Please enable JavaScript to properly view our site.

Between 1888 and 1961, the Ball Glass Manufacturing Company made more than 41 million canning jars, according to Collectors Weekly. Today, in recognition of the family’s philanthropy, Ball State University, in Muncie, Ind., is named after them.

Jars with a metal clamp closure were called “lightning jars,” because they could be opened in a flash.

Between 1888 and 1961, the Ball Glass Manufacturing Company made more than 41 million canning jars, according to Collectors Weekly. Today, in recognition of the family’s philanthropy, Ball State University, in Muncie, Ind., is named after them.

Jars with a metal clamp closure were called “lightning jars,” because they could be opened in a flash.

The method for preserving food using glass jars was sparked by a contest sponsored by the French military, led by Napoleon Bonaparte. A cash prize of 12,000 francs was offered to the person who devised a method to preserve food for long periods of time. French inventor Nicolas Appert, responsible for introducing the heat seal process of canning in the early 1800s, won the prize.

Later, glass jars came of age. In the late 1850s — 1858, to be exact — when the Mason fruit jar was patented by tinsmith John Mason, everything changed in the world of canning. The Mason jar solved the food preservation problem with the use of a lid and rubber seal.

Mason’s patent was for the machine that cut tin into threads making it easy to manufacture a jar with a reusable screw top lid. His sealing mechanism, comprised of a glass container with a thread molded top and a zinc lid with a rubber seal ring, was patented on November 30, 1858.

Bacteria was killed by heating the jars in hot water and sealing the jar while still hot. The heat seal process gave glass jars an important place in the collectibles realm. Today, collectors look for glass canning jars, also called fruit jars, for canning and for kitchen decoration in the antiques market.

If you think one canning jar is no different from another canning jar, then think again …

In 1882, Henry Putnam of Bennington, Vt., invented a glass canning jar that used a glass lid and a metal clamp closure. Called “lightning jars” because they could be opened in a flash, the glass lids were popular because they did not present as many contamination problems as the common zinc lids.

Many companies produced glass canning jars: Lustre, Climax, Atlas, Swayzee and Samco among them.

The Buffalo, N.Y., family named Ball produced paint and oil storage cans. From a new factory in Muncie, Ind., following a fire at their Buffalo facility, the Ball Company began producing glass storage jars. Like “Mason,” “Ball” soon became a household name. While the majority of glass canning jars sell in the $10 to $75 range, a Ball Perfection half-pint glass fruit canning jar recently sold for $600 at auction.

While both Mason and Ball took great strides in the arena of glass canning jars, Alexander Kerr made canning easier for those working in the kitchen with his introduction of wide mouth/easy to fill self-sealing canning jars. His jars allowed a threaded metal ring to stay in place during the heating process. These jars could be quickly filled and re-used, too.

When it comes to valuable glass canning jars, look for a jar with embossed pattern decoration and lettering advertising the origin and maker of the jar, clear condition, no cracks or chips and the original accessory lid, seal ring or clamp.

Celebrity Ph.D. antiques appraiser, author and award-winning TV personality, Dr. Lori Verderame is the star appraiser on Discovery channel’s Auction Kings and hosts antiques appraisal events worldwide. Visit DrLoriV.com or Facebook.com/DoctorLori, or call (888) 431-1010.

Success! An email has been sent with a link to confirm list signup.

Error! There was an error processing your request.

Support local journalism. Click here to learn more about the role the Lancaster County Local Journalism Fund plays in Lancaster County and to make a tax-deductible donation.