Evening star., 1936-12-28

Old Bottles
Shed Light
On Past Era
Collectors Eagerly
Seek Those Bearing
Scenes, Likenesses.
BY ISABEL TAvENNER.

BY ISABEL TAVENNER.
A COMPLETE collection of old
"made-in-America" bottles would
give us not only very graphic pic
tlre Of the development of the glass
makers art, but would also record
chronologically practically every high
Light in the history Of our country
between the years 1920 and 1870. For
Invariably the glassblower marked
such occurrences as the rise of new
political personality, the visit Of some
foreign celebrity or some new mile
stone reached in the development of
America. by the production of a bottle
depicting some phase of the event or
. likeness of the person.
A bottle bearing such likeness, or
Q scene reminiscent Of some certain
event Is, of course. easy to date. but
the novice often finds 1t difficult to
determine the approximate date Of
bottle bearing, say, an eagle or
ballet dancer. The neck of the bottle
Is the surest index to its age, the
earliest being very irregular and
rough at the mouth, with no orna-
mental rim or collar. This type Of
bottle is classified as q sheared edge,
due to the fact the bottle was simply
cut from the blow pipe with a large
pair of shears while the glass was still
plastic. Later on the art of giving the
bottle a more finished and ornamental
form by adding rim at the mouth
was developed. The bottom also has
its part to tell in the age of the bottle,
a very rough mark on the base testi-
flying to the fact that the object was
broken from a pontil. rod used by
the blower to hold the object being
made by the bottom while the upper
part was being shaped.
All of these bottles were made before
the perfection of the pressing ma
chine, which turns out a thousand
objects as easily as one. But our his
torical TASKS had each to be individ-
ually blown into a mold, one work.
man turning out only a very few
dozens each day. Early in the nine
teenth century their manufacture be-
gan. one in honor of George Wash
ington having made its appearance in
1920. For the next so years these
bottles came thick and fast, not a
single event of any importance being
overlooked by the manufacturers. The
visit of Lafayette in 1925, the opening
OF the B. & o. Railroad in 1882, the
Inauguration Of Zachary Taylor to
the presidency in 1849, the visit Of
the great songbird, Jenny Lind, in
1850. and the successful ascent of
Pixies Peak in 1870, were all occa-
sions for the making of bottles COM
memora ting the event.
OF all the more than 800 Of these
dasks which have come to light, one
Of the most interesting and eagerly
sought after is the Log Cabin or Booz
bottle This was made In the shape
Of q log cabin and was gotten out
during the days Of the bitter presi-
Dental campaign Of William Henry
Harrison, whose birthplace was just
such cabin.
No article on early American bottles
would be complete without, at least,
slight mention of the large, green,
bulbous bottles or carboys, as they
are called. which are used today with
Mch telling decorative effects by
their fortunate owners These were
made In many sizes, holding all the
way from few quarts to as much as
8 gallons. Great numbers of these
large containers were sent to the West
indies. there filled with molasses or
Jamaica rum and reshipped to Amer
lea. The wonder is that 50 many Of
them have survived to add to the Joy
Of the present-day collector.