# Large 1940's Dump Discovered - Advice?



## BottleDragon

I came across a pretty massive bottle dump in the woods the other day. I found the site using an aerial photograph from 1949. I've included the aerial photos and a LiDAR hillshade image depicting the dump area, so you can get a decent feel for it.




The dump area is roughly 60x100 feet, and is absolutely filled with bottles. I could feel the crunching of glass and metal underfoot with every step. What surprised me the most was how many intact bottles were just sitting on the surface. The edge of the dump is only about 50 feet from a well-trafficked street; and while the forest is dense, it's not impenetrable. I could see no obvious signs of digging, so I suppose most people just don't care about bottles, or maybe 1940's dumps are just passe. 

I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of bottles in this place! There were so many just sitting there partially exposed that I didn't even bother digging. I have no idea how deep the dump is, but I reckon I could spend every weekend for the rest of my life digging if I felt like it.

I grabbed a few (mostly small) bottles that I could easily carry, but there were hundreds more I left behind.



- Puroform Bleach; amber cork top with horse ACL (example: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Puroform-Bleach-Bottle-White-Horse-Logo-wolc-/401590146212?oid=401545518125)
- Woodbury milk glass jars; screw top
- Phillips Milk of Magnesia Tablets; embossed, screw top
- Unknown screw top, marked "Mutual" on the bottom -- Bitters? Soy sauce? An online search turned up no examples of this bottle.
- Waterman's Ink, 2 oz screw top

I'm under no illusions that any of these are valuable. I know the Phillips bottles can fetch a few dollars, and they're so pretty I just can't pass them up. There could be dozens or perhaps hundreds of that bottle alone in this dump. I'm not sure about the exact dates of these, so please correct me if you think these are newer than 1940's.

Naturally, I'm curious how far back this dump might go. I didn't see anything that looked especially old, but that doesn't mean there isn't anything -- it's usually further down, right? There's also the potential for embossed sodas, ACLs, milk bottles, etc.

This is where my request for advice comes in. Does anyone have a strategy for tackling a dump of this size? Start at the furthest end and work towards the road, pick a corner, or dig test holes throughout? Do the photos offer any clues I might be missing? The topography is pretty flat in the vicinity of the dump. I didn't even notice any elevation changes, but the LiDAR managed to pick out the dump nicely. 

This area was settled and logged in the late 19th or early 20th century (let's say between 1870 and 1920, since it varied). The darker areas in the 1949 image are coniferous regrowth that still exists today, so I would imagine those trees are between 100 and 150 years old now. The dump site itself is covered by a mature deciduous forest, so it hasn't been used as a dump in at least 50 years, probably longer. I saw no signs of plastic.


----------



## nhpharm

Definitely 1940's.  Oldest stuff will likely either be in the center of the dump or on the edge furthest away from the road.  Unless you actually do plan to dig the entire dump, I'd dig some test holes and then dig the area that seems most productive.  Probably has not been dug because of the age...I know of a few dumps of that era in my neck of the woods that have not been dug as well...most diggers are looking for a bit more age.  You never know what you might find in a dump like that though...I have dug a few in New Hampshire and found a lot of late throws, license plates, early canning jars, and so forth.


----------



## Screwtop

A hunting partner would help a lot too.


----------



## CanadianBottles

Yeah for that era most diggers aren't interested, but it definitely has good potential to have embossed sodas and milks in it, maybe even decent ACLs if the conditions are right, as well as license plates since BC used non-rusting license plates at some points.  If you ever see a BC plate with the prefix "MD", keep it no matter how bad the condition is.  They're extremely rare and not many examples are known, and were used right in the era you're looking at.  There's also the chance of enamel signs, which can often be found in that era.  I found my first one in a similar but much smaller dump last month.
It looks like it may be a municipal dump if you're in a small town, in which case it will take a gargantuan effort to dig down to something older, if there even is anything older.  But it also would mean that everything was dumped in there, which means you've got the best chances of finding the best things that era has to offer.  I'd definitely say go for it, just pick a spot and see what you find.


----------



## RCO

for some reason they likely stopped using the dump in the 40's or 50's . judging by the forest cover , most people wouldn't assume there was a dump there , as to why no one else has been digging there . 

I'd try and find bottles that had local city names on them , which could be soda's or milk jugs 


that kind of dump you don't really know what you might find but can sometimes yield the odd good find


----------



## BottleDragon

Thanks for the tips, guys.

nhpharm - Yeah, I figured they were  1940's. Late throws... good point. I could see that happening with  canning jars especially since people keep those around forever.

Screwtop - Good point. I may look into that.

CanadianBottles  - Yeah, kinda figured it looked a bit too "new" to interest most . But I  will definitely grab any of those items if I come across them. It seems  like possibly dozens of households... really  hard to say, but certainly several. I will  also keep my eyes peeled for license plates, as noted.

RCO - Yes, it seems to have  been completely abandoned around 1950 by the looks of it. This area was  pretty rural at one time, so I guess it grew over with trees and no one  was the wiser. I'm hoping to find some good local ones.

I think I  will do test digs in the following order... both rear corners, center  rear, and then in the middle of the dump... and see what comes up.


----------



## RCO

from my past experiences I've found these sorts of dumps are usually disappointing , often don't find much . most pop bottles are usually broken , same with milk jugs . and often when pop bottles are unbroken there from out of area , since they couldn't return them locally , they just threw them out instead . so you might find a bottle from some far away city you never imagined you would 

have found license plates before but usually there too rusty to salvage , also have found old hub caps in those types of dumps  , at least last year I found a couple


----------



## hemihampton

Could be a good dump if it has old Beer Cans in it.LEON.


----------



## CanadianBottles

RCO said:


> from my past experiences I've found these sorts of dumps are usually disappointing , often don't find much . most pop bottles are usually broken , same with milk jugs . and often when pop bottles are unbroken there from out of area , since they couldn't return them locally , they just threw them out instead . so you might find a bottle from some far away city you never imagined you would
> 
> have found license plates before but usually there too rusty to salvage , also have found old hub caps in those types of dumps  , at least last year I found a couple


Sodas can be quite hit or miss.  I've dug dumps in BC that were packed with them, so in some areas they were certainly not always returned.  Especially if you've got commercial dumping there.  Milks are really hard to find in BC for some reason.  People out there just didn't seem to throw away intact milk bottles.  Even in stores and at sales they were almost always attic mint with no signs of being dug.  Plates depend on the province.  Ontario is terrible for license plates because they've been made of steel since the 1910s.  BC is better because they used aluminum for some years.  Quebec is excellent because they've always been aluminum since the early 50s.

And yes like Leon said, look for beer and soda cans.  Look for flat-top cans (the ones with two triangles punched in the top) and cone-top cans.  Even if they're too rusty to read take them home, they can be restored.  Old steel cans survive surprisingly well in the Pacific Northwest.


----------



## BottleDragon

Yeah, I have noticed it's hard to find pop bottles around here. I guess it just depends on the area and who was dumping there, like you say.

I never thought to look for beer cans, but I will save those.

Another thing I'm going to look at is the curved area below and to the left of the main dump in the 1949 image. I'm unsure whether I explored that area fully... it looks very unnatural, so I think there's a chance it may be an older section.


----------



## CanadianBottles

Yeah it definitely could be an older section of the dump.  It does look like something was dumped there, though it isn't necessarily trash.


----------



## barberman

I use Google earth...How do I go about using Lidar data.  Seems very interesting.  Thanks


----------



## BottleDragon

barberman said:


> I use Google earth...How do I go about using Lidar data.  Seems very interesting.  Thanks



Hi barberman... You can try finding your area on OpenTopography. http://opentopo.sdsc.edu/lidar?format=ge 

Download the KMZ file and then open it using Google Earth.

Alternately, check your city or state website to see if they have the data available for download. They may even have their own map viewer that you can use to view the data.

Hope this helps.


----------



## Brett

Interesting to see the difference in the vegetation that has overgrown the site. Likely deciduous trees from the look of the satellite image. Have a look around the area on the satellite image to find more possible clearings like this one. Very nice find.


----------



## BottleDragon

Yeah, there are a couple of similar-looking areas that I've yet to explore. It's definitely a good idea to pay attention to differences in tree type because they often indicate where a house, farm or dump once existed.

In the meantime, I've been back to this location twice to do some digging. I'm just getting some pics ready to post right now.


----------



## BottleDragon

Here are some my finds from this place...




Corktop medicines (with cork remnants)
1. Unknown slick
2. Langdale's Concentrated Medicinal Essence of Cinnamon
3. Unknown with embossed measurements
4. Unknown amber bottle/vial



Screwtop embossed medicines
1. Rawleigh's - really nice example, looks like new
2. Wood's Norway Pine Syrup - marked Toronto, ON. Very nice condition
3. Owbridge's Tonic - some clouding of the glass



1. Canadian Coke marked 1946 - good condition
2. Phillips Milk of Magnesia
3. Embossed man with huge fish - I understand this is Scott's Emulsion



1. Dominion Wide Mouth Special - pretty cloudy
2. Unknown, amber art deco style - my first thought was coffee, but I couldn't find any examples of this jar.



Odds and ends... small common bottles, a salt shaker, and a glass stopper.

Not bad overall. I think some of the cork tops and embossed medicines are from the 1920's or early 1930's.


----------



## CanadianBottles

That Langdale's is interesting, I don't think I've ever seen that one before.  It looks like you're at least getting into the 30s there so that's a good sign!


----------



## BottleDragon

Rainy day dig (yesterday).

The hole I started a couple weeks ago, which is also where I found the Coke bottle and the Langdale's...



Here's a some of the stuff I dug yesterday...





Too bad the Player's sign was partly rusted away... I also found two broken Coke bottles, one from Seattle with no date and the other marked 1949; and two partially melted & broken 7-Up ACLs. There was also a Hires ACL and an amber Crush ACL that were broken (not in pictures).





Here's the ones I took home and cleaned up...



Left to right: Buckley's, unknown with cap, Chas. H. Fletcher Castoria, Familex, unknown with measurements (patd 1930), Phillip's Milk of Magnesia Tablets. 

This tablets bottle is a larger size than the previous one. I had to look up Familex because I had no idea what it was. Still not sure, but it appears to have been a Montreal based pharmaceutical company.



The milk glass mug cleaned up real nice, so I don't know why they threw it out. Same with the glass on the right, which I believe is a dose glass (though it has no writing on it). I found both of those in the same spot. The amber whisky bottle is marked Hiram Walker & Sons Limited. Not rare, but nice embossing. On second thought, maybe that dose glass is just a really big shot glass.


----------



## BottleDragon

CanadianBottles said:


> That Langdale's is interesting, I don't think I've ever seen that one before.  It looks like you're at least getting into the 30s there so that's a good sign!



Yeah, I'd say that's the most interesting thing I've found. It bears the mark of the Southern Glass Company ("S" inside elongated diamond), which dates it between 1920 and 1925... supposedly.


----------



## RCO

there sure is a lot of stuff there , you definitely found a large dump site . often in those sort of dumps , most of the soda bottles are broken . so not a surprise you dug some damaged ones 

but I'd keep poking around , the site seems to have potential . I've found lots of 40's era coke's like that but usually found them when swimming around docks here


----------



## Harry Pristis

I've recovered these "dose" or "shot" glasses here in Florida in two, maybe three sizes.  I thought for a long time that these were jam or jelly jars.  Then I happened upon these glasses which led me to suspect that they are snuff containers.  

No doubt that the market appeal of these containers were their re-usability as drinking glasses.  It's still possible that the rimmed glasses are jam jars, while the rimless examples are for snuff.  The date fits your site . . . '30s to '40s.


*[SUB][SUP]
[/SUP][/SUB]*


----------



## GLASSHOPPER55

That dump sure would keep me busy! I'd just keep hitting it whenever things get slow at other places.


----------



## BottleDragon

RCO said:


> there sure is a lot of stuff there , you definitely found a large dump site . often in those sort of dumps , most of the soda bottles are broken . so not a surprise you dug some damaged ones
> 
> but I'd keep poking around , the site seems to have potential . I've found lots of 40's era coke's like that but usually found them when swimming around docks here


Yeah, it's crazy how much stuff is here. A lot of common stuff, but just enough interesting pieces to make it worthwhile.

I did find some whole soda bottles today, in fact, so that was a pleasant surprise.



Harry Pristis said:


> I've recovered these "dose" or "shot" glasses here in Florida in two, maybe three sizes.  I thought for a long time that these were jam or jelly jars.  Then I happened upon these glasses which led me to suspect that they are snuff containers.
> 
> No doubt that the market appeal of these containers were their re-usability as drinking glasses.  It's still possible that the rimmed glasses are jam jars, while the rimless examples are for snuff.  The date fits your site . . . '30s to '40s.


Interesting. I would not have guessed that in a hundred years, so thanks for the info. The height of mine is 3" and the width at the rim is 2".



GLASSHOPPER55 said:


> That dump sure would keep me busy! I'd just keep hitting it whenever things get slow at other places.


It's definitely keeping me busy. I've been looking for better (older) places, but the last older place I dug practically everything was broken. At least here I can find whole bottles even if most are common ones. I still enjoy some of the common ones, anyway.


----------



## BottleDragon

Has anyone heard of North Star Beverages out of Prince Rupert, BC? I found all three in the same spot. Don't know anything about them.



Here's some more of what I dug up today...



Check out this funky glassware (that is unfortunately broken)... would have been a keeper for sure!



Looking pretty nice for a dump...


----------



## RCO

I have heard of North Star beverages from Prince Rupert BC , but the bottle I saw on ebay in 2017 was green not clear ( but did save a picture of it)  . think they'd be from the 50's or 60's but not sure how long they operated for  . likely tossed as they'd have been from too far away to return ? I'd assume your not from that area 

think your 3 bottles might be earlier than the green bottle I saw online maybe from late 40's or early 50's , seem to have a slightly different design

 but to find 3 of them with paint still on them is a good find , need to be careful when you try and clean them . its best to let them dry for a little while .


----------



## BottleDragon

RCO said:


> I have heard of North Star beverages from Prince Rupert BC , but the bottle I saw on ebay in 2017 was green not clear ( but did save a picture of it)  . think they'd be from the 50's or 60's but not sure how long they operated for  . likely tossed as they'd have been from too far away to return ? I'd assume your not from that area
> 
> think your 3 bottles might be earlier than the green bottle I saw online maybe from late 40's or early 50's , seem to have a slightly different design
> 
> but to find 3 of them with paint still on them is a good find , need to be careful when you try and clean them . its best to let them dry for a little while .



Yeah, I'm pretty far from Prince Rupert, so I'm guessing that's the case.

I'm not the best with date codes, but the bases show a "C" followed by the Dominion Glass mark, then a "7". I interpret this as May-June of 1947, but I could be wrong. If correct, that jibes with other stuff I've found here. Several of the broken Coke bottles are marked 1947.

I was extremely careful transporting them home, and haven't touched them yet. I will let them settle for a week or so before attempting anything. One bottle has a highly degraded ACL, so it will be my guinea pig. They all have general dirt as well as some rust stains.


----------



## RCO

BottleDragon said:


> Yeah, I'm pretty far from Prince Rupert, so I'm guessing that's the case.
> 
> I'm not the best with date codes, but the bases show a "C" followed by the Dominion Glass mark, then a "7". I interpret this as May-June of 1947, but I could be wrong. If correct, that jibes with other stuff I've found here. Several of the broken Coke bottles are marked 1947.
> 
> I was extremely careful transporting them home, and haven't touched them yet. I will let them settle for a week or so before attempting anything. One bottle has a highly degraded ACL, so it will be my guinea pig. They all have general dirt as well as some rust stains.




the date of 47 would seem to make sense , especially if your finding coke's nearby with the same date . 

wish I knew more about it but I don't have any BC bottle books , but I'd imagine there fairly uncommon just based on the size and geographical location of Prince Rupert 

I'd definitely try and clean the damaged one first and see how that goes , but if the paint has survived this long you should be ok to clean them


----------



## WesternPA-collector

Fun place you found there. Like RCO said the sodas are broken a lot and it's a teaser to see what could have been. But anytime you can find cobalts it is a good day. And Coke bottles were made so thick, they seem to hold up well over time.


----------



## CanadianBottles

I've heard of North Star and have seen that red and white one before, they aren't common in the south of the province but I don't know how many are up your way.  I really like the Players sign, shame it's damaged but I'd keep it even in that condition.  One sign means there may be more!  That glass dish thing is interesting as well, even broken I'd take it home.  Another thing to keep an eye out for is ACL druggist bottles, no idea if any were used in that area but you're in the right era for them.  I rarely see anyone talking about them in Canada but they were used here; I've got one from Victoria - only example from BC I've ever seen.

This post is making me all nostalgic, what you're finding are the exact sort of bottles that I found all the time when I was in BC.


----------



## CanadianBottles

Oh also, I think I see a Shell bottle in there.  Those can be somewhat collectible, especially if they still have the ACL on them.


----------



## BottleDragon

RCO said:


> wish I knew more about it but I don't have any BC bottle books , but I'd imagine there fairly uncommon just based on the size and geographical location of Prince Rupert


I will have to find some BC bottle books. I could only find one picture of this bottle online, but no other information.



WesternPA-collector said:


> Fun place you found there. Like RCO said the sodas are broken a lot and it's a teaser to see what could have been. But anytime you can find cobalts it is a good day. And Coke bottles were made so thick, they seem to hold up well over time.


Yeah, seems he was right about finding more "out of area" soda bottles that are intact and most local ones being broken. I actually found several different shades of cobalt bottles here. I never knew there were so many variations.



CanadianBottles said:


> I've heard of North Star and have seen that red and white one before, they aren't common in the south of the province but I don't know how many are up your way.  I really like the Players sign, shame it's damaged but I'd keep it even in that condition.  One sign means there may be more!  That glass dish thing is interesting as well, even broken I'd take it home.  Another thing to keep an eye out for is ACL druggist bottles, no idea if any were used in that area but you're in the right era for them.  I rarely see anyone talking about them in Canada but they were used here; I've got one from Victoria - only example from BC I've ever seen.
> 
> This post is making me all nostalgic, what you're finding are the exact sort of bottles that I found all the time when I was in BC.
> 
> Oh also, I think I see a Shell bottle in there.  Those can be somewhat collectible, especially if they still have the ACL on them.



I am actually in the south of BC, so these bottles must be almost unheard of down here. I left behind the sign and the glass bowl, but doing so went against my hoarding instinct.

It has been kind of nostalgic for me too, because I had found a similar (though much smaller) dump when I was 11 or 12 years old. In those days, I used to take home  everything -- even the ketchup bottles. Eventually, we started smashing them because they were so common.

LOL... I was finding a lot of those shells, and they look almost like new.


----------



## CanadianBottles

I don't think there are any BC bottle books for that era.  I can only think of three and all focus on pre-1930 bottles.  I've been trying to save pictures of every later BC soda bottle I come across but I still see unfamiliar ones from time to time.
Interesting how bottles tended to end up in far-off cities back then.  There's a dump on the Island (not diggable now) that's absolutely loaded with soda bottles from Vernon.  No idea what they were doing there.
If you're finding Shell bottles with intact ACLs you should definitely keep them, they're probably the most valuable thing you've found so far.  They can bring in $20+ each.


----------



## BottleDragon

CanadianBottles said:


> I don't think there are any BC bottle books for that era.  I can only think of three and all focus on pre-1930 bottles.  I've been trying to save pictures of every later BC soda bottle I come across but I still see unfamiliar ones from time to time.
> Interesting how bottles tended to end up in far-off cities back then.  There's a dump on the Island (not diggable now) that's absolutely loaded with soda bottles from Vernon.  No idea what they were doing there.
> If you're finding Shell bottles with intact ACLs you should definitely keep them, they're probably the most valuable thing you've found so far.  They can bring in $20+ each.



Oh, I thought you were joking about the shells, because I was finding a lot of actual seashells. I will have to look more closely since I'm not sure which bottle you are referring to.


----------



## RCO

CanadianBottles said:


> I've heard of North Star and have seen that red and white one before, they aren't common in the south of the province but I don't know how many are up your way.  I really like the Players sign, shame it's damaged but I'd keep it even in that condition.  One sign means there may be more!  That glass dish thing is interesting as well, even broken I'd take it home.  Another thing to keep an eye out for is ACL druggist bottles, no idea if any were used in that area but you're in the right era for them.  I rarely see anyone talking about them in Canada but they were used here; I've got one from Victoria - only example from BC I've ever seen.
> 
> This post is making me all nostalgic, what you're finding are the exact sort of bottles that I found all the time when I was in BC.




there is some acl druggist bottles from Ontario , I've seen some before but never found one in the wild . have no idea what places in BC might have one though ?


----------



## RCO

I found a picture online of a different variation of the green bottle , from an ebay post from 2014 , someone had the bottle but didn't seem to know much about it and asked a question . it looks similar to yours but green . 

its not uncommon to not be able to find information online about older bottles , especially if there from smaller places 




https://community.ebay.com/t5/Archi...tage-what-price-should-I-ask-on/td-p/19003971


----------



## BottleDragon

That looks identical to my bottles, except green. It also appears to be of a similar age to mine, while the one on the previous page appears to be newer, judging by the textured base. With so few examples it's difficult to judge which style is the most common, though perhaps this green version was a brief transition between the clear style and newer green style -- so it could be the least common one.


----------



## CanadianBottles

In the photo with the Players sign there's a bottle with a ribbed design next to a Milk of Magnesia bottle.  That looks like those Shell ACL bottles, they had things like furniture polish in them.  I could be wrong though.

And RCO I've got one from Renfrew as well, that and the Victoria one are the only two I've come across.  Never found even a piece of them in the wild.  I've never seen or heard of another example of the one from Victoria so there could likely be other examples from BC I haven't heard of.


----------



## BottleDragon

CanadianBottles said:


> In the photo with the Players sign there's a bottle with a ribbed design next to a Milk of Magnesia bottle.  That looks like those Shell ACL bottles, they had things like furniture polish in them.  I could be wrong though.



I'm pretty sure it is that bottle, now that I think about it. I have found a couple of those, but I think the ACL was either badly worn or completely gone from both of them. 

I've found some other household bottles with ACLs in bad condition, such as this one (not my picture)...


https://www.etsy.com/listing/268499178/vintage-1930s1940s-soil-off-household

I've found two of these, but they were too far gone.


----------



## RCO

BottleDragon said:


> That looks identical to my bottles, except green. It also appears to be of a similar age to mine, while the one on the previous page appears to be newer, judging by the textured base. With so few examples it's difficult to judge which style is the most common, though perhaps this green version was a brief transition between the clear style and newer green style -- so it could be the least common one.




most bottlers used clear and green bottles at the same time , they put different flavours in clear bottles than the green ones . the green could of been for a ginger ale or lime drink . and clear maybe a cola or orange drink .

 agree the green bottle I saw on ebay last year is newer than your clear bottles or the green one I saw the other day


----------



## BottleDragon

RCO said:


> most bottlers used clear and green bottles at the same time , they put different flavours in clear bottles than the green ones . the green could of been for a ginger ale or lime drink . and clear maybe a cola or orange drink .
> 
> agree the green bottle I saw on ebay last year is newer than your clear bottles or the green one I saw the other day



Good point. I noticed the bottles don't mention what flavour the contents are, so it makes sense they'd use different colours of glass.


----------



## BottleDragon

Slightly off-topic, but I found two new dumps today.

The first one is in a location I've been curious about for a while. It appears to have been a gravel pit at one time, so I figured a dump would be the next logical step in its evolution. I actually pass by it on my way to the main dump where I've been  digging, though it's several miles away. I hadn't stopped to look before because there's normally a lot of traffic  on that street. Anyway, I barely step off the shoulder of the road and I'm already seeing glass shards, and an intact milk glass jar sitting out in the open. The trees here are pretty thin, and I see mounds everywhere with cobalt glass scattered around, along with some intact but uninteresting bottles. I checked the dates on a few, and the general age of the stuff appears to be similar or slightly newer than where I'm digging now. But this dump is much smaller and more spotty. I notice that a few holes have been dug, but they don't appear to be recent. The local kids have turned part of the place into a BMX park, but no one was there at the time. This place doesn't appear to be an actual "dump", but more of an opportunistic dumping ground.

I left my digging tools in the car, but I did pull this somewhat older-looking jar from the side of an embankment. Not sure how old it is... it's machine-made, but check out the size of that bubble! The lip is also a little wonky.









The second dump I found is just half a mile down the road from my main dump, in a very similar-looking area. I actually found this dump in a report on closed landfills, which strangely had no mention of the dump I'm currently digging. Part of the dump is underneath the road, while the rest is in a narrow strip adjacent to the road. The part not covered by the road is covered with a layer of fill. What little glass I did find, didn't seem very old. 





I checked the 1949 aerial photos and there was no evidence of this dump at that time. The report suggested the dump was last active in the early 70's, which seems accurate judging by what I could see. I also found a few of these Pepsi cans.




It was a pretty interesting day all in all, even though I doubt I will return to either of these places anytime soon. I have been back to my main dump twice since I last posted, and I've found some decent stuff. I will make another post about that sometime soon.


----------



## CanadianBottles

The jar looks older than what you've posted so far, maybe 1910s or 20s?  But those things were used for years so that doesn't mean anything else around it will be that old.  I agree that the first dump still looks like it has the most potential.


----------



## BottleDragon

CanadianBottles said:


> The jar looks older than what you've posted so far, maybe 1910s or 20s?  But those things were used for years so that doesn't mean anything else around it will be that old.  I agree that the first dump still looks like it has the most potential.



Yeah, you're right. According to my research, the jar dates between 1915 and 1925 and was made with a semi-automatic machine. 

It's pretty funny that the oldest thing I've found in weeks was just sitting on the surface like that, but I agree it's not indicative of anything else I might find there. Meanwhile, I'm digging four foot deep holes in the other place and still pulling out 1940's stuff... lol. I know older isn't necessarily better, but it never hurts.


----------



## hemihampton

I'd be Interested in the pepsi can or any other cans you found but I'm afraid the shipping to U.S. could be more then they are worth? LEON.


----------



## BottleDragon

hemihampton said:


> I'd be Interested in the pepsi can or any other cans you found but I'm afraid the shipping to U.S. could be more then they are worth? LEON.



For a single can it probably would be more than it was worth. What I could do is save them up until I have enough to make it worthwhile. I may want to keep some, but where there's one there's usually more.

There were at least three of those Pepsi cans. I haven't found any beer cans that I could identify.

I'm not sure what else you like. I tend to find very random or unusual stuff. I found several of these last week at an unrelated dump...


----------



## BottleDragon

Here is probably the nicest ACL I've found in this dump...



Back...



Here's an advertisement from 1945 (this bottle also dates from 1945): https://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/shanahans-shano-advertisement-painted-on-side-of-building

The photo makes it appear that some paint is missing, but none is. However, the paint did dull in some spots.

After experimenting with a few cleaning methods, I'm convinced that  straight vinegar is the safest (for the ACL) and fairly effective.


----------



## BottleDragon

I cleaned up those North Star bottles. The ACLs on these are very fragile. Two of them turned out decent, with only a small amount of paint loss mainly on the backs. The third bottle was already too far gone to save.






Also got this Perfect Seal jar. The lid is not the original lid -- it's much older than the jar. (It wasn't found on the jar either, but within a few feet of it.)







Does anyone know how to roughly date jar lids? It has no markings of any kind. 
Just for curiosity sake, as I know it has no value.


 Also found this nice Coke from Bellingham, WA.


----------



## RCO

still not bad for having been in a dump so long , had bottles turn out much worse . the damage on the back might hurt the value a little 

not surprising to find a coke from Bellingham Wa as its so close to the Canadian border


----------



## CanadianBottles

Nice find on the Shano, never seen that one and it's marked from BC no less!  Fruit jar lids can be hard to date if you don't know what jar it went to, but I'd guess that that one dates from the late 19th century up to maybe 1920 or so.


----------



## BottleDragon

RCO said:


> still not bad for having been in a dump so long , had bottles turn out much worse . the damage on the back might hurt the value a little
> 
> not surprising to find a coke from Bellingham Wa as its so close to the Canadian border



Yeah, I can't really complain given how bad the conditions were. I was really worried about cleaning them in the condition they were in... verging on leaving them alone. Unfortunately, that rust wasn't going to come off without taking the paint with it. The paint was flaking off the third bottle with just my finger.


----------



## BottleDragon

CanadianBottles said:


> Nice find on the Shano, never seen that one and it's marked from BC no less!  Fruit jar lids can be hard to date if you don't know what jar it went to, but I'd guess that that one dates from the late 19th century up to maybe 1920 or so.



Yeah, I was pretty happy to find the Shano. It seems practically unknown, or at least no other examples of the actual bottle comes up when I search online.

I was guessing 1890 to 1910 on the lid myself, but the only thing I'm basing that on is the amount of bubbles in the glass.


----------



## BottleDragon

Wow, how time flies. I didn't realize it had been over a month since I posted in this thread. I have been back there a few times since I last updated.

I finally found an intact Atlas E-Z Seal quart jar (I've found lots of broken ones at several other dumps). The lid was missing, but I found a good one at a different dump.




It cleaned up pretty nice, too. Also pictured below: green ribbed bottle, cobalt slick, Perfect Seal pint jar, salt/pepper shaker, E.W. Hoyt & Co. Perfumers Lowell Mass U.S.A., Horlick's Malted Milk Lunch Tablets.



Peerless Ink, slick aqua ink and clear ink (at least I think).



Below: Dr. S.N. Thomas No. 5520 The Proprietary or Patent Medicine Act Eclectric Oil (front) / Northrop & Lyman Co. Limited Toronto, Canada (reverse) / Internal / External (sides).



Below: Rigo Improved Nurser Pat'd 1922 Design Reg. 1926, unknown baby bottle with ounces markings, The F. W. Fitch Co. Canada Ltd., Mrs. Stewart's Bluing, Property of C.D.G.A. Limited R.D. 1930 (aqua with crown top and stippling pattern throughout body), Pertussin, gin bottle with ornate embossing, Mason Fruit Jar (aqua embossed), unknown liquor bottle, various jar lids.











I can take better photos if anyone is curious about a specific bottle.


----------



## BottleDragon

CanadianBottles said:


> Another thing to keep an eye out for is ACL druggist bottles, no idea if any were used in that area but you're in the right era for them.  I rarely see anyone talking about them in Canada but they were used here; I've got one from Victoria - only example from BC I've ever seen.



I found my first one the other day! As soon as I realized what it was, I remembered your post.





The bottom says "Porlip Oval Reg'd '37".

I looked up Porlip Oval on Google image search and a few examples of this style of bottle came up. No others from Woodward's, but some other Canadian ones.

I also found this druggist glass not far from where I found that bottle...





It says "Geo O. Hill, Druggist" on one side and "Elmwood" on the other. Unfortunately, it has a crack in it.


----------



## yacorie

Those are some great finds.  I had no idea that medicines were ACL too - thats good to know.  

I love all the different lids to the fruit jars that you've been able to find.  

Keep it up and thanks for sharing.


----------



## RCO

the Woodward's is definitely an acl druggist although not sure how collectable one from Woodward's would be when compared to the ones from smaller independent druggists , they seem to be the ones in more demand 

not that familiar with the Woodward's chain but my understanding is they had a lot of stores at some point


----------



## CanadianBottles

Those are a couple of really nice finds!  I've never seen a Woodward's ACL druggist before, even if it was a large chain it's still a local chain so that makes it a good one in my books.  These ACL bottles were also not in use for very long so it's likely pretty rare regardless.  And the local phone number makes it even better.
That dose cup is also really nice, regardless of the crack.  Do you have any idea where it's from?  I can't find any towns named Elmwood.  There is a neighbourhood called Elmwood in Winnipeg and a town called Elmwood Park in New Jersey though.


----------



## RCO

CanadianBottles said:


> Those are a couple of really nice finds!  I've never seen a Woodward's ACL druggist before, even if it was a large chain it's still a local chain so that makes it a good one in my books.  These ACL bottles were also not in use for very long so it's likely pretty rare regardless.  And the local phone number makes it even better.
> That dose cup is also really nice, regardless of the crack.  Do you have any idea where it's from?  I can't find any towns named Elmwood.  There is a neighbourhood called Elmwood in Winnipeg and a town called Elmwood Park in New Jersey though.




I didn't realise 'Woodward's " was a western Canada chain only , that might make it a bit more unusual . and the acl is all there , which helps , as sometimes it gone or faded 


I'm confused about the Elmwood too , there are some streets and locations in BC referred to as Elmwood but not towns . one street in Burnaby BC but not sure it be large enough to have a druggist , it is near the hospital though , when I checked on google maps 

if its not from BC , the Elmwood area of Winnipeg would be the next logical option , although along way to travel for a dose cup


----------



## BottleDragon

Thanks guys.

Yes, Geo. O. Hill was a Winnipeg druggist according to my research.



As for how it found its way here, I haven't the faintest clue.


----------



## CanadianBottles

Ah, there we go!  Dose cups were reusable items, so someone probably kept it after moving from Winnipeg to BC and then threw it away after it was damaged.


----------



## GLASSHOPPER55

Also love the Jar lids. Also the Dose Cup, I've never dug or owned one of those.


----------



## CanadianBottles

Oh by the way that Peerless Ink is local to you as well, they were a Vancouver company.  Common, but I quite like the art deco design on those.  These posts give me such nostalgia for BC, lots of bottles there that showed up in every BC dump and I never see out here.  Not sure why Mrs Stewart's Bluing is so common in BC and yet I never see it out here, since the company was based out of Minneapolis.


----------



## BottleDragon

CanadianBottles said:


> Oh by the way that Peerless Ink is local to you as well, they were a Vancouver company.  Common, but I quite like the art deco design on those.  These posts give me such nostalgia for BC, lots of bottles there that showed up in every BC dump and I never see out here.  Not sure why Mrs Stewart's Bluing is so common in BC and yet I never see it out here, since the company was based out of Minneapolis.



Thanks for the info, I did not know they were local. I'm a fan of the design, too.

What areas of BC did you dig in? I live in Abbotsford and I mainly dig within an hour's drive of here (so basically the Lower Mainland).

I've done a fair amount of research on dumps in the area, so I've got quite a few leads I plan to follow up on. I don't know how well you know this area, but feel free to message me privately if you're interested in trading information.


----------



## CanadianBottles

I only ever dug on the Island, so I don't know a thing about sites in the Lower Mainland I'm afraid.  I have no doubt that there are plenty of sites around there though.  I sure wish I had that kind of opportunity to explore places around here, but living in the city means a lot fewer potential digging locations unless you're into digging privies.


----------



## nebrokla87

I've been to some dumps that were up to 10-15 deep that started with 60s ontop and 1910s at the bottom


----------



## sunrunner

don't know much about B C . but I do know that 1940s and 50s dumps , have very few collectable bottles . soda and milks were returned for deposit , so any that you may find may be damaged . whisky and condiment bottles are the majority of what you well find .


----------



## CanadianBottles

sunrunner said:


> don't know much about B C . but I do know that 1940s and 50s dumps , have very few collectable bottles . soda and milks were returned for deposit , so any that you may find may be damaged . whisky and condiment bottles are the majority of what you well find .


That really depends.  In my experience the individual household 40s dumps have almost no collectible bottles for the reason you describe, but the municipal dumps can be loaded with sodas.  Businesses seemed less concerned with deposits than individuals did.  And bottling companies would sometimes dump large numbers of bottles as well.


----------



## BottleDragon

You're both kind of right. Most of what I find here is junk. I leave 95% of it, and I probably still take more than I should.

Yes, I find loads of ketchup bottles and those round whiskey bottles with the band at the base of the neck. I think they're Rye Whisky bottles. I've never posted a pic of one in this thread, but they are very numerous.

I've never found an intact milk bottle here. Most sodas are broken, but I've found a few good non-local ones.

I've found just enough interesting bottles here to keep going back, but I spend more time looking for older dumps. Well, I've not been looking much lately due to the weather, but I'm still on the lookout for that holy grail 19th century dump.


----------



## BottleDragon

nebrokla87 said:


> I've been to some dumps that were up to 10-15 deep that started with 60s ontop and 1910s at the bottom



That's what I was hoping, but I've dated this place to 1947 based on a newspaper article I found.


----------



## CanadianBottles

BottleDragon said:


> I've found just enough interesting bottles here to keep going back, but I spend more time looking for older dumps. Well, I've not been looking much lately due to the weather, but I'm still on the lookout for that holy grail 19th century dump.


You'll have a hard time finding one of those larger than a small household dump in the woods unfortunately, at least in B.C.  The large woods dumps mostly came from trucks emptying their loads.  19th century dumps were generally easily accessible by foot, so they would be a short walk from the centre of town.  You're better off watching for construction sites or digging privies to get back to that era.  And finding intact milks of any era is very difficult in BC for some reason.  No one seems to find them often, every milk I saw in an antique store was attic mint, never with mineralization.  Plenty of sodas out there to be found though!

Speaking of weather, are you still buried under snow out there?


----------



## BottleDragon

Yeah, you're right. The most likely dumping spots near the center of towns are already built over top of. I generally look within a 1-mile radius of the main intersection. I know of two dumps that go back to the 1910's... one of them isn't really dig-able, but the other one may be if I can find a way to access it.

Privies are not something I've done before, but I probably should look into that. I gravitate toward dumps because most are out of public view, I can take my time, and not have to worry about tearing up someone's yard.

Yeah, there's still quite a bit of snow here, but less than there was a few days ago. However, there's more expected next week.


----------



## RCO

BottleDragon said:


> You're both kind of right. Most of what I find here is junk. I leave 95% of it, and I probably still take more than I should.
> 
> Yes, I find loads of ketchup bottles and those round whiskey bottles with the band at the base of the neck. I think they're Rye Whisky bottles. I've never posted a pic of one in this thread, but they are very numerous.
> 
> I've never found an intact milk bottle here. Most sodas are broken, but I've found a few good non-local ones.
> 
> I've found just enough interesting bottles here to keep going back, but I spend more time looking for older dumps. Well, I've not been looking much lately due to the weather, but I'm still on the lookout for that holy grail 19th century dump.




it be neat to find a 19th century dump , I've never really had any luck finding one here . there seems to be more 40's -50's era dumps which usually don't have much good 


I'm not exactly sure why milk bottles would be harder to find in BC , sure there must be a local reason for it


----------



## CanadianBottles

Yeah I'm the same, I much prefer somewhere off in the woods over anything urban unless it's a very isolated riverbank or gully.  I've never done a privy dig either, they seem to be pretty rare in Canada although I did know people on the Island who dug privies.

And RCO I have no idea why milk bottles are so hard to find in BC, I guess it could just be a coincidence but it seems odd.  The attic mint ones certainly aren't that rare of a find.  Not that I've had much luck with milks out here either, though I do know of a dump with a layer of nothing but broken Ottawa Dairy milks.  I imagine there are some intact or nearly intact ones in there as well, but I never bothered digging it because of how common those bottles are.  I found one of the quarts at a thrift store a couple months ago and left it there because I didn't want it taking up space.


----------



## RCO

CanadianBottles said:


> Yeah I'm the same, I much prefer somewhere off in the woods over anything urban unless it's a very isolated riverbank or gully.  I've never done a privy dig either, they seem to be pretty rare in Canada although I did know people on the Island who dug privies.
> 
> And RCO I have no idea why milk bottles are so hard to find in BC, I guess it could just be a coincidence but it seems odd.  The attic mint ones certainly aren't that rare of a find.  Not that I've had much luck with milks out here either, though I do know of a dump with a layer of nothing but broken Ottawa Dairy milks.  I imagine there are some intact or nearly intact ones in there as well, but I never bothered digging it because of how common those bottles are.  I found one of the quarts at a thrift store a couple months ago and left it there because I didn't want it taking up space.



I've never dug a privy and don't know of anyone doing that locally , although I'm fairly sure there is people who do dig them in southern Ontario/ Toronto area 


space can become an issue with bottles , I have a few extras and things I don't need I wouldn't mind selling at a yard sale . there was a local consignment auction but they haven't had any for 2 months ( they raised there fees and commission amounts and now there seems to be no sellers ) they have one schedule for march but will only be a go if they find enough items


----------



## BottleDragon

CanadianBottles said:


> Yeah I'm the same, I much prefer somewhere off in the woods over anything urban unless it's a very isolated riverbank or gully.  I've never done a privy dig either, they seem to be pretty rare in Canada although I did know people on the Island who dug privies.



Did you happen to know Wayne J. Wagar? Sadly it appears he passed away not long ago, but he had an impressive collection of Vancouver Island and BC bottles that he dug. I did not know him, but I enjoyed browsing his blog: http://theouthouse.ca/outhousewp/


----------



## BottleDragon

I haven't been back to this place in over a month, but here's one bottle I didn't post before.

It appears to be a miniature whiskey bottle with a (crude) tooled top and a rounded base. It's just under 6" tall, no mold seams. There are no markings on it, so I don't know the age or anything else about it.


----------



## CanadianBottles

BottleDragon said:


> Did you happen to know Wayne J. Wagar? Sadly it appears he passed away not long ago, but he had an impressive collection of Vancouver Island and BC bottles that he dug. I did not know him, but I enjoyed browsing his blog: http://theouthouse.ca/outhousewp/


Oh man, I hadn't heard that Wayne passed.  Very sad to hear that, I did know him although not that well.


----------

