Page 26 - March 2022

Vintage

Milk

Bottles

A Collectible with

Many Possibilities Trish Manfredi, Domestic Cow Antiques & Events

photos by Peter Blieberg and Trish Manfredi

he vintage milk bottle is, for beginner products in this expanding country, and Jersey cows were being
and seasoned collectors, one of the brought to the U.S. from England. As other breeds became known,
Tmost fascinating to be encountered. they were brought to the U.S. where grazing was abundant.
Although they are somewhat easily found at
antique shops, barn, and tag sales, at antique THEN, THE GLASS
bottle shows, and sometimes in unusual Housewives would go to dairies to collect milk
places (like the time I found lots of them on in their own containers often made of tin and made
the ground with grass growing over them at at home. As the production of containers to deliver
a barn sale), the history and science behind food across broader areas met the Industrial
them make them more interesting as a Revolution—likely influenced by the expanding
collector dives deeper into the development fruit (canning) jar industry—glass bottles designed
of this staple container. The range of milk to hold liquid milk became the way to go.
bottles is extensive, so there’s likely to be a Soon, several milk bottles of varying sizes and
category to interest you. closures appeared on the scene. The first was the
Lester Jar, around 1874, followed by the Thatcher
FIRST, THE COWS Milk bottle in 1884. In the late 1800s, several
Cows came to America first around 1611 other early jars were invented – the Crystal jar,
A half gallon milk bottle at the Jamestown Colony, by 1624 to the The Thatcher bottle the Common-Sense bottle, etc. alongside the
with a graphic design Plymouth Colony, and around 1638-39, development of improved milking machines and
illustrating the name of the Mitchell of Saybrook, Connecticut came up inventive ways to take care of the cows. Various types of bottle
dairy, as well as requiring the Connecticut River to Glastonbury, CT closures—glass lids, wire bails, tin tops, and cardboard caps—were
a deposit for the return in search of grazing lands. developed for milk bottles.
of the bottle.
By 1821, Goshen, Connecticut was Early glass milk bottles were thick and heavy. The Thatcher bottle
praised as having the best land in the state, resulting in 400,000 pounds had a picture of a man milking a cow, embossed on the side of the
of cheese being produced annually, along with great quantities of butter bottle. As dairies invested in bottles, the name of the dairy was often
and other dairy products in general. embossed on the bottle, along with the town name and the state.
In 1852, a Massachusetts farmer named Winthrop Chenery brought Creative graphics that expressed the dairy’s name, such as a maple tree,
Holstein cattle from Holland to meet the growing demands for dairy were also embossed on bottles.

1. 2. 3. 4.

1. Collecting ‘breed’ milk bottles is a popular category. 2. Ad for The Common-Sense Bottle by Thatcher
3. The original Cream Top milk bottle that featured the cream at the top before homogenization became standard practice. 4. A humorous two color pyro milk bottle.
24 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles