Treasure Hunting for Profit: Apothecary Jar

….a real antique find!

Wanting to escape the bustle of Manhattan some years ago, I went on a day road trip with two friends, one from England and the other from Norway to Woodstock, NY. Each of us had a different agenda, the London pal wanted to connect with nature, the Norwegian was determined to visit legends of music sites and I, of course, was there to treasure hunt.

Since there are so many tourists in the area, I presumed it would be a so-so antique hunting adventure and that most shops would be pretty well picked over. I was happily surprised to find that the stores were fairly ‘old-school’, meaning no high-end, chic store settings with full-blown retail prices.

I came across this pedestal ‘apothecary’ jar for only $12 in an established ‘hodge-podge’ shop on an owner’s personal property. I asked the owner what she knew about the jar and she said, ‘Nothing – I just got it from an estate sale the other day, but I don’t think it’s old’.

Fortunately, for me, I knew it was a 19th century piece.

How so? The give-away was the ground glass on the inside of the neck at the top opening and around the bottom of the lid, where the two pieces would meet. “Grinding” or “Roughing” the surface of glass gives it a frosted appearance and was a way to keep the lid more secure and prevent chipping. New reproduction jars usually have a plastic ring around the bottom of the lid. There was also a wavy appearance to the surface and encased bubbles, elements found in 19th century mold blown glass.

Upon research, I determined this to be a Columbia Swirl Top Show Globe Jar with Segmented Body on Pedestal Foot from the 2nd half of the 19th century.

Columbia and Dakota jars were used in apothecary shops to display goods, like candy, or colored liquid. Dakota jars, though similar, have a different lid shape called thumbprint.

The liquid filled jars were displayed in shop windows. The purpose was to alert the public of health situations. If there was a local health threat the liquid would be red whereas the all-clear sign was green.

In the end, my $12 Woodstock find rock-n-rolled its way to a $220 sale!

I love General Store jars! They are a beautiful pre-cursor to today’s grocery store plastic containers and make both eye-catching and utilitarian display pieces in the kitchen, home and during the holidays. They can be filled with colored liquid, pretty candy, bath salts, dry food stuff like rice, pasta and popcorn or even to display collections like glass marbles, seashells or matchbooks.

What are some of the creative ways you use your Country Store Glass Jars? Feel free to share here!