Help with Hobbleskirt ID

[SODABOB]

1917

As you know, we were only able to find three Coca Cola bottlers from 1916 that advertised the new Hobbleskirts - which were ...

1. September 1916 - Evansville, Indiana (Root)
2. October 1916 - Columbus, Georgia
3. November 1916 - Tampa, Florida

Since we haven't been able to find any of those bottles with maker's marks, locations, or dates on them, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at some of the 1917 ads. Even though there were more ads than the ones I attached, many of which were duplicates, and some that were generic issued by the Coca Cola company, I thought it best to only save the ones that had a bottler's name and location associated with them. As you will see, a couple of the listings were registrations filed by the bottler. Because of the manner in which they were registered, there should be examples of them out there. As for the others, I can't say for certain if there are examples out there or not, although I'm thinking there should be. If they do exist, who knows how they might be marked. I haven't looked for any of them yet but hoping they at least have a city/state on the base. If any of them can be found, maybe they will provide some clues about the overall scope of things related to early Hobbleskirts. I titled them (1) thru (16) with the earliest months first. If nothing else, they should keep us busy for a while. It's ironic that the ad from December 27th has dollar signs shooting out the top. Whoever designed that one must have had a crystal ball that foresaw things to come!

Bob

P.S. - It won't allow me to attach all 16 so I will put the remaining ones in my next post.

 

[SODABOB]

Continued ...

 

[hemihampton]

I thought this list was Interesting. 57 Different Coca Cola Bottlers Bottling Coca Cola in Georgia in 1917. LEON.

 

[SODABOB]

(I have some additional information I will post later, but before continuing I am compelled to share the following with eBay sellers)

eBay Sellers (Coca Cola & Other Soda Bottles)

Please ...

1. Make sure all of your photos are clear and focused.
2. Especially of the embossed symbols, letters, numbers on the heel.
3. Describe what the heel marks are.
4. Include good closeup photos of the heel marks.
5. If the bottle has an identifying mark and number, such as ROOT 17, include that in your title.

Thank you very much!

Sincerely,

Sodabob

The primary reason for this request is because a lot of soda bottle collectors like myself spend a considerable amount of time on eBay looking for specific soda bottles. And it's not always just the city/state we are interested in. If you read this entire discussion, then you probably know by now there is a lot more to soda bottle collecting than meets the eye. Serious collectors are your best customers. It's frustrating to scroll through dozens of bottles, many of which might be rare and valuable, and then have to deal with terrible photos and descriptions that do not justify the prices we are willing to pay. Anything and everything you can do to help in this regard will be very much appreciated not only by myself but by collectors nationwide.

 

[SODABOB]

Speaking of eBay soda bottles. This Coca Cola hobble-skirt is described as being marked with 1921 instead of 1923. Even though it sort of looks like a 1, I'm doubtful it is. It could just be a weird 3. They are asking $20. I offered them $15 which they declined. However, if it is a 1921 error, it could be worth a lot more than $20. I thought about contacting them for a better photo, but decided against. If someone is willing to gamble on it here's your chance. If it turns out to be a 1921 error, I may regret it, but that's how it goes. I attached an enhanced photo of it.

DEC 25 1923 Christmas Coke Coca Cola 6 oz Bottle - Lynchburg Va. | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for DEC 25 1923 Christmas Coke Coca Cola 6 oz Bottle - Lynchburg Va. at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Bob

 

[SODABOB]

Leon

Interesting list of Georgia Coca Cola bottlers. Of course, not all of them adopted the hobble-skirt right away. I have seen where some bottlers didn't switch to the new bottles until as late as 1919 and 1920. One bottler in particular jumped out at me - which is Waycross. I don't what it is about Waycross, but I run across their stuff quite often. There are at least a dozen Waycross items currently on eBay. The attached letter is kind of interesting and dated March 29, 1918. Based on some other letters I've seen; I believe all bottlers had to file a contract and/or renew an existing one before they could use the new hobble-skirts. Especially notice that the letter is from Root Glass and not Coca Cola. Also notice that it mentions a Mr. Rainwater. Charles Rainwater was an executive officer for Coca Cola. So, if I understand it correctly, Rainwater approved the contract - and yet Root apparently needed a copy of it. That ties in with what we discussed earlier about Root having rights/royalties to the new bottle. I'm going to see if I can find a similar document between Root/Coca Cola and Graham Glass. If I can find one it might add some additional insight about Ivy's bottle.

Bob

 

[hemihampton]

Odd Villa Rica made a 1915 Bottle but not on my list? I'm not positive the list is 1917 but if not close to it. LEON.

 

[SODABOB]

X Marks the Spot?

Even though we have seen numerous ads for patent 1915 hobble-skirts between 1916 and 1917, I still haven't been able to find a single bottle from 1916 and only two from 1917. And when I say "find" I don't mean just currently on eBay and other auction sites. I mean anywhere on the Internet. It isn't until around 1918 that they start turning up with more regularity. Of course, part of the problem is that sellers are notorious for not providing good descriptions and photos. Until that changes it is almost futile to even search for them. Take for example this one from Greenville, North Carolina. They are asking $500 for it. Even though the heel is marked with what appears to be LGW 22 for the Laurens Glass Works 1922, the seller doesn't even mention that part. And it's not even in the greatest condition. I guess if you include the word "Rare" with something that it automatically justifies the price. No wonder no one has bought it yet, and likely never will.

Rare Coca Cola Hobbleskirt Soda Bottle Nov 16, 1915 Greenville SC South Carolina | eBay

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

www.ebay.com

Of the hundreds of patent 1915 hobble-skirts I have found, the most interesting ones I have seen are the four attached examples. Notice they all have the letter X on the base. As you can see, one of them does not have a city/state but the other three do. Even though I did a thorough search for other examples, these were the only ones I could find. All I know about them is as follows ...

1. All of them are patent 1915 bottles.
2. All of them were made by the Root Glass Co.
3. All of them are green.

Unfortunately, I do not know when they were made, and the listings did not say. However, because they were all made by Root, they almost certainly have a double-digit date code on the heel that likely ranges between 17 and 32. Nor do I know what the X stands for. I would like to think it stands for experimental, but that would be pure speculation on my part. If anyone has one of the X bottles and/or knows anything about them, please let us know. In the meantime, the search continues - although the results will likely be the same until eBay and other sellers start providing us with better descriptions and photos.

Bob

1. No City/State
2. Albany, Alabama
3. Roanoke, Virginia
4. Terre Haute, Indiana

 

[hemihampton]

I have some Hutchs that have just a X on bottom but those predate any Hobbleskirt by a few Years. LEON.

 

[graybeal]

Continued ...

I wanted to add a few newspaper ads that I took out of old Bristol, VA/TN newspapers. My daughter and I made a collage a couple of years ago. I wish I had done a better job of recording the dates. I do have some estimates since I still have the papers, but they are just estimates, unless the date is actually on it. The background of the collage which is advertising the "New Bottle" is from March 6, 1918. They ran that ad several times as I have another from as late as November 2018. The ads showing the hobbleskirt in the "order a case" ad appeared from 1917-1920. I figured I'd throw in a straight side ad as well that is from 1907.

In the collage, the top right ad with the baseball player is from June 25, 1916. Most of the rest are from 1906-1918.