Potentially Rare? Embossed " App. For Pat. No. 21" Odd Pontiled Pyramid Shaped Decanter or Lab Beaker??

[Shades of History]

Ok, some pics here of a very cool, odd(and potentially rare?) bottle I picked up for like $10 or $12 at an antique store. It has an open pontil, a crude lip and some crude inner grinding for a stopper it's missing, and embossing on the bottom a bit on each corner (App. For)(No. 21)(Pat.).

So I did some research, and got somewhere, but not all the way. It was obviously an application for patent number 21. The actual 21st ever U.S. patent. I did some research and couldn't find out what the patent was for, whether some product or the bottle itself, but that the patent was dated in the early 1830's. Maybe this bottle was made a few years before that, or maybe a while after like the 1840's but I'm betting it's not any later and probably a true "pontil era" bottle.

So the mystery is what the patent was actually for, how old and what type of bottle it actually is, how common or uncommon it is, and what it could be worth. Any ideas? To me, the purpose of the bottle looks either a decanter/backbar or a lab beaker/apothecary type bottle. It's just under 6 and a half inches tall and clear glass, subtle ripples. Has what appears to be heavy base wear in a couple spots and a tiny bit of inner haze staining at the bottom.

 

[CanadianBottles]

I don't think this is from anywhere near the 1830s. No. 21 isn't the patent number, something that says "patent applied for" won't have a patent number because the patent hadn't been granted yet, only applied for. My guess on this one is that it's British and from towards the end of the British pontil era, like the 1870s or so. I'm really at a loss on what it would have been used for though, it doesn't look quite right for either a decanter or an apothecary bottle.

 

[Shades of History]

I don't think this is from anywhere near the 1830s. No. 21 isn't the patent number, something that says "patent applied for" won't have a patent number because the patent hadn't been granted yet, only applied for. My guess on this one is that it's British and from towards the end of the British pontil era, like the 1870s or so. I'm really at a loss on what it would have been used for though, it doesn't look quite right for either a decanter or an apothecary bottle.

You could well be right. Thanks for the input. I know next to nothing about patents or glassmakers. Before the antique store I got it from(here in California) closed down, I found not only late 1800s American but European bottles there too. I've got a nice late 1800s mold blown bitters or liquor bottle embossed "H. Geisting" along one side panel, and "Hamburg" along the other from that same store, so yeah, it could definitely be British. So maybe nothing super old or rare, but still, a nice 19th century bottle with a great unique shape. I'd pay $10 for it again all day.

 

[CanadianBottles]

You could well be right. Thanks for the input. I know next to nothing about patents or glassmakers. Before the antique store I got it from(here in California) closed down, I found not only late 1800s American but European bottles there too. I've got a nice late 1800s mold blown bitters or liquor bottle embossed "H. Geisting" along one side panel, and "Hamburg" along the other from that same store, so yeah, it could definitely be British. So maybe nothing super old or rare, but still, a nice 19th century bottle with a great unique shape. I'd pay $10 for it again all day.

Yeah I think it was well worth the $10, it's definitely an interesting piece.

 

[brent little]

Yep it had a stopper for sure. i would say a bar back bottle,1880's or so. it very cool.The patent applied for is for the style or shape.Like the Coca-Cola patent. Some companys wanted you to recognise their product even if you couldnt see.