GLENSHAW GLASS COMPANY ~ PENNSYLVANIA ~ BOTTLE DATE CODES ~ BRIEF HISTORY ~ ETC.

[SODAPOPBOB]

P.S. ~ P.S. There are a total of four briefs at the end of the document. The "delivered in 1933" and other pertinent dates start on Page 3 of the third brief.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

In order to not get too far ahead of myself, and for the sake of newbie collectors and anyone else not familiar with the information I have posted thus far, this is probably a good time to explain the basics about the Glenshaw codes. I can think of no better way to introduce you to the codes than to have you read the attached page which is where most of us learned about them ourselves. If necessary, save the image to your files where you should be able to zoom and/or enlarge it for easier reading. This particular page is from a book titled "Collecting Applied Color Label Soda Bottles" which was initially published in 1995. However, notice at the top of the page where it says ...

Reprinted from SodaNet, November, 1992 and January, 1993

"SodaNet" was an official newsletter of the Painted Soda Bottle Collectors Association. The last issue of SodaNet was published in March of 2002. The book mentioned above resulted in three editions, 1995, 1998, and the last one in 2002.

As you will discover when reading page, the Glenshaw bottle dating codes are found on the lips, or more accurately the "reinforcing ring" portion of the lip, which is the thickest part of the entire closure where the crown caps were attached to seal in the carbonation. Also notice where an individual named David Meinz is credited for having "cracked" the date codes after visiting the Glenshaw plant in 1989. However, since 1989 other lip codes have been found that are not included in the chart at the bottom of the page. The codes on the chart are all single letters such as G, H, I, whereas the newly discovered codes are double lettered such as GH, GI, GJ. Hence, it is the focus of this thread to hopefully better understand all of the codes and not just those from the chart in the book.

So that's why I'm starting with the G-in-a-square logo, or as I prefer to call it, the Box-G logo, which according to most sources was first used on the bases of Glenshaw bottles in 1932 and was the company's identifying mark up until the time the company sold to Kilman Bottles in 2004. I'm hoping that by better understanding the Box-G logo and it's origin that it will in turn give us a better understanding of the letter-codes which were apparently first introduced in 1935.

Anyhoo, please read the page as it should help to make sense of everything else that follows on this thread, (maybe). []

I want to take this opportunity to thank David Meinz for his significant contribution to soda bottle collecting with the hope he doesn't mind that we expound on his findings just a little for the betterment of soda bottle collectors worldwide.

[ Attachments ]

1. Full page from book
2. Cropped portion with the codes

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

P.S. If anyone is even slightly confused at this point, just wait until you see what follows ... but I will try my best to make it as comprehensive as possible. In the meantime, please put on your thinking caps because we're going where no one has gone before! []

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

But first, there's this, which is what I meant about expounding on David Meinz's chart ... Here's the way things currently look to me ...


Glenshaw Glass Company Bottle Codes
Codes referred to are on the bottle lip/reinforcing ring

G-Solo ... Used as early as 1927 and possibly earlier. G stands for Glenshaw

(Box-G logo most likely introduced in 1932)

(No Solo-G code is currently known which coexist with Box-G logo)


H & GH .. First codes to coexist with Box-G logo and both represent 1936
I & GI ... Both represent 1937
J & GJ .. Both represent 1938

(Double letter codes apparently cease in 1938)

K-Solo ... Represents 1939
L thru Z . Solo codes continue with an L for 1940 to Z for 1954

(After 1954-Z the codes continue with ... )

A = 1955
B = 1956
C = 1957
D = 1958 ... Last lip code used and practice is discontinued

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

"Beam me up, Scotty"
Previously when I said "we're going where no one has gone before," what I meant is that we're going from single letter codes on the lip to single letter codes on the base.

Remember the Supreme Court lawsuit where Mr. Hendrickson stated matter-of-fact that the syphon bottle in question was made in 1932, and then I wondered how it was that he knew the date? Well, I looked around and found a lot of what are now referred to as seltzer bottles and discovered that many of them were made by the Glenshaw Glass Company. And not only that, but every one of the twelve listed below are described as having the G-in-a-square logo on the base along with single letter date code on the base as well. I realize these are not soda bottles, but it does inform us that not all of the Glenshaw codes were on the lips and that some, at least in the case of syphon/seltzer bottles, were on the base. If you recall, the syphon bottle involved with the Supreme Court case was listed as Exhibit B and described as having a "G-in-a-square and the number 10 on the base." And even though it wasn't described as having any letters on the base, it could be that Mr. Hendrickson knew enough about Glenshaw bottles to recognize it as a 1932 bottle. Hence, because the Supreme Court bottle apparently didn't have a letter on it, that could be how Mr. Hendrickson was so sure it was made in 1932 and not in 1933 or 1934. This is pure conjecture of course, but still a possibility. And there might even have been something about the number 10 that clued him in.

I tried to organize and describe the following seltzer bottles as best I could in an attempt to find some type of common denominators between them, but the best I can come up with after a preliminary examination is that the single numbers after the date codes are either month of the year numbers 1 through 12 or possibly represent something I haven't figured out yet. As for those with three-digit numbers, I'm pretty sure those are style/shape codes, especially the last six bottles which all have M-11 and the number 137 and all are Round, Plain, and made in Green glass.

To summarize ...

Because the syphon bottle that Mr. Hendrickson acknowledged was a 1932 bottle had the Box-G logo and the number 10 on the base but no date letter, it leads me to suspect that 1932 Glenshaw bottles did not have letter codes on them at the time [1932] and this supports the claims in that single letter codes (for all types of Glenshaw bottles) did not begin until 1935.

As for the confusing part, on the attached image of the M-11 137 = 1941 bottle base, I'm not sure if the 11 are the number one or the letters L L , nor if the 1 in 137 is a 1 or an L

Check 'em out and see if you can find anything I missed - which I'm sure I did!


1. H-3 291 = 1936 Round/Plain/Clear



http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/antique-pittsburgh-club-seltzer-130069577

2. H-9 805 = 1936 Tapered/Multi-sided/Smooth-shoulder/Green

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/emerald-green-12-sided-seltzer-bottle-ae-nehi-bo

3. I-1 = 1937 Tapered/Multi-sided/Clear

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1930s-nehi-seltzer-bottle-moxie-407589381

4. K-9 = 1939 Tapered/Multi-sided/Sharp-shoulder/Green

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/antique-green-glass-seltzer-bottle-408899988

5. K-2 = 1939 Round/Plain/Green

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/bell-bottling-co-inc-providence-ri-132985248

6. K-10 = 1939 Round/Plain/Clear

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-seltzer-bottles-clear-green-152070987

7. M-11 137 = 1941 R/P/Green

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-irattner-green-26oz-seltzer-253518941

8. M-11 137 = 1941 R/P/Green

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/roseburg-oregon-western-coca-cola-132270127

9. M- 11 137 = 1941 R/P/Green

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-green-seltzer-bottle-408295767

10. M-11 137 = 1941 R/P/Green

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-green-glass-seltzer-water-487212324

11. M-11 137 = 1941 R/P/Green

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-etched-green-glass-seltzer-bottle

12. N-9 137 = 1942 R/P/Green

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/coca-cola-coke-glass-seltzer-bottle-129688411


[ Attachment ]

Either ...... M11 137
Or ........... MLL L37

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Next up (tomorrow) involves a bottle I own that has a distinctly embossed number 32 on the lip that has me totally boggled! [8|] (To be continued)

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

P.S. For those that did not read the briefs on the Supreme Court case, the Glenshaw Glass Company lost the first case in 1935 and had to pay the $7,000.00, but won the 1937 Appeals case when the judge and jury reversed the decision stating there was no negligence on the part of Glenshaw Glass and that they did not produce a defective bottle. It appears the bottle exploded as the result of some other cause which I'm still not clear about at to how it happened. Anyway, hooray for Glenshaw!

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Just closing up shop for the evening and wanted to share this picture in case there was any doubt as to when the Glanshaw Glass Company was established. I'd sure like to get my hands on one of those booklets and see what information it contains.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

As for the confusing part, on the attached image of the M-11 137 = 1941 bottle base, I'm not sure if the 11 are the number one or the letters L L , nor if the 1 in 137 is a 1 or an L [ Attachment ]

Either ...... M11 137
Or ........... MLL L37

Correction! In the quote above I made a typo and meant to say ... As for the confusing part, on the attached image of the M-11 137 = 1941 bottle base, I'm not sure if the 11 are the numbers one or the letters II , nor if the 1 in 137 is a 1 or an I [ Attachment ]
Either ...... M11 137
Or ........... MII I37 I accidently typed in the letter "L" but meant the letter "I" I need to examine more of those particular bottles but believe the digits are the number one "1"

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

This is to a Glenshaw seltzer bottle currently on eBay which has a good picture of the base ... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-A-B-C-Beverage-GREEN-Glass-Seltzer-Bottle-READING-PA-Liberty-Bell-/161446480744?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2596f5cb68 Which I believe is ... L-12 = 1940 Note: I've yet to see a reference or picture of a number higher than 12 but not sure what the numbers attached to the letters mean.