Master Ink Bottle – Carter’s Ink Company

This is a 19th-century bulk or “master” ink bottle from the Carter’s Ink Company. Master bottles were used by offices, schools, and businesses to refill smaller desktop inkwells.

1. Bottle Description

• Color & Material: Rich aqua/teal-tinted blown glass featuring distinct bubbles (seed bubbles) and light mold seam lines characteristic of late 19^th century glassmaking.
• Shape: Tall, cylindrical body with a sloping shoulder, long neck, and a heavy collar/lip.
• Embossing: High on the shoulder, the glass is embossed in bold block letters with CARTER’S.
• Closure: Features an original cork stopper with a thin wire looped through the top, likely used to pull or suspend the stopper.
• Base: Smooth base with a slight concavity (kick-up/push-up), consistent with late 19th-century turn-mold or bottom-snap techniques.

2. Age & Date Range

This bottle dates from between 1872 and 1895.

• The Company Name: The label and company details place it firmly in this window. John W. Carter and James P. Dinsmore formed Carter, Dinsmore & Co. in 1872 following the Great Boston Fire. The company operated under this name until it incorporated as The Carter’s Ink Company after Carter’s death in 1895.
• Glassmaking Style: The blown-in-mold manufacture with an applied or tooled finish and crude paper labels matches the 1870s–1880s perfectly.

3. Label Decipherment

Front Main Label (Orange & Black)

• Top Header: CARTER’S
• Sub-header: COMBINED WRITING & COPYING
• Center Banner: INK
• Company Name: CARTER, DINSMORE & CO.
• Location: BOSTON AND NEW YORK.

Historical Context: “Combined Writing & Copying Ink” was Carter’s flagship product invented in the mid-19th century. It served a dual purpose: it flowed smoothly for daily writing with a dip pen but could also be used with a letter press to make duplicate copies onto damp tissue-thin copying paper.

Rear Label (Tan Information Sheet)

Though worn and stained with dried ink drips, several lines are still legible:

• Top Heading: AN INK THAT WILL…
• Middle Text: …FOR COPYING… / …CARTER’S… / …COMBINED INK…
• Lower Right Fragment: …BLUE… / …RAVEN… (referencing Carter’s ink lines such as “Raven Black” or “Combined Blue-Black” inks offered around that era).
• The remaining fine print consists of standard directions for office refilling and care instructions for copying presses.