Colored bottles are the bottles most desired by collectors. However, over the years I've come to appreciate aqua glass for it's unique qualities too. Pictured are four aqua sodas from my collection; Field and Co 1866, N Richardson and Son Trenton, NJ, T & W, New York and a Wm Eagle New York.
The N Richardson and Son, dug locally, is a good example of a bottle much more difficult to find in aqua than green. That can frequently be the case with early sodas, the colored bottle is more common than the aqua. The other three bottles were eBay buys but each have their own unique quality. All three are not dug bottles but in their original condition, two with their original Putnam bails. Wm Eagle is famous among collectors for some spectacular early colored sodas. He also produced the "Crystal Palace" soda of 1855, an aqua bottle with a picture of the Crystal Palace pavilion embossed on front.
Aqua glass can have whittled or interesting texture to the surface, bubbly glass and when displayed the embossing shows much better. They usually display better than dark green or blue sodas.
Early aqua sodas are usually a deal, selling at very affordable prices. Maybe that's one of their best qualities?
The N Richardson and Son, dug locally, is a good example of a bottle much more difficult to find in aqua than green. That can frequently be the case with early sodas, the colored bottle is more common than the aqua. The other three bottles were eBay buys but each have their own unique quality. All three are not dug bottles but in their original condition, two with their original Putnam bails. Wm Eagle is famous among collectors for some spectacular early colored sodas. He also produced the "Crystal Palace" soda of 1855, an aqua bottle with a picture of the Crystal Palace pavilion embossed on front.
Aqua glass can have whittled or interesting texture to the surface, bubbly glass and when displayed the embossing shows much better. They usually display better than dark green or blue sodas.
Early aqua sodas are usually a deal, selling at very affordable prices. Maybe that's one of their best qualities?
