Excavating foundation-Lotsa bottles! What to keep, what to toss?

[Book N Curio Shoppe]

Hi all:
I'm a new memeber and decided to ask for a bit of help. My job takes me to many sites that are being excavated for the first time. Today my company was assigned to monitor a site in NJ where a foundation is being dug for a building. The soil is very silty with some sand and a clay layer at about 12 feet. The backhoe bucket breaks very few bottles as the soil has the consistency of flour! As he drops each bucket load on the pile the bottles just roll down to my feet so I started putting them aside.

This landfill was used by an bar/restaurant that was running in the 30's to 50's era also some boarding house rooms used it. So I am getting pottery cafeteria ware, lots of whiskey, wine and beer bottles, about half embossed; and household bottles such as Ponds milk glass, cobalt octagonal noxema, cobalt embossed magnesia and some other odds and ends. The soil is so soft that intact light bulbs are coming up! I have a few very unusual bottles too, such as a large (one foot diameter) clear jug that looks like an apple, leaf detail and all.

My question is, I am rather overwhelmed by the large numbers of bottles. Yesterday I took home several sacks, maybe 100 bottles in all. Today about half that. I stopped picking up ketcup and unembossed jelly jar types. Some bottles are screw top, some cork. Many colors. Is there a good rule of thumb when faced with so many and brevity of time to sort through and decide what to keep? Anything I don't pick up is being scooped up and trucked offsite to another landfill. I have a few bottle books but as I said, looking for a good "rule of thumb" what to keep and what to leave! So many bottles, so little time![8|]

Any suggestions?
Thanks!
CSJ

 

[Harry Pristis]

Quick rules of thumb:

Forget the screw-tops (unless they are extraordinarily crude).

Get some liquor boxes with dividers (grit in a bottle-on-bottle contact will damage good bottles).

There is a market for anything, if the price is right.

----------Harry Pristis

 

[BRIAN S.]

I agree with Harry ! Forget the screw tops......unless they are ground top and embossed Whiskey flasks... which certain ones are quite valuable .
I'd grab the odd colored and embossed bottles to sort out later. Good luck and Happy diggin' , Brian

 

[Book N Curio Shoppe]

RE: Excavating foundation-Lotsa bottles!

Hey, Harry and Brian, You guys are the best!
Thanks for your info. Good idea on the liquor bottle divider boxes. I was caught without any prep when all these bottles popped up so all I had was a knapsack and a box! I seem to have a lot of local stuff. Milk Bottles with the local dairy names, some locally bottled drinks (not sure what kind but doesn't seem to be soda, beer maybe?) If metal screw top embossed whiskey bottles are printed with the warning, "Federal law forbids sale or re-use of this bottle" what years was this a common warning? I'm trying to date this debris layer. I did date one botlle, the cobalt Phillips milk of magnesia with the Glenbrook chemical co.embossed on the front. This was last made in 1976. Still had dried magnesia in it.

I found a lot of the screw top embossed whiskey bottles and some corked. Also some oddities like an clear glass apple shaped jug about 9" tall by 6" wide. Beautiful detail on the handle which looks like a wooden branch and detailed leaves across the shoulder of jug. Some clear pumpkin seed bottles. and a screw top embosssed whiskey called, "Golden Wedding. since 1856". Light golden metallic sheen applied to bottle exterior.

Any good books or resources on these types of bottles? Do local name bottles have any worth to anyone outside of NJ?
Thanks! CSJ []

 

[Pontiled]

Your Golden Anniversary bottle is later screw top, but it is carnival glass, so it is listed in many books and they do have value. The apple is from White House and also has a considerable value (check books and auction records for current values). Since these are bottles that I use to see a lot of, I'm wondering where you are digging?

 

[Book N Curio Shoppe]

Hi Mike!

As I stated in my fisrt posting, I'm at a job site in NJ. It's a private lot and the foundation is almost done. According to locals debris should be from 30's to 40's but I'm wondering as I find about 25 percent cork tops. I'm very inexperienced at this. Don't even know when cork toped bottles stopped and screw tops began!

Also a lot of corked OXOL bottles. I think this is old hydrogen peroxide? Large chunks of white powder inside. Dangerous?

 

[Book N Curio Shoppe]

Mike!
Thanks! Just did a search for that apple jug, found one currently listed on eBay and also got a price off of Kovel's site. Finding this jug was unreal. As the operator dumped a load onto the pile this separated out and I caught it as it tumbles down the pile. No chips, cracks or dings. Maybe selling some of these bottles will halp me pay for my next college class! I have so many unmarked medicinals I don't know what to do with them. I just think they are cool. Maybe sell as a lot? (of couse I'm keeping some, too just to look at!)
CSJ

 

[Maine Digger]

Hi Candida, Welcome to the forum![] I think you'll find gathered here some of the friendliest and knowledgable group of folks on the web![8|] I can tell you got the 'Bottle Bug', well, here's the place for 'treatment'[] The govt. stopped requiring the Fedral Law.... statement to be placed on liquor bottles in 1964. You might be pleasantly suprised to find that some of the 'local' milk bottles you're acquiring are quite collectible. Do any of them have painted labels? I suggest that you check the 'search' area on our home page for possible additional information about some of your discoveries.[8|] There's been a lot of great conversations here in the past that contain all kinds of information and assistance.[]

 

[Book N Curio Shoppe]

Hi Norm! (exiled NY'r)
I'm in NY often for my work! [sm=tongue.gif]

Thanks for the welcome. []You seem like a nice bunch of folks. I read a few postings. I'm an environmental scientist turned bottle collector as I just can't stand to see all those pretty bottles turn to shards under the trackhoe treads! I monitor remediation/construction sites so I see a lot of excavation in pre 60's stuff as that's when the environment wasn't so important and my company helps clean up other peoples messes. {Part of that means excavating soil and replacing it.)

Thanks for the "Federal law" tip. And sadly no painted labels on the milk bottles, just embossed. Some nice cross hatching on one. Quite ornate! After a little research on line I also found that a little amber cone shaped ink bottle was a good find from that site, too.

I will be doing a lot more searching and reading on your site in the near future. Just asked questions to start with as the work site finishes by Friday and I needed a crash course! Usually I pick up just one or two bottles from sites. This one's amazing! You wouldn't believe how many bottles I couldn't get to in time that went out with the dump trucks! My job responsibilities come first and I also have to observe safety precautions around such large equipment.

Thanks all! CSJ

 

[vtspring]

HEY CSJ, SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAVE THE STARTS OF A BOTTLE COLLECTION.YOU HAVE THE PERFECT JOB FOR IT!! MY DREAM JOB! -WARNING- BOTTLE COLLECTING IS CONTAGIOUS AND VERY ADDICTING.[:-][] ANOTHER GOOD SITE TO CHECK OUT IS DIGGER ODELLS SITE. ALOT OF INTERESTING ARTICLES AND HE HAS AN ARTICLE ON DATING BOTTLES THAT MAY BE HELPFUL TO YOU. COULD YOU POST SOME PICTURES OF THE BOTTLES YOU HAVE FOUND?