Those bottles are interesting. I didn't know that there was a variety of such preparations among British bottles.
Some of the examples in your group image have a resemblance to my mystery bottle. I considered my bottle a soda, but the collectors on a UK bottle forum didn't recognize the form. Maybe it's not a soda at all. I acquired the bottle in Guyana, so it's likely to be British. What do you think?
That sloping shoulder is very much like the embrocation bottles. I am not sure if the embrocation makers were trying to copy the Elliman's bottles (an extremely popular embrocation) or if that shape had some advantage. The lip however would probably not work well for something like embrocation. Most embrocation bottles had the lip with the small ring at the top. That helped cut down on drips. Embrocations tended to be oily and you did not want the bottle to get slick. No matter...what ever your bottle was used for, it is very nice. Wonderful look to it.
Thinking about it...I had an Irish bottle that was in that shape but with a donut shaped lip. I can't remember...I think it was a beer or water. I will try to find a picture of it.
Thank you for the comments and the image.
The lip is the mystery. It's applied, so it's an entirely different finish from that of many of your bottles in the group image. I think the bottle is earlier than the typical "club sauce" lip finish common to British medicinals at the TOC.
The UK collectors thought it might be Continental in origin -- Dutch or Scandinavian. But, they may have been operating on the assumption that it is a soda bottle.
I don't think it is American-made. I had never seen anything like it or I wouldn't have bothered to carry it home in my luggage. It is still the only example I have seen.
Your post offers a new possibility. Lip finishes may vary with time, technology, and demand. But, those sharp, "ski-jump" shoulders may be imitation of a well-known brand like Elliman's (a common marketing strategy) -- the spark of a bottle form tradition, perhaps.
I resurrected your 2011 thread on the Elliman's bottles.
Thanks again for posting.
I wish that British bottles were more popular in this country as they come in the most fantastic colors imaginable, and they are crude, even the later ones 1920s look 1870ish. AA auctions in Elsecar England always has some of the best British bottles!!