Help identifying an old bottle

[Peter Boyd]

I found this bottle in Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia last week. It is dark green glass and about 12" tall. it looks like it is hand blown ( no seams ). Does any one know the approx age and what would have been in it, also there is a cork inside, is there a trick to remove it with out breaking the bottle? Thanks !

-

 

[willong]

It is a hand made, turn-mold (after being blown into the mold, the still pliable bottle was rotated to wipe out the mold seam marks and produce a polished finish to the glass) liquor bottle with an applied collar lip. Typically, that general shape and lip type were found on wine and champagne bottles. However, your bottle is a somewhat curious example. The neck looks disproportionately long from those found on typical wine bottles. Also, I do not see a kicked-up base in your photos--a clear photo focused straight onto the base of the bottle always helps with identifying antique bottles--such as is usually found on wine bottles.

As other members contribute their insights, I would not be surprised if you learn that your bottle held brandy, rum or some other distilled spirit rather than wine.

Manufacture date would be about 1890, plus or minus decades depending upon country of origin.

Removing the cork can be a challenge. I'm not personally aware of any easy method. Inverting the bottle, grasping the cork with tweezers, small needle-nose pliers or a hemostat, and then carving it away bit-by-bit with a scalpel or Xacto knife has been my method in the past.

 

[CanadianBottles]

That's an unusual one, never seen one in that shape before. The top suggests to me that it held something under pressure, but I'm not certain on that.

 

[Peter Boyd]

It is a hand made, turn-mold (after being blown into the mold, the still pliable bottle was rotated to wipe out the mold seam marks and produce a polished finish to the glass) liquor bottle with an applied collar lip. Typically, that general shape and lip type were found on wine and champagne bottles. However, your bottle is a somewhat curious example. The neck looks disproportionately long from those found on typical wine bottles. Also, I do not see a kicked-up base in your photos--a clear photo focused straight onto the base of the bottle always helps with identifying antique bottles--such as is usually found on wine bottles.

As other members contribute their insights, I would not be surprised if you learn that your bottle held brandy, rum or some other distilled spirit rather than wine.

Manufacture date would be about 1890, plus or minus decades depending upon country of origin.

Removing the cork can be a challenge. I'm not personally aware of any easy method. Inverting the bottle, grasping the cork with tweezers, small needle-nose pliers or a hemostat, and then carving it away bit-by-bit with a scalpel or Xacto knife has been my method in the past.

The neck does seem longer than normal, that's what caught my eye, here is a picture of the base

 

[Harry Pristis]

Interesting bottle. I'd guess it's a late Dutch not-quite-a-reproduction . . . a "reflection," perhaps, of an earlier style like a Constantia Wine long-neck bottle.

Laundry bleach will dissolve the cork without affecting the glass.

 

[willong]

Interesting bottle. I'd guess it's a late Dutch not-quite-a-reproduction . . . a "reflection," perhaps, of an earlier style like a Constantia Wine long-neck bottle.

Laundry bleach will dissolve the cork without affecting the glass.

Harry,

With that flat bottom, not having any kick-up at all, do you feel it was almost certainly still a wine container and not at all likely that the bottle held some distilled liquor or cordial? I understand that the punt served several purposes in early bottles, including the one of increased area for sediment deposition for which kick-ups are still retained in wine bottles today, at least for those varieties that benefit from aging in the bottle.

Good to know that there is a simple chemical solution to removing corks. How long does a cork have to soak typically?


Will

 

[Harry Pristis]

Probably not a wine bottle, I agree. Spirits of some sort -- brandy, genever, etc. Can't rule out a liqueur either.