I'm still looking for a swimsuit 7up bottle from Bakersfield, but whether its a 3-1-3 remains to be seen. In the meantime, this map indicates the 3-1-3 connection thus far ...
Even though the 3-1-3 bottles we've seen so far were all bottled in southern California, its still inconclusive as to how consistent that as. If a single 3-1-3 bottle is found from another state, then it eliminates the southern California theory. I find it interesting that the 1947 Los Angeles bottle I just posted is a 2-2-3. That tells us the 3-1-3 label might not have been made that late. Of course, this is still inconclusive. I'd like to suggest our focusing on the Los Angeles bottles only and see if we can determine if the transition from the 3-1-3 label to the 2-2-3 label was intentional and consistent or just random. In other words, lets see what we can find for Los Angeles between about 1939 and 1949. Perhaps by doing that we will be able to determine if the transition was intentional and consistent and possibly even find a specific date when the so called transition took place.
Not sure how to tell the dates on these. I don't think the numbers indicate the yr but I could be wrong. I know some crates have the yr on them as I have a few different ones. Some of the sellers indicate those numbers are the yr of the crate. This one being the latest at 1968.
I have been seeing tons of the 3-1-3 Los Angeles crates, as well as a few from San Bernardino. I'm also confused about the so called dates. Speaking of dates, can you make out the date on the base of this 3-1-3 San Bernardino bottle? I've tried everything I can think of but just not sure what the last number(s) are. Reminder/Clue; As far as I know, the first San Bernardino 7up bottling plant was established in 1939. Also notice it has the stippling bumps but is not marked with Duraglas. As you know, the Duraglas aspect was first introduced around 1940
Bob, on the Owens charts that I have the #23 plant is listed for Los Angeles. But anyway that is a tough number to figure out. The first one almost looks like the letter 'I'. The 2nd is awful big to be a zero. On my bottle the digits above the Owens mark are all the same as this one. Below the mark on mine is the #2. This one looks like a 6. Mine also seems to have the stippling bumps but no 'Duraglas'. My bottle is clearly a 1941. And another interesting thing is they are both 6 & 1/2 ounce. I know of the 6 ounce also(I just tried recently to bid on one on ebay but lost out. I should have went higher. It went for about 40$)
Mucho confusing (Which is usual with 7up bottles). The second number should be a 3, 4, or 5, but who knows. It might be one of those so called re-issue / re-stamped bottles.
Here's a Bakersfield, California crate. I'm not sure if that's a date (1-59) but notice the 3-1-3 bubbles on the end. I'm still looking but so far haven't been able to find a 7up bottle from Bakersfield
The two common denominators I'm seeing with the 3-1-3 bottles are ...
1. Southern California
2. Owens-Illinois Plant #23 Los Angeles
But whether all of the Plant #23 7up bottles have the 3-1-3 label still remains to be determined. Hence, I'm switching my search to Plant #23 7up bottles and see what I can find.
My initial search discovered the following Owens-Illinois 7up swimsuit bottles that were made at the Los Angeles plant #23 ...
First Column = Date
Second Column = Bubble Placement
Third Column = Location of Bottler
1941 - 3-1-3 - Los Angeles, Ca. (iggy's bottle)
1943 - 2-2-3 - Spokane, Washington
1944 - 2-2-3 - Los Angeles, Ca.
1944 - 2-2-3 - Mt. Vernon, Washington
1945 - 3-2-3 - Portland, Oregon ( Exception with 3-2-3 ) ?
1946 - 2-2-3 - Mt. Vernon, Washington
1947 - 2-2-3 - Los Angeles, Ca.
1952 - 2-2-3 - Conroe, Texas
19?? - 3-1-3 - Bakersfield, Ca.
19?? - 3-1-3 - San Bernardino, Ca.
I realize there is no immediate rhyme or reason to the above, but maybe it will make more sense later on. I only listed bottles with confirmed dates. Remember, one clue often leads to another!
After studying my own chart, the only thing that currently jumps out at me is that all of the 3-1-3 bottles might have been made in 1941 or earlier. ????