Size:  QUART

Color: AQUAMARINE

Closure:  Applied ring collar mouth with a ground and polished sealing lip. The lid is a replica made of wood with a disk-shaped sealing gasket affixed to the underside, exactly as specified in the patent documents

Appearance: sparkling glass

Condition:  no damage, minor flaking to the mouth

Embossing:  strong

Base:  unmarked

Age:  c1866

Availability: This quart is the only example of the jar known to exist. On May 29, 1866 a patent was issued to Joshua R Lupton and NE Lupton of Stafford, Ohio for an "Improved Fruit Jar". The design as described in the patent specifies that the closure cap was to be made of either wood or tin, and that an "India Rubber" sealing gasket was to be affixed into a hollow made into the underside of the cap, using tacks or glue. The sealing procedure, as stated in the patent, was to place the cap on a jar filled with hot contents, and then place a weight upon the lid until the jar contents were cool. Then the weight could be removed and the jar would be sealed. It is unknown whether this design ever went into production, but considering the lack of any other examples, a good guess would be that it was not successful. The distinctive embossing style is similar to several other Pittsburgh district jars of the same period, such as McCully & Co's 1866 patented Magic-Dalbey jar. Stafford is located about 100 miles SW of Pittsburgh. To view the patent click here. This is a rare opportunity to obtain one-of-a-kind artifact from the early years of patent fruit jar history.