7up 7 bubble variation!

[carling]

Not that it's significant, but all those 3-1-3 bottles you guys posted have 2-2-3 neck labels on them.

 

[iggyworf]

Thanx carling for jumping in. Yes I did notice that as well. Bob is it just me or is the first bottle in that pic, the Los Angeles one, a little shorter than the other three? Possibly being 6 & 1/2 oz? Even though they are all 2-2-3 bottles. The neck label is lower also. It maybe be meaningless though.

But yes, let us concentrate on the bottles.

 

[SODABOB]

carling

I also notice the bubbles on the neck shield but don't know what to make of them - other than they seem to be consistent. Earlier shields did not have the lines above and below the shield.

iggy

The Los Angeles bottle does appear to be shorter but it could be an optical illusion. However, because the lineup appears to have a slight curvature to it, you'd think the Los Angeles bottle would appear taller and not shorter. ???

Earlier I said the wood crates were confusing, which might also apply to the following calendars. However, the calendars can at least be relied on for dates, whereas the crates are still in question. I searched for as many calendars as I could find from 1935 to 1960, and the missing years are those I could not find a picture of. But whether the calendars correlate with the bottles, I can't say at the moment but plan to research it further. However, I did find it interesting that the bubble placement from 3-1-3 to 2-2-3 seems to have occurred in 1947. Notice that one of the 1947 calendars is a 3-1-3 but the other 1947 calendar is a 2-2-3. Every calendar I found prior to 1947 is a 3-1-3, whereas every calendar I found after 1947 is a 2-2-3 ...













(I'll be back)

 

[SODABOB]

P.S.

Regarding the calendars, notice that none of them have a Bottler's name on them or a reference to a state or location. I could be wrong, but this leads me to believe they were sanctioned and possibly even produced by the Parent Company located in St. Louis, Missouri and possibly distributed nationwide.

 

[SODABOB]

iggy

Here's something worth studying. I've read it in the past but forgot about it. Until now I never really thought about the connection of the Owens-Illinois plant number with the model or catalog number. Scroll back to the base of the San Bernardino bottle I posted and you'll see where its marked with 4285G. If the following information is accurate, then it tells us the San Bernardino bottle was likely made after/post 1937.

[ From Bill Lockhart Article ]

"Many of the post-1937 Seven-Up bottles have another code embossed on either the base or the heel (e.g., 4285G on one base or G94 on another). This is the model or catalog number. These apparently varied from factory to factory, even within the same company. The 4285G number, for example came from plant #23 (Los Angeles), Owens-Illinois.However, plant #7 (Alton, Illinois) of Owens-Illinois used G94 on its Seven-Up bottles.

 

[SODABOB]

P.S.

Another thing the Bill Lockhart article refreshed my memory about is his references to test bottles / test markets. Hence, now I'm wondering if the Los Angeles and San Bernardino bottles were test bottles that failed the test and were only produced during a single year? With that year being 1941?

 

[SODABOB]

More Test Market / Test Bottle dialog ...

"The same process occurred with the labels, bottle shape, bottle color, type of label (paper,embossed, ACL), shape and design of label, placement of label. Paper labels required that all information be on the front, but ACLs allowed the splitting of the label, usually with a large logo on the front and information on the back. As ideas changed the back label(and, to a lesser extent, the front one) changed. But the story does not end with design. Regardless of who originated the design, it had to funnel through the company for approval – and designs usually emanated directly from the main company. The company then test marketed the new design by sending it to one or two franchises (usually close by) to see if the public would react favorably. Assuming the reaction was positive, the new design would be sent to all franchises. Most franchises adopted each of the new ideas (i.e., design changes) as soon as their existing bottle supplies ran out. Some franchises, however, were resistant to some new ideas but liked other ones."

Observation: I especially like where it says "... by sending it to one or two franchises (usually close by)..."

This might explain why the Los Angeles and San Bernardino bottles both have the 3-1-3 label and possibly were both produced at the same time. I double checked and the distance from Los Angeles to San Bernardino is about 60 miles.

 

[Jbeas31]

Bob,
This doesnt so much pertain to the 3-1-3 bottles, but I thought it worth mentioning. The Visalia,California bottles that do not have neck shield labels. They seem to have all been produced in the 1940's and are in the area that the 3-1-3 dot labels seem to originate. There are multiple years of those that I have seen. I do own one and will have to check the year of my bottle.

 

[Texandave]

Some of my green 7up bottles that may be of interest to you guys. Can you find the 6 ounce bottle?

 

[Jbeas31]

Some of my green 7up bottles that may be of interest to you guys. Can you find the 6 ounce bottle? View attachment 177410View attachment 177411View attachment 177412View attachment 177413

Very Nice bottles TexanDave! Your Six Ounce is the dimpled 7up Embossed bottle. 3rd pic second bottle.

Where is the Paper Label from?