Andrew,

I have not found a reference to "Thomson and Renger" in any of my reference
books so I suspect the bottle was uncommon and in use for only a short
duration.  The description suggests a beer/ale or perhaps a soda.  Your
bottle was embossed "ROCHESTER PA".  Rochester, PA is a small town about
15-20 miles northwest of Leetsdale where the bottle was found.  I did find a
reference to a brewery that existed in Beaver Falls, PA from 1891-1893 and
was owned by Bernard Rengers.  (Dale Van Wieren, "American Breweries II,"
Eastern Coast Brewiana Assoc., West Point, PA,1995, p. 301).  I think
Bernard Rengers may be related to Thomson & Renger, because Beaver Falls is
less than 10 miles from Rochester and small-time brewers frequently formed
and changed partnerships at the time.  A reference librarian in a Rochester
library or the local historical society might have access to a Town
Directory listing Thomson and Renger.  Good luck


Allen Vegotsky
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Andrew Sewell" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2003 7:58 PM
Subject: Thomson & Renger bottle


> First, let me thank George Miller, Allen Vegotsky and Bill Lockhart for
> their replies to my earlier query (I kicked myself hard for not realizing
> that it was an Owens bottle!).
>
> I have a new one for the bottle experts. I have a shattered bottle that I
> was able to partially reconstruct. It's clear, round in horizontal
section,
> mold seams from the heel to just under the lip (which is a "blob" type),
and
> has a slightly raised circular area on the body with the following
embossing
> arranged to follow the interior curve of the circle:
>
> THOMSON & RENGER/ROCHESTER * PA/
> (the asterix stands for an embossed dot between the words on the last
line)
>
> I haven't found any Google references and it's not in any of our bottle
> books.
>
> Although I wasn't able to reconstruct enough of the bottle to determine a
> total height, I was able to determin that the body dimension was 2 1/2",
the
> bore diameter was 7/8", the lip was 3/4" wide, and the neck-finish height
> was 1". There were no distinguishable marks on the base.
>
> The bottle fragments were embedded in a crushed brick floor for a brick
kiln
> in Leetsdale, PA. The kiln was constructed no later earlier than 1890 and
no
> later than 1894. The kiln was demolished in 1901 or shortly thereafter,
but
> I think the bottle may date from the construction due to its location in
the
> floor.
>
> Anyone know anything about this bottle? If no one is familiar with it,
then
> I guess there's an early 1890s context for future finds!
>
> Muchas Gracias,
> Andrew R. Sewell, MS, RPA
> Principal Investigator
> Historic/Industrial Archaeology
> Hardlines Design Company
> 4608 Indianola Avenue
> Columbus, Ohio 43214
> (614)-784-8733
> fax: (614)-784-9336
> www.hardlinesdesign.com