Original Civil War Master Ink Bottle

This is another great item being offered, it is a beautiful Civil War Master Ink Bottle. It stands 8 ½” high with a diameter of 2 ½”. The bottle is dark green with an applied pouring lip and a three-piece mold. Civil War soldiers would have the small inkwells and would have them refilled as needed from the Camp Sutler, who would have the ink in these master ink bottles.

There was a rapid increase in the consumption of ink during the Civil War, accompanied by the required bottles and inkwells to store the ink. In the mid-1800's, excluding slaves, the population of the United States enjoyed having one of the highest literacy levels in the world.

Like I said, this bottle is a real beauty – it has all the features of early glass, with bubbles and stretch marks. It is in near perfect condition, no chips or cracks. Master Ink Bottles are rare, you will come across thousands of inkwells before you see a master ink. I would imagine, if you had several soldiers in a “mess”, they would have a master ink bottle for their group to refill their inkwells. In my book “The Civil War Soldier – His Personal Items”, I go into detail on the importance the soldiers placed on letter writing. This would make a great addition to a soldier’s personal effects.