Mold-Blown Aqua Cone Ink Bottle – Stafford’s Knickerbocker

This ink bottle dates firmly to the late 19th century (c. 1875–1890). Samuel S. Stafford began marketing his “Knickerbocker Ink” in the 1870s, and the “Chemist” trade designation was standard on Stafford’s Victorian-era labels prior to the company’s later 20th-century incorporation.

Physical & Manufacturing Characteristics

• Form & Style: Conical / pyramid body featuring a distinctive, heavy raised annular ring (donut collar) at the base of the neck.
• Color: Light aqua (pale blue-green) glass with minor micro-bubbling (seed bubbles) throughout.
• Manufacturing Technique: Blown in a two-piece post-bottom or cup-bottom mold. The vertical mold seams run up the conical body, traverse the annular collar, and fade along the neck, terminating below the applied/tooled flared finish.
• Base: Smooth, deeply indented concave push-up (no pontil scar), consistent with post-Civil War automated/semi-mechanized annealing and punty rod alternatives.
• Reverse “Peened-Out” Mark: The crude distortion or ghost “U” on the reverse typically indicates a glassmaker altering or plugging an existing private-mold slug (common practice among late-19th-century glasshouses repurposing stock molds for commercial ink purveyors).

Label & Typography

• Text: STAFFORD’S / KNICKERBOCKER / INK / A JET BLACK WRITING FLUID / S. S. STAFFORD Chemist / NEW YORK.
• Design: Victorian-era black field paper label with crisp lithographed negative white lettering and decorative shaded serifs.
• Condition: Excellent survival rate for paper of this era, displaying light border fraying but retaining complete, legible text across all primary lines.