rare mid-nineteenth century emerald green saratoga pint bottle manufactured for clarke & co in new york. the high shouldered glass is finished with a squat neck and an applied double tapered lip. the finish features some slop and asymmetry, as well as whittling marks. the body features allover seeding and several large bubbles. the front of the glass is crisply embossed with name and place of bottler. the shallowly indented base retains gray residue from iron pontil. john clarke was a soda fountain owner in new york city. he saw the potential of the area’s pure water and purchased land with thomas lynch in 1823. in 1825 both men started bottling water. saratoga springs was the home to 122 natural springs and renowned for the therapeutic mineral water. the iroquois called the high rock spring “the medicine springs of the great spirit”. the first bottles produced were from the mt. vernon glass works. the bottles were embossed “lynch & clarke” until 1833, when thomas lynch died. thereafter bottles were embossed “john clark”. john clarke soon married eliza white, who purchased the high rock springs, and together they formed the company clarke & white. john clarke would die in 1856. after his death the company changed hands, and eventually became the congress and empire spring company. by 1884 the company split into two companies.