Civil War Era Puce Master Ink Bottle

Origin Analysis & Glasshouse Attribution

• Regional Origin: New England or the Mid-Atlantic region (most likely New Jersey or Eastern Pennsylvania).
• Color & Batch Chemistry: Puce—a deep, rich purplish red/burgundy hue—was rarely an intentional batch target for utility bottles like master inks. It was typically the result of specific iron, manganese, or nickel impurities combined with charcoal/sulfur in the sand/slag mix used for “black glass” (extremely dark olive-amber/amber).
• Prominent Glassworks Known for Puce/Reddish Tones (c. 1850s–1870s):
  • New Jersey Glassworks (e.g., Whitney Glass Works in Glassboro, or Millville): Famous for producing heavy utility containers, master inks, and bottles with rich, off-color character ranging from dark reddish-amber to true deep puce.
  • New England Glassworks (e.g., Stoddard, NH or Keene, NH): Known primarily for olive-amber and amber, but furnace variations occasionally produced striking reddish-burgundy/puce batches in cylinder masters during the Civil War era.
  • Philadelphia / Mid-Atlantic Furnaces: Philadelphia was a major ink production hub (houses like Harrison’s, Hoover, and Wright) and sourced containers heavily from regional South Jersey and Pennsylvania glassworks.

Technical & Historical Features

• Manufacturing Era: c. 1850–1870 (Civil War to early Post-War Era).
• Method: Hand-blown in a two-part or three-part dip mold (Blown-in-Mold / BIM).
• Base: Early smooth, pushed-up (sunken) base without a pontil scar, indicating manufacture right at the transition period when the snap case mechanism replaced pontil rods for bottle finishing.
• Lip & Spout: A crude, heavily applied collared lip with a distinctive, hand-crimped/pinched pour spout, designed specifically for clean refilling of smaller desk inkwells.
• Glass Character: Heavy overall whittling (texture from cold iron mold interaction) and a smooth, natural surface potstone (an un-melted grain of sand/clay from the furnace pot wall, confirming authentic hand-blown batch production).

Summary

Rare Civil War Era Puce Master Ink Bottle (c. 1850–1870)

Color & Form: Exceptional deep reddish-puce glass (rich burgundy hue when backlit). Unembossed, cylindrical body (7 3/8″ H).

Manufacturing Details: Hand-blown in mold (BIM) with heavy whittled texture and an early smooth, pushed-up base. Features a crudely applied collared neck with a wide, hand-crimped pour spout.

Condition: Excellent overall condition; free of chips or cracks. Features a natural in-making surface potstone and minor, age-appropriate light interior haze.

Attribution: Likely Mid-Atlantic (South Jersey) or New England origin, representative of mid-19th-century regional glassmaking.