Milk bottle manufacturers usually embossed a maker's mark in the bottle, especially on machine made milk bottles. This allowed the user to keep track of their bottles, especially if they were using bottles from more than one manufacturer. Also remember that dairies often ended up with their competitors milk bottles so it was natural to observe how well they were holding up. Some eastern states also required glass makers to register a seal with the state and this seal was required to be on all milk bottles used in that state. Commonly these seals were in a small round slug plate on the bottles shoulder. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Maine used this type of seal. Minnesota used a triangular shaped seal that was often found on the shoulder or the heel of the bottle. Other states issued a number to milk bottle manufacturers that was to be placed on the bottle. Manufacturers often combined the number with their company mark such as L52 for Lamb Glass Company. The purpose of these seals was to insure accuracy in the capacity of the milk bottle. States did not want their consumers to be shorted on milk if a bottle did not hold its labeled capacity. In early years dairymen had to submit all their milk bottles to be tested for accurate capacity which were then etched with a seal. In later years the glass manufacturers registered with the state and placed a seal on the milk bottle to confirm that it meet that state's requirements. Some states required the milk bottle manufacturer to post a bond with the state to insure accuracy. As an example, in 1916 the Essex Glass Company had seals registered in Massachusetts, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maine and Illinois.
Most states issuing numbers to milk bottle manufacturers worked together but unfortunately it was not a perfect system. Some glass manufacturers had different numbers in various states and likewise some numbers belonged to different manufacturers in different states. An example would be the Lockport Glass Company using the number 1 as well as the Thatcher Manufacturing Company using 1 in some states. Thatcher Manufacturing Company used three different registered numbers, 1, 11 and 14, in various states. These seals also help one identify who manufactured a milk bottle. On the other hand just because a bottle has a state seal does not mean the bottle was used in that state. A manufacturer's state seal was not used in California although many later California milk bottles will have the embossing REG. CAL. Click here to go to the page that discusses the REG. CAL. embossing.
The following is a list of glass manufacturer's marks and state seals that are found embossed on milk bottles and the company that we have attributed them to. One note on punctuation. The periods used after letters are sometimes present and sometimes not. This may be due to individual mold makers or just sometimes they are very faint. We have listed what we most commonly have seen. Likewise the O in the abbreviation of company (Co.). Somtimes it may be upper case, other times lower case. Again we have listed what we most commonly have seen. Also a milk bottle may have manufacturer's marks from two companies. This may occur when one company purchases another company. Berney Bond Glass Company for example purchased the Winslow Glass Company and their milk bottles may have both company's marks after the merger. Likewise after the Owens-Illinois Glass Company purchased the Berney-Bond Glass Company they continued to use the Berney Bond mark in addition to theirs.
For information on the listed glass companies go to the page titled Milk Bottle Makers.
1 MINN in a triangle Thatcher Manufacturing Company
E4 MINN in a triangle Essex Glass Company
5 MINN in a triangle Winslow Glass Company
7 MINN in a triangle Liberty Glass Company
8 MINN in a triangle Woodbury Glass Company
10 MINN in a triangle Universal Glass Products Company
45 MINN in a triangle F. E. Reed Glass Company
48 MINN in a triangle Berney Bond Glass Company
52 MINN in a triangle Lamb Glass Company
57 MINN in a triangle Knox Glass Bottle Company
24 B Butler Bottle Company
3 RIVERS followed by a star Three Rivers Glass Company
5W Winslow Glass Company
5 over W Winslow Glass Company
A.B.C.2 Atlantic Bottle Company
B Buck Glass Company
B 24 Butler Bottle Company
BB48 Berney Bond Glass Company
B.B.CO. Bell Bottle Company
BBGCO48 Berney Bond Glass Company
B. G. CO. Buck Glass Company
B.P.17 Belle Pre Bottle Company
BROOKE John B. Brooke
CHB CO Chicago Heights Bottle Company
C with an O inside Co-Operative Glass Company?
C-O G Co Co-Operative Glass Company
DBG CO 30 DuBois Glass Company
Duraglas in script Owens-Illinois (after 1940)
E4 Essex Glass Company
E.F.B.CO. Elk Flint Bottle Company
F.E.R.G.Co. F. E. Reed Glass Company
FG Florida Glass Manufacturing Company
FG 60 Florida Glass Manufacturing Company
FID. 2 Fidelity Glass Company
FIDELITY Fidelity Glass Company
F.G.W. Fairmount Glass Works
Squared G over C Glass Containers, Inc.
GEM Gem Bottle & Supply Company
GEM B & S CO. N.Y. Gem Bottle & Supply Company
GEM-BROOKE Gem Bottle & Supply Company
H in a triangle J. T. & A. Hamilton Company
H over A Hazel-Atlas Glass Company
H.D. T. & Co. made by Whitall, Tatum & Company for H. D. Thatcher & Co.
I in an oval & diamond Owens-Illinois and Owens-Illinois Pacific Coast Company
I in an oval Owens-Illinois (advertised 1954 on)
I.P.G. in a triangle Illinois-Pacific Glass Company or Illinois Pacific Glass Corp.
IPG CO in a diamond Illinois-Pacific Glass Company
I.P.G.CO. Illinois-Pacific Glass Company
J.B. BROOKE MAKER John B. Brooke Company
JOHN W. LADD COMPANY John W. Ladd Company
J.T. & A.H. 14 J. T. & A. Hamilton Company
J.T. & A.H. Co. J. T. & A. Hamilton Company
J.W. LADD CO. John W. Ladd Company
K in a keystone Knox Glass Bottle Company
K9 Knox Glass Bottle Company
K-9 Knox Glass Bottle Company
K.9 Knox Glass Bottle Company
L in a circle W .J. Latchford Glass Company
L52 Lamb Glass Company
L-52 Lamb Glass Company
LG Liberty Glass Company
L-G Liberty Glass Company
L.G. Liberty Glass Company
L.G.CO. Lockport Glass Company
L.G.CO. 1 Lockport Glass Company
L.G.CO. 52 Lamb Glass Company
MAINE 1 SEAL Thatcher Manufacturing Company
MAINE 48 SEAL Berney Bond Glass Company
MAINE 51 SEAL Universal Glass Products Company
MAINE 5 over W SEAL Winslow Glass Company
MAINE A.B.C.2 SEAL Atlantic Bottle Company
MAINE E-4 SEAL Essex Glass Company
MAINE E-5 SEAL The Weis Fibre Container Corporation (wax containers)
MAINE F-2 SEAL Fidelity Glass Company
MAINE K9 SEAL Knox Glass Bottle Company
MAINE L52 SEAL Lamb Glass Company
MAINE L52 SEAL Lamb Glass Company
MAINE L-52 SEAL Lamb Glass Company
MAINE P-3 SEAL Poughkeepsie Glass Works
MAINE P.V. 7 SEAL Purity Paper Vessels Company (wax containers)
MAINE S. CO. SEAL Sealright Company (wax containers)
MAINE T-19 SEAL Travis Glass Company
MAINE W.019 SEAL Wisconsin Fibre Bottle Company (wax containers)
MASS. A.B.C.2 SEAL Atlantic Bottle Company
MASS. B SEAL Butler Bottle Company
MASS. BB SEAL Berney Bond Glass Company
MASS. BP SEAL Belle Pre Bottle Company
MASS. D SEAL DuBois Glass Company
MASS. E SEAL Essex Glass Company
MASS. E.F. SEAL Elk Flint Bottle Company
MASS. FID SEAL Fidelity Glass Company
MASS. FL SEAL C. L. Flaccus Glass Company
MASS. K9 SEAL Knox Glass Bottle Company
MASS. L SEAL Lockport Glass Company (prior to 1920)
MASS. L SEAL Lamb Glass Company (after late 1930's)
MASS. M SEAL Mannington Glass Works
MASS. O SEAL Lamb Glass Company (prior to late 1930's)
MASS. P SEAL Poughkeepsie Glass Works
MASS. Pe SEAL Standard Milk Bottle Manufacturing Company
MASS. P.V. SEAL The Purity Paper Vessels Company (wax containers)
MASS. R SEAL F. E. Reed Glass Company
MASS. S. CO. SEAL Sealright Company (wax containers)
MASS. T SEAL Thatcher Manufacturing Company
MASS. TR SEAL Travis Glass company
MASS. UG SEAL Universal Glass Products Company
MASS. W SEAL Winslow Glass Company
MASS. WT SEAL Whitall-Tatum & Company
M.G. 2 Michigan Glass Company
MTC Thatcher Manufacturing Company (advertised 1923-41)
MTC in shape of an inverted triangle Thatcher Manufacturing Company (advertised 1944 on)
P-3 Poughkeepsie Glass Works
PC in a divided horizontal rectangle Pacific Coast Glass Works
PC in a vertical rectangle Pacific Coast Glass Works
P.C.G.W. Pacific Coast Glass Works
REED F. E. Reed Glass Company
R.I. 11 SEAL Thatcher Manufacturing Company
R.I. A.B.C.2 SEAL Atlantic Bottle Company
R.I. L52 SEAL Lamb Glass Company
RI T SEAL Thatcher Manufacturing Company
S on bottle base Southern Glass Company
S in an elongated diamond Southern Glass Company
S in a star Southern Glass Company
S in a keystone Seaboard Glass Bottle Co. (part of Knox Glass Bottle Co.)
S.F.G.Co. Sheldon-Foster Glass Company
S.G.CO. Southern Glass Company
SMBMCo Standard Milk Bottle Manufacturing Company
SEALED 1-11-14 Thatcher Manufacturing Company
SEALED 11 PA. Thatcher Manufacturing Company
SEALED B1 Buck Glass Company
T in an inverted triangle Travis Glass Company
T-19 Travis Glass Company
THATCHER MF'G CO. Thatcher Manufacturing Company (with Potsdam see jobbers below)
THE BROOKE CO. John B. Brooke Company
TIBBY BROS. MAKER Tibby Brothers Glass Company
TIBBY BROTHERS MAKER Tibby Brothers Glass Company
T. M'F'G. CO. Thatcher Manufacturing Company
T. MFG. CO. Thatcher Manufacturing Company (advertised in 1916)
TMC Thatcher Manufacturing Company (advertised in 1922)
TRAXTUF Southern Glass Company
UGP in a daimond 51 Universal Glass Products Company
UGP Universal Glass Products Company
UGP51 Universal Glass Products Company
UGPCO Universal Glass Products Company
UGPCO51 Universal Glass Products Company
WARREN Warren Glass Works Company
WCGCO West Coast Glass Company
W.G.Co. Woodbury Glass Company
WHITEMAN Warren Glass Works Company
WHITEMAN 144 CHAMBERS ST. A. V. Whiteman
WHITEMAN MAKER 144 CHAMBERS ST. A. V. Whiteman
WHITEMAN MAKER 72 MURRAY ST. A. V. Whiteman
W.T. & CO. Whitall-Tatum Company
W.T.CO. Whitall-Tatum Company
The following marks are found on milk bottles made for jobbers or resellers. We have found no evidence that these companies ever manufactured their own milk bottles. Sometimes these milk bottle will also have the mark of the manufacturer of the bottle however often the jobber did not want the manufacturer of the milk bottle identified to prevent competition. Most milk bottle jobbers or resellers were dairy supply companies that used their relationship selling various dairy and cow supplies to dairymen to also sell them milk bottles. Generally they were smaller customers that could not deal direct with a milk bottle manufacturer and liked the convenience of buying all their dairy supplies from one vendor. The jobber bought in large quantities and then resold the shipment to many smaller customers. The bottles did not have to be generic. Jobbers could also supply custom slug plate milk bottles. Once a slug plate was made it was easy for the glass manufacturer to make as many bottles as needed and then ship them to a jobber as part of a larger order. Notice that generally jobber's marks are more prominent on the bottle, often covering the entire base, and less likely to be abbreviated. If they are abbreviated it is generally still easy to make out the name of the jobber.
On unique milk bottle jobber was A. G. Smalley & Company. They actually sold a unique product that the bottle manufacturer could not. Since A. G. Smalley held the patents for his metal handled milk bottles no glass manufacturer could supply them directly.
A.G.S. & CO. A. G. Smalley & Company, Boston, Massachusetts
A. G. SMALLEY & CO. A. G. Smalley & Company, Boston, Massachusetts
BESTOV Trademark Dairymen's Supply Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
BLAKE and a milk bottle in a heart Blake Hart Products Company, Sacramento, California
BLANKE Blanke Manufacturing & Supply Co., St. Louis, Missouri
BLANKE MFG. & SUP. CO. Blanke Manufacturing & Supply Co., St. Louis, Missouri
CLIMAX Climax Stopper & Bottle Company, New York, New York
CREAMERY PACKAGE MFG. CO. Creamery Package Manufacturing Co., Chicago, Illinois
CRY. PKG. MFG. CO. Creamery Package Manufacturing Co., Chicago, Illinois
DELAVAL DeLaval
EMPIRE Empire Bottle & Supply Company, New York, New York
H.D. T. & Co. H. D. Thatcher & Company, Potsdam, New York
IRON CLAD Iron Clad Manufacturing Company, Brooklyn, New York
MEYER-BLANKE CO. Meyer Blanke Dairy Machinery & Supply Co., St. Louis, Mo.
OHIO CREAMERY SUPPLY CO. Ohio Creamery Supply Company, Cleveland, Ohio
POWELL & LOCKWOOD
MAKERS 112 CHAMBERS ST. Powell & Lockwood, New York, New York
R.G. Wright & Co. R. G. Wright & Company, Buffalo, New York
S.M.C.CO. Star Milk Cooler Company, Haddonfield, New Jersey
THATCHER MF'G CO.
POTSDAM, N.Y. Thatcher Manufacturing Co., Potsdam, N.Y.
WEBER O. J. Weber Company, Los Angeles, California
WICKSON G. G. Wickson & Company, San Francisco, California
