A serendipitous discovery
Beachcombing can lead to fascinating discoveries, and for 49-year-old Amy Smyth Murphy of New Jersey, her walk through Corson’s Inlet State Park over the Fourth of July weekend proved exceptionally rewarding. Murphy stumbled upon an ancient green corked bottle containing what appeared to be a business card from 1876 and a handwritten note.
Murphy believes this bottle might be the oldest of its kind ever found, potentially predating the current Guinness World Record holder discovered in Australia in 2018 by ten years.
“It’s just so interesting to be connected to people in this way. I really like the mystery. I love the research,” Smyth Murphy was quoted as saying by NJ.com.
“The smell that came out of it was unbelievable. The bay smell times one million. We were not prepared for that,” Murphy added.
Clues from the past
One of the papers inside the bottle referenced “W.G. & J. Klemm,” identified as brothers William and John Klemm through archives from The Philadelphia Inquirer. William Klemm, who resided in Camden for fifty years, passed away in 1917, according to his obituary.
Maritime historical context
Murphy’s research indicates that Gale, another name mentioned in the documents, may have lived in Atlantic City in the late 1800s. The bottle’s discovery came shortly after a significant beach replenishment project in the Ocean City area, which experts believe may have dislodged it from the ocean floor.
“They dredge up things, and some of them don’t go into the hopper bar. Some of them just get stirred up and float around the ocean, and I think that’s what happened in her case. Those ocean currents can do some amazing things,” Steve Nagiewicz who teaches maritime history and marine archaeology at Stockton University in Jersey told the publication.
Documenting the find
Murphy has meticulously documented her discovery process, sharing the unboxing on social media. She now eagerly awaits confirmation from authorities to determine if her find is indeed the oldest message-in-a-bottle ever uncovered.
