Anyone collect old glass bottles?

I don't collect them as such, but I often like them. I sometimes have saved old interesting bottles to use anew, for putting various vinegars in, for example.

I once posted a series of photos about my in-laws mobile home village and the decorations the people made in their gravel yards to distinguish their homes in their rows. One had a fair sized plant, with branches and not leaves, with the various branches each holding a blue bottle of some sort. I may have cleared those photos out of photobucket, will check.

I do remember a blue bottle that my grandmother used, for a liquid called collerium, or similar spelling, a kind of eye wash. My memory is that blue bottles and glasswear went out back in the fifties or sixties because of their containing cobalt. I bought some blue glasswear from Mexico though, in the seventies.

Ah, it's now this - collyrium for fresh eyes, but I only see the box, at amazon.
The eye cup used to be blue glass too.

I'd check the ebay et al for what people are pricing bottles at, but there are probably better websites.

This could be an interesting thread.

Well, I found the plant and bottle photo, but .. they're not all blue - I do remember some of them were.

what little research I did do said the Larkin Co went out of business in the 40's, so bottle is at least that old. I know cobalt was used to make glass then, therefore the bottle should be radioactive if tested...

Figured it might be worth more with the label intact as it is. One of those "diamonds in the rough" so to speak.

I hope so, McG.

Two people who know something about collecting here are Farmerman and Izzy the Push; maybe they'll show up.

Bristol Blue Glass......

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_blue_glass

Haven't seen one with the label - without the label, they seem to be running $15 - 20 (asking price)

There's an interesting Larkin collection on Etsy - none of it as nice as this bottle with label.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/219451154/vintage-larkin-soap-company-lot-includes?ref=market

this small green one is being bid on right now - and is over $11 right now

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Larkin-Soap-Co-Buffalo-Green-Glass-Bottle-/151622937731

rubylane is asking $19 for this one

From Collectors Weekly......

"Beginning in the mid 1800's, poisonous substances came onto the market to control plants and vermin, and as surface cleaners. To prevent mishaps, poison bottles were given distinctive features, which today make them fun to collect. Colors like cobalt blue, inky black, and dark green ensured they were easily recognizable. So did raised lettering or inlays of the words 'POISON' or 'DEATH' (especially useful if you were fumbling by candlelight). Patterns included latticework, deep grooves, geometric shapes, and most commonly, the skull and crossbones. Look for figural bottles (including a rare few shaped like coffins or skulls) and other shapes (e.g. cigar-shaped bottles)."

More:
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/bottles/poison-bottles

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMETHYST-LARKIN-CO-BUFFALO-PANELED-MEDICINE-OR-PERFUME-BOTTLE-/361241784324

looks like a fair bit of Larkin Company activity on ebay with a wide range of prices

This looks good. Rather beautiful so far. Will look at it more later.