One of the reasons I'm having a problem finding a 1943 7up bottle might be because of the possibility they don't exist. I have seen dozens of ads like the one attached here that appeared in newspapers nationwide during 1943. In fact, similar ads continued to appear throughout 1944 and well into 1945. Notice where it says ...
Glass manufacturers have passed along the word, "No more bottles."
From ...
The Arizona Republic ~ Phoenix ~ July 22, 1943
Note: I plan to continue searching for a 1943 bottle, but if somebody already has one, please share it with us. If its an Owens-Illinois bottle it should have either a 3. with a dot or a double-digit 43. It was around 1943 when Owens-Illinois started using the double-digit dates.
I haven't been able to find a 1943 7up bottle, yet, but I did find this one from Salt Lake City, Utah made in 1944. Notice it has seven bubbles with an embossed neck and a 4. with a dot on the base. If I understand Bill Lockhart's chart correctly, 1944 was probably the last year they embossed the neck with u7p. Bill Lockhart also says in one of his articles that by 1947 the use of double-digit date codes by Owens-Illinois "was complete" and that from 1947 on all Owens-Illinois bottles have double-digit dates.
( But where-o-where are the 1943 bottles? And do they even exist? )
Okay, now I'm confused! Are the ads that say "No more bottles" and "No new Bottles" only referring to 7up bottles or all bottles? The reason I ask is because of bottles like this ...
And it wasn't just in Phoenix, Arizona where the plea to return bottles was advertised! The way some of these ads are worded it almost sounds as if they are "begging" for bottles to be returned.
El Paso Post ~ Texas ~ April 8, 1943
"We Need Them Badly!"
Northwest Arkansas Times ~ Fayetteville, Arkansas ~ May 29, 1943
Coca Cola and 7up Bottles / These bottles cannot be replaced by the manufacturer, ...
Note: I'm confident the first number is a 'melted' 6 for the Owens-Illinois plant in Charleston, West Virginia and not an 8 because the various charts indicate plant number 8 in Glassboro, New Jersey closed around 1937-39 and that the number 8 was not used again until it was reassigned to the New Orleans plant in 1963.
I'm still not sure if WWII rationing pertained to the production of all soda bottles or just some of them. I have seen 'descriptions' for numerous other 1943 soda bottles, but I'm only relying on those with pictures of the bases. However, because this is a 7up discussion, I'm mainly looking for one of those from 1943, which I have not been able to find so far.
Do you believe that because a lot of early 1940s 7up acl bottles lack red paint that it was because of WWII rationing? As for myself, I've read numerous accounts over the years that say as much about the red paint but I have never been fully convinced that its true. Do you happen to know where that claim originated from and whether its true or not? And if it is true, exactly what years during the 1940s did it have an effect on 7up bottles? I'm starting to think something occurred within the 7up Company itself during WWII that might explain the lack of bottles produced and the lack of red paint on a certain percentage of those same bottles. The reason I'm bringing this up is because I'm starting to see a lot of soda bottles from 1943 but just no 7up bottles. Of the dozens of bottles I've looked at that are dated 1943, about 7 out of 10 of them are Pepsi Cola bottles, most of which have acl labels. But why there are so many Pepsi Cola acl bottles from 1943 is anyone's guess. Which brings us to this "Kist" acl bottle from 1943. Kist was a fairly major brand at the time and this particular bottle has more red paint on it than a typical 1940s 7up bottle does!
I'm thinking the 7up Company might have had some serious financial problems during WWII that might account for their low production of bottles (hence, begging that the empties be returned) and a lack of red paint for the few bottles that were produced. I cannot find any evidence where the rationing effected all brands of soda bottles, nor any pleas but other bottlers to return the empties. Based on what I've seen so far, the so called shortages seem to have only involved 7up bottlers.