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Bottle collectors come in as many different sizes and shapes as the bottles they collect. Some will collect strictly medicine bottles, other only beer or whiskey bottles. Others will collect any type of bottle that catches their attention, and could range from inkwells to perfume flasks. Bottle collecting can be as wide or as specialized as the individual collector wants to make it. Lets look at some specific types of bottles, some of the terms associated with the general collecting of bottles, and places to find bottles to add to, or start, your own collection.
Bottles collected today include such an assortment that it is impossible to make a complete list. Perfume, baby, oil, apothecary, milk, soda, sarsaparilla, tonic, bitters, and medicinal are just a few. These are some of the more popular, but do not even scratch the surface at the many varied types.
Some of the main bottles that collectors look for include medicine bottles and apothecary jars. These are sought for both their age and unique lettering and interesting advertising. Many of the older medicine bottles have raised lettering on them. Unique advertising labels are also a draw for the collector. A bottle with the label intact, advertising cures for everything from consumption to rheumatism, epilepsy to a cure-all for every ailment you can think of, are highly sought. If it came in a box and you can find that to go with the bottle, all the better. Prices for these will of course vary, but many are still available in the $5 to $20 range, due to the large number that were manufactured. Apothecary jars, what would be found on the pharmacist’s shelf, are just as desirable. These came with paper labels, milk glass, even different colored glass. Besides advertising what was in them, many also listed the stores name.
Milk bottles are often collected. These came as round early on, then moved to the square with rounded corners in the early 1940’s. The designs are as diverse as the farms they came from. While many advertised only the farm the milk came from, others were more descriptive, offering quotes on the advantages of farm fresh milk. Collectors often try to find bottles from specific areas, while others look for any intact bottles they can find.
Perfume and cologne bottles are often figural in design and both are valued, each for different reasons, by collectors. Perfume bottles are usually much smaller than cologne bottles, figural in design, and there are hundreds, even thousands of different designs by famous glass makers, making them desirable by both bottle collectors and glass collectors. Cologne bottles are larger, but were also made in many different figural designs. Often displayed in store windows or on cosmetic counters, they were made to be as eye catching as possible. Blown glass cologne and perfume bottles can also be found today. Avon bottles may not be as old as some, but are also collected today.
Oil bottles are another much sought after bottle type. Motor oil came in glass bottles with both paper or embossed labels. These came in clear and colored glass. One favorite that comes to mind is a Gargoyle oil bottle. It is clear glass, but depicts a red gargoyle on the label. Because oil bottles were generally used in conditions not friendly to breakable items, such as an automotive garage, these are limited and highly sought after. Prices for these depend greatly on specific type, condition, and age. Chips are common on the edges, but perfect finds can be had. Expect to pay from $20 up into the hundreds.
As you discover bottles and add to your collection, you are sure to come across terms that do not mean much to someone who has never dealt with glass or bottles. A few terms you should be aware of include, Pontil, a mark, or scar on the bottom of the bottle, made from the rod the glassblower used. Mold- blown refers to a process where in the glassblower blew the glass into a mold. Free blown is exactly what it sounds like. The glassblower without any mold, shaped by blowing freely, the bottle. Sun colored refers to glass that has become colored from the sun’s rays. One particular type is a purple that arises both from the sun and the sand it has been left lying in. Etched refers to a design being cut into the glass, while embossed means the design has been layered on by a process resulting in raised lettering.
So, where do you go to find bottles? They are everywhere! From garage sales to antique stores, specimens can be found. One different way to find bottles is to dig for them. If you go this route, make sure you are either on your own land, or have the landowner’s permission. Some of my finest pieces have been acquired this way. Dig carefully, or you will risk losing a perfect piece by breakage. An often-overlooked source of bottles is our own storage boxes. My grandmother had passed on to me several boxes of what she termed junk, but as she stated, “maybe there is something in there you can use”, and after a quick glance, I stacked these boxes in the back of my garage and promptly forgot about them. Several months later as I was cleaning my garage, I figured I had better look through them and toss the garbage. Imagine my surprise and delight when I found several vintage glass baby bottles, and my grandfathers empty Beam bottle. It is a doe; the bottle top is her head and neck area. All of these were located at the bottom of one box, wrapped in newspaper and had stacks of magazines atop of them.
Whatever type of bottles you collect or wherever you go in search of that bottle you just need to have, or the day you discover that perfect bottle you had no idea you needed until you saw it, know that you are not alone in this fantastic hobby.
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