Bill,

Let us know when your article's done.

Misty


Misty Jackson, Ph.D., RPA
Arbre Croche Cultural Resources
214 South Main Street
Leslie, Michigan 49251
517-525-3060

On Jun 28, 2012, at 2:22 PM, Lockhart, Bill wrote:

> Way too true.  I really need to go back and revise the article I wrote on the Owens-Illinois Glass Co.  Since then, we have discovered new catalogs, more historical sources, and two great contacts.  We are working closely with two recently retired employees.  The amount of available information is mind boggling.
> 
> Just to provide a teaser, different OI plants adopted code and logo changes at different times.  In addition, the firm used different codes for different container types.  To make it even worse, certain bottlers -- notably Coke and Pepsi -- required all glass houses to use the bottlers' systems for logos, placement, and codes.
> 
> Bill
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Bill Lockhart
> Professor of Sociology
> New Mexico State University
> Alamogordo, NM
> (575) 439-3732
>>>> Susan Walter <[log in to unmask]> 6/27/2012 10:29 PM >>>
> Yeah, as research continues, things certainly do get improved/changed.  I am 
> woefully aware that with my 30+ years experience some of my earlier work is 
> ummm (as Carol Serr would say) no longer ummm as good as I used to think it 
> was.
> 
> And as for being financially able to revisit those projects to make 
> corrections, sigh...
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Lockhart, Bill" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 11:21 AM
> Subject: Re: query: discards
> 
> 
> I should warn everyone that this is a very biased reply; I deal almost 
> exclusively with historical bottle research, so I read reports focused 
> through that lense.
> 
> Although this does not directly address Susan's issue, it is relevant to it.
> 
> As we have more information available, it becomes harder -- not easier -- to 
> evaluate sites, levels, and/or depositions.  For example, when Toulouse 
> (1971) was the definitive source for manufacturer's marks, it was relatively 
> easy to look up a mark, plug in the date, and happily write the report.
> 
> Those days are over!  Toulouse did a great job with evidence available in 
> 1971.  It is now so woefully out of date that the information should be 
> regarded as approximate -- AT BEST.  The Bottle Research Group (BRG) and 
> other researchers are revising dates and identifications of logos, 
> manufacturing techniques, and other factors involving bottle identification 
> daily.
> 
> Numerous bottle are misidentified in reports by as much a half a century --  
> confounding any REAL understanding about the inhabitants.  I am certain that 
> similar updates are occurring in virtually all other areas (ceramics, metal 
> artifacts, bricks, etc.).
> 
> What that means in real terms is that assigning the most junior member of 
> the team to write up the bottles (or any other artifact class), based on a 
> two-week learning curve, no longer works well.  The information is too vast, 
> and accuracy is too important.
> 
> I understand the time and financial constraints, especially with CRM firms, 
> and I know that few will undertake major expensive revisions in current 
> methods.  However, the BRG and many others on this list offer free 
> consulting.  Members of the BRG receive several requests for information 
> each week (sometimes several per day!), and we give away information freely.
> 
> When I began, I did not intend for this to be a commercial.  My point is 
> that we need to delve more deeply into the information -- that IS 
> available -- in order to achieve a better understanding of the past.
> 
> Bill
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Bill Lockhart
> Professor of Sociology
> New Mexico State University
> Alamogordo, NM
> (575) 439-3732
>>>> Susan Walter <[log in to unmask]> 6/27/2012 10:10 AM >>>
> June 20, 2012
> 
> Happy Summer everyone.
> 
> I read this yesterday:
> 
> "Thought of the day:  'The things people discard tell more about them than 
> the things they keep.'  Really?  We saw this saying in a magazine and aren't 
> sure we agree.  Do you?"
>    Kovels on Antiques and Collectibles Volume 38 Number 11, July 2012: page 
> 129.
> 
> As a historic archaeologist, I often wonder if I am misinterpreting the 
> site's inhabitants because of the garbage - artifacts - that I have on hand 
> to interpret, especially when the written record is sparce and there are no 
> descendants to give insight.
> 
> I may do a brief caveat in a report, but I wonder how or if you all out 
> there address this skewed version of the at times very specific individuals 
> we claim to understand just from their garbage.
> 
> S. Walter
> 
> 
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