Colleagues:
The ASM has three Edison battery oil bottles in its collections. All three
have railroad associations.
Two, ASM #s E-6038 & E-6039, were collected by a hiker adjacent to railroad
tracks c. 2-3 miles north of Charleston in the San Pedro River valley,
Cochise
Co., AZ.
ASM #E-6038
Oval, clear glass battery oil bottle with prescription finish; automatic
machine-made in cup-bottom mold. One side embossed: "Thomas A. Edison"
in flowing script; opposite side embossed: "EDISON/BATTERY OIL/MADE IN
U.S.A./THOMAS A. EDISON/INCORPORATED/BLOOMFIELD, N.J./U.S.A."
Basemark embossed: "14/[diamond on oval]/1".
Height: 12.0 cm (4.7"); diameter(s): 5.7 cm (2.25") x 2.85 cm (1.1").
Capacity (to lip): c. 80 ml (2.4 oz.).
ASM #E-6039
Round, clear glass battery oil bottle with double bead finish; automatic
machine-made in cup-bottom mold. One side embossed: "Thomas A. Edison"
in flowing script; other side embossed: "EDISON/BATTERY OIL.MADE IN
U.S.A./THOMAS A. EDISON/INCORPORATED/BLOOMFIELD, N.J./U.S.A."
Basemark embossed: "2/[italic LP in keystone]/400".
Height: 10.5 cm (4.1"); diameter: 3.8 cm (1.5").
Capacity (to lip): c. 60 ml (1.8 oz.).
The third bottle, ASM #87-56-16, was recovered by Dames & Moore from the
fill of a railroad borepit at an historic land fill in Phoenix, Maricopa
Co., AZ.
ASM #87-53-16
Round, clear glass battery oil bottle with double bead finish; automatic
machine-made in cup-bottom mold. One side embossed: "Thomas A. Edison"
in flowing script; other side embossed: "EDISON/BATTERY OIL.MADE IN
U.S.A./THOMAS A. EDISON/INCORPORATED/BLOOMFIELD, N.J./U.S.A."
Basemark embossed: "400 [keystone]/8".
Height: 10.7 cm (4.25"); diameter: 2.8 cm (1.5").
Capacity (to lip): c. 60 ml (1.8 oz.).
The [diamond on oval] basemark on ASM #E-6038 is similar to one used by
Owens Illinois Glass Co., Toledo, OH, 1919-1966, except that it lacks an "I"
inside the "O" (Toulouse 1971:403). The basemark on ASM #E-6039 and
#87-53-16 appears to be that of the Lummis Glass Co., New York, 1940-1955
(Toulouse 1971:335).
Edison Battery Oil was probably used in something like the Edison-Lalande
alkaline cell battery, developed around 1889 for various uses in the railroad
industry, such as signaling, and in telephones and telegraphs. The Edison-
Lalande battery, a CuO Cathode Cell, used electrodes suspended in a glass
jar in a solution of sodium hydroxide "with a thin film of mineral oil to
prevent
carbonation from the atmosphere" (Ruben 1978:39, Fig. 12).
Given the railroad associations of these bottles, I suspect the battery oil
was
used in a battery-operated signaling device and the bottles were discarded on
or near the device when emptied.
Ruben, Samuel. The Evolution of Electric Batteries in Response to Industrial
Needs. Philadelphia & Ardmore, PA: Dorrance & Co., 1978.
Toulouse, Julian H. Bottle Makers and Their Marks. New York: Thomas Nelson,
1971.
Mike Jacobs
Archaeological Collections Curator
Arizona State Museum Tel: 520.621.6312, 621.4609
University of Arizona Fax: 520.621.2976
P.O. Box 210026 Email: [log in to unmask]
Tucson, AZ 85721-0026 www: <http://www.statemuseum..arizona.edu/>
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