Old Fitzgerald Collection Bourbon Liquor Bottle Owens-Illinois Shield Crest Gold Key

Description

Vintage 20th century Old Fitzgerald Collection Liquor Bottle / decanter, produced by Owens-Illinois Glass Company. Pale green glass, rectangular form with pinched waist and faceted corners and cut stopper; front printed with golden foliate vines surrounding a key crossed over a red shield sporting a fleur de lis.

"Owens-Illinois Glass Company was the result of the 1929 merger between two glass-making giants of the industry: Owens Bottle Company (Toledo, OH – predecessor Toledo Glass Company began operation in 1896) and Illinois Glass Company (based in Alton, Illinois, with glass production dating from 1873). Formerly headquartered at Toledo, OH; now based at Perrysburg, OH, Owens-Illinois, Inc. had (and has) many glass manufacturing locations worldwide. Known as Owens-Illinois, Inc. since 1965, (and officially known as just “O-I” since 2005), this corporation is currently (2024) the largest manufacturer of glass containers in the world. Although Owens-Illinois has made containers of many different shades of color over the years, the great majority of glass bottles commonly found are found in clear (colorless), green (emerald, forest green or “seven up” green) and amber (“beer bottle brown”) glass. The “Diamond & oval with I” mark is by far the most common identification mark on glass containers found in trash dump sites in the United States from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Owens-Illinois took over operation of the Hemingray Glass Company factory, located in Muncie, Indiana, in 1933. Hemingray was a prolific maker of electrical insulators (of many types and sizes) for power lines, telegraph, telephone and other uses. Within a year or two, most glass insulators produced at Muncie were carrying date codes. Owens-Illinois continued to have the great majority of insulators marked with the “HEMINGRAY” brand name, with very few exceptions in later years. Other brand names used by O-I on insulators include “Lowex” and “Kimble“. Many millions of insulators were made at Muncie, the very last being manufactured in the year 1967. Owens-Illinois Inc. currently [2020] operates 20 glass manufacturing facilities within North America." (Source: Glass Bottle Marks)

Condition

Good Overall - Gentle wear

Dimensions

3.5" x 3.5" x 10.25" (Width x Depth x Height)