Reproduction Washington-Taylor Flask?

MichBottleKid

I have been told this is a reproduction, but I just wanted a second opinion on it. It has a crude, applied tapered lip, strong embossing, and a smooth base. It also has orange peel textured glass, a huge red flag that it's a reproduction. I know this particular mold has a sheared lip version, and a tapered lip version as shown in the pictures provided. Both are open pontiled, but I heard that there is a smooth base version of this mold. Could this be a later version of the mold, like late 1800's? Or, if it's a reproduction, how old of a reproduction is it? Did Clevenger ever make a reproduction of this particular Washington mold? The embossing on my bottle and the original's is almost identical. Certain letters and patterns match up with the busts perfectly.

historic

Hi, welcome and thanks for posting.

I have seen a few examples of this bottle and do believe it to be of the 20th century. It does not fit the typical attributes of Clevenger historical flasks and is not in Tom Haunton's book. Could it have been made in another New Jersey glass shop - quite possibly. Tom is probably one of the few that could provide you with further info.

I do believe this bottle to be somewhat scarce and seem to recall one selling on ebay a few years ago in the $50-75 range.

Chris

MichBottleKid

Thank you very much for your help. I'll see if I can contact Tom Haunton and ask for his opinion. Do you have any guess which part of the 20th Century it's from? Like, is it modern or is it from the mid 20th Century?

historic

My feeling is that it mid 20th century.

One further note - you will find this mold listed in McKearin's American Bottles & Flasks and Their Ancestry on pages 679-681 (example #5 in the 20th Century Figured Bottles and Flasks chapter) Ken Wilson attributes this to "probably Clevenger" and "probably produced from the 1950s onward"

Chris

MichBottleKid

Alright, thanks again.