A small
1 7/8 inch tall x 1 5/8 inch wide
square-shaped
deep PURPLE lavender AMETHYST color
antique DIAMOND INK well that has the
FULL FACE
embossing.  This is an ORIGINAL ANTIQUE blown-glass bottle with a
CORK TOP,
dating over 100 years old
.
Bottle embossed
: “
DIAMOND / INK CO. / MILWAUKEE
“
.
Condition
:   Ink well is in sparkling clean condition. It has maybe a trace of stain or wear but there is nothing noticeably wrong with it, NO cracks, chips, dings, damage, etc. Base embossing on this one is hard to read, but these have a “
12-1-03
” patent date on the base, signifying December 1st, 1903.
Age
:   An ORIGINAL ANTIQUE blown-glass (ABM) bottle with a cork-top, ca. early
1900’s
.
Shipping
:
FREE
domestic shipping.   We do ship International but we do NOT insure International orders unless buyer specifically requests this and we are able to provide an insurance estimate.  If an international shipping charge is much more than the actual shipping cost, we will refund the excess so what YOU pay for shipping/insurance is very close to, if not exactly, the ACTUAL shipping costs! This is important for foreign buyers to know as most of our foreign shipping charges are estimates.  We do not falsify information on the Customs Form, such as a price other than what the actual purchase price is, so please do not request us to do so. We ship several times a week and your prompt payment will hasten the turn-around time.
Not a lot of antique ink wells actually have the word ‘INK’ embossed in the glass and when it is, it is most often on the base.  Yet here is a bottle that is
FULLY EMBOSSED INK
right
ACROSS THE VERY FRONT PANEL
, very nice!
What is exceptional about this bottle, besides the crude whittle marks, besides the pristine clean condition, besides the purple color, is the small
(under 2 inch tall)
size.   A
ll of this makes for a highly collectible antique ink well!
And then the exquisite purple color of this bottle.   We’ve all heard about
old bottles turning purple, here is the best explanation:
You
hear about old bottles turning purple … the purple color is the
result of having manganese in the glass.  Manganese is a mineral, a
rock, that was mined, crushed, and pulverized into a powder, then added
to vats of molten liquid glass, and acted as a decolorizing agent to
turn the natural aqua-tinted glass into a pure crystal clear colorless
glass.   But when exposed to the ultraviolet rays of the sun or other
sources of UV rays, it triggers a chemical reaction and the manganese
oxidizes and turns a wonderful amethyst color.
This bottle was passed through some UV rays that hastened the t
ime it took to turn
purple.
But that most important factor to make this even
possible, is the age of the glass as, with few exceptions,
only clear
glass from before 1914
has manganese in it and will turn
sun-colored-amethyst.   So the blown glass has to be old enough,
blown with manganese in the glass, in order to turn purple.  Not only
does this deep purple/amethyst color make this a great looking antique
bottle, but it totally authenticates it as being truly antique
,
check it out!