Happy Anniversay to the hobble skirt Coca Cola. 100 years ago this date Coca Cola received the patent for the bottle that changed the industry and set Coca Cola apart.
And here's the patent to prove it - plus one of two known prototypes - which sold for $240,000 [attachment=Coca Cola Bottle Patent 1915 (2).jpg] [attachment=Coca Cola Prototype For Comparison.png]
Just for the record ... The original 1915 prototype was designed by Earl R. Dean and not Alexander Samuelson ... Read all about it [attachment=Dean Coca Cola Book (345x500).jpg]
Being as we're talking about Patent 1915 Hobbleskirts, this might be a good time to check those date codes. The first issue Hobbleskirts were produced by the Root Glass Company in Terre Haute, Indiana in 1917 and are marked on the heel with ROOT 17. They were produced by Root and other glass makers until 1928-1930 when the Patent 1923 Hobbleskirt was first issued in 1928. Just because a particular bottle has the November 16, 1915 patent date on it doesn't mean that's when it was made. Check the heels of your bottles and you'll see what I mean. The ROOT 17 bottles are harder to come by and most sellers, especially on eBay, don't know to look for the heel marks and simply refer to them as 1915 bottles. I only have one ROOT 17, which is in pristine mint condition, which I paid $125 for and took me almost a year to find because of what I was saying about most sellers not knowing the difference between a 1917 and a 1928 Hobbleskirt. So check em' out and see if you have a true blue ROOT 17. The only true 1915 Hobbleskirts are the two remaining examples that were designed and made by Earl R. Dean in 1915, one of which is owned by the Coca Cola Company and the other by the Root family, which is the one that sold at auction in 2011 for $240,000.00