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137 Show & Tell Posts Today

Collectors Weekly

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 than 41 million canning jars, which is just one reason why the words “Ball” and “Mason” are virtually synonymous today.

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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Interviews & Articles

Ball Blue and the Hoosier Slide

At one of our Findlay Bottle Club meetings, Jeff passed around a fruit jar that was a smooth-lip Mason's 1858, but in the familiar… [more]

Collecting Antique Ball Jars

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]

Bill Lindsey on How To Read a Bottle

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]

The Colors of Fiesta

I started as a collector and I’m a web designer, so I thought I would design a website from my passion. I threw it up there and pe… [more]



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Top eBay Auctions

Showing 60. See all 145 by  highest bid • most watched • completed
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Recent News: Ball Jars

Source: Google News

District's top teacher advances to state competition
fwdailynews.com, May 14th

On Monday, the students were anxious to see their tadpoles. My special education student, who had spoken very few words all year, walked right up to her Ball jar and exclaimed, “That is not Princess … she used to have spots!” I will never forget that...Read more

Best Bet: Brooklyn Grange's Flower CSA
New York Magazine, May 6th

Members pick up weekly twenty-stem bundles, arranged in a quart-size Ball jar for the first share and wrapped in paper with a flower-food packet the following weeks. And unlike your shipped-from-afar bodega bouquet, these homegrown botanicals are...Read more

Opening day at Iowa Speedway getting closer - Radio Iowa
Radio Iowa, May 6th

He says the races are fun to watch and says “It's kind of like watching bees fly around a Ball jar.” The season begins later and will end earlier this year. The final race, a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race is on September eighth. Armstrong says...Read more

Breaking Free of Bacon and Eggs: What's Your Breakfast Ritual?
Houston Press (blog), April 29th

Pour the grease in a Ball jar atop layers of congealed pork fat like so many tree rings. Cut off a tiny pat of butter and swirl it around the pan to catch all of the leftover bacon on the bottom. Snap my wrist back and forth two times in a quick...Read more

Violet V. Lien - Globe Gazette
Mason City Globe Gazette, April 24th

She lived with her sister and family in Zanesville, Ohio, when Ken was in the army and worked at the Ball jar factory there. After Ken was honorably discharged from the service, they lived in Lake Mills, later moving to Ute, and Northwood, Iowa, where...Read more

Jarden Management Discusses Q1 2013 Results - Earnings Call Transcript
Seeking Alpha, April 24th

To mark this occasion, the Ball home canning brand has launched a limited-edition heritage jar in crystal blue that features the original Ball Jar design and logo from 100 years ago. Consumer Solutions also experienced positive year-over-year growth of...Read more

Save some green on Earth Day
Charlotte Observer, April 21st

Get Crafty On April 21, customers can create Ball Jar Herb Planters to celebrate Earth Day at JoAnn Fabrics , get there early for a creative way to celebrate Earth Day. Come back on Monday and the first 50 customers in the store will receive a FREE...Read more

More Than You Probably Ever Cared to Know about Ball Jars (aka Mason Jars)
Core77.com (blog), April 19th

Introduced in 1913 in Muncie, IN, the name "Perfect Mason" acknowledged the first-ever self-manufacture of each part of the Ball jar—ensuring a perfect fit and revolutionizing the home canning process by providing canners with matching jars, lids and...Read more