Original U.S. Revolutionary War Era Scarce Leather-Covered Glass Water Bottle Used as Canteen

Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is an extraordinarily scarce Revolutionary War era leather-covered glass bottle used as a canteen during the war. In May 1776, George Washington bought “a pair of leather covered canteens from a Philadelphia merchant for his use.” A similar version is shown in U.S. Army & Militia Canteens 1775-1910 by Mike O’Donnell, Figure #004.

This consists of a 6 x 10” flask-shaped canteen being a hand-blown heavy-weight bottle with pontil base, covered with a very thick leather which is slit at several seams to allow viewing of the lavender-colored glass bottle. The leather strap around the middle of the bottle has slits meant for the attachment of a carrying strap which originally adorned this piece. The leather has of course shrunken heavily over time, and this mixed with covering a glass bottle meant that it was going to split.

The leather surrounding the spout is beautifully woven, and everything about this canteen screams 18th century. We’ve never seen one quite like this, and it is sure to become the centerpiece of any Revolutionary War Accoutrement collection.

Comes ready for further research and display!