Behold the "finished pontil"

[Johnny M]

Well a new pontil type had been discovered and is being used on Ebay in an intentionaly misleading manner in my opinion by somebody who knows bottles but feels the need to include a heavily searched keyword that has nothing to to with the probably 1890s Silliman Chemical Works bottle being offered in order to channel views to their listing. For shame

 

[hemihampton]

A link would help?

 

[Johnny M]

So I guess you didn't search the obvious. Try "finished pontil" or the name of the bottle I said was being sold. Silliman Chemical Works. Only thing that pops up. Who needs a link? If it was obscure I would have posted a link. I prefer not to target the specific seller personally unless somebody is at risk of being ripped off.

 

[hemihampton]

Why should I go through the hassle of searching for it when it would just be easier if you added a link since you were already there?

P.S. Somebody is at risk of being ripped off.

 

[moodorf]

I like how the topic is "behold the 'finished pontil" and then you didn't offer us anything to behold.

Anyway I'm assuming Johnny is talking about this listing:

*A SHOW PIECE* COBALT BLUE~FINISHED PONTIL~SILLIMAN CHEMICAL WORKS~PHILADELPHIA. | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for *A SHOW PIECE* COBALT BLUE~FINISHED PONTIL~SILLIMAN CHEMICAL WORKS~PHILADELPHIA. at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

To be completely honest I have no idea if $250 is too much for a bottle like this, seeing as how I've never dug a flask sized cobalt blue bottle and had to research them. But people trying to sell fairly common antiques for ridiculously inflated prices or misrepresenting their items is a very routine thing on sites like Ebay I've noticed since I starting shopping around myself.
Here's someone selling Jacob Fisher Molasses jug for $149.99...

Here's that exact same jug, and I paid all of $19 for it.

and people misrepresent stoneware in a similar way as people do with pontils: if you search "ovoid jug" you'll see a ton of people attaching "ovoid" to an item's description even when it's not ovoid pottery because they're hoping people are uninformed and won't know what that word actually implies. Other than "more expensive than average stoneware" in much the same way some sellers will call any indentation on the base of a bottom a "pontil" to attract buyers.
Like this "ovoid brown jug" which is actually a beehive jug.

I guess I don't know where I was going with this....other than agreeing that the internet is full of rip offs waiting to happen. It's why I prefer to shop in person or dig

 

[Johnny M]

Why should I go through the hassle of searching for it when it would just be easier if you added a link since you were already there?

P.S. Somebody is at risk of being ripped off.

I explained very clearly why I didn't add a link and don't feel anybody who knows about bottles is gonna get ripped off. Some Ebay browser is not gonna drop big money on an old bottle without asking a question or knowing a little about bottles. If doing a Shelock Holmes to find the listing is a hassle then your too strung out to understand the intended concerning but somewhat amusing nature of the original post.

 

[moodorf]

found another good one (and by good I mean bad)

WOW! This seller managed to find a Hutchinson that just could be from the 1860's!!!


Seriously, Etsy is the worst site for antiques. I feel like that isn't mentioned enough.

 

[hemihampton]

You'll see some ridiculous prices on common stuff on ebay Like this Pabst can for example. Behold.

 

[historicglasslover]

Well a new pontil type had been discovered and is being used on Ebay in an intentionaly misleading manner in my opinion by somebody who knows bottles but feels the need to include a heavily searched keyword that has nothing to to with the probably 1890s Silliman Chemical Works bottle being offered in order to channel views to their listing. For shame

The listing was definitely way off on the style of bottle and finishing techniques. However, as a lover of colored druggist/chemist/apothecary bottles from Philly, this final price was reasonable either way for a mint large honking cobalt chemist bottle that is rare. Have not seen another in my searches and there is no info on this old business anywhere in my searches except for the history of Benjamin Silliman who died in 1864. The bottle could possibly be attributed to his son. Definitely correct on the 1890s maybe even 1900-ish date for this one the lip finish is neatly tooled. Good for the seller if the word "pontil" attracted other buyers but I grabbed it based on a search of Philadelphia.