Milk Bottle, Miller Dairy, Orange Pyro ACL, Half Pint, Indiana, Vintage

• Made in USA 
• Vintage 1950's -1960's
• Details:  This is a really cute vintage glass milk bottle from the Miller Dairy in Cambridge City, Indiana.  It is a half pint size, tradition suggests that customers with poor quality ice boxes or no refrigeration, were more likely to prefer half or quarter-pint containers, this size was also used for cream.  The text is in a wonderful orange pyro (pyroglaze), with a simple design.  One side reads "Use Miller Grade A Homogenized Vitamin D Milk" cut-out letters on an orange background.  The other side reads exactly the same, except they are orange letters on a clear background.  The bottle has a square bottom which dates it post 1940's.   The off-center round "scar" at the base of this bottle suggests it was made by blown parison molds. This is true with both Owens machines and later press-and-blow machines. The scars can be faint or distinct, but they are always off center, but we are not experts, please review and make your own determination. We have 5 Half Pint size milk bottles available, and 2 other sizes (One Pint and Half Gallon), available as well. We're offering a 10% discount for the purchase of 3 or more Miller Dairy bottles, mix and match sizes.  Please Contact Us prior to placing your order for discount code, provide the quantity/sizes desired.  We'll set up an exclusive listing to match your exact request.
• Material: Glass
• Dimensions:  5.5 inches Tall,  approx. 2 inches square (bottom).
• Condition:  Vintage - Used.  Very Good Condition.  WE HAVE NOT CLEANED THESE BOTTLES as some like that rustic vintage worn look.  We have 5 of this size, the one photographed may not be the exact one you receive, however, all are in approximately the same condition.  There are no chips, cracks or scratches on any of these bottle except as acceptable due to age/use/wear.  The ACL label is in surprisingly good condition, very little wear considering these were returnable/reusable bottles.  Please review all pictures and make sure you love this item before purchasing, we can't accept returns.  Please remember these are VINTAGE and ANTIQUE items, they are NOT new, every effort has been made to show scratches, wear and tear and imperfections. 

The Miller Dairy was founded in 1926 by F. Lote Miller and his cousin in Cambridge City, Indiana. It prospered quickly from the mid '50s until about 1980.  We believe it closed in the 1980's due to the increase of big-box retailers, they couldn't compete with the lower prices.  The buildings and land were all closed and sold to other owners.  John Miller was the last one who ran the company, he signed the deed to a former Miller Dairy building over to the town of Cambridge City as a donation to the city, worth approx. a quarter of a million dollars.  For many collectors, milk bottles carry a nostalgic quality of a bygone age. The most prized milk bottles are embossed (raised glass lettering) or pyroglazed (painted) with names of dairies on them, which were used for milk home delivery so that the milk bottles could find their way back to their respective dairies.  Milk bottles since the 1930s have used pyroglaze or ACL (Applied Color Label) to identify the bottles. Before the 1930s, names were embossed on milk bottles using a slug plate. The name was impressed on the slug plate, then the plate was inserted into the mold used to make the bottle – the result was the embossed name on the bottle. Some interesting stats:

• The first home milk deliveries occurred in 1785 in rural Vermont.
• The first glass milk bottle was patented in 1874 in the United States.
• In the 1920s advertisements began to appear on milk bottles, etched on the glass using a sandblasting technique.