Help me identify this glass bottle

September 3, 2012 9:04 AM

Please help me identify this glass bottle.

Yesterday I found this glass bottle in my yard in New Orleans [pic 1, pic 2, pic 3]. It is 3.5" high, 2" wide, and 1.5" deep. The bottom says "2 1/2 FL. OZ."

Inside the bottle was a piece of cork with a wire through it as well as what looked like a thick piece of reddish-pinkish felt with the wire wrapped around it lengthwise. I'm assuming these two were attached to make some sort of swab brush similar to a PVC glue brush.

Any idea what this might have been?

posted by komara to grab bag (4 answers total)

Aha - my continued various combinations of web search terms led me to the Illinois Glass Co. 1920 catalog and on page 236 there's "No. 7 FELT SWABS" under the category of shoe polish swabs. Perhaps that's it.
posted by komara at 9:11 AM on September 3, 2012

Of course I posted before I thought to look up "polish" in the catalog and there on page 88 is a 2.5oz bottle - not exactly the same as mine but close enough.
posted by komara at 9:14 AM on September 3, 2012

Glad we could help. :)

I remember touching up my shoes with leather dye from a similar bottle. The one I used had a screw cap instead of a cork, though.
posted by Bruce H. at 10:48 AM on September 3, 2012

Glad you came along to confirm my findings!
posted by komara at 11:42 AM on September 3, 2012