Hemingray Push Down Wax Sealer

Hemingray

Push Down Wax Sealer

Probably R. Hemingray & Co.

Sapphire Blue Quart

Provenance: Darrell Plank Collection

Here is a beautiful, push down wax sealer quart jar in sapphire blue. This particular example came from the well-known Phil Robinson Fruit Jar Museum in Muncie, Indiana. Robinson was 84 when he died in May 2008. His 4,000 piece collection was auctioned off and sold on eBay.

It is thought by most jar authorities that Robert Hemingray in Cincinnati, Ohio was the maker of the jar. This is based primarily on the color of glass and where examples are found.

The jars were made by a very early technique where the glassblower pushed down with the blowpipe to create the groove. These jars were very crude and were sealed with glass caps pressed into the wax in the grooves The jars are rare and were probably made in the 1860s. The jar has a sheared lip, a smooth base, and is without a pontil. The jars can be found in aqua and lighter shades of blue. The jars also come in pints which are very rare.

Hemingray made several styles of fruit jars. The most famous of them being the Globe Fruit Jar. Some other Hemingray made jars include Patented Nov 30 1858 (with/H.G.CO. Monogram), Patent No. 22,186, Patented Sep 18 1860 – Patent No. 30,063, Patented June 9 1863 – Patent No. 38,820, Patented Feb 16 1860 – Patent No. 41,657, Patented June 27 1865 – Patent No 48,399, Patented May 25, 1886 (GLOBE, On Lid) – No. 342,602, Royal and Royal of 1876. They also made the Hemingray – Melon Ribbed Jar.

Primary Image: Hemingray Push-Down Wax Sealer imaged on location by the FOHBC Virtual Museum midwest studio led by Alan DeMaison.

Support image: Auction Lot 2962: Hemingray Push-Down Wax Sealer, Quart. Color is an unusual shade of deep blue, not quite a true blue, but noticeably more blue-tinted than the standard deep blue-green Hemingray color. Closure: push-down style grooved ring wax sealer mouth finish. Appearance: shiny glass. Condition: normal roughness of the sheared and not-ground mouth. Base: unmarked. Age: 1860s. Availability: scarce early and primitive Hemingray jar in an appealing color – Greg Spurgeon, North American Glass

Support image: Auction Lot 228: Hemingray Push-Down Wax Sealer, Pint, A rare 1860s era wax sealer pint that was made by the Hemingray Glass Co. The grooved ring was achieved by the glassmaker pushing down on the unfinished mouth of the jar while the glass was still hot. Shiny glass with no damage or stains. The rough-sheared mouth was not ground and has some flaking off the edges as shown. Extremely scarce in this appealing pint size. – Greg Spurgeon, North American Glass

Support images: Auction Lot 93: Hemingray Push-Down Wax Sealer Quart, Strong Blue Green, Closure: push-down style wax sealer mouth finish with a sheared lip. Appearance: sparkling glass with a trace of content haze. Condition: manufacturer’s roughness of the sheared mouth all around. Embossing: n/a. Base: unmarked. Age: c1860 Availability: a scarce early Hemingray jar in a striking color – Greg Spurgeon, North American Glass

Support: Reference to The Hemingray Glass Firms by Bill Lockhart, Beau Schriever, Bill Lindsey, and Carol Serr with contributions by Bob Stahr and David Whitten

Support: Reference to Red Book #11, the Collector’s Guide to Old Fruit Jars by Douglas M. Leybourne, Jr.

Support: Shaun Kotlarsky and Hemingray.net

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