Bottle found in Thames, UK

[Mihai]

Hello,
I found an old bottle in Thames riverbed. I'm not familiar with this subject as I was there looking for fossils, but I think is made before 1900.
The bottle is made from dark olive thick glass, 172mm high, 70mm wide with blob lip. The bore is slightly descentred. On the short neck there are some marks like the top was twist in the left hand side and the mould seam is fading just under the lip. No seam marks on the lip. On the shoulder there is written (embossed) "R. WHITE" on each half. On the body is embossed again on each half "R. WHITE" and under it is written "REGD" (with letter D smaller and underlined). Just above the heel is written, around the bottle, "THE PROPERTY OF R. WHITE NO DEPOSIT CHARGED" and under this "LONDON". On the base there is no seam but is written, what else, "R WHITE".
Now, in my humble oppinion, based on what I've read in various websites, I would say the bottle was made between 1885 and 1900, but please tell me how wrong am I and, of course the approximative value. I have no intention whatsoever to sell it, but just to know how good care should I take of it. The bottle is in good condition considering the place where I found it, with only minor scraches and one small chip on the lip.
Thank you all for reading this.

 

[atticmint]

Sorry cant help ya with any info, I just wanted to coment on what a GREAT looking bottle that is.
NICE FIND
Kev

 

[bubbas dad]

really different and appealing to the eye. hope you find some info.

 

[Roger]

Hi Mihai and welcome to Antique-Bottles.Net !!

It's a ginger beer bottle and R.White have been making lemonade since 1845 when
Robert and Mary White set up business selling home brewed ginger beer from a barrow in Camberwell, London. The brand is now owned by a large UK soft drinks company called Britvic.

There are 100s of different R.Whites ginger beer and lemonade bottles, the one you found is c1900 and not rare. Sorry to say but if you offered it for sale on eBay I would be surprised if any collector bid for it because better condition examples can be found often at bottle shows.

It is however a wonderful piece of social history and the fact that you found it 100 years after it was discarded into the river Thames makes it unique! I would leave it exactly as it is and display it in your home as a talking point for visitors.

- Roger

 

[Mihai]

Thank you for the feedback! It's good to know that it is an old bottle. What are the chances to find a full object of glass, more than a hundred years old, in a busy and rocky river like Thames?
As I said before I don't intend to sell it. The material value cannot cover the sentimental value of something you find after so many years. And I don't intend to rush into buying bottles either, but, who knows? The beauty of this piece is that I found it myself and will look fine next to my small colection of clay pipes (found in the same place as the bottle), my old coins and other antiques I've put together.
But I will go fossil hunting again and I will post on this site whatever will be relevant.
As a good bye I will attach one more picture with my precious bottle.

 

[Clive freedman]

I agree with Roger, Mihai but it is a fabulous find as you say , to pull this out of the Thames.
I live some 5 miles from the embankment and when ever I m down that way i always look at low tide for clay pipes etc. The most valuable thing I ever found was a gold coin relating to Charles II. everything glass and pottery is smashed. I would love to know where you were looking (upstream from Tower Bridge?).

Everytime I go past an excavation in the road whether it be for gas or Telco repairs I have an unnatural habit in looking in holes.

Some time ago right outside my house they were laying cable for TV, in the hole were stome Ginger Beers from 1880.

You never know what you are going to find especially as old Victoriana was used as re dump for laying roads and foundations etc.

 

[Mihai]

Hi, Clive
I found the bottle just downstreem of Kew Gardens. As I said I mostly look for fossils, but I realy enjoy a good find. There are some other pieces without value I presume, but if you are interested in clay pipes I can give you some informations about this. I've attached a picture with my pipes. As you can see there are not full ones as the water have this tend to smash everything. Most of them were found on the opposite bank of Battersea Power Station. The bottle was found on 2nd of January when I also found one clay pipe, in the same place. But I also took some from Waterloo area. So not a single place. The tide move things and rocks up and down and I notice that objects with the same weight tend to gether in the same areas. There are places full of leaves or mud or wood or, in my happy situation, pipes. There were about ten pipes in three sqm. Even my rocks are not born in that area. According with Doctor Adrian Rundle from Natural History Museum, who was very kind to identify my fossils, water dislocked the rocks from a chalk area and I wouldn't be surprised the pipes to come from Windsor.
And another thing. You don't have to check personaly if the tide is low. You can try on the Internet: Thames tidal predictions. Hope to find all this usefull. Good Luck!

 

[Clive freedman]

Thanks for your feedback on location Milhai; I have a pretty extensive collection of clay pipes mostly from 1880 to 1900's alot of figuaral and heads. Your pipes are v much earlier poss as early as 1600-1700.

The clay pipes use to be given away free from public houses selling the tobacco. They often had the names of the Pubs on the stem especially the later ones. My favourite was the Dick Whittington pipe which was of a man and cat standing alongside a clay stone. The pub is still there in Highgate.

Regarding your other find , it is unusual to find complete bottles and you found a few in the thames , makes me think they might be from a local Victorian dump site along the Thames down at Kew.
Anyhow your posting of the stone bottle is an incised Ginger beer. Probably 1880-1900; pre Transfer Ginger beer. Value not much as they were very common Poss a couple of pounds to the right person at most.

Again more value to you since it came out whole.

May be i'll see you down in Kew embankment some time.

 

[capsoda]

Those pipes are just cool. I have only seen a few that have survived the acidy soil here in North West Florida. Most of them crumble when you try to pick them up. Verry nice.[]