Bottle

Title:

Simon's Centennial Bitters Bottle

Object Name:

Bottle

Object ID:

2026.003

Creator:

Lyndeborough Glass Company -- Manufacturer

Place of Origin:

Lyndeborough, NH

Date:

1866-1886

Description:

Bottle. "Simon's Centennial Bitters" Figural Bottle, probably Lyndeborough Glass Works, Lyndeborough, NH, c. 1866-1886. The aquamarine glass figural bottle is in the form of the bust of a Continental Soldier, often referred to as George Washington.

Material:

Glass

Dimensions:

H-10.125 W-5.5 D-4.125 inches

Provenance:

Bernard Simon of Scranton, Pennsylvania, filed for a patent on December 7, 1875 for a bottle design that he described in his application as having "the form of a bust of a soldier of the Continental army. It stood on a base, and "the front of the bottle may be flattened … to form a tablet, upon which a label may be pasted, indicating the contents of the bottle, and the words 'Simon's Centennial Bitters' may be molded in the bottle around the lower edge of the bust." The 1875 Scranton city directory lists Simon as a wine and liquor wholesaler and the manufacturer of "Simon's Prussian Vegetable Bitters" with an address of 317 Lackawanna Avenue. For reasons unknown, Simon turned to the Lyndeborough Glass Company of Lyndeborough, New Hampshire, to make his unique bitters bottles.

Credit Line:

Gift of William W. Upton

Subjects:

Glass blowing, Glass industry, Soldiers, George Washington