Rare Porcelain or Ceramic Bottle Caps?

[Mayhem]

I recently acquired these three porcelain or ceramic bottle caps and I am curious exactly how they were used or attached to a bottle and how rare are they?

 

[Wildcat Wrangling Kat]

I recent acquired these three porcelain or ceramic bottle caps and am curious exactly how they were used or attached to a bottle and how rare they are?

So those are like beer cap sized? How strange. In almost 40 years of digging, hunting, reading everything I can find to do with any of this, and so many bottle shows, well…. This is a new one. I’m clueless. But thanks for posting this and I will be watching just to learn something new! Kat >^..^<


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[Mayhem]

They are a little larger than a beer cap. Here they are pictured upside down next to a penny. I too have never seen anything like them in all my years of collecting cans, bottles and glass. I found one other example online of the Enterprise Mercantile cap but nothing on my other two examples other than the companies existed. There are a couple of current EBAY listings with similar examples but no clue what or how they are used. If it indeed was used to hold Golden State Beer the cap must have been secured to the bottle somehow?

 

[CanadianBottles]

I believe these fit over corks which may have been used to reseal opened bottles. I suspect they were advertising items rather than stoppers that came with bottles although I'm not sure.
Not quite the same design but basically something like this:

 

[Mayhem]

Perhaps like this?

 

[hemihampton]

You guys must of missed my post on these awhile ago, it seems some insist these are liquor advertisements for liquor bottles, not sure I agree with that? Might be some sort of advertisement but I think Pfeiffer Brewery would be advertising Pfeiffer Brewery, on a Pfeiffer Beer Bottle, not any type of Liquor? in my opinion, if it advertises Beer it goes on a Beer Bottle, If it Advertises Liquor it goes on a Liquor Bottle, Seems simple & obvious to me but I may be wrong? LEON.

Oddball Porcelain Beer Bottle Stopper?

Dug this in a Dump Today. Say's Conrad Pfeiffer Detroit Michigan. I never seen a Porcelain Beer Stopper like this? Has anybody else? Unfortunately missing some color but on angle cast see ghost image of writing. I'm guessing maybe it fit on top of a Cork? LEON.

www.antique-bottles.net

 

[CanadianBottles]

You guys must of missed my post on these awhile ago, it seems some insist these are liquor advertisements for liquor bottles, not sure I agree with that? Might be some sort of advertisement but I think Pfeiffer Brewery would be advertising Pfeiffer Brewery, on a Pfeiffer Beer Bottle, not any type of Liquor? in my opinion, if it advertises Beer it goes on a Beer Bottle, If it Advertises Liquor it goes on a Liquor Bottle, Seems simple & obvious to me but I may be wrong? LEON.

Oddball Porcelain Beer Bottle Stopper?

Dug this in a Dump Today. Say's Conrad Pfeiffer Detroit Michigan. I never seen a Porcelain Beer Stopper like this? Has anybody else? Unfortunately missing some color but on angle cast see ghost image of writing. I'm guessing maybe it fit on top of a Cork? LEON.

www.antique-bottles.net

Yeah I'm definitely not certain that these were advertising items, just a suspicion. My main reasoning is that if they were used to seal every bottle it seems like they should show up a lot more often. Unless they were only used for a very short time I guess? I could see them being for back bar bottles if they only had the names of liquor companies but of course that wouldn't explain the ones with beer names. It would be good to find some photos showing these things in use, I should spend some time looking through historic photos of bars to see if I can spot any.

My other reason for thinking these were advertising items is that reusable bottle stoppers are used for advertising today. Even if they wouldn't always be used on beer bottles, I could see the brewery still wanting you to think of their beer every time you open any drink regardless of what it is.

 

[UncleBruce]

I recently acquired these three porcelain or ceramic bottle caps and I am curious exactly how they were used or attached to a bottle and how rare are they?

These are closures for liquor bottles used in early taverns and as Mayhem says above and had a cork on them. These wouldn't have been needed for beer as that was held in kegs/barrels at the tavern. These barrels/kegs would have had tap handles, which could have also had advertising. Beer bottles are a single serving beverage that would not have required such a device. Liquor bottles on the other hand were served as shots or mixed drinks and normally would be used over several days if not longer. A closure was required to preserve it for later use. The advertising on them was for promoting the brewery/distillery that supplied the complimentary closure in the first place.
The examples you have are not difficult to acquire.

 

[hemihampton]

That kinda makes sense.

P.S. Curious though, what about Saloons that had there own Saloon Bottles, many named after Saloon or Saloon Owner, I have Many. Maybe as many as 20 different Saloon made Bottles. LEON.

 

[UncleBruce]

That kinda makes sense.

P.S. Curious though, what about Saloons that had there own Saloon Bottles, many named after Saloon or Saloon Owner, I have Many. Maybe as many as 20 different Saloon made Bottles. LEON.

I also have hotel bottles too.