Bullet-stoppered aqua glass mineral water bottle, embossed ‘Hunt & Son/ Great Yarmouth’, with trademark on rear. Signs of wear to base indicate re-use. Such bottles were returnable and refillable.
Hunt & Son, mineral water bottle
Food and Drink
Bullet-stoppered aqua glass mineral water bottle, embossed ‘Hunt & Son/ Great Yarmouth’, with trademark on rear. Signs of wear to base indicate re-use. Such bottles were returnable and refillable.
It’s more of a question, do all the bottles come with a black pressure lid on the inside?
Hi Alfie, the bullet stopper was one of a number of Victorian patents to stop the contents of fizzy drinks from going flat. It had to be pressed down to open the bottle, releasing the gas at the same time. It then ended up inside the bottle. Unless they have rotted away in the ground these stoppers will be found still inside. Hunt’s (and other firms) used different kinds of bottle, including ovoid ones (commonly known as Hamiltons or torpedo bottles), Codd bottles (with the marble stopper), internal-screw bottles and cork-top bottles.
Hi I have one similar, but it has a marble in it and dimples at the neck. Wondered if anyone knew what it had been used for and date please?
You are describing what we know as a ‘Codd bottle’, named after the inventor, Hiram Codd. (Search ‘Codd’ on this website for examples.) Hunt and Son used various designs of bottle for fizzy drinks, including the Codd bottle. The feature of this bottle is the marble, which formed an airtight stopper. The pressure of the carbonated contents kept the marble wedged against a rubber ring, in a groove inside the lip of the bottle. To open, you would use a mushroom-shaped opening tool (usually made of wood) to push the marble into the bottle. It would then get trapped by the pinch in the neck (rather than dropping inside and potentially breaking), and when you poured the drink, it would get caught behind the dimples, so as not to get in the way. These bottles would be used and refilled, using a special machine, under high pressure.
Can anyone tell me anything about my bottle which has W Trett’s Mineral Water Yarmouth on it please.