# How old are these ketchup bottles?



## fpgill (Sep 25, 2009)

These two Blue Label Ketchup bottles were unearthed during an excavation to add an addition to a home in Lexington, MA in 2000. Can anyone tell me how old they are? (For all I know they are recent - I just thought I'd ask here!):













 Thanks for any info?


----------



## coboltmoon (Sep 25, 2009)

Looks like 1931 to me.


----------



## cyberdigger (Sep 25, 2009)

I don't know date codes, but style-wise they are definitely from around 1930ish


----------



## RED Matthews (Sep 26, 2009)

Hello fpgill;  It looks like your bottle was made by Diamond Glass Co.  I also agree that it is probably a 1930 1940 bottle.  Because it looks like the bottle has a CT thread and a transfer bead, I am the opinion that it is an ABM product.
 RED Matthews


----------



## coboltmoon (Sep 27, 2009)

I donâ€™t think it is Diamond glass, there mark had a D inside a diamond. Looks like an Owens Illinois glass makers mark to me. If that is the case it is after 1929 which is when the mark was first used. 

The number to the right of Owens mark is the date code. After 1940 there was a two digit code starting with a four or a single digit followed by a period to make it different then the 1930â€™s code. Some of the 1940s bottles only used a single digit without a period and can be confused with the 1930â€™s date code. The Owens date code is not 100% accurate and commonsense and other bottle info has to be used.


----------



## madman (Sep 27, 2009)

> ORIGINAL: coboltmoon
> 
> I donâ€™t think it is Diamond glass, there mark had a D inside a diamond. Looks like an Owens Illinois glass makers mark to me. If that is the case it is after 1929 which is when the mark was first used.
> 
> The number to the right of Owens mark is the date code. After 1940 there was a two digit code starting with a four or a single digit followed by a period to make it different then the 1930â€™s code. Some of the 1940s bottles only used a single digit without a period and can be confused with the 1930â€™s date code. The Owens date code is not 100% accurate and commonsense and other bottle info has to be used.


 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## glass man (Sep 29, 2009)

DIDN'T OWENS-ILLINOIS MERGE IN 1928 AND THAT IS THE MARK ON THE BOTTLE? YEP LIKE SAID I TOO SAY 31. JAIMMY


----------



## coboltmoon (Oct 1, 2009)

Glass man I did a quick Google search and it looks like 1929 is when the company was merged and formed. I have heard of ultra rare examples with a 1928 date code but I did not want to confuse the issue. The 1928 code if they exist were probably a glass plant jumping the gun or a holdover or misprint in 1929.


----------

