On a sunny morning, Amy Smyth Murphy of New Jersey was walking along the shoreline of Corson’s Inlet State Park when, as usual, she made an unexpected discovery in the sand — a message bottle half-buried in the sand.
After research, the year of this message bottle is 1876, which has a history of more than 140 years.
In good condition
Intrigued, Murphy picked up the bottle and wiped the sand from it. It was a green bottle that looked weathered, with the cork still intact, seemingly protecting some of the contents.
Murphy recalled that when she saw the bottle, the first thing that caught her attention was the text on it: “Barr Brother, Philadelphia.” This detail immediately intrigued her because the company’s name reminded her of a historical period in the 19th century.
When Murphy decided to open the bottle, she wanted to document the process. With their nieces and nephews involved, they helped post the video on TikTok. They recorded the opening of the bottle, which released an unexpected stench.
After opening the bottle, she found a piece of curly brown paper and what appeared to be the business card of a furniture company run by W.G. J. Klemm’s brothers. The discovery immediately sparked Murphy’s desire to explore the bottle’s history.
The text on the scrap of paper, which appeared to be scrawled handwriting, read: “Neptune Yachts off the coast of Atlantic City, New Jersey, August 6-76.” Murphy speculated that the date would be August 6, 1876, and that the message might have been dropped into the ocean around that time. Further investigation revealed that the Neptune Yacht was a yacht built by Captain Samuel Gale in the 1870s and once docked near Atlantic City.
Rewrite history
Murphy is not a history researcher; she is a greeting card designer from New Jersey. To further confirm his suspicions, Murphy went through the archives and discovered that the W.G. J. Klemm brothers did indeed run a furniture company in the late 19th century, which was dissolved in 1881. Murphy’s discovery seems to provide strong evidence for the authenticity of the message in the ancient bottle. She believes the bottle was most likely thrown into the sea 147 years ago.
Murphy’s discovery could rewrite the world record books. At present, the world’s oldest known bottle message was found by Tonya and Kym Illman in Australia on Wedge Island, and it was a message in a gin bottle released in 1886. If Murphy’s findings are confirmed, the new discovery would beat the existing record by 10 years.
Although the discovery was a major shock, verifying its authenticity was a long and complicated process. Murphy has contacted Guinness World Records to request verification of the find. The verification process could take months, during which time Murphy will continue to conduct her own research and work with historians and archaeologists to uncover the mystery of the bottle.
Wonderful connection
This message, which spans a hundred years and is transmitted through the ocean, seems to bring the fragments of history to the modern day, which makes people lament the passage of time and the fragility of human history. For Murphy, it wasn’t just a lucky find, it was a curious connection between history and reality. “It’s amazing to connect with historical figures in this way,” she says. She also documented the discovery on her TikTok account and continues to share her research progress.
Murphy’s discovery not only generated widespread attention, but also a strong interest in the ocean and history. But who put the bottle into the sea? What’s the story behind it? These questions continue to haunt her and all who follow.
According to Murphy’s research, Neptune Yachts is a popular yacht that regularly carries passengers around Atlantic City and the surrounding waters. The message in this ancient bottle was likely thrown into the sea during one of these voyages. Perhaps it was Captain Samuel Gale himself, perhaps it was one of the passengers, who could not have predicted that the bottle would spend the next century and a half in the arms of the sea, and then be found by an ordinary New Jersey resident today in the twenty-first century.
The discovery has even sparked widespread discussion among historians. Steve Nagiewicz, a professor of maritime history and Marine archaeology at Stockton University, said the bottle was likely resurfaced as a result of recent multimillion-dollar beach fill projects in the area. “These currents sometimes do amazing things,” Nagiwicz explained. They may be able to bring some of the objects that were buried at the bottom of the sea back to shore.”
In the coming months, Murphy will continue her research. Whatever the outcome, the story of the bottle is sure to continue to provoke reflection on history and time.
