Jars Gallery

The evolution of fruit or canning jars parallels the science of food preservation, which itself was an attempt to address a critical need. For centuries, rural farmers and the poor struggled to find ways to preserve food for the winter. Eventually, John Mason’s November 30th, 1858, patent for the Mason jar revolutionized food preservation though it began with Robert Arthur in 1855. That is when Arthur introduced a wax seal on a metal jar. However, these jars or cans could not be reused, were expensive and bulky, and they left food with a metallic taste. Another concurrent sealing method included wax poured over a glass jar by the home canner. These jars dated to the 1850s and remained popular through 1912, but they were challenging to open.

Let’s go into the gallery. Click on a jar below!