BOTTLE SEALS

ebay By Richmond Morcom nasa

Since 1955, I have been collecting bottles with seals. The seals are interesting because they often have dates, names, or other information. If the seals are applied it means hand manipulation, which is more romantic than a purely machine-made bottle. One of the earliest American-made bottles has a seal with the letters “R.W.” for Richard Wistar, son of the founder of the Wisterburg Glass Works (1739 - 1780) in Allowaystown, N.J. Made around 1760 (fig 1),

Fig. 1 - Bottle from Wistarburg Glass factory, New Jersey. Initials R.W. are for Richard Wistar, son of the glass house founder. Circa 1765.

A bottle in my collection (fig 2) bears the name “I Dies” and it is dated “1749”. The seal looks a lot like one dug by the author at the Germantown Glassworks (1752-55) in what is now Quincy, Mass. (formerly Brain tree.) A seal with the “1749” date was excavated and showed the age of the wine rather than the date of manufacture.

Fig. 2 - This I. DIES sealed bottle could have been made

at Germantown Glasswork in Quincy, Mass

The ‘Dies’ name will be researched.
Many bottle seals with foreign lettering were made in the United States. The seals in (fig 3) were all made at the Dyottville Glass Works in Philadelphia, Pa. around 1880. The seals shown are “Huile Dolive Superfine, E.B. Clarke, Philadelphia”; “Huile Dolive, Bordeau, Surfine, Clarfild”; “Treyeran Feres, St Julien, Medoc, Bordeau”; “Huile Dolive, Bordeau, Superfine Clarfild”.
Three bottle seals (fig 4) were excavated at New Granite Glass Works, Stoddard, N.H. (1846-71). The lettering says “Oter Dupuis Cognac”. One seal was never applied to a bottle; another was bent in the making and discarded. Thus we have excellent evidence of local manufacture. After a 20-year search, the bottle was located in Boscawen, N.H. at the cost of thirty dollars.
The bottle in (fig. 5) is only 4” tall, has quilling on both sides and a seal with a “B” and backward “S”. For Some reason seal makers had trouble making the S’s and N’s correctly. In (fig 6) we find another error; an up-sidedown seal showing the roots of a tree upward. Had this “Superfine Olive Oil” seal from Bordeau been a stamp, it would probably be worth thousands.

Fig. 3 - Seals from Dyottville Glass Works, Philadelphia, PA.

In (fig. 7) we have a French seal denoting the amount of the contents but for most unilingual Americans it might just have well said, ‘weight of contents unknown.’
In (fig. 8) we have “Paul Jones Whiskey, Louisville”. This name may have nothing to do with the famous naval personality John Paul Jones. In Portsmouth, N.H. we had a beer maker, Frank Jones, who made good beer but little is known about his sailing ability or war record. (Fig. 9) is a fine seal hanging from an applied ribbon. It is a grand old bottle; the perfect kind that longs to be reproduced, so beware.

Fig. 4 - Otar Dupuis Cognac seals excavated at Mill Village, Soddard, N.H. in 1963.

Now in (fig. 10) we have a nice example of a handled whiskey marked “Chestnut Grove C.W.” These bottles were originally made in Glassboro, N.J. at the Whitney Glass Works (1840-75).
An “N.D. Lloyd” bottle (fig. 11) was dug and has a nice silver patina. Who N.D. Lloyd is, I do not know. In my collection is the neck and base of a bottle with gold patina found underground in Philadelphia at the site where an eighteenth century goldsmith had plied his business.
(Fig. 12) is a fine example of a bottle seal with horse and knight in wonderful detail. This will certainly be a valuable bottle in the years to come. In (fig. 13) we have a swan pictured on a “Meder and Zoon” bottle which is probably from Holland. Although modern, the (fig. 14) bottle seal is a French wine bottle, “Marnier Lapostolle”; the color is a beautiful gold. Happy Hunting!!!!

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