OWENS-ILLINOIS MARK 4285G ~ WHAT DOES IT STAND FOR?

[SODAPOPBOB]

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Howdy ...

OWENS-ILLINOIS 4285G MARK ~ WHAT DOES IT STAND FOR?

The following will initially consist of at least four pages with pictures, so please hold off posting replies until I am done so as to present this in a sequential and comprehensive manner.

Thanks a lot.

Bob ... a.k.a. SODAPOPBOB

This involves my seemingly never-ending pursuit of trying to decipher the meanings of various base marks on soda bottles, especially painted label (acl) bottles by the Owens-Illinois company.

First of all is the Owens-Illinois chart pictured below to assist us during the course of this discussion, followed by various Owens-Illinois bottles and their base marks which are the primary focus of this thread.

Of particular interest on the Owens-Illinois chart below please note the plant number 23 for Los Angeles, California.

Also, have you ever wondered why the various Owens-Illinois charts never address the "G" numbers but rather focus on the marks immediately surrounding the symbol? Maybe that's because no one has figured out what the "G" numbers stand for. Of course, this doesn't mean I have, but with everyone's help we just "might" be one step closer to doing that very thing.

By the way, the "G" doesn't stand for "Green" because I have seen other Owens-Illinois bottles that are "Clear" but also have the "G" mark, but with different numbers. My best guess is the "G" stands for "Glass" in some manner.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

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My current examination involves 7 ounce Owens-Illinois acls only, leaving the other sizes such as 10 and 12 ounce for future examination and discussion.

After examining numerous 7 ounce Owens-Illinois acls in my collection, I discovered that four of them had the same exact base mark of 4285G, all four of which are green glass and non-Duraglas bottles. As most of us know, the Duraglas signature is typically found (with an occasional exception) only on 1940 or later bottles. Thus, setting coincidence aside, there is ample reason to believe the 4285G mark is in some way directly related to green, 7 ounce Owens-Illinois bottles.

However, as it turns out, the four bottles under examination here and pictured below all have plant number 23 on them, which is the number for the Owens-Illinois plant in Los Angeles, California. So at this juncture I am not certain if the 4285G mark is strictly a green glass 7 ounce designation or if it is also related to the Los Angeles plant in some manner. All I can say for certain is that the 4285G mark is on several Owens-Illinois green, 7 ounce bottles (all of which are identical in size and shape) except that they come from more than just Los Angeles.

Consequently, it would assist me greatly if members could examine as many green, 7 ounce Owens-Illinois acls as possible and see if the 4285G mark is on any bottles other than those made in California or at Los Angeles plant number 23.

The four bottles pictured below are as follows and have the base embossments indicated ...

Reminder: All four bottles are Non-Duraglas examples, and all have the 4285G base mark.

1. "Life" ~ Bottled in Los Angeles, California.
Base Mark ... 23 <(I)> 8 ... (for 1938)
Base Mark ... 4285G
No other marks or "stippling" = (numerous, dot-size, textured bumps introduced in 1940).

2. "Dorado Club / Silver Fizz" ~ Bottled in San Bernardino and San Diego, California.
Base Mark ... 23 <(I)> 8 ... (for 1938)
Base Mark ... 4285G
No other marks and no stippling.

3. "Melo -Paya" ~ Bottled in Los Angeles, California.
Base Mark ... 23 <(I)> 9 ... (for 1939)
Base Mark ... 4285G
Base Mark ... 11 (eleven)
No other marks and no stippling.

4. "Harold's" ~ Bottled in Parker/Phoenix, Arizona and Los Angeles, California.
Base Mark ... 23 <(I)> 2 ... (for 1942)
Base Mark ... 4285G
Base Mark ... 11 (eleven)
Non-Duraglas but "does" have stippling.
No other marks.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

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Bases of bottles in last post ~ Poor picture but all have the 4285G mark ...

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

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Later I intend to follow this with a discussion involving similar 7 ounce Owens-Illinois bottles, but instead of being Non-Duraglas and marked with 4285G, they are marked ...

Duraglas and G94

(Once Duraglas was introduced around 1940, the 4285G seems to have been replaced with G94).

Lastly, I ask those who find this topic interesting to please check as many 7 ounce Owens-Illinois bottles as you can for the 4285G mark and to let us know what other marks or information they might contain. In that way we might be able to determine if it is just a California mark or if it was used in other states and on other bottles as well.

Thanks again.

Bob

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

PS ~

To clarify one of my opening remarks where I said ...

"All I can say for certain is that the 4285G mark is on several Owens-Illinois green 7 ounce bottles"

What I meant is, I have only found the 4285G mark on green bottles but not that the "G" stands for Green.

Bob

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

I'll go into this next phase in more detail later, but for now just wanted to share this quick pic of three different Owens-Illinois 7 ounce bottles that are marked ...

1. Duraglas
2. G94

Notice the center bottle, also marked with a "G" is clear glass.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Bases of last three bottles with Duraglas / G94 mark ...

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Summary ...

What I am hoping to determine is whether 4285G is just a Los Angeles, California mark or if it is found on other city/states as well?

Gracias'

Bob

 

[epackage]

Sorry I can't be of any help on this one Bob, seems all the bottles like this in my collection are Glenshaw Glass, good luck...

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

ORIGINAL: epackage

Sorry I can't be of any help on this one Bob, seems all the bottles like this in my collection are Glenshaw Glass, good luck...

Jim ~

Thanks. I appreciate the consideration anyway. Maybe the 4285G is strictly a California mark. But only with examination of similar bottles will we ever know with any measure of certainty. By using a "Process of Elimination," eventually we might be able to figure out what "all" of the Owens-Illinois marks stand for.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Process_of_elimination

Bob