Two piece clear glass 'turtle' shaped infant feeding bottle (a) with separate clear glass screw (b) with centre hole for rubber tube, tube missing; squared off bottom with angled neck threaded to receive screw closure; visible mould line around edges; hand blown glass; front flat area with embosse…
Two piece clear glass 'turtle' shaped infant feeding bottle (a) with separate clear glass screw (b) with centre hole for rubber tube, tube missing; squared off bottom with angled neck threaded to receive screw closure; visible mould line around edges; hand blown glass; front flat area with embossed product name.
Allison, Eileen Michael. Ceramic Invalid Feeders, Pap Boats, and Baby Bottles of the 19th & Twentieth Century. Canada: E. M. Allison, 1997.; American Collectors of Infant Feeders
Research Facts
Collected by Maryanne Szuck and sister Alice Roeder, a retired nurse. The collection consists of various eras and types of invalid / infant feeders, infant milk bottles, medicine spoons, urinals and reference material.
The design of glass baby feeding bottles from 1860-1900 were hard to clean due to the glass screw or cork closures and long rubber tubes ending with rubber teats. This bottle design allowed the infant to self-feed.
This innovation freed the mother from the hassle and discomfort of nursing and wearing a nursing corset, and allowed her the opportunity to tend to her other chores (this was particularly useful for those members of the middle to lower classes who needed to work). A contributing factor to the deadly growth of bacteria throughout the bottle design was that these bottles were not sterilized, only washed every two or three weeks.
This lack of sanitation allowed for deadly bacteria to flourish, and lead to doctors condemning the use of these bottles – now nicknamed ‘Murder Bottles’ – as they contributed to the high infant mortality rates of the late 1800s (only two out of ten babies would survived until two years of age).