Keystone Coffee Jar
Just a Little Java Jar
by Marianne Dow
Jeff Klingler's sharing this neat little bottle / jar with us this time. He pointed out that it is a variation not listed in the Red Book, which made me decide to see what I could find out about this little cutie.
At first one would think this is a product jar, as it is embossed KEYSTONE COFFEE JAR on the puffed-out front, with a KCJ monogram on the flat back. It has a ground lip, and is about 5" tall, w/a screw-on cap. The base is embossed with 2 patent dates - 1885, and RE-PAT 1895.
There is a Keystone Coffe Jar described as this same shape, and with the same embossing, listed in the
Red Book #11 as #1390-5. However that describes a quart jar, with just the earlier patent date. So, then is this smaller jar is a variation of that? Or might the size in the listing be incorrect, as this pint is the only size seen or mentioned in all of my research. Redbook value is $75-100. (I do not find any recent sales online.)
Curious minds want to know what this jar IS.
If you Google ' Keystone Coffee Jar ' you will find a few posts where collectors have found this smaller jar, and are seeking more info. I hope they read this article, because "Eureka!", I have found it!
First, here's what it is not...
Employees in front of the Keystone Coffee Drive In / San Jose California
[
Info on this location and cool sign.]
Hmmm... but this jar says 1895, so that can't be it. And indeed, it is not it.
A deeper search led me to the fantabulous resource that is Google Books. How lucky we researchers are to have image to text translation software - wow! - and Google working on scanning all the world's books.
Imagine my delight when I was rewarded with this page from the Home Furnishing Review, Dec. 1896 -- ta da!
Turns out that this little glass jar was a precursor to the thermos (which was not manufactured for home use until 1904 -
see Dewar ).
The Keystone Coffee Jar was patented and manufactured by C.H. Stadelman of Pittsburgh, PA.
Designed to transport already-brewed liquid coffee in a lunch pail, the jar would have had a slide-on metal plate that fit on the raised bars along the bottom of the front and back, leaving a small air space. Then the jar could be heated on a burner, and one could then enjoy a hot cup of coffee.
Here's a complete
Keystone Coffee Jar for sale on ebay for $299 (as of 3-12-13).
Charles Stadelman emigrated from Germany, and with son Bernhard, was a grocer and dry goods purveyor in Pittsburg in the late 1800's.
Here are images of the Keystone Coffee Jar patent drawing, and a little info on the Stadelmans.
Pennsylvania is called "The Keystone State".
The arched/curved front of the jar must have helped with it's strength, hence a double-meaning in Stadelman's naming of his invention.
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Mystery solved, right? These tradecards come from the same time period, same city, but a different company. The Keystone was used on many products by many companies.
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Findlay Antique Bottle Club
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