Item Tag: Blue jar

T.C.W. Co. (T.C. Wheaton Company), Apothecary Jar / Surveillance Bottle (“SUR” on bottom), with Ground Stopper attached with a string, 8 oz, Clear Glass, no date, likely from the 1960s, Made in the U.S.A.. The bottle is 6 1/8″ Tall (with the stopper), 5 1/4″ Tall (no stopper) and 2 3/8″ Diameter (at the base), 2″ Diameter (outside, top), 1 1/2″ Diameter (opening), the lid is 1 1/2″ Tall. This listing is for (1) Jar (ONLY) that was originally packaged in a box, similar to the one in the photos (The last three photos are of a different, unopened box of similar jars, Not Included, For Reference Only). This is an apothecary jar with a lid made by TC Wheaton Company, probably made in the 1960s (I don’t have an exact date, usually there is a date on the old military boxes, unfortunately, the box does not have one), this particular bottle was originally ordered by the U.S. Navy as a “Surveillance Bottle” (it has “SUR” on the bottom indicating its designation as a surveillance bottle), intended for use with explosive or flammable materials, such as gun powder, because the glass is non-reactive (if they used metal containers, there could be a problem, like an explosion). These were purchased from the Alameda Naval Base in the early 1970s as surplus. The bottle is NEW, Old Stock, removed from a partially full box. *WHERE DID IT COME FROM? In early 2016, we began clearing out our father’s 1500 square foot warehouse that has been used to store a seemingly infinite number of items since 1970. He owned a military surplus store in the 1970s, and purchased surplus in bulk at Department of Defense Auctions from local Military Bases (Alameda, Mare Island, and Hamilton). What wasn’t sold before closing the store (circa 1977) was stored in this warehouse. He accumulated many tools such as wrenches (a large number of 1-1/4″ and larger that were used for ship building), fasteners, screws, nuts, washers, etc. (most are aviation and nautical), general military surplus (clothing, patches, flight suits, flight helmets, and miscellaneous items), a huge number of block and tackle (wood frames with iron sheaves and hooks, painted battleship grey, with single, double and triple sheave sizes), some helicopter and airplane parts (mostly hydraulic actuators / servos, some clamps and small connectors), and other random items (office supplies, medical devices, small boat props, glassware, dishware, “DANGER MINES” signs from the early 1950s just to name a few). Most of the military surplus was made / manufactured in the 1950s and 1960s and much of it is still in the original packaging and most of the boxes / envelopes have dates. Our father purchased most of these items by the pallet, so the volume is overwhelming. In fact, the warehouse was packed to the rafters with boxes when we started. He did not exclusively buy military surplus; he bought the inventory from many local business that were closing their doors, such as a lamp company, a record store, and a number of book stores. This huge warehouse has slowly been filled with other random items purchased over the years, so we have countless glass lamp shades, vintage metal (mainly brass) lamp parts, boxes and boxes and BOXES of books and LPs (which we had already been selling for a number of years). We have worked extremely hard to whittle down the inventory to a manageable amount, so we are now, finally, able to start putting some items up for sale. We will describe the condition and provenance of these items to the best of our ability and include photos with every listing. Please see photos for closer details and overall condition. PLEASE ask questions – we are happy to provide additional information/photos upon request. Any/all cleaning/restoration/repair (if necessary) is the responsibility of the buyer. GENERAL POLICY We use the USPS to calculate shipping, and will combine shipping whenever possible. We are NOT responsible for the amount of time USPS takes to deliver your item once it has been received into the USPS system. We add minimal handling charges to our items. You will receive notification of shipment with tracking information directly from PayPal. If payment is not received within 3 days an automatic unpaid item case will be opened on eBay. If you need additional time to pay for an item, please request this BEFORE you place a bid. 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