New England 8-Sided Umbrella Ink Bottle

This New England 8-Sided “Umbrella” Ink Bottle in olive-amber/green-amber glass is a quintessential example of early American utilitarian glassmaking.

Description

• Shape & Form: It features the iconic 8-sided “umbrella” (octagonal fluted cone) shape, tapering upward from a wide, flat base to a narrow neck.
• Lip / Finish: The bottle has an inwardly rolled / folded lip (common for dip-molded inkwell finishes of this period to provide a smooth, durable edge for dipping quills or pens).
• Color & Glass Character: The glass exhibits a rich, variable olive-amber / yellow-green tone full of character. Under transmitted light, seed bubbles (seedies), subtle whittling, and natural color striations are clearly visible, characteristic of 19th-century New England glasshouse batch mixes.
• Base & Pontil: The bottom reveals a deep, sharp open pontil scar (blowpipe pontil), showing where the blowpipe was attached to hold the piece while the neck and lip were finished.
• Condition Notes: The base displays authentic shelf wear (fine scratching around the outer bottom edge where it rested on desks and surfaces for decades). The interior exhibits mild glass sickness/haziness, typical for dug or long-stored utilitarian bottles. Overall, the bottle remains in solid condition with sharp panel lines and no major structural damage.

Age & Date of Manufacture

• Estimated Date: c. 1840 – 1850s (Early Victorian / Pre-Civil War Era).
• Glasshouse Origin: Blown at one of the prominent early New England glassworks—most likely a New Hampshire (e.g., Stoddard or Keene Glass Works) or Connecticut (e.g., Coventry or Willington) factory known for their rich olive-green and amber glass formulas.

Key Dating Indicators:

1. Open Pontil Mark: Open (tubular blowpipe) pontil marks on American utilitarian bottles peak between the 1830s and mid-1850s. By the late 1850s and early 1860s, glasshouses transitioned to the “snap-case” tool, which held the bottle without leaving a rough, jagged pontil scar.
2. Dip Mold Construction: The pronounced vertical mold seams stopping at the shoulder/neck indicate it was dip-molded before the lip was hand-turned and finished.