Up: Glassmaking
How Bottles Made
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air was blown through the pipe into the glass, making
it ready for finishing.
The finishing was accomplished by placing the still
molten glass in a clay mould, and blowing it to the
size determined by the mould. The shoulder and neck
depended upon the skill of the blower.
Now, the partly finished bottle, still adhering to the
blow pipe, was withdrawn from the mould, and the end a
heated rod was stuck to the bottom of the bottle. The
blow pipe was them detached, and the unfinished
bottle was reheated to become plastic again. The
excess glass was then sheared off, and hand tools were
used to shape the neck and flare of the mouth.
In 1865, the so-called "glory hole" was introduced,
and blowers began
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to work in groups of three -- two to blow and one to
finish. The first glory-hole was a miniature furnace,
and four or five gaffers or finishers worked around this
glory hole. Additional boy help was required, including
two snapping-up boys taking the bottles as they came
from the moulds, and putting them in a form called a "snap"
which was used to hold the bottle at the glory hole to heat
the neck for finishing.
One or two gaffers or finishers worked at this improved
glory hole, which reduced considerably the boy help
required, and only one snapping-up boy to a shop was
required. About 1880, the oil heated "glory hole" came
into existence. This was one of the first steps toward
automatic glass bottle manufacture.
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If, as has been proved time and again, experience
and skill make he best bottles, then the record
of employment in the Whitall Tatum Company plants
has a deep significance. To pick at random from
a record of 100 years in the business of bottle
making, in 1916, the Company had 32 men on the
payroll who had served 44 years or more. They
started at the average age of 11. Samuel Berry
completed 72 years with the Company in 1934.
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