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

[SODAPOPBOB]

I just sent that website the following inquiry ...

Hi ~

One of your images states it is a "Glass Containers Catalog - 1930" and is a Owens-Illinois Glass Company catalog. Are you certain it is a 1930 edition? Or is the 1930 a typo and you meant something else like 1930s but forgot the s on the end?

~*~

I'll let you know if/when I hear back from them. If it is in fact a 1930 edition, then this might open up a whole new area of research regarding the earliest acl soda bottles.

Bob

 

[bottleopop]

ORIGINAL: SODAPOPBOB

PS ~

Maybe (just maybe) some of the Owens-Illinois ACL soda bottles that are dated with a single digit 0 - 1 - 2 - 3 , and don't have Duraglas on them, are in fact 1930 - 1931 - 1932 - 1933 Applied Color Label bottles. Hmmm ... I wonder?

Bob

Perhaps maybe my Crystal Club: G8575: 3 and 4 over 1 with the 1929 design really IS a 1934. []

By the way was there ever a consensus on O-I numbering on a bottle that includes the right and left numbers but no number either above or below, like 9 OI 3. ? I have several of those.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

bop ~

I received this message from the catalog guy, so we better not count our chickens just yet ...

Hello Bob,

I will look into this and get back with you. It may be 1930s (just as I indicated 1920s for another image), so a typo is possible. I will have to go into the vault and dig up the catalog to verify the information. Thank you very much for alerting me. I will update you when I am done with the verification and correction.

Best regards,

Arjun

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

bop ~

Regarding the other code you asked about, first let's itemize the codes we're are fairly certain of. As we know, the majority of Owens-Illinois soda bottles are embossed on the base with a ...

1. Plant number.
2. Owens-Illinois symbol ... <(I)> ... or ... (I)
3. Date of manufacturer.
4. G Style.
5. Contents amount.

As for the other code, it appears in a variety of different ways, such as ...

1. Numbers only. (Single-digit 1 through 9 as well as double-digits as high as 51 and possibly higher)
2. Number with a letter such as ... 7E ... 2C ... 4A ... etc.
3. Number with a dash such as ... 8_
4. Number with a dot such as ... 3.
5. And in some cases these codes aren't on a bottle at all.

There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for this particular code, and yet I'm sure it has a specific reason for being there.

Please note I am "guessing" here, but the only other thing I can think of that a manufacture would want or need to know about any given bottle is ...

"Production Count" and/or how many bottles were produced during a particular "Run." But just how the codes in the second list above might translate into some type of "Count," I do not know. Maybe by the gross count or possibly by the case count. I just really don't know, nor am I even sure it has anything to do with a count at all.

Bob

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

I forgot one for the top list ...

6. Duraglas

Here's an example of what I call a dash-code ... 6_

But if it is some type of count, I am presently clueless as to how it translates into a production amount.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Just for the record ...

Here's the 51 (with a dot) code I was talking about. Notice this and the last bottle are both style code G 94

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

I'm just leaving for the day and only have a minute to post this brief reply, but I will be back this evening with more. I heard from Arjun and he was able to confirm that ...

1. The Owens-Illinois catalog in question is definitely a 1930 edition.

2. The catalog uses G Codes but refers to them as "Mould Numbers." (See picture below that Arjun sent me).

I'll be back.

Bob

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Cropped ...

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Just for the record ...

1 of 4

(Self Explanatory)

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

2 of 4

Cropped snippet from Page PP2 of 1930 Owens-Illinois catalog. Plus text from snippet word-for-word ...

Color is the keystone to modern packaging. It adds an essential touch to
a SALESpackage and greatly increases its appearance and merchandising
possibilities. Owens-Illinois offers Applied Color --- vivid and permanent --- fused
into glass containers. Used as a label, Applied Color Lettering achieves effects
far beyond the scope of ordinary labels, be they simple or complex. Applied Color
can be used to create a distinctive package which automatically increases retailer's
cooperation --- cooperation interpreted in special display consideration and unusual
attention which assures consumer preference and repeat sales.