* This message has been cross-posted to Histarch, and Artifact. I apologize for any duplicates you may receive! Greetings. I am currently working towards my MA. The collection I'm studying comes from around an icehouse, part of a larger-scale excavation of a property in Mississauga, Ontario. The site dates ca. 1837 onwards. There are two bottles in this collection which I'd like some more information on, particularly if this information includes dates. The sources I have already investigated are listed after the bottle descriptions. The first is a moulded patent medicine-type bottle. The base and body of this rectangular bottle are present; the shoulder, neck, and finish are absent. It comes from a monitored unit. Width is 21mm; length is 30mm; maximum height represented is 47mm. Each of the four sides has embossed lettering, oriented sideways, and legible from the top of the bottle, towards the base. The visible letters (with the possible completions in square brackets) are: "[LO]NDON"; "[GE]NUINE"; "[MA]CASSAR OIL"; "[FORT]HEHAIR". An unfinished pontil mark is present on the base of this bottle. An old edition (1963) of the OED lists Macassar Oil as a kind of hair oil; so, I'm fairly confident of the bottle's contents. What I'd like to know is if anyone has found a similar bottle, and in what sorts of contexts (time, and place). The second bottle is a bit more mysterious. All that is present is the base from a fairly large rectangular, light-blue bottle. The base measures 55mm wide, and approximately 165mm in length. The heel is chamfered, and embossed on the indented, flat interior panel is "NEW Y[O]RK". Again, I have been unable to find other examples of this sort of bottle with NEW YORK embossed on the base. Anyone out there have any possilbe leads, with respect to dates, or contents? Sources I have investigated are: Colcleaser, DE (1965) Bottle of Bygone Days. Reprint by Antique and Hobby Publishing Co, Amador City, California. Israel, FL (ed) (1968) 1897 Sears Roebuck Catalogue. (reprint). Chelsea House Publishers, New York. Jones, O and C. Sullivan (1989) The Parks Canada Glass Glossary. Parks Canada: Ottawa Schroeder, JJ (ed) (1970) Sears, Roebuck and Co. Incorporated Consumers Guide, Fall 1900 (reprint). Gun Digest Publishing Co., Northfield, Illinois. Urquhart, O (1976) Bottlers and Bottles, Canadian. S & O Urqhart, Toronto. Vienneau, A (1969) The Bottle Collector. Petheric Press, Nova Scotia. Also, several papers and site publications from other Southern Ontario sites. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Megan. _____________________________________________________________________________ Megan Springate ! "It is not a revolutionary statement to be part MA Student, Trent U. ! of a consumerist marketing niche" - wolfie Historical Archaeology ! [log in to unmask] ! "It's all completely subjective" - Hothead's Lamp ------------------------------------------------------------------------------