Welcome! I'm interested in the history of the glass industry in the US, especially concerning the manufacturing of bottles and electrical insulators. (See my "home" page here ).
On these pages I've attempted to compile a list of glass manufacturers' identification marks found on (primarily)
American bottles and jars. (Click here to check another collector's site that lists some Australian and English marks). I'm also including certain marks seen on non-bottle glassware items, including tableware.
The majority of these marks are found on older bottles but some commonly seen marks that are presently in use in the United States are included as well.
{For a comprehensive list of modern bottle manufacturers' marks from around the world, you might also wish to check out the following link showing many of the more recent marks (called "punt marks" on their website) which are sometimes seen on bottles imported to the United States. Click here: Emhart Glass Database of Modern Punt Marks .
Another webpage which I would recommend, especially to collectors of tableware and art glass, illustrates a number of glassmakers' marks frequently seen on carnival glassware (and some of those marks appear on other types of glass as well), and the site is here: Carnival Glass Marks . And..... another one, this site specializing on information concerning shotglasses: Marks seen on shotglasses . Most, if not all, of the marks illustrated there are frequently seen on other types of glassware as well, which makes the page quite helpful to a broader spectrum of collecting fields.}
Usually embossed on the
base, marks may also appear on the lower heel area on certain types of bottles, especially sodas. On earlier flasks, fruit jars, and soda bottles, the full factory name or initials may be embossed across the front.
This list primarily includes marks that represent the actual glass company that made the bottle. Many marks are encountered that indicate the company
whose product was contained within it, or are trademarks ("brand names") that give no indication of who actually made the glass, and those are, with various exceptions, not included in my list.
From the standpoint of most collectors of antique bottles, the name and location of the company the bottle was made for, and the name of the product that was originally contained in the bottle (one or both of which may be embossed on the bottle) is often considered to be of more interest or importance than the glass factory where the bottle was actually manufactured. However, this site is geared with more emphasis on the actual glassmakers themselves. Hopefully this database will be of some help to those who are attempting to assign an approximate date range to a particular bottle, assuming that it carries an identifiable glass factory mark.
If initial(s) embossed on the base of a bottle match a firm name (other than a glass factory) on the front,
the basemark will more than likely not be a glass manufacturer's mark and so may not be listed here. This is very frequently the case, especially with soda, mineral water, beer and other bottles of the 1880-1930 period, in which the initial(s) of the "end user" (such as the bottler, brewery, drug manufacturer, or other firm for which the bottle was made) appear embossed on the base.
Please keep in mind that some marks (esp. initials of early glass companies) may vary
slightly in appearance and punctuation from one bottle to another. For instance, they sometimes occur with or without periods after each letter. These variations in punctuation were common
and probably reflected the whim of the mold engraver, thus having little or no importance (i.e. for assigning date ranges) especially on marks of pre-1900 bottles. For
the most part, I have not attempted to list fine distinctions for marks that are found both with and without periods. Another source of confusion was the common practice of
engraving the "G" (especially in the 1880-1920 period) to appear very close in similarity to a "C", the only difference
between the two being a small "tail" pointing in a downward or "southeasterly"
direction on the lower right-hand side of the letter G. Thus, the mark "A.B.G.M.Co." might be
misconstrued to read "A.B.C.M.Co." Also, the abbreviation "Co" (Company) sometimes may be found embossed with either an upper- or lower-case "O" on various bottles made by the same
manufacturer.
Many bottles carry only a number (or numbers) on the base. These marks usually served as some type of mold identification, indicating a particular mold used
by a glass factory. If a number of identical molds were produced for making a certain type of bottle, they would often
be serially numbered (such as 1 to 12). Some numbers served as date codes, or as some other type
of internal code used by the factory. In the majority of cases, bottles with only numbers on the base are difficult to attribute to a specific glassmaker, although sometimes
other characteristics of a bottle will give clues to it's origin.
For a very informative, comprehensive site with lots of detailed discussion on various aspects of antique bottles, their methods of manufacture, uses, and clues to dating them, I encourage you to check out Bill Lindsey's
Historic Glass Bottle Identification and Information Website . His site is a "work in progress", and already has a wealth of very good information posted.
I will frequently be adding more
data to these pages as I uncover more accurate information. The info presented on this site is the most accurate I've been able to find at present, but any corrections, additions, comments, or clarifications would be sincerely appreciated! If you have a bottle, jar or other glass item
with an unlisted or unknown mark, please contact me (scroll to bottom of the page) so I can add it to the
list, and perhaps find out what company it stands for. NOTE: It may be helpful to press the CTRL+F keys (Find) on your keyboard
to search quickly for a specific glass factory name, city name, or initials contained in the text below.
Much of the information herein comes from research by Julian H. Toulouse published in his classic reference book Bottle Makers and their Marks (1971). That book is the best reference work ever published on
glass manufacturers' marks on bottles, but it does contain many errors which have been discovered over the 35 years since it was first published. Other sources of information include
Helen McKearin, Rhea Mansfield Knittle, Stephen Van Rennselaer, Alice Creswick, Dick Roller, William S. Walbridge, Roger Peters,
Adeline Pepper, Arthur G. Peterson, Bob Stahr, Fred Padgett, Rex L. Wilson, John O'Dell, Bill Lockhart, Jeffrey L. Giarde, David Bethman, Betty Zumwalt, Peter R. Guetig, Conrad Selle, Don Dzuro, Johnnie W. Fletcher, Ted Oppelt, Dick Cole, Harvey Teal, Dean Six, Tom Neff, Albert Morin, Philip K. Huggins, Bill Lindsey and Carol Serr, as well as personal research and
my own observations over several years of collecting & studying antique bottles, insulators and other glassware. I hope this list will be of assistance to those interested in antique bottles
and other glass containers made in the United States and the history behind the factories that manufactured them.
A.....................The letter "A" is often merely a mold letter. If it is an abbreviation for a glass factory, it could stand for one of several companies. One possibility: Agnew &
Company, Pittsburgh, PA (c.1854-1894+). See "A & CO." mark. Another possibility would be Adams & Company, Pittsburgh, PA (1861-1891). Originally Adams, Macklin & Company (1851-1861), they did manufacture at least one type of fruit jar circa 1866, lettered "Adams & Co./Manufacturers/Pittsburgh,Pa." on the front. However, the great bulk of their glass production seems to have been pressed pattern glass and high-quality tableware and novelties, especially throughout the later years of their operation. In 1891, they joined the merger known as the United States Glass Company. Note: If the bottle is machine-made, the letter "A" would indicate a much more recent
company, perhaps Arkansas Glass Container Corporation, Jonesboro, AR (1958-to date).
A & CO............Agnew & Company, Pittsburgh, PA (c.1854-1894+). There was a series of glass companies in the Pittsburgh area in which the Agnew family was involved, beginning as early as 1842 with Chambers & Agnew. Later, approximately 1854, the firm became John Agnew & Company (1854-1870); then, John Agnew & Son (1871-1876) and later simply Agnew & Company (1876-1892+). The most recent incarnation seems to have been "The Agnew Company", which was in operation in 1894 (a bottle catalog from this company exists, dated 1894) which may have continued on for some time afterwards. Jars that are marked "JOHN AGNEW & SON / PITTSBURG PA" presumably date from about 1871 to 1876, and those marked "AGNEW & CO / PITTSBURG PA" would date from c. 1876 into the early 1890s. See "A" entry.
A in a circle.........Armstrong Cork Company (Glass Division), Lancaster, PA; Millville, NJ [former Whitall Tatum Co. plant] ; Dunkirk, IN [former Hart Glass Mnfg Co.
plant]. Mark was used from 1938-1969 on bottles and insulators. If there is a line underneath the "circled A", this indicates the bottle was produced at the Dunkirk plant.
A in a diamond.......Unknown
A with an eagle emblem (wings outstretched, appears as if flying through the A)...........Akro Agate Company, Akron, OH (1911-1914) and Clarksburg, WV (1914-1951). Maker of marbles as well as ashtrays and many unusual novelty items, mostly found in various colors of opaque glass (milkglass).
A. Arbogast, Pitts..............Unidentified glass factory in Pittsburgh, probably existed circa 1860-1880. Mark is pictured in Bottles on the Western Frontier by Rex L. Wilson (1981:113) and was presumably on a cylinder whiskey.
A B..................American Bottle Company (1905-1929). See A.B.CO.
AB (letters attached, as shown)...........American Bottle Company (1905-1929). See A.B.CO.
AB (letters attached) Co...........American Bottle Company (1905-1929). See A.B.CO. mark. This and the above mark was attributed to Adolphus Busch Glass
Manufacturing Co. by Toulouse. Recent research (by Bill Lockhart) has shown that the
American Bottle Company was the actual source of bottles with the "AB" (letters attached) and "AB CO" marks.
The "AB" and "A.B.CO" marks are also frequently misunderstood by collectors to mean "Anheuser-Busch", which is incorrect.
A.B.C.................Atlantic Bottle Company, Brackenridge, PA (c.1916-1930). First only a distributor (pre-1916), Atlantic was later an actual manufacturer of bottles. The Brackenridge plant was purchased by Owens-Illinois in 1930.
A.B.CO................American Bottle Company (1905-1929). Chicago, IL (office - 1905-1916);
Toledo, OH (office - 1916-1929). Glass plant locations at Streator, IL;
Newark, OH; Belleville, IL; Massillon, OH & Wooster, OH. The
American Bottle Company was purchased by Owens Bottle Machine Company in 1916 (with some of the plants being closed soon afterwards) but the Streator and Newark plants continued to
operate under the American Bottle Co. name until 1929, when they became part of the
merger that resulted in Owens-Illinois Glass Co. (For Streator and Newark plant marks from
1916 to 1929, see "17N" and "16S" entries). Most, if not all, of the "AB", "AB CO." and "A.B.CO." marked bottles
are believed to date between 1905 and 1916. However, it is possible that
some bottles with these markings might date between 1916 and 1929, but, if so, could only have been made at either the Streator or Newark plant.
A.B.G.CO..............Adolphus Busch Glass Mnfg. Company, see "A.B.G.M.CO."
A.B.G.C.ST.L..........Adolphus Busch Glass Mnfg. Company (Presumably produced at their St. Louis glass factory location). See next entry.
A.B.G.M.CO............Adolphus Busch Glass Mnfg. Company, plants at Belleville, IL (1886-c.1905) and St.Louis, MO (c.1891-1925). The Belleville factory became part of American Bottle Company c.1905. (See A.B.CO. mark).
Acorn logo (shown).........Bellaire Bottle Company (Works) (c.1886-1889+). Logo is occasionally seen on the base of clear glass prescription/medicine bottles. Thanks to David Bethman for emailing me with info on the source of this mysterious acorn mark! He reports that the mark appears on a Bellaire Bottle Company letterhead shown in a book by Scott Tyson called "Glass Houses of the 1800s".
A. & D. H. C. .........Alexander & David H. Chambers, Pittsburgh, PA (1843-c.1889). This was one of the most prolific glass companies in Pittsburgh during the mid-to-late 1800s.
Huge quantities of bottles, flasks, and fruit jars were made, as well as window glass. Many local, regional, and nationally distributed sodas, mineral waters, beers, bitters, tonics, and other types of products were packaged in bottles made by A&DHC. Most commonly, bottles with this mark usually seem to date from the 1870s and 1880s, but the mark was probably in use at least from around the start of the Civil War, perhaps a bit earlier.
Adams & Co............. See "A" entry.
A G C (within outline of state of Arkansas).......Arkansas Glass Container Corporation,
Jonesboro, AR (1958-to date)
A. G. CO. .............. Uncertain, but probably used by at least two companies, Atlanta Glass Company, Atlanta, GA , and Annapolis Glass Company, Annapolis, Maryland. Also apparently used on the face of some fruit jars made by Atlas (or successor Hazel-Atlas) Glass Company.
Agnew & CO............See "A & CO."
Agnew & Son...........See "A & CO."
A.G.W.................in some cases, American Glass Works, Pittsburgh, PA (1866-1905). This company, which was officially known as "American Glass Works, Limited" after 1880, MAY have produced some glass marked "A.G.W." during the time period of 1866-1880, although I am not aware of any definitive proof that they did. American Glass Works reportedly manufactured mostly window glass prior to 1880. After 1880, the mark was most frequently "A.G.W.L.", although various bottles that date after 1880 (such as certain hutchinson sodas) do carry "A.G.W."(no L) so I tend to believe that both mark variants were used, at times, during the 1880-1905 period. (See next two entries).
A.G.W.................American Glass Works, Richmond, VA (1908-1925) and Paden City, WV (1918-c.1935). Bottles (especially crown-closure soda bottles) of the teens and 1920s from the VA and surrounding area with "A.G.W." marked on the base are virtually certain to be products of this company (not to be confused with the earlier American Glass Works of Pittsburgh, an unrelated company). Machine-made bottles date after 1916 (Toulouse 1971:23). The Richmond plant burned in 1925 and was not rebuilt. This company also reportedly used an "A in a circle" mark on some bottles. In any case, that mark was primarily used by the Armstrong Cork Company from 1938 to 1969.
A.G.W.L...............American Glass Works, Limited, Pittsburgh, PA (1880-1905). Advertisements exist which show this company produced a large line of Hutchinson type soda bottles, as well as many other bottles including beers and mineral waters. The mark "A.G.W.L." which appears on the heel of many Hutchinsons can be definitely attributed to this company. Please see the above two entries on "A.G.W.".
A H K.................Alexander H. Kerr & Company, Altoona, KS (1909-1912); Sand Springs, OK (1912-19??); later plants at Huntington, WV (1933-19??); Santa Ana, CA (1943-19??) and several other locations. Business offices in Los Angeles after 1919. This trademark was used from 1944-1992. See Kerr mark.
Albany Glass Works............Albany Glass Works, Albany, NY. Two types of historical flasks with the bust of Washington on them, lettered with this company name, are believed to have been manufactured sometime in the 1820s. HOWEVER, the great majority of flasks which are found with this inscription are modern reproductions dating after the 1930s, with most having been produced up into the 1960s or 1970s or even later. If you have a flask with the marking "Albany Glass Works", it is best to assume it is a repro until proven otherwise!
A.M.F.& CO........Adelbert M. Foster & Company, Boston & Chicago (1873-1928). This company is connected with D.F.& Co.
Anchor logo with an "H" superimposed over it (shown)........Anchor Hocking Corporation, Lancaster, OH and other plant locations (1937-to date). Although this mark was reportedly discontinued in 1977 in favor of the "new"
mark ("anchor within a rectangle" below), I've seen new glassware
produced by Anchor Hocking bearing this trademark, so evidently the
mark is still in use on some items. For a list of Anchor Hocking plant numbers and other info pertaining to bottle bases in use during the
1960s/1970s period (courtesy of Dick Cole, fruitjar.org), click
here .
Most of the Anchor Hocking glass container plants were "spun off" in 1983 to form the newly created
Anchor Glass Container Corporation. See their anchor logo, pictured farther down on this page.
Anchor within a rectangle (shown).........Anchor Hocking Corporation,
Lancaster, OH & other locations. (1937-to date). Mark used since 1977.
Anchor logo (pictured).........Anchor Glass Container Corporation, Tampa, FL [head office], plants at Salem, NJ; Connellsville, PA; Winchester, IN; Shakopee, MN; Henryetta, OK;
Jacksonville, FL; Elmira, NY; Warner-Robins, GA and Lawrenceburg, IN (1983-to date).
Anchor & rope logo..........Unknown. Seen on base of olive yellow amber flask, circa 1900.
Angel above crown logo..........Kerr Glass Manufacturing Company, Portland, OR and other locations. Logo used on base of jelly jars and other glass items.
A & P ...............Uncertain. Reported on the base of a sauce bottle (a Worcestorshire Sauce "lookalike" brand) dating circa 1880s.
Atlas (on fruit jar)..........Atlas Glass Company, Washington, PA (1896-1902), and the Hazel-Atlas Glass Company, Wheeling, WV and other plant locations. (1902-1964)
A. & W. ..................probably Agnews & Wilcox, Pittsburgh, PA (c.1869).
B (on certain handblown bottles, c.1910 or earlier)............Uncertain. See next entries. A lone B can also be a mold letter, with no indication of the glassmaker.
B (with 2 serifs)................sometimes Brockway Glass Company, Brockway, PA (1907-1988). See "B in a circle".
B (with 2 serifs)......often the Chas. Boldt Glass Company, Cincinnati, OH, at least on their early liquor bottles and other ware made in the circa 1900-1919 period. NOTE : Manufacturer attributions of bottles with a "B" on the base are confusing and (in my opinion) not completely certain. More information on the Chas. Boldt marks can be found
here .
B (without serifs).............in some cases, perhaps Buck Glass Company, Baltimore, MD (c.1909-1961). Buck Glass was sold to Knox Glass, Inc. in 1961.
B (shown).........Ball Glass Container Corporation, subsidiary of Ball Corporation. Mark used 1994-1995. See Ball.
B in a circle.........Brockway Machine Bottle Company (1907-1933); Brockway Glass Company (1933-1988), Brockway, Pennsylvania. "B in a circle" mark was first used in 1925. In 1964, 10 of the 12 Hazel-Atlas Glass Co. plants were acquired. Brockway eventually had (at one time) up to 16 different plant locations. In 1973, (besides the Brockway PA plant), factories were located at
Muskogee, OK; Lapel, IN; Crenshaw, PA; Freehold, NJ; Parkersburg, WV; Washington, PA (2 plants);
Rosemount, MN; Zanesville, OH; Montgomery, AL; Ada, OK; Oakland, CA and Pomona, CA.
Brockway Glass was purchased by Owens-Illinois, Inc. in 1988, and the Brockway, PA plant
is currently in operation as Owens-Illinois' plant #18. For a list of Brockway Glass
plant codes in use during 1973 (courtesy of Dick Cole, fruitjar.org), click here .
B in a vertical diamond.........unknown (seen on aqua pickle bottle, c.1895). NOTE: "B within a diamond" is also a modern mark, used by Boyd's Crystal Art Glass, Inc, Cambridge, OH (1978-to date), and
is found on their ornamental and novelty glass, toothpick holders, etc. For a list of the variations in their mark and
how to date them, click here.
Ball............Ball Bros Manufacturing Company/Ball Bros Glass Company (Ball Corporation
after 1969), Muncie, IN and other plant locations (1888-1996). Originally located in Buffalo, NY (1880-1888), this company relocated to
Muncie, IN in 1888 as a result of the natural gas boom in Indiana of the late '80s. Ball was the best-known fruit jar manufacturer in the world,
and also made a huge variety of other glass items for the packaging industry during
it's long history. The majority of marked containers carry the name "Ball" embossed in cursive script, although some fruit jars made during certain periods of time also had
the name in simple, block letters. Glass-making ended at the Muncie plant in 1962, but production continued
at other Ball factories. In 1988 as a result of their merger with Indianhead Container Corporation, Ball-InCon Glass Packaging Corp. was formed
and the "Ball" in script was discontinued, but on their packer ware ONLY. (See
"B I" mark used c.1988-1994). Ball-InCon became Ball Glass Container Corporation in 1994, and the script "B" mark was then used for
about a year or so. In 1995, Ball-Foster Container Corporation was formed,
with Ball owning 42% and Saint-Gobain owning 58% of assets (which included Saint-Gobain's acquisition of Foster-Forbes Glass Company at that time)
in the merger. The mark "BF" was then used, 1995-2000. In 1996 Ball sold its interest in it's remaining glass plants to Saint-Gobain and left the glass business
altogether to pursue other industries. Many of the former Ball plants are now part of
Saint-Gobain Container Corp. and their products may be found with the "SG" mark, in use since 2000. (Fruit jars embossed "Ball" that are currently being produced
are made by the Anchor Glass Container Corp, at their Winchester, IN facility, for the Alltrista Corporation, who owns rights to the "Ball" and "Kerr" brand names).
The corporate history of Ball is rather complicated and, of necessity, my overview is highly simplistic. A search of the web should produce more detailed information for the researcher on this glass company.
Baltimore Glass Works....................Baltimore Glass Works, Baltimore, MD (c.1800-1905, which includes a succession of firms). Various flasks and bottles are marked with the full factory name, and the majority of these probably date between 1830 and 1870. Also, see B.B. & Co.
B.& A.C.CO............Baker & Adamson Chemical Company (1881-1913). Producer of acids and other chemicals.
Although not the mark of a glass factory, this may be mistaken for one.
Seen on the base of chemical and acid jars and bottles, most of which probably date from the early period -- 1881 to 1900. B&A was bought by
General Chemical in 1900, and in 1913 General became a division of Allied
Chemical & Dye Corporation, later Allied Chemical Corp. ACC merged into Allied-Signal
and that company is now part of Honeywell, Inc.
B B.................Berney-Bond Glass Company (1905-1930), see entry under "B B G CO".
BB48................Berney-Bond Glass Company (1905-1930), see entry under "B B G CO".
NOTE: Milk bottles bearing the mark "BB48" were also made by Owens-Illinois Glass Company for many years after Berney-Bond was no longer in existence. In cases
such as this, the Owens-Illinois mark (diamond superimposed with O and I) will also be seen on the base.
Most of the bottles carrying both of these marks were made at the former Berney-Bond glass plant
at Clarion, PA, which became O-I plant number 17. I am not sure how late the BB48 mark was retained on Owens-Illinois milk bottles made at this plant, but have seen a bottle with a 1947 date code.
B B CO...............Berney-Bond Glass Company (1905-1930), see entry below. Another possibility: the mark on some bottles might stand for the Bellaire Bottle Company, Bellaire, OH., or the Bell Bottle Company, Fairmount, IN (1910-1914)
B. B. & Co. ............Baker Bros. & Company (proprietors of the Baltimore Glass Works), Baltimore, MD (1852-1905). Mark seen on the base of Baltimore-area aqua blob beer bottles from the c. 1880-1895 period. (Thanks to Greg Franklin for supplying info on this mark!)
B B G CO.............Berney-Bond Glass Company (1905-1930). A merger of the Bond Glass and Berney Glass companies, plants were located in Bradford, Hazel Hurst, Smethport, Clarion, and Knox, all in the
state of Pennsylvania; the Winslow Glass Co. plant at Columbus, OH was purchased in 1927. Berney-Bond was bought by Owens-Illinois in 1930. Most of these plants were closed down in later years, until by the early 1970s only the Clarion plant (Owens-Illinois plant #17) was still making bottles.
BBGMCO (monogram)........Ball Bros. Glass Company, Buffalo, NY (used on fruit jars c.1886-1888). See "Ball".
B-C ............Bartlett-Collins Glass Company, Sapulpa, OK (1914-1929); Bartlett-Collins Company (1929-1980s). B-C mark was used on tumblers after 1921, but I do not know how long after that the mark was used. Manufacturer of a wide line of tableware over the years, Barlett-Collins is now a subsidiary of the Lancaster Colony Corporation, currently producing items such as jars, mugs, canisters and votive candleholders under the brand name "Indiana Glass". These items do not carry an embossed maker's mark. A sister plant operated by Lancaster, located at Dunkirk, Indiana (the original "Indiana Glass Company" factory) ceased production of glass in 2002. See "Indiana Glass" and "LCC" marks.
BF...................Ball-Foster Corporation (mark used 1995-2000). In 2000 became Saint-Gobain Containers, with the SG mark being instituted. See "Ball".
B.F.G.CO.............Beaver Flint Glass Company, Toronto, Ontario (c.1897-1948). NOTE: This marking is also found on glass telegraph insulators made by the Beaver Falls Glass Company, Beaver Falls, PA (1869-1879). The mark was also very likely used on bottles, as this same set of initials are seen on certain soda/mineral water bottles of the period.
B.G.CO...............possibly Belleville Glass Company, Belleville, IL (1882-1886). This factory was purchased by Adolphus Busch Glass Manufacturing Co. in 1886. It is possible the "B.G.CO." mark was used for some time after 1886 if this plant
retained its own name under Busch ownership. Further research is needed on this question.
(NOTE: Other glass companies used this mark as well. A "B.G.CO." mark
was used by Burlington Glass Works, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (1875-1909) on the face of their "Burlington" fruit jars. A Moxie soda bottle variant with a crown lip carries the B.G.CO. mark, and in that case would have been made by a factory some time after c.1893, eliminating Belleville as a possibility.
BI (stylized B with small letter I inside lower loop of B).........Ball-InCon Corporation (mark used 1988-1994). Ball-Incon was formed in 1988 as a merger
of the glass plants owned by Ball Corp, combined with the Indianhead Container Corp which consisted of glass plants
at Laurens, SC; Port Allegany, PA; Madera, CA and other locations. See "Ball".
BiXby.................S.M.Bixby & Company, New York, NY. A prolific producer of ink, shoe polish and glue products. Their bottles are found in a variety of shapes, colors and sizes. Actual glass manufacturers who produced them are unknown.
B. L. Fahnstock Fortune & Co. Pitts. Pa. .................Fahnstock, Fortune & Company, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1866-1873). Mark seen on the base of wax sealer and "Kline stopper" type fruit jars. This company was evidently sold to Evans, Sell & Company in 1873. See "F. A. & Co" and "E. S. & CO." marks.
Blue Ribbon...........Standard Glass Company, Marion, IN (c. 1907-1933). Trademark is found base-embossed on their line of clear ("flint") rectangular pharmaceutical/prescription bottles.
This trademark was reportedly first used in 1908, according to information published in Arthur G. Peterson's 400 Trademarks on Glass (1968). Standard Glass Company was bought by Foster-Forbes in 1933.
B.& M.S.Co..........Bottler's & Manufacturer's Supply Company, Long Island City, NY (BEF.1904-1920). Seen on heel of New York City blob beer bottle.
B.O.C.................Unknown (Seen on base of yellow amber quart blob beer bottle, c. 1885)
BODE.................Bode Extract Company, Chicago, IL (Gustav Augustus Bode, proprietor). Mark seen on the heel of a few hutch soda bottles. Bode evidently manufactured bottles from c. 1890 to 1892, but thereafter concentrated on the production of extracts. He passed away in 1900. Thanks to Joel Ferguson for sending me this info!
B. P.& B.........Bakewell, Page & Bakewell, Pittsburgh, PA (1824-1836)
B.P.CO...............Brunswick Pharmacal Company, New Brunswick, NJ. Seen on small cobalt medicinal bottles, dating perhaps from about 1895-1930. Bottles are also marked with a "back-to-back PP" inside a circle. Actual glass manufacturer is unknown, but Maryland Glass Corporation, Baltimore, MD (a prolific maker of cobalt blue bottles after 1907) could be one possibility. The "B.P.CO." marking bears no relationship to the next entry.
B.P.& Co.........Beck, Phillips & Company, Pittsburgh, PA (c.1866-1886+). Seen on
the base of wax sealer fruit jars. Some similar jars are also found lettered
"Beck, Phillips & Co. Pitts.Pa" in a circle on the base. McKearin (1941:611) indicates this company changed it's name to "Phillips & Company" in 1874, and was still operating in 1886. The actual ending date was not given. So presumably the jars
found with either of these marks would date between about 1866 and 1874.
Brockway.............Brockway Glass Company, Brockway, PA (1907-1988). See "B in a circle" mark. Most bottles I have seen with the cursive "Brockway" marking, usually embossed on the base, seem to date from the 1950s-1970s period, although I do not know the exact period of use of this mark.
Brody (E.O.Brody)........E.O. Brody & Company, Cleveland, OH (1959-to date). This is NOT a glass company, but instead is a jobber/distributor of products made especially for the florist industry. Information on Brody-marked glassware and
where and by whom it is actually made seems rather hard to come by, but I suspect much of it was made by Indiana Glass Company or the Anchor Hocking Corporation. Mark often seen on the base of emerald green and white milkglass vases and floral containers of many types.
Brookfield.............(On glass insulators), Brookfield Glass Company, Brooklyn, NY and Old Bridge, NJ. See Bushwick Glass Works, below.
Brooklyn Glass Bottle Works.............Brooklyn Glass Bottle Works, Brooklyn, NY. Time period when this plant was in operation is uncertain. From the type and general style of bottle which carries the mark (early cylinder whiskey), it looks like the company was probably in operation during the 1860s or 1870s.
Bushwick Glass Works.............Bushwick Glass Works, Brooklyn, New York (c.1864-c.1906). More commonly known under the name Brookfield Glass Company. Prolific maker of glass electrical insulators, they also made considerable quantities of bottles and jars, the great majority of which were not marked with the company name. See my webpage with more info here: Brookfield Glass Company .
C....................Sometimes a mold letter, but may stand for a glass company (Cunningham & Co?) in some instances.
C in a circle........Chattanooga Glass Company, Chattanooga, TN & other plant locations in later years (1901-1988), mark was used c.1927-1988. The circle reportedly may be either "single line" or "double line" on some earlier bottles.
C in a diamond.......Unknown.
C in a pentagon.......Unknown. Seen on base of glass figurines.
C in a square........Crystal Glass Company, Los Angeles, CA (c.1921-1928). This company made tableware, both pressed and blown.
C in a star..........Coshocton Glass Company, Coshocton, OH (c. 1902-1923). Also, a similar mark may be found on bottles made by the Star City Glass Works, Star City, WV (1949-1966) and Coventry, RI (1966-19??).
C in a triangle......Consumers Glass Company, Ville St. Pierre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (1917-to date). Mark was an inverted triangle (point down) from 1917
to 1961, and a slightly rounded "right-side up" triangle starting in
1962, according to information per Toulouse. A second plant was built at Etobicke, Toronto in 1953. (Note: "C in an inverted triangle" is also the mark of Cambridge Glass Company, Cambridge, OH
(1903-1959), but Cambridge made no commercial bottles and jars.)
Camden Glass Works............Camden Glass Works, Camden, New Jersey (1875-1884).
Canton...............Canton Glass Company, Canton, OH (1883-1890), Marion, IN
(1890-1958) and Hartford City, IN (1958-1991+). Fruit jars embossed "The Canton Jar", "The Canton Fruit Jar" or a similar
embossing are
products of this company. Those jars date from the earlier years of the company, i.e., in the 1880s & 1890s. Canton is also known for having produced tableware in a variety of patterns which are sought after by some EAPG (Early American Pattern Glass) collectors. Canton joined the National Glass Company combine and operated under that umbrella company from 1899
to 1902. In September 1902, Canton was re-organized, and a new factory building was erected in Marion right across the street from the old. After 1902, most of Canton's glass production consisted of non-bottle, non-jar items including tableware and a large variety
of other types of specialty glass such as
lantern globes, bird baths and seed cups, sidewalk and skylight glass, hospital &
laboratory glassware, bar & soda fountain
glassware, etc. Canton moved to Hartford City in 1958, and was reportedly still in business there as late as 1991. It is unclear exactly how much and what types of glassware were being produced during this later period.
Capstan logo (resembles a "pawn" chess piece).........Capstan Glass Company, Connellsville, PA (1919-1938). This factory was bought by Anchor Hocking Glass Company in 1938. This mark appears on a variety of flint glass bottles as well as commercial packers' jars, including jelly glasses and other small "tumblers" that originally contained food products such as processed cheese spread, mayonnaise, peanut butter, jam, etc.
C B.................Clevenger Bros. Glass Works, Clayton, NJ (1930-1999). Clevenger Bros. specialized in producing hand-blown bottles and other glassware made in the tradition of the earlier glass factories. Some examples can be difficult to distinguish from the originals, although there are always subtle differences upon close examination. Most of their earlier bottles and flasks were unmarked, as this mark was used beginning in 1966.
C B B; C B K; C B M, etc........Seen on base of various wide-mouth round pickle-type jars made in England, attributed to Kilner Bros Glass Company/Kilner Bros, Ltd,
Thornhill-Lees, West Yorkshire, England (c.1857-1937). The letters are in a triangular configuration, with the third letter centered underneath the first two letters.
C.B.CO..................Charles Boldt [Glass] Company, Cincinnati, Ohio (1900-1919). See C.B.G.CO. entry.
C.B. & Co / N ............Charles Borron & Company, Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire, England (1866-?). This mark is seen on the base of dark green ale bottles which appear to have been made sometime in the 1880-1910 period. It is unclear how late this company continued to operate.
C.B.G.CO................Possibly Chattanooga Bottle [&] Glass Company, Chattanooga, Tennessee. Also might be the mark of the Charles Boldt Glass Company, Cincinnati, OH & Huntington, WV (1900-1919). Their Cincinnati plant closed in 1919, and the Huntington factory continued as Charles Boldt Glass Manufacturing Company from 1919 to 1929. This mark occurs on the base of various soda bottles of the early 20th century, especially from southern states such as Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama. This may point to a stronger possibility of the mark being from Chattanooga. Anyone with more info on this mark, please contact me. Please see next entry.
C.B.& G.CO..............Possibly Chattanooga Bottle & Glass Company, later Chattanooga Glass Company, Chattanooga, TN (1901-1988). Mark would presumably be from the earlier years of operation, circa 1901-1927. See "C in a circle".
C.C. .................(possibly) Cunningham and Company, Pittsburgh, PA (c. 1879-1907). Also known as "Cunninghams & Company" at various times during it's operation. The firm name was evidently changed slightly to become "Cunninghams & Company, Limited" in 1886, and continued to operate as such until approximately 1907. This firm was a successor to Cunningham & Ihmsen (See "C & I" mark). Also, see next four entries.
C.CO..................Cunningham(s) and Company, Pittsburgh, PA (c.1879-1907)
C & C LIM.........Cunningham(s) and Company, Limited, Pittsburgh, PA (1886-1907)
C & CO............Cunningham(s) and Company, Pittsburgh, PA (c.1879-1907)
C & CO LIM........Cunningham(s) and Company, Limited, Pittsburgh, PA (1886-1907)
CCC (3 C's nested inside each other)..........Continental Can Company (mark dates 1950s-1960s). Mark seen on tableware, especially drinking glasses. CCC took over the Hazel Atlas company in 1957.
C C & Co (monogram)..........Carl Conrad & Company, St. Louis, MO. Carl Conrad was a distributor of bottles made for Anheuser-Busch Brewing Company. Conrad was not an actual glass company. Best guess for the time period during which bottles were made with this base marking would be from about 1876 to 1885. Most were made in a distinctive pale blue-aqua glass. Some of these bottles also carry side embossing including the brand name "Budweiser", although many are unembossed except for the CC&Co basemark. Some specimens carry a glassmaker mark as well (such as D.O.C.--- D. O. Cunningham Glass Co., Pittsburgh) but many of these bottles without a glassmaker ID were probably made by one of several local St. Louis-area glass factories, such as Lindell Glass Company, Mississippi Glass Company, Belleville Glass Company, or Illinois Glass Company. (Adolphus Busch Glass Manufacturing Company did not come into existence until 1886, at which time the Belleville Glass Company was purchased by Adolphus Busch).
C.C.G.CO..............Cream City Glass Company, Milwaukee, WI (1888-1894). May also stand for Colorado City Glass Company, Colorado City, CO (1889-1893)
C Co MILW.............Chase Valley Glass Company, Milwaukee, WI (1880)
C G atop a triangle (pointed "hill")............Columbine Glass Company, Denver, CO
C.G.Co................This mark was evidently used by three (or more) different glass companies. Most bottles with this mark along the lower heel are believed to be products of the Coshocton Glass Company, Coshocton, OH (1902-1923, a prolific manufacturer of beer & soda bottles); other possibilities include
Canton Glass Company, Canton, OH (1883-1890) & Marion, IN (1890-1958) [See Canton]; Chattanooga Glass Company, Chattanooga, TN (1901-1988); and Colorado City Glass
Company, Colorado City, CO (1889-1893). ALSO, please see entry below!
C.G.Co................California Glass Company, California, PA (c.1890s). Harvey Teal, a researcher and historian on South
Carolina history, (author of a published book on the SC Dispensary flasks) reports that he has documents proving that some of these dispensary flasks dating
from the c.1893-1897 period marked "C.G.CO." were definitely made by California Glass, although Phillip Kenneth Huggins (The South Carolina Dispensary-1997), attributed the marking to the Carolina Glass Company, Columbia, SC (1902-1913).
C.G.M.CO..............Campbell Glass Mnfg. Company, West Berkeley, CA (1885). Initials might also stand for the Cumberland Glass Manufacturing Company, Bridgeton, NJ (1880-1920), or Cohansey Glass Manufacturing Company, Bridgeport, NJ (1870-1900).
C.G.W.................Campbell Glass Works, West Berkeley, CA (1884-1885), on certain bottles known to be from California, especially the San Francisco area. This company is given as the source of the "C.G.W." mark by Toulouse. Since it operated for less than four months, and Toulouse gives no
information on why he believes this mark can only be attributed to Campbell (other than the fact that the initials do fit), I am very skeptical that all bottles with this mark originate from that company, especially bottles and flasks with this mark found in the East.
Another possible source (in my opinion, which may be no better than Toulouse's!) could be any one of several Eastern region glass companies, for instance Clyde Glass Works, Clyde, NY; Cumberland Glass Works/Cumberland Glass Mnfg. Co., Bridgeton, NJ; or Camden Glass Works, Camden, NJ (1875-1884).
C & H............Coffin & Hay, Hammonton, NJ
CH (along the lower heel of bottle, preceded and followed by various numbers)....Graham Glass Company, Checotah, Oklahoma glass plant. See Graham.
C with an H inside it..........Cattorini Hermanos, Buenos Aires, Argentina, S.A. (1952-to date). This mark is most frequently seen in the US on the base of imported emerald green juice/water bottles that were often saved and re-used as refrigerator bottles. I believe most, of not all, of those bottles were made in the 1960s or very early 1970s. The trademark is still in use.
Chas.Boldt Co........Charles Boldt Glass Company/Charles Boldt Glass Manufacturing Company, Cincinnati, OH (1900-1919) and Huntington, WV (1900-1929). See "C.B.CO." and "C.B.G.CO." marks.
CHATT. ..............Chattanooga Glass Company, Chattanooga, TN (1901-1988). Period of use of this particular Chattanooga mark is uncertain. I have personally seen it embossed on the base of an amber machine-made medicinal flask, and just by general appearance, I would estimate that it dated from sometime between 1920 and 1940. More detailed information on this mark would be appreciated.
C.H.B.CO.....................Chicago Heights Bottle Company, Chicago, IL (1912-1913). These initials are confirmed to exist on at least one bottle (courtesy of Bill Lockhart) and are almost certainly that of the Chicago Heights concern. For another mark attributed to this short-lived company, see "SIGNET".
C. & I............Cunningham and Ihmsen, Pittsburgh, PA (1865-1878)
C. & I. Co........Same as above.
C partially overlapping an L.......................Carr-Lowrey Glass Company, Baltimore, MD (1889-2003). Maker of a huge variety of perfume and other cosmetic containers. Also see "C.L.G.CO."
C.L.F................C.L.Flaccus Glass Company, Pittsburgh, PA (1879-1928). Seen on the base of a clear prescription/medicinal bottle. See next 2 entries, also see "F in a keystone" mark.
C.L.F.G.CO...........Same as above. Occurs on the base of South Carolina Dispensary bottles. See next entry.
C.L.Flaccus/Pittsburgh...........C.L.Flaccus Glass Company, Pittsburgh,PA (offices); manufacturing plants were located at Leechburg, Tarentum, and Beaver Falls, PA (1879-1928). Seen on base of wax sealer fruit jar.
C.L.G.CO.............Carr-Lowrey Glass Company, Baltimore, MD (1889-2003). Mark was used primarily before about 1920. Often misread as "C.L.C.CO". See "C partially overlapping an L".
Clyde................Clyde Glass Works, Clyde, NY (1868-1912)
Clyde Glass Works............Clyde Glass Works, Clyde, NY (1868-1912)
C.MFG.C..............Unknown (Seen on base of fruit jar, c.1870s).
C MILW...............See "C Co MILW".
C-O G Co.............Unknown. Reported on milk bottle, per Jeffrey Giarde (Glass Milk Bottles: Their Makers and Marks).
Cohansey.............Cohansey Glass Mnfg. Company (1870-1900). Factory: Bridgeton, NJ. Business office in Philadelphia, PA.
COLO.C.G.CO..............Colorado City Glass Company, Colorado City, CO (1889-1893)
COLO.CITY G. CO........Colorado City Glass Company, Colorado City, CO (1889-1893)
COLO.G.W. ...........Colorado Glass Works Company, Golden, CO (1887-1888)
Colo.G.W.Co............same as above.
C.R. .................Curling, Ringwalt & Company, Pittsburgh, PA (1857-1863)
C.S.& Co. LTD........Cannington, Shaw & Co. Limited, St. Helens, England (1875-1913)
C.V.No.1 MILW.........Chase Valley Glass Company, Milwaukee, WI (1880-1881)
C.V.Co.No.2 MILW.........Chase Valley Glass Company No.2, Milwaukee, WI (1880-1881)
C.V.G.CO.............Chase Valley Glass Company, Milwaukee, WI (1880-1881)
C.W.& CO..........Unknown. Seen on base of blackglass ale bottles, probably British.
C.W. & J. ...........Unknown. This mark is evidently actually "G W & J", but I am keeping this listing as well, as the embossing is faint on some bottles, and the "G" appears more like a "C" on at least one mold. Initials are seen on base of blackglass ale bottles of British origin. Lettering could possibly be "W. & J. G."
D.....................Unknown. Seen on base of amber strap-side flask.
D in a diamond........Dominion Glass Company, Montreal, Quebec & other locations (1913-??). "D within a diamond" mark was reportedly first used by Dominion in 1928. The mark used before that time
was just a diamond (on their insulators), but I'm not certain if that was also true of their bottles.
D in a keystone...............Denver Glass Bottle Company, Denver, CO (1946-1951)
D.B.MFG.CO. ...................Unknown. This embossing reported to me (by 2 separate contacts) as seen on a small, round, clear (or slightly purple) type of bottle that might have originally held some type of medicine, powder, glue, ink, polish, or some other product. I don't believe the initials stand for a glass company, but more likely the company that made the product that was contained in the bottle. If you have an idea on what these initials stand for, let me know!
Dean Foster & CO..........Dean, Foster & Company, Boston, MA (c.1870s-c.1900) and Chicago, IL (1883-1893). Seen on the base of a nurser bottle. See next entry.
D.F.& CO..........Dean, Foster & Company, Boston, MA (c.1870s-c.1900) and Chicago, IL (1883-1893). This company evidently made primarily prescription/druggist ware. See above entry, as well as "A.M.F.& CO" for a related mark.
D.F.& D...........Dean, Foster & Dawley. See above 2 entries. This company was either an earlier, or closely related company to the one above.
D.G.Co................Unknown.
Diamond logo (no letters or numbers inside)........Uncertain, possibly Diamond Glass Co, Montreal, Quebec (1891-1913), or Diamond Glass Company, Royersford, PA (1885-1990). (Diamond Glass Company of Royersford was purchased in 1985 to become part of Diamond-Bathurst, and in 1987 the factory was then acquired by Anchor Glass Container Corporation, who closed down the plant in 1990). Some bottles may well be products of the Illinois Glass Company, Alton, IL., which definitely used a diamond mark with numbers and/or letters within it on many types of bottles.
Diamond with an "I" inside............See "I within a Diamond" mark.
Diamond with letter & number or letter & numbers combination within it.........Illinois Glass Company, Alton, IL, definitely produced at least some of these.
Diamond with 2-, 3- or 4-digit number inside.........Illinois Glass Company, Alton, IL (1873-1929). (Numbers found within a diamond on several types of bottles have been matched with
catalog numbers found in Il Glass Co. bottle catalogs.) Exact period when this mark was used is uncertain. Other
companies that might have produced some of the bottles found with these basemarks include Diamond/Dominion Glass Company, Montreal, Quebec, Canada & other
locations; and the Diamond Glass Company, Royersford, PA (1885-1990)
Diamond superimposed over an oval [letter O] and an I..............Owens-Illinois Glass
Company, Toledo, OH (head office) and other plant locations (1929-to date). Two examples of the mark are shown here. This mark was used from 1929 (possibly not actually engraved on molds until early 1930) up to c.1957. As there
was a gradual changeover to the 'new' trademark (with the diamond removed) which occurred over a period of
four or five years (beginning in 1954), some bottle molds already in use were not re-engraved
until as late as 1957 or 1958. (I have a soda bottle dated 1959 with this "old" mark!). However, after 1958 the great majority of O-I bottles carried the "new" trademark, which
was simply an I inside an oval. (See "I inside an O" mark). On very small bottles, the mark may be indistinct and the "I" may be invisible, or just a tiny dot.
On the typical bottle, there is usually a number to the left of, to the right of, and
below, the trademark. (Note: This arrangement is the most commonly seen, but some bottles, such as liquor flasks, are marked in other ways and so are found with a different code configuration.) The number on the LEFT of the diamond logo is the plant code
number, the number on the RIGHT is a date code, and the number below the logo
indicates the mold cavity or serial number. Examples: plant code #2 stood for the
Huntington, WV plant; "3" was the Fairmont, WV plant; "7" indicated
Alton, IL; "9", the Streator, IL factory; "12" was Gas City, IN; "14" was the Bridgeton, NJ plant, etc. Some of the numbers
have been re-used for other plants opened in later years, however. For a page with more plant code numbers,
courtesy of Dick Cole (fruitjar.org), click here . Known
as Owens-Illinois, Inc. since 1965, (and officially known as just "O-I" since 2005), this corporation is currently (2007) the largest
manufacturer of glass containers in the western hemisphere, with plants located worldwide.
Owens-Illinois has continued to diversify in recent years into other types of
industries, including plastic and metal packaging. Click here for one of many pages from O-I's offical website. This one has a brief overview of glass container manufacturing.
Dillon G. Co..........Dillon Glass Company, plants at Converse, IN and Fairmount, IN (1889-1894)
D.O.C.................D.(Dominick) O. Cunningham Glass Co., Pittsburgh, PA (c.1882-1931). A prolific producer of soda bottles, especially hutches. The mark seems to be seen primarily on handmade bottles manufactured (generally speaking) before about 1910.
DIXIE.................Dixie Glass Company, Tallapoosa, GA (1898-c.1906)
D.S.G.Co..............DeSteiger Glass Company, LaSalle, IL (c.1879-1896)
Duraglas..............Owens Illinois Glass Company, Toledo, OH (1929-to date). Trademark used after 1940. See "Diamond superimposed over an oval and I" mark.
Dyottville Glass Works..........Dyottville Glass Works, Philadelphia, PA (c.1833-1900+). Factory had long been in operation, previously known as the Kensington Glass Works, before becoming
known as Dyottville. Besides their early pictorial flasks (on which the name is found on the front or reverse of the bottle), other bottles found with this marking on the base are the cylinder whiskies which probably date mostly from the 1850s-1880s period.
