# Digging in the dump of an old farmhouse



## Dinobottles (Apr 28, 2021)

Just got into finding old bottles and decided to look around and see if I could find any old dump sites. Found one by the foundations of an old farmhouse that seems to have been used in the early 20th century judging by the dates on the bottles. I never realized how fun it could be to go out for a couple of hours to dig and find all these neat treasures. I had found an old pile of bottles a few days before and trying to identify them led me to this website, where I may or may not have gotten a little hooked. Anyway here are the finds I have so far after 1 day of digging with the more interesting ones singled out. (the bottle one the top right was found a fair distance away and may be newer but I can't tell).




A H & A.Gilbey Gin Bottle with a cap that's really nice





A LePage's grip spreader fish glue



A neat bottle brand called CERTO with an inverted "for half bottle pour to here" line on the back





Also found three ketchup bottles made by Heinz, Libby MacNeill & Libby, and a brand I had trouble identifying but was called CCL









And a few others like a little bottle that might have been perfume labeled Horne's and other neat jars and bottles. Sorry if this post was a bit rambly, this is my first one and I was really excited to show off what was a really neat find for me!


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## RoyalRuby (Apr 28, 2021)

Yep, looks like a typical 30's through the 60's dump site, they seam to be the prevalent time period dumps that are easy to find, once you dig more of that same dump and then others when you find them, you'll find out which bottles and jars are very common, catsup and Certo bottles get old fast...lol....Don't ask me how I know, I mainly collect beer bottles from the same time period dumps, so they work for me, I do occationally find odd ball beer bottles that make it much more fun to find, have fun digging, and try to collect only bottles you like or you'll be up to your neck in bottles...lol...(don't ask me how I know that either...lol)


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## Dinobottles (Apr 28, 2021)

Thanks RoyalRuby for the encouragement just wanted to put the bottle pile I found a few days before on here because that had a neat one or two as well



There was a cool old glass stopper as well as a bottle which might have become my favorite that I am fairly sure is a P.A. Jackson that was manufactured in Collingwood Ontario, not to far away from were I found it.


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## RoyalRuby (Apr 28, 2021)

Dinobottles said:


> Thanks RoyalRuby for the encouragement just wanted to put the bottle pile I found a few days before on here because that had a neat one or two as well
> View attachment 224267
> There was a cool old glass stopper as well as a bottle which might have become my favorite that I am fairly sure is a P.A. Jackson that was manufactured in Collingwood, not to far away from were I found it.View attachment 224268


Those look like nice bottles......Be safe digging, wear good heavy soled boots and good gloves, watch out for all the other fun things that can make for a bad day digging...lol...bugs, poison ivy and an the occational critters that show up....lol....I use a smaller two pouch back-pack to keep some smaller sized digging tools, bottle of water and a first aid kit just to try and stay safe while out searching for dumps and then digging them once found, I take my bigger digging tools if I feel a return trip is in order.


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## Dinobottles (Apr 28, 2021)

Thanks you for the advice, I can already see some of the dangers of doing this kind of activity with all the rusty old metal scattered about just waiting to share tetanus with whoever might be digging around it for bottles, and the bugs were certainly starting to get annoying even with the buff I was wearing. Next time I go out I will defiantly be more prepared for both safety and getting those darn buried bottles out of the ground!


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## Roney (Apr 28, 2021)

Dinobottles said:


> Just got into finding old bottles and decided to look around and see if I could find any old dump sites. Found one by the foundations of an old farmhouse that seems to have been used in the early 20th century judging by the dates on the bottles. I never realized how fun it could be to go out for a couple of hours to dig and find all these neat treasures. I had found an old pile of bottles a few days before and trying to identify them led me to this website, where I may or may not have gotten a little hooked. Anyway here are the finds I have so far after 1 day of digging with the more interesting ones singled out. (the bottle one the top right was found a fair distance away and may be newer but I can't tell).
> View attachment 224245
> A H & A.Gilbey Gin Bottle with a cap that's really nice
> View attachment 224247View attachment 224248
> ...


Digging bottles is so relaxing to me. Not only does it get me in a Zen zone, but it also satisfies my instant gratification issue.


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## RCO (Apr 29, 2021)

Dinobottles said:


> Thanks RoyalRuby for the encouragement just wanted to put the bottle pile I found a few days before on here because that had a neat one or two as well
> View attachment 224267
> There was a cool old glass stopper as well as a bottle which might have become my favorite that I am fairly sure is a P.A. Jackson that was manufactured in Collingwood Ontario, not to far away from were I found it.   View attachment 224268



the P.A.J mark is for PA Jackson - Collingwood , I checked a similar bottle that I had and its on the bottom . but mine is embossed PA Jackson Collingwood on the side too 

haven't seen this version with only the bottom marked , would of likely used a paper label on the side , not sure what year he used that bottle but he operated from 1914 - 1950's so was there for a while and used a number of different bottles


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## willong (Apr 29, 2021)

Dinobottles said:


> Thanks RoyalRuby for the encouragement just wanted to put the bottle pile I found a few days before on here because that had a neat one or two as well
> View attachment 224267
> There was a cool old glass stopper as well as a bottle which might have become my favorite that I am fairly sure is a P.A. Jackson that was manufactured in Collingwood Ontario, not to far away from were I found it.   View attachment 224268



Welcome to the website and the hobby.

That first find consists of older bottles than what were among your Certo lot. The amethyst colored one (far left of photo) was not produced in that color. It turned purplish from UV exposure, lying in the sun--even if the site is now under a  canopy of trees--a long time. It likely was produced before World War One when manganese became a critical product and glass makers had to switch to using selenium in their mixtures for producing colorless glass. Originally colorless WWI bottles will also change appearance with prolonged or intense UV, gradually turning a light straw color instead of amethyst.

That was just a little free jag to help along your new addiction.


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## RCO (Apr 29, 2021)

Dinobottles said:


> Just got into finding old bottles and decided to look around and see if I could find any old dump sites. Found one by the foundations of an old farmhouse that seems to have been used in the early 20th century judging by the dates on the bottles. I never realized how fun it could be to go out for a couple of hours to dig and find all these neat treasures. I had found an old pile of bottles a few days before and trying to identify them led me to this website, where I may or may not have gotten a little hooked. Anyway here are the finds I have so far after 1 day of digging with the more interesting ones singled out. (the bottle one the top right was found a fair distance away and may be newer but I can't tell).
> View attachment 224245
> A H & A.Gilbey Gin Bottle with a cap that's really nice
> View attachment 224247View attachment 224248
> ...



there is a number of different ketchup bottles used in Canada , also a Clarks ketchup . not really any collectors for them but still neat to find 

a sign its a small farm or household dump site but seems to have a wide age range based on the bottles in second pic , first pic seems to be 40's > 60's era but second pic is tougher to date , maybe 20's > 30's but tough to date jars , that clear one could be older


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## willong (Apr 30, 2021)

In a comment I posted on 29 April 2021, as a reply to a Dinobottles posting entitled "Digging in the dump of an old farmhouse" in the "Digging and Finding" forum, I again* brought up the subject of glass color changes caused by exposure to sunlight, specifically its UV component. I mentioned the use of Manganese in the production of colorless glass prior to World War One and the substitution of Selenium for that purpose during the war years. My own comment caused me to wonder what elemental substances are employed in modern glass batches to produce colorless glassware.





While conducting online research to answer my self-posed question, I discovered an article entitled "*Irradiation Changes Color of Glass*" by Mark Chervenka, Editor of *Antique & Collectors Reproduction News* (ACRN) posted on a website called *Real or Repro*. The article is one of the best and more detailed discussions of the topic that I have read. It is replete with numerous photos of otherwise genuine antiques which have been significantly altered by irradiation.

In his article, Mr Chervenka considers the practice fraudulent* and cites several instances of high-dollar sales by recognized dealers in the antiques and collectible trades. Some of the buyers were able to prove--the article discusses methods--that the color of their purchase was not produced by the original manufacturer and succeeded in obtaining refunds.

I found the Chervenka article so informative that I decided to post a link to it here for the benefit of other members, both new and old:






						Irradiation Changes Color of Glass
					






					www.realorrepro.com
				




* I have previously discussed the well known (among experienced bottle collectors) color changes caused by solarization. And I have stated my own opinion that modifying the color of antique bottles through artificial irradiation, as contrasted to the natural solarization process accomplished by long duration (years, decades or centuries) exposure to sunlight, is an unethical practice that should, at the very least, be clearly disclosed by sellers of such irradiated items.


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## RCO (Apr 30, 2021)

here is a pic of the light aqua PA Jackson Collingwood bottle that I have , can see it has same PAJ mark on bottom 

not sure which version he would of used first or exact age of either bottle but would be from the earlier years of his operation


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## Tony Kendzior (May 5, 2021)

Dinobottles said:


> Thanks RoyalRuby for the encouragement just wanted to put the bottle pile I found a few days before on here because that had a neat one or two as well
> View attachment 224267
> There was a cool old glass stopper as well as a bottle which might have become my favorite that I am fairly sure is a P.A. Jackson that was manufactured in Collingwood Ontario, not to far away from were I found it.   View attachment 224268


If you're interested in dating bottles you fine, know that the color of the one on the left is sun colored amythist. My understanding is the glass included magnesium to make it clear. It became scarce during WW1. It caused glass makes to find another way to turn glass clear. So sun colored amythist bottles probably date to before 1917.


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