Objects
Bottle
Alcohol
Consumption
pint
[Taken from catalogue entry]
A pint bottle made for Robert Newman, dated 1723, of blown transparent, heavy, dark olive-green non-lead glass, with an applied and impressed seal, reading ‘R/ Newman/ 1723’.
Said to have been found in the mud of Dartmouth harbour by dredgers recovering coal dropped in the Dart from colliers; it was covered with barnacles and had an old (possibly original) cork.
Probably owned by Robert Newman (1676-1739), merchant-mariner of Dartmouth, Devon and mayor of Dartmouth (1725, 1728, 1730, 1731).
It is generally agreed that these bottles, known as ‘black-glass’ bottles were developed at least by the late 1640s. They became an important component of the international English glass trade in the second half of the seventeenth century, being exported all over the world.
Most black-glass bottles were of quart size, although some were made larger and smaller. The shape of the bottles evolved from the earliest spherical body and long tapered neck, similar to contemporary English delft serving bottles. The bottle bodies became longer and straighter, with shorter necks, closer in form to the modern wine bottle.
Many of these glass bottles have seals applied to identify the owner of the bottle and possibly, its production date, usually with initials, names, coats of arms and dates. Often, these seals might show ownership by taverns or institutions, though there was a trade in used bottles.
[470ml closely approximates to a pint of wine (473ml)]
Production
Dates of Production: 1723
Consumer
Robert Newman
male
Owner
Merchant
Consumption
Dartmouth, Devon, England
Materials
Glass
Glass- green
Museological Details
D.O.G/6
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