Antique and Vintage Miniature Bottles

Many people associate miniature bottles with the small containers of whiskey, scotch, bourbon, vodka, and gin that were once passed around like candy on airlines. While the single-serving size of these bottles still makes sense for air travel, miniature bottles predate commercial aviation, going back to the second half of the 19th century. At that time, small whiskey bottles in amber or clear glass were embossed rather than labeled with paper. In addition, these bottles were larger than the ones used on airplanes, standing anywhere from 4 to 6 inches tall. Inside were servings of such brands as Crown, Taylor & Williams, Brown-Foreman, Duffy, and Jesse Moore bourbon and rye. Vintage miniature bottles were also made for beer and milk, although unlike with spirits, these 2-inch tall containers were made as promotional items. Like regular milk bottles, these smaller cousins were clear so that the purity of the white liquid inside could easily be seen. Some miniature beer bottles, such as those made in the middle of the 20th century by Acme Breweries of San Francisco, resembled full-size bottles in terms of their shape, label, and cap, but the bottles were actually filled with salt and pepper so they could be used as shakers. More in keeping with miniature spirits bottles on airplanes were the tiny Coca-Cola bottles that were also manufactured and filled during the middle of the 20th century. Some of these Coke bottles were just 1 1/2 inches tall, which meant they contained only drops of the sugary beverage, hardly enough to quench a thirst on a hot day, but the sort of thing a Coca-Cola collector might enjoy. Of course, not all miniature novelty bottles were made of glass. Consider the ceramic jugs made around the turn of the last century. These promotional pieces standing barely 3 inches tall were made for everything from world's fairs to retailers to distilleries, which sold these diminutive jugs to tourists as souvenirs.