Antique Sealed Bottles 1640-1900: And the Families that Owned Them: 3 Volumes

Time in a bottle; this is a collection that explores the unlocking of history through the identification of its unique seals, using crests and coats-of-arms as the 'keys' towards identifying the original owner. This three-volume collection examines the evolution of the sealed bottle from the 1640s to the late 1800s and provides a detailed description to accompany each entry, supported by numerous photographs, including the number of examples known, their condition, and the collections where the bottles and detached seals are held. The laying down of wine to improve its quality and longevity related to the social history of the day, the design of the bottles, their evolution and manufacture, are a reflection of the individuals who ordered and used the bottles at home or in the private gentlemen's clubs, much influenced by the historic events of the 17th through to the 20th centuries. Wine consumption has a place in cultural history; these collected bottles existed at times of incredible upheaval and social change.From the early colonial settlements of the New World, into the slave markets of Richmond, VA, New Orleans, Charleston, SC, and Philadelphia, and with the plantation owners who amassed vast wealth and prestige as a result of this trade. In the taverns and coffee houses of London, alongside the bear baiting and cock fighting to be found across the River Thames in Southwark, in the cellars of the Oxford colleges and Inns of Court, these sealed bottles give much information on the early drinking habits of the aspiring and upwardly mobile, and the established aristocracy.

The British glass historian David Burton has created a 1,740-page set of books to analyze a seemingly narrow topic: antique bottles that bear raised markings identifying the original owners. Mr. Burton has spent decades hunting for intact and broken vessels in private and institutional collections and deciphering their codes of numbers, letters and family coats of arms for his new three-volume set. -- Eve M. Kahn The New York Times, February 26, 2015 Time in a bottle; this is a collection that explores the unlocking of history through the identification of its unique seals, using crests and coats-of-arms as the 'keys' towards identifying the original owner. The Journal of Antiques & Collectibles, March 2015 It is a work that touches on many aspects of glassmaking history and glass use, and I predict that it will have widespread interest and value. (I will call the publication a book hereafter, but that is a gross underestimation of a work that is so monumental in scale and importance.) -- The National American Glass Club The Glass Bulletin