A great may bottle collectors have become collectors by literally digging up an old bottle. Others have discovered old bottles while cleaning the attic, basement, under the back porch, or by just looking in the dump.
The best place to start is by sorting out your possessions into orderly categories and learning which bottle is old, new, rare, or even unique. But first you must have an understanding of the methods of manufacture of a glass bottle.
Making A Bottle
The earliest bottles made were blown at the end of a punty rod. The free blown bottles had a neck, a shaped body, a flattened base, and a mark on the bottom where the rod was removed.
The free blown bottle had no mold seams, but it did have many bubbles and imperfections. Hand or free blown bottles were never exactly the same. The lack of uniformity is one of the reasons the mold blown bottle came into use. The mold blown bottle that was first made in America for commercial bottles was made from a hollowed out mold of wood or metal. Glass was blown into a mold, and could only take the shape of the inside of the mold.
The mold blown bottle has seams on the sides but not on the neck. The neck of the bottle was finished by hand, and the seams from the pieces of the open mold are not there.
Three piece molds were first used about 1809. They were used until the 1880s. The glass was blown into a full size mold. The glass touched the edges of the mold, and since a mold was made in several parts, the seams could be seen on the finished piece. Look for the seam marks that show a three piece mold. Any three mold glass, bottle, or dish is considered rare.
Wooden molds were used from about 1820 to 1860. The whittle marks can be seen on the finished bottle. Any bottle with whittle marks is a good find. These marks were not caused by the carving, they were caused by a cold mold and hot glass. The mold marks can be seen on the sides of the bottle and on the neck.
The Value
Bottle collecting has become a new part of antiquing. Early bottles (before 1800), historic flasks, free blown bottles, or the early 19thcentury decorative decanters and tableware glasses can be judged by the same standards as any fine early glass.
Age, rarity, quality, and appearance are the important factors. The commercial bottles of the 19thcentury or even the 20thhave become another problem, and what appears to be junk can often be a rare and choice item. A basket of old bottles that you find in the barn could have great value, even if the bottles originally held pickles, catsup, or beer.
The color, shape, and age are all important
Color - Green is common; browns, odd shades of greenish yellow, and light blue are good; milk glass and dark cobalt blue are better; dark purple and amber are the best.
Shape - Figural bottles - those shaped like people or objects - are best; any odd shaped bottle or flask is good. Common shapes need some other special features to be desirable.
Age - Machine made bottles are common and new. Two piece mold bottles with applied tops are good; three mold bottles are better. Free blown, pontilmarked, early necked bottles are best.
Labels - Paper labels on machine made bottles are common. Common shaped bottles with paper labels are good; molded bottles with the name in raised letters in the glass are better; early hand blown labeled bottles are best.
Any bottle with its original box, instructions, and label is worth owning. Any bottle with a pontil mark is old enough to save.
Flasks, old whiskey bottles, figural bottles, watch or clock shaped bottles, bitters bottles, soda and mineral water bottles, and poison bottles are all collected by specialists. They have added value because of the added demand.
Bottle collectors get even greater bargains that other types of collectors because many of them go out in dumps and trash heaps and dig for old bottles. Bottle colleting is among the top three hobbies in the nation, and dozens of collectors' groups have been organized.
The best bottles are the oldest, rarest, or the most unusual in shape or color, and not those that are the finest examples of a craftsman's art.
