GRAHAM GLASS COMPANY / FLAVOR BOTTLES / COCA COLA / SEARCH / RESEARCH

[SODAPOPBOB]

Jim / epackage

YES

Thanks for posting that phase of the Graham legacy.

Bob

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

The first/early/teens Graham flavor bottle I am looking for will most likely not have stars on the shoulder. Based on everything I have seen and know about this type of bottle, it appears that the stars were added later in the 1920s. The star bottles versus the no star bottles are starting to look about 1,000 to 1, with the star bottles winning by a landslide. I have no specific information regarding the bottle pictured below but it is the only one I have seen so far that doesn't have stars and which comes the closest to matching the 49,729 1916 Graham patent.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Here's the 1916 Graham patent again for (no scrolling necessary) comparison ...

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

For future reference ...

The help find the earliest Graham flavor bottle, the marks to look for will be those prior to 1920 which, on the bottles themselves, will be accompanied by various numbers. Look for anything that has a 16 - 17 - 18 - 19

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Even though I said earlier that I have been researching Graham flavor bottles for a week, I am still in the process of doing "picture" searches which involve a great deal of time. The problem with picture searching is the lack of information in the descriptions as to how the bottles are marked which, more often than not, don't contain that information whatsoever. Understandably, most non-collectors wouldn't know a Graham bottle from a Graham cracker. But this doesn't mean that some individuals don't try their best to describe a bottle's details. Take for example the following that I found ...

Link and Description:

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/rare-coca-cola-soda-water-bottle-pre-stars

A VERY OLD SODA WATER BOTTLE FROM COCA COLA. ITS UNIQUE SHAPE IS AN EYE-CATCHING MIXTURE OF STRAIGHT LINES AND CURVES, FLAT SURFACES AND ROUNDED EMBELLISHMENTS. IT IS FAR MORE BEAUTIFUL AND COMPLEX THAN THE TRADITIONAL COCA COLA CONTOURS THAT WOULD COME LATER. THE WORDS "SODA WATER" ARE PROMINENT AND APPEAR TWICE, FRONT AND BACK. IN SMALLER LETTERS IT READS "PROPERTY OF COCA COLA BOTTLING CO. CON 6 FL OZ." AROUND THE BOTTOM EDGE IT READS "PAT OCT 3 1916 - NOV 14 1922." THIS BOTTLE PRE-DATES THE MORE COMMON SODA WATER BOTTLE WITH STARS. THE BOTTOM OF THE BOTTLE SAYS WEATHERFORD, TEXAS.

~ * ~

I like the indication of "Pre-Star" but am confused about the second date (November 14, 1922). The October 3, 1916 date definitely ties in with the Robert C. Graham patents but the 1922 date eludes me in relation to this particular bottle. I don't think it's a typo but it could be. All I can say with any measure of certainty is that I have not been able to find anything specific connecting this particular bottle to 1922. Maybe it's not a patent date as the description suggest but rather the date when that particular bottler from Texas was distributing it. If nothing else, at least it provides us with another example of a non-star flavor bottle.

P.S. Wait until you see the next "mystery" flavor bottle I found, which I will try and post either later today or tomorrow.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

P.S. ~ P.S.

Although I have never fully researched it, patents were usually/always? issued/dated on a Tuesday. That's why I don't think the November 14, 1922 date is a typo because that date was on a Tuesday and fits. Just as October 3, 1916 was also on a Tuesday.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

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[SODAPOPBOB]

This isn't the "other mystery bottle" I referred to earlier (I'm still researching that one) but rather is intended to show another variation of a 1920s Graham flavor bottle. I'm beginning to think Graham flavor bottles were the most redesigned bottles on the planet and at present have no idea as to how many variations there are, other than it was a lot. But don't worry, I have no intention of posting every one I find. I'll save that project for another thread and another day.

Anyway, check it out. Here's a guy who took some really great pictures but fell a little short on the description aspect. Look close on the mouse/zoom images and on one of them you will see an EG2? on the heel of the bottle, which looks like EG26 to me, but I could be wrong. Either way, the EG is definitely a Graham Glass Company mark and, according to the chronology I posted, was used between about 1920 and 1926. But the main thing to notice is the 1923 patent date and then compare it to the 1923 patent image I will post on the next page. As you will soon see, the 1923 eBay flavor bottle is a definite variation of the 1923 Graham patent.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1923-Coca-Cola-Soda-Water-Bottle-from-Elkins-WV-Excellent-Condition-/110874759218?ViewItem=&item=110874759218&nma=true&si=hVONcvp6fH115j3MpMEFy0NH6tE%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

For Comparison ...

Man O' Man, how many variations are there?

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

P.S. ~

The more I study the eBay images the more I think it is EG26 for 1926 and not 1923. ???