Bottles on the Border: The History and Bottles of the Soft Drink ...

elow the base of the neck to the base of the shoulder. . . . They were
manufactured in the Nassau District in western Germany at Hohr, Grenzhausen,
and other towns (Schulz et al 1980:115).
Nassau Selter bottles carried an impressed seal with SELTERS
(arch) / NASSAU (inverted arch) around a German eagle that contains the
initials, F.R., on a shield on his chest (Figure 5-35). The bottles were
th
exported to England by at least the early 19 century and may have
arrived in the U.S. as early as 1846 at a price of 15-25¢ each, although a
few years later the price had increased by 5¢. Sales of German selters
may have continued until the beginning of World War I (Schulz et al
1980:116-117), although Houck & Dieter ceased carrying the brand in
1895.
Figure 5-35 – Nassau
Selters – one of the
seals (Schulz 1980:116)
Munsey (1971:135) states that Nassau is in the province of Hesse. He dates such bottles
as “c. 1880-1900” (Munsey 1971:139). Wilson (1981:32) describes Nassau “SEKTERS” (sic) as
“salt-glazed, wheel-thrown stoneware with a ringed neck and a ring-lip neck finish.” His dates
are the general dates for Fort Laramie bottles: 1860-1890. Blee et al (1986:205-208) depicts an
example found in Alaska and notes that “mineral water was a popular cure-all of the nineteenth
century well known to Russian physicians” (Figure 5-36).
Figure 5-36 – Nassau Selters (Blee 1986:207)
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