Notes
This is an 18th-century wine bottle, dating to circa 1760–1780. It is made from handblown green glass and was probably made in Great Britain.
Green glass wine bottles are used to protect wine from light, especially ultraviolet light. Light can cause wine to break down, which can affect its color, aroma, and taste. Green bottles are also used for traditional reasons and to hide sediments that form during the aging process.
Bottles for containing, distributing, or dispensing wine were common in the US from the mid-17th century to the present day. The earliest wine and spirits bottles in the American colonies were typically English-made imports, as no significant production of this type of bottle was likely done on American soil until the late 18th century. Wine, one of the most common beverages of the past 300-400 years (next to water and possibly beer or ale), results in wine bottles and fragments being among the most commonly encountered items on historic sites.
Patrick Henry likely owned several wine bottles at Red Hill. The 1799 estate inventory of the plantation lists "2 bottle slides," which would have been used as coasters for bottles—especially wine bottles—to sit on. The 1802 inventory further lists "1 case of bottles."
This bottle was purchased by PHMF from Antique Associates at W Townsend, Inc. on September 6, 2023, using funds from the estate of Dr. Bruce English.