# Cobalt Blue Bottle with Spout



## Shellbay (Mar 24, 2022)

Hello there!  Found this bottle.  It says 16 oz on it.  Just wondering if anyone has any idea age and what it was used for.  

It has a spout.  Thank You!


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## Tom smith (Mar 24, 2022)

It seems to be a master ink bottle. I would guess 1890s but I cant tell if it is blown in a mold.


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## Shellbay (Mar 24, 2022)

Do these pictures help?


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## shotdwn (Mar 24, 2022)

It is a master ink bottle. Looks like it is machine made so I would say probably 1920’s.


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## Shellbay (Mar 24, 2022)

shotdwn said:


> It is a master ink bottle. Looks like it is machine made so I would say probably 1920’s.


Thank you!  It was my best find of the day.  I found it in the waters of Guantanamo Bay while snorkeling!


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## hemihampton (Mar 24, 2022)

Pretty sure it's a Stafford Ink. I've dug these before here in Michigan. LEON.


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## Shellbay (Mar 24, 2022)

The bottle looks exactly the same, just no embossing.


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## CanadianBottles (Mar 24, 2022)

Nice find!  I've never seen a Stafford without embossing before, but it's not that uncommon to see unembossed versions of iconic bottles.  I'm not sure if they're the result of copycats or just the company occasionally using bottles without embossing.


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## hemihampton (Mar 24, 2022)

If I had to guess your Bottle probably just had a Paper Label on it. Kinda like in the 1930's when they stopped embossing Beer Bottles & just slapped a paper label on them. Minus some possible exceptions. Just my opinion. LEON.


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## Len (Mar 24, 2022)

Hey Shellbay,

Keep snorkeling! 

Before you know it you'll be bringing up a piece of the USS Maine!  

Congrats on a nice find.


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## saratogadriver (Mar 28, 2022)

Staffords style ink.   Not ABM even though the seam goes up to the lip.     Turn of century.   Don't think I've seen a cobalt one that wasn't staffords but I could be wrong.

Jim G


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## Shellbay (Mar 28, 2022)

saratogadriver said:


> Staffords style ink.   Not ABM even though the seam goes up to the lip.     Turn of century.   Don't think I've seen a cobalt one that wasn't staffords but I could be wrong.
> 
> Jim G


ABM? Turn of the century? Early 1900’s?


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## CanadianBottles (Mar 28, 2022)

saratogadriver said:


> Staffords style ink.   Not ABM even though the seam goes up to the lip.     Turn of century.   Don't think I've seen a cobalt one that wasn't staffords but I could be wrong.
> 
> Jim G


Not ABM?  It's got a suction scar on the base, are you referring to it being one made on one of the early semi-automatic machines?  I'm not sure how to recognize bottles made on those.


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## saratogadriver (Mar 29, 2022)

Pretty much all the Staffords of that form have a base that looks like that, even the ones with a definite tooled lip.   I've seen that form only rarely in fully automatic bottle machine (ABM) and they always have the Owens Ring around the neck.   I'm pretty sure that's still a tooled lip hand blown despite the base.   Turn of Century = roughly 1890 to 1910.   ABM was invented around 1905, so after TOC.   

The in-between style semi automatic bottle machines?    I know I can't absolutely recognize one of those.   Wish Red who used to be on here was still with us.   He'd be able to tell us what to look for, he was in the business for decades.

Jim G


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## Shellbay (Mar 29, 2022)

saratogadriver said:


> Pretty much all the Staffords of that form have a base that looks like that, even the ones with a definite tooled lip.   I've seen that form only rarely in fully automatic bottle machine (ABM) and they always have the Owens Ring around the neck.   I'm pretty sure that's still a tooled lip hand blown despite the base.   Turn of Century = roughly 1890 to 1910.   ABM was invented around 1905, so after TOC.
> 
> The in-between style semi automatic bottle machines?    I know I can't absolutely recognize one of those.   Wish Red who used to be on here was still with us.   He'd be able to tell us what to look for, he was in the business for decades.
> 
> Jim G


Thank you!  And thank you for writing out the terminology!  I’m still learning.  This bottle is now one of my favorites!


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## K6TIM (Mar 30, 2022)

Shellbay said:


> Do these pictures help?


Look at where the seam of the ink bottle goes if it thru the lip or top of bottle it after 1904.The bottle bottom is called key bottom mold.This means the bottle bottom was included in the iron mold back before 1900 on 2 piece molds.Nice find
K6TIM


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## CanadianBottles (Mar 30, 2022)

saratogadriver said:


> Pretty much all the Staffords of that form have a base that looks like that, even the ones with a definite tooled lip.   I've seen that form only rarely in fully automatic bottle machine (ABM) and they always have the Owens Ring around the neck.   I'm pretty sure that's still a tooled lip hand blown despite the base.   Turn of Century = roughly 1890 to 1910.   ABM was invented around 1905, so after TOC.
> 
> The in-between style semi automatic bottle machines?    I know I can't absolutely recognize one of those.   Wish Red who used to be on here was still with us.   He'd be able to tell us what to look for, he was in the business for decades.
> 
> Jim G


Looking at this photo that Shellbay posted, I'm pretty sure that's not a tooled lip considering how high the seam goes.  It's funny, it looks a lot more like a tooled lip from other angles.  And I think I see what you mean about an Owens ring around the neck, there's some sort of uneven ring visible in this picture.


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## hemihampton (Mar 30, 2022)

Looks ABM too me? LEON.


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## saratogadriver (Apr 5, 2022)

Looking at the blown up lip, it's hard to tell as the lip's a bit rough, but that may be a ring around the bottom edge of the lip, so it may indeed by ABM.   The seam going all the way up to the bottom of the lip, if it doesn't continue through the lip, doesn' t mean it isn't a tooled top.   They got really good at minimal lip finish towards the end of the pre-ABM period.   When the seam goes all the way to the top clearly that's pretty much gotta be ABM.

Jim G


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