In my last post, I included an image of this piece of paper before I touched it.
I touched it. For about sixteen hours.
There is not much to give you in the way of history as far as Ratin Laboratories. I can't find one single reference to this company anywhere, and believe me, I looked - hard.
I was very lucky and found an image of this bottle on an Antique Bottle site called Antique Bottle Mysteries. The reason the image was included there was because it is a perfect example of what is called Cold Mold Ripple, and is sometimes referred to as "Whittled" or "Hammered" glass. The effect is caused by the mold in which the glass was produced, and in particular, when the mold is made of Iron. Impurities in the iron caused the glass to cool at differing temperatures, and hence caused the glass to vary in thickness. It is a wonderful sight to see when you hold one of these bottles (most produced in the late 1920's) as the light passing through the bottle and what you can see beyond the bottle is distorted - in a good way!
My spouse suggested a rat - in the bottle, but I thought that it was more important that the bottle be seen for what it is - beautiful, even if it contained poison.
Hi Dave,
ReplyDeleteI found a mention of "ratinin" in a November 1929 Popular Science Monthly article (p. 46,164) titled 'Poison Gas for War on Rats'which states:
"Hundreds of white rats have died in recent laboratory tests to determine the effects of 'ratinin,' a bacterial culture which does not harm human beings but which spreads an epidemic among the long-tailed pests when placed on bait."
You're an alchemist!
ReplyDeleteThe British Medical Journal's Epitome of Current Medical Literature (26 Dec. 1936) documents a 1931 account of accidental ingestion of Ratin by a child with fatal consequences.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2459086/pdf/brmedj06872-0058.pdf
A rat would have been, well, interesting (and a little creepy actually lol). I like what you did. :-)
ReplyDeleteOh Rats! I was looking forward to your branching out into wildlife art -:)
ReplyDeleteDave -- another bottle gem!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Anita! The BMJ article was really an eye-opener. People with rat problems soaked bread with Ratin (yah, this stuff) and left the juicy morsels in their cupboards and cabinets. Children ate the bread...
ReplyDeleteThis looks great!
ReplyDeleteHave been roaming around your blog and find your work just beautiful. Glad you didn't put a rat in that gorgeous bottle! And, thanks for coming over to my blog. Enjoy your comments so very much. Carol
ReplyDeletei love old bottle...i am addicted to glass anyway...we used to catch all kinds of old bottles in the tongs clamming...and used to have a huge collection that was donated to museums of virgina before we left..we did not have one of these bottles...
ReplyDeletegreat painting
you do glass really really well...you capture all the aspects of the subject..
great painting!
It's so lovely! I like drawing on top of old book pages, but this is an even cooler idea!
ReplyDeleteI have to keep reminding myself that I am looking at a painting. This is certainly stunning. You make that bottle look SO real and has the perfect backdrop.
ReplyDeleteInteresting theme in your blog, thanks for your visit!!
ReplyDeleteYou have really captured the sheen of the glass so well here. And I have to say that after reading what Ratin was used for, I had to smile at the name.
ReplyDeleteFantastic work. I love the bottle. I personally would have enjoyed a rat in there, but I guess I'm a sick person. :o)
ReplyDelete