# Need Help! Identifying Demijohn



## Meadman (Aug 18, 2013)

Hi All! I am in need of help. Anyone familiar with this type demijohn? 

Thanks

Meadman


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## Runningwolf (Aug 18, 2013)

First off it is not a demi john. So what do you need help with. It's a glass vessel (carboy), fill it up and use it.


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## jamesngalveston (Aug 18, 2013)

its a glass jug made by Owen Illinois, about 1930....Have two exactly like it.
heavy as heck empty...but i love them....crystal clear and gorgeous when there full of a wine in waiting....
use the heck out of it.


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## Julie (Aug 18, 2013)

jamesngalveston said:


> its a glass jug made by Owen Illinois, about 1930....Have two exactly like it.
> heavy as heck empty...but i love them....crystal clear and gorgeous when there full of a wine in waiting....
> use the heck out of it.



Are these 5 or 6 gallon?


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## jamesngalveston (Aug 18, 2013)

I cant see all the numbers, it looks like a 6....you would have to measure the gallons 1 by 1 to know exactly.


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## jamesngalveston (Aug 18, 2013)

i thought mine were 5s, but when i went to rack to a new 5, it wouldnt hold all the wine.


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## Runningwolf (Aug 18, 2013)

As James said you really have to (and need to) measure it with gallon containers. I have several that look like it that are actually about 6.75 gallons. I love them. They are just as heavy as the old 6 gallon Mexican carboys.


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## cedarswamp (Aug 18, 2013)

If that's a 5 or 6, that's a huge cat.


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## Julie (Aug 18, 2013)

cedarswamp said:


> If that's a 5 or 6, that's a huge cat. [/QUOTE
> 
> That is what is what I thought, maybe it is a 6.5 g and that is why the guy thought it was a demi-john.


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## beardy (Aug 18, 2013)

Ok so I was under the impression that a demijohn was just a European name for a carboy... so whats the difference?? If they are indeed 2 separate things.


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## jamesngalveston (Aug 18, 2013)

demijohns shaped funny.....big and fat at the bottom, not as cylindrical.


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## Rampage4all (Aug 18, 2013)

Demijohn is blown glass. carboys are molded or pressed


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## Julie (Aug 18, 2013)

jamesngalveston said:


> demijohns shaped funny.....big and fat at the bottom, not as cylindrical.



I think most on here are aware of that, what I was trying to say since the guy is new on here (this was his first post) maybe he did not know the difference.


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## jamesngalveston (Aug 18, 2013)

sorry julie , i was responding to beardy> Ok so I was under the impression that a demijohn was just a European name for a carboy... so whats the difference?? If they are indeed 2 separate things.


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## vacuumpumpman (Aug 18, 2013)

jamesngalveston said:


> sorry julie , i was responding to beardy> Ok so I was under the impression that a demijohn was just a European name for a carboy... so whats the difference?? If they are indeed 2 separate things.



Demi Jons are typically 15 gallons 
If I am wrong - please correct me


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## jamesngalveston (Aug 18, 2013)

They can be any size, from 1/2 gallon to huge...from what i read on the net. I found a bunch used in various sizes..i dont buy them cause they dont fit on my racks like glass, 5 and 6 gallon.


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## Runningwolf (Aug 18, 2013)

Here's a few of my 15 gallon demi johns. The majority of the ones you see for sale today are 15 gallon.


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## cedarswamp (Aug 18, 2013)

"THE DEMIJOHN

The word ‘demijohn’ appears in the literature beginning in the early 1700s. While large blown European bottles exist from as early as the 1400s, the word seems to have come from Persia at some later time. …

or Jemmy-john for demijohn, a large wicker-cased bottle, as though this word had not suffered enough already in its transition from Arabic damagan, itself taken from the Persian glass-making town of Damaghan. The Phililogy of Slang, Littell's Living Age, May 9, 1874.

Other sources trace the origin to a corruption of the French, dame-jeanne (lady Jane but the idea that the word came from a glass-making center makes sense. The characteristic that distinguishes a demijohn from any other bottle, aside from its size, is the fact that it was wicker covered. Early Egyptians covered their bottles with papyrus. This innovation may have spread from Egypt to Persia then to Europe and from there to America.

The earliest American references I could locate, though certainly not the first, were in The American Law Journal and Miscellaneous Repertory, Jan 6, 1809 which mentioned "bags of corks for demi-johns." and in The Balance and State Journal, September 29, 1809 which stated:

"Just Received, by the last arrivals from Europe and for sale on as reasonable terms as can be purchased in New-York, a very handsome assortment of DRY GOODS, adapted for the approaching season. ALSO Indigo, Pepper, Bottled Mustard by the box or dozen, Sherry Wine in qr. Casks, Maderia in Demijohns, for family use."

THE CARBOY

The terms demijohn and carboy were often used interchangeably. The distinction seems to be one of function more than form. A poem in The Port-Folio April 30, 1803 speaks of "Carboys Of Vitriolic Acid, For Old Bachelors" while the The Emporium of Arts & Sciences Philadelphia September 1, 1812 relates a story on ‘The Ignition of a Carboy of Aqua Fortis’ which burst into flame. When the burnt remains were examined, the writer referred to “...the remains of the straw and basket.” So like demijohns, carboys were wicker encased bottles. The two terms are differentiated only by their contents. Demijohns were for potable and non-corrosive liquids. Literature references to the word ‘Carboy’ indicate carboy contents to be strong chemicals - mostly acids: Saturday Evening Post Oct 13, 1821 mention of 50 carboys of Oil Vitriol and 10 carboys of Aqua fortis. Oil of Vitriol was sulfuric acid and Aqua fortis was nitric acid. One other reference was found to a carboy of muriatic acid (1833) now known as hydrochloric acid. Today manufacturers still use the term ‘carboy’ for large plastic acid containers.

The other difference found between demijohns and carboys was for 19th century shipping prices, with carboys being charged a higher rate, probably due to their hazardous contents. While carboys denote chemicals, demijohns have become closely associated with wine or spirits."

http://www.bottlebooks.com/demijohn/big_bottles_big_history_demijohn.htm


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## tonyt (Aug 18, 2013)

Good find Meadman. Fill'er up.

Julie, you sure are having a tough time keeping everyone in line today. Full Moon? hahaha


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## Runningwolf (Aug 18, 2013)

Wow so much over so little


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## mjrisenhoover (Aug 18, 2013)

I always thought a Demijohn was more rounded on the bottom and usually wrapped in wicker.


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## Julie (Aug 18, 2013)

tonyt said:


> Good find Meadman. Fill'er up.
> 
> Julie, you sure are having a tough time keeping everyone in line today. Full Moon? hahaha



Is a tough job Tony, I would send everyone to the corner but they all would have a party and I won't be there!!!!!


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## Billberry (Aug 18, 2013)

Hmm I learned something here today. (But then again, I learn something new here everyday! That's why I love this website.)
I was under the impression that a demijohn was just a larger version of a carboy.A wine supply store that I go to alot is going to start carrying 15 gallon ones this fall. Not good for me.


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## beardy (Aug 19, 2013)

Thank you cedarswamp!! That was really interesting!


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## Meadman (Aug 19, 2013)

*carboy *

Thanks all. Sry, yes a carboy.. And I figured it out. It was made by Owens-Illinois in 73. I wanted to see what the original use of this jug was. Looks like we can get cooking!


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## fatbloke (Aug 19, 2013)

Well what stuff is called, probably depends on your language.......

It seems that I'm the only english speaker here ATM. Whereas you lot speak American. If you want to split hairs, American english. Either way, it is a different dialect.

In current parlance, the original picture vessel is the correct shape for what's often termed as demi-john, except it would need two finger loops molded on and be either a half or gallon capacity (that'd be real gallons not those short measures you lot put up with :: ).

The ones shown as balloon shaped with plastic baskets, would generally be thought of as carbouys. Historically they would have had wire mesh baskets lined with straw, the plastic baskets are the updated ones.

Yes carbouys would have contained hazardous material like acids etc. Demi-johns would have generally contained potable liquids......

Yet as the quoted stuff mentioned, the names can be and are interchangeable. So it doesn't really matter does it......

Just get the damn thing cleaned, sanitised and full of something to ferment......


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## jamesngalveston (Aug 19, 2013)

guess i will have to look under me bonnet and find some...


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## fatbloke (Aug 20, 2013)

jamesngalveston said:


> guess i will have to look under me bonnet and find some...


Good man


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