CALIFORNIA ROAD TRIP ~ BOTTLES & MORE

[SODAPOPBOB]

The only lunchbox I ever had as a kid was a Chuck Wagon in 1960/61 when I was in the third grade and eight years old. I don't know what became of that box but suspect my parents eventually threw it away ...

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

According to what I know about lunchboxes, the rarest and most valuable is the Toppie pictured below. In mint condition the box and thermos list for about $3,000.00 ...

 

[LC]

Thanks Bob , I took a look at it . The Toppie is a dandy , I have never seen one other than a picture . When you stated the kind of lunch box you had kind of gave me a chuckle , my lunch box was a paper bag , LOL . I sold my Star Trek and thermos for six hundred and twenty five dollars . It booked for double that at the time if I remember right . I could have got more out of it if a sat on it a while but needed the money at the time so I swallowed hard and let it go . I have around 100 of the vintage metal lunch boxes . I am no longer interested in the boxes in general and would like to find someone to sell the collection to .

 

[GACDIG]

ENJOYED THE TRIP...........Thanks
gac

 

[nym9nyj7]

Bob,

I'm still learning a lot about bottles and glass manufacturers, but what I don't understand is why would Owens-Illinois have skipped the number 24 when numbering their plants? I have seen the O-I number assignment clip that has circulated these message boards time and time again, and from what I can tell, only the numbers 24 and 19 weren't used, despite the fact that numbers higher and lower were.

And wow, it does take great shots - I honestly thought you were gonna tell me you had a Nikon or a Canon DSLR! Definitely post a photo of your painting when you've completed it, I'd love to see it!

Jared

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

GACDIG ~

I'm glad you have been enjoying the thread. Here's some more ...

nym9nyj7 ~

After going back and looking at the various Owens-Illinois charts in my files, I was reminded that the Los Angeles plant (#23) did not begin operation until 1949. So if the charts are correct (sometimes I wonder) then that would eliminate my 1937 7up bottle as being a mold department accident because the Los Angeles plant did not exist in 1937. But this still doesn't explain the number 24 or tell us where it was made. If you go back and look at the picture I posted of the base, there is no question that it's a 24 as opposed to a 2 in close proximity of a 4. And yet I can find no reference whatsoever to a plant number 24 ... ???

As for the plant number 19 you mentioned, the first link below shows it as being located in Crenshaw, Pennsylvania. But you are right in that most charts do not list it, which is one of the reasons I sometimes question the various charts and realize more research is needed to make sense of everything. The other two links are for general interest and reading.

Sooooo ... where in the heck was plant number 24 located? And is it related to Area 15? (Lol) [sm=rolleyes.gif]

SodaPuzzledBob


Plant Numbers and Locations:
http://www.angelfire.com/tn/traderz/owens.html

A History of Owens-Illinois:
http://www.utoledo.edu/library/canaday/exhibits/oi/OIExhibit/MainPage.htm

Owens-Illinois 1939 School Booklet:
http://www.insulators.info/books/oi/

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Here's the base of the 1937 7up again so you won't have to click back to see it ...

Reminder: It is embossed with "Seven Up Bottling Co. Los Angeles" around the perimeter.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Correction / Typo ...

I meant "Area 51" not Area 15

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_51

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

For those who are wondering about the single digit 7 standing for 1937 ...

This particular 7up bottle style with the embossed u7p on the neck and 8 bubbles on the painted label portion was only made for a few years between about 1935 and 1938. (If someone is aware of other dates, please let us know).

Bob

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Here's an amber variation of a similar 6 1/2 ounce 7up bottle dated 1935, which was only made in that particular size here in San Diego, California and is considered extremely rare and valuable ...