Vigo County Historical Society

Glass bottles collector’s items

Glassblowers blew the very earliest bottles at the end of a punty rod. The bottles were formed with a neck, shaped body, a flattened base and a punty rod mark on the bottom.

These blown bottles had no seams but often had bubbles and other imperfections. They were not uniform and have been made since ancient times.

Although blown mold bottles were made by the Romans, they were not common in America until the early 1800s. The first commercial bottles were made from molds of wood or metal. The glass was blown into the mold, which shaped it. There were seams on the side but not on the neck, which was finished by hand.

Three-piece molds came into use from about 1809 until the 1880s. The first commercial bottles were made from molds of wood or metal. Bottles from these molds are rare. From 1820 to 1860 wooden molds were used. These left "whittle" marks caused by the hod glass on the cold mold. These wooden molds were closed and shaped the neck as well as the body.

A clue to a bottle’s age is the mold or whittle marks. The lip of the bottle offers clues. A sheared lip, the glass cut with shears and fire-polished or with broken edges, was a method before 1840.

Extra glass added to the neck and reheated is called an applied lip, made after 1800 and often between 1840 and 1860. A tooled lip was made by reheating the neck and applying glass, which was then tool shaped. This method was prevalent between 1850 and 1860.

Tops with screw threads, carved into the mold by hand, were made in the 1700s. Outside and inside screw necks were made from 1861 to 1890.

Another tip is embossed lettering--such as was on bitters bottles--came into use after 1869.

In 1907 patent medicine makers were required by the Pure Food and Drug Act to list the contents on the label. Often the name of the medicine and the bottler’s location was in relief on the bottle.

Other important features are color, shape, age and labels. Dark purple, amber, mild glass, light blue, brown and green are good colors. Any odd-shaped bottle is good, especially those molded like people or objects.

Bottle of many shapes and sizes may be seen at the museum. The three larger bottles pictured are on the shelves in the Country Store. The small one, a medicine bottle, is from the J.H. Allen Drug Store, which at 423 N. 13th St. around the turn of the century.