Pontiled Italian Mineral Water Bottle?

[Blackdutchie]

This strange little bottle (about 4.75 inches tall) recently came out of a privy in Philadelphia and I know nothing about it. As soon as I saw it it struck me as a foreign bottle, and the embossing "R. FONTI // RECOARO" seems to confirm that. It also has a very strange ground groove around it's neck just below the rim (I assume for a wire) and the base is pontiled (not sure if it's an open or glass-tipped pontil). I have no idea whether "R. FONTI" refers to a product or is the name of a company/person but "RECOARO" is a town in Italy that is apparently well-known for it's mineral waters. So I assume this is an Italian mineral water bottle. The only other soda/beer bottles from the same layer in the privy were a bunch of identical Callahan & McCrudden sodas (firm appears in the city directories from 1880-1889 under that name, and probably began late in 1879), and a bunch of identical light aqua, smooth based, blob top Dyottville porters (I assume also from the late 1870s into the 1880s). I would assume then that this bottle dates from the same late 1870s-1880s period. I know these forums are mainly for American bottles but has anyone ever come across one of these or know anything about the product? Thanks!

 

[RIBottleguy]

Very cool bottle, it reeks of age. I'll see if I can help you find any more info on it.