black opaque bottle, seems old

[willong]

oh ok. Yeah it's neither whittled nor open. It's more like a closed blister. I concur it's a bubble, which is acceptable to me. I don't mind manufacturing defects, in fact I think they give the bottle some character. Thanks for replying

In 1970, it was the bubbles, crooked neck and other imperfections in the first antique bottle that I found and actually kept (I often wonder how many I ignorantly broke with rocks, BB gun or .410 shotgun during the 1950's and 60's--probably not too many as old stuff has always intrigued me) that caught my attention. I couldn't see any mold marks in the glass of that old whiskey bottle*. That fact, and its crudeness, made me think it had to be old. I was hunting deer near Loomis, WA, a former mining area town that was nearly dead in 1970. I figured my find was a casual discard from when the bottle was drained, 19th century "litter" from a prospector, as it was simply lying on the surface of a weedy flat. Of course, it could have been left behind by a rancher or some other previous resident of the area, even another hunter. Those kinds of speculations are part of the hobby's enjoyment for me.

* It was a turn-mold of course. However, at the time I knew next to nothing about how bottles had been produced in the previous century and I was thinking it was a free-blown bottle.

 

[Clayton J. Migl]

Yes, English black glass liquor bottle. Hand blown. I agree with the date of 1890s but could pushed a little past the turn of the century. Black glass (actually dark green) is caused unintentionally from coal in the furnaces actually mixing with the glass.


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[East_Tn_Bottle_Guy]

I did some research and read that black glass was formed by a mixture of iron, cobalt oxide, and copper. I also read that the color can be obtained by just adding more iron. In my opinion there seems to be a alot of black glass if all that causes it is unintentional mixing of coal, not saying that it didn't happen or isn't a cause.

 

[Harry Pristis]

Yes, English black glass liquor bottle. Hand blown. I agree with the date of 1890s but could pushed a little past the turn of the century. Black glass (actually dark green) is caused unintentionally from coal in the furnaces actually mixing with the glass.

I thought I had heard all the collector myths about bottle-making, but this coal idea is a new one. Coal is black, the bottle is "black" glass . . . ipso facto! What is the melting temperature for coal, I wonder.

Of course, this is a silly idea - so obviously wrong, I wonder how it survived to be passed along to a forum for collectors. Is this your original idea, Clayton?

 

[Clayton J. Migl]

I thought I had heard all the collector myths about bottle-making, but this coal idea is a new one. Coal is black, the bottle is "black" glass . . . ipso facto! What is the melting temperature for coal, I wonder.

Of course, this is a silly idea - so obviously wrong, I wonder how it survived to be passed along to a forum for collectors. Is this your original idea, Clayton?

No, I have read and heard in many places that the smoke is why the glass is black.


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[Clayton J. Migl]

I thought I had heard all the collector myths about bottle-making, but this coal idea is a new one. Coal is black, the bottle is "black" glass . . . ipso facto! What is the melting temperature for coal, I wonder.

Of course, this is a silly idea - so obviously wrong, I wonder how it survived to be passed along to a forum for collectors. Is this your original idea, Clayton?

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[Harry Pristis]

Please tell us where you have read about the coal smoke . . . Cite one or more publications. Thank you.

Coal smoke has nothing to do with blackness (opacity) of the glass. Ashes referenced are from Beech trees. Coal clinkers are not coal smoke, nor are they even coal -- clinkers are the minerals left behind after the coal (carbon) volatiles are burned away.

When coal is burned in a REDUCING oven (reduced oxygen), it gives the glass melt a yellowish-amber cast in a strong light. But, there are no coal inclusions of any sort in the glass. It's the deprivation of oxygen that changes the color cast.

Black glass bottles produced in the Low Countries typically have the olive-amber cast.

Wood-fired ovens are not reducing, and they produce the olive-greenish glass melt.