Steve/sewell
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2010
- Messages
- 6,108
- Reaction score
- 5
- Points
- 0
I aquired these bottle's three years ago and was cleaning today after stirring up hornets on some website but thats another story.................
The original Civil war period GIV-42 Calabash flask has the Union and Clasped hands symbols above a Masonic compass and Square and below the Compass and the square the word UNION in an ellipse shaped circle.The reverse side of the bottle has an Eagle flying to the right with a shield and pennants. The mold features are very prominent not weak.This flask was very popular around the time the Civil war was ending.It was later found out that the bottle commemerated the Junior Order of The United American Mechanics.This flask was made by A.R. Samuels Keystone Glassworks sometime around 1867.The bottle could also have been made in the Medford New Jersey Glassworks which Mr. Samuels owned for three years 1863 1864 and 1865.
Enter the Clevenger Brothers,This might just be the Clevenger Brothers and particularly Alie Clevenger's best work but as always seems the case the Clevenger Brothers copys always had glaring tell tale signs they were just plain copys of the originals.The easiest way to tell the original bottle from the Clevenger made reproduction is the lack of the initials A.R.S. under the Compass and square.The rest of the bottle is 95 percent accurate to the original.Another way to tell an original bottle is the sharp blowpipe pontil on all original's in stark contrast to the smooth based Clevenger made version.
Lastly the detail in the Eagle is faint on the Clevenger copy version along with lack of discernable pronounced fingers in the handshake.All in all a very easy flask to be stumped by........................It got me!
] I would like to warn others []
The original Civil war period GIV-42 Calabash flask has the Union and Clasped hands symbols above a Masonic compass and Square and below the Compass and the square the word UNION in an ellipse shaped circle.The reverse side of the bottle has an Eagle flying to the right with a shield and pennants. The mold features are very prominent not weak.This flask was very popular around the time the Civil war was ending.It was later found out that the bottle commemerated the Junior Order of The United American Mechanics.This flask was made by A.R. Samuels Keystone Glassworks sometime around 1867.The bottle could also have been made in the Medford New Jersey Glassworks which Mr. Samuels owned for three years 1863 1864 and 1865.
Enter the Clevenger Brothers,This might just be the Clevenger Brothers and particularly Alie Clevenger's best work but as always seems the case the Clevenger Brothers copys always had glaring tell tale signs they were just plain copys of the originals.The easiest way to tell the original bottle from the Clevenger made reproduction is the lack of the initials A.R.S. under the Compass and square.The rest of the bottle is 95 percent accurate to the original.Another way to tell an original bottle is the sharp blowpipe pontil on all original's in stark contrast to the smooth based Clevenger made version.
Lastly the detail in the Eagle is faint on the Clevenger copy version along with lack of discernable pronounced fingers in the handshake.All in all a very easy flask to be stumped by........................It got me!![
] I would like to warn others []
