IGCB

THE ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO COLLECTING BOTTLES

Rev. 2001-12-15, 2004-02-05, 2009-02-25

Return to Sitemap

Book citation

Glossary Center

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Glossary

A
Advertiques
early advertising items. IGCB
Amphora
a two-handled oblong vessel used by the ancients for holding wine or other liquids. IGCB O
Annealing
the gradual cooling of hot glass in an oven or lehr. IGCB
Apothecary
a person who both prescribes and manufactures drugs. IGCB
Applied color labeling
a method of decorating a bottle by applying glass with a low melting point to a bottle through a metal screen and then baking it in a muffle. IGCB B
B
Baltimore loop seal
a bottle closure. IGCB
Banana ink bottle
a side-spouted ink bottle. IGCB
Batch
a mixture of the raw glassmaking materials ready for the melting pot. IGCB
Battledore
a wooden paddle used to, flatten portions of a bottle as it is being hand blown. IGCB T
Bitters
a patent or proprietary medicine containing alcohol; sold without a prescription. IGCB
Blob top
a bottle with a rounded blob like lip; found frequently on early soda and mineral water bottles. IGCB B
Block
a wooden dipper like device cut out on one side and used during free blowing to give symmetric~ form to a bottle in its early stages. IGCB T
Blow-back mold
a full-height mold with a bulb-like formation cut into the neck of the mold to facilitate severing the completed bottle from the blowpipe. IGCB T
Blow-over
a seam mark caused when a bottle is blown in a dip’ mold until the shoulder expands over the top of the mold. IGCB
Blowpipe
a two- to six-foot-long hollow iron tube used to blow glass. IGCB
Bocca
an opening in the side of the furnace through which the pot is placed in the furnace; the batch is put into the pot, and the gather is taken. IGCB

 

C
Calabash
a gourd-shaped flask. IGCB O
Canning jar
See Fruit jar. IGCB
Carboy
a large cylindrical bottle normally holding one to ten gallons of liquid. IGCB O
Case bottle
an octagonal bottle used to contain gin and designed to pack easily in a case. IGCB
Chair
a wooden bench with slanting arms at which the gaffer works. IGCB
Chestnut flask
a free-blown and semi-flattened flask. IGCB
Cloisonné bottle
a bottle (usually a Chinese snuff container) covered with soldered metal bands between which powdered enamel is placed and fired. IGCB
Closure
the device used to seal a bottle, e.g., cork, cap, stopper, etc. IGCB
Codd stopper
a bottle closure. IGCB
Co-related item
an article directly or indirectly related to bottled products. IGCB
Cork
a tree bark used as a bottle closure. IGCB
Cristallo
Venetian crystal glass. IGCB
Crown cork
a bottle closure. IGCB
Crucible
See Melting pot. IGCB
Cucumber ink bottle
a side-spouted ink bottle. IGCB
Cullet
broken glass included in a mixture of raw materials ready for the melting pot. IGCB More here
Cup-bottom mold
A full-height mold with a cup indentation in the bottom plate. IGCB
Cure
a patent or proprietary medicine sold as an all-purpose remedy. IGCB
Cutting
a method of decorating a bottle by cutting with an iron wheel, a stone wheel, and a willow wheel in that order. IGCB
D
Decolorizing
the process of making glass clear by the addition of manganese, selenium, or arsenic to the batch. IGCB
Demijohn
a large bladder-shaped bottle normally holding one to ten gallons of liquid. IGCB
Dip mold
a one-piece mold open at the top. IGCB T
Dunmore
a free-blown squat wine bottle. IGCB
E
Empontilling
the act of attaching a rod to the bottle-bottom so that it can be held during the finishing process. IGCB
Enameling
a method of decorating a bottle by painting it with a mixture of lead, tin, and an oxide, and then firing it in a muffle. IGCB
Encased postage stamp
Civil War emergency, coin in the form of a token upon which embossed advertisement was placed. IGCB
Engraving
a method of decorating glass by cutting with a copper wheel. IGCB
Etching
a method of decorating glass by using hydrofluoric acid. IGCB
Ethical medicine
a prescribed medicine, as opposed to a patent or proprietary medicine. IGCB
F
Finish
the last step in the formation of a bottle, the development of the lip. IGCB
Finishing
the completion of the neck and mouth of a bottle. IGCB
Finishing mold
the mold on the Owens automatic glassblowing machine into which the gather is dropped and blown into a completed bottle form. IGCB
Fire grenade
a glass bottle fire extinguisher designed to be thrown into a fire and broken. IGCB O
Fire polishing
the reheating of a finished bottle to obliterate marks left by tools or molds and to obtain a smooth surface. IGCB
Flashing
a method of coloring glass by dipping it in a batch of colored glass. IGCB
Flux
a substance (soda) which promotes fusion in glass. IGCB
Free.blown
glass formed by blowing and manipulation with tools, without the aid of a mold (in contrast to hand-blown glass). IGCB
Fruit jar
a jar in which food is preserved.
Fulgurite
a long slender glass tube formed by lightning striking sand. IGCB O
G
Gaffer
a master blower; head of a shop. IGCB
Gall
a scum that rises to the top of a batch and is skimmed off to insure high-quality glass. IGCB
Gather
the blob of hot glass gathered on the end of a blowpipe before blowing. IGCB
Gatherer
the assistant to a gaffer who accumulates the gather op the blowpipe. IGCB
Gathering mold
the mold on an Owens automatic glassblowing machine that receives the gather from the melting pot. IGCB
Gemel bottle
two separate bellows-shaped bottles fused together. IGCB
Gilding
a method of decorating a bottle by fixing gold to the outside of the bottle. IGCB
Glass float
a glass ball used by a fisherman to support his net. IGCB
Glasshouse
a glass factory. IGCB
Glory hole
a small furnace used for the frequent reheating necessary during blowing and fire polishing. IGCB
Graphite pontll
an inaccurate term used to describe the mark on the bottom of a bottle held by a solid iron-bar pontil. IGCB
Gravitating stopper
a bottle closure. IGCB
H
Half-post
a bottle redipped after partial blowing and then blown to completion. IGCB
Hand-blown
glass formed by blowing and manipulation with tools, with the aid of a mold (in contrast to free-blown glass). IGCB
Hinged-bottom mold
a full-height mold hinged across the bottom. IGCB
Hinged shoulder-height mold
a dip mold hinged down the side. IGCB
Historical flask
a flask embossed with portraits, emblems, symbols, or inscriptions. IGCB
Hobble skirt bottle
one of the nicknames given the 1915 Coca-Cola bottle. IGCB
Hutchinson stopper
a bottle closure. IGCB
I
Igloo ink bottle
a side-spouted Ink bottle. IGCB
Inside screw (thread)
a bottle closure accepting a threaded stopper. IGCB
J K
Kick-up
the bottom of a bottle pushed up into the interior during construction; common on wine bottles. IGCB B
Kings bottle
a free-blown squat wine bottle. IGCB
Laid-on ring
a string of glass laid around the outside of the neck of a bottle. IGCB
L
Lehr (leer)
the annealing oven or furnace where glass is gradually cooled. IGCB
Lead glass
glass made with flint instead of sand, potash instead of soda, and twenty-five percent lead oxide. IGCB
Lightning stopper
a bottle closure.
Lime
an oxide of calcium used in glassmaking to reduce solubility. IGCB
Liquid bread
beer. IGCB
Liquid glass
a casting resin used in the repairing and restoring of bottles. IGCB
M
Mae West bottle
one of the nicknames given the 1915 Coca-Cola bottle. IGCB
Marble bottle
See Codd stopper. IGCB
Marble stopper
See Codd stopper. IGCB
Marver
a metal slab upon which a gather of glass is rolled. IGCB
Master ink bottle
a bulk container for ink.
Melting pot
the large clay pot in which a batch is melted. IGCB
Metal
glass in either its molten or hard state. IGCB
Mickey Mouse insulator
See Saddle groove. IGCB
Muffle
a small furnace. IGCB T
Mull
an implement used to contain and pulverize snuff. IGCB
N
Nostrum
a worthless patent or proprietary medicine. IGCB
O
Obsidian
a glass created by volcanoes. IGCB
Off-hand
See Free-blown. IGCB
Onion bottle
a free-blown squat wine bottle. IGCB
Opalescence
See Sick glass. IGCB
Overlay
a method of decorating a bottle by cutting through one or more purposely applied layers of glass. IGCB
Q P
Parison
an inflated gather. IGCB
Patent medicine
a medicine that has been patented and is sold without a prescription. IGCB
Pattern mold
a dip mold with a design cut into it. IGCB
Petticoat insulator
an insulator featuring a flaring outer skirt of glass over an inner one. IGCB
Pharmaceutist
an early term for pharmacist. IGCB
Pictorial flask
a flask bearing a purely decorative motif.
Pig bottle
See Codd stopper. IGCB
Plate mold
a full-height mold designed to receive a plate into which lettering and/or design has been cut. IGCB
Pontie
See Pontil. IGCB
Pontil
a long solid or hollow rod used to hold the bottle during the finishing process. IGCB
Pontil scar
the scar left by the pontil on the completed bottle. IGCB
Pony insulator
the smallest type of insulator. IGCB
Post
See Snap. IGCB
Post-bottom mold
a full-height mold with a post on the bottom plate. IGCB
Private-die proprietary revenue stamp
a revenue stamp required on many bottled products, 1862—1883 and 1898—1900. IGCB
Proof
an arbitrary measurement of alcoholic strength in which pure ethyl alcohol is rated 200. IGCB
Proprietary medicine
an unpatented medicine sold without prescription. IGCB
Pucelias
an iron tong-like tool for shaping glass. IGCB
Pumpkinseed bottle
an oval whiskey flask. IGCB
Punte
See Pontil.
Puntelljum
See Pontil. IGCB
Punty
See Pontil. IGCB
R
Round-bottom bottle
a soda or mineral water bottle with a rounded bottom. IGCB
S
Sabot
See Snap. IGCB
Saddle groove insulator
an insulator with a depression in the top. IGCB
Salt glaze
an orange peel finish on pottery containers achieved by throwing salt into the kiln during firing. IGCB
Screw cap
a bottle closure. IGCB
Seam
a mark on a bottle caused by glass assuming the shape of the mold where the two halves meet. IGCB
Servitor
the glassblower who is first assistant to the gaffer. IGCB
Shop
a gaffer and his helpers; a gatherer, a servitor, and a boy [within a factory MF]. IGCB
Show-window bottle
a highly decorated bottle used for show in drugstores. IGCB
Sick glass
glass that has corroded through excessive and long exposure to moisture. IGCB
Silica
sand. IGCB
Snap
a spring cradle-type device which replaced the pontil as a holding tool. IGCB
Specific
a patent or proprietary medicine sold as a single-purpose medicine. IGCB
Squat
a free-blown squat wine bottle.
Staining
a method of coloring a bottle by dipping it in a stain. IGCB
Suction machine cutoff scar
a mark left on the bottom of a container made by the Owens automatic glassblowing machine. IGCB
Sun-colored glass
glass containing manganese that has reacted to the ultraviolet rays of the sun by turning purple or amethyst. IGCB
T
Tap-hole jar
an English term for an inside-screw bottle. IGCB
Target bottle (bail)
a glass ball designed to be shot at by sportsmen. IGCB
Teakettle ink bottle
a side-spouted ink bottle. IGCB
Terrarium
a garden in a bottle [or sealed aquarium shaped container MF]. IGCB
Three-part mold
1) a full-height mold with three hinged vertical parts; 2) a full-height mold with a dip-mold body and a two-part shoulder section. IGCB
Tiger Whiskey bottle
a bulbous pottery bottle that held rice wine from China. IGCB
Tool
See Pucelias. IGCB
Torpedo bottle
a soda or mineral water bottle with a torpedo-shaped bottom. IGCB
Trade card
an advertising card. IGCB
Transposition insulator
an insulator designed to hold more than one wire. IGCB
Turn mold
a process by which a blown bottle is spun in the mold before removal to erase seam markings. IGCB
U
Umbrella ink bottle
a conical eight-sided bottle. IGCB
V W
Watch ball
See Witch Ball. IGCB
Weathering
a process by which glass suffers damage from the forces of nature. IGCB
Wetting off
marking the neck of a hot bottle with water so that it can easily be broken from the blowpipe. IGCB
Whittle marks
wavy, dimpled, or hammered marks on a completed bottle caused by blowing the container in a cold mold. IGCB
Wistarburg
a free-blown squat wine bottle. IGCB
Witch ball
a glass ball hung in homes to protect against witches. IGCB
X Y Z

 

Contact Mike Firth