The discovery of a message in a bottle that has washed ashore may not be easy to cross off your family’s list of spring and summer adventures. Nor can one realistically expect to “save time in a bottle” as singer-songwriter Jim Croce yearned to do half a century ago.
But thankfully, there’s another bottle-themed enrichment option that combines fun and learning for the young and young-at-heart alike. To uncork the multi-generational experience, one need travel no further than the village of Ballston Spa on Sunday, June 4 when the 43rd annual Saratoga Antique Bottle Show & Sale takes place at the Saratoga County Fairgrounds and Expo Center.
Sponsored by the National Bottle Museum, the event, inside two spacious buildings high atop Prospect Street will offer abundant opportunities for attendees to interact with collectors and dealers from across the USA and parts of Canada. Adults who pay the $5 admission fee to the 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. show and sale (there is no charge for youngsters 12 and under) will additionally be invited to take advantage of free admittance that day to the museum on nearby Milton Avenue/Route 50. The destination, which boasts a collection of 3,000 bottles as well as showcasing exquisite exhibits devoted to bottle history, art, and technology, will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on June 4.
According to 2023 SABSS Chair Roy Topka, who has been an NBM volunteer for 35 years, both settings promise to shine light on why bottle collecting ranks as one of the most popular hobbies in the USA. “Kids love discovering new things. Learning how to dig for and collect bottles is among the most fascinating things they can do,” says Topka, who hopes the day’s takeaways will include that an old bottle needn’t be worth a fortune for it to be valuable to the collector. Some of the most prized vintage bottles, flasks and stoneware are treasured because the owner is captivated by such things as the artifact’s color, shape, or size. That said, exceptionally rare antique bottles can fetch prices in the thousands – which helps to explain why representatives from some major auction houses are expected to be among those manning the 70 to 80 tables at the fairgrounds. And while no auctions will take place at the event, attendees are welcome to bring along bottles for free appraisals by dealers.
Museum Director Kayla Whitehouse emphasizes the NBM’s primary focus is on preserving the history of America’s First Industry: glass and bottle making. An exciting new exhibit tells the story of Glass Factory Mountain – a high production glassworks that employed hundreds of workers and glassblowers on Mount Pleasant in the mid-1800s when all bottles were manufactured with hand tools and lung power. It was fortunate, notes Whitehouse, that upstate New York had an abundance of the raw materials required to make the glass that was needed to bottle the waters from its world-famous natural mineral springs. Among the museum’s artifacts are some of the earliest tools used to skillfully craft individual bottles. And while many bottles in the museum’s vast collection are considered works of art on their own, the NBM’s second floor features The Jan Rutland Memorial Artists’ Space where an Art of the Bottle show is now on display.
Although the museum hasn’t yet finalized its summer vacation enrichment activities, Whitehouse says the NBM is working on a few ideas -- including the possibility of pop-up bottle identification days when people may bring in bottles they have found to learn more about them. There could, she adds, be collaborating to set up a “paint-and-sip” type event to showcase the beauty of the museum’s bottles. “Of course, we always recommend a visit to the museum (which is open Wednesdays through Saturdays year-round). We are also happy to arrange or tailor tours to accommodate groups if desired. For instance, we will be hosting a group of archaeology students, so their tour will focus on dating bottles that they might find on a dig, and what characteristics you would look for to learn how to approximate the age of a bottle. We are also working on developing a program for Scouts to earn a Collecting Merit Badge here at the museum, and that tour will focus more on the collection itself as well as how best to care for, preserve, and showcase items. For visitors who aren’t joining a group, we also have a self-guided tour packet that we provide to guests with information about the exhibits and displays, so that our guests can have a bit more information about the exhibits as they walk through,” says Whitehouse.
For more information about the antique bottle show and sale, contact Roy Topka at
PARTING NOTE: The summer edition of Simply Saratoga will include a richly illustrated feature about the National Bottle Museum, which is also home to the Ballston Spa Visitor’s Center and a splendid gift shop. Readers will additionally be treated to an exclusive Q&A with Kayla Whitehouse, who was named NBM director in January 2023. Topics tapped will include recent NBM renovations and innovations.
