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Museum Announcements & Articles

The National Bottle Museum’s annual fundraiser, known as The Saratoga Antique Bottle Show & Sale, will be held on Saturday, June 1st at Ballston Spa High School, just beyond the intersection of NYS Rt. 50 & 67.  This annual fundraiser benefits the museum and its programs, attracting antique bottle collectors and dealers from coast to coast in the United States.  The doors open to the public at 9:30 AM and the show closes at 3:00 PM.  General admission is $3.00 for adults and $1.00 for children aged 12 and under.  Antique glass bottles, pottery, stoneware and related objects, such as advertising, will be available for purchase.  All merchandise is provided by the sellers.  Anyone interested in finding information about their own bottles are free to consult with the dealers at the show.

A special attraction this year will be the raffle of a “Fantasy Jug” (pitured below) commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Saratoga Racetrack.  Tickets are available at the museum and will be on sale at the show.  The winning ticket will be drawn during the show.

There will also be special exhibits related to Saratoga-type bottles and Go-withs, such as postcards and advertisements.

 

Fantasy Jug Raffle

1863 Saratoga Racetrack Jug

1863 Saratoga Racetrack Jug

The National Bottle Museum is raffling a Fantasy Jug marking the 150th anniversary of Saratoga Race Course.  This antique stoneware jug, hand-painted by Jim Healey, has a minor repair to the lip.  Tickets are $10, or three for $20.  Tickets can be purchased at the museum, or by using the link on the webpage.  They will also be available at the Saratoga Show, where the winning ticket will be drawn on June 1st

'Granny's Attic' appraisals

History lessons on tap at National Bottle Museum

by Ann Hauprich
(Story also appeared in two of the author’s books about the village.)

Ballston Spa High School is normally a place where history lessons are presented in classrooms overflowing with textbooks and maps. But all the stops were pulled out on Saturday, June 7, 2008 when the academic setting on Ballston Avenue hosted the National Bottle Museum’s 2008 Antique Bottle Show & Sale. » Read more

Glass Paperweights: A Unique Art Form of Art

1 year ago

By the late Jan Rutland who served as Executive Director of the National Bottle Museum until her passing in October 2010

The first paperweights created have been attributed to the St. Louis factory located in the Vosges Mountain Region of France in about 1820. These were crude and rough forms made from cullets and scrapes. » Read more

Artists' Space Dedicated In Memory of Jan Rutland

1 year ago

BALLSTON SPA, NY – From early October to mid-November the National Bottle Museum on Milton Avenue hosted a show of the collected art works of late Executive Director Jan Rutland. The highlight of the show was the dedication of “The Artists’ Space at the National Bottle Museum” to her memory. » Read more

Glass Coloring May Seem Magical

1 year ago

By the late Jan Rutland who served as Executive Director of the National Bottle Museum until her passing in October 2010

“Sun Amethyst” or “Sun Colored”
Most collectors know that the natural color of old glass is aqua – either blue-green or green-blue. This is caused by impurities in the sand used in the batch. Iron impurities produced the colors blue and green. » Read more

Message in a Bottle

1 year ago

The following tribute was presented by Ann Hauprich at the celebration of National Bottle Museum Executive Director Jan Rutland’s life on November 12, 2010.

Jan – who used to let me call her “Bubbles” as long as I responded to the nickname “Troubles” — would sometimes joke that while there was plenty of history on tap inside of the walls of the National Bottle Museum, she had yet to find a way to put TIME IN A BOTTLE.

But if time had permitted her to place a MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE before her recent passing, it would surely have included some of the things I feel honor-bound to share with you today.

» Read more

2012 Bottle Show

1 year ago

Ballston Spa, NY

The 2012 Saratoga Show took place at Ballston Spa High School in Ballston Spa, NY on SaturdayMay 12. 

Sponsored by the National Bottle Museum, the annual event serves as a thank you to those who support and promote the museum’s mission and as a means of attracting new participants to the hobby which researches and preserves this particular form of historic artifact. » Read more

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