The Birth of the Dots

Ok, so I said I would write about the "why" of the dots. Years and years ago, when there were only three sizes of bells, we just identified the bells as "small", "medium" and "large". We told folks to measure their bells from the top of the pyramid to the bottom of the bell when they wanted to order another like they already owned or a different size from the one they already owned.

Well, one day in 1984 a previous customer called and wanted to order some more bells as gifts ust like the one she already owned. When she wasn't sure of what size bell she owned, Philip told her to go measure it and to call him back. She said she would do so. BUT..... he didn't hear back from her for over two months. When she did finally call back, he asked her why she didn't call back earlier. She said she stood on a chair the day she attempted to measure her bell and the chair moved and therefore.. SHE FELL. Now, it turned out that she was ok, but obviously ordering a bell at that moment did not remain her priority. But, even more obviously to Philip, became the need to put something visual on the bell to identify the size. So.... the DOTS were born.

DOTS

If you go to your doctor, you sometimes hear medical terminology or insurance terminology you aren't familiar with. If your take your car to the mechanic, you may hear mechanical terms that you aren't really sure about their meaning. And if you stand in front of the Windsongs booth at an art show for very long, you will hear us start to talk about "dots". Now, the initiated customer understands and knows to order the "four dot" bell or the "two dot" bell for example,and is comfortable with that meaning. But a new customer ofter has to ask "what do you mean - dots?" And then once a new customers discovers those little bumps in the corner of the bells, they usually think that they have something to do with the sounds the bells make.

But not so, and the unwitting customer then receives a lesson in history from Philip about his youthful days in Edna, Texas and his ventures in consumerism spent purchasing snuff for the older neighbor (you know that story - all the little boys in town camping out at the home of the  'Betty Davis like" mystery woman who had the big TV set where they could all watch the innocent kids shows of the era without interruption from their parents). And his story continues with Philip's adventures of going to the Rexall Drug Store on her behalf (I need to mention here that the lady was visually impaired and could no longer drive so she let Philip, who was 12 years old drive her car) to buy her snuff and how she taught him to tell the difference in "snuff strength" by the dots on the bottoms of the snuff bottles. And then he ends with "that's where I got the idea from about using dots on the bells to mark their size difference".

Well, I can tell many of the older and even the middle aged customers understand because they shake their heads in agreement. Perhaps they have actually seen these snuff bottles at homes of relatives or in antique stores, but often the younger customers still seem unsure. So, in order to truly clarify once and for all, I have dug through my boxes of ancient glassware and found three snuff bottles that I own (I can't temember why) and taken the following pictures to provide further clarification.

Now, as you can see, all of these bottles are sporting four dots but in different configurations. So, I did some quick research on the internet and did NOT come up with a clear answer as to whether the number of dots signify the strength of the product once inside or something else? I found no mention about the arrangement of dots. Nevertheless, here is proof of at least part of Philip's story about getting the dot idea for our bells from old snuff bottles. 

Now, as to WHY we needed to indicate the bell size with something other than measurement, I will save that story for another posting. In the meantime, if you have knowledge of said snuff bottles, please feel free to post your comments. Philip does remember that the brand of the snuff he would purchase was Lee Garrett, if that helps.