BOTTLE

A collection of five bottles comprising two full-size glass bottles, one squat cylindrical glass bottle, one small clear bottle, and one stoneware bottle. All the bottles are believed to be of nineteenth and twentieth century type, although it is difficult to date all but the stoneware bottle.

The two full-size glass bottles are thought to be either wine or beer bottles. If the bottles have kicked bases, it would indicate a wine bottle, while a flat base would indicate a beer bottle.

The squat cylindrical glass bottle was thought to be a port bottle, however if the base is flat, this could also be another example of a beer bottle.

The small clear bottle with a long narrow neck is thought to have been used for foodstuffs, possibly a condiment of some sort.

​The ginger beer stoneware bottle is covered with a feldpathic glaze and stamped with 'A Phillips Victoria VI'. This bottle relates to Alexander Phillips of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, whose business ran from 1858. In 1879, his son became a partner in the business after which time the bottles are stamped 'A Phillips & Son' (B.C. & Vancouver Island - Bottles, Antiques & Collectables, accessed November 2017). This stoneware ginger beer bottle was produced in Britain by the Doulton Lambeth Company. 'VI' stands for the crown colony of Vancouver Island. After the colonies were combined in 1866, most companies would switch to using BC or British Columbia. However, the bottles depicting 'VI' would still be used, as special orders for bottles like these could take months, if not more than a year, to reach the new colony, meaning that existing bottles were often recycled (Royal B.C. Museum Learning Portal, accessed November 2017).