Thanks for the nice comments, I was pretty pleased with my eye to spot it buried in the back of the case. I have a few of these shops I hit every time I am near by, and have a few minutes. Some of them never seem to have anyhing fresh, others get new stuff often. (Usually not Colored Pontiled Utilitys though) This Shop is a couple blocks from the National Bottle Museum in Ballston Spa New York.
Nice bottle,very crude, Richard Steel was a druggist who arrived in Auburn in 1817.Beginning between 1817 and 1827 he began his druggist business.I would say 1820 to 1835 as for the manufacture of the bottle.As Mark stated the color and the style of the bottle makes Mt Vernon a likely place of manufacture.If you are selling the bottle Mark would be an excellant choice as he is passionate about the Mt Vernon glass.
Awesome bottle, (and homework!) guys....I agree that if you guys can come to a deal, that I can't think of anyone more fitting than Mark to have it!....Great old bottle.
Sweet vial... I've dug a few like it broken in 1820-40 dumps... The pontil is a solid iron bar type that was used in England at the time, making it most likely English in origin.
Tigue has a point. Colour and pontil do look English, and that bottle wouldn't be questioned as English if it turned up on this side of the Atlantic. But I don't know the first thing about Mt Vernon glass : maybe a lot of it looks English?
I have seen base shards with that same pontil from Mt Vernon. The same technique was used here for very early bottles that was used in England prior to 1840s. Tigue, maybe some of the vials you are finding actually are American. Many of the early medicines found here that many assume are English are actually copycats of popular English products (Turlington's etc.) that were made at most early American glass houses. The color of this vial is almost an exact match for the standard glass batch used at My Vernon. I think that it was found in NY state and has an Auburn label also helps identify it as Mt Vernon about 50 miles from the Glassworks. Several well known Auburn NY meds were also made at Mt Vernon (Fosgates Anodyne Cordial, I Coverts Balm of Life, etc) so their salesmen actively marketed there. When attributing unembossed bottles though it is almost impossible to say for sure, but only probable.
Thanks for your thoughts on this bottle everyone, I have to agree with Caz, in that everything fits, from the time frame this nearby Glassworks was blowing bottles with this interesting Pontil scar in this same color It would seam this Druggist would purchase his wares locally instead of from England.
I would agree with Caz. So many of these utilitarian type bottles were made for decades at both American and English glass factories. You will drive yourself nuts trying to determine where these type of bottles were made, and there any MANY other bottles as well that you will leave you wondering. The fact that there was a merchant from Auburn NY that matches the label is significant for a piece like this. Chances are highly likely of local production, so Mount Vernon, Peterboro or Cleveland would first come to mind, however, the glass color is a close match to many Mt. Vernon pieces I have seen.