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WM. H. Earl Newton, NJ Bottles and Bits

THE LARGEST COLLECTION OF
WM. H. EARL BOTTLES IN THE WORLD

In 2018 I found my first relic, an antique 1903 "WM. H. EARL NEWTON, N.J." embossed bottle. I spotted the thick amber glass in a local river from my kayak, where it had been tossed 115 years earlier. After recovering the item, I researched the history of the man whose name and monogram covered the body of the vessel.

 

William Earl was a hotel and cafe owner in Newton, New Jersey. He operated his 26-room hotel from 1897 until he died in 1925. During this time, Earl filled thousands of his bottles with a variety of beers, homemade mineral waters, and soft drinks for his parched patrons. Glass bottle manufacturing techniques and patent closures improved tremendously over these 28 years and Earl spared no expense transitioning from the early and crude mouth-blown blob top finishes of the late 19th century to the later machine-made crown tops of the 1920s.

 

The longevity of Earl's bottling business, coupled with the ever-improving bottle manufacturing processes of the era, meant that dozens of variants of unique Earl bottles were created. 

 

The following is my personal William Earl bottle collection. Each of the bottles displayed is unique in its embossing, color, size, or lip finish.

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Cheers,

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Dave

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