The manufacture of fruit jars really didn't take off until after the civil war. Before the war, canning jars (many were actually large, heavy, bulky enamel lined cans) were expensive and difficult to use. Mason's patent was issued in 1858 but it wasn't until the Consolidated Fruit Jar Company began making jars after the war did the Mason jar really begin catching on.

There have been new reproduction fruit jars from China turning up in antique malls for outrageous prices but they're worth about $6-$8 each. The regular old zinc lids don't fit right and the aluminum lids that come with them are new and shiny giving away the jar's recent manufacture. These reproductions are copies of the old Hero jars made in the 1880s. As a collector these new jars usually have a poor quality to their color and the glass has a slicker than usual feel.

To learn more about the value of fruit jars I recommend the Red Book of Fruit Jars #9 by Doug Leybourne. You can order the book post paid for $35 from the author by writing him at P.O. Box 5417, N. Muskegon, MI 49445. You can also purchase the book on-line at www.fruitjars.com

All of the major fruit jar research books out there are out of print. There has been some discussion about reprinting Dick Roller's "Standard Fruit Jar Reference." There is also the two part Creswick book entitled "The Fruit Jar Works" and two classic books from the 1970s namely "Bottle Makers and Their Marks" by Julian Harrison Toulouse, 1971 and "A Collector's Manual, Fruit Jars" by Julian Harrison Toulouse, 1969.

I do not have any plans to offer patterns from 1837-1899, simply because there are so many good ones already on the market and because I try to stick mainly with eras in fashion that are wearable today (try wearing a hoopskirt in Wal-Mart!). ;-)

A Dallas Taylor: "The cover was Stephen's idea. He was a big Civil War buff. The camera belonged to Graham Nash. He collected antique cameras. The photo was taken at David Crosby's house north of Sausalito California. The dog wandered into the picture accidentally and we kept the shot. We still don't know where the dog came from, or who he or she belonged to. Stephen called it "Fred"."

ftp.maths.tcd.ie:/pub/music/gothic. This site is maintained by Nascent Virion <mcdonghj@unix2.tcd.ie>, who will be graduating and leaving the net in June. A mirror site at goth-ftp.acc.brad.ac.uk (143.53.1.4) has been set up to contain all the info at ftp.maths.tcd.ie:/pub/music, as well as a number of other goth resources, including various gothic lyrics, discographies, faqs, images, and Corey's Goth List, etc can be found.

Collectors frequently refer to these numbers as "mold numbers." However, in some cases, this term oversimplifies what the numbers represented. Originally when jars were blown by hand, the number represented a specific glass blower and his team. At the end of the day the blower and his team would get paid for the amount of jars they produced as determined by the number of jars made with a given number on them. I.E.

Square jars were considered a design improvement because a homemaker could stack more jars together in less space thus allowing a family to put up more food in their small cellars or cupboards. Square Jars were made for the Smalley Fruit Jar Co. Boston, Mass in the late 1890s. Other square jars date from the 20s, 30s and later. The value of square shaped jars tends to be higher than round as it seems that fewer square jars were made.

When manufacturers produce glass, chemicals (clarifying agents) must be added to clarify the batch in order to turn it from its original color of aqua-blue or green to clear. Prior to the start of the First World War, manufacturers used Manganese Dioxide as their chemical agent of choice to clarify glass. When a jar or bottle turns purple from sunlight, manganese dioxide is the substance in the glass that reacts with sunlight to cause the color change.

You should make a list and then determine how much your jars are worth by consulting a reputable price guide. (Like the Red Book.) Once you know what you have and what it's worth, swap meets are always good places. If you have a booth or know of anyone that has a booth at an antique mall you could try that. You might even try selling them at a yard sale.

For broad questions such as this, try doing some searches first. If you want sheet music on a specific topic, see the browse page for lists of topics, or search the sheet music for a specific subject. (Sheet music on the Civil War may be found by searching for "civil war".

We currently have no plans to make another Civil War game, but are open to the possibility at some point in the future. The latest release in our "Great Battle Series" is Sid Meier's Civil War Collection. It's a compilation of Gettysburg, Antietam, and the new South Mountain scenarios all on one CD-Rom. People who already own Antietam can go here and download the South Mountain scenarios for free.

Yes, jars in amber, cornflower blue, olive green, etc. are worth more because fewer of them were made and they are in great demand by collectors. The amber jars were made that way as an attempt to keep fruit from turning brown. The amber glass kept out the harmful effect of light rays on the contents of the jar. However, the jars were less popular with homemakers because the contents were more difficult to see.

Well, the Ball, Kerr or Atlas jars tend to be fairly common. However, some jars can be worth more depending on the actual embossing. (Especially dealing with Ball jars.) Jars with unusually bright colors are worth more. These were generally made at the end of a run and contain sediments and chemicals that color the glass. Amber colored jars tend to be worth more than clear or aqua jars, but this is not a hard and fast rule either.

You can try the following Internet sources: http://www.homecanning.com/ http://www.weckcanning.com http://www.homecanningsupply.com/ Creswick, Alice: The Fruit Jar Works, Volumes I & II. Published by Douglas M. Leybourne, Jr. N. Muskegon, Mich., 1995. Leybourne, Doug: The Red Book of Fruit Jars Published by Douglas M. Leybourne, Jr. N. Muskegon, Mich., 1993, 2000. A Primer on Fruit Jars by David Hinson. Internet: http://www.av.qnet.com/~glassman/info/b&e/primer.htm

There is a long standing ethnic crisis in the country among Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims. A Tamil militant group, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), is fighting with the government forces in the north and east parts of the island. It is beyond the scope of this FAQ to give details about the ethnic crisis or how ethnic tensions have escallated into a civil war. It is suggested that information be obtained from multiple sources. De Silva, K.M.

AFTER. Just as the original Uncle Remus stories written by Joel Chandler Harris, Song of the South is set in a time period after the Civil War and the abolition of slavery. This is evident by the fact that in the movie Uncle Remus is able to freely leave the plantation. Walt Disney probably assumed that people already knew this fact and may have felt that stating the date was unnecessary.

A - Your subject heading should give everyone a good idea of what information you are providing. If it's a conditions report, state the name of the area, e.g. "Bugaboos" or "Icefields - A2". If its some other issue, make it clear what you're talking about in your message. Don't use subjects like "Hi" or "Question" or blank.

There was only a very basic system to identify dead soldiers during the Civil War, mostly relying on identifications made by fellow soldiers. Because the soldiers had uniforms (blue for Yankees, grey for Confederates) and battles were usually conclusive, soldiers were identified by whatever uniform they were wearing and were usually assigned to their respective army. There were also truces to remove the dead, a practice that faded in the 20th century.