-DUG- Possible Westford, CT Flask

[subsoil]

Today was the day... I have been digging this NH dump since I was a teenager, I know there is good stuff but I have never dug anything like this! This beauty turned up along with the other bottles posted about here:

Can anyone help confirm Stoddard origins or have similar flasks with these markings? Half-pint and about 6 1/8" high, here are some of the pix: I can take others of anything else in the flask anyone is interested in. My gut feeling and what I've seen of Stoddard glass points to this specimen as a good candidate for Stoddard-made. I am so happy it is in mint dug condition, NO damage, just maybe a few rub points. Stoddard or some other sweet artisan, I have fallen for this flask, it is priceless to me in every way as it was dug by me in the company of my wife and a good friend. Each time I stare at it I see something new about it! If you look carefully, an area in the whittling seems to depict a smiling face! WOW this is awesome! YAHOOOOOOOO!

Thanks for looking,

~SS

 

[subsoil]

RE: -DUG- Stoddard Flask!?

It is hard to see, but in this pontil shot there's a faint circle of where the pontil rod was attached I'm guessing. I'm not sure what made the perpendicular line mark if it was the mold or the rod?

 

[subsoil]

RE: -DUG- Stoddard Flask!?

Bubbly goodness!

 

[annie44]

RE: -DUG- Stoddard Flask!?

I can't tell you if it is Stoddard or not, but that is a beautiful flask. It looks like it has a crude lip, and I love the close up photo of the bubbles. Great find! Someone else on the forum ought to be able to give you some idea if it is in fact a Stoddard. It looks like it could be to me, but I am not an expert.

 

[woody]

RE: -DUG- Stoddard Flask!?

I'd say yes, it is stoddard.
It has all the hallmarks of Stoddard glass.

 

[subsoil]

RE: -DUG- Stoddard Flask!?

Thanks annie and woody!

I am pretty much convinced that this is Stoddard, it truly is amazing how that glass withstood all those years of harsh elements and it is so clean and awesome today! All I have done is run bottle brushes through it and gave the exterior some scrubbing as it had some surface stains.

Here are some more pictures coming up, I am loving this flask more everytime I see it! If anyone knows the pontil mark and what type it is I'm all ears, this is a neat design and I haven't found out if it was unique to Stoddard glass or if it is just the typical pontil rod. Any idea on the year? Im guessing anywhere from 1830-1870? I can only imagine that in the early 1900s or late 1800s someone finally tossed it out with their normal garbage since the dump is really crazy mixed like that. This is a rare find from ANY NH dump, let alone one that is known for screwcaps and commons.

Enjoy!

~ss

 

[subsoil]

RE: -DUG- Stoddard Flask!?

Please approve the pics admins!

Here's the lip, check out those heat stretching marks! It almost looks like it was made without a lip, like it shouldn't be there and instead sheared. I bet the artist said "heck with it" and applied a crude lip anyway []

 

[amblypygi]

RE: -DUG- Stoddard Flask!?

I agree with Woody that it looks like a Stoddard flask, although it's hard to say. That lip style is common on flasks blown in Connecticut also, and I've seen many shards from Westfield, MA that look exactly like this flask. In any event, it's a stone cold keeper and definitely worth sorting through some screw tops []

I don't think you are seeing a pontil though, it looks to me like an early snap case, probably late 60s -70s. It's not unusual to find anachronistic bottles in dumps like this; I think it comes from people cleaning out sheds or whatever and throwing out stuff that has been sitting around for 30 or 40 years.

Nice find!

Sean

 

[rcn72679]

RE: -DUG- Stoddard Flask!?

Man I'm jealous[]

 

[subsoil]

RE: -DUG- Stoddard Flask!?

Sean: I couldn't agree more, I was also thinking Coventry or maybe even Keene NH, however I've heard the Keene style had a longer neck? Also, considering it was dug in the Granite State gives me a good feeling it's Stoddard art.

I thought snap case mold too since it does resemble the description. I do see a faint awkward circle of raised glass that is smooth and it is off to the side of the concave part of the base. Maybe this is just a mold thing, but were there were no pontil rods used with snap case molds?

Thanks Sean and others who posted!