New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-07-04
HISTORY OF THE DEMLJOHN.

II has been a subject OF ruch mental torment to
the lovers Of good whIskey that the origin OF the
word demi john has hitherto been yelled IN nm
awful mystery The demi john. as the yotary of the
American Baochns of Bourbon County, Kentucky
well-knows is a large glass bottle shrouded III
wicker covering. This answers "A double purpose
1t prevents the bottles being broken by any sudden
lar and upset such are unavoidable III even the
best regulated fishing parties, and 1t mtigates the
herceness of the solar ray, and preserves to the
Iouor within reasonable degree of GOODNESS Ii has
long been obvious that the mdem john was mean
incess. since there never a receptacle for good
houor called either John Jonathan. Of which the
demi-lohn could be considered the half Moreover
had there been John or johnnie, IT would have
been far more in accordance with the feelings of
Bourbonies to have used it exclusively and not re-
sorted 10 half-measnres. But demi-lOhn may DO
either large or small and still be demijohn. So
that the fond hypothesis that it means a haf-john
or Johnnie fades away utterly and cannot be MAIN
tanned.
Another school of phloogists has asserted that
the word deni john Is corruption of the French
word dame jean, which signifies precisely the same
thing but the object in question among the less
civilized French generally contains only OIL, or
vinegar or under the most favorable circumstances
"A dreadfully thin wine called pquette, made from
the pomace of the pressed grapes Cider, often
found in American demi-johns, Is never placed III
the French dame-jean but is honorod with coniine-
ment in pitchers Of stone-ware carefully sealed
That demi- john might be a corruption of dame-iean
is a plausible hypothesis. but upon investigation
dame-jean is altogether as meaningless in
the French language as deIni-john is in
tho English: nor are there any reasonable
grounds for believing that tho of tho article is
older in one country than the other.
The truth is that the word belongs TO no European
language, but has been adopted like tea, sugar
coffee. and other articles which come from Eastern
sources Demi-john dates from the Crusades and was
brought from Egypt. where such articles were ard
ara still called flanagan. What is still more singu-
lar IA tho fact that the custom Of surrounding glass
bottles with wicker-work dates from very early
times in Egypt. Upon freScOes In tOinbs at Benz
Hassan there are not only representations OF wine
IN glass receptaces, but also of oil bottles almost
precisely like the TASKS from Lucca and Bordeaux,
surrounded with a similar protection made of sim
liar materials, rushes papyrus and wickcr-work OF
q fine kind. No picture has been so far recorded of
the actual demi-john at that early date 1900
H. ca but as we have the finer variety of the ar
tice we cannot doubt that the coarser one existed
also. Egyptian wine was stored in amphoras, and
the demi-ohn was a convenient halfway measure
between the clumsy, huge amphora and the delicate
glass vessel in which it appeared at the table. So
that the beloved dem- John of the most respect
able ancestry, and held Its own IN the worlds
earlest civilization.