VERY Old HIRAM WHEATON & SONS Seltzer Bottle?

RPMRog

OK...Instant clarification. At least I think it's very old!

I bought this bottle from an older couple that is selling their house and just getting rid of what they believe to be "junk." I bought it for two reasons...it is very cool looking and it is a local bottle. I'm here because I can't find anything like anywhere on the internet.

It is a clear glass bottle, very heavy for something this size but without a scale, a guess would have it close to 5 lbs. It measures 11 1/4" to the top of the sprayer and a guess at the bottle itself would be about 9 1/4" since I am unable to take the sprayer off! The base measures 3 1/2" and the glass is very thick...when looking at a spot inside the bottle, it appears to be almost a half inch away from the outside.

There are no molding seams and no markings on the base/bottom of the bottle other than the concentric "circles" from the blowing process. Etched into the glass is a 4" oval with an alternating pattern of 1/4" and 1/8" "spikes" sort of like sun rays around the oval. Inside the oval, very clearly are the words "REGISTERED" (upward arched) "HIRAM WHEATON" (also upward arched) with "& SONS" inside the arch. Below that, "NEW BEDFORD" with "MASS." centered below that.

I wish I could describe the top of the bottle but there is what appears to be a brass seltzer top that, although it spins, I am unable to remove it from the bottle for fear of breaking it! Imprinted into the brass top, is once again, the name "HIRAM WHEATON & SONS REGISTERED" The other nice part of this is that there appears to be a glass straw inside!

The glass itself is in very good condition other than needing a cleaning inside and out (but we have that problem about getting to the inside!) There are no cracks or chips anywhere on the bottle!

This is my first time doing this so I hope I've provided good information. I guess I am looking to find out a few things. Has anyone ever seen or heard of one of these bottles? I know there are a number of Hiram Wheaton soda bottles out there with the whale logo but this seems to predate those by quite a bit. Would anyone be able to venture a guess as to the value?

And, MOST IMPORTANTLY...can anyone tell me how to remove that spray topper without breaking the bottle????

Any insight that anyone may be able to provide will be GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks all for your time!!

historic

Hello and welcome

50 years ago or thereabouts, the local soda bottler vanished - prior to that most towns of any size had there own local product, not the Schwepps or Polar or Coca-Cola national brand.

This bottle form is common - the marking of the bottler may or may not be. You can find lots of them on ebay for "seltzer bottle." Values are all over the place depending on shape and color.

There is something of a revival of soda water making - you can find a story or two online of startup companies going back into the biz, as well as DIY make your own seltzer in these old bottles.

The bottles have a square collar. My guess is that the metal part is multiple pieces and is perhaps threaded. Not sure. Somehow it had to seal tightly since these bottles were filled with a fair amount of pressure.

Chris

RPMRog

Hi Chris!

Thanks for the feedback! This bottle has what looks to be a permanently sealed top to it. And since I could only clean the outside of the bottle and the top, it actually looks to be made of pewter or something similar. I thought it was aged brass but it is silver in color. It is killing me that I can't clean the inside of the bottle!

The etching on the bottle itself is nothing short of artful and, since there are no seams to it, it goes back a bit. And, the thickness and weight really threw me for a loop!

As far as the top goes, it is round...not square...and definitely not threaded. Most likely, there was some sort of sealing agent inserted when it was made...whether it was a ring of cork or rubber, I have no idea because the top spins with an annoying fingernails on the blackboard kind of squeak now but can't be pulled off without damaging either the topper/sprayer or the bottle itself.

I guess I'll just hang onto it for a while until somebody can tell me something definitive about it. As I said in my original post, anything tied to this company has the Whale embossed on it...the whole New Bedford Whaling City Theme...and this pre-dates that. My own uneducated guess puts this bottle way before 1900. Even when I search for other brands of seltzer bottles, there is nothing like this...it is whole, original and complete right down to the glass straw inside.

Even though I'm not a collector, I have to hang onto this for a bit and keep researching!

Thanks again!!

historic

If you want to know more about this bottler, the best next step is to go to your local library there in New Bedford and look through the city directories. I am sure you will find entries for Wheaton.

This guy used other bottle types, and have seen at least one example that pre-dates your seltzer bottle - I suspect he was in business for more than a few years.

Even when I search for other brands of seltzer bottles, there is nothing like this...it is whole, original and complete right down to the glass straw inside.

Did you look at the seltzer bottles on ebay? At any given time there are dozens of complete bottles just like yours.

Chris

RPMRog

Well...as it turns out, I did do a little more research on the company. Hiram Wheaton, at one time was one of the oldest bottlers on the East Coast and bottled for many other companies up and down the coast. They started up somewhere around 1853. I looked all over eBay, including completed sales and the only other Wheaton bottles were soda bottles from the 40's and 50's with the whale on them.

Two side notes...I was able to finally get the top off and have the bottle soaking now. It really is a neat bottle but I'll probably be lucky to get $35 - $40 for it unless I find a local who collects New Bedford items.

The other funny thing was I contacted The New Bedford Glass Museum today. You'd think that would be the place to go...right? They had no records of Hiram Wheaton & Sons at all and thanked me for the information I gave them about the family!! What a hoot!

Anyway...thanks again for helping me along with all this. As a newbie, I found your site to be a great resource and hope to share other stuff in the future!

Chris

Great detective work!

I would love to see a photo of the top spigot assembly off and dismantled.... or, a little discussion of what you did would be almost as good.

Chris

lyzz1276

I know we speak of spritzer bottles in this post but I recently posted a pic of a beautiful bottle and can't help but note some similarities. The bottle I have I found in my back woods. It to is thick glass with very intricate design. The top of the bottle has the letter H with a leaf like design around it. I thought it may be pewter but cannot confirm. It's a beautiful treasure and I guess I pieced the H on top with your post in regards to Hiram and sons. Maybe I need to look more into it. I am curious about the value but more curious with what it once contained. Thanks for posting and giving me an idea of possible makers.

RPMRog

Hi Lyzz...if you could post a couple of pics, it would be helpful.

Chris...I posted some new pics of that bottle. The process of removing that spritz topper was so frustrating! It took quite a few tries but what finally worked was spraying the entire topper with good ol' WD40! I used the smaller can with the straw to get as much as I could into any crevices and holes. The collar itself is in two pieces that fit snugly around the rim of the bottle...the matching pieces each have a male and a female end so they fit like a puzzle. It seems to be made of something much softer than the pewter top because, even with care, it still left a mark from the adjustables! Ugh! The trick was to use a rubber jar opener folded over to make it thicker...and then making sure the pliers were holding just the very rim of the collar. Then, just using my hand, I was able to finally unscrew the threaded top. I re-spayed with WD40 three times before it finally gave.

Hope that was helpful and that the pic works for you too!

historic

Great video on seltzer bottling in NYC:

http://www.pbs.org/pov/seltzerworks/

cabp0746

Sir, a query; do you still have the seltzer bottle you wrote so much about? If so, is it for sale?

Respectfully, CABP0746