Oval Prism Bottle Stopper

Oval Prism Bottle Stopper

For as long as there have been bottles and jars, people have come up with ways to close them up to keep the contents clean and safe. Early closures were straw, rags, leather, clay, wood, or whatever someone could find that they could stuff in the top of the container. The earliest glass stoppers date back as early as 1,500 B.C., though they didn’t come into wider use until the mid-19th century, mostly used for food containers.

Stoppers can be simple and utilitarian, or decorative and ornate, but generally have the same three parts. 

Glass stoppers were usually used on bottles that would be used over time, such as a perfume bottle, and sauce bottle, decanters, and apothecary bottles. Bottles that were used only once, such as wine or beer, would be stoppered with cork or something less expensive than glass. With the advent of less expensive closures, such as the crown cap or the external screw cap, the use of stoppers declined. When you find a glass stopper on the beach, you’re finding a little piece of history! - Beachcoming Magazine