Those miniature Globs and Pocket Flasks

Rich, dark green American chestnut with hemp wicker. 4” tall and 2 3/8” at the widest point. Recovered during 1961 demolition of historic building in downtown Philadelphia. Found inside a wall. Purchased by Elizabeth Meyer at the FOHBC York Expo auction in 2008. This is Elizabeth’s favorite bottle (this week).

We had a visitor (Brad Seigler) to see our collection at Peach Ridge this past weekend after the Houston Antique Bottle Show. In one of our bottle rooms, with the power figurals, Brad asked Elizabeth, my wife, about her favorite bottle. I knew for sure, that Elizabeth would take Brad over to the Suffolk Bitters or Berkshire Bitters figural pigs. Elizabeth loves these pigs! You know, when I have the pigs on a show table, the female general collectors or persons new to the hobby, especially young girls, teenagers, mothers, grandmothers etc. love the pigs!

Elizabeth is taking this picture in one of the figural rooms. The little glob I am talking about is on a short shelf in front of my right arm. I fully expected Elizabeth to point out the pigs in the center window as her favorites.

Well… Elizabeth surprised me and went straight to a little bottle she won at a past FOHBC National Auction (York, PA 2008) and pulled the bottle from the shelf to show Brad. Of late, she is telling me often that she loves the Early American Glass facebook page. She is constantly talking of an image she has seen of a pitcher, bowl, witch ball, flask or some other beautiful object that is not a Bitters Bottle. In honor of my wife, and thinking it is best to keep her happy and ‘on board’ with our glass partnership, I post her bottle and some other miniature globs and flasks that have been appearing of late on facebook.

I really like how some of the collectors are photographing their bottles. I especially like the juxtaposition of larger glass next to these small flasks. Quite spectacular.

My GLOB MOB…(Nicknamed my magnificent seven) An eclectic grouping of colors, forms, lip treatments. I have been wanting to get these outside for quite some time. I had a blast…. – Rick Ciralli

I was dusting off the bottle shelves, took these off, and thought I’d take a photo. – Woody Douglas

Although the winter was mild, I was thinking about Spring while taking this photo in February! Most of this glass is mid-late 18th century in my opinion, one or two may be early 19th century. Some of the pieces are possibly from the Wistar factory. – Michael George

Miniature kidney form. This one is three and a half inhes tall. 1780-1830, probably New England – Tom Marshall

All 3 of these pieces came from New England. Two of them had attribution to Germantown or Temple by Boo Morcom. I can’t say with any certainty where they are from… just that I like em! – Michael George

North and south? Little bit of swamp a little bit of southern (south of New England). What do you guys think about these for attribution? The Strait sided demi has some real interesting things. It has what has been considered a classic NE color (it is pretty swampy), a “mid Atlantic ” shaped top even though these were produced at lots of factories and a big awesome tube pontil. To me the form is similar to a mallet though may be a stretch. – Chris Helenek

New addition for the collection. 4.5 inches tall. – Chris Helenek

Little glob next to some big Stoddard glass – Eric Correla

Two speckled flasks. The larger flask came from the Bob and Muriel Heath collection. – Dana Charlton-Zarro

While everyone’s now talking about right and left, I thought I’d share a PLAIN piece of the Midwest that I got at the St. Louis bottle show the year before last. The color is sort of a honey-amber-olive, and the photo doesn’t do it justice. A little gem of a pocket flask. – Elise Hempel

Pitkin flask in Ian Simmonds dealer booth – Dana Charlton-Zarro

In my collection – the color is actully closer to the other Pitkin above. This one has 14 vertical ribs and 14 ribs swirled to the right. – Dana Charlton-Zarro

With all of this “gutsy” glass from Hartford County… Here is a picture that shows the “lighter” side of Pitkin glass! – Michael George

About Ferdinand Meyer V

Ferdinand Meyer V is a native of Baltimore, Maryland and has a BFA in Fine Art and Graphic Design from the Kansas City Art Institute and School of Design. Ferdinand is the founding Principal of FMG Design, a nationally recognized design consultation firm. Ferdinand is a passionate collector of American historical glass specializing in bitters bottles, color runs and related classic figural bottles. He is married to Elizabeth Jane Meyer and lives in Houston, Texas with their daughter and three wonderful grandchildren. The Meyers are also very involved in Quarter Horses, antiques and early United States postage stamps. Ferdinand is the past 6-year President of the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors and is one of the founding members of the FOHBC Virtual Museum.
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