Original U.S. Revolutionary War Era Scarce Leather-Covered Glass Water Bottle Flask with Molded Leather Lid - Excellent
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Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is a very scarce American Revolutionary War era leather-covered glass bottle with a molded leather lid, with tooled markings on one side showing which way it is to be placed. The bottle itself is secured within the bottom leather cover. In May 1776, George Washington bought “a pair of leather covered canteens from a Philadelphia merchant for his use.”
This flask measures roughly 3 x 6 x 1 ¼” with the leather top cover in place. The cover has some creasing and very minor dry rot at the top, which makes sense as this is where it has always been grabbed to remove it. One side of the cover and the bottom covering have six tooled markings in order to show this is the side that the top is meant to be attached, with very small tooled markings along the edge borders.
When the top is removed, the interior glass bottle is revealed, and it is truly fantastic. The patina along the edge where it is embedded into the leather shows its age, and the interior of the top leather cover actually retains a small inscription:
A/m
U/o
The meaning of this marking is of course now lost to time, but it is evidence of the time period it was created in, and the difficult work needed to create it. The stitching along the middle of both the bottom and top leather covers is excellent. This fantastic flask could still be used today.
This is sure to become a mainstay in any collection of early American accoutrements.
- This product is available for international shipping.
- Eligible for all payments - Visa, Mastercard, Discover, AMEX, Paypal & Sezzle
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