# can anyone date this bottle?



## delphinis (Jul 17, 2007)

Hello Everyone
 I'm a new member. I got into bottle collecting through a coworker.  I was wondering if anyone can help me date this bottle. It says "George A. Davis Gloucester, mass" on the front. Above it it says "Registered". And the seam stops 1/2 inch below the bottom of the lip.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 Anthony


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## sweetrelease (Jul 17, 2007)

hi and welcome, the pic is pretty bad but the seam would tell me 1880 1900. looks like a beer bottle or maybe soda.,matt


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## delphinis (Jul 17, 2007)

Hi
 Thanks for the info Matt. I'll take some better close up pictures including the neck and bottom. Unfortunately my digital camera is broken, I'm briging it in to get fixed today. I'll post the new pics as soon as i get it back.
 Anthony


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## jamus (Jul 17, 2007)

The crown top wasn't invented till the 1890's.
                                                                     James


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## RICKJJ59W (Jul 17, 2007)

Hi Welcome to the forum Anthony, that bottle is a  blown crown top beer, I would date that bottle 1890s early 1900 like James said its not a 1880s bottle, they where not made yet. Rick


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## GuntherHess (Jul 17, 2007)

Crown top was patented in 1892 by W. Painter


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## appliedlips (Jul 17, 2007)

I would agree with the other 1900-1910 or so.Contrary to some written information ,judging the age of a bottle by the seams is completely inneffective.Where a seam stops in relation to the top means nothing about the the age.Lip and base finishes as well as types of molds are probably the most effective means.I mention this only because I meet alot of collectors who try to date this way.Early in collecting I had read in one of the junk price guides on the market about doing this and thought all my ca.1900 bottles were 1860-80.There are a couple great sites on the internet that help a ton with this topic.Hope this helps.Doug


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## delphinis (Jul 17, 2007)

Hi
 thanks for the help everyone. I really appreciate it. Of  the bottles I found so far this one is my favorite since it was from a company that was in my hometown.
 Anthony


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## barbuck (Mar 14, 2011)

Hi Anthony,
 I realize that this is an old post & you may have already found out info on George Davis.
 I also have a Geo Davis soda & found this ad in the 1882 Gloucester City Directory, so he must have been in business at least 20 years, based on the estimates for your bottle's age.
 Cheers,
 Buck


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## delphinis (Mar 15, 2011)

Thanks for posting the advertisement Buck. Did you find it online? I tried searching the net for any info. this company but could never find any. Would you be interested in selling your George A. Davis bottle?

 Thanks,
 Anthony


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## marjorie040 (Mar 15, 2011)

Hello delphinis.....

 George A. Davis was born in 1847 in Mass. From age 23 (1870) thru age 53 (1900) his occupation in the Federal Census was listed as "Brewer" and "Brewer of ale" Since he is not listed in the 1910 census, I assume he was not alive by then. He lived all that time on Western Avenue in Gloucester, Ma.

 Regards,


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## barbuck (Mar 15, 2011)

Anthony,
 I'm originally from Gloucester, so don't want to sell the bottle - it's a reminder of home. I found the ad above in Google Books online; can't remember what words I searched but "Gloucester Directory" should locate it. It also has the personal listing for George Davis.

 I also found the ad below, from the 1877 Directory in "Gloucester and Rockport" from the Images of America book series (author: John Hardy Wright). I had family that still lives in the area look up the Sawyer's Block / 95 Main St address, and interestingly (seeing your last name) it's presently the site of Palazola's store. lol


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## delphinis (Mar 16, 2011)

Hi Buck
 I'm also originally from Gloucester though I didn't move as far away as you did. I live in Salem now . It's nice to see another Gloucester native on the forum.

 Anthony


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## delphinis (Mar 16, 2011)

Marjorie040

 Thanks for the added information about George A. Davis .. It's much appreciated.

 Anthony


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## barbuck (Mar 16, 2011)

Anthony, Are you any relation to Nancy P (now Allen)?


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## DKF (Nov 25, 2011)

Here's a George A. Davis bottle I found in a Massachusetts tidal river a  couple of years ago.  It's quite crudely manufactured, with badly  trimmed seams, a thick, lopsided base and many bubbles.  It features a  very distinctive logo.  I suspect it is somewhat older than delphinis's  bottle.  Has anyone ever seen one of these?


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## delphinis (Nov 25, 2011)

Hi DKF
 That's a nice one. Never seen one like that. If you don't mind me asking in what part of Massachusetts did you find it? Also would you be willing to sell it?

 Anthony


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## delphinis (Nov 25, 2011)

Made between 1894 -1910. I think the crown top was patented in 1894 I believe. I could be off by a few years maybe 1892?


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## DKF (Nov 25, 2011)

According to Wikipedia the crown cap was invented in 1891 and patented the following year.

 I'm located in Ipswich, so the Davis bottle didn't travel far from Gloucester.  I'm not prepared to sell the bottle at this time.  I think I might have some people from the Gloucester Historical Society look it over and see if someone there can tell me more about it.

 Donald


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## Wheelah23 (Nov 25, 2011)

The more recently posted bottle is definitely newer than the one delphinis posted in 2007. This is because the one posted today has the contents embossed on it, which didn't start happening until around 1910. I can also see that bottle is machine made, so the seam goes through the lip. That would date it to about 1915 or later, based on bottles I've seen. Possibly as late as 1920. Still, it's a nice looking bottle.


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## delphinis (Nov 25, 2011)

Good observation Wheelah. I didn't notice the seam  going through the lip when I first looked at the picture. I also didn't know about the contents not being embossed on bottles until around 1910. That's what I like about this forum, I'm always learning new things that I didn't know before.

 Anthony


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## epackage (Nov 25, 2011)

I'm really into women but I'll take it out for a dinner and a movie...


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## DKF (Nov 25, 2011)

Actually, it appears that the top of the second bottle has separate seams from the body.  The seams at the top end at about the top of the word "registered," while the much more pronounced side seams end just above that point.  Could the top have been molded independently of the rest of the bottle and applied?  I've never heard of such a technique but I don't know how to otherwise account for the placement of the seams.

 As for dating it possibly as late as 1920, the bottle is so crude and irregular (it even wobbles instead of sitting flush), that I would question it being that recent.  I should think soda and beer bottle-making techniques were a tad more advanced by then.


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## Wheelah23 (Nov 25, 2011)

From the sha.org bottle website... 

 "General Machine-made Diagnostic Features:  Machine-made bottles will exhibit most or all of the diagnostic characteristics explained and illustrated below:

 1.  Vertical side mold seams which run up to, into, and through the finish to (or near) the extreme top surface of the lip.  On most early and many later machine-made bottles the side mold seams appear discontinuous and offset from each other - click offset seams for a picture of this attribute.  There are also no horizontal tooling marks on the finish and/or upper neck as would be observable on most mouth-blown bottles."







 I can see why you'd be confused, a lot of the information about glass making across the internet seems contradictory. But I'd be willing to stake my life that that bottle is machine made. A lot of early machine made bottles (i.e. before 1930) can be rather crude, in fact the earliest machine made bottles tended to be cruder than their contemporary BIM counterparts!


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## DKF (Nov 25, 2011)

Oh, I have no doubt this particular bottle is machine-made.  I'm just surprised that one so recent would have come from such a sloppily-crafted mold, especially given the careful detail that went into the embossing.  Then again, the rough Gloucester dorymen who might have swilled ale from that very bottle probably couldn't have cared less about the bottle maker's craft.


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## Wheelah23 (Nov 25, 2011)

Well, about the embossing, it is generally a newer type than the first bottle posted. By the 1920's most bottles were of the "deco" type, so I knew it was before then. But in the same vein, it just has a "newer" look to it.

 Not to say that that kind of bottle wasn't used later. This bottle, unbelievably, dates to 1947! Diagnostically, it should date to the 1920's like your bottle. But the glass maker used date codes, which enable me to date this bottle to 1947.


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## rockbot (Nov 26, 2011)

The second bottle in question is very interesting. I would have to agree with Wheels assessment though. I have a few local machine sodas that have that same form. Very crude with air bubbles and all![]


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## TMax (Mar 8, 2012)

I was out in Gloucester (Rocky Neck) today (3/8/12) and found this bottle. The bottom line of text reads "registered."


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## blade (Mar 9, 2012)

I would but I'm married !
 Chris


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## cowseatmaize (Dec 2, 2012)

I was thinking of listing my blobtop so I started research. This thread is the first thing to come up. 
 Anyway, I see a flake off the top now so I doubt it would sell unless someone just wanted the matching bail and stopper.
 As for dating it I think you'll have no problem. Your spouses shouldn't get jealous over these if they aren't over any of your other stuff. 
 Well, if your a guy maybe? That's a different story if your dating a George Davis and does present some different problems.
 Either way, just don't miss too many dinners and stay out too late if you want to avoid suspicion.


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