Exhibit Opening: “A Little off the Top”: The History and Artistry of Barber Bottles

Barber Bottles are among the most beautiful types of bottles. Designed and blown for barbers to use in their practice, they were filled with colognes, perfumes and other fragrances; hair tonics; shampoos; anti-dandruff tonics and other remedies. Barbers typically filled their own bottles, using the shapes, colors and sizes to differentiate which bottles held which products. The heyday of barber bottle manufacture was from the 1870s up until almost the 1920s, by which point new laws and new commercially available products led to the bottles falling out of favor. Still, they were manufactured for decorative purposes well into the 21st century.

This exhibit highlights bottles from the 1860s through the 1940s, and includes artifacts of glass, porcelain and silver. As “working bottles,” many show patterns of wear, although the artistry of each shines through.