# Pontil Bear Bottle



## JustGlass (Jan 6, 2011)

I always wanted one of these thin lip bears oil bottles but found that they seldom show up on ebay or bottle shows. The bears oil bottles that are affordable usually have weak embossing or busted up lips and the ones that don't are always very expensive. I won this one the other day on ebay. I bid on it knowing it had small nick on rim which seller described but was shocked at how small it was when bottle arrived. Can anyone tell me what time period this bottle was made. Also can anyone identfiy who the the maker is by bottle shape or embossing. I was told that bears oil was for the hair but I think it had many uses.


----------



## JustGlass (Jan 6, 2011)

.


----------



## JustGlass (Jan 6, 2011)

.


----------



## JustGlass (Jan 6, 2011)

.


----------



## JustGlass (Jan 6, 2011)

Good for the hair?


----------



## AntiqueMeds (Jan 6, 2011)

http://www.hairraisingstories.com/Products/BEARS_OIL.html

 Yours is likely from the 1830s-1840s.


----------



## Road Dog (Jan 6, 2011)

Yeah , I was gonna say 1840 ish. Bear oil kept the hair from falling out and was also suppose to restore hair. I think the bear oil came alot from canada. You would have to have the paper label on the opposite side of the embossing to know the maker.


----------



## epackage (Jan 6, 2011)

Good job getting the bear painting in the background....:OP


----------



## AntiqueMeds (Jan 6, 2011)

by the time that bottle was made its not likely it would have contained real bear oil.


----------



## Road Dog (Jan 6, 2011)

Here's a good link for info.

http://www.bottlebooks.com/bearoilstory/bearsoil.htm


----------



## JOETHECROW (Jan 6, 2011)

*


----------



## SAbottles (Jan 6, 2011)

Joe, do you think that bear had bottles in his pack labelled "Just Glass Oil" ? !! []


----------



## glass man (Jan 6, 2011)

NICE! ALWAYS AMAZES ME THE THIN LIPS MAKE IT THROUGH ALL THESE YEARS! IDIGJARS [PAUL] SENT ME A BOTTLE WITH A LIP LIKE THIS AND I LOVE IT....GLAD YOU FINALLY GOT ONE!!!!  JAMIE


----------



## GlassKeeper (Jan 6, 2011)

Nice find Justglass, I would like to get my hands on one some day. I really like the thin lip on that old bottle.


----------



## LC (Jan 6, 2011)

I have one that looks to be the same one . It is open pontiled , but does not have the flared lip and the embossing is running the opposite way on the bottle .


----------



## LC (Jan 6, 2011)

The bottom .


----------



## Steve/sewell (Jan 6, 2011)

JustGlass nice bottle.I have two of these and can tell you a little about them I have researched.First they were a very copied bottle and product probably second to the Robert Turlington Balsam bottles in that respect.The oldest ones were made right here in South Jersey for Dr. Dyott in Philadelphia as early as 1817. The same  glass works (The Olive glassworks) and the Gloucester Glass works in Clementon New Jersey probably made them slightly before before this time as early as 1815.The oldest embossed examples used serif lettering on them.The bottles that have the thin flared lips and the serif lettering were made between 1817 and 1825.The bottles that have the sans serif lettering were made slightly later 1825 to 1840 and this is the case with yours as it has sans serif embossing on the bottle.I will also show you a non embossed version that is also very old.


----------



## Steve/sewell (Jan 6, 2011)

An embosssed version and a non embossed version


----------



## Steve/sewell (Jan 6, 2011)

My bottle on the left yours on the right you can see the difference in the style of the lettering.


----------



## Steve/sewell (Jan 6, 2011)

The pontils on each bottle.


----------



## ajohn (Jan 6, 2011)

Man! you guys have cool stuff! When I see stuff like this my A-D-D kicks in and says"we gotta start collecting some of those"[]


----------



## JOETHECROW (Jan 6, 2011)

> ORIGINAL:  SAbottles
> 
> Joe, do you think that bear had bottles in his pack labelled "Just Glass Oil" ? !!Â []


 

 Interesting post everyone...Always liked those bottles. Haven't added one yet. Dale,....That surreal image is from the "New" True Grit movie,....Typical Coen Brothers (producers) moment...The character riding the horse tells "Rooster" that he swaped the dead guy on his spare horse from an Indian, (who said he came by him honestly) for two dental picks and a bottle of expectorant. []


----------



## SAbottles (Jan 7, 2011)

Aha! Thanks, Joe. He didn't mention what make of expectorant it was, perhaps, & whether it was pontilled ? [][]


----------



## sandchip (Jan 7, 2011)

Beautiful bottle, JG!  Seems like I saw one years ago with a bear on the front in one of GW auctions.


----------



## AntiqueMeds (Jan 7, 2011)

I have a number of the variations listed...
 http://www.antiquemedicines.com/MedicineNexus/B/Ba-Bl.htm 
 this is the one I think you are refering to?


----------



## sandchip (Jan 7, 2011)

Yessir.  And seems like there was also one in a light yellow green (with the word, not the picture).


----------

