New jars with advertising

reproductions of vintage pieces include
patent dates, trade marks and trade names

It's illegal for anyone but the owners or their licensees to use United States patent numbers, phrases related to patent registration or phrases related to United States trademark registration.

Yet all these features appear on a new batch of advertising jars that were made in India. Most new pieces are direct copies of vintage originals and have early patent dates, trademark registration language and other details commonly used to date antiques and collectibles.

All the new pieces we have seen so far are copies of relatively inexpensive originals, most of which sell for under $100. But new pieces are still a fraction of even that low price. The new amber tobacco jars, for example, are only $9 each; the jars with paper labels average only $5 each.

The tobacco jars are probably the biggest concern since the colored glass originals sell for more than the other jars. As a general rule of thumb, lids on the original jars were plain unpainted metal. Lids on all the new tobacco jars shown in this article are painted.

The new paint, usually a dark brown or brownish-red, is applied by silkscreen. Most original lids on the barrel-shaped Globe tobacco jars (Fig. 1) also had wire handles as shown in Figs. 5-A and 5-B.

The quality of the glass varies widely in the new jars. The tobacco jars in Figs. 1 and 6, the coffee jar in Fig. 11 and all the blown glass jars with paper labels are at least as good as the originals if not better. But the molded detail is very poor and crude in the cigar jar in Fig. 9 and the nut jar in Fig. 10. Unlike many other pieces of reproduction glass which has a slick or greasy feeling, this particular group of new glass does not.

While the tobacco and coffee jars are direct copies of specific originals, the wide-mouth jars with paper labels have no exact vintage counterparts. These jars are typical of the illogical fantasy items made for the decorator trade and reproduction wholesalers.

This is obvious once you look at the paper labels. "Bronco Buster" in Fig. 14 is a liniment, a liquid. Would it really be shipped in a jar with a loose lid? Of course not. The liquid would evaporate sitting on the shelf. The "Deer Valley" label in Fig. 13 is for garden seeds. Were seeds ever sold in country stores in glass jars? No. Seeds were sold in paper packets or bulk in burlap bags or out of a large metal or wood bin. Not glass jars.

The new paper labels can also be detected by black light. Just put a small black light down inside the jar to examine the label backs. All the backs fluoresce bright white as do most of the fronts of the labels.

Black light can also be helpful in dating the glass itself. Most clear glass storage jars made in America before around 1920-1930 will fluoresce yellow-green. Clear glass jars after 1940 almost never fluoresce.

Fig. 1 New barrel-shaped figural amber glass cigar jar. Front embossed "Globe Tobacco Company, Detroit." Early patent date on bottom (Fig. 3). Screw lid; jar is 7½ inches tall to top of lid.

Fig. 2 The new lid on the new Globe tobacco jar is painted.

Fig. 3 About half of the new jars are marked with words and symbols issued by the United States Patent and trademark office. The new Globe tobacco jar in Fig. 1, for example, includes "Pat. October 10 1882" shown above.

Fig. 4 New thin-wall blown glass jar with slip-on metal lid. New color printed paper label for Buffalo Brand Cough Drops. Jar is 8½ inches to the top of lid.

Fig. 5-A

Fig. 5-B

Figs. 5-A and 5-B Original lids on the original jars are plain unpainted metal and most, but not all, original lids have handles.

Fig. 6

Fig. 7

Figs. 6-7 New eight-sided amber glass jar embossed "Wm. S. Kimball & Co., Rochester, NY." New painted metal lid shown above. Jar is 7½ inches to top of jar.

Fig. 8

Fig. 9

Figs. 8-9 New clear glass jar. Embossed "W.H. Tegge & Co. Makers, 1st District Mich 50 Cigars. Bottom of jar is embossed "50 Cigars." New painted lid shown in Fig. 8. Jar is 5¼ inches tall, 5½ inches diameter. Very poor detail.

Fig. 10 New clear glass globe-shaped jar. Embossed "The Nut House, Nuts of Quality." Includes "Trade Mark Registered."

Fig. 11 New pressed glass Old Judge Coffee jar with new color paper label. Includes four US patent numbers dating from 1932 plus other patent and trade mark registration information. The owl trade mark is also embossed on reverse. The jar is 9¼ inches tall. Painted metal lid is shown in Fig. 12. This jar is also available in a 6-inch size.

Fig. 12

Fig. 13 New blown glass jar with color printed paper label for "Deer Valley Premium Garden Seed." 7½ inches tall, 5-inch diameter. Domed metal lift-off lid.

Fig. 14 New blown glass jar with color printed paper label for "Bronco Buster Spavin Cure." 6½ inches tall, 5" diameter. Domed metal lift-off lid.

Fig. 15 Detail of the slip-on metal lid and the opening on the blown glass jars shown in Figs. 4, 13 and 14.

Fig. 16 The "dirt" and "wear" are not applied by scuffing or soaking new labels. The discoloration and wear are actually printed on the label. This close-up shows tiny brown dots which create the spots of discoloration and "aging."