Title: Glass infant feeding bottle

Identifier: Country Doctor Museum   (https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/14377)

Description: Boat-shaped feeding vessels like this one with a hole in the middle of the top surface were popular during the 18th and much of the 19th century. Until about 1800, these bottles were made of china or earthenware. At the end of the 18th century, glass was recognized as a superior material for feeding bottles, because it is possible to see the inside of a glass bottle and, thus, to clean it. This bottle has a small hole in a nipple-shaped end through which the baby received its food. Until the first rubber nipples were produced in 1845, glass, metal, wood, bone and even animal teats were used on baby bottles. It was not until the 1880’s, as understanding of the importance of hygiene spread, that bottles were manufactured with larger openings that allowed true sanitization. Soft rubber nipples that could be sterilized were not available until the 20th century.