If you are just visiting and found the information you were looking for please contribute to the running costs by making a donation.	Forums : : Register : : Log In : : Log Out : : Help : : Calendar : : Search
	My Setup : : Member List : : Contact Admin : : Today's Posts

All Forums >> [Bottle Forums] >> What is it? AFTER 1900 >> Please help identify blue/green bottle

Page: [1]

Login Message << Older Topic   Newer Topic >>

Please help identify blue/green bottle - 10/11/2003 1:35:27 PM    jmack   Posts: 3 Joined: 10/11/2003 Status: offline I recently found an old blue/green bottle in the woods next to my home in Wisconsin and am hoping someone can help me identify it. There were no labels on the bottle, but on the bottom in raised letters is 'D S G Co.' and '2 S'. The glass is hazy looking in in spots, but that may just be grunge that I couldn't get off with soap and water. There are cracks in the lip of the bottle but no chips. There are also a lot of air bubbles. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks! Attachment (1) Post #: 1

RE: Please help identify blue/green bottle - 10/11/2003 7:03:47 PM    IRISH   Posts: 1238 Joined: 11/23/2002 From: cockatoo Australia Status: offline Those flasks where used for Whiskey, brandy etc. they are common. Your one most likely dates from about 1900 but they where in use from about 1870 til the 1920s or later. They are sometimes seen with imbossing. (in reply to jmack) Post #: 2

RE: Please help identify blue/green bottle - 10/12/2003 8:45:05 AM    jmack   Posts: 3 Joined: 10/11/2003 Status: offline Thanks for the information on the bottle. I just may take a walk in the woods and see what else I can find ! (in reply to jmack) Post #: 3

RE: Please help identify blue/green bottle - 10/12/2003 11:06:09 AM    Guest dsg co. would be de steiger glass co. lasalle il. circa 1867- 1896. your bottle would be from around 1896. diggerjeff (in reply to jmack)   Post #: 4

RE: Please help identify blue/green bottle - 10/13/2003 2:13:25 PM    Harry Pristis   Posts: 495 Joined: 7/24/2003 From: Northcentral Florida Status: offline I believe these flasks are called "coffin flasks" because of the shape. There probably isn't much you can do about the haziness of the glass except apply a light coating of mineral oil. -----------Harry Pristis _____________________________ ______________________________________________ Visit The Demijohn Page at: http://members.aol.com/pristis/index.html (in reply to jmack) Post #: 5

RE: Please help identify blue/green bottle - 10/15/2003 1:57:47 PM    Guest Hello. It appears that your flask has a defined "edge" along the sides, which makes it a coffin flask. Flasks with a similar shape with rounded edges are called shoo-fly flasks, although I have no idea why. Anyone else know? (in reply to jmack)   Post #: 6

RE: Please help identify blue/green bottle - 10/15/2003 9:55:34 PM    Harry Pristis   Posts: 495 Joined: 7/24/2003 From: Northcentral Florida Status: offline If you have these two forms available, how about posting a pic for comparison. Out of curiosity, I checked some of the "scholarly" books in my library for "coffin flask" and for "shoofly flask" -- not a single reference! I was surprised. Then I checked Kovels' 11th Edition, and there on page vi are line-drawings and narrative descriptions of the two forms, back-to-back. To summarize, if the flask has an hexagonal-shape base, it is a coffin flask. If it is not hexagonal, it may be a "shoofly flask." ------------Harry Pristis _____________________________ ______________________________________________ Visit The Demijohn Page at: http://members.aol.com/pristis/index.html (in reply to jmack) Post #: 7

RE: Please help identify blue/green bottle - 10/15/2003 10:23:27 PM    jmack   Posts: 3 Joined: 10/11/2003 Status: offline Thanks everyone for your responses. I've attached a pic of the bottom of the bottle which show's the "coffin" shape. Attachment (1) < Message edited by jmack -- 10/16/2003 7:37:30 AM > (in reply to jmack) Post #: 8

RE: Please help identify blue/green bottle - 10/17/2003 10:26:47 PM    Harry Pristis   Posts: 495 Joined: 7/24/2003 From: Northcentral Florida Status: offline Just to let you know that things are never as simple as they appear, I found another key to bottles which contradicts this hexagonal base definition. In archeologist Rex Wilson's book, Bottles on the Western Frontier, there is a key to bottle shapes and finishes. He figures an hexagonal-base flask and labels it "Shoofly flask"! While Wilson seems to be a careful worker, I think this is an error. Certainly, the Kovels are more in tune with current usage among collectors. ------Harry Pristis _____________________________ ______________________________________________ Visit The Demijohn Page at: http://members.aol.com/pristis/index.html (in reply to jmack) Post #: 9

RE: Please help identify blue/green bottle - 10/18/2003 9:16:59 PM    Guest http://www.fohbc.com/CollectingWesternFlasks.pdf here is a good article on western flasks diggerjeff (in reply to jmack)   Post #: 10

RE: Please help identify blue/green bottle - 6/23/2004 7:06:36 PM    David Whitten   Posts: 10 Joined: 11/6/2002 Status: offline Actually, "Shoo-fly (or shoofly) flask" and "Coffin flask" mean exactly the same thing as far as I can see. The more "correct" term would be shoo-fly because that is the name by which they were called within the early glass manufacturing industry. Proof of this can be found in earlier U.S. bottle makers' catalogs. The Illinois Glass Company, Alton, IL (1903) catalog shows several types of shoo-fly flasks still available. The term "coffin flask" is a newer description, and I think it has mainly been used by modern collectors for these bottles because their face profile resembles an old-fashioned coffin. Shoo-flies were most popular in the 1875 to 1900 period and most of the aqua or light green ones date from the 1880s and '90s. The D.S.G.Co flask likely dates from the 1880s. Other shoo-fly flasks are found with basemarks from various glass factories located in Pittsburgh; Louisville; Zanesville, OH; Milwaukee, WI; Newark OH, and other Eastern & Midwestern cities. Most of the ones with slug plate embossings on the face are more likely to be made of clear glass and are a bit newer (1890s-1910s). Another example of 2 different names for the same type of bottle is "Pumpkinseed flask" which were actually known as "picnic flasks" by the glass factories that made them. David (in reply to jmack) Post #: 11

All Forums >> [Bottle Forums] >> What is it? AFTER 1900 >> Please help identify blue/green bottle

Page: [1]

New Messages No New Messages Hot Topic w/ New Messages Hot Topic w/o New Messages Locked w/ New Messages Locked w/o New Messages

Post New Thread  Reply to Message  Post New Poll  Submit Vote  Delete My Own Post  Delete My Own Thread  Rate Posts