Illinois Privy Dig - My first dig in my own yard

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DigIllinois

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cowseatmaize said:
Northrup Dry Goods Carpets - Found multiple bottoms for this bottle. I read about the store in Bloomington, IL but have no idea what they used these bottles for. Apparently the family was very good friends with Abraham Lincoln.
Are the bottle bottoms or carpet savers? They should be sets of four.

ahhhh I will have to check them better tonight to see if they seem broken or just made as carpet savers. I thought I remember part of the bottle still being attached. I will get back to you. Everything I find in the privy I either thought was a broken dish or a bottle, I need to research a bit more!
 

cadburys

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LOL. Nice Posts Matt :) I didn't realize Bruce was still on here! That pic he has of the quart is from Jim Searle's collection and is one of 2 whole ones known, Matt's is the second broken one to be found that I know of. He also found a broken M Heister pint beer which is just as rare too. I'll pop over tomorrow and check out the other pit he started to open. Just a clarification, The pit was 9 ft deep with a clay cap at 5ft. My digging partner and I had already dug one pit that day and didn't anticipate this being more than 5 ft and a 3 hr dig....we were so wrong. It was one of those pits that you simply could not get a shovel in for the broken glass! I'm glad we have peaked another interest in this obscure hobby we have... although I'm sure his girlfriend would have something to say...ha ha.
 

DigIllinois

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Thanks for clarifying Anthony, made some rookie mistakes on my original description lol. The Northrup bottoms were definitely a bottle of maybe a drinking glass? Also found this little tiny bottle that is thinner than your basic pencil. I put it next to some marbles for comparison. And another pic of a marble
 

UncleBruce

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Hope you don't mind my posting one more photo Matt. Here is a picture of the pint size LOWENTROUT in my collection. I believe it was dug by our friend Anthony. This one has "THIS BOTTLE // NOT TO // BE SOLD" embossed on the back and "3B" on the base.
D9A6C3E64BD84083B074B84F024574DB.jpg
 

cadburys

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Yup Bruce, I still remember the very day! Matt also dug a couple of the Louis Lowentrout ones which are a bit later than the one you have posted.
 

bottlerocket

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cadburys said:
Oh! and that tiny bottle is a syringe :0
Isn't that "tiny bottle" an eye dropper?I found an amber eye drop solution bottle awhile ago and this piece looks like what was inside along with the mud.
 

DigIllinois

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Thanks for the feedback on the above items, I dug the second privy and didnt find as much in it. I think I dug approximately 20 bottles, a pocket knife, a jaw bone of something with a large fang, and some other random objects. Most of the top layer of bricks, ash, and garbage rendered the bottles. I have a little more digging around to the sides to do before I fill the hole completely in... I will post pictures this week of my findings.
 

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