Photography by Jennifer Ohmes and John Ball - 13 July 2000 (with Sony Mavica digital cameras).

Image 1:

Photography by Jennifer Ohmes

The bottle as it was when taken from the blacksmith's forge.

Image 2:

Photography by John Ball

The bottle after being cleaned inside and out.
 
Image 3:

Photography by John Ball
An inscription, molded into the glass on one side of the bottle, reads:
THOMAS
NIAGARA WORKS
SWANSEA

Image 4:

Photography by John Ball

On the opposite side of the bottle is the inscription: SWANK.

Image 5:

Photography by John Ball

On the bottom of the bottle is molded the inscription: E. T. R. B. B. 595.

So just what was the mystery of the bottle at Pen-y-wern Farm?

We found part of the answer a few days later at Swansea Central Library. Checking through a number of old trades directories for the Swansea area revealed the existence of a mineral water company based at the "Niagara Works" in Swansea.
The company was run by one Emanuel Thomas (E. T.) and was listed in trades directories from the 1890s right through until 1950, firstly at the Niagara Works in Alexandra Road, Swansea, and later just round the corner in Orchard Street. An early advert for Emanuel Thomas's factory (Image 6) lists the various products on offer, but there is no mention of a drink called "SWANK".
The design of the bottle suggests it dates from sometime after 1930, and would probably have had a crimped metal cap. Whether the bottle is a survival from the days when Pen-y-wern Farm was occupied it is difficult to say.

An additional snippet of information about Emanuel Thomas came to light through reading Gerald Gabb's Jubilee Swansea book on the history of Swansea. On page 121, Gabb notes that, "In October 1898, Morgan Crombie, a Morriston blacksmith, was knocked over in Pleasant Street by Emanuel Thomas on a bike 'with neither lamp nor bell' - Crombie then did £5 worth of damage to the bike." Could this be an early example of road-rage, perhaps?
Source: Jubilee Swansea - the town and its people in the 1890s, by Gerald Gabb, Volume II published in 1999; ISBN 0 9527151 1 2.

Update – May 2011

In May 2011, eleven years after the first discovery of the glass bottle, I received an e-mail from Richard in the Netherlands drawing my attention to another example of Emanuel Thomas's 'SWANK' displayed on the website of a Dutch antiques market. The website described the sale of a glass bottle identified as from Emanuel Thomas's Niagara Works in Swansea (Image 7). An enlarged image of the bottle is shown, Image 8.

Also in May 2011, a Google search revealed more information about Emanuel Thomas's 'SWANK', including two images, on the Worthpoint.com website.

SWANK – the final solution!

In January 2014, over thirteen years after the first discovery of the glass bottle, I received an e-mail from Glyn Evans in which he was able finally to identify the exact nature of Emanuel Thomas's SWANK. Glyn wrote:

I just stumbled on your webpage and saw your article on the ET bottle. In the early 1950s, my uncle used to work as a delivery driver for ET. SWANK ginger beer was sold in both bottles and earthenware flagons. Recently there was one for sale on eBay.

Many thanks Glyn!