Reed and Company, Massillon, Ohio - "O" variant

One complete bottle and two basal fragments of amber-coloured American “Export Beer” bottles (what we would today consider a lager bottle) were found at False Creek Flats with “R & CO” in an arch on the base. This mark was from Reed and Company of the Massillon Glass Works, Massillon, Ohio (Lockhart et al 2017). All were mould-blown and the complete bottle has an applied crown finish. The glass is thick – 5 mm or more mid-body. Diameter is 6.5 cm, height is 23.8 cm. Volume would be approximately 12 oz - smaller than most other bottles with this mark.


Export Beer bottle made by Reed and Company #51 


     Bottle bases #51, 52, 53 – digitally altered to show the less obvious “O” below the numbers.

All three are marked with “R & Co” in an arch over a number – the two base fragments are “34” with an embossed dot above it, while the complete bottle is “41” with no dot. Basal fragment #52 has a ghost “34” above the final “34”, and all of them have a faint capital “O” below the numbers. The “O” has not been recorded by the Society of Historical Archaeology Bottle Group before now (Lockhart et al. 2017).  

Reed and Co. merged with the Massillon Bottle & Glass Co., the Wooster Glass Col, and the H. Everett Glass Co. on October 11, 1904 to form the Ohio Bottle Co. In August and September of 1905, the Ohio Bottle Co. became part of the larger American Bottle Company merger (Lockhart et al 2017). I propose due to the nature and age of this site and the use of the crown finish (used more commonly after about 1900  [Bill Lockhart, Elec. Comm.]), that the “O” may be an indication of when Reed and Co. was part of the Ohio Bottle Company between October 1904 and September 1905. If I'm right, this would make them some of the last bottles made before the American Bottle Company merger. This is just an hypothesis and further historical research and archaeological study will be needed with larger and more extensive samples from various locations to prove the American Bottle Company immediately stopped using the R & Co. mark - some glass house mergers kept the old company marks for a period of time.

Reed & Co., or the Reed Glass Works, was begun by David Reed, Charles W. Reed, and John Miller in 1881. At the height of production, Reed & Co. covered five acres, had 12 buildings, and employed 300 people on average. The Massillon Museum website mentions that the company sold bottles to many western and southern states as well as Mexico. This indicates that the bottles likely came to British Columbia containing American beer. One bottle found at Fort Bowie in Arizona has a Schlitz Brewing Company label still attached.

Reed Glass Works ca.1900 Collection of the Massillon Museum (91.7.431)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Titanic Connections

Image
100 years ago today, my Great-Grandmother, Nellie Steele, must have been grieving the fact that she had missed the most exciting trip of her life.  Her fiance, my Great-Grandfather, Jack McCurrach, had travelled to Canada 1 1/2 years earlier and was awaiting her arrival so they could marry.  But her sister was very ill and expecting a baby, and as it turned out she died about a month after the baby was born.  My Great-Grandmother stayed behind to support her sister and then take care of the baby girl until she could be adopted out.  The original plan was to take the Titanic to Canada.  Families on both sides of the Atlantic remember the story.  The disappointment that she felt in being delayed in her trip and missing the most celebrated sailing of any ship in history must have been devestating.  And the relief felt when she found out about the sinking of the ship must have knocked the wind out of her.  Talk about feeling somehow blessed - she must have been thanking God.  She end
Read more

Flea Beetles! ... and leaf miners.

Image
When I went out to the garden this morning, I found little holes in several tomato plant leaves.  "Argh", I thought.  "Flea Beetles!"  I hadn't heard about flea beetles until last year when our friend, Justin, lost all his tomato plants to the darned little things.  His plants were seedlings at the time, and apparently that is when they are most vulnerable.  He told me that you could trap the beetles with sticky yellow traps - and that was the extent of what I knew.  Flea beetles are about the size of a flea, and have long back legs and jump (just like a flea).  I hate fleas.  And I suspect that I'm going to learn to hate flea beetles, too.  So I went online quickly this morning before going to work.  Yes, flea beetles are fairly common and attack tomatoes, potatoes, and some of the cruciferous plants.  I'll let you know if they get into my leafy veggies - apparently they like them, too.  Sticky traps might help, so might Rotenone powder - which I am
Read more

Recipes from the summer of '35

Image
With the economy going the way it is, I thought looking back at some Depression Era recipes might help people save some money and maybe think about eating in a different way. It may also cause a laugh or two - which we can all use. So here are some examples from The Daily Province in Vancouver, British Columbia, printed 25 July. The weekly menu was suggested here: Just looking at the menu shows us how different things are now. This was meant for a housekeeper (whether a domestic goddess or hired staff). Here is one of the main dish recipes (Monday Supper) that we all might have the ingredients for: Scalloped Tuna Fish and Potatoes. 
Read more