Oldest ACL Royal Crown Cola Bottle?

[SODAPOPBOB]

grime5 / Greg: Thanks for the info about your bottle. It sounds like a 1938 but I'm not sure about the G for 1935. Member squirtbob and I participated in a thread about a year ago involving Glenshaw Glass codes in which squirtbob discovered several double-letter codes on the lips of some of his Squirt bottles. If I remember correctly, I don't believe we ever figured out why some bottles have the double-letters other than the earlier code might indicate when a particular bottle was first introduced and the later code being when it was actually produced. ???

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

dbv1919: Thanks for the compliment. I just wish I had more time to do research. Finding and downloading information from the newspaper archives I'm subscribed to is like a slow-boat to China. When I initially type in "Royal Crown Cola" it brings up 95,959 results. From there I have to narrow it down by date and location, which has proved to be a real challenge, not to mention having to convert the images to jpg and then resizing them, all of which takes a ton of time. But all things considered, I enjoy it and glad I can be of help. Here's an ad from 1937 that I think you will enjoy, and which has some interesting information. Notice where it states ... 1. Approximately two years old2. 600 bottlers located throughout the nation3. Seven years of experimentation and work was required by one of the most renowned chemist in the United States. ( The chemist was Rufus Kamm ) From ... The Daily Times-News ~ Burlington, North Carolina ~ November 15, 1937

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Speaking of Rufus Kamm ... Here's a 1940 Census on him from Columbus, Georiga. Notice where it shows his occupation as ... Chemist / Soft Drink Beverage

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

And because everybody likes pictures of old soda bottles ... I don't know the location or date when this photo was taken but suspect it's from the 1940s.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

P.S. It would be interesting to know what was involved regarding the "seven years" of experimentation. Because the article was published in 1937, that would push back the start of the experimentation to around 1930. Based on the timeline I posted earlier, the only events it has for that time period are ... 1929-1932 - Stock market crashes and company loses money for first time

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Update ...

I'm still trying to determine just how far back the "old" Royal Crown Cola goes but haven't found anything specific so far related to that. However, I did discover a couple of things about Royal Crown Ginger Ale. Earlier I said it was bottled as late as the 1930s and posted a 1932 ad to that effect. As it turns out, it was bottled as late as 1942. But 1942 is the latest date I can find. After that it just disappears. ???

Additionally ...

Here's the link to a Royal Crown forum thread from 2008 that is worth reading and has some additional information ...

https://www.antique-bottles.net/forum/royal-crown-m166934.aspx


During the course of the thread, Kathy from the "Soda Fizz" posted some interesting comments and at one point asked for a picture of a Royal Crown Ginger Ale bottle. No one ever did find an actual picture of the bottle she asked about.

Anyhoo ...

I found a picture of a Royal Crown Ginger Ale bottle but not sure if the paper label is original to the green bottle. It's hard to tell in Morb's ad if the bottle is clear or green.

Attachments ...

1. Royal Crown Cola and Royal Crown Ginger Ale ad from ...
Albuquerque Journal ~ Albuquerque, New Mexico ~ May 1, 1942
(Latest date I could find)

2. Royal Crown Ginger Ale ad when it was first introduced to Knoxville, Tennessee. Date unknown.
( Image from member Morbious_fod's Tazwell website )

3. Royal Crown Ginger Ale bottle with paper label depicting pyramid and camels. Date unknown.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

P.S. For dbv1919: As a sampling gauge as to what I was saying earlier about "time," everything I found and posted this morning involved approximately four hours, which isn't too bad considering I spent about three-quarters of that time just searching.

 

[dbv1919]

Sodapopbob, Thanks for all the info I would have otherwise never known. Between four kids and busy job I appreciate the "cliff notes"

 

[grime5]

sodapopbob my dual numbered rc has the big r.c letters in the label not the smaller ones.would that be a 38 or the older date code 35.just wondering.thansk greg

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

sodapopbob my dual numbered rc has the big r.c letters in the label not the smaller ones.would that be a 38 or the older date code 35.just wondering.thansk greg

Greg: The best way I know of to answer your question is to refer you back to dbv's lineup from page one and note the dates I added based on his descriptions. It appears the large RC transitioned to the small rc in 1937-1938. All things considered, and particularly because of the code(s) on your Glenshaw bottle, I'd say it is most likely a 1938. But I'm not sure how accurate this is because in order to be conclusive we would have to see a lot more of the different variations and the dates they were produced. What confuses me more than anything is the double-code on your bottle - that's something we might never figure out.