Bottle

Hartwig Kantorowicz established his distillery in 1823 in Ostrówek, Poznań. Still in the same year, the Kantorowicz family started the production of 'Wyborowa' vodka, which very quickly gained recognition both on the domestic market (the newspaper 'Izys Polska, czyli Dziennik Umiejętności, Wynalazków, Kunsztów i Rękodzieł, Poścony Krajowego Przemysłowi, Tudzież Potrzebie Wieyskiego i Mieyskiego Gospodarstwa' recognised it as the best vodka in Poland) and abroad. In 1871 at the World Exhibition in Vienna, the Hartwig Kantorowicz company won the gold medal. Two more gold medals were awarded to the company at the World Exhibition in New Orleans in 1884. In the Hartwig Kantorowicz factory, the Pistorius apparatus was used for the first time in Poland, making it possible to obtain 85% spirit during a single distillation (until then, it required several distillations). In 1908, another production plant, designed by the renowned architect of Jewish origin Martin Sonnabend, was opened in Garbary in Poznań. Thanks to the architectural and technical solutions applied, the factory became the most modern production enterprise in Poznań.

The presented object is an occasional bottle made to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Hartwig Kantorowicz Vodka and Liquor Factory in Poznań. The short-necked quadrilateral bottle was made of transparent glass. Opposite walls are in pairs wider (front and back) and narrower (side). The walls taper slightly downwards, while the upper edges of the walls (below the neck) are rounded. On each of the walls, there are embossed inscriptions or marks. The more expansive walls bear an occasional inscription with the distillery's coat of arms underneath. The narrower walls show the year of establishment divided by the coat of arms. On the vessel's sides, there is a visible joint in the form of a thickening (seam), which suggests that the bottle was cast in a mould. The object is a gift from Jerzy Diatłowicki.

Marta Frączkiewicz