Evening star., 1940-05-05

5-gallon wine carboy to = tiny tear
tain more than one or two drops.
The charm Of her collection
however. for the crystal and glass
reflect many quaint traditions and
customs Of by-gone days to . stu
dent, Mrs.. Leaslre declares.
Desert sands and ocean waters
have contributed to Mrs. Leasure's
collection, bottles from these sources
possessing particularly lovely hues.
This" she explained, taking up q
brilliant purple bottle. was an ordi-
nary wfisly bottle. It takes at
least 30 years lying on desert sands
to produce this shade"
Exposure to salt water and sun,
she added, creates q variety Of
iridescent colors. quite different
from the hues produced by sun and
sand alone.
From the peanut country Of
Southern Virginia Mrs. Leasure
brought an antique gin bottle pur-
chased from . colored field hand" "
who was reluctant to part with it,
she said, declaring it had been in
his family ever since he could re-
member.
1T was really amusing" she
laughed. I'VE were touring around
Suffolk during the time Of the
peanut harvest and had stopped
to enjoy the view, when I noticed
the bottle peeping from a large
wagon-load Of peanuts. It was be-
ing used As = water bottle by its
owner, and when I saw it I recog-
nized 1t as early American-perhaps
the late 18th century"
Novel Bottles Recall
Early Patent Medicines.
Days when patent medicine
"quacks" reaped q generous harvest
from credulous sufferers are re-
called by q group of bottles picked
up by the collector in numerous
antique shops. One, shaped like an
Indian woman, formerly contained
Indian queen bitters"; another
nodded In the form of an ear OF
corn, was the receptacle of a popu.
Lar tonic in the 1830s; an elongated
glass LOG cabin" also contained
bitters, and a funny little brown
bear seated on its launches in q
corner of the medicine bottle shell
proved to be a one-time containel
for a "cure" Of a hundred year.
ago.
Il have been told that almost
all of the bitters were principally
alcohol" Mrs. Leasure laughed
''They were very popular with many
supposed prohibitionists."
Celebrities and popular slogans q
bygone days are commemorated by
another group in the bottle collec.
ton. A whisky pocket flask bear.
the embossed head of Benjamin
Franklin, and another carries tn.
impression Of an old frigate and thu
slogan, Free Trade and Sailors
Rights"
The story Of q "poor boy VIII.
made good" and who became on,
Of the wealthiest manufacturers O
his day was told by Mrs. Leasure a
she pointed out 4 flask, also show
ing Franklin's head on one side, ant
that Of the manufacturer, q certain
''Dyott," on the other.
"Dyott," she explained, had beel
. bootblack and made his owl
blackening. Realizing how much h
was spending on bottles he starte'
a small glass furnace and made hi
own containers"
Either Mr.. Dyott cleaned in
Vulnerable shoes or else his black
ing bottles were in demand, fol
Mrs. Leasure added, his bottle work
became among the largest Of tn
time in Philadelphia
Tear Bottles Used
About Century Ago.
Two slender glass shafts com
memorate the completion of Bunke
Hill monument in 1843 and q smal
chestnut bottle recalled to the col
lector q ghost story of the Easter
Shore of Maryland.
The bottle was found behind
basement wall by some workmen re
modelling an old home on the East
ern Shore" she said. "A legen
attached to the house declared tina
a beautiful young woman was fire
quently seen gliding through tn
rooms and the gardens after dar
as If searching for something.
have often wondered If she wer
looking for this bottle" Mrs. Leas
ure smiled.
The large carboy standing on tn