Glass ink bottles have been around since 1600’s and have come in many different shapes, sizes and colors; making vintage ink bottle collecting both interesting and fun.  Vintage ink bottle shapes include the teapot, pyramid, figural and turtle shapes, but the most common shape is the cone shape.  Clear glass and aqua colored ink bottles are the most common and easiest to find and subsequently worth the least amount of money.  Vintage ink bottles in yellow, purple or black glass are harder to find and therefore more valuable to the ink bottle collector.

Like most antiques and collectibles, the more original and clean the ink bottle is, the more valuable it becomes.  Unfortunately, glass bottles of any kind have a tendency to stain because of water or moisture and cleaning them is not an easy task.  Some people use a soft brush; others use Efferdent and some use harsher chemicals to clean the vintage bottles, but in most cases these measures are not enough.  Collectors sometimes take vintage and antique bottles to a professional for cleaning.  Professional cleaners use machines that tumble the bottles in a mixture of solvent and copper shot or pieces of copper wire.