West India Aerated & Mineral Water Codd bottle

[NewbieBottleHunter]

I've recently discovered a new obsession - diving for antique bottles. My addiction has been facilitated in large part by new friends from Bermuda who have helped to show me the ropes and guide me up the learning curve. We recently braved the chilly Bermudan waters in search of bottles and did quite well. I was quite happy to have pulled my first Codd bottle from the briney deep. The bottle is in good shape and is embossed with the following text on the front:

THE WEST INDIA AERATED & MINERAL WATER Co Ltd in an arc with KINGSTON across the bottom.

The manufacturer's name is on the bottom back of the bottle:

Wm BARNARD & SONS LONDON

The bottle is clear (pale green tint) and the marble inside is a nice green color. It is interesting to find a bottle in Bermuda that was made in London for a company in Kingston but I haven't been able to track down much information on the manufacturer or the Jamaican company it was made for and I'd appreciate any insight that the forum members can provide.


Thanks in advance.

-Newbie

 

[Potlidboy]

Nice find.......Come on now...just how chilly are those Bermudan waters? SCUBA & finding bottles is the best....Good luck, be safe & post more adventures please.[]

 

[Asterx]

Nice find and welcome! I'm not a codd expert myself, but it seems there have been some posts about the aerated co bottles.

 

[NewbieBottleHunter]

The 68 degree water in Bermuda this time of year is far warmer that the 50-55 degree waters where I trained in back in Pearl Lake in the Chicago area. Then again, I was wearing a full 7mm farmer john with chemical heat packs over my lower back. My 3-2mm wetsuit (even with a hooded vest) was no match for the chilly Bermudan waters - after 45 minutes under I was shaking like a leaf. Since I've moved to Florida I'm a proud card-carrying member of the Warm Water Wimps. I need a good reason to be in water below 80 degrees (bottle hunting is a GREAT reason).


Also attached is a close-up image (probably unnecessary) of the back of this Codd bottle showing the maufacturer's mark. The best I can find for William Barnard & Sons is that they were in business from 1860-1930. As this is a Codd bottle it can't date from before 1872 (from the little I've learned online) and applied finishes on most bottles tend to date from before around 1905-10 so the years of operation of the manufacturer are of little help in dating the bottle. Perhaps, if I could find out more about the West India Aerated & Mineral Water Company I might learn more about this bottle.

Will post some additional pictures soon of some of my other finds to the forum - next adventure though will likely be fossil hunting in the Peace River here in florida. Lots of fun and not quite as cold.


Cheers.


-Newbie

 

[BeachComber]

Hi Newbie,

The bottle you have is from the 1895 - 1910 range. The newer ones (embossed with just WIA&MW Co Ltd Kingston) are from 1910 and up and are made by Cannington Shaw of England. The one you have comes with many different colored marbles (green, blue, yellow, brown, amber, black). Also, this company seemed to have only made the flat bottomed 6oz and 10oz codd.

Most of these West Indian bottles came to Bermuda via the West India regiment and or other British regiments. Let me know if you would like to further discuss as I am Bermudian and am on island. Feel free to call (537 1904).

Great Bottle!

Anthony

 

[BeachComber]

Here are two other variations (yellow marble and amber marble)

 

[BeachComber]

Amber

 

[NewbieBottleHunter]

The bottle you have is from the 1895 - 1910 range. The newer ones (embossed with just WIA&MW Co Ltd Kingston) are from 1910 and up and are made by Cannington Shaw of England. The one you have comes with many different colored marbles (green, blue, yellow, brown, amber, black). Also, this company seemed to have only made the flat bottomed 6oz and 10oz codd.

Sweet! My friend Brion from Bermuda suggested I turn to this forum as a source of experts in this fascinating hobby of antique bottle "treasure hunting". He was obviously right on the mark with his suggestion. Thanks Anthony for just what I was looking for (a little bit of the story behind how this bottle ended up in a pile of rubble and mud in Bermuda). Great to have a finer range of dates for this bottle and a bit of a story as to how this well-traveled bottle came to reside in Bermuda for over a century. It's new home has now been moved to south Florida where it will get attention from more than fishes, nudibranchs, and the occasional crab.

This forum (and of course the people who contribut to it) has proven itself a worthy resorce to Noobs like me. I will be posting some images of my other treasures from my last collecting trip to Bermuda next week. Maybe some of them will interest the forum's readers and provoke a comment or two.


Cheers.

-NewbieBottleHunter

P.S.: Here is a sneak preview of my booty from my last thrilling collecting trip to Bermuda. Fun is where you find it and there is lots of fun to be found in Bermuda (above and below the water).