Help with Hobbleskirt ID

[SODABOB]

I'm still looking for bottles with the seam/circle on the base as well as the cast iron molds they were made in. Even though I haven't found either yet, I did find this iron printers plate and several ads from 1917 that match it perfectly. I flipped one of the photos of the plate so it will be easier to make out the writing - which is the same in the ad. Pretty cool.

Bob

 

[SODABOB]

Hmm ... Not only can't I find another hobble-skirt with the seam/circle on the base, but I can't even find a straight-side bottle that has them. The only examples I can find are on bottles from the 1800s. My only hope Obi Wan Kenobi might be this bottle I posted a link to the other day. It's the ice blue bottle with LGW 20 on the heel. I'm not sure yet, but I see what might be a seam running across the base and possibly a circle. However, I might be seeing things. I contacted the seller about it and hope to hear from them soon. IF it does have the seam/circle, then it might be an indicator that my bottle was also made by Laurens Glass. Remember, my bottle doesn't have a maker's mark. I also found a bunch of cast iron molds but the base plates were one piece and didn't have a seam. I don't think the circle is a pontil scar, although it might be? I will let you know when I hear from the seller. In the meantime, here's the link again. Do you see what I see? (said the shepherd boy).

Coca Cola Hobbleskirt Soda Bottle Nov 16, 1915 blue bottle | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Coca Cola Hobbleskirt Soda Bottle Nov 16, 1915 blue bottle at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Bob

 

[hemihampton]

Here's what this site had to say about my G20. Leon.

 

[hemihampton]

Here's what Cecil Muncie said in 1972. I already read this before I asked Bob this question, must of forgot, to much info overload. LEON.

 

[SODABOB]

Leon

Great info - especially the one from Cecil Muncey. I believe I have a copy of his book(s) packed away - but I will see if I can find them and see what else they have to say. I met Cecil several times and he was always a wealth of knowledge. He passed away several years ago - I believe he was around 85 years old.

Bob

I might have found a match for my base. The only glitch is the bottle itself does not have a maker's mark or a city/state either. I haven't heard from the eBay seller yet!

 

[hemihampton]

Most of my 1915 Cokes are boxed up somewhere not to be seen in years. Since I mostly collect Michigan Cokes I don't have too many. Would like to look them over closer if I could find them? LEON.

 

[hemihampton]

Leon

Does your mark look anything like the one I attached? And does your bottle have a city/state on the base?

This one is marked 576 G 20 and has Leaksville, N.C. on the base.

Based on the consistency of double-digit numbers I have seen (19 thru 28) I'm confident they are date codes - with the 20 being for 1920. I'm also confident that the 576 is a designation code that Graham used on all of their 1915 Coca Cola bottles. As for the 'G' I can only speculate based on similar bottles I have seen coupled with what little reliable information I have been able to find. Even though I can't say for certain, I'm thinking the 'G' stands for one of two things.


1. G = Graham
2. G = General (General line of bottles / generic)

In addition to this I have also seen the 'G' accompanied by an OP - as in 576 OP G 20. With the OP apparently a code for the Graham plant in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. So, if any of this is even close to accurate, I'm guessing that your bottle might have been made at the Okmulgee plant in 1920.

Bob

Bob, to answer this question, nothing but G20 on it. It does have a City & State. Detroit Michigan. By the way, they are pretty hard to come by, I've seen them get over $100 more then once. LEON.

 

[SODABOB]

Leon

I found my Cecil Munsey book. It was first published in 1972 by Hawthorn Books Inc. of New York. I bought my copy in 1975 when I first got into bottle hunting/collecting. It was the first bottle related book I ever bought. There are about a dozen copies of it currently on eBay. This link is to one of them ...

Illustrated Guide to the Collectibles of Coca-Cola Cecil Munsey 1972 Hardcover | eBay

1st edition.

www.ebay.com

I scanned and attached a couple of snippets from the book that address the Root Glass part. It is essentially the same information you posted but with a little extra. The first one is from page 57. Especially notice where it says ...

"tested at the Coca Cola bottling plants in Birmingham and Anniston, Alabama, Augusta, Georgia, and Nashville, Tennessee, on a confidential basis at night, with only the bottlers and superintendents present."

Munsey was considered one of the foremost authorities on Coca Cola and numerous times in the book states that a lot of the information was obtained from the Coca Cola archives in Atlanta, Georgia. The reason I point this out is to emphasize that the information was likely first-hand and not plagiarized from secondary sources. In other words, Munsey literally wrote the book about Coca Cola. Hence, if the information is indeed accurate you gotta wonder about the part where it says "confidential basis at night. The second snipped is from page 58 and is a continuation from page 57 - which is almost identical to what you posted.

Bob

 

[SODABOB]

P.S. / Leon

Even though I found several of the G20 bottles from Detroit, none of them included a photo of the heel-mark - only descriptions. However, I did find this 576 EG 23 from Detroit. If we accept that 20=1920 and 23=1923, then it goes without saying that this bottle is two years later than yours. (Duh ). But it does raise a few questions about your Detroit bottle and others like it ...

1. Where was your G20 bottle made? (I don't know but maybe you and/or someone else does)
2. Why did they add the 576 EG to Detroit bottles in 1923? (Possibly earlier?)
3. Likely the E stands for Evansville - but what about the G?

I can only speak for myself, but unless we find something to explain all of this, I don't think we will ever figure it out on our own.

Bob

 

[SODABOB]

I wish we could ask the "Man who Made the Mold" - Earl R. Dean ...

1910 Census - Machinist Glass Factory
1920 Census - Superintendent Glass Plant
1930 Census - Foreman Glass Factory

Born: 1890
Passed: 1972