Boyd's Genuine Porcelain Liner [Marion Fruit Jar & Bottle Co.]

Figure 1. Side panel of a wooden shipping crate for Marion Fruit Jar & Bottle Co. mason jars.

Figure 2 below shows an example of a Mason jar milk glass lid liner.  Front face of a Marion Fruit Jar & Bottle Co. lid liner.

Figure 2 Top side of the glass liner.

The embossed text around the front outer edge reads: BOYD'S GENUINE PORCELAIN LINED.

The Boyd's logo on this liner seems to be missing the word CAP, which should follow the word LINED.  As it is, the embossed company name seems unfinished.

Figure 3. Underside of a Marion Fruit Jar & Bottle Co. lid liner.

In the center is the manufacturer's embossed trademark:  A stylized letter M in a diamond, within a circle.  This was the Marion Fruit Jar & Bottle Company's trademark prior to the merger with Ball Brothers Corp.[5]

The milk glass shows fluid-looking cascading layers, an imperfection in color continuity caused by the manufacturing process.

Hand-embossed mold numbers can sometimes be found on the earlier lid liners.[4]

Figure 4. Side view of a Marion Fruit Jar & Bottle Co. lid liner.

In Figure 3, the underside of the liner has a hand-embossed mold number 11 in the center.





Patented in 1869, the earliest Boyd's Genuine Porcelain Lined Caps were originally made from completely transparent glass.  It was only after 1871 that milk glass gained popularity.

The Marion Fruit Jar & Bottle Company was founded by J. L. McCullough and J. Wood Wilson in 1888 in Marion, Indiana, and became the 2nd largest fruit jar manufacturers in the United States at the time (Figure 5).

Figure 5.  South Marion factory suburb of Indiana, 1888.[1]

The company grew rapidly with the discovery of natural gas in Indiana as the gas that was needed to manufacture all of the glass bottles was very inexpensive and could be delivered quite quickly due to Marion Fruit Jar & Bottle Co.'s proximity.  Soon, the bottle manufacturer began drilling natural gas wells within the city of Marion so as to supply their own gas.[2]

Figure 6. The Marion Fruit Jar & Bottle Co.'s Fairmount, Indiana factory.

Additional factories were established within a few years.  Their locations were in Coffeyville, Kansas, Converse, Indiana, and Fairmount, Indiana (see Figure 6 above and the four plant images below).[2]

1899 Plant #1 at Marion, IN.

1899 Plant #2 at Fairmount, IN.

1899 Plant #3 at Fairmount, IN.

1899 Plant #4 at Converse, IN.

The Marion Fruit Jar & Bottle Co. primarily produced fruit jars, bottles, and oil cans (see Figure 7 below).[3]

Figure 7.  1893 Marion Fruit Jar & Bottle Co. "Dandy Oil Can" advertisement.

In 1904, Marion Fruit Jar & Bottle Co. was acquired by Ball Brothers Corporation in Muncie, Indiana.[3]



References:

[1] Glass, James A., Kohrman David.  The Gas Boom of East Central Indiana.  Arcadia Publishing, 2005.  Pg 63.  <http://books.google.com/books?id=C02PktLMIx8C&lpg=PA63&ots=nDudWOdguP&dq=marion%20fruit%20jar%20%26%20bottle&pg=PA63#v=onepage&q=marion%20fruit&f=false>.

[2] Grant County Historical Society.  Centennial History of Grant County, Indiana, 1812 to 1912.  Grant County (Ind.):  Lewis Publishing Company, 1914.  Pg 670. <http://books.google.com/books?id=10XWAAAAMAAJ&lpg=PA670&ots=wtgdwHrauy&dq=marion%20fruit%20jar%20%26%20bottle%20history&pg=PA670#v=onepage&q=marion%20fruit%20jar%20&%20bottle%20history&f=false>.

[3] Wayne, Bruce.  Ball Corporation History.  Ball Jars Collectors.  2010 Nov 24. <http://www.balljars.net/ball_corporation_history.htm>.

[4] Whitten, David.  "Boyd's Genuine Porcelain Lined Cap".  Glass Bottle Marks: Collecting History of the Glass Manufacturing Industry.  2013.  <http://www.glassbottlemarks.com/boyds-genuine-porcelain-lined-cap/>.

[5] Leybourne Jr., Douglas M.  The Red Book No. 10: The Collector's Guide to Old Fruit Jars.  D. Leybourne Jr; 10th ed.  2013.