7up BOTTLES ~ OUTSIDE THE BOX

[SODAPOPBOB]

Just for the record ...

This is just one of hundreds of newspaper articles that refer to Speakeasies as Soft Drink Parlors!

From ...

The Wilkes-Barre Record - Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania - May 15, 1931

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Thanks for posting! I collect soda bottles but have never seen one of these older brown 7-Up bottles. What is the date for those and where did you find them?

Michael

Michael

As far as I know, amber 7up bottles were produced between 1935 and about 1945-48. As to "where I found them," I'm not sure if you mean where I found the "pictures" or the actual bottles? The truth is, I don't own a single 'amber' 7up bottle! All of my early example are green. The attached chart was compiled several years ago by historian and bottle researcher, Cecil Munsey, but has been amended to when later examples were discovered after the chart had been published.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

But if I ever was to acquire an amber 7up bottle, the one pictured here is the one I would want. Its the only 'standard' non stubby 7up bottle ever produced and was made in San Diego, California in 1935-36. I saw one similar to this in Reno, Nevada last summer that I could have had for $300 but passed on it. This particular example sold on eBay on January 5, 2014 for $449.95.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Notice in this 1932 ad where I underlined in red "Sylph-like." This is a term I occasionally see in 7up ads and discovered that "Sylph" means ...



Noun:

1. A slender, graceful woman or girl.

2. (In folklore) one of a race of supernatural beings supposed to inhabit the air.


I consider this a clue to the origin of not only the Slenderizing Lady / Swimsuit Girl, but also to the origin of the "Flying-7"

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

You probably won't be able to read this full page article unless you save it, but its uses the term "Sylph" several times and talks about the government getting involved with numerous products that claimed to be sure-cures that would help women have a Sylph-like figure. 7up is not one of the products mentioned but it helps us understand the craze that was going on at the time 7up was first introduced. The article is from 1928 ...

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

So I guess its time to ask what, if anything, do the following terms have in common that might be a clue regarding the origin of the curved background with the squared-off lip on ACL 7up bottles?

Lithiated
Lemon
Anti-acid
Slenderizing
Sylph-like
Mixer
Hangover
Prohibition
Speakeasy
Etc.

I'm not sure either, but I hope to find out!

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

PART TWO ...


7UP & SPEAKEASIES ~ FACT OR FICTION?


I'm just now starting to research this and not sure what, if anything, I will find, but I thought I'd take a look anyway and see if I can confirm or refute this claim that is stated in so many historical accounts about the early days of 7up.

(To be continued)

This is just one of the numerous accounts I have seen regarding 7up and Prohibition. I can't say for certain, but it appears the newspaper reporter might have gotten some of this information from the 7up Company.

(Standby for more)


Article from ...

The La Crosse Tribune - La Crosse, Michigan - May 24, 1971

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

"Tames Liquor - Glorifies Gin - It Is Not A Soda"

From ...

The Decatur Daily Review - Decatur, Illinois - December 18, 1936

(Standby for more)

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Confirmation? / Proof?


This isn't exactly the confirmation I was expecting to find regarding 7up's connection with Prohibition and Speakeasies, but if Ben H. Wells, who joined the 7up Company in 1938 and eventually became president, was quoted in 1969 as having said as much, then its good enough for me. In the attached snippet he says ...

"... as a mixer for the white lightning of the day. It modified the wallop."


1. Snippet from ... Business Week magazine - February 15, 1969

2. Newspaper article from ... The Holland Evening Sentinel - Holland, Michigan - August 14, 1969 (Two parts)

 

[iggyworf]

Excellent. I like the fact that Wells was born in Michigan.