Description
4 Antique Barber Bottles Amethyst Cobalt Blue Opalescent Glass. Selling all four for one price they range in height from 6.5" to 7 3/8" all late 19th to early
20th century. No cracks, chips, or restorations.
Fancy barber bottles were popular in the second half of the 19th century.
Barbers made their own hair tonic and other hair products or bought them in
large containers and poured them into their own barber bottles. Most barber
bottles weren’t labeled, but the barber knew what was inside each bottle because
of its shape and color. Some were made for specific customers and were labeled
with the customer’s name. Most have a bulbous bottom and thin neck. The bottles
were made in cranberry, cut, hobnail, milk, opalescent, spatter, vaseline and
other types of art glass in many colors. Most were blown. Look for a pontil mark
on the bottom of the bottle. The stopper is also a good clue to the bottle’s
use. If it has a sprinkler top, it’s not a liquor bottle. The Pure Food and
Drugs Act of 1906 made it illegal to use refillable bottles without labels in a
barbershop, and the bottles were no longer used.
