Late 1800’s small square bottle help

[Shellbay]

Found this little cutie buried in the sand in the water during low tide last weekend.

The seam stops at the neck. The top ridge part of the lip is not uniform- one part is thicker.

I’ve found a lot (hundreds) of bottles here in GTMO, but none quite like this one.

Any idea what it was used for and possibly the age?

Thank you for a taking a look!

 

[CanadianBottles]

Huh, I've never seen one quite like that before. It looks like the upper half of a standard pharmacy bottle, but that's the first I've seen of one with such a squat shape. My best guess for what it contained is fluid beef, that was often sold in squat amber bottles around that size, but no way to be sure without embossing or label.

 

[Shellbay]

Huh, I've never seen one quite like that before. It looks like the upper half of a standard pharmacy bottle, but that's the first I've seen of one with such a squat shape. My best guess for what it contained is fluid beef, that was often sold in squat amber bottles around that size, but no way to be sure without embossing or label.

I found a fluid beef here, attached is the pic. If only the bottles could talk! . Thank you for taking the time to respond.

 

[saratogadriver]

It's not really proportioned right for an ink.

Jim G

 

[Shellbay]

It's not really proportioned right for an ink.

Jim G

I grabbed a few ink bottles I’ve found here to compare. The big blue one has a spout, but the opening looks to be about the same size. The blue ink bottle’s seam goes all the way to the top.

 

[CanadianBottles]

I grabbed a few ink bottles I’ve found here to compare. The big blue one has a spout, but the opening looks to be about the same size. The blue ink bottle’s seam goes all the way to the top. View attachment 247699View attachment 247700

The big blue one is a master ink, which means that no one would be dipping a pen into it like they would with the small ones. That's why they have such wide mouths. Yours looks much too small for a master ink and it would be very awkward to dip a pen into. It does bear some resemblance to some paint bottles I've seen, but amber would be a strange colour for a paint bottle since you wouldn't be able to see what the paint looked like. Though I suppose it could have been some sort of paint (or other artist's supply) which was light-sensitive.

 

[Shellbay]

The big blue one is a master ink, which means that no one would be dipping a pen into it like they would with the small ones. That's why they have such wide mouths. Yours looks much too small for a master ink and it would be very awkward to dip a pen into. It does bear some resemblance to some paint bottles I've seen, but amber would be a strange colour for a paint bottle since you wouldn't be able to see what the paint looked like. Though I suppose it could have been some sort of paint (or other artist's supply) which was light-sensitive.

Thanks for the info! I love trying to unlock some of the mysteries of the bottles I find!

 

[bubbas dad]

just a wild guess but it kinda reminds me of a glue or polish bottle.

 

[UnderMiner]

Well it being amber gives us a clue, whatever it once held was likely considered reactive to light by the manufacture. So they made it amber to protect whatever was in there from deterioration. Medicine, an extract, a chemical of some sort. Usually the most likely answer is the correct one, so probably a medicine bottle. And maybe the medicine for whatever was the most common illnesses of that time and place - Malaria, Dysentery, Yellow Fever... Sun Burn, maybe its a sunscreen (Zinc Oxide) bottle

 

[hemihampton]

the blue ink looks similar to one of these. Leon.