question about early bottles

[Basil.W.Duke]

I admit that i know squat about bottles other than how to dig them. I have always wondered how the early flat bottom flared lip bottles were blown. I dig flat bottom crude bottles mixed in with pontils. Are they blown from the top and sheared off?

 

[sandchip]

Dang Jim, I wish I was so pitiful to only know how to dig bottles. They all were blown from the top, but maybe the smooth-based ones of the same age were held with a sabot while shearing and finishing. That's just what I figure, 'cause I've wondered the same thing.

 

[andy volkerts]

I believe they were held by what is called a snapcase mold or mold post that held the bottle in place as the worker tooled or applied the top, they came into being as early as 1855-60...Red Mathews will know more if you care to contact him, he is a forum member and is the nicest person on here, and will tell you more than you will want to know about antique bottles[]

 

[GuntherHess]

I admit that i know squat about bottles other than how to dig them. I have always wondered how the early flat bottom flared lip bottles were blown. I dig flat bottom crude bottles mixed in with pontils. Are they blown from the top and sheared off?

I've always wondered about these bottles too. There are a number of smaller medicines which are not pontil scared but are very early and have very flat bases. One thing I have noted is there are often glass shards embedded in the bases of these bottles which leads me to believe they were finished right on some working surface in the glass house. There is likely small bits of glass laying everywhere in those plces. I would think that by the time the bottle gets to the annealing oven its probably already cooled enough that stuff wont stick to it well.
Also the lips on some of these medicines isnt really flared in the traditional sense, its more like it was just mashed down and flared out a bit. A simpler, quicker finish than a nice thin tooled flare.

 

[Basil.W.Duke]

here are 2 bottles from the same privy and at the same use layer. Both are palmer vegetable lotion bottles. The pontil one is thick and the flat base one is paper thin and crude

 

[Basil.W.Duke]

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[RED Matthews]

Red Mathews will know more if you care to contact him, he is a forum member and is the nicest person on here, and will tell you more than you will want to know about antique bottles

Well talk about advertizing - I guess I don't need it.
Most of these early medicines are in my collection as PUFFS. Cause that is about all the air they needed to blow them. There has been a few posted threads about them recently. I think they are all great. Some were just blown and marved to be straight sided, some later ones were blown in a body mold to produce indented vertical corners, or six to eight and up to twelve panels. I am sure this was done to help handling them later. Some were open pontiled with the previous blow pipe glass and some were created by the bottoms flat - I have to assume that this was a bottom formed by a closed to plug. They are just early and facinating glass items.
I also have some with little pieces of glass on them, Matt - so I agree with your feeling about the source.
Great hobby. RED Matthews

 

[GuntherHess]

not sure why but I have run into these types of bottle more in flint glass than aqua.
It may be that flint glass houses were making different products like glasses and salts. They might have used some different techniques. Of course there were many glass plants that made both flint AND green glass.
Maybe some early form of a snap case type tool, a sabot like Sandchip mentions?

 

[cowseatmaize]

I've had my own theory but was never able to substantiate it.
An experienced blower could form the lip while it's still in the mold.
That's it.[]

 

[baltbottles]

Matt I have to agree that it has something to do with flint glass. Perhaps leaded glass can handle temperature transitions better and remains more fluid longer allowing the bottle to be held and finished in a different manor then regular bottle glass.

Chris