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blobbottlebob
USA
1249 Posts |
 Posted - 24 Nov 2007 : 00:06:34
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In honor of Steve's awesome new find, I thought I'd post a few of the stoppers that came with the original Matthews gravitational stopper bottles. They are normally aqua in color (which is one reason why Steve's bottle is so good). Here's what the bottom looks like on Steve's...
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Most of the 'regulars' to the forum will know that there are famed piles of Matthews bottles sunken on the bottom of a Wisconsin lake. They are very crude and early bottles. However, all of these submerged examples are broken. One day, while searching for a whole one, I had the fortune to come upon a pile of the glass stoppers that sealed the bottles. For more details (in a HUNT story), check out this link...
http://www.mrbottles.com/huntGlassPiles.asp
Here is one of my favorites. While the stopper is not mint, it has an enormous bubble trapped in the glass.
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The stoppers typically have three lines of embossing on the narrow 'neck' that feeds into the rubber seal. These two stoppers have an similar (indented) mismold.
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This next stopper is printed JOHN MATTHEWS / PATENT right on the end. It is hard to read, though. The "TT" in Matthews is at 12 o'clock.
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MrBottles
USA
525 Posts |
Posted - 24 Nov 2007 : 07:11:10
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Hey Bob I think this one might have been made to use one of those question mark shaped stoppers like the ones you have been cleaning. Got any pictures of those?
Steven
I deleted your double story. Now i need the names of the two new ones and I can go find them and the pictures that came with them in my email. One is up but not on display now.
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What you braggen about?! |
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blobbottlebob
USA
1249 Posts |
Posted - 24 Nov 2007 : 08:35:51
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| The stories were called 'Marked' and 'Weber Reveived'. I don't know if I sent you photos or not. I could work on it. Any chance you want to dive Sunday am (not too early)? I still need a tank either way. |
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"The kid"
USA
516 Posts |
Posted - 24 Nov 2007 : 14:49:13
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Imagine an amber gravitating glass stopper! I have a tank of air if anyone wants it. Just come over and grab it. Call my cell if you do!
Tom |
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blobbottlebob
USA
1249 Posts |
Posted - 24 Nov 2007 : 18:02:42
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| Because of that bottom, there are people out there who are going to say that Steve's bottle is a gravational stopper bottle. I think that Steve is right, though. The blob gives it away. Somebody bought a Matthews mold and blew a bottle in it that would be sealed either with a lightning stopper or a hutchinson stopper. That blob has early 1880s all over it (almost like it was embossed right on there)! |
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blobbottlebob
USA
1249 Posts |
Posted - 24 Nov 2007 : 20:43:26
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This next set of two pictures is one stopper shown at two angles. There is a flat 'ribbon' of haze or tiny bubbles which is two dimensional inside the three dimensional glass stopper.
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These two stoppers together both have a thin whispy hook shape of slag glass inside.
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blobbottlebob
USA
1249 Posts |
Posted - 27 Nov 2007 : 19:40:55
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Here's a stopper that naturally turned amethyst. Out of over 150 stoppers, this was the only one that came up like that. I have a normal colorless example at left to show the contrast.
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blobbottlebob
USA
1249 Posts |
Posted - 28 Nov 2007 : 23:30:39
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This stopper is unique in that it has extra rings or ridges along the part of the stopper where the rubber seal attaches. My hunch is that these are 'late' improvements in the Matthews design. The ridges were added to the original Matthews molds to help hold the rubber gasket in place (with extra friction). This one also has a "4" on it (which they normally never have).
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Matthews stoppers
