Carter's Ink Bottle Fragment (Archaeological Find)
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Title:
Carter's Ink Bottle Fragment
Subject:
In our current digital age, it is often easy to forget that there was once a time when and all written materials required ink to bring them to life on paper. That was the world in which Harvard students lived in during the 19th and early 20th centuries, when this ink bottle was manufactured. Harvard students’ demand for papers and inks would have been extremely high, despite the school's reputation as “ ‘the hardest college to get into and the easiest to stay in’.“ (Morison 1935, 369) Towards the end of the 19th century, Harvard underwent a remarkably rapid expansion under the leadership of President Eliot, which would have caused significant rise in materials for academics demanded by the school, including ink (Morison 1935, 373).
With a near unquenchable thirst for inks with which to write, how would Harvard students and faculty fulfill their needs? It just so happened, however, that the self-proclaimed world’s largest ink manufacturer lay just a stone’s throw away at what is now 245 First St. in Cambridge, having just moved from Boston due to a need for expansion. (Faulkner 2003, 42). Carter’s ink produced a wide variety of ink products, ranging from small fountain pen inkwells to the larger cylindrical master ink bottle that is displayed here. Ink was never used straight out of master bottles, as it was transferred to smaller, more convenient inkwells first. These bulk bottles would have been ubiquitous around Harvard, and would have been used by both students and faculty to refill their inkwells.
Source:
Morison, Samuel E. 1936. Three Centuries of Harvard, 1636-1936. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Faulkner, Ed, and Faulkner, Lucy. 2003. "Let's Talk About Ink." In Bottles and Extras. The Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors. Accessed April 1, 2017. http://www.fohbc.com/PDF_Files/Ink_Sp2003.pdf
Cambridge Historical Society. 2012. "Industry in Cambridge: Carter's Ink." Cambridge Historical Society Website. Accessed April 5, 2017.
http://www.cambridgehistory.org/discover/industry/cartersink.html
Society for Historical Archaeology. 2016. "Ink Bottles (Bulk Sizes)." Accessed April 5, 2017. https://sha.org/bottle/household.htm#Ink%20Bottles
Antique Bottle Collectors' Haven. "Antique Ink Bottles" Accessed April 5, 2017.
http://www.antiquebottles.com/ink/
Object Name:
Carter's Ink Aqua Bottle Fragment
Inventory Description:
Base fragment of an aqua bulk ink bottle. Side is embossed 'S INK. It is presumed that the complete bottle would have had CARTER'S INK embossed on the side. Bottle would have been used to store ink for refilling smaller inkwells.
Peabody Number:
2016.29.1801
Culture/Period:
Late 1800s to Early 1900s
Intrasite:
H932 Level 2
Depth:
67-96
Class 1:
Glass
Class 2:
Bottle Glass
Class 3:
Aqua Bottle Glass
Quantity:
2
Height (cm):
5.9cm
Width (cm):
5.1cm
Depth/Thickness (cm):
5.1cm