Two Perfect Condition D. H. Smith Blobs, Slick Blob, Torpedo Fragment, 1870 Insulator, and a Broken Codd!

[UnderMiner]

Here are some better photos of the two Baltimore Loop Seal D. H. Smith bottles. This style of closure was used from 1886-1906. A rubber disk with a wire loop sat inside a groove within the blob and was extracted with a special hooked tool. The tool had a tapered rubber handle which could then be jammed into the bottle to act as a temporary stopper itself, though how often this was done is anyone's guess. 80% of these bottles were used for beer, only 20% for soda.

There was even an error:

 

[hemihampton]

I have never heard of the Baltimore Loop Seal until now, and now after some research I am somewhat amazed by it.
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It was invented by William Painter, the same guy who later invented the bottle cap. But he invented the Baltimore Loop Seal first. As I was reading the history of the Baltimore Loop Seal I found myself asking how nobody thought to just put the rubber disk on top and crimp something over it, obviously William Painter was fiddling with his Baltimore Loop Seal one day and thought this exact thing, and the crown cap was invented as a direct result. Imagine the feeling he must have had realizing what he had just created when he crimped the first ever bottle cap over a crown top bottle and realized it held the seal.

His main concern with the Baltimore Loop Seal was it could sometimes accidentally contaminate the drink with the bottom of the wire loop contacting the liquid, the crown cap solved the problem but as a completely new invention!
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Painter's first patented crown cap opener actually incorporated a Baltimore Loop Seal opener as well, showing the the two inventions were intimately connected and intended to be produced side by side. The world quickly forgot about Baltimore Loop Seal however and made the crown cap the universal standard. Unfortunately William Painter died in 1906 before he could realise just how revolutionary his newest invention would become. So the Baltimore Loop Seal, though long forgotten by many, was a vital though short lived chapter in the evolution of our modern bottle industry.
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Looks like you learned something new then, glad I could help. some just call it BLS.

 

[UnderMiner]

Looks like you learned something new then, glad I could help. some just call it BLS.
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Imagine being that loop seal installer, doing that same mundane task for 16 hours per day, ah to be a gilded age factory worker..

 

[Tigrdog1]

Undermined,
Great story!
I am from north Mississippi and I spent much time searching for old ‘ghost towns’ out in my county. I was blessed to have a pretty accurate county history book to help with this.
I could relate your excitement…. Searching the dirt roads , finding a hand made brick or pontal shard in a ditch in the middle of nowhere. Yep!
Keep us posted!!
Rik