Hobbleskirt question (Base lettering & dating)

[Jody35150]

The bottle on the left is a Pat'd Nov. 16, 1915, and from the absence of a manufacturers mark or date code, made between 1918-19.

The second bottle is an Xmas Coke; at the base is LGW28 which means (to Me anyway) it was made in 1928 by Laurens of South Carolina.

Is the smaller lettering on the second bottle a characteristic of a later patent renewal, or is it actually a LGW bottle from 1928?

Thanks.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Jody35150 ~

Mine is not the final word on the subject, but I may be able to answer part of your questions. I am assuming you closely inspected the first bottle and found no maker's mark. But is there any other numbers whatsoever? For example, the "Graham Glass Company" of Evansville, Indiana simply used the numbers '576' to identify their Coca Cola bottles, with the numbers located on the "heel" of the bottle. But if there are absolutely no other numbers or letters anywhere on it, it may be impossible to say for sure who made it.

The other bottle with LGW28 is indeed a "Laurens Glass Works" bottle from 1928. And what's even better, according to the Coca Cola guru, Bill Porter, your Roanoke, Alabama, December 25, 1923 bottle is currently an "Unknown Example" and is not listed in Bill's book. I am sure he would love to hear about it.

As for the two different sizes of lettering, my opinion is that it's simply a difference between the molds used by two different glass works.

By the way, the 1915 Roanoke bottle is listed as "Rare" in Bill Porter's book. In fact, the 1915 is the only know example from Roanoke, with everything that came later (if there ever were any) being listed as unknown. But now we know there was indeed a 1923 bottle ... "Because You Have One!" []

Congratulations on your discovery.

If it turns out that ALA. doesn't stand for Alabama, then please forget you ever heard from me. Lol

SPBOB

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

P.S. ~

I forgot to mention that Bill Porter's book was last updated on August 13, 2008, and that things "may" have changed since then. If not, your 1923 bottle "may" be a one-of-a-kind. (And in "my book" that's about as cool as it gets). []

SPBOB

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

This is part of the Alabama section from Bill Porter's book ...

(Rarity factor approximate)

U ........ Unknown (No known example)
RR ..... Very Rare (1 to 5 known)
R ........ Rare (5 to 20 known)
S ......... Scarce (20 to 100 known)
Blank ... Generally Common (But not always easy to to find)

 

[Jody35150]

Thanks for the info sodapopbob. There is a collectors site at gono.com where a guy from Lebanon, Oh., has both bottles listed, so I don't think it's entirely unknown.

The 1923 bottle looks exactly like it's supposed to, but the lettering difference and 'unlisted' designation gave me pause.

For a small crossroads town in Alabama (ALA for short), Roanoke is purported to have had at least 60 different soda bottles over the years. I have found four different straight-sided Cokes from there so far, so the two hobbleskirts would seem like the natural progression.

With that in mind, and the growing popularity of sodas, I can see more of these bottles coming out of the woodwork.

I always enjoy your info & insights.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Jody ~

Thank you for the friendly reply. I too saw that listing on gono.com, but failed to mention it. Also, I hope you don't mind that I contacted Bill Porter this morning regarding the 1923 hobbleskirt. I thought he might like to update his records in case he has not come across one since 2008. I also sent him a photo of the base. He usually replies to my inquiries the same day, and I will let you know what he has to say as soon as I hear back from him.

By the way, where did you come up with the two bottles? Did you find or purchase them? Even though the 1923 may not be a one-of-a-kind, I bet it's still rare and worth a good penny to an Alabama collector. How'z about a full-image photo of both bottles. I for one would love to see them.

Thanks

SPBOB

 

[cowseatmaize]

I can add one thing but I'm not a Coke collector.
In the 1925 book of ABCB there was an Alabama Coca Cola Bottling Co. as a member listed in Roanoke.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

It would be interesting to know the entire history of the Roanoke Coca Cola bottling plant. I looked around a little but didn't find anything specific. Maybe someone else knows more about it.

SPBOB

 

[cowseatmaize]

This book sometimes lists addresses but not in this case. It does show a Chero and a Lime Cola Bottling Co also. Maybe that's no help.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

I just heard back from Bill Porter (I told you he was quick) and here is what he had to say ...

Bob,

Thanks! (I only have the 1915). I know a collector who has a 1923. It will be in my next edition as Rare+ [/align] [/align] [/align] [/align] [/align]