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Welcome to Bottle Mysteries: information about rare and collectible glass bottles from a member of the glass bottle mold manufacturing industry:
I have had a thing for glass since I was a kid at the age of seven. My parents had gone to a farm near us to visit with two people they liked and I was allowed to play and walk around in their yard. While there I came upon the lady’s rock garden. Her husband worked at the Corning Glass Works and he had brought home pieces of glass for her rock garden. The glass cast a spell on me and they gave me three pieces of glass to bring home. On a subsequent visit, I was given three more pieces and I still have them.
I got my first collected bottle by visiting a glass factory when I was about nine years old. My Grandfather took me to Elmira, New York and the Thatcher Glass Factory, where they made milk bottles. I brought home a little half-pint cream bottle, which I still have. These two things showed my early pack rat tendencies and I have collected bottles for many years.
My third development of glass interest became a reality doing one of my youth chores. Often I would walk the railroad, in back of our little farm and often this would go about three miles to Burdett and my Grandmother’s home – that promised good cookies. In the fall this trip ended up with me carrying a metal bucket to pick up pieces of soft coal dropped by the engine tenders, onto the tracks. These pieces were added to the wood fire in my Mom’s wood burning cook stove, to get a hotter fire when she needed one for cooking. While doing this, I developed an appreciation for the glass telephone insulators the workmen would throw away. Glass insulators started following me home, as a collectible.
In the spring the bucket was used to collect wild asparagus spears. This plant grew well and thrived on the cinders that fell from the steam train’s smoke. I carried a piece of old bed sheet or cloth with me and I would tie strips of it to the bushes or fence near the asparagus plants, to mark to their location for future harvesting. Wild asparagus is like wild strawberries – the flavor is beyond fantastic. It was an annual family mealtime vegetable.
I didn’t realize it until I got older, that my Dad was very mechanical and I learned a lot from him about “How things were made”. When I was about nine years old, my Dad went to work at the Morris Chain Works in Ithaca, NY. He would often bring home little pieces of metal scrap products and he delighted in how I thought they were made. He got big belly laughs out of the bizarre descriptions that I came up with. After that he would explain how they were made. Years later, I took Mechanical Engineering in college and minored in Metallurgy.
Later on, I went to work for the above mentioned Thatcher Glass Plant, as an Applications Engineer and asst. supervisor. I worked there for fifteen years and evaluated many aspects of bottle making and problems relating to mold life and mold durability in glass production.
From there I left the company and got a contract for selling metal products to the Glass Industry in many parts of the world. I have put on seminars and sales presentations to many of the glass mold people in the world. At one time I had over 3,000 names in my computer, all were Production and Engineering people, as well as Mold manufacturers and Mold repair supervisors. I spent thirty years plus doing this work and it was all centered on development of mold component materials and methods used on the ABM Automatic Bottle Machines.
All of this background is still with me in my glass studies and since retirement, I have been studying the methods of bottle making from (1500 to 1900). I have joined a couple bottle clubs and became interested in the methods of those earlier years of bottle making. I keep collecting printed information and books on the subject and I have assembled studies on various glass products and how they were made.
I have collected items from Early Black Glass to Case Gins, Civil War Glass, to Fly traps and minnow traps. I have also collected big store advertising bottles, that never held anything. Saratoga Mineral Water bottles, etc.. There are so many products one could not even comprehend the extent of glass applied to the human life cycle.
I have also been helping diggers evaluate their finds, eBay sellers with their descriptions and glass explanations – just for the fun of it and to be of help. When I pick up an old bottle, I let the marks on it tell me how it was made. If I find a mark I don’t know about it becomes a “bottle mystery”, thus the name for my home page. I expect to have a section of bottle mysteries, that I need solutions for; and with the hope that when someone recognizes them they will write to me.
– Red Matthews
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Red,
So this is what you have been doing in retirement.
August 2nd, 2008 at 11:27 amImpressive. I will revisit and read everything that is posted.
Dave Baron
I read similar article also named | Antique Bottle Mysteries, and it was completely different. Personally, I agree with you more, because this article makes a little bit more sense for me
August 18th, 2008 at 12:25 amTo Daniel – in reply to his comment. Hey I want it to make sense – if it doesn’t I want the chance to clear it up. Thanks! RED Matthews
August 27th, 2008 at 10:17 pmRed, nice site. I need to pass on the mold repair “half moon” impression you gave me info on for Todd Van Mechow. He and I were discussing that defect in York ’08, and he did not have an answer for it. You might want to discuss some acedemic glass blowing issues with Bill )discpontil, who is compiling information for a book on pontiling.
September 2nd, 2008 at 2:03 pmBest, Curt
Red, you have accomplished so much! Keep up the good work; it’s a wonderful site with so much great information for bottle collectors and glass product manufacturers. I grew up with glass all around me. My father had delivered newspapers to Alexandria and Old Dominion Glass Works was on his delivery route. It’s a shame that so little is known about their products. There was a much earlier glass producer at the same site, but there is nothing we can find out about them. Let’s hope that someday the information will be coming.
Mike
September 5th, 2008 at 1:40 pmHi When I get back to Florida I think I will be able to look up who operated Dominion Glass before them. RED M.
September 13th, 2008 at 3:48 pmvery interesting site ,glad to have a chance to review ir have learned much.keep up the good work it is greatly appreciated. looking forward to more great information. thank you gary
September 27th, 2008 at 3:15 pmHi Red…
November 8th, 2008 at 3:49 pmI love your site,you packed a lot of information into it.
Its good to see that your love of old glass never faded.It gives me hope for the future. : -) Rick
Oh I forgot to add,nice collection of links and books you got there red. Rick
November 8th, 2008 at 4:08 pmRed,
Just read the contents page on your website. I’m really looking forward to reading your segments on the upcoming subjects, especially on the glass makers tool marks.
Warren
December 17th, 2008 at 6:45 pmim trying to do small production runs of cast art glass using a 1000lb crucible
December 19th, 2008 at 9:50 pmim now tackling the problems of cast iron molds gob sizes press and blow molds etc
im hoping to contact red as a source to help shorten my learning curve in all of those details any help would be appreciated thanks so much hugh blunden los angeles ca
Hi Red,
January 5th, 2009 at 1:20 amGreat site! I’ve enjoyed reading your helpful info on the Antique Bottle Forum and look forward to learning even more from your website.
Did you ever hear of Try-Me Beverage Co,
January 27th, 2009 at 5:59 pmRED : YOU ARE A CREDIT TO THE BOTTLE COLLECTING COMMUNITY. ONE OF THE MOST KNOWLEDGEABLE PEOPLE I KNOW ON GLASS MAKING!
February 1st, 2009 at 1:05 pmJamie: Wow! what a thing to say. I know it isn’t so though, because one of our Forum members: Bill Lindsey has more knowledge and experience than I can even comprehend. His collected works are the most complete information source there is. His link is on my links page, I am sure you have checked him out. If not – do it. http://www.sha.org/bottle/index.htm Enjoy.
February 1st, 2009 at 3:05 pmHi Red, I just happened to run across your web site here this evening, been busy ever since just reading your material. Keep up the good work, as you know there are many antique bottle mysteries in the bottles and glassware we North Americans collect with information very difficult to obtain. I will be looking and reading through your site here quite often, very interesting and as I said helpful people like you are hard to find. thanks again…..Bruce
February 3rd, 2009 at 8:22 pmHello red.
February 13th, 2009 at 11:19 pmI have an unusual bottle that I would like to know what it is,and what it is worth.I was wondering if I could send you a picture and get your help.Thanks…Michelle
The new site is coming along well Red. Thanks again for the help.
March 28th, 2009 at 6:45 pmRed, Thanks for the information and direction with my missisquoi mineral water bottle. Its a rare thing to find honest and direct help online as evidenced by the numerous 3-400 dollar offers I have received ( when the bottle is worth far more!)Thanks Again
April 9th, 2009 at 7:08 pmI just found a bottle in the river, at low time, and it is a bottle I have never seen before. It is “Try-Me”. Looks kinda like the Tower of Pizza, or however you spell it. Has little arch window impressions around it in a couple of places. Must be a very old bottle because my father had a grocery store in a warehouse out over the water in the 30′s. People would buy drinks and when they were finished, toss them into the water. That was acceptable back then and no big deal. I have found many bottles, and three nice ones that particular day; all different.
April 12th, 2009 at 1:00 pmRed-
I am currently doing reserach on bottles for my in-laws. They are both financially struggling and they both had inherited many antiques but amazingly I cam across a box full of antique bottles. You name it…medicinal, ball jars, bitters but I came across the most beautiful one of all. It is a amber fish bottle. I don’t see any hallmarks or letters to research it..no name. Do you know much about these type of bottles. It is intersting. It has fins cut out in it and is simply unique. Could you tell me anything about these type of bottles.
Dimensions are 13″long by 8″wide. The mouth of the fish is open of course.
Thank you for you assistance.
Veronica Smith
May 13th, 2009 at 12:53 pmHere is the Sweeney chilled mold patent and patent re-issue:
http://www.google.com/patents?id=A0YAAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&dq=sweeny+glass+mold&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0_0
http://www.google.com/patents?id=AgkeAAAAEBAJ&dq=sweeny+glass+mold&jtp=1#PPA2,M1
Bob Stahr
May 30th, 2009 at 10:00 pmBob@hemingray.com
Hemingray Glass Company Historian
I have 6 still full of chemical and the original hangers. Shur-stop from International Fire Equipment Co. Staten Island NY. Wanting to sell.
Jeff
June 1st, 2009 at 6:50 pmAfter looking several times on different websites, my son and I think we found a winner!! My 13 year old son started working today for TreeTrust digging and building with his teen crew members. He discovered this beautiful square shaped bottle which VERY closely resembles the one you have pictured on your welcome page. We believe this to be an old ink bottle but we are not sure. There are numbers and a letter on the bottom of the bottle (C or G 134). We are interested in finding out more about his discovery. What ever you are willing to share, we would love to hear about it.
Juanita
June 15th, 2009 at 11:18 pmRED: YOU HAVE SEEN MY COBALT ,PONTILED,”HALF POST” BOTTLE ” ON THE BOTTLE FORUM. I MAY HAVE TO SELL IT IN THE NEAR FUTURE AND REALLY DON’T KNOW IF IT MAY BE “WATERFORD” OR NOT AND HAVE NO WAY TO RESEARCH IT,AS DOWN SOUTH IN MY AREA WE HAVE NO EARLY AMERICAN GLASS.[WAS TOLD IT MAY BE 1810-1830 OR EARLIER] I AM AT A LOSS AS TO WHAT TO DO TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I HAVE AND WHAT WOULD BE A FAIR PRICE FOR THE “DECANTER” [?] ANY SUGESTIONS? THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS! JAMIE LINDSEY
July 2nd, 2009 at 11:47 pmI recently found an interesting bottle while digging in my backyard. It is a green color and looks like it would contain soda. The only markings on it said: JOHN MORGAN 343 W 39TH STREET NY. I was just wondering if there was a soda company by that name. I couldn’t find any information on the internet about this.
July 5th, 2009 at 3:22 pmHi Red,
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:22 amI made it here. What do I do now. There are some nice bottles on auction. Joyce. I don’t know how to add pics or post anything though. HELP…. Joyce
Very nice site. Keep on posting new content, I’m looking forward to coming back to your site. I’ve recently really got into antique glass bottles collecting, so I’m doing a lot of research in this area at the moment.
October 3rd, 2009 at 10:02 amHi Red,
Very informative site – Thank you. Have you also experimated with using a cast iron chill in nickel aluminum bronze finish bottle molds and if so do you think it has any affect vs. casting over a sand core? I would really appreciate your thoughts.
Best regards,
Chip Shamburg
October 6th, 2009 at 9:41 amI found a bottle similar to Marie (above) found with John Morgan, 343 W. 39th St., on it. Does anyone know what was once in it??
November 7th, 2009 at 12:21 pmElaine
yes sir i found a beautiful bottle that is 1/2 pint i believe with a small sticker on the front with a man tipping a glass the bottle looks like carnival glass. it has very beautiful cuts throughout it do you know anything about this bottle
November 25th, 2009 at 11:31 pmRe: items 26 & 31 above:
November 30th, 2009 at 2:45 pmJohn Morgan came to Manhattan from Ireland in the 1850's.
He started a soda-water business here which eventually became "Morgan Brothers Soda Water" which was bought out by White Rock in 1948. However, a Morgan family descendant actually ended up buying out White Rock in 1952.
Hi Red,I really like the site,very interesting.I`ve been here several times but thought I`d stop and say I`m very impressed with your collections as well as your knowledge and interests.It`s always fun to see what you are unraveling next.Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
-Tim(Antiquenut)
December 18th, 2009 at 9:56 amI have an aqua colored bottle about the size of a soda pop bottle. At the neck there is an impression on both sides. A glass marble sits on this lip. The neck is too small to remove the marble. It says Massey Leek molded in the bottle. I can not find any information on this bottle…it is a mystery to me. Have any ideas of what it is or where I could look for answers?
February 24th, 2010 at 3:37 pmHey Red:
Just made it to the site and will definitely be back when I have more time. Looks good and right down my alley. THANX
Jim Sinsley
February 25th, 2010 at 2:12 am3/1/10 Stumbled on here quite by accident today while trying to figure out what the difference is between a "carboy" and a "Demi John"…I have one very large bottle similiar to the one you show with the odd neck that I have been trying to research (& still am) and also two others that I believe are called carboys, 6-1/2 gal. One is quite old & seam line only goes up to the shoulder, its light green. The other is etched on the fancy crackle type base as 1974 and letters ICC-ID. Do you have any idea what that means? Being a VERY senior citizen I plan to sell them as I'm far beyond the collecting stage. You have a wonderful site & I envy you enjoying "life on the farm".
March 1st, 2010 at 6:37 pmBest wishes from Maine Lynn Miner
Hello, I am a bottle digger/metal detector who is looking for someone who is willing to share their wisdom of West Elmira and the Chemung River. I work for the State of New York so I am a honest person. Am discovering that the Grove Street boat ramp is sitting atop an old dump. Have been finding Shards,artifacts, old foundations near the river, and where Roricks Glen was. Are there any treasure hunting clubs in this area, and how do I acqiure a prob?(a long metal rod used for finding privys and old dumps)Thank you @ hope to hear from an honest soul soon.
March 26th, 2010 at 11:32 amI found a 1 gallon 7up glass bottle with the label and still full.The bottom has the number 20 and some weird symbol. On the label it has G093 on it. Can you tell me anything about it? How old?
April 1st, 2010 at 10:05 pmHello I have a big bottle it is glass it has the letters AYELENSE 16-LXX around the top it is a cork bottle and looks to be a 5 gallon bottle not sure has no other markings on the bottle just wondering how old it is and if it might be worth anything.
April 16th, 2010 at 3:20 pm> Hello, Jessica Bohl, The bottle you have sounds like a carboy that was made for a special fluid. I don't recognize the name and have no idea of its'age or time of manufacture. All I can sugest is that you send me a picture of the bottle and I will check it out from that. Chances are it is not that old, but if there is any lettering or information on the bottom that might be helpful also. C RED Matthews
April 16th, 2010 at 8:44 pmHello, Just wanted to say I really enjoy your site! It's always great to hear from the seasoned bottle people. I would love to add a link to your site on mine http://privypro.com I build and sell Quality Spring Steel Privy Probes. Let me know if your interested and keep up the good work…GARY
April 25th, 2010 at 6:08 pmI found a bottle in 1965. Clear glass, side seams up the spout (no lip) It is 7 3/4 inch tall and 2 5/8 diameter round. It is a detailed cylinder of a lighthouse with the bricks, windows and door in detail.On the bottom it reads DESIGN 85 PATENT 2 PENDING. Any ideas what it may be??? Thankyou!!!!!
April 25th, 2010 at 6:57 pmHi Red,
May 9th, 2010 at 8:39 pmI wrote up a reply on the Antique Bottle Forum but your PM box was full.You already know me somewhat from there.I am the old Antiquenut.I had a problem,(long story),and had Woody delete my account.
Do you know anything about barrel making?If you do or know of a website or person with knowledge of it,I would be greatly interested because I am thinking of trying to make them.My ancestors made them and I think it would be cool to try my hand at it.
P.S. Wangan is a Maine invented word.I love my wilderness State and thought it would be fitting to use it for an Antique Bottle Forum name.Take it easy and have a great day!
Hello, thanks for the reply on the J. Russak bottle I found. Sure wish I could narrow the search for this thing. I think it may be a really rare find. Some suggest it is from melbourne aus. Or Germany or even Russia… Just all over the place with this mystery. Help, Help, Help…Thanks for the replies and I hope some further replies will nail this one down. Jim
June 26th, 2010 at 9:58 pmHello Red,
July 19th, 2010 at 8:32 pmPlease help…I have a mystery bottle. It's dark brown, blank blob seal, lady leg style neck, cylinder body applied lip, pontil base, raised embossed letters CHALVIN'S (one side) & QUINA PASTUEUR (opposite side). It may be priceless or worthless, but I would like to know either way. I appreciate your time. Thanks…Kasey