Monday, March 26, 2012

Ball Blue Canning Jars


 This weekend we made a quick visit to our local antique mall and while there I admired these old blue canning jars made by Ball.  Later that afternoon I was cleaning our dining room and suddenly realized how pretty the blue jars would look there.  I don't do this often, but when the girls woke up from their nap, we actually piled back in the car so that I could go back and buy these jars!



Since then I had fun doing a little reading on old Ball canning jars and learning how to "date" them.  This particular blue glass was discontinued around 1937 and was caused from the minerals used in the sand and the amount of oxygen used in their furnaces.  The jars I purchased have the writing "Perfect Mason" on them, which began appearing around the year 1913.  You can see that in the picture above the Ball logos are actually different.  From the little research I did, I believe the jar on the left would have been made somewhere between the years 1923-1933 whereas the jar on the right was made between 1910-1923. 


 On the bottom of the jar is a circle surrounding a number.  The circle is actually one way of determining whether or not you have an authentic jar - apparently it is an indicator of whether or not the jar was manufactured on an Owens machine, which was used before more modern machines. I've always wondered what the number on the bottom of the jars mean; however, apparently it was only used as a mould identifier. 


 I placed the three jars on top of the piano where I had a large empty place waiting for something... anything... to take residence!  (smile)



 They just seem to add a small touch of some needed blue in this corner of the dining room.


They perfectly match the dining room curtains, which is the reason I hightailed it back to the store... it's difficult to match this color.


I can't resist showing you another addition to our dining room.  We dyed some eggs with Jillian for the first time and she loved it.  (smile)

16 comments:

  1. I LOVE the blue jars too, especially the antique ones. BTW, your white walls and wood ceiling are super dreamy, can't wait to check out more of your blog! Thanks for linking up at Burlap & Denim.

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  2. I am another who loves blue canning jars. they are getting harder and harder to find as so many people are figuring out how nice they are to decorate with. It used to be I could find them at Goodwill all the time!

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  3. Oh man, I love your table runner! I have napkins like that, but I wish I had the matching runner. I never knew there was so much to learn about mason jars, I'll have to do some research into mine now.

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    1. Thanks, Courtenay! I love it too - it was a recent birthday present from my brother and sister-in-law. I was pretty thrilled when they gave it to me. :-)

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  4. Pretty! And I just love that curtain fabric. Gorgeous!

    :)

    Linda

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  5. What a nice finish and who would have thought....mason jars!!! May have to be on the look out for some of these. LOVE IT!

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  6. Love the blue jars and the history! I would love for you to drop by My Dream Canvas as well :-) I’m visiting from Wow Us Wednesdays. Really like your blog.

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  7. Such a pretty color. I like how you put them on the piano. They will look great this summer with flowers in them!

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  8. They look perfect on your piano! There's just something about those old blue jars that are so pretty!

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  9. Hi, I love blue mason jars too. They look pretty on your piano, and the tutorial was very interesting to me. Thanks!

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  10. I have a large collection of blue jars, and never knew that information! Thanks so much for sharing!
    ~Liz

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  11. I love the old blue canning jars and try to always keep them in my online shop. Often, I hear from engaged couples who are looking for these to use as centerpiece vases at their wedding receptions. The half gallon are getting harder to find and the 1 cup size I've only found once. Love your jars on the piano!

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  12. Canning jars are a fun thing to collect because there were many, many makers. Ball and Kerr are the two you find most commonly but I have a huge collection of all different kinds. Some of the early closures were pretty interesting, too. Have fun with your new collection!

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  13. Hi there! Your jars are lovely! You can use them for decorating in many ways for every season... thus my jar obsession! I'm your newest fan. Please stop by bellanest.blogpost.com any time. =)

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  14. I love these old blue Mason jars & have just recently started collecting them... beautiful on a windowsill in the sunlight, too! =)

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  15. I Love the Old Blue Jars in my windows. Does anyone know if its true that they get bluer when sitting in the sun.

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