Posted 9 years ago
SpiritBear
(813 items)
Here's a unique one from Michigan, North Dakota, and the seller has finally found it-- he had lost it. BOTTLED AT SPRINGS / HEALTHFUL SPARKLING / G S / W / PALATABLE / MICHIGAN, N. D. says the bottle on the front. Etching on back reads El Bjorge 58321-- I'm not even sure what that means.
This town has killed itself-- all of its historic buildings are now gone. Its school is gone. It has under 500 people and pretty much always has. This is a very early 1900s bottle.
I've seen one other as a plate-mold whereas mine is a private-mold. It's likely a rare bottle. Both are tooled-crowns. There might be one other in existence in a collection of someone I kind of know.
I added it only because it says Michigan in it but isn't and because I knew it would be a scarce-rare bottle.
Edit:
We have figured it out! It's Gordon's Spring Bottling Co.! 1907-1917. 5 miles outside Michigan, N.D.
Help?
58321 is the zip for Brocket, ND....???
https://apps.library.und.edu/archon/?p=collections/findingaid&id=60&q=&rootcontentid=48668
There is a reference to an "Elmer Bjorge" here
I would guess that "El" is a nickname for Elmer.....looks like this was his bottle? It is possible
http://www.ancestry.com/1940-census/usa/Minnesota/Elmer-Bjorge_3df65m
1940 census record above...best of luck
You do some dang good research, so thank you kindly.
The bottle itself has to be before 1920: A tooled crown in an early shape with Manganese (makes glass go purple when exposed to the Sun's radiation) in the glass.
But zip-codes didn't come out until 1963, although Michigan, ND and Brocket, ND are only 24 miles away from each other-- which is too close to be a coincidence.
The information you provided could mean that the bottle had been "stolen," or less likely "bought," as was common from basically when they started making bottles till pretty modern times. The etching would be the return place for deposit, and there'd have been a label slapped over the embossing, I assume.
It could have been an archaeological find in Brocket, but they typically do not etch bottles (I highlighted white the etching with paint.) So this seems unlikely.
As for Elmer, the name also fits in Brocket, but the front of the bottle and the bottom begins with G, and a letter on the bottom of a bottle this early is usually the first letter of the last name of the company owner. Dairies continued this for decades.
Thank you for your research and time. It was very kind.
no problem man, merry christmas
Thanks. Merry Christmas to you also. (:
Thank you, and I will have a good one, Nicefire: Christmas, then mom's birthday, then New Year's, then maybe meeting up with a friend for a week.
Have a merry Christmas and grand New Year, yourself!
I intend to be the first in my family to complete college the first time around. I also want to impact the World. My love of Nature can help with that as we destroy the very thing that gives us life.
We have figured it out! It's Gordon's Spring Bottling Co.! 1907-1917. 5 miles outside Michigan, N.D.
http://digitalhorizonsonline.org/digital/collection/ndsl-books/id/33714/rec/1
I've got 3 of these bottles. Over a 100 yes old and still in damn good condition.