Thatcher's Dairy - Absolutely Pure Milk (purple / 1 quart)

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bottleTX75034

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Hello bottle community!

My wife found a one quart, purple Thatcher's Dairy bottle at a garage sale and thought I could use for storing my homemade kombucha. The rubber gasket was completely dry and I took that off. Before I order a replacement rubber gasket, I figured I would check with this community about the history and value of such a bottle. I am trying to educate myself on old bottles. I also tried to do a quick search on the forums and I haven't seen a purple colored Thatcher's bottle. My bottle has a dark purple and I have seen a few pinkish bottles, but not purple.

Here are my questions:

  1. From what I have gathered, this bottle is not older than 1900 and was made after 1900. The words "Bottle Patent 1884" doesn't necessarily mean that it is that old. Is that true?
  2. I don't know what a mould seam is. However, I do see a solid line on the bigger/bottom part of the bottle. It doesn't connect to the solid line on the mouth/top part of the bottle. The two solid lines do not connect. Does this mean that this was two separate pieces that were attached together?
  3. From what I have gathered from a quick internet search, the purple bottles are rarer? Is that true?
  4. How did the manufacturer make purple glass? Did they use a type of dye?
  5. Do you have any other websites or info for me? I would like to learn about this bottle.
  6. See attached photos.
Thanks!!!!

-Charles / BottleTX75034


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UnderMiner

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Saw a clear version of this bottle at the thrift store a few days ago, they wanted $8 for it but online I saw an identical one selling for $15. I have a feeling this bottle is actually the same as the one pictured here but it has been exposed to UV radiation which turned it purple. Exposing old clear glass to UV in like a tanning bed has this effect.
 

CanadianBottles

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Welcome to the forum! I've got some bad news for you - it's not a very old bottle, and it was meant for decoration, not to store anything. The good news is that you can use it to store your kombucha without worrying that you might be damaging a valuable antique. To answer your questions:
1. Yes it's not even remotely true. A similar bottle was patented in the 1880s, but yours is a modern reproduction of it. In general patent dates refer only to when the design was patented, not when the bottle was manufactured, but in your case it's just a lie because your bottle is very different from the actual one that was patented in the 1880s and has no direct relation to it beyond copying the embossing.
2. The mould seam is the line you're referring to. The two seams don't line up because the pieces of the mould used to form the lip were attached together there, not because the pieces of glass were attached together.
3. Purple is "rarer" in the sense that modern decorative bottles are rarer than modern beer bottles, but that doesn't mean that either one is valuable. Antique purple bottles were originally clear and then either left out in the sun and turned light purple, or exposed to UV rays and turned dark purple. Yours was never clear though.
4. The colour of glass changes based on what minerals are present in the sand that is melted down to make it. I'm not sure how exactly purple glass is made (maybe high concentrations of manganese?) but it's not a dye. Alternatively, it might just have a thin layer of plastic coating on top of clear glass.
5. sha.org has a lot of great info about antique bottles. Here's their page where you can learn about the real Thatcher milk bottle: https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/Thatcher_BLockhart.pdf
 

bottleTX75034

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@ CanadianBottles - Wow. Perfect answers! Thank you! I really appreciate the time you spent giving me this knowledge.

Have a great rest of the week!
 

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