A few questions for the bottle-nerds out there

[Dogo]

Greg Spurgeon's color chart ought to be required reading for collectors. One factor that is frequently overlooked is the type of light in the area. Sun light and Florescent light may change the appearance markedly, depending on the chemical makeup of the glass. I have one piece that is light blue inside and violet outside. It is a small blown vase that I bought at Wheaton years ago. I carried it back into the shop three times before my brain accepted the fact that it really did look that different inside and out.

 

[buriedtreasuretime]

I know this doesn’t apply or map over directly to bottle colors, but this chart gives you an idea of all the diff color names and slight variations for insulators. Again totally subjective and another source may use diff names for colors but there we are…., there is also a good color name study using fruit jars, I’ll try to find the link.

I’m amazed to see so many colors, I had no idea that insulators were or could be so colorful.


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[Slowmovangogh]

No offense meant by the term "Bottle-nerd". I use it with admiration and hope to someday reach a point where I can call myself one. I do consider myself a "Camera-nerd" since I can talk endlessly about them but have not yet reached that point with bottles. All that aside, Thank you all for the clarification. The tooled vs applied as been bugging me for a while. The color education is appreciated as well. I think I was trying to define between Aqua and Ice blue. I knew the aquas have a tiny hint of green but I didn't know what the right name was for that bright, true blue that is too light to be considered cobalt.

 

[K6TIM]

So I have a few questions I wanted to ask the community. I am still relatively new to the hobby and still learning. Soooooo.....
First, can someone explain the difference between an applied top and a tooled top?
Second, At what point did they start putting "Registered & This bottle not to be sold" on bottles and why?
And lastly, what is the correct name of the brighter blue color you see in turn of the century(ish) soda bottles? I've seen it as "cornflower blue" and also as "electric blue". Is one right, both right, both wrong?
I'm sure other questions will arise but that's it for now.

Thanks.

Hi Fishnemsis,
I appled lip will have dripping below the edge of the bottom of the lip.A tooled lip you will find concentric ring below the lip of the bottle.The applied lip is the older used lips.-K6TIM

 

[K6TIM]

I’m amazed to see so many colors, I had no idea that insulators were or could be so colorful.


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Bottles are found in several different colors.The blues are called colbalt blue since the metal oxide of colbalt make the glass turn blue in color.

 

[Huntindog]

Well Fishnemsis,
Don't let them take my Kodachrome away....
The Info about lip finish and color has been spot on.
As to your question on "Registered and This bottle not to be sold"...
I don't think anyone can put a specific date on them.
I have bottles in my collection from the early 1800's with both embossing's.
Good luck in your quest for knowledge.

 

[Sodasandbeers]

Hi, about embossing on soda and beer bottles. There are some general guidelines, but there are always exceptions.

Bottlers of beer and soda were dependent on their customers returning their bottles so they could be refilled. The bottles were their property! And bottlers considered them stolen if not returned. In its basic form the contents of the bottle were being sold, but the bottles were not and had to be returned. The earliest phrase that I have seen is used on these bottles declaring this is the embossing "This Bottle Is Never Sold" on a bottle dated 1845. Later, laws were enacted that allowed bottlers to register their bottles with their state governments. For some interesting information on this subject see the following article:

Registering Bottles

Generally this embossing appears on bottles made after 1878. Other phrases include:

Thou Shall Not Steal
This bottle Stolen From
This Bottle Not To Be Sold
Bottle Never Sold
This Bottle Belongs To
This Bottle To Be Returned When Empty

The addition of "Registered," "generally" was used following a New York law enacted in 1889. In fact there are many bottles embossed "Registered 1889." There are exceptions of course with some late 1840 and 1850 bottles embossed "Registered According To Law," that hark back to the initial registration laws.

One other phrase that you did not ask about is the word "Contents" followed by some capacity. This embossing is related to a 1912 Federal Law, but did not take affect until 1913 or 1914. So bottles with this embossing "generally" date after 1913 or 1914.