Is there a marble in that bottle? History of the Codd-Neck bottle.

It is always a treasure hunt going through the Backwoods Shoppe. From the diversity of the donations we receive, there are so many interesting items that sometimes you just don’t know where to look. A few weeks ago, while checking our vintage glass bottles for pricing, I came across this strange looking heavy glass bottle. When I examined it, I realized that there was a glass ball in the neck of the bottle. So of course, I had to research it. And down the rabbit hole I went.

This type of bottle is called a Codd-Neck bottle. It was designed for the use of early carbonated soft drinks, designed in 1872 by Hiram Codd of Suffolk, England. A mechanical engineer by trade, he realized that there was a need for a better design for carbonated mineral water. Prior to this, carbonated drinks were bottled in jugs with corks which allowed gas to leak causing them to go flat. Cobb’s innovations included the use of heavy glass bottles, a glass ball, and a gasket seal. The bottles were filled upside down.

In Cecil Munsey’s 2010 article, “Codd (Marble-In-The-Neck) Soda Water Bottles, Then and Now,” he says: “His bottle used the effervescent pressure of the mineral water itself to force a marble against a rubber washer in the upper ring of the neck of the bottle. This made for a very efficient and durable seal.”  It is said that some of those bottles remained sealed for more than 100 years! Codd licensed bottlers annually for the use of his design and was the standard for carbonated drinks for 50 years.

Codd also designed a custom opener for the bottles which was inserted into the neck to allow the gas to escape and open the bottle. These openers were mainly used in public settings. However, regular consumers would use their little finger to push the marble down and open the bottle.

In the late 1800s, with the development of the crown top for sealing carbonated drinks, marked the beginning of the decline in using Codd-Neck bottles. Codd neck bottles have since become a collector’s item in England due to children breaking the bottles to get to the glass balls.

The bottle that we have is an embossed C. Barraclough – Harrogate with a rose. In my search for information on the company, and I searched everywhere on the internet, I couldn’t locate any real information on C. Barraclough – Harrogate. While there are plenty of references to the sale of the bottles, there is little to no information for the company. I did find an advertisement in the first page of “The Handy Guide to Harrogate and District.”

The design is still used in India for a drink called Bantu and in Japan for lemon drink called Ramune.

Please take the opportunity to go to The Backwoods Shoppe Etsy page to see our listing for a Codd-Neck bottle – as well as other fun and unique finds we have available. Feel free to visit our Instagram and Facebook pages and follow us!

Click to access coddarticleMunsey.pdf

https://www.beachcombingmagazine.com/blogs/news/history-the-codd-neck-bottle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiram_Codd

file:///C:/Users/sport/Downloads/HandyGuidetoHarrogate.pdf

The Beautiful Process of Majolica Ceramics

Majolica refers to a process of making pottery that dates to the 14^th century. It originated on the island of Majorca off the eastern coast of Spain. Majorca is one of the Balearic Islands, it’s the largest and known as the seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.

Majolica was introduced to Italy in the 15th century becoming very popular during the Renaissance. With its popularity came the need for more workshops to produce planters, tableware, tea sets, jugs and other decorative objects. Florence became the heart of production, by the 16th century with other important centers developing in Naples, Pesaro, Faenza, Rome, and Deruta.

In Italy, technological and aesthetic advancement on the process for producing Majolica were made. Simply, Majolica ceramics are earthenware with a tin underglaze. Known for its vibrant colors, the focus was on five signature colors: cobalt blue, antimony yellow, iron red, copper green and manganese purple with a white tin enamel used for highlights.

In a Metropolitan Museum of Art article, “Maiolica in the Renaissance,” it describes the process as follows: “the tin-glazed surface was smooth and shiny but not brilliant. In an evolution similar to that which led from fresco and tempera painting to oil painting, in the sixteenth century maiolica workshop procedures applied a second, clear glaze to maiolica objects, which produced a brilliantly shiny surface and enhanced the color decoration. The tin glaze itself was a mixture of the elements of ordinary lead glaze and tin oxide. This was liquefied with water and (most likely) a little gum arabic, into which the clay objects were dipped. When thoroughly dry, the surface was ready to be painted, a difficult process requiring great control by the painter, as the surface in its pre-fired condition readily absorbed the pigments, themselves dry powdery metal oxides mixed with a little water and perhaps gum arabic.”

“…. Great care was taken to refine and shape the local clays, which varied considerably in color and weight. A maiolica workshop would have consisted of about eight workers, each with a special task—gathering fuel, preparing and firing the kilns, preparing the raw clay, throwing or molding it into shapes, mixing and applying the glaze, and decorating it with ceramic pigments. All worked under the leadership of a master potter, who in most cases would have owned the workshop.”

Majolica was introduced to England during the Victorian era at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851. The Spanish pronunciation of Majolica was Maiolica. It was the English, due to the difficulty with pronunciation, that anglicized Maiolica into Majolica by adding the “j”. The difference between the Italian Renaissance Maiolica and the Victorian era Majolica was that the former had more religious and mythological themes and wasn’t molded or three-dimensional and the latter reflected more the scientific and social advances of the era.  

After the success at the Great Exhibition of 1851, it was widely used by English upper and middle classes. The manufacturer, Minton, started producing decorative tiles for taverns, train stations, and other buildings in England. During the London International Exhibition of 1862, Minton produced the Saint George and the Dragon fountain, said to be a favorite of the Queen.

When Minton’s patent expired after about 10 years, Wedgwood began producing their own line of Majolica. With the building of its popularity in Europe, many American and Australian factories such as Holdcraft, Etruscan and Villeroy & Boch adopted the style.

Most Majolica is unmarked, but European pieces can have a mark or numbers pressed in the piece before firing. Majolica is soft and porous, so it chips easily. It should be handled with care.

Please take the opportunity to go to The Backwoods Shoppe Etsy page to see our Villeroy & Boch – Majolica Water Lily Plate, – as well as other fun and unique finds we have available. Feel free to visit our Instagram and Facebook pages and follow us!