whimsy 'flask'

[KentOhio]

Wow, that's really something. I don't know what it is, but it's something. I've literally been staring at it for 15 to 20 minutes. I don't doubt that it's Kensington, made around 1815 to 1825. The ribbed pattern looks a lot like their plain ribbed flasks.
I'm the one who bought that Dyottville hat. Are you the one who dug it?

 

[digphilly]

RED, glad I made your day!

tigue710, we got a whole bunch of pontiled sodas and a blue glass whimsy cane broke in half that my buddy took home. There were some hunks of glass too.

appliedlips, im sure it served a specific purpose, but what?

KentOhio, im not sure which hat you are talking about but I think there is one in the McKearin book? or was it a turtle? Anyway...are there any auction catalogues online that show pictures of Kensingtons plain ribbed flasks? I would like to compare them to mine. The context the flask thingy came out of was 1835-40s but I think you and tigue710 are right on with the age being a few decades earlier. Late throw type deal.

I'll clean the dirt out, wet it, and take some better pics.

 

[digphilly]

ORIGINAL: cyberdigger

WOW, that's even funkier than I imagined!!! COOL!!!
..no idea what it is, though..

Thanks, I really like it since it is probably unique!!

 

[tigue710]

sounds like it was a workers privy. That must be something to dig! I haven't found any reference to that particular pattern. I have found a few bottles similar in the Midwestern rib design bu they all had long necks...

It will probably be next to impossible to assign it a definitive use... you never know what was going on inside the makers head!

 

[Oldtimer]

Chemical analysis of the residue inside might tell what it held.

 

[KentOhio]

I was talking about the whimsey hat pictured in the third link you posted. It was for sale on ebay last summer.
McKearin pictures on page 434 a green Franklin/Masonic flask that was made into a turtle. Maybe the same person made yours.
I just happen to have a picture of one of those ribbed flasks. It's similar, but it looks like you have a half-pint and this is a pint. I've only ever seen pints.

 

[beendiggin]

a blue glass whimsy cane broke in half that my buddy took home. There were some hunks of glass too.

I think it was a glassworkers house, too. You might be able to research the old town directories and see who lived there back then.
I can imagine at the end of every day at the glassworks there were odd pieces of glass made. I saw an early bottle once that had a different color top put on, but upside down. Glassworkers apparently had a sense of humor about their work at times. That is a great find. That cane is really nice to find as well.

 

[digphilly]

Oh yeah. No doubt a glassblower lived there. Or at least a worker associated with the glasshouses.

In this picture, the little green glob is one of the pieces of the glass slag ...

and the large object (a little bigger than my fist) is either a sandstone firing brick or part of the kiln floor. The material is sandstone with glass.

 

[kungfufighter]

What a great object!!! Is there any chance you'll be at the Baltimore Bottle Show? If so, I'd love to see the piece. Would be very interested in hearing Chris Rowell's (Baltbottles) thoughts, as I am always impressed by the breadth of knowledge he has gained through years of digging in that general region.... The flask photo posted by KentOhio is an bottle typically ascribed to Keene, NH (I am not a necessarily convinced of this but the story has been told long enough for it to have become gospel) - I have owned both pints and half-pints of this type and though they are similar to your bottle they are in fact blown in a two-piece mold while yours is (to my eye from the photo) truly pattern molded. A fascinating piece to be sure!

 

[tigue710]

hmmm, I wonder how the sandstone ended up in there? They used to use only a special kind of sandstone for the kilns, the very early ones, and later bricks made with the sand stone. The also used a special sandstone for the soda when making the glass before marble became more widely used and available...

Glass works in Ohio used to import the sandstone from New Jersey to use in their kilns and glass...