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The roots of the Ball Glass Manufacturing Company go back to 1880, when Frank and Edmund Ball of Buffalo, New York, purchased the Wooden Jacket Can Company. Originally the brothers manufactured metal cans wrapped in wood, but when John L. Mason's 1858 patent for a fruit-canning jar expired, the brothers prepared to move into glass. By 1884 the first Ball jars as we think of them today were produced, and in 1888 furnaces were fired at a new plant in Muncie, Indiana.
Between 1888 and 1961, the company made more tha...
Ball enjoyed a meteoric rise. Four years after releasing its first glass products (they also made chimneys for oil lamps and other items), Ball had more than 1,000 employees. Innovation and acquisition became two necessary tools to its success. In 1897, Ball invented the first semi-automatic glass-making machine, which standardized sizes and made production cheaper and faster. In 1905, Ball invented the automatic feeder, which streamlined production even more. Additionally, Ball bought out numerous competitors over the years.
For a long time, the ubiquity of Ball jars prevented them from being particularly desirable in the eyes of collectors. However, in recent years Ball jars have gained popularity, due in large part to the lack of intact jars. Some collectors try to accumulate as many jars as they can, from pints to quarts to half-gallons, in colors that range from standard clear, aquamarine, and green to less-common amber.
Others try to acquire jars with various types of logos on their fronts. For example, when the first machine-made Ball jars were produced in 1896, the distinctive script on the front boasted "Ball IMPROVED MASON," with an extra loop after the last "l" in Ball that almost looks like a fifth letter. From 1900 to 1914, the script was shortened to "Ball MASON," while from 1910 to 1914, some Ball jars bore the words "BALL PERFECT MASON" in big, block letters.
In 1969 the company changed its name to Ball Corporation as it diversified its product line beyond just glass into everything from aerosol containers to space systems; by 1996 it had sold its storied glass division. As for the Ball brothers, their legacy today extends well beyond fruit preservation. The family has been quite philanthropic, and Ball State University in Muncie is named after them.
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My maternal grandfather and uncle got into bottles in about 1965 or ‘66 when I was in high school, and we started digging. My uncl… [more]

One of the most common fruit jars ever produced is the lowly Ball jar. Historical figures show that from between Sept 1, 1894 unti… [more]

In 1978, I found a snuff bottle and didn’t know what it was. It intrigued me, so I bought it. Then I found some books about snuff … [more]

Bill Lindsey's fantastic bottle identification and information site. Loaded with detailed descriptions and diagrams… [read review or visit site]

Ed and Mark Runyon's wonderful guide to the antique bottles of Cape May County, New Jersey is a great site for anyo… [read review or visit site]

There's a ton of information here, but as with bottles, you have to dig to find the best stuff. Start with the famo… [read review or visit site]

This great site, from British diggers Darren Gray and Jeremy Kemp, is rich in information about hunting for antique… [read review or visit site]

Assembled by Gunther Rademacher with the help of several other contributors, this collection of over half a million… [read review or visit site]

Norbert Lamping's collection of 600+ ceramic bottle stoppers, Hutter stoppers, swingtops, swivel stoppers, and ligh… [read review or visit site]

Lather up with Creighton Fricek's complete chronology of collectible Old Spice shaving products. Start with the bot… [read review or visit site]
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How about a robotic butterfly, which responds the same way a real pissed-off butterfly does: By trapping it in a Ball jar and tapping on the lid...Read more
But there are also times when an old Ball jar is the perfect thing, rather like the old French jam pots you find sometimes. Those old jars are fantastic,...Read more
by jbox on Jul 9, 2010 2:32 PM PDT 0 comments We're going to try something new. We just put up an anonymous tip form... our Gaslamp Ball Tip Jar...Read more
They were made of two ball jar lids and rings, cotton backing, felt and trim. Steve is looking for the pattern, because he doesn't know how the rings are...Read more
Happy always seemed so elusive - light as a firefly...nearly impossible to catch - and if you did you better put it in a Ball jar with a lid on it and don't...Read more
Place the beans in a ceramic jar or a Ball jar with a silicon seal." He also recommends a simple Aeropress coffee maker. Coffee is placed in a chamber over...Read more
a green vintage pitcher for flowers, an old wine bottle for table water, and a Ball jar candle holder wrapped with paper maché flowers...Read more