WWII ACL RED PAINT RATIONING ~ FACT or FICTION

[SODABOB]

I don't know the date of this particular bottle, but because it has 8 bubbles I'm guessing it was made no later than about 1942*. Its bottles like this that are in such pristine condition, except for the missing red paint, that make me wonder if it did originally have red paint, then how is it possible that the red paint wore off so evenly and yet the white paint appears to be totally unscathed?

Washington, D.C. (Is not a west coast bottler)



Or is it really unscathed? What's that faded line I see near the bottom?



*Member iggyworf has a 1942 8 bubble bottle and its the latest example we know of.

 

[SODABOB]

While we're at it, let's examine two more amber 7up bottles, both of which are dated 1942. Notice the first one has a shoddy all-white label and the second one has most of the red paint still intact but is missing some of it ...

Location unknown

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Houston, Texas

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Hey, iggy

It just dawned on me that both of these amber 8 bubble bottles were produced in 1942. Somehow we missed these and thought your green 1942 8 bubble bottle was the first to surface. Hmmm, it seems like we learn something new every day!

 

[SODABOB]

In search of ...

1. A 7up bottle with missing red paint that's from a "west coast bottler"

2. A 7up bottle with missing red paint that was produced later than 1950

 

[SODABOB]

Here we go again!

Another all-white 7up bottle currently on eBay that the seller describes as ...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/232051002701?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Up for sale is this vintage 7UP bottle from around World War 2. It only has the white paint on the green bottle. (Presumably, red paint was reserved at the time for the war effort.) Notice ... 1. Its an 8 bubble bottle made by Glenshaw Glass 2. It likely dates no later than about 1942 3. It has what appears to be a ghost image of where the red paint used to be Note: I don't plan on contacting this seller like I did with the last one that closed yesterday and did not sell. I doubt this one will sell either. Ya gotta wonder where these sellers are getting their information about the WWII connection which, when you stop and think about it, probably isn't that big of a mystery because of all the stuff on the Internet that says as much. But still, I think its a little weird that so many sellers automatically jump on the "WWII Wagon" just because they have a 7up bottle that's missing the red paint. Troy, New York (Is not a "west coast" bottler) Look close at the faded line near the top ...

 

[SODABOB]

Here's that other Glenshaw bottle that didn't sell so you can compare it to the one I just posted above. Notice they both use the words "war effort." Also notice this one is a 7 bubble bottle and has a V on the lip for 1950.

Here's the link to a Glenshaw Glass Company 7up bottle that just closed on eBay but didn't sell. I contacted the seller several days ago, who described it as a WWII bottle. But when I contacted him he said the bottle had a V on the lip, which is a Glenshaw code for 1950. I tried to educate him about "Red Ghost" ACL labels, that you can see in his pics, and the fact that 1950 was not WWII era, but I guess he just ignored my comments because he didn't change his description one bit. Oh, well, I tried!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Wor...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

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Here's part of his description ...

Up for sale is a Vintage World War 2 White Label Lady 7 UP Bottle 7 Oz. Rare Green Soda Pop Bottle. The white label was only used during World War 2 as the red was needed for the war effort.

 

[SODABOB]

I consider the following discussion from 2008 a must read if you are interested in Red vs White Acl 7up bottles. Its eight pages long and was resurrected again in 2010 and contains a couple of the first post I ever made after joining the forum in March of 2010. That discussion is one of the reasons I started this one - to try and solve a mystery that apparently still haunts us. Check it out! You won't be disappointed!

https://www.antique-bottles.net/showthread.php?164415-PLEASE-HELP!-NOT-A-WAR-TIME-7UP

 

[SODABOB]

P.S.

For those of you who read the entire discussion from 2008, please take note of the posts by members who said ...

1. They own or have seen all-white 7up labels that are in near-mint condition that do not have the "ghost image"

2. There might have been a defect in the red paint used on 7up as well as other early ACL soda bottles

Perhaps this time around we can add some additional information to the debate and determine once and for all ...

1. If the red paint was intentionally left off some of the bottles?

Or ...

2. If the red paint was defective and that's why it wore off?

Or ...

3. Both of the above?

 

[dbv1919]

Bob, I hope this helps some. The four bottles to the left are from the '30s. The bottles, from the left, are as follows:
1942,
1943,
1943,
1945.

 

[SODABOB]

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Bob, I hope this helps some. The four bottles on the far left are from the '30s. The four bottles on the right in the second picture, from the left, are as follows:
1942,
1943,
1943,
1945.

dbv

I hope you don't mind that I edited (in red) your comments. I was a little confused at first which bottles you were referring to as 1940s. And, yes, they help a great deal in confirming there was an ample supply of red label 7up bottles being produced during WWII. Which leads me to believe the explanation for the all-white labels boils down to two possibilities ...

1. The all-white bottles were ordered and distributed by west coast bottlers only.

2. The red paint they used at the time (between about 1937 and 1950) was defective and easily wore off.

I'm thinking the final straw to all of this will be in determining if the all-white, near-mint bottles referred to in the 2008 forum discussion did or did not have "ghost images" where the red paint used to be. If there is absolutely no trace of red paint on those particular bottles, the next thing to determine is ...

1. Which glass maker(s) produced them
2. Which bottlers distributed them
3. What year(s) they were produced

But so far, I can't find one of those so called near-mint bottles that has absolutely no trace of red paint​.

 

[dbv1919]

Not at all, it was a little confusing. Sorry about that.