Rounded Square Pickle

Octofoil or Cloverleaf

Preserve Bottle

Attributed to a New England Glasshouse

Brown-Amber and Apple-Green Cloverleaf Form

Provenance: Lou Pellegrini Collection

Our preserve or pickle bottles have very interesting octofoil or cloverleaf shapes that demonstrate the craftsmanship of the mold maker. These are wonderful bottles to see and handle, especially when turning them over and looking at the base shape.

Museum examples of Octofoil Preserve Bottles.

Our rich brown-amber example has outstanding character with its bubbly glass. The bottle is best described as having a long squared octofoil body with narrow lobes (ribs) on each side and wide at the corners. There is a sloping plain shoulder, a tall wide cylindrical neck, and a rolled-over collar. The base is smooth with a small deep dome kickup. This example is attributed to a New England glassworks and possibly New Granite Glass Works in Stoddard, New Hampshire circa 1865 to 1871. The capacity is 1 pint, 10 ounces.

The apple-green bottle measures 6 3/4 inches tall with a diameter of 2 3/4 inches. The applied mouth is a tapered square ring. The base has a recessed dome and a rough pontil mark. The glass character, condition, and color are outstanding.

An example of the amber bottle is pictured in a black and white photograph in American Bottles and Flasks and Their Ancestry, McKearin & Wilson, p273, #2 (center). This bottle was from the author’s collection.

Partial black and white photograph from McKearin & Wilson, American Bottles and Flasks and Their Ancestry p273, #2 (center) Octofoil Preserve Bottle. #1 left is a Petal Jar. #3 right is a Berry Preserve Bottle. The bottles are ex George S. McKearin collection.

See the museum example of a Berry Preserve Bottle.

See the museum example of a Petal Jar.

Primary Image: Both Octofoil Preserve Bottles (amber and apple-green) were imaged by the FOHBC Virtual Museum west coast studio by Gina Pellegrini.

Support Image: Auction Lot 16: Cloverleaf Pickle Jar, a Stoddard glasshouse, Stoddard, New Hampshire, 1860-1870. Octofoil form, medium olive amber, rolled round collared mouth – smooth base, ht. 7 7/8 inches. L/P plate 11, #1 Scarce and beautiful form. Great New England glass character. Fine condition. – Norman Heckler Jr. & Sr., Norman C. Heckler & Company, Auction #154

Support Image: Auction Lot 89: Early Pickle Jar, probably New Granite Glass Works, Stoddard, New Hampshire, 1865-1872. Long squared octofoil body with a narrow center rib on each side, golden amber, small applied collared mouth – smooth base, ht. 8 1/8 inches. MW plate 73 #2 A little dirt on the inside but in fine condition. Kris Kernozicky collection. – Norman Heckler Jr. & Sr., Norman C. Heckler & Company, Auction #101

Support Image: Cloverleaf Pickle Jar, New England, 1850 – 1860. Rich, medium emerald with a slight bluish tone, octofoil form, sheared, tooled, likely applied ring collar – heavy iron pontil scar, ht. 7 ¾”, near mint; (just a touch of typical light wear, and a little minor exterior ‘bloom’ or dullness, on the shoulders, mentioned for completeness, otherwise perfect). Strong color, excellent clarity and condition. A very rare and beautiful color for a ‘cloverleaf’ pickle. Provenance: Bruce Purdy collection. – John Pastor, American Glass Gallery, Auction #34

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

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