clear atwoods bitter bottle- bottom type

paige

Hello- I have a clear atwoods bitters bottle from my dad's collection that I am selling on ebay. I have had two questions on the bottom type, asking if it is smooth or pontil. The bottle has a slight, concave depression, and there are three small bubbles in the glass inside. I don't know what pontil is nor do I know the value. I am just trying to help my mom liquidate his things. Thank you in advance.

historic

Hi Paige and welcome

This is aqua, not clear.

A bottle like this with a pontil mark will have a definite jagged ring. Sometimes it is quite pronounced, ie. it sticks out a lot, and sometimes it is fairly faint and smooth, but the ring should be there.

I will post a photo of a similar bottle with a pontil mark in a few minutes.

historic

Ignore the round dots around the perimeter - these are remnants of adhesive pads that someone stuck to the bottle.

Notice the ring in the center. This pontil mark is well defined but definitely fainter on the right half of the ring. Here there just happens to be encrusted dirt in the glass - that is not always the case.

Chris

paige

Thank you! It looks clear but I can see what you mean by the photo. Does this affect the value? I don't know what it is worth and can only base my pricing on others I have seen on ebay. I guess you could say there is a ring. I don't want to mislead anyone.

historic

The pontil mark definitely adds value. If you can post a clear photo of the base here, I can assist you further.

Chris

paige

There is no middle ring like the one you are showing. The ring is more clear around the base of the bottle, outer edge of the concave.

paige

okay- let me do that. I appreciate it. I don't want to get ripped off, nor do I wish to ripoff anyone else. One moment.

paige

I hope this helps.

historic

smooth base.

the concave indentation is created by the bottle mold.

glass for a hand blown bottle is blown into the mold with a blow pipe, then an assistant grabs onto the bottle with a pontil rod stuck the base (while the glass is still hot) This allows the blower to shear the bottle off the mouth then finish the lip.

paige

Got it. Okay. Thank you so very much!