Welcome (Home Page)

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.


Antique Glass Bottles, jars and tableware markings and emblems, informational website, home page: Photo showing small glass medicine vial; Telegraph insulator; Hobnail votive candle holder; Bromo-Seltzer bottle; Square ink bottle; Bixby Shoe polish bottle.
Small medicine vial; Telegraph line insulator; Hobnail votive candle holder; Bromo-Seltzer bottle; Square ink bottle; Bixby Shoe polish bottle

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?


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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


Colorful Glass bottles, insulator in window on cold snowy day.
Glass in window on a cold snowy day! (From left to right): Fenton swung vase; Maryland Glass Corp cobalt blue medicine bottle; circa 1880s Brookfield telegraph line insulator; Piso’s Cure bottle; circa 1920s Phillips Milk of Magnesia bottle.

 


Sapphire Blue "Eastlake" Children's Mug, made by Atterbury & Company of Pittsburgh in the 1880s
Antique sapphire blue glass “Eastlake” children’s mug, made by Atterbury & Company of Pittsburgh in the 1880s

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!


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Antique and vintage Glass Bottle Marks website - Home Page - photo showing Blue-Aqua (Hemingray Blue) CD 257 "Mickey Mouse" style glass insulator used on electric power lines - circa 1900-1920 era. This insulator was made by Hemingray Glass Company in Muncie, Indiana.
Blue-Aqua (Hemingray Blue) CD 257 “Mickey Mouse” style glass insulator used on electric power lines – circa 1900-1920 era. This insulator was made by Hemingray Glass Company in Muncie, Indiana.

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

 

 


Complete List of all Articles

 


CONTACT INFORMATION Page

 


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706 thoughts on “Welcome (Home Page)”

  1. Hello, I am having a hard time finding precise information on this piece of glass I found on the beach in South Texas yesterday. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks. It is dark green and says BBCo on a raised surface. Like a badge almost.

    1. Hello Ben,
      [Readers, Ben contacted me by email and sent me photos of his beach glass find, so I wanted to share my answer so it’s archived on the site]. You have found a “seal” from the shoulder of an antique liquor or wine bottle. Doing a web search, I found only one example online of a bottle bearing an identical seal on the shoulder. It is one of the RICKETTS type black glass bottles. Most of those bottles were marked on the base with “H. RICKETTS & CO” or some similar variation.

      The “B B Co” is part of what is called a “SEAL” which was a small glob of molten glass affixed to the side of wine and spirits bottles and then “stamped” with a specialized tool which makes it look almost like a coin or large button. The so-called “Seal bottles” are a type of bottle in demand by antique bottle collectors. There were many, many different personalized seals placed on bottles, usually affixed to the shoulder area, and for various reasons.

      The name of the company or the initials in the seal would usually stand for a wine merchant, spirits distributor, or in some cases, it identified a bottle in the private collection of a wealthy wine connoisseur. (The seal type bottles were slowly being phased out by the 1860s-1880s, although some more recent bottles may bear some type of seal, such as the common Paul Jones, Louisville, KY whiskey bottles of the 1890s-1910s). I think some very exclusive, limited edition wines, bottled for a wealthy wine collector, might still have special seals put on them even today, but I haven’t researched that so I’m not sure. Other modern bottles, such as Makers Mark whiskey, bear “imitation” shoulder seals that are not applied, but formed as part of the bottle mold.

      MOST of the Ricketts bottles were “generic” ale, beer, spirits and wine bottles on which a seal was never added. I do not know what the “B.B. Co” in this seal represents, but more than likely it is the initials for the name of a wine or liquor merchant in Great Britain. The Ricketts bottles were made over a very long period of time, from 1821 to around 1853. Most were made in Great Britain. Some of a similar style were believed to have been made here in the US also. Most were made in dark olive green or dark olive amber glass, often called “Black Glass”, as the bottles look nearly black in reflected light. (There is also a chance that that particular seal was stamped on other bottles available in that area and time period, not just on Ricketts bottles).
      Here is a PDF file, an article written by bottle researcher and archeologist Bill Lockhart and others. It does get “into the weeds” but it makes some interesting reading if you some free time!
      https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/RickettsFirms.pdf

      I cannot date your find precisely, but I think it most likely dates from sometime in the 1820s or 1830s, possibly 1840s? I found only ONE example on the web of a Ricketts bottle with a similar “B.B.Co.” seal on it. It is a past ebay listing, indexed into the Worthpoint site database. Unfortunately, there is only one photo shown and it is not especially sharp and clear. But it will give you a good idea of what this bottle looks like. The seller writes “1830s” and that is their guess, but that would likely be in the ballpark.
      https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ricketts-co-glass-works-beaded-seal-414177508

      Also, just as a side note, there are a number of unrelated bottles that bear “B.B.CO.” on the base or the front (see my entry for B.B.CO in the alphabetical mark listings here) but they would have no connection with the seal from your bottle.

      Thanks and take care,

      David

  2. I recently purchased a small uranium glass pitcher and was interested in finding out more about the manufacturing company. The stamping on the bottom is A&J, but I couldn’t find that listed on your site for glass manufacturers.

    1. Hello Nick,
      You have found a green Depression-era pitcher made by Hazel Atlas Glass Company for the A & J Manufacturing Company of Binghamton, New York. A&J specialized in manufacturing kitchen-related products such as mixers and egg beaters, and evidently the company had a business arrangement with Hazel Atlas to mark certain accompanying glass products (such as the pitcher that also served as the bottom container for a food mixer) with the “A & J” initials. The pitcher was patented in 1923. A & J was acquired by EKCO, of Chicago, IL, in 1929.

      I am not sure if more pitchers were marked with those initials AFTER 1929. From the rather large numbers of those types of pitchers still in existence, I would guess they may have, since the green color was very popular throughout the Depression era and large numbers of those pitchers were made throughout the 1930s. So possibly they continued to use the molds with the A&J initials even for several years after the EKCO takeover.

      Here are two articles with more background information:

      https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/nmah_867299

      https://www.madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/ekco-products-co/

      Thanks for the post, and I hope this helps! (Yes, I should add that one to my list of marks, thank you!)
      ~David

      1. Thanks David for answering my question. And the two article links were very informative, especially the one about the ECKO company. So now the green glass pitcher that sets on the shelf in Alaska will make me think of my home state of New York, where the A&J company existed.

        1. Hi Amy,
          Please check the “Contact Information” page. If you are viewing on a computer, see the list of article titles on the right hand side of the page (any page) and the contact info webpage is listed near the bottom of the list. On a smartphone, look for the “MENU” button and then click “List of all articles on the Glass Bottle Marks website” and scroll to the contact information webpage. Thank you for your post!
          David

  3. A small clear bottle about three inches high, with a lipped top for a stopper, has C B & S on the base. It was found in 1990 at Northampton, England, as part of an archaeological excavation. Does anyone know the company name?

  4. 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.

    1. 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

      1. 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.

        1. 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

  5. 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!

  6. 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.

    1. 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

  7. 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.

    1. Hi Tammy,
      Honestly, I don’t know. Perhaps a reader who is familiar with those decanters can give you more info.

      Take care,
      David

  8. 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?

    1. 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

      1. 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!

    2. 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!

        1. 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.

          1. 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

  9. 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?

  10. 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.

    1. 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

      1. 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

        1. 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

          1. I have a green wine bottle with no marks on it big dimple it bottom no mold line looks hand blown.

        1. 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

      2. 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?

        1. 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

    2. 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. 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

      1. 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

        1. 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

      2. 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.

        1. 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

  12. 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

    1. 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

      1. 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….

        1. 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

  13. 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.

    1. 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

  14. 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.

  15. 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.

    1. 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

      1. 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.

      2. 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!

        1. 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

          1. 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!

  16. 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.

  17. 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?

    1. 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

  18. 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?

    1. 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

      1. Thanks anyway. I don’t know if this helps, but on the front of the bottle near the bottom it says 16-6.

  19. 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

    1. 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

      1. 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!)

    2. 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.

    3. 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.

      1. 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

  20. 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.

  21. 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.

    1. 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

      1. 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

        1. 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

  22. 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.

    1. 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

  23. 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!

    1. 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

      1. 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

      2. 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

    2. 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!

      1. 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

        1. 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

          1. 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

          2. 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

          3. Catherine, that’s a great idea! I really appreciate your posts. Take care, and the best of luck with future kayaking trips!
            David

  24. 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?

    1. 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.

    2. 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.

  25. 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!!!

    1. 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

  26. 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?

    1. 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

  27. 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.

    1. 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. https://www.insulators.info/pictures/search/?query=insulcat&submit=Search
      Hope this helps,
      David

      1. 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.

  28. 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

  29. 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!

    1. 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

  30. 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

    1. 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

  31. 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.

    1. 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

    2. 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

      1. 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

    1. 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

  32. 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!

  33. 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!

  34. 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.

  35. 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?

    1. 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

      1. 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?

        1. 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

  36. 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!

    1. 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

      1. 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!

        1. 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

      2. 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

        1. 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

        2. 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

          1. 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

          2. David: The bottle may have come out of Kerr Glass Container in Wilson, NC. Now it is an Ardagh Group Plant.

          3. 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

          4. 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.

          5. 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

  37. 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?

  38. 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!

  39. 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?

    1. 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.

  40. I have a pint jar that has The Barn with fancy cursive writing on the glass. Can you tell me anything about it

  41. 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

    1. 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.

  42. 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

    1. 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

  43. 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!

  44. 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.

    1. 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

      1. 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

  45. 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

    1. 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

  46. 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!

    1. 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

  47. 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.

  48. 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?

    1. 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

      1. 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…

        1. 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

    1. 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

  49. 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! 🌸

    1. 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

  50. 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.

    1. 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

      1. 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

  51. 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.

  52. 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?

  53. 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.

  54. 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!

  55. 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?

  56. 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!

  57. I found a brown glass bottle, sorta big with numbers 1559 and ” B in a circle”, any info?

    1. 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

  58. 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?

      1. 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!

        1. 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

    1. 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.

  59. 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

    1. 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

  60. 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

    1. 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

  61. 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.

  62. 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?

  63. 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.

    1. 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

  64. I have a footed bowl marked E O Brody Co M6000
    Cleveland O USA
    Can you tell me anything about it?
    Thank you

    1. 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

  65. 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

    1. 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

  66. 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.

    1. 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

      1. 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!!!!

  67. 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

  68. 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.

    1. 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

  69. 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

    1. 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

      1. 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.

        1. 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

  70. Hello David, first off love the site, large amount of useful information. I recently found two small bottles I have been unsuccessful in identifying their purpose. I think they might be small alcohol sample bottles but haven’t been able to find any examples anywhere. They are embossed on the bottom…S C Herbst…IMP T G. Co….MILWAUKEE. One is colored brown the other is clear with a purplish tinge. I have pictures I can send if you have some time to look at them. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
    Thank you, Rusty.

  71. I am amazed. I found just a bottle bottom from a company which was taken over by Armstrong Cork who i worked for in the 60s in the UK. The glass company was on east coast and i found it on the site of Fort Beale Springs in Kingman Az

  72. Thank You. I am thankful for your work with bottles. Iam a collector of food, beverage, medicine… Well if it’s old glass
    I like… it seems like I can dig a bottle quicker than I can find out info on it so your information is truly valuable. Thanks again may you find the one you been dreaming of…

  73. I came across some more information on the Foster-Forbes Glass Company and their Mark’s, especially the FF in a circle. Thought I would share it with you since you said you were looking for more info. The Society for Historical Acheaology has a PDF on the company at https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/FosterForbes.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwim68uRv_DgAhVqh-AKHVMFCwkQFjASegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw1NaJYTflAEc_mn0MqW2IuW

    1. Hello Lacy,
      Thank you for the link. The subject of glass bottles, bottle markings, glass manufacturers and associated background info is very wide, and new information is constantly being discovered. There is a lot of information posted online that I haven’t “come up to speed with” in recent years. Bill Lockhart is an archaeologist, researcher, historian and writer and has many detailed articles on the web, this being one of them. I had not read that article in detail until now. I have re-edited slightly my entry on the “FF in a circle” mark used by Foster-Forbes, and have included a link to Lockhart’s .pdf file article there. Thanks again and take care!
      David

  74. The bottle was found on a construction site the original house that was there was built in the early 1890 as was the house I live in. so possible the bottle was made 1886 or a little later. What do these bottles usually sell for.

    1. Hi Toby,
      Those bottles (the “AB-connected” beer bottles) were made after 1905, so it was discarded several years after your house was built. Also, although my site is not intended as an appraisal site, in all honesty, since HUGE numbers of these bottles were made over several years time, and they are considered very common by antique bottle collectors, the average “market value” to experienced collectors is around a dollar or two.
      However, these bottles frequently show up for sale at antique shops, flea markets and on ebay and in those cases they may be priced MUCH, much higher. Often the seller has not the slightest idea on their worth. Whether they actually Sell at those prices is another matter. So, even though these bottles are certifiably authentic antiques, being around 100-110 years old or more, because of being so common they do not have high monetary value. (Simply the law of supply and demand). Hope this helps,
      ~David

    1. Hi Toby,
      Can you check out my two pages on the “AB-Connected” mark on beer bottles? They are here:

      https://glassbottlemarks.com/ab-mark-on-beer-bottles

      https://glassbottlemarks.com/list-abconnected-bottle-base-mold-codes

      The “P 4” is probably a mold number — basically, it just identified a particular bottle mold being used at the glass factory. Many other molds for the same type of bottle were being used at the same time, so each mold had a unique number assigned to it.
      Hope this helps,
      David

  75. Hello David, my great Uncle died last year and left a home filled with about 200 or 300 milk glass hens on nests. We were told by a Northeastern auction house that there is no market anymore for milk glass and that basically what we were left with is worthless. Can you advise in any manner? As you have stated, I am not asking for pricing information, I’m inquiring if you are aware of a market for these hens? Thanks so much.

    1. Rachel,
      I don’t know a lot about the values of milk glass hens, but I can say it would depend on the exact style and maker of the hens involved. MANY, MANY glass companies have made glass hen-on-nest dishes over many years, as far back as the 1870s/1880s when they were made in large quantities by Atterbury & Company and Challinor, Taylor & Company. Hens from those companies are CERTAINLY not worthless by any stretch of the imagination!! Very large quantities of white milk glass hens were made for many years in the 20th century by Westmoreland Glass Company, Imperial Glass Company, Indiana Glass Company, and Hazel-Atlas Glass Company, and others.

      Because of their having been made in such numbers, I would imagine their retail market value is not very high, but in no way, shape, or form can any of them be characterized as “worthless”. The auction house is not being truthful if they really said that the hens were “worthless”. They might have gotten that erroneous idea because of the large numbers of Indiana Glass hens posted on ebay, with few bids, simply because that particular type is very, very common. (See my page on Indiana Glass to see which type I am referring to).

      I can’t really give you any better info than this……… a collection of 200-300 milk glass hens would very likely include a number of the scarcer / rarer variants. It would be difficult to identify them all, unless a truly knowledgeable collector was able to view the collection in person. But let me clearly state that collectible older classic Milk glass is NOT worthless!!! There are currently many collectors of milk glass, both old and new, scattered across the US. A search of Youtube videos and Facebook groups will uncover milk glass collectors, collections, and discussion groups devoted to that type of glassware.
      Hope this helps a bit!
      David

    2. Hi David – I’ve recently joined several FaceBook pages dedicated to milk glass, vintage glass and vintage “non-glass” (ceramic, china, etc). I’ll bet someone there would be interested in a collection of hens …

  76. Hi David, What a nice guy you are to try and help all of us. I was lucky to recently go thru several dusty shelves of canning jars in an old garage in the Georgia mountains. I didn’t know much about the history of various jars when I did this, sadly. I’ve learned much since. I haven’t been able to determine the dates of any of the Kerr jars. I see others have the same problem. Can you suggest a chart similar to the one someone created for the Ball jars?

    I also have 3 quart jars that just say MASON – that’s all they say. On the bottom there’s an I inside a circle, A and 75. Any idea who mfgr. is?

    Appreciate any and all help. thank you.

    1. Hi Rosemary,
      Thank you for your kind words! Unfortunately, I do not know of any chart that illustrates a timeline for Kerr jars. They tend to be difficult to date precisely. I do not collect them myself, and have only a superficial knowledge of them. I realize it is a hassle and an expense, but for any collectors seriously interested in Kerr jars and their many variants, I suggest getting a recent copy of the “RED BOOK” of fruit jars, a price guide used by most fruit jar collectors. There are many different Kerr variants listed in that book, although the dates used are not, in most cases, shown or explained.
      I am sure there are some Kerr collectors around the country who have much more detailed knowledge on the various jars and their approximate periods of manufacture, but much of this information may be “in their heads” but not written down or published. (I will make a plea here for any collectors to chime in on the subject of Kerr jars, and submit any info you can for the sake of Rosemary and other collectors of Kerr jars).
      The reference book “The Fruit Jar Works” by Alice Creswick does have some information on estimated dates of production of some of the jars, as does Dick Roller in his encyclopedia work on fruit jars. These books are no longer in print and difficult to find, at least at a reasonable price.

      About the jars with “I inside a circle”, actually the mark is meant to be an “I inside an Oval” or “I inside the letter O” and that stands for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company. If you get a chance, please check out my webpage on that company. Those jars would have to date after the year 1954.

      There are also many other types of jars with just the word “MASON” embossed on the front, and a number of glass companies were involved over many years’ time.
      Hope this helps a bit!
      David

  77. I have a one pint smooth green Gallo wine bottle (flask-like in appearance) with a screw top that says it was made and bottled and sealed by Gallo in California. The very partial paper label that was left said “Thunder” Everything I have seen on-line indicates there should be something on the bottom of the bottle, some marking that says Gallo, but this bottle has no symbols or numbers/letters on the bottom, nothing at all. Any idea of the date?

  78. Hi David, I have a pair of 12 paneled green glass containers, both with indented handles in the circular flat glass lids. The marking on the bottom of one shows “3 – K – 345” and the other shows “4 – K – 345”. They are about 6 inches tall and 4 inches in diameter. Any hints?

  79. Hello! Was trying to date a milk bottle I found on my property yesterday. My husband and I purchased 110 acres on Lookout Mountain Georgia and have found many old dump sites. I haven’t
    “dug” into them yet but have found some interesting bottles on the surface. I have been trying to research this milk bottle I found yesterday. Along the bottom is “One Pint Liquid Registered Sealed UGP51 D 967” Ive got it down to Universal or United glass products company. It has ejection mark from press and blow machine. The bottom base has a “X” and “55” stamped. The mouth has small round nubs along the rim. There is no other embossing on the jar to identify brand. Glass is completely clear and I can see a few horizontal ridges at the neck.
    The UGP51 is from 1920-1940’s. The best I can figure with my search is maybe 1940’s. I haven’t found what the “D” or “967” mean, but I assume where the manufacturer was and assume the “X” and “55” on bottom is mold identification. I can’t find much referencing that company. Any idea how I could date it more accurately?
    Thanks!

    1. Hello Nikki,
      I consulted the reference book “Glass Milk Bottles: Their Makers and Marks” by Jeffrey Lyle Giarde (1980). On page 127, Giarde writes (in part):
      “Universal Glass Products Company, Parkersburg, West Virginia (1930-1962) ; Joliet, Illinois (From 1962)”.
      He also writes: “The UGP mark together with the numeral “51” are found on many milk bottles. Universal did not adopt the system of regularly embossing the manufacturing year on its milk bottles which proves a disappointment for collectors. The “51” is not a date. ”

      My own guess would be that you may be correct……perhaps it’s a 1940s vintage bottle. I’m sorry I can’t give you more precise dating info.
      Best regards, David

  80. I have a brownish-yellow bottle that has marks on the bottom TT CO JAPAN H2. The two Ts are sort of like a double T a la Texas Tech. Might be a mineral water bottle?

  81. Hello David, My name is Bill Vest. I’m from Columbus, Ms. Several years ago I was deer hunting outside a small town Ethelsville, Alabama way out in the middle of nowhere. I had climbed a tree and was about 20 foot in the air, the sun was shining and I noticed the sun was hitting something on the ground and shining. I said to myself I’m going to see what that is when I get down. Finally I got down and went to retrieve the object – it was a small jar and when I got home and cleaned it up it said Vaseline trade mark Chesebrough, New York. I was excited over my find and where I found it at.

    1. Hi Bill,
      Thanks for your post. It is amazing how you can find old bottles and jars just about anywhere where people have been. I can’t say for sure, but it is possible the area once had a house standing there many years ago, now long gone.
      Take care, David

    1. Brenda, the “5W” mark was used by Winslow Glass Company, with glass plants located at Matthews, Indiana (1900-1908) and Columbus, Ohio (1902-1927). They manufactured a lot of milk bottles.
      Best regards, David

  82. Hi David I found a small glass bottle buried under my porch, marked
    65-k
    liquor bottle
    O
    5
    It doesn’t look too old but still interesting, Thanks!

  83. Hey David,

    I have a small blue glass vase that I am trying to identify. The only mark it has on the bottom is the number 4. Any ideas?

  84. Just found this site – great site! I have a mystery mark that an hour on google has not resolved – a modern looking juice glass with an etched image of a glass blower on the bottom, no letters. The glass blower is pointing upwards, could almost be mistaken for an enthusiastic trumpet player. This design is etched onto bottom of plain 2-3 oz glass. Any ideas?

    1. Hi Judith,
      The trademark of a glassblower holding his blowpipe upward was used by Macbeth-Evans Glass Company, and later by Corning Glass Works (maker of Pyrex) after they acquired Macbeth-Evans in 1936 or 1937. From info in the book “400 Trademarks on Glass” by Arthur G. Peterson (1968), on page 13 he indicates the glassblower design was first used as far back as 1880 on lamp glasses [chimneys] and globes. However, that would be pertaining to one of the earlier glass companies that merged to become Macbeth-Evans in 1899. I have not researched this in detail, and you may be able to find more precise information online.
      Best regards, David

  85. I have been checking all sources for my Pyrex Mixing bowls Primary colors and cant find out about them. I have some others with the regular markings, but a few are different. My 402 Red is marked 402 Pyrex R in a circle(registration then under that 20). All of which is in a circle on the bottom.
    Do you have any ideas. I appreciate it.

    1. Hi David,
      I have a miniature creamer, sugar bowl with cover and covered butter dish – they are what my mother would call “rose” glass. They are pinkish… Anyway, the punt mark is a bee and the letter M. I thought I read your article thoroughly. I didn’t find that description. Any ideas? Thanks, Deborah

      1. Deborah, I am not sure. Perhaps a reader has more information. Higbee Glass Company used a “bee” design as their trademark, but not sure about a bee mark with the letter “M”.
        David

  86. Found an old bottle that reads “LONDON STORES BOTTLING COMPANY 137 S 5 TH AVENUE NEW YORK” and also has a shield type design on the front with the date “1876” on the back

  87. Hi! My father in law found an old green glass bottle in his garage with absolutely nothing on it but a four leaf clover on the bottom, no number, no letters, nothing. I’ve been trying to find research but nothing! Please help!

  88. Hello David,

    I found what looks to be a glass drinking jar in an old dump site behind my house in the Missouri Ozarks. The only markings on the glass are found on the heel. The word ‘delited’ with the number 9 above it is all I can find on the glass after I cleaned it.

    The glass is smooth, with circles around the bottom neck of the glass above the heel. The only matching image I can find on the internet says it’s a Delited food company jam jelly jar originating from nashville, TN in the 1930s-1940s, but Im not sure this is a trustworthy site.

    Have you come across any Delited glass ware? I cannot find any history for the company or glass.

    1. Hello Emma,
      I don’t know anything about the jar or the Delited Food Company. Perhaps someone will land on this site eventually, and pass along more info.
      David

  89. I am trying to date a Kerr self-sealing Mason jar. It is a 56 oz smaller opening clear jar. I have not seen an example of this one. The bottom says Kerr Glass Mfg Co around the bottom with Sand Springs Okla around the other side on the bottom. In the center is PAT, a subscript 10, next line: AU 31, next line: 1915 (looks like 1815 because the glass apparently ran on the 9.

    The unusual thing is the front of the jar. It has Kerr in large script. Underneath: “SELF SEALING” (no dash) in large caps in parenthesis. Under it is a “swoosh” coming off the G of self sealing with – very faint – TRADEMARK inside the swoosh. Next line off center to the right is PATENTED (smaller letters) and next line, larger letters, is MASON.

    I do have photos. Can you tell me anything about this jar? Thanks!

    1. Hi Michele,
      The KERR fruit jars are many and varied, and the ones marked “SELF SEALING” were made with slight variations for a very long time. Some of the earlier ones have the AUG. 31 1915 patent date on the bottom. From information in the reference book “THE FRUIT JAR WORKS Volume 2” (Alice M. Creswick and Steven B. Creswick, published 1987) on page 73, she indicates the earlier 1915-marked jars probably date from around 1915 to 1919. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of those jars date somewhat later, but I honestly can’t say for sure!
      Hope this helps,
      David

  90. Hello David,

    I wonder if you would be interested in a copy of my grandfather’s self-published book. He was a 3rd generation glass & mirror maker and engineer. He researched the origins of glass, mentions of it in history and the bible, the travels of glass makers throughout Europe. It is particularly focused on Jews and their involvement in glassmaking throughout history, but from reading this blog I think you would find it of interest as he also mentions many glass makers thoughout Europe, many of whom he visited personally (mostly flat glass, but that is a much more recent innovation as history goes).

    1. Hello Avner,
      Would you contact me directly at my email address (shown under “CONTACT INFO / NOTES”, near the bottom of any page on this site).
      Thanks for your post!
      ~David

  91. I have an E.O Brody Co Cleveland Ohio white container. It has a small 2 and MJ-42 stamped on the bottom. Can you explain what the numbers and letters designate?

    1. Deborah, I assume they are codes for the particular style/shape of the container, and/or mold information of use within the factory that made them. I can’t elaborate any further than that.
      David

  92. Hi, David – Great website! I worked for Owens-Illinois in a previous life, part of the time in Beer, Liquor and Wine Marketing for Glass Container Division. I still visit at some of the retiree programs they have. Anyway, I have a bottle that must be a liquor bottle. It has “Federal law forbids sale or reuse of this bottle” molded in the glass around the shoulder. It has a glass stopper with a cork wrapper around it. on the bottom is D-8 and below that is 66-48 and below that are three dots. I don’t want to know its value, only if it might b e of interest to a collector. I’m moving and am going to pitch it otherwise. Again, great site! By the way, I have an old marketing report prepared by the GCMI in which they concluded that there was no future for the one-way beer bottle!

    1. Hello Philip,
      Thanks a lot for your post. From the markings “66-48” we can know the bottle was made in 1948 (48 is the date code) and the “66” is a liquor bottle permit number assigned to Owens-Illinois (although I don’t know which glass plant carried that particular number!)
      There are some collectors of liquor bottles made by O-I (say, especially of the 1930s-1950s) scattered around the country, but in general a bottle will garner more interest from collectors if the design is more “striking”, unusual in shape or has especially detailed graphics. Some of the liquor bottles of that era (made by O-I as well as other glass bottle makers) have been saved and reused as decanters or vases. I can’t say for sure how easy it would be to find a collector interested in that particular bottle, but in any case I would suggest you keep it just for nostalgia’s sake, since you used to work for Owens-Illinois, but if you truly have to downsize (in a serious way!) you might try donating it to a local thrift store (along with other unwanted items you might have) so it could end up in the hands of a collector that way.
      Thanks again for your post and your info!!
      David

  93. Hello David, You site is great and I was hoping you might be able to help me identify what this bottle is and its time period. I received a bottle from my folks that is brown glass curve like a flask on the curved side it has “FEDERAL LAW FORBIDS SALE OR REUSE OF THIS BOTTLE” on the bottom it has the number 3 in the in the center left side and D153 in the center and under the 153 it has the numbers 73-40 with ball in cursive to the right of it. Thanks for any info you can provide Mark.

    1. Mark, all I can tell you for sure is that it is a liquor bottle made by Ball Bros Glass Manufacturing Company, and the “40” is a date code for 1940.
      David

  94. Hi David, at dump, I found 3 small bottles(21/2-4”tall) with “Bromo Seltzer Emerson drug Co. Baltimore,MD.” across fronts but no M marks; not screw tops. Can you give info as to their age

    1. Sue, I can only give you a guess (repeat: guess), since there is no clearcut information available to narrow it down precisely. It also depends on whether they are handmade or machine-made. If the two vertical mold seams ‘fade out’ before reaching the top of the bottle, they are handmade (“mouth-blown”), and would be somewhat earlier, perhaps 1890-1910. If the seams reach all the way to the very top of the bottles, they are machine-made. In general, the machine-made versions are later, perhaps from the 1910-1930s time period.
      David

  95. I recently came across a small green bottle on a beach. On the bottom reads “C & Co Boston”. Just below the neck of the bottle on one side is the word Polish.

  96. I have found the bottom of a glass bottle in at Crystal Cove beach. I thought it would be fun to figure out what it was when it was complete but i cant find any info on the markings. There is a big GS in the center. It also says pat des 86037. On the side it also says CREA which i beleive is cutoff. Id like to figure this out but i cant find any bottle after searching that says GS on the bottom very big. Thank You!

    1. Hi An Di,
      That’s part of a milk bottle. The patent was issued in 1932 to Frank L. Lloyd. I found this by searching the GOOGLE PATENTS database with “D86037” . The “PAT DES” means “PATENT DESIGN”. Typing the number along with ‘bottle’ on google will bring up some webpages where actual bottles are discussed…….the patent lasted for a number of years, and I am assuming a number of different dairies and/or brands of milk bottles were involved. Bottles made under this patent were manufactured in the 1930s and probably into the 1940s. Perhaps the partial lettering “CREA” is part of the word “CREAM” or “CREAMERY”?
      https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pages/USD86037-0.png

      The “GS” on the bottom would probably be the initials/name of the dairy where that particular bottle was used. Many milk bottles have initials on the base which stood for the dairy involved.

      Hope this helps! Take care,
      ~ David

      1. Thank You! I appreciate the help but that was far as I got. And I am assuming it does mean cream on the side. What I am puzzled by is I cannot find a glass bottle or any info on a bottle with GS embossed on the bottom. Its big letters, they are almost as big as the whole bottom which is 4-5 inches wide. Thanks again!

  97. I have this machine-made crown top, green soda/beer bottle from the early to mid 1900s with a large “ØL” on the base and a “4” on the skirt. Any ideas?

    1. Was this ever answered? This site is amazing, but I haven’t been able to trace the bottle we just dug out of our backyard in Atlanta. It matches this description, although it may have an E4 on the bottom instead of just a 4. The ØL is large and centered on the bottom, with a clear suction ring and no texturized markings around it.

      1. Hi Catherine (and Garrett),
        I’m afraid I did not answer Garrett’s post, and I have no information on the bottle or the mark. I am guessing this might be from one of the Scandinavian countries that use the letter “O with a slash” in their alphabets. Or the letter is some kind of trademark?
        Sorry I can’t be of much help here.
        David

  98. Hi David,
    While hiking in the mountains in Utah I found an intact 24 oz blue glass bottle with the mark AB(connected) A 5 on the bottom. It was at about 9k feet and in a super steep pine canyon. From what I e read these are early 1900’s hand blown glass is this correct?
    Thanks for this very cool and informative site.
    Tyler

    1. Hi Tyler,
      Thanks for the nice words about the site! Yes, the great majority (perhaps not all) of the AB/connected beer bottles were hand blown (or “mouth blown” , the term used by some collectors / researchers!) and, as far as we can tell, date from the 1905-1917 period. Because of the high incidence of homesteaders, explorers, travelers, miners, emigrants, etc drinking lots of beer, these bottles are found just about anywhere, even high up in the mountains, as you have discovered!
      David

  99. Hi I found a bottle that says Philadelphia louis hillemann embroidery on the side. It has a green tint to it and says contents 10 fluid ounces near bottom.also on bottom has 26n . do you know anything about this bottle anything would be appreciate it thanks

    1. Mike, I don’t know anything about the Louis Hillemann brewery (I guess that’s what you meant?) but the bottle is probably from 1926, and made at Newark, Ohio by American Bottle Company. See my entries under “N” in the alphabetical listings, with the numbers in front such as “17”.

      David

  100. I found a bottom piece of clear thick glass, tumbled and frosted from beach wear. It says “liquor bottle” and some numbers. Any idea what year they stopped embossing those letters on the bottom of bottles? I’ve searched then someone recommended I ask you. Thanks for any input you may have.

    1. Jenny, I honestly don’t know. But just from casual observance it seems most of the bottles I’ve seen with the phrase “LIQUOR BOTTLE” embossed on the base are from the 1960s through the 1980s. Perhaps a reader would have better info.

      David

  101. David:

    A glass base for restaurant sugar shakers from the old Star Products of Los Angeles carries the Maywood Glass (Compton) mark you display (#2). The rim lettering reads “GUARANTEE STAR PRODUCTS, INC. LOS ANGELES CA”. The center codes (item #’s) are 2715 above MG mark, and 10 below that. Star, which also had the napkin dispensers with a star on the sides, so commonly seen in old movies, would later become property of Dispensers Inc. of Santa Barbara along with the “Dripcut” brand. All seems to have gone to Traex. I would assume Maywood had this relationship before the Anchor-Hocking takeover in 1959, the base being in the six-ribbed style curving down and outward (’40’s-’50’s look).

      1. Another SoCal glass name popped up in an unrelated search. Turns out one Hermosa Glass Company of Hermosa Beach CA had deeded a land section to Pacific Electric Railway at an unknown date (could have been through a predecessor streetcar company and transferred by Great Merger of 1911). In 1949, PE Ry conveyed this tract to City of Hermosa Beach. Have found nothing on product/business history of Hermosa Glass so far.

    1. Additional sample-2715 over MG over 12…vertical ribbed…no Star Products name on glass. Lid carries STARLINE & Dripcut (script, registered mark) names around starburst logo (atomic mid-century). “STAINLESS STEEL” across bottom, all on lid center. Presumed to be from original Los Angeles supplier (before Santa Barbara Dispensers Inc.)

      1. Still finding more Maywood items made for Star Products, both large and small sizes. Unmarked versions of the same styles were made into the Dispensers Inc. era with the same number codes…possibly Anchor Hocking kept things going? Did find in 1959, Maywood got into a legal dispute with the government over unemployment compensation for a worker (glass packer) who was canned for putting bad glass into the shipping cartons after having been warned (she counter-claimed about having a bad day of some sort). Maywood seems to have lost over technical reasons. Guess that might be a good factor in selling out.

  102. Hi David, I found a 9 and 1/2 inch tall glass jar with the several markings on the bottom. There is a capital A inside a mark that is an open box, open at the bottom. then the # 5799
    and then the # 2 . it does not look like a screw top jar. it has an almost shield like design front and back. It was found on a property dating to 1903. Any clues?
    Thanks,
    LeeAnn

    1. LeeAnn,
      From your description of the mark, it is a product of Hazel-Atlas Glass Company. Please check out my page on that glass maker. I don’t have any specific info on your jar. H-A made millions of jars of many types and shapes. The #5799 is probably a mold design (catalog or inventory) number assigned to that particular style of jar.
      David

  103. Saw a marking today that I can not find listed it looked like a cent sign or a C with a line from top to bottom. Don’t see anything like that listed on your site and a google and ebay search turned up nothing. Any idea? PS love your site. Pete

    1. Peter, thanks for the kind words. I have tried 3 times to contact you via email and received a “Mailer Daemon” in response. Your email was evidently entered incorrectly.
      I am *guessing* you are seeing the mark used by Imperial Glass Company which slightly resembles a “cent” sign. It is actually meant to be an “I” and a “G” superimposed. That mark is usually seen on better-grade tableware including a lot of opaque glass (milk glass) and fancy colored glassware of many patterns and designs.

      Best regards, David

  104. Hi David, I found a very small glass bottle marked BW & CO on it. it is about 2 inches tall. there are no other markings. any idea of how to date it? It is a screw top. thanks, mike

    1. Mike, I’m not familiar with the mark. I have a hunch it could stand for a pharmaceutical company, but I may be wrong.
      David

  105. Have you ever been able to find any more information about the Eureka base for a probable jelly jar? Where was this found? Was it found in California? There is another piece of a base that has been found in an old house dump in California.

    1. Hi Linda,
      No, I haven’t learned anything new or heard a peep from anyone since posting this page, until now!
      The “EUREKA” shard I found was not found in California. I found this shard among various items (whole and shards of bottles, pieces of glass insulators, broken tableware, pieces of bricks, etc, generally dating from the mid-1880s to the 1910s period) when the downtown “Waterfront Park” along the Ohio River in Louisville, Kentucky was under development. Areas along the bank of the river were excavated in the 1995-1997 period, uncovering assorted debris where an unofficial trash dumping area appeared to have been located. That area is now the “Great Lawn” and a nearby small boat harbor with piers.
      Thanks for the note! If you find out anything more, please keep in touch!
      David

  106. Dear David,
    I found a bottle/jar amber bottom with the logo KX inside a rhombus and the number 500, it seems old, but funny enough I retrived this on the shore of the Baltic sea in Latvia, Europe after a big storm. Could it be the “K X ………………………seen on an amber jar base shard, circa 1960s or 1970s. No info on maker, though it might stand for one of the Knox Bottle company plants, or maybe it is just a mold letter (mold identifier).” ? Or is there any other manufacturer with this name? I can send a pic if it helps!

    1. Hello,
      I strongly doubt it has anything to do with the American bottle maker Knox or the KX mark I list on this site. There are lots of other bottle makers’ marks from around the world that are not listed on this site, and may appear to be very similar to marks listed here. Please email me a pic of the mark, to the email address listed on the bottom corner of the page.
      Thanks!
      David

  107. Hi David, You have done a great job with the website. On your “bottlemarks” page, the bird like logo is a logo we used up to a few years ago. It is still present on some older molds that we run. We are currently using a new ‘bird” logo that can be seen on our website. If you’d like I can send you better pictures of the logos we have used.

    1. Hi Joel,
      Thanks very much for your information! I will also try to follow up with the person who was first asking me about that mark. My email address is listed on the right-hand bottom corner of any page on the site, and you are welcome to email pics of the marks used by PhoenixPackaging.com. Thanks!
      David

  108. Hi David just want to let you know how much I have learned from this site and from all the work that went into putting together, the best information on the American glass manufacturing industry anywhere. I have been collecting glass bottles for almost 50 years on and off and have over 2000 now in my collection. I had a lot of questions for you on factory marks on some of the bottles I have collected since 2012 when I first visited your site, but thanks to the updated information you added you answered them without me needing to ask. After reading some of the questions and knowing the answer was on the site I would suggest to anyone interested in glass bottle marks to review the information already provided on the site and then ask questions if you still have any.
    Thanks again David for sharing your research and knowledge on your website.

    1. Hi Randell,
      I just discovered your post – it had landed in the website “spam folder” several days ago – I don’t know why. Sometimes posts sent in by readers are diverted to the spam folder, for no apparent reason. Thanks a lot for your kind words about the site!
      Take care, David

  109. May I just say thank you for this impressive and informative website. My goodness the time you must have put in to learn all of this and then put it together for all of us is incredible. I’m still relatively new at collecting glassware and so my personal knowledge is minimal so far. With sites like this, it sure makes it so much easier. Especially for someone like myself, who struggles oftentimes with research. It can become overwhelming. I absolutely LOVE antiques of all kinds. History fascinates me and its just so incredible to see how things were made, when made by someones hand especially. People truly took pride in the work they did. Our ancestors were true “stuff doers” as I say. They went out every day and did stuff,all kinds of amazing stuff. Often anymore people lack that kind of mind set. Its refreshing to see other people passionate about antiques and vintage things, also about the people/companies that made them and how. So sorry for rambling on. What I just wanted to say is thank you. Your time spent is appropriated. 🙂

    1. Hi Bethany,
      Thank you very much for your kind words. I really appreciate that!! Actually, this site began as nothing more than a brief list of glass maker marks on bottles, as well as a short list of glass factories that manufactured electrical insulators (one of my primary interests in the field of glass), first posted on the web back in early 2004. And it has expanded gradually over the past 14 years, with more information being added as time has permitted. Much of this material is gleaned from books and other reference material I have at hand, as well as lots of searching online (Google has been a big help)………so please don’t get the impression I actually have more than a tiny percentage of it memorized! 🙂 I have a collection of books pertaining to the field of bottles and other glassware, which I find very helpful……and I often check them before posting an answer.
      I might also mention (for the benefit of many who have written to me and not received a reply) – I have been getting more and more emails and posts lately, and because of a lack of time and energy I can no longer answer a lot of the queries I get. Also, many of the questions I get have to do with interpreting the numbers on the bottoms of Owens-Illinois bottles, (and other well-known, “major” glass companies who made tremendous quantities of bottles which are found often) and since this is certainly still an “inexact science” in many cases I simply don’t have definite, conclusive information to pass along.
      In any case, I also love antiques and history, and I really get a kick out of handling old items that were at one time a part of the ordinary lives of people who have long since passed on. It is a connection to the past……physical reminders of the lives of those who have gone before us, and the little “ordinary” things they made, handled and/or used as part of everyday living. Thanks again for your letter!
      David

  110. Hello David , As a child my dad gave me a Broma Seltzer Bottle we pulled out of our well at the Family Farm that has been in our Family since the Kansas Land grant days. This is just not an ordinary Broma Seltzer Bottle, according to some investigative digging I did, but maybe you can fill in the blank for me with the resources you have, the only research article I could find on this bottle ( which was an older article) I read was The Glass Society and Museum is that there were no Broma Seltzer bottles accounted for or could not be located with an OBC mark on it – Ohio Bottle Company, and mine is a 1906 circa and with this mark OBC so its supposed to be one of a kind. Has anyone reported to you that has one too? Thank You for your most valuable time.

    1. Linda, please check your email (including spam/trash folders). I sent an email asking if you can send me photos of this bottle. Thanks, David

  111. Great site. I recently acquired a bottle with my last name a Humphries & Co Cooling Bitters. The base is embossed C & S P it sort of looks English to me. The color is a greenish aqua… any guesses on the origin of the maker. The bottle is Bimal I’m guessing 1880-90s, Thanks

  112. Hi I have a bottle that I can not find any information on and was hoping you could help it is marked pitecorsky & kraftzoff AA in the center Philada with the numbers 678 on the bottom any information will be helpful

  113. Hi David–thank you for the AMAZING website and phenomenal amount of information you’ve compiled. I picked up a glass jar today in Bermuda, in about 6 inches of water on the northwest side of the island. It looks brand new, but I could tell that it was old by the mold/machine marks. It never occurred to me that I could find so much information about it so easily, but you made it possible. According to what I’ve read your website, it’s made by the Owens-Illinois Glass Company in Fairmont WV, probably in 1939. So now I have this lovely mystery to ponder: where has it been all these years that it is intact and completely unpitted/unfrosted? Certainly not in the salt water where I found it! Thank you!

    1. Hi Susan,
      Thanks a lot for your kind comments about the site. It is hard to be sure, but my guess would be your jar has been buried (somewhere in the area along the shoreline) for many years, and because of water movement (tides, storms, currents) has been recently uncovered, to be found by you. Sometimes items that were casually dumped a long time ago were buried, and many years later will “resurface” after continued erosion. Take care, David

  114. Hello. Help to define firm of the producer of this small bottle. At the bottom of this bottle there are letters of WSS.
    Thanks.

    1. Vycheslav – did you ever find the maker? Mine shows a wide spaced capital “”W with a cleft style “S” over each half of the “W”. .. maybe Im reading it upside down.

  115. I have a bottle with R&Co 50 can u tell me anything about it? I can’t find one like it. It’s light aqua color

    1. Lile, please check out my webpage on the R & CO beer bottles made by Reed & Company of Massillon, Ohio at this link: Reed & Company
      The “50” is a mold number and does not give us any info on the age of the bottle. Many different mold numbers are seen on these bottles. However, all R&CO bottles were made sometime between 1881 and 1904. Hope this helps,
      David

  116. Was doing a project for work digging out a coffer dam and came across this old bottle with A.B.G.M Co with c2 stamped in the center. Was trying to get an approximate age on the bottle. Once I cleaned it out I realized that it still has the original cork inside of it. The glass has beautiful air pockets in it and what look to be fold lines or what some people are calling stretch marks in the neck of it. I don’t see any other identifying marks on it. Any help in dating this would be appreciated. Thanks, Adam S

    1. Hello Adam,
      The A.B.G.M.CO. mark was used by Adolphus Busch Glass Manufacturing Company and they were in business from 1886 to circa 1926. However, it is my suspicion that the great majority of the beer bottles bearing that mark on the base date from an earlier period of time within those years, perhaps from 1886 to somewhere in the early or mid-1910s. The C 2 is a mold/shop number. Also, check out my page on the “AB Connected” bottles. Hope this helps,
      David

  117. Hello David,
    My husband and I were digging around in the woods behing our house and came across a very interesting Bottle, I woild like to email you some pictures of it. I have never seen anything like it, the most interesting part is what is written on the side of the clear glass long necked bottle. It says
    Federal Law Forbids Sale or re-use of this Bottle. On the bottom is some numbers on the top row is 69-44, the middle has D-9 the bottom row is 34. On the side of the bottom of the bottle it says 4/5 Quart. Have you ever come across a bottle as described?

    Thank You,
    Wanda Stone

    1. Hi Wanda, You have a “fifth” liquor bottle made in 1944 by Foster-Forbes Glass Company of Marion, Indiana (with another plant at Burlington, WI). The “69” is a “liquor bottle permit number” assigned to Foster-Forbes, and the “44” is a date code for 1944. (Google the phrase “Liquor bottle permit numbers” for a page with lists of those numbers). The D-9 is a distiller identification code. “34” is a mold number. For a little more background info, you might check out my article on the phrase “Federal Law Forbids sale or re-use of the bottle”; the article on “Numbers on the base of bottles” and the “Owens-Illinois Glass Company” webpage, elsewhere on this website.

      Hope this helps,
      David

  118. I have 2 bottles that say 21 1/3 FL. ounces. narrow opening with a small dot of an opening (olive oil?) On Front a flowered design F.W. Fitch Co. Bottom of one is a triangle with the circle inside with and I in the circle. One is numbered 7 4 0 and the other is 7 3 0, Looking at your alphabetical list, possibly bottles made in Illinois? Do you know what year they would have been made? Thanks

    1. Yes, they were made by Owens-Illinois Glass Company, but I don’t have any other precise info. I think you meant “diamond”, not “triangle”, correct?
      David

  119. Hey Dave
    How ya been? Hope you’re well.
    I have an aqua Atlanta, Ga. 10 panel Hutch with “C & CO No. 6” embossed on the heel.
    Any ideas?
    Thanks
    Steve

    1. Hi Steve, thanks for the kind words. That would be Cunningham & Company, of Pittsburgh. Check out my alphabetical listings pages for more info. I would guess the “No. 6” is a number assigned to that particular mold.
      Take care, David

    1. Hi James, I answered on the antique-bottles.net site. I am not sure where those bottles were made, but suspect they might be products of Great Britain or France. No info on what the initials represent.
      Take care, David

    1. Hi Al,
      (Readers, we communicated by email concerning this particular mark, as well as another bottle embossed with “W.C.G.CO.” on the base. The “W & T” initials appear on the base of a clear handmade druggist bottle, and the mark is currently unknown / unidentified. Al Parker kindly gave me permission to post a photo of the W&T base mark on his bottle, and the pic has been inserted into the alphabetical “Glass bottle marks” listings on page five. See also my updated text on the WCGCO mark.)
      Thanks and take care,
      David

  120. AB S 12 found Saskatoon Saskatchewan by a sewer company employee. Submitted by 33rd Street Vintage and Artisan Market. Can provide photo upon request.

    1. Zane, the marking is DURAGLAS, and I don’t know about the hammer and sword logo, but Owens-Illinois made gobs of bottles marked “DURAGLAS” on them, all of which date after 1940.
      David

      1. I found a 12 oz nehi glass bottle that has a D stamped in the bottom side if anyone could help me with the age I would greatly appreciate it because I can’t really see the numbers on the bottom but it does not have any kind of flavor wrote on the label.thanks for everything Eric

    2. Hi Zane it’s from Germany. I just found one today. Mine is brown and has a 22 and a 63 on the bottom. 22 I believe is oz but the 63? Maybe the year? Have you found any more info?

  121. I have a piece of a glass bottle that has a mark on the bottom showing an “H” with an “A” between the lower part of the H. There’s also a number: L-7-8514. The glass has bubbles in it, so I know it’s probably older in age. Didn’t see it on your list. Any idea?

    1. Hi Hondo, please check out my page on Hazel-Atlas Glass Company. That glassmaker used the “H over A” mark which is also in my alphabetical marks listings. Hazel-Atlas made huge quantities of many kinds of bottles and jars over many years. A lot of them are marked on the base with a style or mold number which in your case would be the “L-7-8514”. Hope this helps,
      Best regards,
      David

  122. I have a set of 5 what I’m assuming to be milk jugs with a long wooden crate with rope strap handles the only marking I can see is a number 2 on the bottom of all 5 jugs.. can you please help me find out what I have here??? Thank you so much

  123. Hello Branislav,
    I am guessing you have an old black glass wine or liquor bottle of some sort, probably made somewhere in Europe. I know very little about those types of bottles, so if anyone who lands on this site has information on the mark, please let us know!
    David

    1. Hey David , I have a glass bottle which is clear 3 1/2 oz with what looks to be a compass engraved on the bottom of the bottle. Found on burried on beach and am curious to its origin. Found this piece with other bottles from dates as early as 1892.

  124. Hi David, I have a heavy glass ashtray with a capital F – possibly and E with wear – inside four points ^ to look like a square. Can you give me a y information on it please?.

      1. Thanks David. It’s actually an F or an E with wear – not both. I have pictures but I can’t upload them here.

        1. Diana, my email address is listed on the right bottom corner of the page. You may send me pics of the bottle and mark if you wish.
          David

  125. Hi there I have recently found a small round milk glass cold cream jar (I’m assuming) with a lid to match, on the underside is embossed chesebrough Vaseline New York . The history web site I found describes nearly every bottle/ jar since Vaseline was first sold and has photos too . It describes similar jars to mine but no photos saying cold cream began sales in the late 1870’s which would fit with where it was found . I have trawled Google and cannot find any image to this item can you please help in any way . It was found in Manchester , England on the top of a Victorian tip

  126. David,

    I am trying to identify a symbol on the bottom of a plastic bottle cap of a plastic water jug. I know this website is about glass bottles. But I was wondering if you might be able to point me to a website or something that could help me identify the symbol. Some friends and I as well as some people on an online forum I frequent have been trying to figure it out, but with no luck.

    If anyone is interested, it’s a capital B inside an inverted triangle. I do not know the brand of the water bottle.

    If you choose to delete this comment due to it being somewhat off-topic, I would understand.

    1. Hi Joshua,
      Very interesting question, and something I have noticed inside many plastic lids and other articles……..the logo or insignia of a plastic-manufacturing company…….but I’m not sure about how to find the maker. If you haven’t tried already, you might search by using keywords that are more “technical” such as HDPE (high-density polyethylene), PP (Polypropylene), or PET bottle manufacturers. HDPE (#2 plastic) is used widely for toys, standard milk jugs and 5-gallon buckets.

      It seems many of the plastic manufacturers sell their wares through distributors / wholesalers, so it may not be easily evident where or by whom they are actually made.
      Good luck with your search. If any readers have an idea on the user of the “B inside an inverted triangle” on plastic bottle caps, please advise!
      Thanks, David

  127. David,

    I recently found a Ball Mason jar dating between 1923-1933. It has a questions mark with and underscore on the bottom. Could you enlighten me on what this may mean and value of the jar with zinc lid?

    1. Monica,
      That’s really supposed to be the number “9” with a line underneath, although with the hand-engraved “cursive” look, it does look similar to a question mark. Sometimes the number looks almost like a bass clef sign on printed sheet music. Many of those jars have a line underneath the numbers 6 or 9 to differentiate between the two. Most of the Ball Perfect Mason jars in aqua or “Ball Blue” glass (with the numbers 0 through 15 on the bottom) are valued by experienced fruit jar collectors at around 1 to 3 dollars with a lid, (because they are extremely common) although there are many slight variations, and other colors, that are worth more. They tend to be priced MUCH higher at antique stores and flea markets. Hope this helps,
      ~David

  128. David, it seems that there is little to no information on referencing how to determine the origin of some basketball size glass fishing floats I found in 1975 on the northern island of Honshu, Japan.
    Do you know of anyone who might be able to help?

    1. Alonzo, the best advice I can give is to check out the books listed at the bottom of my article, and to become a member of the Facebook discussion group about collecting glass fishing floats. You should be able to make contacts with very knowledgeable collectors and researchers through the Facebook group. They know A LOT more than I do about many of the floats that are found. Also, I might add that a lot of floats remain unidentified, as pertaining to age and origin.
      Best regards,
      David

  129. Hi I found a small glass with a chess piece and a number 5 its a bit bigger than a shot glass. Can you give me more info about it. I found it and I know nothing and was curious what’s and where it’s feom. Thanks Renee’ S

  130. I’m hoping you can help me. Research has me stumped. I found a small, round clear glass bottle with a lid made by Alcoa. Lid says “Beautiful Hair. Breck.” Bottom of glass says 1904, has a B with two serifs in a circle with a 7 underneath. I can’t find any Breck bottles online made before 1930, and they are all rectangular. Also, if this is Brockway Glass Co., your site says this logo was used after c. 1930. Is 1904 the date? Did Breck make hair tonics before 1930?

    1. Amanda, the “1904” would not be a date, but is likely a mold identification or style number. The “B in a circle” was used by Brockway Glass starting approximately 1925, or perhaps a little later. According to Wikipedia (not always 100% accurate, but I would assume it is correct in this instance) Breck shampoos were introduced in 1930.
      By the way, sometimes a bottle no longer has the original lid, but a replacement that just happens to fit. Are you sure this is the original lid that came with the bottle?
      David

    1. Hi Marina,
      Neat little video there…..thanks for sharing! However, I’m sorry but I really don’t have any idea about the glass piece you found. I will assume it is a mold number on the bottom of a bottle or jar. Please check out my webpage about numbers on the base of glass bottles. Also, since it was found in Slovenia, there is a very good chance the glass was made somewhere in Europe…… and I am not that familiar with a lot of the glass companies and marks used in Europe. But in any case, just a number on the glass does not give us any good information on who made it, or how old it is.
      Best regards, David

      1. Hi David,

        Not a problem, I completely understand 😀 Thank you so much for your help and for having this amazing website. Someone said that it can be from a 50/50 bottling company, who knows 🙂

        Have a wonderful day!
        Marina

  131. Hi I just found an old brown bottle in the woods behind my house, and i washed it off and when it was all clean i examined it to find the number 67 engraved in the bottom… if anyone would be so kind as to tell me what this bottle may have been used for and what the 67 may mean.

    1. Nic, please check out my webpage here on “numbers on the bottom of bottles”. If there is no glass manufacturers mark, it is difficult to know what company made the bottle, or how old it is.
      Best regards,
      David

  132. David, I’m a former O-I employee and am looking for info on a mint condition 5-gallon blue tint “carboy” with a crazed pattern bottom and an I in an oval O. No date or other identifiable markings. Any info on year and approximate value would be appreciated.

    1. Joelle,
      It’s my understanding that most of those large water bottles will have a plant code and date code on the bottom, a number placed to the right and left of the logo. However, the numbers are often VERY difficult to see, and may blend into the “crazing”. If there are no numbers, then I have no idea on date. Although with the “I inside of O” mark, we can assume it dates sometime after the mid to late 1950s.
      Best regards,
      David

  133. Hey David my name is Duane. I was wanting to see if you could help me identify a bottle I had come across. It looks to be a beer bottle, aqua color with a 5 point star on it and the letters C B C and in the middle of the star it says NORFOLK. I would like to send u a picture, not sure where to send it.

  134. I have a bottle I found in a glass bottle lot I bought at a garage sale in 1995. Approx. 18 inches tall, with ten flat sides pattern, although th e bottle itself is round, of course. It has raised lettering on the base, reading “NET CONTENTS 22 OZ.”, and what I THINK is an IPG mark on the bottom A triangle with a teeny tiny solid triangle over what looks like two teeny tiny leaves. Under the triangle is the number 6. Can you help me? Thanks in advance.

    1. Hi Cheryl,
      I have no idea what it stands for, but it does appear to be an ETCHED “Crown above the letter N”. Perhaps someone will land on this site, recognize it, and let us know! Thanks for posting.
      David

  135. Hi David,

    I just read your section on Avon Bottles. Owens-Illinois also made quite a few bottles for Avon before the Alton, Illinois plant was closed down.

      1. Italian water/drink dispenser with brass spigot, 5 gallon, hexagonal, “Made in Italy” and “SVE A” on the bottom

  136. Ok I found this little jar in my old shed I just tore down on the bottom of the jar it has a big Q and in the middle of the Q is a B it has a screw top on it do you know how old this is ????

  137. Hi David I have about 6 glass bottles with a marking of a c in a square on the bottom and a number on the lip of the bottle any ideas on them.
    Thanks
    Dan

    1. Dan, I’m not sure. Can you email me a pic of the bottles, and a closeup of the mark, to my address which is listed at the bottom right of this page.
      David

      1. Were you able to figure out what this mark was? I also have a bottle with this marking and the number 3 beneath the box. Thanks.

        1. Brennan, I have not received any follow-up communications from Dan. Can you email me pics of the bottle and the mark. Thank you,
          David

  138. David I recently purchased 5 bottles from an Estate sale. They are hand painted and in the shapes of men and women in foreign costumes. 4 are marked AR 601. The fifth is very similar but of a sailor and looks like it is A R with aan additional letter in between also marked with 6600. They have screw tops. Any idea?

    1. Larrie,
      I’m sorry but I don’t know anything about the bottles you describe. Are they made of glass, or some type of ceramic material?
      David

  139. David, I recently purchased a full bottle of liquor from an estate sale and I am trying to figure out what it is. The label is torn off but the bottle contains the “federal law forbids the sale or re-use of language.” The are also raised words stating “distilleries stock” and trieste and the bottom of the bottle has a triangle with an l over a b. Every come across something similar?

    1. Aaron,
      I assume you meant “…or re-use of this bottle”. Can you email me a pic of the bottle and a closeup of the markings to my email address, listed on the right hand bottom corner of the page.
      Best regards,
      David

  140. I have a frosted pink vanity set with 2 jars and a butterfly on the tops. On the one piece I see a bullhead on the bottom.Who made this item? I am going through my moms things and do not know much about glass.Thank you for your help

  141. Hi David! I recently acquired a pale blue “blob-top” soda/mineral water bottle, that appears to have been made in the 1873-1880’s period, based on its physical characteristics. The raised lettering on the the bottle reads “City Bottling Works – Cleveland, Ohio”. I can’t find information on-line on City Bottling Works, and am wondering if this may have been the name of the water/soda company, or of the bottle manufacturer? There is no bottle makers-mark on the bottom of the bottle. Any info would be helpful. Thanks!

    1. Hi Richard,
      I did a google search but found only several listings of similar bottles for sale. The type does look like the blob-top or “squat” style most heavily used in the 1875-1880 time period for soda and mineral water. One of the bottles I found online has the mark of Wm McCully & Company of Pittsburgh, who produced a lot of soda bottles in the 1870s-1890s.
      To make a clarification: The phrase “BOTTLING WORKS” (or BOTTLING COMPANY) nearly always refers to a firm that actually FILLS bottles with a beverage such as soda, mineral water or beer (i.e., it “bottles” them). If the phrase is “BOTTLE COMPANY” (no “ING”) , that typically means a company that manufactured the glass bottles and sold them TO “bottling companies”. Hope that makes sense!
      If you are close enough, you might try Cleveland-area public libraries, searching old city or business directories for Cleveland, if they are available, either in hardcopy or (more likely) on microfilm. I am sure that the City Bottling Works would be listed, and if you searched over several years’ worth of directories you might get a good idea of the time span the company was in business.
      Best regards,
      David

  142. Hi David,
    I have a Baltimore loop seal mini blob with R & Co 5 on the base andembossed THE FINLAY BREWING CO TOLEDO, OHIO in a round slug plate. It is not an export Beer.
    Greg

  143. We found a bottle that reads 1858 I think it could be a date but it does not say where it was made or produced so reply if you have a answer thanks

    1. Your post leaves a lot of questions. Write to me at my email address (listed at the bottom right hand corner) and include a picture showing the bottle and the embossing.
      David

  144. Hi David,
    I just found a response from you to a Hemingray question that I posed in my spam folder. Actually it was not the response but an email asking if I had received the response. I never received the response and when I tried to respond to your query it would not go to your address. Anyway can you re send your response?? Thanks.
    Kevin

    1. Hi Kevin,
      For some odd reason, many of the emails I send out directly to posters, and/or responses sent through the site, end up in the recipient’s spam or trash folders. It is very frustrating, when I don’t know if someone has actually received or read my reply.
      Thanks for writing,
      David

  145. OOPS . . . egg on my face . . . . . I thought I did a good search of your site even using the search box but obviously missed the list of marks, So sorry.

    1. Cindy, no problem. My site can be very confusing to use, especially if someone is accessing it on a smartphone or tablet (I prefer to use a full size “old-fashioned” desktop computer and monitor!).
      Best regards,
      David

  146. Hi David,
    I have been doing some research on apothecary bottles as we have 3 T.C.W. Co. jars. I’ve done as much research online as I could come up with and can’t find this company. I often see statements similar to “T.C.W. stands for T.C. Wheaton, manufacturer of apothecary bottles from 1888 to present date” but I can’t find support for the idea. I’m guessing sellers are confusing W.T. Co with T.C.W. Co. There are many eBay listings for T.C.W. Co. bottles which adds to my confusion about not being to find any info about them. Do you have any information that might help? You web site is very informative. Thanks much!

    Cindy

  147. Hello…Hoping you can provide some help. I purchased an old clear 2 qt oil “bottle” at a barn sale. The spout was made by Master Manuf Co, but the bottle is marked on the bottom sides with the script duraglas name. The base of the bottle has the triangular OI logo, the number 1 on the left, 5 on the right and 12 below it. Can you help me date this? I assume the 1 is for the Toledo plant. I can send pics.

    Thank you!

    1. Diana, this is a bottle that is hard to date. The “1” which is supposed to represent the Toledo factory, apparently closed down production around 1934. However, the mold may have been first used at the Toledo plant, and later moved to another plant location. The DURAGLAS mark indicates the bottle would date after 1940. I am guessing, but cannot prove, the “5” is a date code for 1945.
      ~David

  148. Hello, Any information on a beer or whiskey bottle, blob top type, with PARA / 12 marking on the base?

  149. Hi David,
    Great site. Thank you! I found a quart size, clear deco bottle in a stream near an old sawmill. I will research the mill history to narrow down possible date range, but I have found the from your site that the manufacture mark, L within and oval, seems to put manufacture between 1925 and 1938 since this manufacturer change their mark when they added to the company name (LM within oval).

    I want to find out what the other marks represent and how to research that.

    The bottle has the “Federal Law Forbids….” writing within the art deco and your site explains that well. On the bottom of the bottle it shows 84 (L oval) 5. Below, in the center of bottom it has R-393 and below, 6

    I suspect these other markings may indicate things like glass type, production run, etc. Any light you could shed or direction you can point to that would help me find more about these marks would be much appreciated.

    1. Jim, I don’t know a lot about all markings on Latchford bottles, but in this case we can know for sure that the “84” is a liquor bottle permit number which was assigned to Latchford Glass Company. You can find a list of these numbers on my page here: Liquor Bottle Permit Numbers.
      On many liquor bottles, a permit number precedes the glassmaker logo (i.e. to the left), and the date code comes after (to the right). The “5” is almost certainly a date code, and I think it would stand for 1935. The “R-393” is a rectifier number, and the “6” is a mold number.
      Hope this helps,
      David

  150. I am trying to find the manufacturer of a glass serving bowl that has two water droplets in the bottom that are parallel to each other but lined up with the small end facing the opposite direction. The bowl has kind of a squared wavy cut at the top

  151. Hi David,
    My son found a heart club bottle from the 1930’s from the Steury Bottling Company of Wells county, Indiana that was made by the Ball Co. It is embossed on the bottom of the bottle with the name Ball. It is a very heavy embossed bottle with everything embossed including the name. I know the company was not around very long but is this a rare bottle made by Ball?

    1. Marsha, I’m sorry but I don’t have any info for you. If you haven’t already, you might try checking local or regional-area libraries for information on the Steury Bottling Company. Ball Bros made containers for MANY, MANY companies over the years.

      Best regards,
      David

  152. Two quick things… R under Baltimore Pear in vintage pressed glass is Jeannette Glass company according to Replacements.com. And I found a mark on the McKee pattern Aztec Sunburst both sugar and creamer that is a capitol “S” with a “G” in the top of the “S” and a “C” in the bottom of the “S”. I am assuming that it stands for Smith Glass Company referring to L.E. Smith. I have photos to share with you. Let me know how you can receive them!

    1. Hi Robert, Thank you for the information. My email address is shown at the right-hand bottom corner of this page.
      Best regards,
      David

  153. I have a R&CO 44. Bottle i found in a old barn , from what i read and seen it is the bottle that is half mooned shape, not striaght across bottom. Would like more in on it, plus i found 3 glasses that have a black tint to them on the bottom third of glasses

  154. Thank you for the reply and insight as to the jar David. I really appreciate it. I have a one gallon Coca-Cola jug I scored in an estate sale in a free pile. Once I locate it from the storage area I will have to try decoding its marks and figure out when it is from. It has small pieces of the label left on it, and the word “cocaine” was still on there as an ingredient. I have perused several sites, but have not been able to find that particular bottle.
    It will be interesting to see when it was made.

    Thanks again!

    James

  155. HI I read an article about H HEYE HAMBURG GLASSWORKS I have a bottle that has that marking in very good condition.

  156. Hi David!
    Even after extensive reading on your site, I’m still unclear about a certain 32oz jar I have.
    It is a Owens Illinois clear jar with a 22 to the left of the hallmark, and a 6 to the right.
    Above those it has a 1875-C on it. Any help as to a manufacturing time period would be greatly appreciated!

    Respectfully,

    James

    1. James, I assume your bottle has the “I inside an O” mark (the second mark used by Owens-Illinois). The “22” is a plant location code for their Tracy, California plant, which I think started up in the early 1960s. The “6” is a date code and I assume it stands for 1966, but I can’t guarantee that. The “1875-C” would be a style or inventory number assigned to that particular bottle design or shape. Please be aware that bottle dating is an inexact science, and there are many exceptions to the general ‘rules’.
      Hope this helps,
      David

  157. I just found a forest green, looks like an old wine decanter with a pressed logo of a crown on top of two capitol CE letters.. The E is like calligraphy and we have no idea who or what company this comes from, year or if its even a decanter? The top has a groove cut out like a decanter or brandy bottle. We are lost and have been looking for days, can’t find this one anywhere… Help! Thankx in advance!

      1. i was curious and did some searching. saw what i believe is your bottle labeled ‘Cherry Elsinore’ wine bottle.

  158. Hola, quisiera saber si es posible identificar la marca de la base de una botella de vino (verde oliva) asociada a loza con fechas de 1888 y 1889 (hallada en Medellín, Colombia), en la que se observa “CAC” y debajo otra “C” o una “O”. Gracias.

    1. Hola Gustavo,
      Lo siento, pero no soy familiar con esa marca en su botella. ¡Gracias por escribir! ¿Podría enviarme una fotografía de la botella y una foto de cerca de la marca que está describiendo? Tal vez no pueda ayudar pero me gustaría ver la marca que usted describe. (Mi dirección de correo electrónico está en la esquina inferior derecha de cualquier página de este sitio web).

      ~David

  159. Congratulations on all the research you shared! Wow. I looked up this bottle I have to find the origins. It has the FF in cursive. Thank you for saying the name Foster Forbes. I saw on your description it said 1924- and you were looking for information on that. My bottle is clear, dark blue screw on lid, but the bottom of it says (clearly not an S) 5 ff logo 1868. Of course I researched which I am sharing the site I found about the companies. Apparently there were more than one company as it failed. Anyway, I wanted to share what I have and what I found. Also there is some strange looking brown substance looking a little like syrup still in the jar. Yikes! Don’t know what it is, label is gone. This glass was not blown but a mold as it has a line down both sides. Could it be 1868? Did they mold glass in 1868? If its not the year the glass bottle was made, I do not know the significance of 1868. Thanks for any input!

    1. Hi Jeanette,
      The “1868” is a style or inventory number assigned to that bottle design. Such numbers (especially 3 or 4-digit numbers) are often seen on the bottoms of many bottles, and they are often misunderstood to mean a year. The “5” is probably a mold number. Foster-Forbes made many kinds of bottles and I can’t say what was in yours. It might have been some kind of medicine, cough syrup or who-knows-what.
      Also, for clarification I should mention that the great majority of bottles are actually BLOWN, but they will be either “Hand-blown” (by a workman blowing by mouth into a blowpipe), or “Machine-blown” (the bottles are made on an automatic glass-blowing/forming machine with compressed air). Most bottles made after the 1910s (with exceptions here and there) are machine-made.
      Although some antique bottle collectors might use the term “blown” very loosely to mean older mouth-blown bottle methods, the term can theoretically be applied to both handmade and machine-made bottles.

      Best regards,
      David

  160. I found a bottled that washed up in our yard from the Chesapeake bay, it has on bottom the following… A2808 and has M inside a polygon and 10 inside a square. Any ideas? Thanks!

  161. This may be a dumb question, but I am having a very difficult time finding info on amber Ball quart bottles. The one I have is labeled “not to be refilled” and “no deposit * no return” at the shoulder of the bottle (the asterisk is a small 5 pointed star). It actually holds more than a quart up to the top; probably closer to 35oz. The bottom of the bottle is marked with a small Ball logo that you could cover with a nickel, the letters SS (possibly 55), 165, 75, and C5 (possibly CS). The 165 & 75 are in the center of the bottom and separated by a small dot of glass, roughly where the & symbol is. IF anyone has any info on this I’d love to hear about it. Thanks, and happy new year!

    1. Should also add that the Ball logo looks to be the 1933-62 variety with the open B, underline, loop, and no A “tail”.

  162. I was wondering if you knew anything about the date range on embossed “Please do not litter” that is found on glass bottles.

    1. Lexy, I don’t know the exact date range, but I can say that that phrase (and similar phrases) was especially popular/common on non-returnable beer and soda bottles during the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Perhaps a reader has a better timeline for you.
      David

      1. Hi Jennifer, Maryland Glass made the bottle, but only a general date range can be given. There are no date codes on your bottle (the “7” is a mold number) so we cannot be sure on an exact year it was made.
        ~David

    2. Does it by chance look like a lava lamp and is brown? If so I have found at least 20 and have no clue what they are. they say please do not litter in the bottom

        1. Hi Lexy and Collin,
          Here is a Google Images search that will bring up some pictures of typical amber beer bottles with the “PLEASE DO NOT LITTER” phrase. Again, they were VERY common during the early to mid 1970s (I know this for sure, as I drove around on my bicycle when a pre-teen, looking for aluminum cans to recycle for cash that had been tossed out along the roadsides, and I saw many of these “stubby” types of beer bottles bearing that phrase thrown into the ditches) but I don’t know how long that phrase was commonly used. Many of the bottles have date codes on them, so a close examination of the base markings may reveal the date the bottles were produced.
          https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1280&bih=550&q=amber+beer+bottle+%22please+do+not+litter%22&oq=amber+beer+bottle+%22please+do+not+litter%22&gs_l=img.3…188.8510.0.8779.37.12.0.25.25.0.234.1105.0j7j1.8.0….0…1ac.1.64.img..4.10.1109…0j0i30k1j0i5i30k1j0i8i30k1j0i24k1.SsGEeruJZnY

          ~David

          1. Collin, I might also mention that the “LAVA LAMP” shaped bottles were used for the Michelob brand beer. They were produced heavily from the late 1960s and (I think) into the 1980s. Not sure what range of years bore the “PLEASE DO NOT LITTER” phrase but the date codes on those bottles may give that information if enough of them are scrutinized!
            David

          2. We manufactured the “lava lamp” bottle for Michelob at Anchor Glass in Cliffwood, NJ through 1995. I can’t remember if it had “please do not litter” in the mold. But we made literally millions of them.

          3. Kuz, I really appreciate your input!! I enjoy getting good background information like this for my site.
            Take care,
            David

  163. while on the phone with Moms…she found a bottle made for Phillips Mike of Magnesia and the M circle on bottom of bottle. I myself have a blue looks like a wine bottle with the M circle and the #5 at the bottom of the bottle

    1. It seems Maryland made a very large variety of bottles for all kinds of products! It is good that a lot of them were marked with their “M in a circle” trademark, as bottle collectors love to have some reliable “provenance” to hang on to, although I understand many of Maryland’s bottles, especially in their earlier years, were not marked with the “M”, but sometimes just a mold number.
      Take care,
      David

  164. My Mother worked for Maryland Glass in Baltimore City as a lab worker before closing in 1980 or 81 and still till this day has some of the glassware and bottles that was made. One bottle she has now a comment on the bottle states… December 1972 Seasons Greetings

  165. I have a coke bottle dug up in Russia from a German trench at the battle of Stalingrad. Does anyone know how to read the base codes ?

  166. I have an amber brown michelob bottle with an n inside a square, reg u.s. pat off, and 20 embossed on the bottom. Any idea what year this could be from?

    1. Willie, your amber Michelob beer bottle was made by Obear-Nester Glass Company of East St. Louis, IL, but from your info there may not be a date code on it, so the exact year it was made may not be known. I would guess it dates from the early 1970s into the 1980s. The “20” is probably a mold identifier number. See my webpage on the “N in a square” mark.
      Best regards,
      David

      1. Greetings. I just found an AB connected beer bottle with a code that is not on your list. S20. Found in the Baja California desert along a fault that ruptured in 1892 on December 6th, 2016. Photo on request.

  167. A sea green colored, similar to a beer bottle shape that is heavy w/ thick irregular rough appearance, bottom has irregular thickness (a thicker slant to the right), writing on the bottle completes an oval shape (the top half “H.T.harris”, bottom half “Brighton”), in the middle of the oval marking has “Trade tht Mark”, The opening of the bottle is thick & bulbous that likely had a cork top.

  168. I have a old bottle with brown amber. I found it on a island near Beaufort NC. It has horseshoes all over it. A 16 and a little square that looks like a house. With nothing inside of it.

    1. Anthony, I don’t know, but you might be describing a “keystone” mark, usually seen with a letter inside. The keystone without any letter inside was used by Knox Glass Company on some bottles.
      David

  169. Hey i found a bottle in my back yard. Many years ago the property was a nunnery & convoy. The house is old as hell. The bottle is still sealed an contains a white powder. I have no idear it has numbers on the bottom. 650 G232 Mo GM None in witch i can find on google. But im very interested. Also i found another. Actually i found heaps but these two are ones that intrest me the most.. the second bottle has “THIS IS THE PROPERTY OF WJ & BARNES PTY LTD MELBOUNRE” down the side. Both clear glass with rusted lids still on them.

    What can you tell me about these

    1. Carli, I’m sorry but I don’t know anything about the bottles. Are you in the UK or Australia? Most bottles with just numbers on the bottom cannot be identified with precision. Please check out my page on “Numbers on the bottom of glass bottles”.
      Take care,
      David

    2. I have just come across a ruby mason 1858 bottle. It is from a collector friend I know. I read your information about these bottles and am aware that they are extremely rare. The deep red glass is beautiful and thick. It has notes of amber around the very top of the lid and other beautiful hues difficult to explain and see because of the deep ruby of the glass. It does unfortunately, I think, have the marking on the bottom H3 then what looks like a backwards 9 and then an S that looks kind of like a 5. So this is certainly a reproduction? It is so beautiful!!! Valuable or just cool to look at. I, of course, want it to be authentic, but not just because of the value but because it is so beautiful. I understand that there were also reproductions made in the US during the last century that are very collectable. Any information would be greatly appreciated. I can send pics if you’d like. It’s a stunning specimen either way. Thank you.
      Michael

      1. Michael,
        Your fruit jar is a modern reproduction, imported from Asia (China, India, perhaps other countries) within the last few years (probably no earlier than 1995…..perhaps just in the last decade). The ruby red color was NEVER used for authentic fruit jars. Just place it in a sunny window and enjoy the fabulous color, but be aware that it is not an old item, and was never used for canning. Many of them (in various wild and beautiful colors) are being sold on ebay and at flea markets around the country. Thanks for your post!
        David

  170. Lake Eufaula Oklahoma found a clear old round glass bottle with markings of W.F. Young Inc. and 18 in a circle. I have done a lot of searching including your site and think it is a horse care product some old cowboys must have carried with them. Found along North Canadian river where old Indian encampments are known to exist. How old could this be? Might want to continue searching in area. Thank you very much!!!!!!! Joe

  171. David:

    I’m sure the “CNY” Mark was discontinued in 1994 when the plant was sold to O-I.

    Also, I worked at Anchor Glass Plant 13 in Cliffwood NJ from 1994 until it’s closing in 1996 if you have any questions about Anchor or Anchor Plant 13.

    J

      1. Can I email a bottle to you? I’ve had one I found off a island near Beaufort NC. And I haven’t found a close image to it. I also found a 1956 old Crisco bottle that was easily identifiable. Thank you.

        1. Anthony, my email address is shown on the bottom right-hand corner of any page on my site. Pics can be sent, but they should be reduced in byte size for easier download.
          David

  172. Hi: not a comment but a question. I was born in Ridgway and spent my summers in that area during my teen years. I remember that in the 30’s Pennsylvania experimented with using broken glass (I believe it was from Brockway) in macadam. I can find no references on the Net. Do you have any information regarding that?

      1. Hi David – I was browsing your site and you asked for info on years of operation of Central New York Bottle Company in Auburn NY. I worked there from 1983 until around 1990 and transferred to the Miller Brewery in Fulton NY. Miller (owned by Phillip Morris then) sold Central New York Bottle Company to Owens-Illinois in 1994. It is still in operation as Owens-Illinois Plant 35 in Auburn (Sennett) NY.
        I believe your opening date of 1978 for CNYBC is correct.

        1. Hi John,
          Thank you very much for the information. Do you know if the mark used by Central New York Bottle Company was discontinued at that time (1994), if not soon after? Take care,
          ~David

  173. David,
    I have a 1945 Owen-Illinois liquor bottle. I was curious if you would know the distiller codes for that year. The distiller code on the bottle is D-567, liquor permit number is 88, and year is 45. I’ve tried to find it online, but can’t find anything.

  174. I have an old apothecary jar which has been in the family for a very long time. It is large, probably 20″ tall, the glass top is intact. There is a “J” in a diamond on the bottom of the jar. I saw in your listings about the diamond “J” in reference to soda bottles but nothing about apothecary jars with this marking.

    1. Deborah,
      Since the “J in a diamond” mark is currently not identified with certainty (as far as I’m aware), I can’t comment with any authority on whether your apothecary jar would have been made by the same manufacturer. But it wouldn’t surprise me if it had been. Perhaps more information will surface in time.
      David

    1. Hi Joann, Gobs of bottles carry single numbers on the bottom, or sometimes along the lower heel. Those numbers are usually mold numbers. Please see my webpage on “Numbers on the bottoms of glass bottles”. There is no way to date a bottle by mold numbers. You can see mold numbers on modern glass bottles and jars in your refrigerator even today.
      David

      1. Hey david.. Please help! I have found a bottle washed up after hurricane matthew here in jax fl on the intercoastal. It is a one quart liquid, florida store bottle, on curve near the heel it has BB48 then on heel it has a large 3 cent mark. Also has duraglas and 17 oi diamond 3 and possibly a “c” below it. Think i know what plant. But am confused on possible year made. No stippling on bottom either. Any ideas or comments? Thanks!

        1. Nic, I can’t say for sure, but I assume your find is a milk bottle. The “17” plant number (to the left of the logo) indicates it was made at Owens-Illinois’ Clarion, Pennsylvania factory, and the “3”, which is a date code, could stand for either 1933, 1943 or 1953. I believe it would be 1933 but I can’t prove that.
          Hope this helps,
          David

  175. I’m at a loss of what to do, and I’m hoping someone can help. I recently received a very large cobalt blue bottle collection. We are talking at least 1,000 bottles. I have no idea what to do. I have been searching online and have very little to go on. Many still have labels, not all are perfect, but they are legible. I can’t find much. There are just so many. I hate to get rid of any, not knowing what they are worth. They were very valuable to the owner. Just to list a few : there are eye wash cups, vicks vaporub with contents, alka lithia with contents still inside, jasmine ink with labels, churchills juniper oil, rootone. That’s just among the 10 I’ve gone through so far. I’m overwhelmed. Is there somewhere I can take them for appraisal in Illinois? Sorry, I’m just losing my mind trying to look these up. Thank you.

    1. Hi Adrienne,
      I would strongly suggest you post your query on the http://antique-bottles.net site / discussion group, where many experienced, long-time bottle and jar collectors post all kinds of questions and comments. Surely someone there will give you better advice than I can. Get input from several collectors, not just one.
      In any case, I STRONGLY suggest that you refrain from discarding any of the bottles. There are many collectors of cobalt blue bottles and jars, both old and new, across the country. Cobalt glass was used for several different types of bottles, primarily poison, medicine, cosmetic, and some older sodas, as well as other types. Eye wash cups are in demand and very saleable. I would guess that the majority of the items have moderate or only minimal value, but in a collection that large there are sure to be some “goodies”! Good luck and let me know how this turns out!
      David

  176. Hello. My dad found some whittmore Boston bottles and one of the bottle is misspelled instead of Boston it says botson. I can’t find anything about it or what it’s worth. Can you tell me anything about this? I have pictures if you want to see it.

    1. Randi, Many older bottles have spelling errors and other embossing mistakes caused by the mold engraver. I haven’t heard of this error, but I am sure it would be of interest to anyone who collects Whittemore shoe polish bottles or related material. No info on value, but you can always try selling it on ebay and see what happens.
      David

  177. David, First I want to say thank you for creating this website. I’ve been collection Mason Jars for a couple of years now & I am starting to take interest in bottles & insulators. You’re website has helped me gain knowledge that I don’t believe I would have found anywhere else. Second, I recently picked up a bottle for about $1. I don’t believe that it is extremely old, but I am having trouble finding any information on it. The emblem on the neck & base of the bottle is CBQ Co I believe. The bottle is “stippled” all around. The design on the bottle is somewhat similar to a Ball Juice Jar. The base has the large ornate CBQ CO in the middle. Under that it says Cincinnati .O. Around the edges of the base it says, “Minimum Contents 24 Fluid Ozs” I’ve been looking around the website & under “glass bottle marks”, but I haven’t seen it. Thank you so much!

    1. Ashley, I don’t know anything about your bottle. If you wish, you can email me a pic of the bottle and the base to my email address which is listed in the lower right hand corner of any page on this site.
      Best regards,
      David

  178. Hi David, I found a green jar break with a mostly intact base. I’ve looked through your site and have been unable to find anything that matches the maker’s mark on the base of this jar. It is a scale (see photo: http://www.indycroft.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/DSCF0261.jpg ), it’s actually something I’ve never seen before and I’m not finding anything similar in other glass bottle mark resources. If you’re able to help identify the maker and a possible date range, I would greatly appreciate it.
    Thank you!

    1. Bry, the “Scales” trademark was used by McKesson & Robbins, a pharmaceutical company dating from the 1850s. You can probably find more info on that company with an online keyword search. I have seen the mark on the base of several types of emerald green containers. I don’t know the timeline it was used, but the jars I’ve seen look like they might date from the 1930s-1960s period. I think a lot of the M&R containers were made by Owens-Illinois Glass Company, in their standard “Seven-up green” or emerald green colored glass.
      David

    1. Debra, there are no books that will tell you ‘everything’ about jars, but I recommend the reference books “The Fruit Jar Works, Volume 1” and “The Fruit Jar Works, Volume 2” by Alice Creswick. Unfortunately, these books are very hard to find, are out of print, and when found they command a high price. There are several bookseller websites you can search, such as bookfinder.com. The accompanying price guide (updated every few years) to the “Fruit Jar Works” books is commonly called the “REDBOOK” which lists most known fruit jars. Another extensively researched book is by Dick Roller and is titled “The Standard Fruit Jar reference”. It is also very hard to come by. An older book with lots of good info (BUT quite a few errors in details such as factory attributions) is “FRUIT JARS” by Julian Toulouse, published in 1968. It is readily available on the resale market.
      Another price guide, with background material, released in several editions is “The Guide to Collecting Fruit Jars (Fruit Jar Annual)” published by Jerry McCann and with material by Barry L. Bernas and Tom Caniff.
      Some of these books might be available at a local library, or through interlibrary loan. Hope this helps,
      David

  179. I bought a Drey one pint jar with Perfect mason offset. The rim is very ruff and there are bubbles in the glass all over. It is clear. I am having a hard time finding out when it was possibly made.
    I am new at this and love your website it has been very helpful. I have learned a lot.
    Candice

    1. Candice, The “DREY” fruit jars were made by Schram Glass Manufacturing Company, located in Hillsboro, IL. The “Drey Perfect Mason” was made in the early 1920s, perhaps around 1920 to 1925. Ball Bros. Glass Company purchased the Schram factory in 1925, but continued to produce more DREY brand jars for several years after 1925………..not sure how long after 1925 they were continued to be made. This info is from “The Fruit Jar Works, Volume 2” by Alice Creswick.
      ~David

  180. David, while digging on my property I found a pristine brown bottle with a cork in it, while looking at the bottom, it has the O-I logo inside of a diamond near the top. To the left of the logo is a 7, to the right is a 1, and below it is an 18 with a period after it. Way below all of that it says 1845. On the side of the bottle are MILS graduations from 50-250. There is still a reddish-brown liquid sealed inside of it. I can’t seem to find anything quite like it described on your website. Is there anything you can tell me about it? I can send pics if you’d like.

    Thanks,
    J.R. Webb

    1. Hi Jason,
      You’ve found what I call a standard or “generic” chemical bottle. It is a typical cylindrical amber type of bottle used for all kinds of liquid chemicals and medicinal products (such as hydrogen peroxide, chlorine, rubbing alcohol, ammonia, cleaning products, farming-related products, fertilizers, pesticides, etc, etc) and it came in several sizes. I believe the type was made over quite a long period of time.
      “1845” is the four-digit “stock”, “inventory” or “style” number assigned to that basic shape by Owens-Illinois. I have occasionally received enquiries from those who were wondering if it could be a date.
      Just as a “study method” I often search through listings on ebay, comparing bottles that happen to be listed on that site. (Ebay is the major marketplace for bottles and jars of every description, new and old!) Here is a search that I came up with…….. Some of the listing results will be irrelevant, but you can see a few bottles similar to yours that came up in the list.

      http://www.ebay.com/dsc/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=1&_nkw=%28amber%2Cbrown%29+bottle+1845&_trksid=m570.l1313&_odkw=%28amber%2Cbrown%29+bottle+1845&_osacat=0

      Your particular bottle was made at the Alton, IL glass plant, and the date code “1” stands for either 1941 or 1951. The “18” is a mold number.
      I hope this helps!
      ~David

  181. David,
    I have a “AB” connected aqua quart bottle with the markings of “C 4” below the “AB”. It was found on a mining claim in northern California in the hills, north of Yreka. It is in great shape and I find it interesting that so many of these bottle are found near old mining camps.

    1. Hi Greg, thanks for you post! Yes, it appears that lots of beer bottles were shipped out west in the late 1800s and early 1900s. In particular, the AB-connected bottles were evidently shipped all over the country and ESPECIALLY to the western states such as AK, CA, NV, AZ, UT, WY, CO and NM in the 1905-1909 (or later) time frame. It seems that a good percentage of the miners and other “Go-West-Young-Man adventurers” of that time period were heavy beer (and whiskey) drinkers.
      ~David

  182. Hi we own a croft house in Yell Shetland Isles – when taking a wall down we found in the centre of the wall a glass fishing float it is made in two haves and has British Made with a star embossed on the bottom. It is clear or as clear as old glass can be! Can anyone say how old it is please?

    1. Jon, I would suggest you join the Glass Float collectors club on Facebook. There are many members there who would have more and better information than I have!
      David

  183. Hi David, I have found a couple of old glass containers, which I dug up from the yard on the side of our home that washes when it rains. I have found an ace shoe polish bottle,(1940s according to some others i’ve seen on different sites),a jergens lotion bottle, and many pieces of old clorox dark glass bottles so i know old bottles and stuff are buried here from some time back. I found one today which looks common but I’m thinking it’s older like the rest. It’s small like maybe 12 0z size, only has markings on bottom,barely visible,which I think are L O w and seems to be dots before letter L and after w on the top. A circle impression is in the middle with a sideways 5 or S to the left of it, and what appears to be a partial 0 or maybe J 8 0 with a smaller font R, as the w appears in L O w. I tried to find info on it but can’t find anything.

    1. Amy, if you can, please send a pic of the markings to my email address (at lower right on any page on this site). If I can see it, I might get a better idea on origin or age.
      David

  184. David,

    I have a pint size flat whiskey or medicine bottle with purple tint that has mark of ” S. B. M.” on the bottom. Any idea of the maker. I looked through the bottle marks section and couldn’t find it. Suppose to have come from Leadville Colorado area. Thanks!

    1. Hi Scott,
      I’m not familiar with the mark, although it seems vaguely I might have seen it somewhere. It is possible the initials don’t stand for a glassmaker, but perhaps instead a whiskey distributor, pharmaceutical or chemical company or some other type of business concern. The fact that the last initial is NOT “G” (for “Glass”) or “CO” (for “Company”) or “W” (for “Works”) points just a little bit in that direction. But without more solid info, all bets are off!!
      ~David

      1. Toulouse discusses a similar mark on a prescription bottle from Ferndale, California (pre1909) in his BOTTLE MAKERS AND THEIR MARKS, page 464.

        1. Hi Michael,
          Unless there was a typographical error in Scott’s post, he is asking about the mark lettered “S.B.M.”, not “S.B.W.”. S B W is believed to be a mark used by Saltsburg Bottle Works Company, of Saltsburg, Pennsylvania.
          ~David

  185. I have a Brookfield insulator that has an XP on the top. Can’t seem to locate any info about it

    1. Beth,
      Many Brookfield insulators of the “later period” (perhaps c.1915-1920) bear so-called “shop letters/numbers” 00, X0, X1, and X2 on the dome. These are believed to be related to paying the particular “Shop” (group of glassworkers) involved in the production at the factory. There were likely several shops working simultaneously, each assigned a certain shop number or letter/number combo. Are you positive that the second character is a “P”?
      David

  186. Hi David,
    I recently found a R & CO #22 bottle in my yard a few weeks ago, beautiful bottle! I was going throw um away but i decided to keep it, i just have no use for it! I live Maui & was surprised a bottle like dat was even on da island..

    1. Hi Tiara,
      Lots of the “R & CO” beer bottles, along with other bottles of every description, were distributed throughout the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900s, (no doubt including Hawaii which became a U.S. territory in 1898) so they can theoretically be found almost anywhere! Thanks for writing~
      David

  187. I found light blue bottle with AB connected and the letters J2 on the bottom. Found in a tidal creek in Savannah Ga. Today July 4 2016. It is in good shape with some barnacles on it

  188. After writing you I researched specifically the 3 medicine bottles i have they’re absolutely Owen Illinois.. the single digit to the right of the triangle confuses me slightly for instance one has a #4 does that mean 1934? Are the singles to right always from the 1930’s? But MOST important thing I wish to know that I have spent 3 days trying to figure out and your page nor internet says nothing n shows nothing about what the amber/orange/brown colored syrup like liquid is that’s identical in each bottle when it settles there’s a white layer that forms on the bottom also.. these 3 particular bottles tho I haven’t found a single picture of outta literally thousands I’ve found which leads me to believe they are extremely rare.. your thoughts?

    1. Raena,
      There is great confusion on the date codes used by Owens-Illinois. No one is absolutely sure of a way to identify the year many O-I bottles were made, since single-number date codes were used in the 1930s but also in later years.
      Your bottle with a “4” could date from either 1934, 1944 or 1954. Sorry, I simply cannot state with absolute certainty. For more detailed background info on Owens-Illinois bottle codes, check out the link to the Bill Lockhart/Russ Hoenig article, (link farther down near the bottom of the text on my Owens-Illinois Glass Company webpage).
      There have been gobs of different kinds of liquid medicines (aside from the most common such as cough syrups, tonics, laxatives such as castor oil, cod liver oil, etc) packaged in glass bottles, so it might be difficult to identify exactly what was in the bottles, perhaps unless you consulted a druggist or chemist more acquainted with the way the products look and change over long periods of time. In any case, I don’t think it matters much what was in the bottles. The white layer might be lime (calcium) perhaps an ingredient in the mixture which has “settled out” over time.
      Best regards,
      David

  189. I have several questions I hope you can help me with I have 2 clear square about 16 oz glass bottles with lines going from top to bottom on 3 sides and a square space for a label both have an amber color liquid in them and a white consistency settled on bottom both have metal twist caps but one has sold only at Rexall Drug stores the other is a little unclear but has a picture of a horse in front of a tree and says keep tr… (something ) on the cap the bottoms on both have a embossed symbol that looks like a planet and a #4 & #8 on each side of the symbol and #4 under one’s symbol &#2 under the others symbol any ideas I’ve narrowed it down but can’t find anything exactly the same anywhere.. I also can’t locate a bottle that is the same as the bottle I have that’s very tall and says Mr Boston down each side and the name and pic of him on metal twist cap and embossed federal law forbids sale or reuse of bottle another says same federal law on front and cap says Kasko distillers Philadelphia with a crown and 2 circles one with a woman and one with two leaves saying fine quality in middle there is space for a label on each side with diamond shapes all over it. I’d appreciate any direction u can give me ty

    1. Raena,
      The only advice I can give you is to check out my page on Owens-Illinois Glass Company, the glassmaker who used what you call the “planet” symbol on their bottles from 1929 to the mid-1950s. I have no other info on the other bottles.
      Best regards,
      David

  190. I have a 1953, 5 gallon bottle/jug made by the Owen Illinois glass company and it was made in Alton, IL and has a mold number 5. But it also has a number above the logo “5250” I have researched and found this information about the jug but have not found out about this. I hope you can tell me what it means. Thank you

    1. Laura, the number “5250” is a catalog number… simply a number assigned to that particular bottle design or style.
      ~David

  191. David
    I am signing off the site, but wanted to say thanks for the info on my bottle and other information.
    Very interesting hobby, but I have too many already.
    Again Thanks
    Joseph Haley

  192. Hi David, I have a pink satin glass perfume bottle in the shape of an upside down fan with a little round ball top. I don’t really know how to describe the mark on the bottom other than maybe four little leaves which come together to form a square. Can you possibly determine the origin from my limited description? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much.

    1. Delilah,
      I’m not familiar with the mark, although it seems like I may have seen it somewhere before. Perhaps a reader can help.
      Take care, David

  193. i read your post on Dr. S. Pitcher’s Castoria bottles and read the longer CastoriaHistory.PDF that was in the comments section,and i think i might have a rarer bottle of its production location. Its the more or less standard aqua color, its hand blown, it has what appears to be 2 vent holes on either side and the embossing is extremely clear and its lettering edges are very sharp. On the bottom is has A.2. From what i have read, i would place it as the 2nd mold used in 1905 to produce these bottles at the American Bottle Company, and due to the sharpness of the lettering, it was produced using a new mold. Is this assertion correct?

    1. Hi Andrew,
      The article you cite about the Pitcher’s Castoria bottles is on another website and was not written by myself. It was written by Bill Lockhart with input from several other researchers and collectors. The information presented on that page re the “A” (plus number) marks on the base (of certain Pitchers bottles) as being a product of American Bottle Company is currently a hypothesis (theory) and has not yet been proven as fact. Therefore I can’t say whether your assertion would be correct. You might try contacting Mr. Lockhart and ask him for his thoughts on your bottle.
      Best regards,
      David

  194. Hi David,
    Can you tell me anything about an aqua bubble glass Mason jar I have that has “The Mason” embossed on it, with the “The” inside the opening loop on the word “Mason”? (Cursive script, angled up)
    Thanks!

    1. Heather, that particular style of Mason jar was made by Mason Fruit Jar & Bottle Company of Coffeyville, Kansas (1907-1909). It is listed as jar #1651 in the reference work “The Fruit Jar Works, Volume 1” by Alice Creswick, as well as the accompanying price guide known to jar collectors as the “RED BOOK”. A similar jar was made by Ball Bros Glass Company which has the word “BALL” in cursive placed above the words “THE MASON”. Evidently that variant was made for a short time after Ball purchased the Coffeyville plant in 1909. They closed the plant down in 1911.
      David

  195. The family went kayaking yesterday and I spotted a blue bottle in the mud. I was wondering if you could give me some info on it. The Bottom has a M in a circle with the number 15 below I do have a pic. Thanks

    1. Mark, please check out my list of glass marks in alphabetical order (Pages one thru 5). Your bottle with “M in a circle” was made by Maryland Glass Corporation. I also have a separate webpage on that company.
      Best regards,
      David

  196. I found an M.G. Co brown bottle in Puget Sound. It looks different than the examples you have posted. There is an underscore below the o, and it has a plus sign above and a 3 below.

      1. Hi Brad, For more in-depth info on the M.G.CO. beer bottles (made by Mississippi Glass Company, St. Louis), check out this article here:
        https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/mississippi-lindell.pdf .
        There are a number of bottle molds that bear a “Maltese Cross” on the base along with the initials. No one is positive what it means, but perhaps the individualized mark of a particular mold engraver.
        David

        1. Thanks. There was an example that matched. How about an amber bottle with a lid stamped on the bottom with VT 782?

  197. I have a bottle I bought in the late 50s or early 60s at my grand mothers house sale. this bottle looks to be 15-20 gallons made for water coolers on the bottom is wtco 2 on the top by the spout is k 23 w.t.co. I remember having to pay 5.00 for it. that was a lot for me that young and the only thing I bought at the auction full of many antiques!!!!!

    1. Hi Gary, your bottle was made by Whitall Tatum Company. (See my webpage on that glass manufacturer). They made many large bottles and jars including water bottles.
      Best regards,
      David

  198. Hi David, my niece found a Hazel-Atlas bottle that we can not find anything about; it is a brown glass quart bottle, with X – O – X on the shoulder, and bottom has Atlas symbol, Registered X-O-X U.S. Pat Off 9-A-4081. Thank you for you time, Susan

    1. Susan, I think it might have been an obscure competitor to Clorox bleach, but I may be wrong. I can’t find anything of relevance on the web, although I wouldn’t be surprised if there is some information out there somewhere! There have been many short-lived companies and brand names, and sometimes about the only evidence left behind are the embossed bottles!
      David

  199. Hi David,

    We recently found a Mrs. Stewart’s Bluing bottle on our property. It is an aqua blue color, has the I in the diamond but also has a 12 under the diamond. The 12 looks like a late 1800’s type font. Any idea how old this bottle is and what the 12 stands for? Thank you for any info.

    KP

    1. Hi KP,
      Huge numbers of MSB bottles were made for many years by several glass companies. Your particular bottle was made by Illinois Glass Company (see my page on that firm) and the “12” is a mold number.
      David

  200. I found a piece of glass with a key embossed on it I can send a picture as I would love to know more about it.

      1. The Key Glassworks, LTD., was an extensive British company that combined with others over the 19th and 20th centuries. During the 1950s, they used a small door key symbol with the key pointing left on their containers. They merged with United Glass in 1962, according to Toulouse, in his book, Bottle Makers and Their Marks (1971).

        1. Thank you Michael!
          Although I have had a copy of “Bottle Makers and their Marks” for many years, and a lot of the basic data on my site is based on Toulouse’s research, I completely forgot about that glass company in my earlier response to “4everycloud”. Never having seen that mark in person, I had neglected to list it on my site.
          For more extensive info, Toulouse’s entry concerning Key Glassworks, LTD is on pages 299-302 of BM&TM. He also lists a “K in a square” mark as used by them from 1908-1954, and the door key symbol “since 1954”. Although, he didn’t state clearly whether or not the key logo was retired in 1962 when Key Glassworks merged with United Glass LTD.
          Best regards,
          David

  201. Hey David. I have a mystery for you! Found two colorless ABM bottle bases embossed with T. G. CO. 1922. Can’t seem to track them down anywhere. They appear to be liquor bottles and were found in central Nevada.

    1. Hi Cassy,
      I don’t have any relevant information for you, and am not familiar with the mark you describe. According to Julian Toulouse’s “Bottle Makers and their Marks”, on page 493 he lists a Toronto Glass Company (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) and claims they used the mark “T G Co” but he writes that company was in business from 1894 to 1900, which is definitely too early for the machine-made bottle that you are describing.
      Also, I’m not sure in your case if the “1922” would be a mold/style identifying number, or have any relation to an actual date.
      Best regards,
      David

  202. Hi David
    My fiance and I are avid seaglass hunters, I recently found a half bottom glass bottle with the markings PL inside what looks like a shield. It is in the shape of a rounded rectangle. These are the only markings I have and I have searched your site over and over and cannot seem to figure out what this is. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
    Thank You
    Shawna

  203. I bought a glass decanter at a thrift store about 5 years ago. It is clear glass, marked 1 quart, 3 sides are molded with squares that contain 4 pyramids which meet in the middle of each square. One side of the decanter is clear. The marking on the bottom is an oval inside a diamond with an I inside the oval. The number to the left is a 7, to the right is a 2, and below is the number 4. Can you tell me how old it is ? I think I paid $2 for it.

    1. Hi Mary,
      Your piece was made by Owens-Illinois Glass Company (see my webpage on that glassmaker). The “7′ stands for their glass plant at Alton, IL. The “2” is a year date code which would stand for either 1932 or 1942. I cannot say for sure which year that would be. The “4” is a mold number.
      Hope this helps,
      David

  204. I have stumbled across 8 thin gold leaf rimmed Highball? glasses. I cannot find a maker mark because im ignorant or there is nothing on any of them, i thought i seen what appeared to be an “F” on three of the eight. I hope this isnt against the rules but i posted via another website with pictures on an attempt to ID them.

    there are two pictures, one looks like a regular glass, you have to click on the thread to see the other.

    It has the Irish Clan of Arms for the “Coopers”

    Is this a novelty item that perhaps someone bought because their last name was cooper, or could these have been owned by a Family member many years ago.

    Either way I plan on using them if they are worthless, If not they will go in my collectibles display. I would like to know anything about them.

    Thanks in advance,
    Ignorant Glassware owner 🙂

    http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/185510-please-help-identify

    1. Ben, without a glass manufacturer’s mark, it is hard to be sure who might have made them, or how old they are. Are you familiar with the “Cursive L” mark by Libbey? Libbey has made Tremendous numbers of drinking glasses of all types and sizes over several decades. Also, the mark “F in a shield” is the mark of Federal Glass Company, also a prolific maker of glassware.
      ~David

  205. I have a three-part iron Anheuser mold from my father and his days at Obear-Nester Glass. Just wondering if you or anyone else you knew would be interested in adding it to a collection. I can email photos if needed.

  206. Found a blue bottle on the south shore of long islands great South Bay today below is what it written. Note no MD next to Baltimore Approx 2 1/2″. Unfortunately a broken top no markings on bottom Thanks for any info. Did look up company but found none without MD
    Bromoseltzer
    Emerson
    Drug co
    Baltimore

    1. Robert, I have no specific info on your bottle. There are no doubt many slightly different variants of the Bromo Seltzer bottles since they were made over a very long period of time.
      ~David

  207. Was canoeing out of Florida city in the Gulf of Mexico when I came upon a bottle that had washed up around Cape Sable. Great condition and fully intact.I collect bottles, so looked it up when I got back a week later. AB P24 beer bottle. I was stunned at the age of the bottle , to be in such great condition.A real lucky find.

  208. David, I recently found an aqua colored bottle with AB not connected but double stamped with the number 74 or 77 below it. I have researched it with no success so far and was hoping you may have some information on it. Thank you

    1. Brandon, all that I can tell you is what is already written on my site about the AB marks. (See pages on those marks). It was made by American Bottle Company, probably dating from the 1905-1917 period. The “74” or “77” is a mold number, and the double-embossing is called ‘ghosting’ by some collectors. That happens occasionally when the bottle is being blown. The molten glass shifts position slightly/momentarily when contacting the inside of the mold during manufacture, picking up a “double impression” of the engraving before solidifying into it’s final position. That happens within seconds.
      David

  209. Hello,
    I’m not sure if you can help but i live in Australia and today I found a J.R Watkins co. bottle. I have read about the company and found that they are a medicine company it also said they had factories in the U.S England, Asia and Australia.
    My bottle isnt like the bottles i found on the internet, the ones online most have cursive embossed writing with longish necks and no lids. ( google The J.R Watkins co old bottle).

    My bottle is a clear glass bottle with embossed block writing that says

    THE J.R WATKINS co.
    MADE IN AUSTRALIA

    It has a short neck with (what i think is tin) screw on lid with their logo and Watkins written on
    on the bottom is a logo thing then the number F168 then beside it is a lone M

    I would like to know what it would have had in it an how old it is,
    thanks a lot from
    Elise

    1. Hi Elise,
      Thanks for your post. I am not familiar with the variants of the Watkins bottles made outside the US, and have no information on them. I am sure there are many and varied!
      ~David

  210. My name is Brian I found a bottle in Preston Connecticut is aqua in color with an connected and a6 under that how old do you think this is

    1. Hi Brian,
      Please check out the 2 pages on my site with info on these bottles. Although no particular example can be dated to a certain year, the “AB connected” beer bottles with the letter/number combos underneath are believed to date between the years 1905 and 1917. Here are the articles with more info:
      AB-connected mark on beer bottles and List of AB-connected bottle base mold codes.
      This is all of the information on those bottles I have on the site. Thank you for writing!
      David

  211. Just an FYI. I recently found a small clear glass medicine bottle embossed BW&CO. I think this is the Burroughs Wellcome & Co. {I’m not 100% on this.} It is about 2 inches high, 1 1/2 inch across and 3/4 inch wide. It still has the metal cap, badly rusted, fully intact. By the necking it looks to be from the 1930’s, as it is a single twist ‘thread’. The only markings are the BW&CO on the bottom. Does anyone have input on this marking and bottle type?

    1. Hello Mark,
      Thanks for your comment! I’m not personally familiar with that marking, but doing a bit of research, I am sure you are 100% correct on the mark attribution. Burroughs Wellcome & Company was founded in 1880 in London. (Merged with Glaxo in 1995 to form Glaxo Wellcome, now GlaxoSmithKline). An online search of photos of various bottles marked “B W & Co” show a variety of types, all fairly small medicine bottles, mostly in clear, aqua or amber glass. I would guess they mostly date from the c. 1890-1930 period, but it is hard to tell without examining individual examples closely for details on whether they are handmade (mouthblown) or machine-made.
      I’m assuming the BW&CO bottles are much more commonly seen in Great Britain rather than here in the United States. If anyone else wants to submit a comment here on the BW&CO bottles, please do.
      Best regards,
      David

  212. I have just received (December 2015) an odd embossed NDNR NEHI soda bottle with the traditional M-in-circle mark dated 1980. It is not the traditional silk stocking NEHI design, but a coverage of dots in relief. Within the coverage are the traditional NEHI candy cane lettering design for all the fruit flavors. The logo is twice around the bottle. The bottle contains the original grape flavor cap for the Royal Crown Cola Bottler of Norfolk, Virginia. Every NEHI man I have shown it to is outraged by this design! –MikeEinTennessee

  213. David. My name is Brad W.Recently I’ve found a very large ( probably 25-30 gallons) clear glass bottle complete with glass stopper. Looks like a Sparklets bottle. The only visible markings are located on the top rim below the stopper. Markings are W.T. CO. E “E” is not punctuated and several spaces between CO and E. Whiteland Tatum Co. I can’t find any images of vessel’s this large. Not even close! Curious to find out how old it is and the original contents. Portions of the glass appear to be opelized. Any info? Thanks David

    1. Hello Brad,
      I know that Whitall Tatum made a huge variety of bottles ranging from tiny vials to huge carboys, but that sounds like one of their largest bottles they made! I am sorry but I have no information about it. I’m assuming it is a water bottle or chemical/acid bottle, and would certainly have originally been used along with (housed inside) a plywood crate to protect it during transportation.
      Best regards, David

  214. David,
    Today I found a dark green Insulator. I work for the railroad so i find them often.
    But today I stumbled across one that has a “B” on the side and what looks like 0-1 on the top. Any help?

    1. Hi Jake,
      You have found a “beehive” style telegraph insulator made by Brookfield Glass Company. (Check out my overview on that company here).
      Some of the more commonly-found insulators seen along railroad tracks include these: Hemingray-42 (CD 154), which was the most common insulator used along railroads; Hemingray No. 40 (CD 152); Whitall Tatum No. 1 (CD 154 or CD 155); Armstrong DP 1 (CD 155) and others, but the “beehives” are somewhat older and they include the ones such as “H.G.CO.” (usually with an H on top) ; “H.G.CO. / PETTICOAT” made by Hemingray; “BROOKFIELD / NEW YORK” ; and the ones just marked “B” on the side. Most of the “B” beehive insulators have a “shop number” or mold number on the top. OO, OX or OI are examples. Sometimes the numbers appear backwards. Most, if not all of the “B”s were made between about 1906 and 1920 at Brookfield’s second plant located at Old Bridge, New Jersey. They range in color from light aqua to light green, medium aqua, to darker teal green, grass green, olive green and even a few ambers. Off-clear (light purple) beehives are also found. Hope this helps, David

        1. Boyd, there have been many, many different types/series of Ball Perfect Mason jars that were made over the years. Many different mold numbers and letter/number combinations are known. I was speaking of the most commonly found type of AQUA-colored BPM jars which typically do have a number (usually positioned in the center of the base), between 0 and 15 on the bottom. I’m sure there are exceptions here and there. I think some of the earliest versions of those jars have a letter/number combo on them instead of just a number. For more insight from Ball collectors, you might try posting a query on the antique-bottles.net site where there is a discussion section for fruit jar collectors.
          Best regards, David

  215. Hey David. I collect clorox bottles, and I know they aren’t worth much but it is fun for me. I have three made 1946-47 that were made with clear glass. Two quarts and one half-gallon. I am getting ready to get another one, a quart, and all of these quarts were apparently made at the Clarksburg O-I plant (#4). (4-6 under the Clorox logo) The half-gallon has a #20 which I think is San Francisco. (20-7 under the Clorox logo) Do you have any idea why clear glass was used instead of the standard amber? Also 3 of the 4 bottles were in North Carolina when I got them.

    1. Johnny, I can only make a guess, but it is my hunch that sometimes if there was a very large order of bottles being made and they were pressed for time, trying to produce the bottles as quickly as possible, they might have utilized clear glass from another tank (in addition to the amber tank) to help make up the difference. This was also shortly after the end of WWII so maybe there was some supply-related connection there?? I simply don’t know!
      ~David

  216. Hi David,
    You have a photo of “CALDWELL’S SYRUP PEPSIN/ MFD. BY /PEPSIN SYRUP COMPANY / MONTICELLO ILLINOIS”. I have the same bottle but smaller than the one in your photo. It has an S on the bottom. You do not mention a possible S in the following paragraph. But when I look up a simple S as a mark you wrote it could possibly be from Lyndeboro Glass Company, South Lyndeborough, New Hampshire. Do you think they are the maker? What is on the bottom of your bottle?
    Julia

    1. Hi Julia, I don’t think there is any connection. The “S” on the bottom of certain antique liquor flasks believed to have been made at Lyndeboro is a different “ball of wax”. The Caldwell’s Syrup Pepsin medicine bottles were (for the most part) made during later years, and many of them carry mold numbers and/or letters on the bottom which just identified a particular mold being used at the factory. I can’t prove it, but I think they are completely unrelated.
      Best regards, David

  217. David: I found a clear glass bottle on a shipwreck that dates to 1872. Unfortunately I only have pieces. I can make out the following words and numbers: “Metropolitan Mil?” “157 6th” “W. Boulev?” “CCO Branch” “48” “New York”

    Any clues to the manufacturer or type based on that information?

    Thank you, Bill

    1. Bill, I’m sorry but I have no idea on what type of bottle that would have been. Are you positive the shards are all from one bottle (or type of bottle)?
      ~David

  218. Hi David

    I have a 15″ round x 10″ tall bubbled glass bottle. It is etched with my grandfathers name followed by his birthyear 1898. The bottled is filled with an anchor and crosses. The top has a wood cork held in by a wood pin as well as a second wood pin under the throat of the bottle. I have no idea where this was made or how it was made. Any suggestions?

    Thank you,

    Bambi

  219. I worked at a glass plant in Minnesota (Brockway Glass Co.) when I was younger. The air bubble defects were called blisters. Some of the more exotic defects in a glass bottle was a strand of glass across the body of the bottle. It was called a bird swing. Or small bits of glass on the bottom of the bottle called tramp glass.

    1. Mark, thanks so much for the interesting “inside” information! I appreciate your post! I was familiar with the term “blisters” but had not heard of the other two terms. So why were base bits called “Tramp Glass”? Because they were “hitching a ride”? Or sorta like being stuck to the bottom of a shoe after “tramping through broken glass”??!
      Best regards, David

  220. I’m always finding glass bottles under my house and most recently found a Dr. S. PITCHER’S CASTORIA blown stamped bottle. It has an air bubble in it.

  221. Thanks for the wonderful information. I just found a Boyd’s Milk Glass lid in my yard in Northwest Arkansas. I live on top of what I think was a late 1800s, early 1900s dump site. That’s my guess from the variety of glass shards that turn up after every hard rain.

  222. David, I have a 5 gl glass jug. It says Mountain Valley Mineral Water. Hot Springs Arkansas on the side. On the bottom it has the diamond/o/I with a 7 on left side, 8 on the right. 5295 above the diamond/O/I and a 5 below. Can you tell me anything about it and what it may be worth? Thanks. Tammy Joslin, Wilburton OK. jo

    1. Hi Tammy, your water bottle was made by Owens-Illinois Glass Company. See my page on that company. The “7” is a plant location code for their Alton, Illinois factory. The “8” is a date code……. 1938 or 1948, don’t know which. “5295” is an inventory/catalog number assigned to that style. “5” is a mold number. This site is not intended to be an appraisal site (although I have mentioned this repeatedly on my site, including in the introductory comments on the GLASS BOTTLE MARKS pages, but I’m still constantly bombarded with questions on value) so I now just advise collectors to go on ebay or other sites and find comparable bottles and check ending prices (actual COMPLETED auctions, NOT asking, beginning, or minimum prices). Best regards, David

  223. Hi I am looking for information on a Mason’s improved jar 2 piece post, blown in mold with ground lip. with the number J195 on the base

  224. I unearthed an old bottle . The bottle is circular, the only marking is a sun with a R in the middle on the bottom with a number 1 underneath it. Curious about the maker.

  225. hi David, thanks for the info. I bought 2 giant amber (beer) bottles at a WI estate sale yesterday which you have helped me identify as Owens Illinois, 1934 & 1935, plant #6 (Charleston WV), mold #7. They have flip top rubber stoppers with wire and one has remnants of the original “consumption tax” label, or I think that’s what it is. One is open (the other stuck shut); I examined the bottom of the open one’s rubber stopper and it’s marked but too hard to read. Thanks again.

  226. HOW WERE THE GRAPHICS APPLIED TO VINTAGE JELLY JAR GLASSES ? EX. TOM & JERRY
    WHAT TYPE OF APPLICATION WAS IT AND WHAT IS IT CALLED? THEY NEVER SEEMED TO WEAR OUT LIKE MORE MODERN GLASSWARE OR AT MOST – VERY LITTLE. . GOSH – I SURE MISS THOSE DAYS ….

    1. Hi Bob and Mille, The process is usually called “ACL” or “Applied Color Label”. It was developed in the 1930s and used a lot on soda and milk bottles, and was also used on other items such as jelly glasses and tumblers. Here are a few links to check out, for info on this process of adding color to the outside of glass………..

      https://www.fohbc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/AppliedColorLabelBottles.pdf

      https://cocacolabottleman.wordpress.com/2010/05/04/cleaning-acl-bottles/

      https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/ACLArticle2019.pdf

      I hope this helps! ~David
      [Update March 19, 2021 – The links to articles above have been re-edited due to some broken links – David]

  227. Hello David-
    I have an old aqua bottle with the R & CO on the bottom but instead of a number under the R & CO there us just the letter R. I followed your suggestions to check out the glass maker marks but didn’t see any mention as to what the R might stand for. Could you please enlighten me? Thanks!

    1. Hi Rita, I assume it is just a bottle mold identifier (or “shop” identifier), serving the same purpose of the numbers often seen immediately below the “R & CO” marking. Sometimes letters were used instead of numbers. If there is any specific reason above and beyond this, I don’t know what it would be.
      David

  228. I found a 7 oz. clear glass bottle embossed with ”Mtn. Grove Creamery Ice and Electric Co. Mtn. Grove Missouri. It also had embossed on the bottom M. G. 7 oz. Is this the makers mark? At the base of the bottle I found 081410R. The bottle has the ”whittled” look to it. I also have a “Coke” bottle that has Mtn. Grove Missouri embossed on the bottom of it. I grew up in Mtn. Grove but no longer live there. Do you know if there was a bottle mfg. co. there ?

    1. Hi Mark,
      I’m not familiar with the bottle, but a quick google search (of “Mountain Grove Creamery Ice and Electric Company”) indicates the company was in business in the early 1920s, and they produced ice cream and butter. There was a fire in 1922 which caused a great deal of damage. I am guessing the bottle could be a soda bottle (?) and perhaps they sold a variety of other products including carbonated beverages. Some ice companies in the late 1800s and early 1900s were known to bottle beverages in addition to selling ice.

      Concerning the Coke bottle, if you get a chance please check out the introductory comments on my page Glass Manufacturers’ Marks on Coke Bottles. I am sure there was no actual bottle-MAKING factory at Mountain Grove, but there would have been a local BOTTLING (filling) plant located in that city or nearby. Coke had bottles made for them (by many different glass companies over the years) with the names of well over a thousand towns and cities across the United States embossed on the bottoms, and the bottles were meant to be circulated within that area and returned to the local bottling facility for re-filling. Many of the older Coke bottles (and other brands of soda) were filled and re-filled dozens or even hundreds of times during their “use life”. Most Coke bottles have a glassmakers’ mark on them, alhough it may be faint………sometimes on the “waist” or “heel” area of the bottle, or on the base.
      Hope this helps a bit,
      David

  229. I found an A.B. Co. bottle in 1962 in mint condition, looks like it was made in a wooden mold and has an applied lip. It has A.B. Co. D 9 on the bottom. The B. and the C are doubled stamped. Have anyone seen another doubled stamped beer bottle like this and is it worth anything?

    1. Hi Diana,
      Although there has been a lot of misinformation published over the years about “wooden molds” being used for bottle production, the great majority of glass containers made after the 1840s or 1850s era were not made in wooden molds, but in cast iron, and later, steel, molds. Sometimes the surface of the glass has a “grained pattern”, or so-called “whittle” that appears to have been caused by forming in a wooden mold, but in general this “look” was actually caused by the molten glass being blown into a mold that was not quite pre-heated properly.

      The molten glass begins to cool a little too quickly in contact with the inner mold surface, and this causes a distorted or smeared look to the finished bottle, sometimes looking like the surface of wood that has been whittled or “flaked”, hammered metal surface, or like the appearance of heavy rain beating against a windowpane.
      ALSO, especially in the 19th century and before, some bottle and jar molds were poorly “finished” (the inside surface was not well smoothed or polished, or was developing rusty areas) and these are other reasons why the surface of a finished bottle may not look quite “right”.

      Also, the “double stamped” appearance of the letters B and C is called “ghost embossing” and this is very common on glass insulators, also sometimes seen on bottles. This occurred when the molten glass shifted very slightly within seconds, (or fractions of a second) of being blown into the mold, “picking up” a part of the lettering, before coming to rest in it’s final position inside the mold, creating the double-stamp effect.

      In general, ghost embossing does not increase the value of glass, although it is of some interest to those collectors who look for oddities and manufacturing errors in antique bottles and insulators.
      The “A.B.CO” and “AB connected” beer bottles were made in very large numbers, thus being so plentiful, they have only minimal values to bottle collectors, even considering the fact they are authentic antiques and most are well over a hundred years old.

      Hope this helps!
      ~David

  230. I was wondering what the bottle was on the far left on your front page picture (left of green insulator and red hobnail voitive). I have a similar bottle that is 90 mm tall, 2-piece mold, entire seam with no finish (on rim), uneven, unground rim and very irregular light green tinted glass with air bubbles. The glass is very irregular in thickness and the rim is uneven with no internal or external roll. No markings…any help identifying this would be wonderful. Thanks

    1. Hi Kaye,
      I believe it is a type of “tube vial”. The example shown is similar to what you describe…….it is handmade, about 87 mm tall, two vertical seams from top to bottom, in a very light green-aqua tinted glass. Smooth base with no markings. I believe I found this in a dump or construction site somewhere, but to be honest I don’t remember exactly where, or what age range of items were found with it. However I believe it does date from sometime in the 1870-1910 time period. This link shows a page from a catalog showing bottles of a somewhat later time period (Illinois Glass Company, 1906 catalog, on Bill Lindsey’s bottle site)— check out some vials shown here:
      http://www.sha.org/bottle/Typing/IGCo1906/IGCo1906page88.jpg
      Best regards, David

  231. First of all I love your website, I use it quite often to identify the age and makers of all my vintage glass collectibles. Thank you!

    I have an item I can’t seem to find anything about. It’s an old glass rolling pin. The person who gave it to me said it’s from the 1950’s, but I don’t think they “know” this for a fact.

    The mark in the glass has a capital M within two circles. Outside the circles is what I think is a capital G, but it could be a 6 or 9.

    Any info on who the maker is, would be much appreciated! I would love to learn more about this piece, it’s the first glass rolling pin in my collection.

    1. Hi Sandy,
      I don’t have any information on your rolling pin. Perhaps someone will run across your query and clue us in on the maker!
      ~David

  232. I’ve got a tiny glass jar, with a key embossed on the bottom and the number 106, could you tell me more about it please if you can?

  233. i have an amber bottle with jaynes written downwards on one side and tonic on the other.and in between that it says “good for mother and child (in caps) on the bottom it has “CROWNFORD Co (with a _ under the o) INC” also it has most of the paper label “JAYNE”S EXPECTORANT for coughs colds there is more. the picture is a kid about 4 or 5 yrs old onthe shoulders boy looks about 12 or 13 yrs old. the clothes look like from early 1800s. it holds about a qt. i can’t find it anywhere on line. any ideas on the age of it.

    1. Hi Mike,
      It’s a reproduction bottle, (loosely patterned after original bottles from the late 1800s marked JAYNES) probably dating from the 1970s. See my webpage on Crownford China Company. Most of the glass bottles sold by/through that distributor were apparently made in Italy.
      David

  234. I found some galsses that are blue they look like wine glasses with unique detail& a a oval with a face engraved in it im very curious about them theres an AVO then what looks like an upsidedownv & #s stamped in middle of the bottom if there is somewere I can reasearch these id love to see were they’ve come from thanks

    1. Sounds like it would be something marketed by AVON? I have no other info, but you could try searching online via Google or Bing with keywords that describe the glasses along with the word AVON.

      ~David

  235. I have found a small clear bottle with a star embossed on the bottom that says franklin product and has some orange thick stuff still inside with a non-removable lid that has a hole in the top. Can anyone tell me about it?

  236. Here’s what I have to say about your site:
    It has been nothing but helpful to me in identifying age, maker, and what is real/fake (like nuking) in terms of all things collectible glass. Thanks so much for creating this wondrous place!
    With gratitude,
    Yogi Bear.

  237. Hi David, I have a bottle shard with an acorn on it. When I researched it I found your article and this awesome website. My question is that the stem on the acorn goes to the left and not the right like you show, and I’m sure what I have is not the bottom of a bottle. Do you think this is the Bellaire Bottle Co mark ? Thank you for your help, Norene

  238. Friend of mine found a bottle in a wreck (sunk by a U-Boat over 70 years ago).

    Mark on the bottom is:

    H-5009-18
    L&F PROD.CORP.
    MADE IN U.S.A.

    Anyone have any clue on this one?

    1. Andy, I found a small clear bottle with no label in the crawl space of my former home (home was built in 1927) in Rocky Mount, NC, with the mark on the bottom:

      H-5009-5
      L&F PROD.CORP.
      MADE IN U.S.A.

      There is also a capital “H” stamped into the screw-on cap. I suspect there is a link here!

      1. Today my son and I found a bottle of what I believe to have been the same product. On the bottom of the bottle it says “H-5009-5”, “A.S. Hinds Co.”, and “Made in U.S.A.”. According to some info I found online A.S. Hinds Co. was purchased by “Lehn & Fink Products” in 1925. So I think our bottle is the same product, just the previous company.

  239. Several years ago, my father found a similar bottle (clear glass) with the D&M marking and the number 13917, on a beach on the Island of Dominica in the Caribbean. 20″ tall and 5.5″ in diameter at the base.

    1. Thanks Ewart! [Ewart’s post is in reply to query about D&M bottle posted by “Charlie” on November 14, 2013, posted farther down on this page].
      ~David

  240. I’ve just started collecting vintage jars & don’t know a lot about them. I’ve got some old blue numbered Ball Perfect Mason Jars & I’m wondering if the ones that have a line with the number is suppose to be read with the line over the number or below it. Thanks.

    1. Hi Jerry, the number is read with the line underneath it. An underline is usually seen with a “6” or a “9” mold number to clarify which numeral is meant, since the number might otherwise be read upside down. Although it is sometimes obvious which number is meant, there are a number of different ways in which they were drawn, occasionally leading to some confusion.
      ~David

  241. I have a Biltmore Dairy half pint milk bottle marked Duraglas from 1953. I’m trying to determine what plant it came from. The plant code is 17. Can you tell me where this plant was or is? Thank you.

    1. Cindy, Owens-Illinois plant #17 was located at Clarion, Pennsylvania. Originally Berney-Bond Glass Company, later acquired by Owens-Illinois, operated as plant #17 from circa 1930, up til it’s closing in July 2010!

    1. Hi Cynthia,
      No Vaseline jars were ever made in the eighteenth century (1701-1800), but I’m assuming you meant the 19th century (1801-1900). The earliest type of marked Vaseline jars (the cork-top style, as shown on the far left in my photo of clear jars on my webpage about Vaseline jars) were probably introduced in the late 1870s or sometime in the 1880s, although no one knows exactly when. They are common enough to have a relatively low value to bottle collectors, perhaps 2 to 5 dollars in excellent condition. However, I am not really an appraisal site, so I can’t vouch for that value estimate. A keyword search on ebay over several months’ time period may yield better info on the prices they actually sell for.
      Best regards, David

  242. Hello David….
    I am completely amazed to of happened upon your “very informative” website on the Glass Mfg. History. In an added note to your statement under AVON BOTTLES…..

    “There may have been other glass manufacturers involved in the production of Avon glassware, although I am not sure of their identities, if so. If you have pertinent information in that regard, please feel free to contact me!”.

    …… I can confirm to you that several AVON Decanters were manufactured by Owen-Illinois, especially at the Huntington, W Va. plant. My Mom-in-Law worked for the Huntington, W Va. plant for about 25 years up until they closed the plant (approx. 1993/1994). We have a pair of original AVON Dueling Pistol 1760 decanters (glass only, not the added silver plastic decor or bottle caps). One has on the Butt of the pistol “AVON 5” and the other “AVON 10”. From what I’ve found in research these decanters were marketed by AVON, around 1973 with Deep Woods After Shave.

    Can you give us any idea what these glass factory blanks could be worth??? I can send pictures also if you would like, just let me know.

    1. Thanks Carlena, I appreciate your information. Owens-Illinois seems to have made just about every kind of bottle, jar, jug or flask imaginable (as well as lots of other kinds of glass items), so this would not come as much of a surprise. I have no idea on “value” of such items. I am sure they would have some value to “serious’ collectors of Avon bottles and memorabilia, but I don’t know enough about them to make a judgment call on their average market “worth”. What color is the glass on these bottles? Do you know what glass colors Owens-Illinois utilized for the Avons they made? If you wish, you can send pics to my email address (listed at the bottom right corner of any page on this site).
      Best regards, David

  243. I have a green glass jar or vase shape – approx. 5″ diameter at base and 9″ high, 2″ at neck. It has a five thin spirals of glass from the top which end with the seal. This is a head and shoulders with a face on it and a line around the head depicting hair. The seal aperture is about 1″ across. I would appreciate any knowledge of this jar please from anyone. Many thanks, Eleanor (UK)

  244. Hi David, I have the rarest Avon bottle to date. The tan top,Yellow taxi. The production was stopped due to the mistake of the style and color not matching the picture on the box. The production was stopped after only a handful was made. The new taxi would have a black top now matching the box. The style of the top would also be changed. The black top taxi would be produced in large numbers marked 41338 or 41397 or 41369 all posted on the net. This mistake of the tan top and style would become the least produced in number Avon bottle to date. The bottle 42418, is this the 18th one made in the production?

    1. Made by Owens-Illinois Glass Company, at their Streator, Illinois plant in 1970. The “26” may be a mold number. David

  245. hi david:
    i found an old hazel atlas jar. it has the little a inside the large H stamped in the bottom. it is tear drop shaped and appears to have 5383 above the ha. i have looked for the jar and the # but cannot seam to find anything about it. its a really neat shape and im curious about it. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks Steve Harford NY

    1. Hi Steve, there are a very few known Hazel-Atlas catalogs still in existence picturing many of their bottles and jars from the early 20th century, but I don’t have access to them.
      Hazel Atlas made thousands of different types of bottles, jugs, jars, etc over many decades. Many of H-A’s containers bear four-digit numbers on the bottom which are design or inventory numbers assigned to a particular shape or size. I don’t know when the “5383” style jar was made.
      David

  246. I am trying to find out who the manufacturer of glassware with the hallmark “T” with a star around it is. I have some codd bottles that were unearthed in Scotland with this hallmark and nothing else. Please, if anyone has any information I would love to know!

    1. Erica, I’m posting your query here. I am guessing the “T inside a star” might be he trademark of a glass company that operated sometime in the late 19th, into the early 20th century in Great Britain (although I do not know), or it might stand for a soda water company or distributor (??). Maybe someone who specializes in collecting Codd-style beverage bottles will have more information for you.
      David

    2. Hi, I’m posting your link here, for bottle collectors in Great Britain or elsewhere who might be looking for info on bottles from Brighton. Thanks for sharing…..
      David

  247. I have a ABGA (in cursive script) mason perfect made in the U.S.A however the glass lid has abca at the four corners of a cross ? Is this (as I think), a 1920s jar? and can you tell me anything else about it thanks.

    1. Alex,
      According to information in the reference book “The Fruit Jar Works, Volume II” (1987, by Alice M. Creswick and Stephen B. Creswick), on page 1, three variants of the ABGA jars are listed and illustrated. These jars are described as having been made by both Hazel-Atlas Glass Company and Ball Bros Glass Company FOR the Anglo-Belge Glass Association of London, England. “Circa 1910 and later”. Your particular jar variant is listed as Jar #5 (also listed as such in the accompanying “Redbook” price guide for jars). This is the only information I can provide. Perhaps a reader might know more about them.
      ~David

  248. I recently purchased an E O Brody piece (M6000) but the “Y” is upside down! Does this indicate a year of manufacture? how many others have this anomaly ? any other info regarding this would be of great help.

    Thanks,
    Troiy

    1. Troy, I strongly doubt that any markings on the E O Brody glass items are actual year date codes. However, perhaps a reader out there has more info on these markings. Maybe we’ll get lucky, and a former worker who made this glass can ‘clue us in’ on the meanings of the marks. I assume the “M6000” is a code number for that particular style vase or bowl.
      Best regards, David

  249. Hi David,

    I have a glass bottle with a circular base bottom. The bottom has “47” on it, with two rings of circles around it almost like a target. Do you have any idea what company may have made this? I found it on a beach in Delaware.

    1. Hi Sage,
      The bottle base sounds like that seen on a lot of the typical glass non-returnable soda bottles produced in the 1970s-2000s era, especially on a lot of emerald green bottles that once held such sodas as Sprite, 7-up and other lemon-lime brands. Many of them are marked on the bottom with a mold number or other numbers placed in the center of concentric raised lines. Large numbers of those bottles were made by Owens-Illinois (I inside an O); Brockway Glass Company (B in a circle); Anchor Glass Container Corporation (anchor symbol); Glenshaw Glass Company (G in a square); Liberty Glass Company (L G) and other glass companies. Would there be a small emblem or logo along the outer rim of the lower “heel” area of the bottle which may signify glassmaker? Sometimes the glassmaker can be identified by studying the heel closely……however many times the raised embossing is very faint. The base shards are often found by “sea glass” collectors beachcombing along the shores of lakes, rivers and oceans. Hope this helps! David

  250. Hi any idea what these numbers stand for? Half gallon marked bottle. Dura glass with 6 on the left 4 on the right and 11 on the bottom do u have an email so I can send pictures

  251. HI David,
    Thank you for contacting me with this information. I also checked out the google patent site. It was interesting to read. I am still trying to find more information about what product was put in the bottle after it was manufactured. It’s pretty interesting. Thanks again.

    1. Hi Michele, from the design of the bottle I would assume it was intended to be a cologne or perfume bottle. Perhaps someone will run across an example with the original label still affixed! Thanks for your reply~
      ~David

    1. Michelle, I found a link that shows the Patent papers for that bottle. The design for the bottle was patented October 23, 1945, the patent being awarded to designer Glen M. Clevenger. I can’t say for sure what the bottle held but it appears to be similar to some other styles of bottles that contained brands of hair oil or cologne. This is a .pdf file: https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/59/0b/8c/bfcf2a8b92dd64/USD142616.pdf
      Best regards,
      David

  252. I have a floral pot with E. O. Brody A-1431. There is also a sticker the botton the says design original y E. O. Brody, Cleveland,, Ohio Made in Japan. This is probably a mass produced floral vase. Does the A-1431 mean there were 1, 431 of these made?

    1. Hi Karleen,
      No. I’m not sure if you are speaking of a ceramic vase, or a glass vase?? In any case, although the number A-1431 does sound like it might be a “serial number” or one in a series of unique numbers applied to a product (similar to a “limited edition” serial number), this is not the case. It’s merely a catalog, style, or inventory number assigned to that specific vase design. I’m quite sure that all examples of that particular EXACT type of vase will carry the same number.
      David

  253. I have a small blue jar and on the bottom is a triangle inside a triangle. About same size as a Vicks vapor rub jar. Any ideas?

    1. Hi Nick,
      You have one of the earlier versions of the Vicks Vaporub salve jars. Don’t know the years the type with the triangles was made, but my guess would be 1920s-1940s era. Best regards,
      David

  254. I have a bottle I found in Atlanta Georgia I know its a machine botllei can not find any inf on it it is aqua green it is 8 inches tall 5 inches from top says Hagan & Dodd co below that it says red rock below that Atlanta Georgia on very bottom says red rock if any one can help me email me at loganwarrreng@yahoo.com thanks for any help

  255. Hi,
    You have a great site here! I have a blue bottle with frosted blue figures of Greek gods. The mark on the bottom looks like “ROAN.” I can’t seem to find it anywhere. It was in my parents house when they passed. They were both in their 90s.Is there a way to send you a picture?

    1. Hi Janell,
      (To readers): Janell sent me a pic by email (thanks Janell), and I have the marking now pictured on this site under the “DOAN” entry on “Glass Bottle Marks~page one”. Any information on attribution would be appreciated! Thanks!
      David

  256. Hello David – I’ve used your site before … LOVE IT! Question, my daughter found a bottle in our river. I’ve determined that it is Owens-Illinois. It is Amber in color and is shaped like a flask with a screw top. It has embossed on the top of the body “FEDERAL LAW PROHIBITS SALE OR RE-USE OF THIS BOTTLE”. It is a half pint. On the bottom it has the diamond with the O and the I in it. The numbers are located next to the logo (not to the right and left as some say they should be). They are as follows:
    64
    0 – 8 (or maybe D – 8?)
    47
    and the OI logo is to the left of these numbers which are lined up in the center of the bottom.

    Can you give me any info on where and when this was manufactured?

    Thanks!
    Jolie

    1. Hi Jolie,
      A lot of the liquor flasks made by Owens-Illinois do not always have mold/date codes that are configured the same way as they usually are on other bottles, especially on soda bottles. I mention this on the Owens-Illinois page on this website. I’m not really sure how to read these codes. However, I am of the opinion (repeat: opinion) that the “47” is a date code for 1947. The “D-8” (and other D letter/number combos such as D-126) are often seen on the base of whiskey and other liquor bottles, and I think those numbers relate to distillery information. Sorry, but I don’t have any other information on your bottle. Thanks for writing~
      David

      1. Jolie, Re-reading older posts, as an “add-on” to this question (posted over 3 years ago) I wanted to make a clarification. The “64” in this case is a “liquor bottle permit number” assigned to Owens-Illinois Glass Company, for their Alton, Illinois plant location. A list of liquor bottle permit numbers issued to various glass companies that produced liquor bottles can be brought up easily with a keyword search on google using those four words. I was not aware of this information when your question was first published in July of 2013.
        ~David

  257. Hi David, great site with loads of info. I was wondering if you could help me. I have a large glass jug, marked 500cl, 70mm, 3, with a N in a circle all on the bottom. It has a lovely shaped handle fully intact. The only info I could find was maybe Obear-Neston? Do you know of any other company worldwide with this mark, as I am actually in Australia. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

    1. Hello Jen,
      You are right to question whether it could be Obear-Nester. I can state with confidence that it is NOT an American-made container. The “500cl” and “70mm” markings show it to be a product made (almost certainly) outside the US…… possibly a company in Europe or Asia. The Emhart Glass Punt marks database Emhart Punt Mark Library (this is a pdf file) shows “N in a circle” was used by Nozaki Glass Company, of Japan, but I can’t find any really pertinent info concerning that company online. Unfortunately, I know very little about glass manufacturers in Australia. It is possible it was made there(?) Hopefully someone can put together a fairly complete list of marks from Australia, including recent/modern marks, and post them online. Thanks for your query, and sorry I can’t be of much help.
      Best regards,
      David

      1. Thanks so much. The measurements confused me too in relation to US standards.. Mind you, cl measurements haven’t been used for quite some time over here either. Thank you so much for the leads. Will keep searching and if I find any more info will post to you for your database. Cheers.

  258. Hi David, its Valerie now I have a full brown bottle seams on the corner to the top. On the bottom has 2 circles with a diamond in the middle. The circle in the middle end up to 11 or LL. Real hard to tell its been in Grandma’s garage for who know how long.

  259. Hi David,
    Just want to thank you for your wonderful site. I volunteer at a Thrift Shop in Malibu and research a wide range of items from couture and fine china to vintage bottles and memorabilia. Guess I love learning new things especially those pertaining to history. I have one of the AB bottles with the connecting AB and have read the page on this mark. I guess these are quite common here in the west. What I can’t figure out is what the “X” stands for at 7 o’clock on the bottom. At 5 o’clock there is the number “5” which I am going to assume is the year.
    Thanks again and keep up the awesome work you’re doing!!
    Best,
    Lianna

    1. Hi Lianna,
      Thanks for your kind comments about the site! Concerning the letter/number pair combination situated directly underneath the AB mark: No one, as far as I know, is absolutely certain what their purpose was. However, I am of the opinion (repeat: opinion) that they are mold and/or “shop” identifiers. Meaning, they identified a particular bottle mold and/or the “shop” (group of several workers assigned to producing bottles from that mold).

      When a number of identical molds were being used simultaneously to produce bottles, each mold carried a different number to identify it. If problems developed with the finished bottles, the defective mold could be quickly pinpointed.

      Many letter and number combinations are found on these bottles. I don’t know if a list of these markings exists on the internet (yet) but it is likely someone, somewhere is currently compiling such a list as we speak! I think there are many dozens (maybe over a hundred?) of letter/number combos that have been seen or recorded. Also……I am quite sure they are NOT date codes. If there is a date code on these bottles, it would be situated on the heel, not the very bottom.

      THANKS for writing!
      David

  260. David: Concerning L52- Lamb Glass Co. The L52 is found on more than milk bottles: I have a bottle labeled: “Breakstone’s Sour Cream one pint” with the L52 on the heel.

    Jeff

  261. I have an amber bottle about quart size -looks like an applied top. On bottom is round smooth indentation about an inch in diameter. Around that it says “New Albany Glas Works” (The one S in glass intentional) Can you tell me about when it was made-is it relatively common?

    1. Hello Jim,
      I want to apologize as I somehow neglected to answer your post (which I approved for publication on this site almost 5 years ago from today’s date). I don’t know how common this variant is, but it seems to be very scarce, as is the “correctly embossed” variant which is worded “NEW ALBANY GLASS WORKS” in a circle on the base. Please see my page on the New Albany Glass Works factory, which operated from 1867 to approximately 1872. I am sure the bottle would date from sometime in that range of years, but of course we can’t narrow it down any further.
      Take care, David

  262. Hello David,
    I went for walk with my dog this morning and happened to find an interesting bottle. Round top, with four curve bottom. Letters on bottom patd, H mark with letter A under middle line, 9 on same line and numbers at bottom 6214 set up as patd
    H with A under middle line 9
    6214
    Can you give me any info on this find? Bottle is approx 5-6 inches tall with narrow lightbulb shape on each side-wide on top narrows to bottom with 4 curved bottom.
    thank you Terry

    1. Hi Terry,
      Your bottle was made by Hazel-Atlas Glass Company; please see my page on Hazel-Atlas. However, I’m not sure from your description what type of bottle it is, or what it might have contained. Can you send me a picture of the bottle (to the email address mentioned at the bottom of the page).
      Thanks for writing,
      David

  263. Great site! Just wondering if you add makers marks to the pages when you find or have new ones sent to you? I have a bottle embossed Red River Mfg & Bottling Co. Denison, Tx. Makers mark on the base is a large “R”. I’ve only been able to find a short paragraph about the company, that was taken from a booklet in 1907.

    1. Hello Greg!
      Yes, sometimes I do add information to the site that has been sent in by readers. I should try to clarify something here, however. Most of the “makers’ marks” listed on this site are marks indicating the glass bottle manufacturer (itself), not the bottling company. I’m not familiar with that company, but am assuming that Red River Manufacturing & Bottling Company was a soda producer, and filled the bottles which were made by a glass company. (Are there any markings along the lower heel of the bottle which would indicate glassmaker?). There have been literally tens of thousands of soda, mineral water, and/or beer bottlers in business in the US for which bottles were made (by a glass manufacturer) with the name of the bottling company (or brewing company, etc) marked on the front. In many of those cases, there will also be a letter (or set of initials) on the base which corresponds to the name of the bottling company. So, in this case, it is not exactly a “makers’ mark” as defined by the average bottle collector, and these types of base markings are not usually listed (I mention this in my “introductory comments” on page one, but I’m sorry to say it is somewhat “buried” in the text!) In any case, I honestly don’t have the time, energy, or knowledge to list all of these bottling company names on this site. Nevertheless, I would like to see a pic of the bottle (I was wondering what style of bottle it would be………”hutch”, “crown-top” etc ) If you wish to, you are welcome to email a pic to davidrussell59 “at” att.net.
      Thanks very much for your post!!
      David

  264. David,
    what do you or your readers know about bottles embossed with “J Wittmann Woodhaven New York”? On the alternate side of the bottle it has a “J” overlapped with a “W”.

    Any information would be great!

    JK

    1. Hi JK,
      I’m not familiar with that bottle, but I would assume that it contained soda, mineral water, beer or ale. There are thousands of different bottle variants known just from the state of New York.
      The exact shape/style of the bottle can give info on approximate date range. If there is no makers’ mark, it won’t be easy to find out exactly what glass company manufactured the bottle. Information on the “J Wittmann” (owner of the bottler or brewery) might be found with a google search. The “J overlapping a W” is the monogram for Wittmann, and does not give any info on glassmaker. If you have a clear pic of the bottle (entire profile) please send it to davidrussell59 “at” att “dot” net. (If any readers of this site have concrete info on the bottle, please submit your comments!) THANKS! David

  265. David:
    C in a triangle: If it has one of its points pointing up, and all three corners are rounded, it is Consumers Glass from Canada. In print, the solid triangle is to represent a molten gob of glass, and is printed in red..with a white C. I worked there from 1969 to 1973, at the Kipling Avenue facility in west end Toronto. They purchased Dominion Glass while I was with them, and later, with debt problems came into the world of Owens Illinois.

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