I got this bottle years ago on eBay. I paid little money for it at the time. I saw one today on eBay but with a tin cap going for $50 total. I think the one I have is older because it has a glass top.
It is made of milk glass. The cap reads MUM MFC CO Philadelphia. The cap is all glass and it is amazing how tight it fits into the glass jar.
The jar itself has a nice weight to it. I love the design on it, very art deco-ish. The milk glass jar has a tint to it, but I can't exactly figure out the color. There are no markings on the bottom, the only markings are on the cap.
It was probably used as some kind of ointment. MUM was the first commercial manufacturer of deodorant but those jars are smaller.
Mum was the first brand of commercial deodorant. Containing a zinc compound as its active ingredient, it was developed in Philadelphia in 1888. It was named for the term "mum" meaning "to keep silent" as in the popular phrase "Mum's the word" Mum was originally sold as a cream in a jar and applied with the fingertips. The small company was bought by Bristol-Myers in 1931.
I think my jar is from the 1920's making it an antique...or damn close to it.
