Berry Jar

Berry Preserve Bottle

Petal-Type Blue Green Cylinder

Provenance: Lou Pellegrini Collection

This outstanding example of a blue-green petal-type berry preserve bottle is full of character and bubbly glass. The unembossed bottle is about 8 3/8 inches tall and is a cylinder in form. Ten petals around the shoulder are connected to a wide neck with an applied round mouth. The base is pontiled. The shape has a strong connection to the New England tradition of glassmaking.

Look at examples of Petal Jars in this gallery.

Partial black and white photograph from McKearin & Wilson p273, #3 (right) Blueberry Preserve Bottle. #1 left is a Petal Jar.

There are similar examples, usually a bit taller and thinner, referred to as “Willington Blueberry Jars.” The jars are attributed by family history to the Willington Glass Works in West Willington, Connecticut, circa 1840 to 1870 or so. A grouping of these bottles was found around 1820 in the vicinity of the glassworks, with a few of the bottles still containing blueberry preserves.

Museum example of Berry Preserve Bottle

Primary Image: Berry Preserve Bottle imaged by the FOHBC Virtual Museum west coast studio by Gina Pellegrini.

Support: Reference to American Bottles and Flasks and Their Ancestry by Helen McKearin and Kenneth M. Wilson, Crown Publishers, New York, 1978.

Support: Reference to Ketchup Pickles Sauces – 19th Century Food in Glass by Betty Zumwalt, 1980

Support: Auction Lot 106: Blueberry Preserve Bottle, Willington Glass Works, West Willington, Connecticut, 1860-1873. Cylindrical with fluted shoulders and neck, deep golden amber, applied double collared mouth – smooth base, ht. 11 1/8 inches. Similar to MW plate VIII #4 Fine condition, good color. – Norman Heckler Jr. & Sr., Norman C. Heckler & Company, Auction #98

Support: Auction Lot 14: Blueberry Preserve Bottle, Willington Glass Works, West Willington, Connecticut, 1860-1873. Cylindrical with fluted shoulders and neck, medium olive amber, applied double collared mouth – smooth base, ht. 11 5/8 inches. Similar to MW color plate VIII, #4 Bubbly and crude. Fine condition. – Norman Heckler Jr. & Sr., Norman C. Heckler & Company, Auction #107

Support: Auction Lot 258: Blueberry Preserve Bottle, American, 19th c., in blue/green color, cylindrical form with fluted shoulders, overall good condition. – Willis Henry Auctions, Feb 2020

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