# On target. Finding a target ball.



## blobbottlebob (Jan 17, 2009)

Here is another story I wrote about a scuba diving find. Let me know what you think. A few pictures to follow.

ON TARGET
By Bob Libbey

One great thing about bottle hunting is that you can find almost anything. You can also find nothing. Thatâ€™s part of the fun. Itâ€™s a treasure hunt and you never know what might turn up. Sometimes you find the type of items youâ€™d expect to find. At other times, you find something totally differentâ€¦

When we first started diving, we were simply exploring the underwater environment. The antique bottles that we initially found stumped and intrigued us. We quickly learned more about them and began to collect them. Along the way, we found a whole bunch of stuff. Weâ€™ve found just about anything you could lose or discard. Weâ€™ve dragged in boats, lures, wind-sails, anchors and fishing poles. All would predictably be recovered from the water. Other items are more obscure. Weâ€™ve found toilets, automobiles, pots and pans, fire extinguishers, bugles, ice cream signs, and lawn furniture. Weâ€™ve even found the kitchen sink. (Well, maybe just a[/i][/b] kitchen sink).

One thing I would have never expected to find was a target ball. In fact, I never even heard of a target ball before I became a glass collector. Before skeet shooting, before clay pigeons were ever dreamed of; target shooting had already begun. One would think that people would practice by firing at (God forbid) bottles, tins, trees and the like. However, there were also moving targets; glass target balls. The targets must have been used by an elite crowd. They were probably fairly expensive. The glass was typically hand-made by a glassblower blowing hot molten glass into a mold. Some targets were made in extraordinary colors and look like fine crystal. Others were plain. Some molds had patterns with manufacturing information and exquisite detail. In short, the target balls were beautiful pieces of artistic glass that have since become historic relics. The problem is, they were created to be destroyed.

Think of the life-span of these glass targets. As mentioned, they were blown into a mold. Then they had to be removed and cooled. Sometimes they were filled with feathers or the like to create a spectacular effect mid-air when they were hit. Next, they were packaged for sale and transported over rough nineteenth century roads by horse and carriage, or by railways (or both). Ultimately, they were put to use as targets. They were loaded in a catapult or otherwise launched as high as possible into the air. Then, they were fired at by live ammunition. Assuming that they survived all of this intact, they fell to the unyielding ground and smashed. You would think that the only known remaining examples would be unused targets. 

However, there is the water factor. If someone was launching the targets over the water, and took a bad shot, there is a chance that the targets could survive the landing. Then, it may be a race to sink. Youâ€™d think that a target floating on the surface would remind the target shooter of their shooting prowess. This taunting may be cause for a second, more-properly-aimed, shot.

Assuming the target sank to the bottom, in order to find it whole, it would still have to avoid hitting any hard objects or stones. It would need to survive any current or water flow. Additionally, it would face (in my case) Wisconsin winters with yearly freeze-thaw cycles for over a hundred years!. It would need to avoid anchors that were thrown overboard by boaters. Those anchors can dredge a path along the bottom as boats above are blown about by the wind. After all that, there is just the small matter of finding it hidden among the muck, rocks, debris and sediment somewhere on the bottom of a lake or river. As noted, I would have never expected to find one. That is, unless someone else just hadâ€¦

My brother and I had taken a newly dive-certified bottle-collecting buddy (Gary) out with us diving. We were hoping not only to help Gary get his first underwater finds, but also to bring home some treasure ourselves. We planned a three-tank day. Our first tank was in a spot that had produced some great bottles. They were in an old area but hidden in thick, heavy, tall weeds. My brother conjectured that the weeds might have always grown there. Therefore, they would deter other divers from thoroughly searching the area. It turned out that he may have been correct. However, by the time we took Gary to this spot, weâ€™d worked it over pretty hard. That first tank, we came away with very few finds. I donâ€™t think that Gary found anything. We decided to try a different spot for our second tank where Gary would be sure to find at least something. As I was finishing up that second tank, a little tired from all the searching, my brother let me know that he had just found a target ball. He was encouraging me to go over where he found it to search for more. My tank had only a few minutes of air left, and I thought I was on the verge of finding something good, so I stayed put. When I returned to the boat, I got to see and hold that crude amber sphere. I definitely wanted to get in and look for more now that I knew that they were here. My brother thought that I wasnâ€™t very interested in target balls because I didnâ€™t rush right over to where he found them at the end of the last tank. He was ready to go home. I told him that, if he wanted, he could quit and wait in the boat, but I was going back in! After all, how many chances do you get to find target balls? I strapped on a new tank and hit the water. I think my brother came out with me but Gary waited in the boat. I swam over about twenty-five feet from where my brother indicated he had just found the target ball. I figured that I would be in the same general landing zone. Within just a few minutes on the bottom, I came upon a round object. Thatâ€™s it. I found it! I brought it to the surface in anticipation of a gorgeous target ball. It was an old wooden croquet ball with no paint on it saturated with water. I couldnâ€™t do anything but wonder what the odds were that Iâ€™d find a wooden ball right then. I submerged again. A few minutes later, I felt what seemed like a perfect sphere. I didnâ€™t want to be tricked again, so I felt it for a few moments. This time, it seemed really hard and smooth. It was like a fist-sized hardball. I brought it up and it was a target ball. I found one!

The condition was really remarkable. Outside of some inside mineral deposit and some slight scuffing, it was perfect. It has seams coming down each side from the top meeting a molded ring near the bottom of the sphere. I take that to be a three-part mold. The neck is tiny with a very crude sheared mouth. You can imagine the glass blower stretching the molten glass to tear the target off of the blowing rod. The glass itself is crude, thin and uneven. In short, it is beautiful! It is also simply amazing that something seemingly so fragile and delicate could be found in such great condition.

We returned to the spot on other days to search for more. My brother dove without gloves (at some risk to his fingers) to enhance his sense of touch. He only came back with a few broken shards, though. We never found another whole one.

This story shows no particular skill or extraordinary effort on my part. I was simply doing the right thing, in the right place, at the right time. It was the place my brother just sent me to. Nonetheless, I still consider myself lucky to have found a target ball. Thanks again are in order to my brother. Thank you for the spot. Oh, and one last bit of thanks to the gentleman or lady who was out shooting a long, long, long time ago. By missing their mark, they allowed us divers to be right on target!


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## blobbottlebob (Jan 17, 2009)

This is what it looks like in regular light.


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## blobbottlebob (Jan 17, 2009)

Here's an attempt to show some of the glass crudity.


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## blobbottlebob (Jan 17, 2009)

And the nice yellow amber color.


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## southern Maine diver (Jan 17, 2009)

Hey Bob...

 Great story and nice balls... 

 I don't think we have much of a chance of finding target balls around here. They probably shot at other things for target practice up here, like... target lobster!!!

 Wayne[&:]


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## blobbottlebob (Jan 17, 2009)

That is so awesome. Do you know how much that would cost to buy in Wisconsin? If you were selling them, you could buy some great gear for what you have there.


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## southern Maine diver (Jan 17, 2009)

Hey Bob...

 I could send some out your way for a target ball...[8|]


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## blobbottlebob (Jan 17, 2009)

That's a tempting offer Wayne! I can't say that I collect these because this is the only one I've ever found. However, I am a little attached to it. Those beauties sure look tasty!


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## southern Maine diver (Jan 17, 2009)

Hey bob...

 There must be more where that one came from... maybe I could swing up that way some time and do some diving in the Big lake area.[]


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## Dabeel (Jan 17, 2009)

Great Story Bob!

 I think about the odds of you finding a target ball is equal to the chance of a lottery ticket
 hitting big!

 Nice Story!

 Doug


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## blobbottlebob (Jan 17, 2009)

Hey Wayne. This is not a joke. I will take you right to the spot if you want to try it. (We probably have about 25 tanks in since I found the last one. None have been found since and it is not a big search area.) If you do decide to come, bring some tasty local finds!


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## blobbottlebob (Jan 17, 2009)

Thanks Doug,
 I suppose that my odds of hitting it big we're greatly increased by the fact that I knew almost exactly where they were. There was a little bluff along the shoreline where the shooters must have been standing. I also got a little lucky on my landing zone theory. It still is amazing, though.


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## blobbottlebob (Jan 25, 2009)

> Hey Bob...
> 
> Great story and nice balls...
> 
> ...


 
 Hey Wayne,
 We don't find those honking lobsters around here. I'm jealous too. We've got cute little crayfish and also a few turtles now and then. Here's my buddy Jim holding a painted turtle. We removed several leaches from his legs then released him.


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## Just Dig it (Feb 2, 2009)

Congratulations on a great find = )    If i found one i would make it a sweet acrylic light box encased in steel and four feet of concrete with rebar outside of that. but seriously all jokes aside thats a beauty it must be great to be able to just go dive and escape the dirt ...keep up the good work. Eric


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## blobbottlebob (Feb 2, 2009)

Thanks Eric!
 It was really fun to find it. Oddly enough, we still haven't escaped the dirt and mud because we just end up crawling through it on the bottom of the lakes or rivers. I have a great picture of one of my buddies covered in weeds and mud that I'll search out. I haven't built any display box for it. That's on my "get round to it someday" list.


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## appliedlips (Feb 2, 2009)

Good story Bob. That is a very nice ball,too bad they were good enough shots to break the others.I wrote one about my son & his friend for Ralph's magazine back in 06.Unfortunately the target ball we wrote about was in pieces.I will try to post the story sometime.

     They are hard to dig intact,I have only dug one in a privy and got another from someone that dug it in a dump.I wonder if the guys in the West dig them?


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## blobbottlebob (Feb 2, 2009)

I'd love to read your story appliedlips. (BTW - What magazine is Ralphs?) As far as digging them, I'm surprised you found any pieces at all. It must have broken and then dicarded as household debris?


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## CALDIGR2 (Feb 3, 2009)

> ORIGINAL:  appliedlips
> 
> Â Â
> Â Â Â They are hard to dig intact,I have only dug one in a privy and got another from someone that dug it in a dump.I wonder if the guys in the West dig them?


 
 Yep, we sure do. I was involved in a dig that produced a couple that went for $10K each, a few years back. Both were 1870s San Francisco made balls, embossed with the manufacturer's name.


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## glass man (Feb 3, 2009)

GREAT COLORED TARGET BALL! I HAVE WANTED ONE FOR AWHILE AND STILL KICK MYSELF FOR NOT BUYING ONE WHEN I HAD THE MONEY,BUT PUT IT OFF TILL I COULD GET ONE CHEAP! GOOD LUCK TO ME ON THAT ONE! GREAT STORY TOO!! JAMIE


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## appliedlips (Feb 3, 2009)

Mike, I had a feeling there would be more found out your way.I think I remember seeing one of the balls you mentioned in the Alex Kerr collection.

      Bob, After looking over your article I realized ON TARGET was the title of the story.Ralph Finch,a writer & editor for Antique Bottles & Glass,writes and publishes his own magazine devoted to target balls.It is called ON TARGET.


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## bottlediger (Feb 3, 2009)

very nice ball. My buddie dug one over a decade ago in the dump we used to dig, If I remeber correctly it was cobalt. Im still waiting to dig mine. I have a beautiful target ball thrower just need a ball to get the nice pair.

 Digger Ry


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## blobbottlebob (Feb 3, 2009)

Hey Mike,
 10K is a ton of cash. I assume that those were rare and spectacular. I hope that when you say you were 'involved' in the dig, that you were involved with splitting up the finds (or the proceeds).

 Hey Jamie,
 Thanks for the kind words about the story. I would love to collect these things but they are too rare and pricey. If I could find enough to start a decent collection, I would consider it.

 Hey appliedlips,
 I was not aware of the ON TARGET publication at the time I wrote this story. It seemed like exactly the right phrase to sum up an adventure finding a target ball. It makes sense as a title for their magazine. I have seen some of the galleries since then online and I can see why people love them. Some of them are really amazing.

 Hey Bottledigger,
 Anytime you find a cobalt target ball, I'd say you had a good day. Man, that would be awesome. (Just writing about it makes me want to jump back into the water and look for more!) Any chance that you still have a picture of it?


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## CALDIGR2 (Feb 4, 2009)

Here's a pic of one of the SF balls. They are embossed Liddle and Kaeding/Agents/San Francisco. Finch turned one down. Too rich for his blood, I guess. He snoozes, he loses.


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## blobbottlebob (Feb 4, 2009)

Wow Mike. Is this one yours? The embossing is great. You know, mine could be worth 10 grand too (if it just had a few rows of lettering). I assume that this was rare and unheard of before that?


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## blobbottlebob (Feb 5, 2009)

Hey Eric,
 Check this out. A while back I mentioned that even though we are diving, we are still crawling around in the mud. This is a great shot of my buddy Jim just getting out of a swampy mud hole covered in muck and weeds.


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## blobbottlebob (Feb 5, 2009)

Here's a closer look at his face. This picture is even better than I remembered!


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## blobbottlebob (Oct 21, 2010)

Hey! Check this out. I ran across a target ball on ebay that I think is similar to mine. Maybe a little cleaner and lighter in color but its got nothing in crudeness. This just sold for almost $200 on ebay. Pretty cool. Mine is still not for sale. Offers of lobsters are still welcome. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260677839221&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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## LC (Oct 21, 2010)

I have never seen a target ball except for in pictures , and the ones I got to see were simply beautiful , and as stated demand high prices as they are very hard to find intact . I would also bet that when this crazy hobby of collecting glass first started , there were possibly a good many of them that would show up here and there for a while .


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## blobbottlebob (Oct 21, 2010)

LC, Mine is not one of the unbelievable ones, but if you're ever in the Milwaukee area, send me an email and I would be happy to show it to you. I would collect these in a heartbeat if I could find a few. (There's no way I could start a whole new collection where I had to buy every expensive piece, though.)


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## cowseatmaize (Oct 21, 2010)

> I don't think we have much of a chance of finding target balls around here


 Wayne, I bought one at a barn sale in the 70's. It was being sold with a few fishnet floats. They even put a net on it. I sold it for $180 a few years back.


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## blobbottlebob (Oct 21, 2010)

Pretty cool! Very similar to the one I found except for tha awesome cork (is it original??) and it looks like there a few dots on it on the shoulder.


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## LC (Oct 21, 2010)

Yours may not be embossed Bob , but it is still a super find being they are rarely ever found intact . I have never seen any found in this area , and there are quite a few people I know into hunting memorabilia , and none of them have one , or at least I have not seen any when I visit these people . They sure have a lot of other fine things though . I think a did a Google search some years ago , and found pics of some that were simply beautiful . If I had the bucks to squander , I could get into collecting them hot and heavy .


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## cowseatmaize (Oct 21, 2010)

There were 3 dots. the cork was in it when I bought it, original? The barn was up to Searsport Maine. I can't tell what happened yesterday but if I collected 30 years ago I can tell your where and how much I paid. 25 cents for the lot. I was about 15. Years old that is, not cents.


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## blobbottlebob (Oct 21, 2010)

> If I had the bucks to squander , I could get into collecting them hot and heavy .


 Yea, LC, but spouses don't like the squander part much. 

 You know what else would be frustrating? Waiting for two years to add a new piece to the collection.


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## blobbottlebob (Oct 21, 2010)

> I was about 15.


 Wow. Great investment for a 15 year old. Wish I would have started diving when I was 15. I'm guessing I would have a temendous collection (and I woudl have been way ahead of the bulk of people that do this).


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## LC (Oct 21, 2010)

I wish I had the ability to dive , I know where there is a spot where some super nice glass could be found , a Berkshire bitters was found in said area as well as some other great bottles .


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## blobbottlebob (Oct 21, 2010)

Hmm. Its not too late to learn.(Or is it?)

 Otherwise, maybe sometime if I am down there, I could dive it for you. Don't get your hopes up because I don't road trip very often. But if I did, I would give you first crack at anything I found for showing me the spot. Plus, you could rest assured that I would not go back without you because (1. I wouldn't) and (2. I live hundreds of miles away). But, as I mentioned, its not something that happens very often. So, maybe getting certified is smarter.


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## cowseatmaize (Oct 21, 2010)

Think of all the flooded towns and dumps under water in reservoirs that don't even allow swimming, fishing, dogs or just plain trespassing!


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## blobbottlebob (Oct 21, 2010)

I never let signs like "no swimming" stop me.


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## LC (Oct 21, 2010)

Too blasted old now Bob , lol , as well as having nerve damage in my arms as well as other health issues . But maybe in the next life !


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## blobbottlebob (Oct 21, 2010)

Okay. Lets go find some for twenty-five cents. That's a good way to get them.


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## LC (Oct 21, 2010)

Sounds good to me Bob , I miss the days of digging in Cincinnati . Most of everything I dug was 1880s to 1900 . Did get in one outhouse pit that had been dozed off a hillside , there was only about a foot of it left , the rest of it had been hauled away . I did find one nice paneled soda as well as a few small pontiled medicines . Found seven or eight other pontiled squat sodas , all broken regretably . That always seemed to be my luck .


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## blobbottlebob (Feb 17, 2012)

Just pulled this old target ball out of a box last week. Nice to reminice from time to time. I gotta find another one this year.[]


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## Wheelah23 (Feb 17, 2012)

I love this story. Cool thing to find, Bob! Well written as with your hutch story. I feel like diving would be fun, but there's not much water around here, though plenty of history. Plus, I'm probably too jumpy to feel around in the muck for bottles. "Something just touched my leg! Oh God I'm getting out of here! AAAAAH!"


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## blobbottlebob (Feb 18, 2012)

> "Something just touched my leg! Oh God I'm getting out of here! AAAAAH!


 Thanks for your nice comments Wheelah. It happens from time to time that something touches you in the murky depths. It's usually your dive buddy but sometimes a fish freaking out can slam you pretty hard as well.


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## RedGinger (Feb 21, 2012)

You should submit this story and pictures to the bottle magazine, Bob!  You always have great stories.  I'd like to hear some more!


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## blobbottlebob (Feb 21, 2012)

Thanks Laur,
 That's very kind of you. I may do it someday but I never seem to get around to it.


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