Orange swimsuit bubble girl 7up

[iggyworf]

Great work again bob. this might be the new 'Holy Grail" for 7up bottle collectors. . . Like me.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Great work again bob. this might be the new 'Holy Grail" for 7up bottle collectors. . . Like me.

iggy

Thanks to you as well. I know you collect 7up bottles and was hoping you'd eventually say something like that, which I agree with even though I don't specialize in 7up bottles.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

iggy

I got to thinking about what you said regarding the orange swimsuit bottle possibly being the new 'Holy Grail" for 7up bottle collectors and wanted to ask ...

If you saw each of the bottles pictured here in an antique shop and both were in excellent condition and both priced at $100, but you could only afford to buy one of them, which bottle would you buy?

1. This 1935 Tall-7 bottle which there are at least a dozen known examples of and considered 7up's first ACL?



2. Or this 1937 Orange-swimsuit bottle which there is only one known example of and considered extremely rare?

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

P.S.

iggy

Let's expand on the scenario I described above by adding this to it ...

3. You saw the two bottles first and are holding them in each hand and trying to decide which one to buy. But then another collector walks up and says he intends to buy the bottle you leave behind. You ask the clerk about layaways but are told the antique store does not allow them so you will have to decide right then and there which bottle you want and let the other collector have the one you leave behind at the rick of possibly never seeing another example of either one. Under those circumstances which bottle would you buy?

 

[iggyworf]

Bob, that's a tough one. If I had that kind of extra money, I personally would go for bottle #1. Mainly because it's the first ACL 7up bottle. But then secretly cry later for not buying the other one.
:boom:





What about you? Or anyone else?

 

[jblaylock]

I've been double checking every 7-Up bottle I see..............

 

[OsiaBoyce]

Did I miss some demonstration showing there were 12 known of the #1 bottle? I've been looking for that bottle for quite a while and have only seen 2 in 40 years of collecting. With that many bottles out there one should be easy to find................................or at least you would think.

 

[Jbeas31]

Jbeas31

I found the eBay listing where you acquired your orange-swimsuit bottle and hope you don't mind my posting this image of it. But by doing so I'm hoping it will boost collector interest in it and also help increase its value. It truly is a unique bottle that most collectors are probably not even be aware of. In the past I have done just about as much research on 7up as anyone has and of the countless 7up bottles I've seen I have never once came across one like yours. I suspect what happened is that Joyce Products took it upon themselves to order the bottles without the parent company's knowledge but once the company got wind of it they told Joyce Products to cease and desist because the bottles did not conform to 7up standards. If this is indeed what occurred, then its possible there was only a single run of the bottles by the Reed Glass Company, which would explain their scarcity. I fully understand your wanting to keep the bottle, and I would do the same thing if it were mine. But if there is one bottle like yours, then there are surely to be a few others like it. But then again, maybe not. For all we know the parent company ordered Joyce Products to destroy them. If that's the case, then the rarity factor on your bottle might have just sky rocketed.

Here's the eBay seller's description. Notice he doesn't even mention the orange swimsuit. Which suggest to me that he had no clue about it being extremely different from a typical eight bubble 7up bottle. However, some of his wording seems to indicate that he knows a thing or two about soda bottles. But why he didn't emphasize the swimsuit we will probably never know.

"This auction is for a green 7 Up soda bottle from The Joyce Products Co. of Columbus, Ohio. This is a 7 oz. bottle dated I believe 1937. This 78 year old bottle is in great condition with no chips, dings or cracks. There is some minor surface wear to the bottle but that's about it. The label shows some wear and fading but ACL or painted label sodas from these early years of the process often had light and delicate labels that usually washed out in the cleaning procedure before the bottle itself actually wore out. These bottles were a transition bottle between the amber squatty 7 Ups and the green swimsuit girl bottles with the painted neck label. This bottle actually has a painted neck label on one side and an embossed 7 Up on the other. Ideally the neck labels would align with the front label but early on bottles had no locating lug cast into the bottles so when the bottle passed thru for the neck label to be applied it was just applied wherever it fell in place. Check out the pics and see how great this bottle looks on display. These bottles are more rare than the brown 7 Up bottles which show up on ebay all the time. Check out the pics and you'll see this is a good looking soda bottle for someone's collection."

Click back-and-forth and compare one bottle to the other. Notice the various differences between the orange and the white swimsuit bottles, such as the gaps at the arms and the line between the legs, to that of a typical eight bubble bottle ...

Orange Swimsuit

View attachment 170371

Typical Eight Bubble

View attachment 170372

White Swimsuit

View attachment 170373

SODAPOPBOB: I do not mind at all that you posted the information from the ebay seller. It seems that he completely ignored the orange swimsuit and was referring to the embossed 7up and odd neck label and the early year it was produced.

I'm all for having the information out there for other collectors and if it happens to increase the value of my bottle then that's an added bonus.

I appreciate all the offers so far from all members, just at this current moment I am not in dire need to sell it. I hope that everyone can understand from collectors point of view. Perhaps if the right offer came along Id entertain it.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

" Perhaps if the right offer came along Id entertain it."

Jbeas31

Like I said earlier, I'm not shy and would like to offer ...

$150 + $25 Shipping = $175 Total

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Just for the record ...

Here's another image from the eBay listing. But for some unknown reason it appears distorted as if a fisheye lens was used, causing the normally slim swimsuit girl to look somewhat robust ...