The Hunt For Interesting Glass.

[Flaxmoore]

My grandmother always used Pelikan or Parker Reds for grading, and she had a quart bottle of ink on her desk at all times. I'd love to find one of those old ones with the ink intact to use, or even empty with the labels, but I'm not having much luck. I'm hoping to get one of the mega-bottles, then refill it when needed with one of my standbys- Pilot BB, Pelikan Blue, Sheaffer Blue.

 

I run through ink like a madman (a 4.5oz bottle of HoD lasted me only a couple months) so a mega-bottle makes sense and a nice visual.

 

Does anyone else find the glass as interesting as the ink within?

[Inkling13]

There are people here that collect bottles as much as pens, myself included. Glass > plastic bottles IMHO. Pilot makes a 350ml bottle for only 20$ USD or so.

[Flaxmoore]

There are people here that collect bottles as much as pens, myself included. Glass > plastic bottles IMHO. Pilot makes a 350ml bottle for only 20$ USD or so.

 

I have that one. I'm about 2/3 down on a bottle of BB, planning on getting all three next call- the black would probably last a couple years, the red essentially forever, as I use about a ml a week of red.

[Barkingpig]

If you search on EBAY, you should find the "master" bottles, either 16 or 32 oz. I have purchased perhaps a dozen of them, between different brands & only found one in an antique shop. I am not interested in the inks therein, mainly because I prefer brighter inks, not of the blue or black family but some have been sometimes 1/2 full & could probably be used. I have never paid more than $20.00, inclusive of shipping, so reasonable priced ones do exist among the "optimistic" listings for same.

[Carrau]

My dad had an antique ink bottle that he bought from someone whose family owned a rural PA telephone company in the 1920s-1940s. They probably had 15-20 customers, all local farms, and ran it as a side business to their regular farm. The bottle was clear blown glass, probably 30-40oz. with a pour spout at the lip. I don’t know what happened to it, but I was with him when he bought it from the farmer in the farm’s old telephone office, full of old ledgers, standup desk, and lots of dust. The bottle resembled the bottle in this picture, except it was clear.

https://www.google.com/search?q=antique+ink+bottle&client=safari&hl=en-us&prmd=sivn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiDgNja7OzZAhXxmuAKHb9wDuYQ_AUIEigC&biw=1024&bih=666#imgrc=jMCfO5QJG-2dHM:

[inkstainedruth]

My dad had an antique ink bottle that he bought from someone whose family owned a rural PA telephone company in the 1920s-1940s. They probably had 15-20 customers, all local farms, and ran it as a side business to their regular farm. The bottle was clear blown glass, probably 30-40oz. with a pour spout at the lip. I don’t know what happened to it, but I was with him when he bought it from the farmer in the farm’s old telephone office, full of old ledgers, standup desk, and lots of dust. The bottle resembled the bottle in this picture, except it was clear.

https://www.google.com/search?q=antique+ink+bottle&client=safari&hl=en-us&prmd=sivn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiDgNja7OzZAhXxmuAKHb9wDuYQ_AUIEigC&biw=1024&bih=666#imgrc=jMCfO5QJG-2dHM:

 

Cool. Does that bottle actually have a pouring spout on it?

I'll admit that I don't normally collect bottles (I had a couple of large bottles of vintage ink, and after decanting the ink into small bottles for easy use, I gave the bottles away. Although I do like the vintage Carter's ink "cathedral" bottles, especially the ones that were cobalt glass (and I think I may have seen photos of ones that were purple).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Carrau]

I think I may have seen photos of ones that were purple).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Some old glass bottles containing magnesium dioxide start off clear but can change to varying shades of purple when exposed to sunlight.