An Assabet Straggler

 

This strap-sided old timer (above) caught my eye while ascending the lower Assabet River the other day.  While it's not at all unusual to come across an empty bottle floating in the river, stumbling upon one perhaps a hundred years old is.  The bottle was in good condition, considering its age, and I believe can be described as a union strap-sided quart flask with a post base mold.  That's based on info found on the antiquetrader.com and sha.org web sites.  Both sites lead me to believe the bottle was made between the mid 1800s to 1920s.

So, why did this long time river resident decide to come up for air now?  Once retrieved the bottle cleaned up easily and surprisingly wasn't the least bit waterlogged...

Interesting to me was there being no embossing or any maker's marks that I could discern.  It'll now join ranks with the other river refugees in my collection.

My paddling time this past week was spent enjoying stretches of the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord rivers.  The weather was unusually warm for November.  Some photos:

Rounding Willow Island on the Assabet near sunrise...

Martha's Point on the Sudbury...

The Old North Bridge on the Concord...

This reminder to wear some hunter orange...

Some trash rounded up...