question about early bottles

[KentOhio]

I've always been under the same impression Chris touched on, that flint glass stays workable longer than bottle glass. I think that's the reason for the solid pontils on flint glass bottles. An more delicate pontil might let it droop too much while on the rod.

 

[GuntherHess]

pontils seem to be more solid and some look almost like a solid rod was used

probably were solid pontil applications

 

[GuntherHess]

I didnt realize flint glass had such a low working temperature. I can work borosilicate glass with a regular propane torch and flint has a lower working temperature yet. Much lower than soda-lime glass.
This likely gives a lot more leeway in working time and technique.

 

[deepbluedigger]

ORIGINAL: jimmartin

deepblue, would you put these into the 1850's?

Difficult to say. I've got a smooth base soda bottle here that looks 1870s-1880s but is from a company that ceased to exist in 1854. And the other way around, early looking bottles sometimes turn out to be from much later than they appear.

One thing I've noticed on British flint glass bottles is that very early (very approximately pre-1820) examples tend to be very well made, in comparison to those of 20 or 30 years later. Often the moulds for the earlier types are extremely well made and cut (for example the pre-1754 Turlington's bottles are masterpieces of the mould cutters art) compared with later ones. It's a generalisation though, with all the usual exceptions-to-the-rule. I don't know enough detail about US flint glass bottles to say if it's the same over there.

 

[baltbottles]

Jerry post a picture of that smooth based soda thats pre 1854.

Chris

 

[deepbluedigger]

Here you go Chris. The company is Ford & Bayne, of Lincoln in England. They were soda makers, and had a very short partnership (only 2 or 3 years) that ended in 1854. This shape is probably most common in the 1870s, in my experience, but continued in use right through to about 1900 in some parts of the country. The only sign that this might be an earlier bottle is the narrow blob lip, but on UK bottles even that could be any time from about the 1840s to, in some cases, the 1870s.

There are pontilled examples known in this shape from other towns, but none from this company.

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