# "Burst top" Edward Manwaring



## NewbieBottleHunter (Dec 17, 2012)

Can anybody provide me information as to what this little bottle was likely used for? It seems to have a "burst top" which, being a very simple and cheap finish, would indicate it might have held something relatively inexpensive. Don't know if the embossed *EDWARD MANWARING* is a manufacturer's mark or related to the contents of the bottle. Any information would be greatly appreciated.


 -Newbie


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## RED Matthews (Dec 17, 2012)

Hello NewbireBottleHunter;  If you are really a newbie, I am interested in your experience with the burst off finish.  I have sent out a few points on bottle collectors that referred to themselves as newbies.  Have you seen that before?  
 I would like to see a picture of the top of your bottle - maybe taken at an angle to the top end.  The burst off finish was usually where the blow pipe was enlarged to a bubble above the neck and then broken off by tapping on the blowpipe.  It was done before they started using a wet wooden tool to chill and crack off the blowpipe.  
 The bottlemakers marks can tell us a lot about how they made the item.  It is a great hobby and improves when we let the bottle tell us how it was made.   RED Matthews


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## epackage (Dec 17, 2012)

A London pickle and condiments company is my understanding...


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## cannibalfromhannibal (Dec 17, 2012)

Hi NBH, welcome and glad this site has been a help. Your latest posts look British to my eye, and if found in a dump site together, are likely later 1800's. Not familier with this one in particular, it has a similar shape to shoe polish bottles in the US (assuming you are 'over the pond') Likely the name of the polish (or whatever) company. Bottle makers marks most often found on bases or heels of bottles. Your black glass is also likely British and held ale or some similar spirits. If found in context with other pontiled items then might date to first half of the 1800's here in the US. In England and elsewhere, they were still using pontil rods up to the early 1900's. Hard to tell in pics if pontiled or not. Definately not a broken pontil scar but possibly an iron, or improved pontil. The very central circular area is your target area and would usually have some remaining evidence of a pontil rod leaving some residue. Use the website http://www.sha.org/bottle/ for some great pics of varied pontil marks and how to distinguish them. I'm guessing not pontiled but awful close, to my eye. Looks no newer than about 1880, and possibly as old as late 1850ish. Cool bottles at any rate. Hope this helps. Jack


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## epackage (Dec 17, 2012)

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## NewbieBottleHunter (Dec 17, 2012)

> ORIGINAL:  RED Matthews
> 
> Hello NewbireBottleHunter;  If you are really a newbie, I am interested in your experience with the burst off finish.  I have sent out a few points on bottle collectors that referred to themselves as newbies.  Have you seen that before?
> I would like to see a picture of the top of your bottle - maybe taken at an angle to the top end.


 
 I can quite assure you I am quite new to this interesting hobby. I am passionate about my interests (especially at the start of a new hobby). I have only been on two bottle hunts (of a few days each) but I have had the honor to do so with the guidance of local experts. The best way to acquire knowledge is to converse with people who have it in spades. This is why I find this forum so wonderful.

 I read about "burst off" finishes and found this video online a couple of weeks ago which seemed to show the technique you mentioned:

Owens-Illinois bottle blowing film clip

 See below for a detail of the top of the bottle. Sorry for the quality but it is taken with my point-and-shoot camera. Didn't have time to drag out the good camera with the macro lens. I assume this was a burst off finish and not the result of very focused damage to the bottle after the fact.

 -Newbie


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## NewbieBottleHunter (Dec 17, 2012)

> ORIGINAL:  cannibalfromhannibal
> 
> Hi NBH, welcome and glad this site has been a help. Your latest posts look British to my eye, and if found in a dump site together, are likely later 1800's. Not familier with this one in particular, it has a similar shape to shoe polish bottles in the US (assuming you are 'over the pond') Likely the name of the polish (or whatever) company.


 
 Thanks for all the info Jack. The Manwaring bottle and my black glass 3-piece were both found in Bermuda so definitely 'yes' to British, but 'no' to dump site (though these bottles certainly were 'dumped' from ships). I, myself, am not from 'over the pond' and when I figure out how to edit my profile I'll indicate that I reside someplace sunnier and warmer - southern Florida.

 Nice to see that Manwaring was a purveyor of 'strictly high-class condiments'. I love how advertisements always seem to play fast and loose with the truth (but did it with more style and grace in the old days). 

 As you can see from the size of the bottle (less than 4" in total height) that this bottle could only have held a few ounces of contents so I'm guessing not pickles but some sort of chutney or sauce. From your advertisement giving an "ESTABLISHED 1864" date that this would seem to put an absolute limit on the oldest date of this bottle. Given the burst off finish I'm assuming it likely pre-dates mechanically made bottles around 1900 so sometime in the 1870-1900 time frame would be a reasonable estimate for the age of this little bottle with the jagged top.

 -Newbie


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## AntiqueMeds (Dec 17, 2012)

I think your photos are excellent. There were two similar techniques to form these cheap lip treatments.
 The burst lip was where they expanded the glass between the blowpipe and bottle as a bubble until it burst.
 There was also a cracked off treament where the blowpipe was struck breaking the bottle free.
 They can look similar. I think yours was done with the burst technique.


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## AntiqueMeds (Dec 17, 2012)

Hand blown bottles were made in the USA at least up to about 1920.
 The conversion to machine made bottles happened over many years.


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