Historic Bottle Website Author, Designer & Content Manager

This Historic Glass Bottle Identification and Information Website was - and continues to be - prepared and maintained by Bill Lindsey, Rangeland Management Specialist (retired) with the BLM in Klamath Falls, Oregon, with encouragement and sometimes assistance from those noted below.  As the author, designer, and content manager of this site, I take sole responsibility for all errors, omissions, shortcomings - and hopefully the good stuff also - found within these pages.  I have tried very hard to make this site as accurate and reliable as possible, though it is inevitable that some will disagree with some of the interpretations and information, and that there will be some errors.  Although I have a decent working knowledge of computers and web page basics, I am still a rank novice in that field.  These pages were initially prepared using Microsoft's FrontPage 2002™ and more recently its replacement - Office SharePoint Designer™.  I've tried to make the pages consistent, workable, simple (as possible), and esthetically appealing but what is important to me is the content.  I ask the user to please forgive my idiosyncrasies and novice web design features as well as the coding weirdness's that may exhibit themselves in different browsers.

I am open to all articulate questions, comments, and verifiable corrections about content and suggestions about the website structure and design.  These can be directed to me at the email link that is noted in FAQ #21 and at the bottom of this page.

Acknowledgements

These web pages are a brief composite of an immense amount of previous work done on the subject of historical glass bottle dating and identification over the past half century - like Dr. Julian Toulouse's' classic 1971 book pictured to the right.  There is no way that all may be thanked or given the proper credit for their pioneering work in this field, though all of the published sources and references used in the preparation of this site are noted on the Reference Sources & Bibliography page.

A special thanks must first go to Bill Lockhart, Professor (retired), New Mexico State University at Alamogordo, NM.  Bill is the author of many different historic bottle "e-books" (now hosted by this website; see the Links page) as well as a plethora of other publications in and out of the field of historic bottles.  He has acted as a volunteer consultant in providing input and review into portions of this website.  He has also contributed scores of research articles to the field of glassmakers and their markings, all of which are linked to the website as printable "pdf" files; see the Bottle & Glassmakers Markings and/or Reference Sources & Bibliography pages.  He is also the driving force behind the Encyclopedia of a Manufacturer's Marks on Historic Bottles noted above which is also hosted on this website.  Bill will continue to be actively involved in this website into the future with a special emphasis in the fields of bottle makers marks, 20th century glass manufacturing in general, as well as soda, milk, and beer bottles.  His encouragement and support from the beginning has and continues to be most appreciated. 

Bill is also a guiding light in our very active Bottle Research Group (BRG) which is pursuing many different avenues in the world of bottle makers marks, history and glass making technology.  The BRG currently consists of Bill Lockhart, Carol Serr (Archaeologist, Laguna Mountain Environmental, Inc., San Diego, CA.), Bernard ("Beau") Schriever (Archaeologist, Colorado), Bob Brown (collector, researcher, California) and myself with occasional input from David Whitten (collector & glassmaking historian, Clarksville, IN.) and others as listed in the periodical and journal articles section of the Reference Sources & Bibliography page.  Many bits of information that enhance the depth and detail of this website are the direct result of the constant discussions between the group members, though this discourse is also assisted greatly by the kindly input and questions from scores of others outside the BRG who constantly catalyze new discussions or rejuvenate old ones.  The BRG has been and continues to be the primary consulting experts that the website author relies most heavily on.

A big THANK YOU must also be extended to the late Dr. Peter Schulz (ex-Senior Archaeologist, California State Parks, Sacramento, CA.), Dr. Rebecca Allen, Dr. Kelly Dixon, and Dr. Chris Merritt of the Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA) for so graciously and efficiently facilitating the move of the Historic Bottle Website (HBW) to the SHA servers in March 2007 and where it is envisioned to reside indefinitely.  Incorporation of the HBW into the SHA website has been a major milestone for the HBW paving the way for continued enhancement and additions by the author in retirement.

Special thanks must also be extended to Peggy Corson (CorsonArt@aol.com) for the exceptional professional illustrations which are scattered throughout this site.  Her dedication and flexibility in preparing the necessary art in the form of many high quality illustrations was beyond the normal call of duty. Thanks Peggy!

...and last, but not least, much thanks must go to my wife Kathy Lindsey (now retired writer/editor/planner with the BLM, Klamath Falls, OR.) who was and continues to be the editor of this large website and test subject for the clarity and utility of the information contained herein.  Much gratitude is also expressed for her pleasant and cheerful forbearance of the significant change to our lives that my pursuit of this project has induced upon us for many years now.

In addition, the following individuals (in alphabetical order) assisted with the preparation of this website in some fashion with review, critiques, suggestions, information, encouragement, etc.  Their input was invaluable:

-Allen Agnew, Web Manager (retired), BLM, Oregon State Office, Portland, OR.
-Dr. Tim Canaday, Archaeologist, BLM (now with the USFS)
-Barbara Ditman, Supervisory Natural Resource Specialist (retired), BLM, Klamath Falls, OR.
-Beth Gustas, BLM Web Publisher, NSTC, Denver, CO.
-Richard Hanes, Archaeologist (retired?), BLM, Oregon State Office, Portland, OR.
-Sarah Johnston, Archaeologist (retired), U. S. Forest Service, Fresno, CA.
-Dr. Cecil Munsey, Author & educator (retired), Poway, CA.
-Dr. Gordon Pollard, Professor, Department of Anthropology, State University of New York, College at Plattsburg, NY.
-Teri Raml, Field Manager, BLM, Phoenix Field Office, Phoenix, AZ.
-Dr. Allen Vegotsky, Atlanta, Georgia
-Dale Wedel, Archaeology Specialist, Office of the Wyoming State Archaeologist, Laramie, WY.

...and some acknowledgement is in order to a couple people I've never met (though have corresponded with) but whom were important to the (eventual) creation of this website. 

I would like to acknowledge Ronald Deiss (now an archaeologist, Army Corp of Engineers, Rock Island, IL.) who's 1981 Master's Thesis entitled "The Development and Application of a Chronology for American Glass" provided a spark for the eventual pursuit of this project though I didn't know it at the time I originally read his thesis (1982).  This was long before the World Wide Web really existed as the incredible public information forum that it is today. 

I would also like to acknowledge the contributions of Richard Fike, retired BLM archaeologist who, though not involved with this website, was a pioneer in the field of bottle identification and dating and its practical applications in federal land management activities.

I would also like to thank my various BLM supervisors, managers, and web managers for allowing me the privilege to take on this project and facilitating its original placement on the internet.