original mid-nineteenth century (late 1840's or early 1850's) deep aqua blue porter style bottle with inverted tapered lip manufactured by joseph curtis buffum in pittsburgh, pa. in serif lettering, "buffums / porter" is embossed cleanly on the front body. the base has a moderate kickup with an open pontil scar, and exhibits some white patination and several bubbles. a strong side seam runs up from the heel to the neck. the crude applied finish, an inverted tapered lip features some slop and whittling. this finish was used on soda bottles manufactured in pittsburgh during the era that pontiled bottles were being manufactured, and its use then stopped and was reintroduced when matthew's gravitating patent shaped bottles were manufactured. when hutchinson's patent closure was introduced, this style of lip was used until the rounded lip replaced it. crudities are typical of the age and date of manufacture and include a large vertical bubble in the neck, internal haze, and slight irridization appearing as rainbow-like patination and swirls on the surface. joseph curtis buffum went into the bottling business in 1845 with his brother. they were located at 209 and 211 market street, in pittsburgh. according to an 1894 publication j.c. buffum & co. bottled soda water and beer, the latter having become an important industry since alcohol was endorsed as medicinal, having good effects as a tonic. buffum was well-known and respected as a businessman, and distributed his goods widely through pennsylvania, ohio, virginia and west virginia.