Another 7up Thread ... But Different

Yep, here I go again with another 7up thread!

But this time I'm in search of ...

The earliest 'date marked' 7up bottle

Most of us know our 7up basics and that 7up is documented as early as 1928. But what about the bottles themselves? Is anyone aware of a 7up bottle, which would have had a paper label, that's dated between 1928 and 1934? (The first 7up ACL/Painted Label bottles were introduced in 1935). Were the first ones just generic 7 Ounce bottles, possibly green, with no way to identify who used them even if they are date marked? Or is it possible they are marked with 7up in some manner and date marked as well? I'm not sure either but hope to find out - especially if you 7up collectors help us out by sharing with us what you have or know about the 7up bottles made between about 1928 and 1934.

Reminder: The Owens-Illinois Glass Company didn't come into existence until 1929-1930, so if they made any of the pre-1935 7up bottles, they would fall into the date range of about 1930 to 1934.

Its possible the super-early bottles had u7p embossed on the shoulder. To tell you the truth, I'm not sure when the shoulder embossing was first introduced. But I've seen it on non-acl bottles as well as acl bottles that usually date between about 1935 and 1938.

So there you have it! Who will be the first to come up with a confirmed 7up bottle with a confirmed date mark between 1928 and 1934?

Note: Just because a bottle has a 7up paper label on it, even though the bottle might be date marked, doesn't necessarily mean its a bona fide 7up bottle! What I'm hoping to find is a 7up bottle, of any type, that's clearly marked as such and clearly date marked between 1928 and 1934.

Thanks in advance to everyone who takes an interest and/or participates in this discussion/search. It could prove to be kinda interesting. (I hope)

Sodapopbob

Here's a tutorial to help us out ...

Its an article written by Bill Lockhart that appeared in the November-December 2007 issue of the Soda Fizz magazine ...












According to article, this generic amber bottle is one of if not the earliest. But other than the fact it has a paper label, how does Bill Lockhart or anyone else know for certain that the bottle itself is a 7up bottle?

I love any talk/discussion about 7up bottles & 7up in general. I will try to add anything I know or have on this topic.(which might turn out not to be a lot)lol. There is a 7up bottle on ebay with a back label I have never seen before. But I cannot spend what they are asking on just one bottle right now. I'm off to work now, the weather has finally started to get a little warmer, so now I can go start 'digging'.

iggy

Thanks for stopping by. Howz about a link to the eBay bottle you mentioned.

For starters ...

The references that say 7up was established in 1928 are referring to ...

Bib Label Lithiated Lemon Lime Soda

Which, as we know, was Charles Grigg's first concoction that preceded 7up by at least a year or two. I have spent years searching for anything whatsoever that has Bib Label Lithiated Lemon Lime Soda on it but have never found a single item along those lines. As far as I know, the only items related to the brand were the so called bib labels that hung over the necks of the bottles, plus some type of small cardboard placards that were attached to pull chains on grocery store ceiling lights and fans. If anyone should ever come across either one of those items, snatch it up quick because they are possibly some of the rarest items in the soda bottle kingdom.

With that said, I expect the earliest actual 7up bottles were likely produced around 1930 or 1931. But, again, how do we identify them?

Answer: I don't know yet, but its the reason for this discussion in an attempt to try and find out.

Back to the Bill Lockhart article for a moment ...

Even though I said paper labels don't necessarily date the bottle itself, that doesn't mean paper labels don't provide us with some clues. The tricky part is determining if a paper label was adhered to a bottle yesterday or if its original to the bottle and was adhered 80+ years ago. As near as I can determine, the first 7up paper labels should have two things printed on them ...

1. The word "Lithiated"

2. The words "Howdy Company"

So my current search will involve paper labeled bottles with that particular wording on them, and from there I intend to check out the bottles themselves and see if there are any additional clues regarding date marks, etc. Surely there must be some original bottles with original labels out there somewhere. If you have a candidate, please share it with us.

Speaking of which, I wonder why this seller claims his bottle is from 1931? Is it because of the wording on the paper label or something else? He doesn't say in his description!

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-1931-7up-bottle-w-paper-label-nice

More possible clues ...

All three of these advertisement are from 1931. They are the earliest 7up ads I have been able to find or am aware of. I have never seen a 7up ad between 1928 and 1930. If you know of one, please share it with us.

I especially like the first ad from Salt Lake City, Utah because of the bottle cap image in the upper-left corner. We'll discuss it in more detail a little later ...

here is that link to the 7up bottle with unseen back label. Hopefully one of us on here can get it.
good work so far Bob!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/111966699479?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

iggy

Gracias' Amigo

I'm going to try and win it if the price doesn't go through the ceiling. I have never seen one like it and as it stands now I consider it the only known example. I can say that with relative confidence because over the years I have looked at a jillion 7up bottles and would have remembered that one. Its surely a 1937 because as far as I know they weren't doing the neck embossing as late as 1947. (But I need to double-check that to be certain) Its a true beaut!