Good to know
The story behind the jars
A Brief History of Kerr Mason Jars
The Kerr Glass Manufacturing Co. began in Portland, OR in 1904. Though it was not actually a manufacturer at its inception, Kerr offered the 'Economy' brand of mason jar produced for them by the Illinois-Pacific Glass Co.
The Kerr name first appeared on a mason jar in 1915 as 'Kerr Economy'. Later, the "Economy" was dropped, and the Kerr name was featured prominently, along with "Self Sealing", as 'Kerr Self Sealing Trademark Reg'. "Self Sealing" was first trademarked by Kerr in 1934, but the term was first used by Kerr as far back as 1904.
Since then, Kerr has grown to be the most recognizable American mason jar brand next to Ball, with jars in production for well over a century.In 1992, the Kerr glass plants were bought by the Ball Corporation. A year later, Ball spun off its home canning business as a new company called Alltrista, which bought the Kerr brand in 1996 and was renamed Jarden in 2002. Since 2016, Kerr has been part of Newell Brands, alongside Ball and Bernardin.
Are Kerr jars discontinued? Mostly, yes. According to replies from Newell Brands customer service shared by home canners, Newell phased out most Kerr jar sizes in September 2023 and kept only the 8 oz wide mouth jar. There was no public announcement, so you may still see leftover stock in stores for a while. Every Kerr jar on our shelves, vintage or more recent, is hand-inspected and ready for its next home. Once they're gone, we never know if or when we'll see more.
Corrugated cardboard
Wrapped snug
Mouth protected
Mouth-side down
Corn peanuts