Manufacturing in Cambridge: A Locally-Made Apothecary Bottle? (Archaeological Find)
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Title:
Manufacturing in Cambridge: A Locally-Made Apothecary Bottle?
Subject:
This brilliant blue glass sherd was part of a bottle of medicine labeled with parts of the words “Druggist” and “Cambridge,” as well as (presumably) the druggist’s name. Only the letters “ILE” are visible on the top line.
Cambridge was a manufacturing center in the 19th century, and in particular a leader in the glass industry. One of the top employers was the New England Glass Company, established in 1818 (Cambridge Historical Society). Though most of its production was “flint glass” rather than apothecary bottles such as this one, this company was the site of a critical invention: in 1827, a worker named Robinson invented the “pressing mould,” involved spreading molten glass into a mold with a plunger (Cavanaugh 38). This was the later of two 19th century innovations that made glass production far less expensive. The earlier method was blowing glass into a mold, which was practiced at the factory as early as 1819 (Toledo Museum of Art 18). This method was more appropriate for bottle making. This bottle’s mold would have had four side plates that would butterfly up, and one of these sides would be replaceable with a plate that embossed the desired text.
Because of the ease of the interchangeable plate in blowing glass, it is possible that this bottle was not made in Cambridge. However, the presence of one of the east coast’s largest glass factories in the same city as the apothecary hints at the possibility that this blue bottle was molded locally.
Source:
Bibliography
Cambridge Historical Society.
1997 Cambridge on the Cutting Edge. Cambridge Historical Society, Cambridge. Accessed April 4, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20101211113328/http://cambridgehistory.org/NE_Glass_history.htm
Cavanaugh, Doris Hayes
1926 Early Glass Making in East Cambridge. Paper presented at 1926 meeting of the Cambridge Historical Society, pg. 32-45. Electronic document, http://www.cambridgehistory.org/content/early-glass-making-east-cambridge. Accessed April 4, 2017.
Toledo Museum of Art
1963 The New England Glass Company, 1818-1888. Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio. Accessed April 4, 2017. https://archive.org/details/newenglandglassc00tole
Object Name:
Blue Cambridge Apothecary Bottle Sherd
Inventory Description:
Mold-blown cobalt blue glass, letters on one side as follows: [...]ILE[...] / [...]GGIS[...] / [...]BRIDGE[...]. Concave letters on one side indicate hand-blowing.
Peabody Number:
2016.29.121
Intrasite:
H939, Level 1
Depth:
45-53cm
Class 1:
Glass
Class 2:
Bottle Glass
Class 3:
Blue Bottle Glass
Quantity:
1
Height (cm):
4.5cm
Width (cm):
5.5cm
Depth/Thickness (cm):
.4cm