BIG CHIEF SODA BOTTLES ~ EARLIEST & LATEST ~ EMBOSSED & ACLs

[SODABOB]

Hi, Mike

Welcome to the forum. Its been a long time since anyone posted to this thread. I'm not sure where you came up with the 8 but the 27 on the heel is for 1927 - which is when your bottle was made by the Root Glass Co. It also ties with the earliest of the known Big Chief bottles. I haven't searched for an earlier one in a long time and might take another look to see what I can find.

Thanks for sharing your bottle.

Bob

 

[SODABOB]

Even though a 1938 Big Chief ACL was hinted at earlier, this one on eBay should confirm it - and establish it as the earliest example known so far. It was made by Owens-Illinois and the single-digit 8 is for 1938. Also notice that it has the 1925 patent date embossed on it.

Roseburg, Oregon

Great Early Rare Big Chief ACL Soda Bottle Indian Roseburg Ore Dairy & Soda 1938 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Great Early Rare Big Chief ACL Soda Bottle Indian Roseburg Ore Dairy & Soda 1938 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

shorturl.at

Bob

 

[MikeRose]

Hi, Mike

Welcome to the forum. Its been a long time since anyone posted to this thread. I'm not sure where you came up with the 8 but the 27 on the heel is for 1927 - which is when your bottle was made by the Root Glass Co. It also ties with the earliest of the known Big Chief bottles. I haven't searched for an earlier one in a long time and might take another look to see what I can find.

Thanks for sharing your bottle.

Bob

Thanks for getting back to me Bob!

The "8" I referred to was for 8 inches tall. Sorry for the confusion on that. I passed the information you shared on to my friend and he's excited to have found such an old/rare bottle!

Again, thanks for getting back to me so quickly! Have a great rest of the week!

Mike

 

[ICEMANGMC1947]

I HAVE A BOTTLE WITH AN INDIAN ON IT BUT THERE IS NOTHING SAYING BIG CHIEF. CAN YOU TELL ME IT IT IS A BIG CHIEF BOTTLE AND MAYBE HOW OLD IT IS?

 

[SODABOB]

I would say definitely a Big Chief. I can't make out all of the numbers but the <(I)> logo is for the Owens Illinois Glass Company that was established in 1929. The single-digit number to the right of the logo is the date code. Even though I can't say for certain the number on your bottle appears to be a 9 which is most likely for 1939. There are two of them currently on eBay, one of which is described as a 1939 ...


1939

https://shorturl.at/afiHQ

Other

https://shorturl.at/rwzE8


The attached newspaper ad is from 1932 and indicates they were bottling Big Chief at the time.

Bob

P.S.

The 1938 Roseburg, Oregon Big Chief bottle I posted a link to earlier ended up selling for $1,280. The link is just a few post back.

 

[SODABOB]

icemangmc1947

This 1931 ad is the earliest one I can find for Mason City Bottling and Big Chief. However, I do not know what style of bottle it is referring to. I will look around and see if I can find one. If your bottle has a 9 then it could be either a 1929 or a 1939. If it has an 8 then it's definitely a 1938.

Bob

 

[SODABOB]

The attached page is from an early Owens Illinois catalog and shows what appears to be the same bottle (the one in the middle with the ring around the neck). However, we have never been able to date the catalog because it is not specifically dated. The best we have been able to come up with is that it dates sometime between circa 1933 and circa 1938 - but even that is a best guess. The thing about these catalogs is that the pages were removable and they could update the same catalog simply by adding or removing pages. But regardless of that we are confident that this particular catalog is no later than 1938. Hence, in order to better date iceman's botte we need to find more examples like it and see what's what.

Bob

 

[SODABOB]

iceman

I switched my focus to the Owens-Illinois plant number which is the 9 on the left side of the logo 9 <(I)> ? and know that it is well documented that plant number 9 was in Streator, Illinois and that it did not begin operation until 1930. Hence, that eliminates your bottle from being any earlier than 1930. The only way to narrow it down any closer depends on the number on the right side of the logo.

Unfortunately, even knowing that could be confusing because Owens-Illinois used single-digit date codes from 1929 to around 1947. In other words a 9 date code could be for 1929 or 1939. Take for example this bottle on eBay. Even though I can't say for certain, the date code appears to be a 1 which could be for either 1931 or 1941. The only other thing I can think of that might narrow it down any better is that some of the 1940s Owens-Illinois soda bottles have a dot next to the date code. They started doing that to differentiate a 1930s code from a 1940s code. All things considered it really depends on what you come up with and whether or not you can make out the various numbers. Especially look for a small dot on the right side of the date code that might look something like this ...

9 <(I)> 9.


eBay bottle - possible 1931 or 1941

Vintage Indian Native American Chief Head Glass Soda Bottle | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vintage Indian Native American Chief Head Glass Soda Bottle at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

shorturl.at

Bob

 

[SODABOB]

For future reference ...

Bob

 

[SODABOB]

Additional research ...

https://www.fohbc.org/PDF_Files/Owens-Illinois_Lockhart.pdf

That's about it for me - now it's up to iceman and see what he comes up with.

Bob