Topic: leech jar ? help please

[brucebanner]

I seem to be collecting these but i'm not sure what they are, this one has a folded rim similar to the Georgian folded foot, i have a various bits with folded bases of all ages so i know there used for extra strength, it's hand blown with a broken pontil and age wear to the base.

It's 7 inches in height 5 inches across the rim and 4 1/4 inches across the base.

regards Chris.

[Paul S.]

looks about right - they're seen with and without a foot - this appears an unusually tall example - but the flattened rim is usually the give-a-way.    Ceramic examples could be quite large.       However, not sure whether there is a difference between a leech carrier and a leech jar, the carrier being presumably taller - Ivo might know.

[wolkenreb]

"I seem to be collecting these . ." That's funny 

[Bernard C]

"I seem to be collecting these . ." That's funny 

Not quite sure why this is amusing, but realising that you're collecting something can happen some considerable time after you've collected it.   This happened to me when I realised I had all three versions of the Davidson No. 10 Grid Fitting in my spares boxes, and, because you have all three, they tell a story.   So I put them on my collection shelf in company with the rest of my little collection of interesting bits and pieces, mostly damaged and therefore almost worthless.

Now a question.   Why decorate a leech jar?   Are happy leeches from a decorated jar better at what they do than unhappy ones from a plain jar?

Bernard C. 

[Ivo]

A bit of a dark aera, leech jars. Of course, if it has an inscription 'leeches' there is no mistaking them. These jars were basically counter jars in pharmacies - most of these are ceramic, some lf them were glass. They have an outward rim for tying a muslin cloth ovr them, for proper aeration.  For transporting leeches there were special pewter containers. The small footless glasses with an outward rim were not leech jars but seed storage - closed with a cork fixed with a muslin cloth and kept upside down.
Leech jars are in general quite large, the beasts need their exercise. Not quite sure what the smallest properly identified leech jar is. Other counter jars may have similar shapes, so confusion lurks.

[brucebanner]

Thanks for your help guys, what do you think to the age of it?, i have another different shaped jar i think might be something to do with chemists i'm going to post that now, regards Chris.

[Paul S.]

I don't think Nancy's comment was intended remotely to imply anything other than friendly surprise  - perhaps more a sense of amused surprise that Chris should be finding leech jars on a regular basis.            I also feel they are an interesting social product and have a couple which I've added pix of to this thread - at least I've always assumed them to be such, despite their being only about 3.5" (90 mm) tall.          If you look in almost all the books you'll be hard pressed to find reference to these things, although I appreciate there is information on line.

My two are also decorated with a very typical second half C19 'ferny' sort of basic wheel engraving - rather crude, and lacking the better quality wheel decoration of the larger example from the op.

As a purely personal opinion, and in view of some of the features of this example I'm tempted suggest that date wise it might be from somewhere in the first quarter of the C19.   

[Ivo]

I would put them later, around 1860.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pteridomania

[Paul S.]

thanks Ivo  -  I was suggesting that my two smallish examples were after 1850 - which agrees with the details in your link..........  are you suggesting that the taller example from Chris at the beginning of this thread is also around that date?  -  I did wonder if the folded rim and snapped pontil on his piece might have sugested an earlier date than my smaller pieces.

[brucebanner]

Well i seem to collect similar pieces of glass, group them together then something else catches my eye, it's roemers at the minute and i know nothing at all about them. Paul you always seem to have something of real interest in your collection, how can you beat these bits of social history there all fascinating modern and old.