s. The bottle has a plastic screw on lid with a design of weighing scales on it with leaves surrounding the scales. The bottle has ridges along the sides and has (I think) the Owens-Illinois symbol (its tiny-looks like a diamond-O-2 eyes) with a 4 to the left, a 3 to the right and a ‘7..’ on the bottom. I looked at several of your pages but cannot properly understand what I have. Any thoughts?
Hi Linda,
The “scales” logo was a trademark used by McKesson & Robbins on many of the bottles made for their pharmaceutical products. Most of the bottles seem to have been made by Owens-Illinois Glass Company. See my entry under “Scales” on the “Glass Bottle Marks” alphabetical mark listings, page 5.
~David
Thank you David for the info. Do you by chance know why the bottle has ridges along the each of the sides – does that indicate anything specific of the contents? Thanks again for all of the info on your site – I will keep on digging for info…
Linda, without seeing the bottle I can’t say. It might be just a design feature. You can email me a pic of the bottle. My email is on the far lower right hand corner of any page on this site.
David
Unmanufactured, large chunks like broken up obsidian.
Douglas, I assume you mean what is often called “slag glass”, broken or random pieces of waste glass that was discarded at a glass factory, such as when a pot or furnace was cleaned out periodically, or pieces of cullet that was not remelted to be made into more products. Such glass is sometimes found at or near the sites of old glass factories, or in their dumping areas. If a site is known where a glass factory was located that definitely made glass tableware during the depression era, I would guess some pieces of that “raw” glass, in various colors, might be found there, but I have no specific information on this subject.
David
David, have you read the book 1818 – 1888 by Lura Woodside Watkins ?
I’ve been involved in collecting & purveying & study of glass for most of my life. This book was the most insightful book I have ever read! It is much more than Cambridge Glass.
It literally covers the history of glass in America by all the original producers! 🌸
Angela, thank you for your post and the recommendation for reading that book. I was vaguely aware of it but have never read it. This piqued my curiosity so I did order a copy online, which I found inexpensively on ebay. Thanks and take care!
David
Is raw depression glass hard to find?
Hi Douglas,
What do you mean by “raw depression glass”?
David
I have a bottle that has a federal do not reuse stamp. On the bottom there is a stamp– DII 65-45. it has a diamond over a circle with an H inside. I was wondering who made it and when.
ClayBall, that is a bottle made by Owens-Illinois Glass Company. They made huge numbers of liquor bottles over the years. In many cases there will be a set of two numbers separated by a dash. The first number is a “liquor bottle permit number” assigned to a particular glass factory, the second number is a date code. (For a list of liquor bottle permit numbers, type those four words into google and a list should come up).
Your bottle was made in 1945. Please see my page on Owens-Illinois Glass Company on this site. The logo is supposed to be a “Diamond and oval with the letter I inside” although sometimes it is unclear what it is supposed to represent. In some cases the “I” has such long serifs that the letter looks like an “H”.
David
THANK YOU SO MUCH DAVID. I COULD NEVER FIND OUT ANYTHING CONCLUSIVE UNTIL NOW. IT PROBABLY HAS VERY LITTLE VALUE THOUGH.
I believe this was manufactured by Heisey Glass Company.
Hi John,
Even though his bottle has a diamond with what appeared to be an “H” inside, it wasn’t made by Heisey Glass. Heisey Glass Company made upscale tableware, but not utilitarian whiskey bottles that were marked with liquor bottle permit numbers and year date codes on the bottom. The letter inside the diamond is actually supposed to be an “I”, not an “H”. I show lots of examples of this mark on my page about Owens-Illinois Glass Company.
Best regards,
David
Thx David….I obviously didn’t realize it was an “I” and not a “H”.
Hey my name is Chris Crowder. I live outside of Savannah GA and have a river house in midway and sunberry. I know that there is a ton of history on and surrounding this island. St Catherine s old hotel in late 1800 got demolished by a bad hurricane which left a lot of neat bottles.
Also there is a tomb called sailors tomb which is protected by the National Hostoric foundation.
I’m just getting started but as far as I know. All of these island I’m going to have not been seen or charted in decades or never. Have a lot of ?
Clear bottles. MB 14.
Duraglas w a diamond and a circle around them.
I have an old quart milk jug with a “T” on the bottom with a 2 under that.The bottle is made in 2 pieces with the top being one piece and the bottom being the other.Is Tibby Brothers the maker?
Larry, I honestly don’t know who might have made your jug.
David
David I have a 11″ clear 3 piece mold with S.B.D. on the bottom also an 11 3/4″ crude amber whiskey with an E on the bottom.no other marks on either bottle.
Hi. I just found an old bottle with embossed dots on top. It has a lid that looks like it twist locks on the tip. On the bottom it is stamped PET ACCESSORIES INC BY NY.
I find random bottles all the time on my property which dates 1900. Any information is helpful. Thanks in advance!
Hello I have what appears to be an apothecary jar with a lid that has an “M” inside of a triangle with the number 1000 and 73 on the bottom. The lid has a base that protrudes into the jar and is frosted. The glass is clear. Does anyone know anything about these markings?
Hi! Thank you so much for this site, I frequently enjoy using it and it’s been super helpful.
Found in the lake in Vermont: thick clear glass bottle bottom with an E (straight lines not cursive) in a circle at the center, and STORE imprinted twice around it in large letters. There’s also a 28 off to the side. I don’t know the context of why a bottle would be labeled STORE, and I can’t find it, but am curious!
I found a brown glass bottle, sorta big with numbers 1559 and ” B in a circle”, any info?
Lisa, it’s a “stock” or “generic” cylindrical chemical bottle, made by Brockway Glass Company. I think most of that type date from the 1950s-1970s but I’m not really sure. They were used to contain may types of liquid chemicals, acids, cleansers, fertilizers, etc.
David
I located a small bottle while metal detecting central Texas with a raised stamp on bottom of “McC”, the small “c” in the middle is underscored. Along with the bottle were many items which easily dated back to early/Mid 1800’s. Does anyone know who would of been the bottle company?
Roger, please check my alphabetical mark listings. Page 4 is here: https://glassbottlemarks.com/bottlemarks-4/
Best regards, David
Thanx so much for the info, sorry I was unable to get that page to load for some reason but got it now.
I very much appreciate the time you have taken to keep this site, great info. I was really excited on the find, the bottle has an amazing purplish color with zero chips which is stunning cause I located it in a large rock bed. Starting the research now based off the awesome starting point y’all have given, thanx again!
Hi Roger,
Thanks for your nice words about the site. By the way, just as a “heads up” to any and all readers of this site, the content and configuration of the material here may or may not show up exactly the same on all smaller mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets, as compared to the way it appears on a full size desktop computer screen. I have a total of about 91 separate pages (articles) on the site and some may not be immediately evident when arriving on the home page. There is a list of article titles along the right hand side of the screen as displayed on a computer. These may or may not be visible on some smartphones although I have tried to make this site more “mobile friendly” for those who are using those devices and do not typically use a regular “full screen” computer.
Take care and thanks again! Good luck on your metal detecting, bottle collecting and research!
David
McC and Mc & C are the celebrated marks of the William McCully glass factory in Pittsburg, PA. They were big in the second half of the 19th century. There should be many references to him in you Google search engine.
I have two Whittemore Boston French Gloss bottle one I clear with a number 4 on the bottom the other is a light green almost clear with an 8 on the bottom why age were they made
Tionda, I have no way of dating them exactly. The Whittemore bottles were made over a very long period of time, in various bottle styles. Your light green one may date from sometime after the 1890s up into the 1930s. The clear one would probably be more recent, sometime in the period of the 1920s to 1950s. Sorry I cannot be more precise.
David
Hi, I would like to get to know, if it is possible to get a print or reprint or online file about Alexander Kerr´s article “God´s cure for poverty or perhaps it is titled: “God´s remedy for poverty”. I would be very thankful to get and read this little article. I would like to use it for helping poor people. Or is it this article: “Circumstances Cannot Break God’s Promises”?
Thank You very much.
Kind regards
Angela
Hello Angela,
From what limited research I’ve done, it appears the article you are referring to (about Mr. Kerr, his faith in God, and the glass factory in San Francisco that was making fruit jars for him which was largely spared by the fire after the great 1906 earthquake) is this article:
https://heraldofhiscoming.org/index.php/read-the-herald/past-issues/181-past-issues/2008/nov08/2140-circumstances-cannot-break-god-s-promises-11-08
If I understand correctly, the article appeared in the November 2008 edition of the Pentecostal-oriented religious publication “Herald of His Coming”. To see if you can get a reprint of the article, or a back issue of the newspaper containing the article, perhaps you could try contacting someone at their current website at this link: https://heraldofhiscoming.org/index.php
Hope this helps!
David
I found a small apothecary bottle with cork and contents still intact. The contents are dark ‘shavings ‘. The bottle has MB on the bottom and measurement markings on side of bottle.
I’ve got a gallon jug with an anchor and superimposed H on bottom with ridges running vertically all around, the opening is to one side. Wanting to know what was this used for?
I have an AB S13, I don’t see it on the list of bottles. Not able to find it on the web either. Any information would be appreciated.
Hi Donald,
Unfortunately, all the info I have on these bottles is already here (in the text of the two pages concerning them) on my site. I will add the “S 13” to the list of known codes. Thanks for your post!
David
I have a footed bowl marked E O Brody Co M6000
Cleveland O USA
Can you tell me anything about it?
Thank you
Hi Mary,
There are many kinds of bowls, vases, etc made for E O Brody & Company and I’m afraid I do not have specific, solid information on them. I feel like most of those types of glass items date from sometime in the 1960s through 1980s, but I can’t narrow that down any better for any particular item.
Take care,
~David
Hello –
I have a large 5 gallon jar, which I believe is a pickle jar. It has the I in the O with the diamond logo on the bottom, but the date code to the right is 68. I thought this logo ended around 1954. Can you help me with this, please?
Thank you,
Pam Hodom
Hi Pam,
You evidently have an example of a container in which the logo on the mold was never retooled (at least not until after 1968, if ever). Actually, the second Owens-Illinois logo (I inside an O) was “officially” introduced in 1954, but in reality it was several years before all the bottle and jar molds then in use were retooled, eliminating the diamond. I think some were not retooled if they saw very limited or highly sporadic use, which may be the case with your 5 gallon pickle jar. Please check out my page on Owens-Illinois Glass Company if you haven’t already. I have a picture posted there of a bottle from 1966, so you have shown at least one container has an even more recent date: 1968!
Take care, David
Hello, i need help with a bottle i found on a beach in NY. its a brown “4/5 quart” bottle. On the bottom is a B in circle with 2 serifs on it i believe and it is centered on the bottom. On the left of the circle-b is 52, below is D-126, to the right is 14, and above is 1.
From what i understand, given the number placement, its a 1914 Brockway glass Co. bottle from mold #1. However, i dont see a plant code for 52 so im confused and i dont know what the D-126 means. Any information would be of great help and i would love to send you pictures if you want to see for yourself.
Hi Chris,
There are so many questions about bottles that are hard to answer, and many glass companies made bottles with different configurations of markings depending on what type of bottle it is. In your case, I can say with certainty that the “14” is a “liquor bottle permit number” (you might google that four word phrase…..there is a list posted online of liquor bottle permit numbers used by a number of bottle-making companies) which was assigned to Brockway Glass Company. The “1” is probably a mold number. The “D-126” is a distiller number, identifying the distiller of the liquor that was sold in the bottle originally. I think the “52” in this case is a date code for 1952.
Best regards,
David
Thank you very much for the reply. Thats more information than i could have ever hoped to have and gives me even more to research :). Thank you!!!!
Hey
I have recently come across a clear glass bottle that has many bubbles or imperfections all over and also has a trident mark on the bottom of it, im wondering if you might know anything about it.
Thanks
By reading David’s article on hens on nests, I discovered that I have a mulberry colored (mulberry stain on clear class) hen. I have not been able to find a picture of mine on the Internet. So I am assuming this one is a rare find.
I have cobalt insulator marked USA K inside circle.can you id? Thankyou.
Hi Susan,
I sent you an email directly to the email address you provided. Please check your spam/trash folders if you did not receive it. If you can send me a photo of the piece by email, maybe I can identify what you have.
Thank you and best regards,
David
Is the date of your posting 2012? I want to cite it in a paper where I talk about the algae growing on glass fishing floats.
Is this citation OK?
Whitten, D. 2012. Glass Bottle Marks. https://glassbottlemarks.com
Gayle Hansen
Newport, Oregon
Hello Gayle,
I am not sure about the proper “standards” used in citing works, but I can say, by checking my records on this site, my specific webpage on Glass Fishing Net Floats was first published on the internet on April 8, 2013. (The basic material on this site was first posted online in February 2004, as a small subpage on the umbrella site myinsulators.com. At that time only a core handful of brief pages were included. I then moved over to my own domain name in September of 2012, and have continued to add additional pages to this site since that time. I do frequently re-edit and “tweak” many of the individual pages. I have not added much to the Floats page since 2013, so you might cite that year if you prefer.
Thank you very much for your interest in this site!! Take care,
David
Hi David, I have an amber bottle I found. All the way around the top it says federal law forbids sale or re use of this bottle. It has diamond o with 1 in it on the bottom, with D 9 56 45 and what looks like 29 or 23. Just wondering any info on it. Found it demolishing an old building in Jefferson barracks in St Louis.
Hi Craig,
Your bottle was made by Owens-Illinois Glass Company (their trademark was a Diamond and Oval with an I inside). The “D-9” is a distiller code number. The “56” is a liquor bottle permit number assigned to their Charleston, West Virginia factory. The “45” is a date code for 1945. The 29 or 23 is probably a mold number. You can see more info on Owens-Illinois at my page here: Owens-Illinois Glass Company. Also some general info on my page on Numbers on the base of bottles. Hope this helps!
~David