The Eclipse

The Eclipse


Possibly LaBelle Glass Company, Bridgeport, Ohio

Yellow-Amber Half Gallon

Provenance: Jerry McCann Collection

Here is a brilliant, yellow-amber half-gallon wax-sealer jar that is embossed ‘THE ECLIPSE.’ The simplicity of the sans-serif, centered, horizontal, two-line typography on the face of the jar adds to its austerity. These hand-blown tooled and applied lip jars can be found in aquamarine half gallons and quarts. This yellow-amber half-gallon example is considered extremely rare and was purchased by the consigner at the 2003 Midwest Antique Fruit Jar & Bottle Club Muncie Summer Show.

There is thought that maybe a St. Louis area glass house made the jar as many examples have been found in the Saint Louis, Missouri area. Another thought is that the maker of the jar might be LaBelle Glass Company in Bridgeport, Ohio.

Groove-ring wax sealer jars were used in large quantities for preserving fruits and vegetables. The majority of these types of jars date from the 1850s into the early 1900s, though their popularity was centered more in the 1870s and 1880s.

The Eclipse, aqua half-gallon jar.

The wax sealer jars were made with a circular grooved ring around the top of the jar, into which a liquid sealing wax was poured, with a tin lid in place. This method of preserving was fraught with problems, and as time went on, the Mason-style jars eventually won out in popularity.

See the museum example of a Mason’s Patent Nov 30th 1858 screw lid jar.

Here is an interesting newspaper account from L. G. Harley in Dalton, Ohio in 1856 on self-sealing fruit jars and cans.

Self Sealing Fruit Cans – An interesting account of self-sealing cans and jars in 1856. – Western Reserve Chronicle (Warren, Ohio) July 9, 1856

Support: The Ohio Valley Glass Company ~ But Which One? by Frank Swies

Support: Reference to Red Book #11, the Collector’s Guide to Old Fruit Jars by Douglas M. Leybourne, Jr.

Support: Reference to Reference to Fruit Jar Annual 2020 – The Guide to Collecting Fruit Jars by Jerome J. McCann

Support Image: Auction Lot 12457: THE ECLIPSE Aqua Half Gallon. Closure: applied grooved ring wax sealer mouth finish. Appearance: shiny glass with a trace of content haze toward the bottom. Condition: edge chips on the mouth Embossing: strong Base: unmarked Age: late 1800’s. Availability: scarce early embossed wax sealer – Greg Spurgeon, North American Glass

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