For This Christmas a gift that won't be used up, eaten up outmoded, or forgotten.

By now, most of you have heard or read about THE JAR COLLECTION, the unique assortment of hand blown flint glass apothecary jars created over a century ago to house and display the remarkable collections assembled by Louis Agassiz during the first years of The Museum of Comparative Zoology.

These antique jars and bottles (each with fitted glass stoppers) have been on sale for less than a year, and already over 6,000 people have written for information from all over the world. Some became wedding presents in Bogota, others were acquired for the permanent collections of the Sandwich Glass Museum and The Corning Museum of Glass. Thirty are being set in wood plaques for a Pennsylvania glass firm, while another went to London with Agassiz's great-great-great grandson. Most of them, of course, simply become treasured mementos of the great age of Cambridge glassmaking, and remainders of a noted naturalist and traditions he fostered at Harvard. They usually end up holding herbs, tea, cookies, tobacco, sea shells, or just sitting in the sun where the light can play through the irregular swirls and patterns in the old glass.

From the little five dollar spice bottles (like the picture on the left) to the huge jars (like those on the right) which will never be made again, these are presents that won't be forgotten. Since this is the only collection of its kind in the world, each one is cataloged and numbered. Long after the last one is sold (nationwide sales have already eliminated five categories), our master catalog will pinpoint each owner and every jar. Each is accompanied with its certificate, signed by our curator, and a special illustrated booklet detailing the history of Agassiz, the collection, and the New England Glass Company, where they were made.

The variety in sizes, shapes, and prices will allow you to find just the right one for almost anyone you know. Something unique for a friend or a relative; something grandly elegant for someone very special. We've opened a little Victorian showroom over on Newbury Street; we're open from 10 until 6 all week and from 11-5 on Saturdays and we'll be here as long as the collection lasts. Visit us while they're still here, you could make someone very happy.

And since you read this far: a 10% discount to anyone bringing this advertisement with them.