For economy and good eating, have a variety of home canned foods on your storage shelves. {advice from 1940 cooking booklet}

{HISTORY}

 Vintage glass canning jars are such special storytellers from history. At first glance, if you are not an avid collector, you might just think a canning jar is a canning jar is a canning jar and they are all one of the same. But each one, upon inspection, actually tells its own little story - about a maker, a purpose, or a patent. 

This one-quart jar with its lightening glass lid, wire closure, and cursive double safety logo was made by glass manufacturers Kivlan Onthank & Co in Boston, MA between 1921-1929. Named Double Safety for the wire closure's ability to be turned to the "tight" position marked on the neck, this extra bit of alignment was thought to create a more secure seal, an important consideration in preserving food especially as new kitchen sanitation measures emerged during the early years of the 1900s.

First appearing in 1909, the Double Safety jar came in both large and small sizes (quarts and pints) and was manufactured at least through the late 1930s, possibly into the early 1940s. It's fun to collect Kivlan Onthank jars because the company changed names over time, and the jars reflect the transitions made within the industry.  Back in the 1909 days, the company was called Smalley Kivlan & Onthank and all jars were marked with their SKO logo on bottom. When Edgar Smalley passed away in 1921, John Kivlan and Charles Onthank dropped the Smalley and carried on as Kivlan & Onthank. By the 1930s, the company was simply known as Onthank Manufacturing. Double Safety remained with the brand throughout these years of name change transitions, proving that it was a winning design valued in kitchens throughout the early to mid-20th century.

Now glass canning jars like this are a preferred storage orgainzer to plastic for the kitchen and pantry. Offering a bevy of possibilities for dry goods like beans, pasta, coffee and tea, and baking staples, they also add a bit of whimsy to your decorating too. Stuff them full of fairy lights for a centerpiece display or exra lighting in your kitchen, use them to store recipe cards or love notes,  change or seashells, pe treats or flower specimens.  A collector's collection knows no bounds! 

 {SPECIAL FEATURES}

- Removeable glass lightening jar lid

- Double Safety embossed cursive across front

- Wire bail closure

- Marked on bottom with the following info... Kivlan Onthank Co Boston Pat'd with the number 4 in the center

{CONDITION}

In lovely vintage condition. This jar contains no cracks or chips in either the jar or the lid. The wire bail is rusty in some areas but still fully operational. There is a defect in the glass which looks like a crack near the wire bail around the neck, but it is actually a fold that occurred during the glass manufacture and does not carry through to the inside. Please see photos.

{SIZE}

Measures 7.75" inches (height) x 4" inches (diameter at base) and weighs 1.6lbs.

{FOR THE COLLECTOR}

Find more vintage glass canning jars here.