by Tom Sproat
Gray and Hemingray Glass Company began marketing fruit jars in 1855. For one year, the only fruit jar design they advertised was a wax seal jar. It appears fruit jars were not a major product for them at that time.
In January of 1855, Robert Arthur patented a wax channel to seal fruit jars. While his original patent only applied to cans, it was reissued in 1857 to include yellow ware and glass jars. This meant wax seal jars not covered by a different patent were an infringement on Arthur’s patent. So, glass companies had to develop new designs for fruit jar closures. While Hemingray advertised fruit jars in 1855, we have no record of them advertising fruit jars from 1856-1858.
From April 1859 through March 1860, Hemingray advertised fruit jars again (Fig. 1). These advertisements in the Lafayette Daily Courier unveiled four new fruit jar designs for Hemingray, and did not mention wax-seal jars. The ads listed designs for: Tin Capped Fruit Jars, Screw Top Fruit Jars, Atmospheric Ground Stopper Fruit Jars, and Kentucky Ground Stopper Fruit Jars.
Hemingray advertisement for Fruit Jars
Lafayette Daily Courier – April 2, 1859
The Tin Capped Fruit Jar is probably the “Sheared Lip Melon Jar” (Pic. 1). These smooth neck, sheared lip jars could not accept a threaded cap or a lid that sealed on top of the mouth. So, a slip-on tin cap is an effective way to seal the jar. A sheared lip melon jar was found with tin-coated metal cap with the initials “MT” inside the lid. These initials are most likely from the man who made the lid. The 1860 Covington City Directory lists M. Tully as a “laborer” at Gray, Hemingray, and Bros.
Sheared Lip Jar with Tin Cap – Gray, Hemingray, & Bros.
The Screw Top Fruit Jar is almost certainly the “Threaded Neck Melon Jar” with cast pewter screw cap (Pic. 2). These caps carried the Gray, Hemingray, and Bros name which was current in 1859. The company made no other screw cap fruit jar at that time.
Screw Cap Fruit Jar – Gray, Hemingray, & Bros.
The Atmospheric Ground Stopper Fruit Jar is most likely Hemingray’s version of the F&J McKee “Atmospheric Glass Fruit Jar” (Pic. 3). Hemingray’s “Atmospheric Ground Stopper Fruit Jar” (Pic. 4) had the same closure method and similar shape as McKee’s jar. In 1858, F. & J. McKee advertised “Atmospheric Glass Fruit Jars” that used the “exhaustion of the air, caused by heat” to seal (Fig. 2). F. & J. McKee was out of business by early 1859, which may have allowed Hemingray to acquire the molds for the lids. The words “Patent Applied For Cin. O” on the underside of the lid are the same wording and pattern as the earliest lids for Hemingray’s Patent 1863 jars.
Atmospheric Glass Fruit Jar – F&J McKee, Pittsburgh, PA – Glass Pontil Base
Atmospheric Glass Fruit Jar – Gray, Hemingray, & Bros. – Glass Pontil Base
F&J McKee Advertisement for Atmospheric Fruit Jars
Pittsburgh Morning Post – August 31, 1858
The Kentucky Ground Stopper Fruit Jar was probably made using Hemingray’s “dip mold” for their wax-seal jar. The ground stopper jar had a rolled lip and stopper mouth added for the closure (Pic. 5). This jar’s dimensions are almost exactly the same as Hemingray’s dip-mold wax-seal jars. The inside surface of the mouth shows ground roughness for a ground stopper.
Glass Stopper Fruit Jar – Gray, Hemingray, & Bros. – Iron Pontil Base
Many fruit jar collectors understand Hemingray Glass Company is better known for telegraph and telephone insulators than fruit jars. Although Hemingray made one kind of fruit jar in 1855, they didn’t become serious about fruit jars until 1859. The jars mentioned in the 1859 advertisement are among the scarcest of the Hemingray jars.
This article is a description of a “Show and Tell” presentation at the Muncie Convention in January 17, 2025. Collectors can add to what we know about fruit jars if they share information from their collections. The author hopes this article both informs and inspires collectors to share their “Show and Tell” stories. Pictures of fruit jars taken from North American Glass Auctions.