Manufacturer

Selters Mineral Water, Nassau, Germany

Material

stoneware

Purpose

Mineral water was a popular cure-all of the nineteenth century. Nassau Selter was exported to England by at least the early 19th century and may have arrived in the US as early as 1846. Sales of German selters may have continued until the beginning of World War I, although Houck & Dieter ceased carrying the brand in 1895 (Schulz et al 1980:116-117). Munsey (1971:135) states that Nassau is in the province of Hesse. He dates such bottles as "c. 1880-1900" (Munsey 1971:139).

Creation Date

1865

Description

Stoneware ceramic jug, made for the Selters Mineral Water in Nassau, Germany. Imported from the Nassau Selter Co., Ober Selter, Germany from 1846 to c. 1910. The company bottled its products in ceramic containers. These are straight-sided, circular stoneware jugs, wheel-thrown, jugger-made. The bases usually exhibit a series of concentric looped ridges left by the wire used to cut the clay base off the wheel. The exterior surface is salt-glazed. The necks are quite short and bear a series of encircling embossed ridges intended to help secure the wire for the cork. Jug has a single applied handle which loops from just below the base of the neck to the base of the shoulder.

They were manufactured in the Nassau District in western Germany at Hohr, Grenzhausen, and other towns (Schulz et al 1980:115).

Wilson (1981:32) describes Nassau "SELTERS" as "salt-glazed, wheel-thrown stoneware with a ringed neck and a ring-lip neck finish." His dates are the general dates for Fort Laramie bottles: 1860-1890. Blee (1986:205-208) depicts an example found in Alaska and notes that "mineral water was a popular cure-all of the nineteenth century well known to Russian physicians."

Marks/Inscription

Embossed on front: "STELTERS / O. NASSAU" around eagle motif. Handcarved below handle "116. / No. 22".