# Labeled wicker covered demijohn



## div2roty (Jan 18, 2012)

I just picked up this wicker cover demijohn.  It has flattened sides and it just under 9.5 inches tall, 6.5 inches wide, and 4.5 inches deep.

 The bottom is marked H. HEYE HAMBURG, which according to some info online dates from the 1880s/90s.  It is a nice deep green color.  I figured I'd share in case others were interested in the label.







 Side







 top






 Label


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## AntiqueMeds (Jan 18, 2012)

Interesting. From what I have seen a lot of the late 19th century imported demis in this country came from Germany.
 They often have a metal Schutzmarke tag on the bottoms. The wicker gets pretty brittle after about 100 years so most of the early ones I find have some busted weave on them.


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## div2roty (Jan 18, 2012)

A few of the links are broken in the wicker, but not really enough to expose the bottle, and they are all on the sides, not the bottom.  I'm probably going to leave the wicker on the bottle, just because it is old as well.


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## AntiqueMeds (Jan 18, 2012)

most of them get stripped at some point so eventually there are going to be fewer and fewer intact ones.
 I wouldnt strip it unless it is some extraordinary color.


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## surfaceone (Jan 18, 2012)

Evening Matts,

 I was just gonna say how nice the wicker is on that guy. It almost looks fresh off the boat.

 Is that a strip of cedar with the "H. Heye, Hamburg" burned into it? Good article on Hermann Heye Glasfabrik.

 I was surprised to read one bit, having nothing to do with Heye:

 "By 1910, there were 18 Owens machines in Europe, 13 of them in Germany (National Glass Review 1910:1): Gerresheim - 2; Zinzig - 6; Hamburg - 1; Neinburg - 1; Dresden - 1; Straulau - 1; Rintein - 1."

 Not that Heye was not an innovative firm. "Heye installed the first semiautomatic machine at Nienburg in 1901, followed by Owens automatic machines in 1906."

 Is there any way to fish around beneath the wicker, perhaps with a chopstick, to feel for a Schutzmarke?


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## div2roty (Jan 18, 2012)

> most of them get stripped at some point so eventually there are going to be fewer and fewer intact ones.
> I wouldnt strip it unless it is some extraordinary color.


 
 That is generally how I feel about demijohns.  The supply will flip the other way, plus wicker is it's own collectible catagory.  This bottle seems to me to be a fairly standard deep green, although it is a nice shape, like a half a loaf of bread, or a mini flattened chestnut.  

 This will go into the store with the wicker and obviously the buyer can remove if desired.


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## div2roty (Jan 18, 2012)

> Evening Matts,
> 
> I was just gonna say how nice the wicker is on that guy. It almost looks fresh off the boat.
> 
> ...


 
 Surface,

 It does appear to be a burned piece of cedar.  I found a few nice mentions of Heye in my searching.  The company was around for quite a bit of time.  

 I can see under parts of the wicker and haven't seen any mark.  Its difficult to see parts of the sides, but with a flash I can see the center of the base very well.  No mark there either.


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## RED Matthews (Jan 18, 2012)

Hi all of you,   I have eight bottles covered with wicker and reed.  I can't remove the covering because of its own beauty.  I have also seen where a lot of them are being used by interior decorators.  Nice bottle - if you decide to sell it - let me know.  RED Matthews


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## bostaurus (Jan 18, 2012)

I picked up a wicker covered demijohn on the sidewalk a couple houses down from us in the village a few years back.  There is the German tradition of having a "junking" day a couple times a year.  You put stuff you don't want out on the side of the road, folks come by and take what they want, and then the trash collectors pick up what is left.  
 The wicker was in pretty bad shape and there was no name stamped on the wicker but it is a neat old bottle and an unusual dark green with no trace of olive in it.
 I was surprised to see it on the road side.  Almost all glass, whole or in bits, ends up in the recycle.


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