(above) The Chatham Historical Society recently researched the origins of glass bottles that were found near the Chatham Library in 1982.
A Buried Treasure Turns into a Bottle Project
Submitted by Chatham Historical Society
Bottles and jars, covered in dirt, turned into a research project highlighting commercial glass making and the businesses behind them, years after they were found during an excavation mission next to the Chatham Library in 1982. According to a former board member of the Chatham Historical Society, Lynn Magrane, the society at that time was “given a day or two to dig and grab what we wanted at the site”.
The current library site was originally the Fairview House Hotel which stood on the property until approximately 1920. It is likely that the bottles originated from the hotel as many of them represent food and drink – wine, beer, condiments, etc.
Last year, Debbie Fabian of the society became fascinated with the forgotten treasure and she started the project with cleaning years, decades and possibly a century of dirt off the bottles. She washed them first using a bottle brush in a solution of water and dishwashing detergent. Most bottles, with a solution of vinegar and hot water, were soaked overnight. Some of them did not get completely clean and several have a white coating (called “sick glass”) that does not come off. Some are color tinted (light green) and a few have an opalescent/iridescent cast to them. “I think someone else must have started researching them because they all had a sticker affixed to them with various numbers and letters which came off after cleaning,” she explained.
She then looked up each bottle on the internet. Fortunately, many of the bottles had identifying writing and numbers on them. She researched a total of 23 items. During her research she learned a lot about how bottles were originally made and how their manufacturing progressed over the years.
Among the findings were:
Carpenter-Morton Co. Vintage Colorite Dye Bottle: Colorite was made by Carpenter-Morton Co. of Boston. The 2 ½ oz bottle appears to have contained blue dye. The bottle was found in great vintage condition with no chips or cracks.
Antique Warranted Flask Bottle: The dimensions are approx. 6 1/2” tall and 1 3/8” wide. This embossed bottle is from around the 1860’s to about the 1880’s.
Bloch & Guggenheimer Antique Bottle: The B&G brand was founded in 1889 by the Bloch and Guggenheimer families, immigrants who came to America seeking a better life. They began by selling pickles in the streets of Manhattan, and the B&G brand continued to grow over the years because the Bloch and Guggenheimer families steadfastly placed the quality of their products above all else. The B&G brand formed the nucleus of B&G Foods later on.
