I wanted to drop in and say hello, This is a great site you guys and gals have here. My name is John J Toft Sr and I am the president of the Baltimore Antique Bottle Club. I had some correspondence with Glenn and wanted to thank him and welcome everyone here to join our hobby also. There is a great Bottle forum everyone should visit if you get the chance.  Antique Bottle Forum. I think we all have alot in common. We are all looking for treasure. Some with historical value and some that dont.

   Alot of bottle collectors start with metal detecting. Its one way to find a dump as glen mentioned. Myself, I am a privy digger....privy? you ask. A privy is a outhouse. People didnt have trashmen that came around on tuesday so they would throw alot of thier trash in the privy. I come along about a 150 yrs later and dig it up. NO....its no longer "poop" anymore...lol It turns to dirt after a century or so. Some prvies can go from just a few feet deep to 30 feet or better. The deepest I have dug is about 25 feet in Philadelphia. Bottles and the artifacts that we dig can be very valuable. Whats the most exspensive bottle or artifact have I dug? probably several thousand dollars. One of my digging buddies dug a stonware pitcher that auctioned off for over sixty thousand.



  These finds are surley not typical but as you know...every time you go out. There is a chance. I will post some pictures  of my collection.

More inks

  Here are some finds from a dig.

   That was a privy that went about 15 feet. here is the mound of dirt that comes out of the hole. It took three guys and about 7 hours. We remove and fill back in probably two tons of dirt. Its alot of work but the payoff can be huge.

   I have lots more pics....I hope you all enjoyed them. If you would like to see more....just ask.

Hey John,
 Great pics of some of your collection too, great mix of inks. Do I see master inks behind the inkwells from your collection? You've dug the big master ink bottles? That's awesome.

Hey John, I don't want to hijack this thread. But as far as locating the privies the old Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps can be helpfull. But the thing you really need to do is get into some 19th centuray backyards and start searching. Look for square-ish or round indentations in the yard. Get a probe so you can "feel" what's underground. If you go to my web site http://privypro.com and use the links page to click on EDDY'S PRIVY PAGE he's offering a very helpfull download on how to find and dig privies...

Please Visit http://privypro.com for Quality Spring Steel Privy Probes. FREE Shipping & 10% Discount to Forum Members...

You know after a while your eyes dry out if you don't blink. I had to scroll to the bottom of the page to stop staring. Beauty of a collection. I have a soft spot for those turtles & igloos. Swiz