First use of "hobble skirt" to describe Coca-Cola bottles?

[SODAPOPBOB]

For starters ...

This two page letter is said to be from The Coca Cola Company announcing the introduction of their new Root Glass Company bottle and is supposed to be dated 1916. I have tried to enlarge it but have been unable to. If anyone has the ability to enlarge it where it is readable, please help us out because its possible this is the first time it has ever been seen on Antique-Bottles.net

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Reminder ...

Even though the Root Glass Company patented the contour bottle on November 16, 1915, it wasn't until the January 1916 Coca Cola convention in Atlanta, Georgia that the bottle was voted on and selected by a committee to be their new bottle. So in a sense the bottle's 100th anniversary should be celebrated now and not last November when all the hoopla appeared.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Before getting into the Mae West nickname, I need to backtrack a few years and focus on another nickname I overlooked, which was ...

The Contour Bottle

According to numerous sources, the term "Contour Bottle" first appeared in a 1925 French magazine called the ...

Le Monde

In English, the words "Le Monde" mean "The World" which was a popular magazine of its time. I haven't been able to find the exact magazine, but apparently in one of the 1925 issues someone coined the term "Contour Bottle" in reference to the patent 1915 Coca Cola bottle and from there the term was repeated and used by other people over the years.

This link is just one of the references I've seen that refers to the Le Monde magazine, which is an article that was authored by a Ted Ryan who is the director of heritage communications at the Coca Cola Company in Atlanta, Georgia. The article was published on February 26, 2015 ...

Where Ted Ryan used the word "La" with an 'a' seems to be a typo and should be "Le" with an 'e'


http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/the-story-of-the-coca-cola-bottle/

"The Coke bottle has been called many things over the years. One of the more interesting of the nicknames is the “hobbleskirt” bottle. The hobbleskirt was a fashion trend during the 1910s where the skirt had a very tapered look and was so narrow below the knees that it “hobbled” the wearer. The bottle was also called the “Mae West” bottle after the actress’s famous curvaceous figure. The first reference to the bottle as a “contour” occurred in a 1925 French Magazine, La Monde, which described the Coca-Cola bottle with a distinctive contour shape. To the general public, the shape is just “the Coke bottle.”

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Note: I will be doing my usual jumping around with information because that's the only way I can keep track of things. I generally just post stuff as I find it so its out of the way and then I can move on to the next step. For example ...

Remember the French dressmaker Paul Poiret who is normally accredited with having designed the hobble skirt dress in 1910? Well, while searching for information about the 1925 Le Monde magazine I discovered that Paul Poiret was still around in 1925 and apparently attended the 1925 Paris Exposition where some researchers claim the term "Art Deco" originated. I might research this in more depth later, but for now just wanted to comment on it because I thought Paul Poiret's connection with all of this was kind of interesting. Check it out ...

http://en.parisworldwide.com/out-an...position-1925-quand-lart-deco-seduit-le-monde


"This newer style, based on streamlined, geometric shapes, was the brainchild of French designers like architect Robert Mallet-Stevens, couturier Paul Poiret and sculptor François Pompon and was called "Art Deco."

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Note: I can't find the 1925 Le Monde magazine about the "Contour Bottle" that Ted Ryan referred to and will get back to that later. But because he referred to a specific magazine and a specific year, I'm going to assume at the moment there is most likely some basis of truth to it. ???

But for now, let's get back to the Mae West connection ...

Birth Name: Mary Jane West
Born: August 17, 1893
Location: Bushwick, New York City, New York
Died: November 22, 1980 - 87 years old

1900: Performed on Vaudeville stages as early as 7 years old.
1911: First Broadway appearance - 18 years old
1915: Mae was 22 years old, and still somewhat unknown, when the Coca Cola bottle was patented.
1932: First movie appearance "Night After Night" with George Raft.

According to most historians, this is the first mention of Mae West as a Broadway actress, from ...

The New York Times ~ September 23, 1911

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Just for the record ...

Mae West first movie appearance. Debuted October 31, 1932

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Please stay tuned because the connection between Mae West and the patent 1915 Coca Cola bottle didn't occur until ...

after 1932

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Most of the accounts I've seen, the majority of which are from the past 50 years, claim the patent 1915 Coca Cola bottle was nicknamed the "Mae West Bottle" by GI's during WWII. And there were definitely a lot of things during WWII that were nicknamed after her, such as live vest, guns, and even curvy roads. But so far I have yet to see a single article from the WWII era that confirms the claim about GI's calling the Coca Cola bottle a "Mae West." And I'm not saying that claim isn't true, I'm just saying I cannot find anything to confirm it. The bottle obviously picked up the nickname somewhere, but just when and where that was, I cannot currently say but will continue to look. In the meantime, check out these articles from ...

1. Serviceman with Miss West and "Mae Wests Life-Vest" ~ 1943

2. The Ottawa Journal ~ Ontario, Canada ~ November 13, 1943.

(The article mentions several things, but no "Mae West" Coca Cola bottle)


(To be continued)

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

In other words ...

The question still remains unanswered as to ...

By who and when did the Coca Cola bottle get the nickname Mae West?

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

In Search of ...


More information about this 1976 advertising article that says ...

"17. Because the shape of the Coke bottle is a registered trademark, the Coca Cola Company once sued Mae West for doing an impression of one."

(I took a quick look but so far haven't found anything that confirms or refutes the claim)