Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Milk Bottles

Yes, I have a collection! Fifteen milk bottles. I didn't realize I had so many, until I put them all out. It all started with one I found in my grandfather's garage. It was from a local dairy. Then I got the brilliant idea to collect a milk bottle from all the different towns I have been in. It helped to narrow the field down for me. Of course I have a couple from my home town too. I try and make them useful by using them to hold knitting needles, pencils and scissors. And they make dandy vases!
Milk Bottles are very hard to date as the they didn't change that much. Milk first started being delivered in glass bottles about 1903, but didn't become wide spread until 1920's. There are two methods of marking a bottle; eembossed (the letters are a raised part of the glass) and pyroglazing (a method of "glazing" a paint on) first used in 1933. Two very informative sites are: http://www.sha.org/bottle/index.htm http://dairyantiques.com/Home_Page.html I haven't done to much research on them. They are such fun pieces of history. Some even have funny saying on them. "They Came to Visit not to Stay, Please Return our Bottles Every Day!"

 A local milk bottle

1 comment:

  1. I love old milk bottles!! I have one small one, and used to have another that was squarish at the bottom made of really thick glass, but it has disappeared. Maybe if I clean out another closet I will find it.

    Maybe I'll post a pic of my Yorkshire milk bottle encounter. :-)

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