Soda & Mineral Water

Soda and mineral water (generally just called "soda water" or "soda" here unless a distinction is necessary) was bottled in a relatively diverse array of bottle styles as indicated by the grouping pictured above. However, like with the beer/ale bottles, the (usually) carbonated nature of soda and mineral waters narrowed the possible bottle variety in several ways. Most importantly, the bottles had to be made of relatively heavy/thick glass in order to withstand the gaseous pressures of the product itself. (Bottles made to withstand internal carbonation pressure were known as "pressure ware" in the bottle making industry [Glass Industry 1959].) The bottles also had to be able to survive the rigors of the high pressure bottling process as well as the extensive post-bottling handling and use since soda water bottles were typically re-used many times. This is evidenced by extensive base and side wear to many examples. In fact, similar to beer bottles, many (most?) soda water bottles were the property of the soda bottler and were sometimes marked as such, i.e., THIS BOTTLE IS NEVER SOLD or similar embossing to that effect (Riley 1958; Paul & Parmalee 1973; Busch 1987). The Hutchinson soda pictured to the below right has significant wear to the high points of the embossing from rough contact with its neighbors in bottle cases and from the bottling process. Not surprisingly, this is often called "case wear."

Also contributing to a degree of uniformity and related to the carbonation is the fact that a large majority of soda water bottles were round in cross section - cylindrical. A cylindrical bottle is inherently stronger than other shapes (except a sphere) all things being equal, e.g., similar glass thickness and quality (Tooley 1953). Square, rectangular, or other highly angular body shapes are unknown with some notable exceptions. Soda water was frequently bottled in heavy glass 8 to 10 sided bottles (and rarely 6 or 12 sides). A picture of an 8-sided example from the 1850s is to the left. These multi-sided shapes apparently worked fine because with so many sides the weaker 90 degree corner angles of a square/rectangular design were avoided. In addition, with the way hot glass flows when blown the inside of the bottle is much less angular and more rounded than the outside surface, further enhancing the strength - especially given that these bottles have very thick glass anyway. This internal "roundness" is evident if one studies a fragmental multi-sided soda bottle. (Note: Some soda and mineral water was non-carbonated or "still"; cider and some "medicinal" mineral waters were examples. These products would not necessarily require heavy glass bottles - and sometimes came in lighter containers - but usually came in the typical heavy glass soda water bottles since those type bottles were the most available and had consumer acceptance.)

Hutchinson soda bottle with heavy embossing; click to enlarge.

Also of critical importance to the bottling of soda water was the type of closure/finish combination. The closure had to be simple for people to use, cheap to produce, and of course be effective in not releasing the contents nor the carbonation until final consumption. This importance is reflected in the fact that the names widely accepted for some of the bottle styles discussed on this page are related to sealing of the bottle - both the finish type (e.g., "blob" soda/mineral water like pictured above) or closure method (e.g., "Hutchinson" soda, like pictured to the right). Much of the information on this page for some of these closure related styles is shared with the pertinent sections on the Bottle Finishes & Closures: Part III: Types of Bottle Closures page.

For clarification, the difference between "soda water" and "mineral water" during the 19th century was often vague. Soda water is generally considered flavored artificial mineral water, i.e., "regular" water made better with purposeful addition of various compounds and/or flavoring, and of course, carbonation. Mineral water would generally be natural waters from spring sources that were typically highly mineralized with carbonates (alkaline), sulfurous compounds, and/or various salts and often carbonated naturally (they were also sometimes flavored confusing the issue). "Spring water" is another name sometimes used for natural, unaltered mineral water and in fact is used to this day. However, mineral water was also a generic term applied to various natural and artificially carbonated, (usually) non-artificially flavored waters including many utilized for their perceived medicinal qualities. Suffice to say at this date, the distinction between them is often unknown. Because of this the term "soda water" is primarily used here (Riley 1958; Munsey 1970; McKearin & Wilson 1978; Schulz, et al. 1980). As a side note, carbonation was desired in these products for reasons beyond sensory pleasure. Carbonation also helped prevent spoilage allowing for the shipment of the product to more distant places, even prior to refrigeration and pasteurization (Wilson 1981).

Soda bottle from the 1950's; click to enlarge.

The history of bottled soda waters within the U.S. can be traced back to at least 1806 when the first reference was made to the need for "soda water" bottles by a New England scientist that was asked to make and offer the product by his neighbors (Riley 1958). Mineral water in bottles goes back before that as it is known that bottled waters were being produced in - and likely imported from - Europe possibly as early as the late 17th century and surely by the end of American Revolutionary War. There are also indications that mineral water was being bottled during the late 18th century in the Boston area. The famous Saratoga mineral waters were being bottled at least as early as 1809 and used by many for an assortment of ills - "emetic, cathartic and diuretic...good in scrofulous and rheumatic affections; likewise in venereal taints" (McKearin & Wilson 1978). One "Saratoga style" mineral water bottle (covered below) from Vermont (Middletown Mineral Springs) was embossed with the words "Natures Remedy" and "Healing Spring" (on different variants) indicating a common conception about mineral waters as having medicinal qualities (Tucker 1986). A Vermont mineral water (Guilford Mineral Spring Water) claimed to cure an assortment of diseases - click on Guilford medicinal claims label to view a picture of part of an original label on an ca. 1880 bottle making all kinds of wild claims including the cure of cancer; click Guilford quart mineral water bottle to view the entire bottle which is the classic "Saratoga" shape. Other carbonated and sometimes flavored waters were touted during the early 19th century as being helpful in cases of "putrid fevers, scurvy, dysentery and bilious vomitings" (Paul & Parmalee 1973). There may have been some indirect merit to these claims as the water supplies in many places were suspect as to purity and even modern medicine acknowledges the utility of liquid ingestion for indigestion and nausea and for maintaining body fluids during illness (Wilson 1981). As the above implies, the earliest mineral and soda waters were primarily consumed for medicinal purposes, though the perceived utility of soda water gradually evolved away from primarily medicinal to a flavored refreshment by the 1830s and on (Riley 1958). However, the therapeutic benefits of some mineral waters are still claimed today; if in doubt, run a search on the internet on the subject.

1900 era pottery jug used for mineral water; click to enlarge.

1850 to 1870 era stoneware root beer bottle; click to enlarge.

As with beer and ale, different soft drinks and mineral water were bottled in non-glass containers. This included the ale style stoneware bottles similar to that pictured in the introduction to the Beer & Ale Bottled page (click stoneware ale bottle to view the example). Root beer was commonly dispensed in stoneware bottles during the 19th century, particularly east of the Mississippi. The example pictured to the left is a typical 1850s to 1870s era bottle that is incised with DR. BROWNS on the front and ROOT BEER on the reverse (photo courtesy of Glass Works Auctions). Mineral water was also sold in larger ceramic or pottery jugs like that pictured to the right, though it seems likely that this product was not carbonated. This particular jug dates from around 1906 or 1907 as that was the time span when the Wild Pigeon Springs Mineral Water Company was in business under that name (Fowler 1981). It should also be noted that bottles strongly identified with beer were also used (or re-used) for the bottling of soda and mineral water. Click on orange soda export beer label to see the fragmental label on a "quart" export beer found at the historic Fort Bowie (Arizona) that dates from the 1880s. Though faint, the label notes that the product last contained in the bottle was orange soda (bottle in the National Park Service's Ft. Bowie collection, WACC, Tucson, AZ.). Beer bottles were likely often used (or more likely re-used) for soda and sarsaparilla, at least in the frontier West where bottles of any type were likely in short supply.

Probably the most comprehensive source of information on the history of soda water production in the U.S. is found in John J. Riley's 1958 (also reprinted in 1972) book entitled "A History of the American Soft Drink Industry - Bottle Carbonated Beverages 1807-1957." (Much of the history in the following two works comes from Riley.) Schulz, et al. (1980) work entitled "The Bottles of Old Sacramento: A Study of Nineteenth-Century Glass and Ceramic Retail Containers Part 1" also includes a nice summary of the subject and history of soda and mineral waters as well as some excellent historical information pertinent to an assortment of bottles excavated in Old Sacramento, CA. Finally, John R. Paul and Paul W. Parmalee's 1973 book entitled "Soft Drink Bottling - A History with Special Reference to Illinois" is an excellent overview of soda history, advertising, bottling, and the soda water bottle types themselves. All these books are out of print but often available via internet used book websites.

NOTE: Linked to the "Bottle Types/Diagnostic Shapes" grouping of pages is a complete copy of a never re-printed, 280 page, 1906 Illinois Glass Company bottle catalog scanned at two pages per JPEG file. Click 1906 IGCo. Catalog to access the page that links to all the scans of this very useful catalog. Soda and mineral water bottles are listed primarily on pages 236-249.

"Saratoga" mineral water style

One of the earliest bottle styles identified with mineral water was the "Saratoga" style. As with most early bottle styles these have squatty bodies, i.e., relatively large diameter proportional to the body height. This style also has a relative short neck and finish which in combination are usually less than half the height of the body on the pint bottles and somewhat less than the body height on the quarts (pictured below). Though an early type style it continued to be used until the late 19th century and was closely identified with the mineral waters of the Saratoga Springs area of east central New York. This style was also used around the country by other mineral water purveyors including a few on the West Coast most likely to try to recreate the "cachet" in their offerings of the famous Saratoga Springs, N.Y. products (Tucker 1986). Click Pacific Congress Water Springs Saratoga / California to see an example from San Francisco, CA. (Linked photo courtesy of American Bottle Auctions.)

The Saratoga style mineral water usually was made, not surprisingly, with a mineral type finish. This style of bottle is almost certainly the reason this finish was and was and is called the "mineral" finish as it is almost ubiquitous to the style. Some other finish styles were used on occasion - like the oil, brandy, and (very rarely) rolled or sheared finishes - but far and away the most commonly observed is the mineral finish. In fact, it is also occasionally called the "Saratoga" lip or finish (Tucker 1986). There were likely scores or hundreds of different companies that bottled mineral water in this style of bottle with a large amount of them operating in the Saratoga Springs area of New York, though similar bottles range widely across the country from the South to the far West, as noted above (Tucker 1986). Not all companies would have used embossed bottles since unmarked ones are known, though it appears that a large percentage of these bottles were embossed with the user/bottlers name. This probably was done in an attempt to get as many as possible of these expensive-to-produce bottles back for re-use.

The olive amber mineral water bottle pictured to the above left is one of the earlier embossed Saratoga style bottles and could have been addressed under the first section on "early" styles above. This bottle is also the first of four bottles illustrated that were products from the same or related companies which bottled water from springs in the Saratoga, NY area, i.e., the Congress and Empire Springs. This early bottle is embossed JOHN CLARK / NEW YORK and dates from 1833 to 1846 when John Clark was bottling Congress Spring waters. It is likely that the pictured bottle dates from the latter half of this period as they were known to have been blown by the Saratoga Mountain Glass Works (Mt. Pleasant, NY) no later than 1845-1846 (White (1930) in Schwartz & DiBartolomeo 1974; McKearin & Wilson 1978). This bottle has a crudely applied mineral finish, pontil scarred base (sand pontil), and was blown in a post base mold with no air venting in evidence - all attributes befitting the early age of this bottle. The earliest known embossed mineral water bottles with this general shape are the precursor LYNCH & CLARKE / NEW YORK bottles that date between 1823 and 1833 when Clarke had Thomas Lynch as a partner. Lynch died in 1833 and the bottles are believed to have changed to being embossed with just John Clarke shortly thereafter though it is likely that the Lynch & Clarke bottles continued to be blown and/or used for a time after 1833 (McKearin & Wilson 1978;Tucker 1986). Click on the following links to view more images of the John Clarke bottle: base view showing the sand pontil scar (the scattered raised graininess on the base); close-up of the shoulder, neck, and finish.

The almost black (dark emerald-olive green) "quart" Saratoga style bottle to the right is embossed CLARKE & WHITE / NEW YORK and is a somewhat later container from the same company as the John Clarke bottle above, most likely made sometime between 1856 to 1866. It has a mineral finish (though this example has a sparse lower collar most likely due to insufficient glass application for finish forming), no pontil scarring (though some types of Clarke & White bottles do have iron pontil scars commensurate with the noted date range), and was blown in a post base mold with no air venting (Tucker 1986). This bottle is very crude throughout the body with lots of bubbles and waviness (i.e., "whittle marks") to the glass and has rounded (i.e., not sharply defined) embossing - all attributes consistent with the noted production period. Since this bottle does not have a pontil scar it likely dates from the latter half of the noted period, i.e., early to mid 1860s. (This is an example of the dating refinement possible with the presence or absence of various diagnostic features.) Click on the following links to view more pictures of this bottle: base view; close-up of the shoulder, neck, and finish.

The mineral water to the left is embossed CONGRESS & EMPIRE SPRINGS CO. / (large "C") / SARATOGA, N.Y. on the front with CONGRESS WATER on the reverse. This the third bottle from the same progression of companies noted above. The medium to dark emerald green color is distinctive to mineral water bottles blown at the Congressville Glass Works (New York), which with some subtle variations, are known to collectors as "Congressville green." This particular Congress & Empire Springs bottle dates from about 1880-1885 as it has a true applied mineral finish but also an earlier style single mold venting mark on the shoulder of each mold half. This resulted in a bit sharper embossing than the above pictured Clarke & White bottle, though this embossing sharpness difference is really only distinct with direct physical comparison. This bottle represents the pint style that was used by this company (and many other companies) between about 1870 and at least the late 1880s to early 1890s (Tucker 1986). This brand was probably the most popular of the Saratoga mineral waters; somewhere between 75,000 and 100,000 bottles sold by the company in 1878, including to many parts of the world (McKearin & Wilson 1978). (These bottles were exported in quantity to the West Coast as evidenced by this particular bottle being excavated in Portland, OR. and others found throughout the West (empirical observations).)

The picture to the right is a close-up of a pint CONGRESS & EMPIRE SPRING CO. / SARATOGA, N.Y. - EMPIRE WATER mineral water bottle with an applied mineral finish and the original cork still wired down in place. This bottle, which dates from the 1880s, also has about two-thirds of the contents in place showing that corks were an effective - but not perfect - closure method since the contents are not still carbonated (if they were originally carbonated). The mineral finish provided a secure attachment ledge for wiring down a cork, with the anchor being either between the upper and lower parts (like in the pictured bottle) or below the flared lower part or collar at the base of the finish. Very similar to the Congress Water bottle above, this shape/style of Empire Water was produced between about 1865 and 1884 and is another bottle from the same family of mineral water producers as the bottles described above (Tucker 1986).

Dating Summary/Notes: The distinctive Saratoga style of bottle continued in use for a very long time spanning the period from the earlier bottles made in the 1820s and 1830s up until the end of the 19th century. The smaller pint sizes fairly consistently have the conformation of the bottles pictured on the left side of this section, thought there are subtle variations as with all types of bottles. The quart sizes follow the form of the Clarke & White example pictured to the above right, though later (post-1885) quart bottles sometimes have a distinctly less abrupt and steeply sloping shoulder where there is no distinct break between the shoulder and neck, reminiscent of the champagne style of beer bottle except much wider in the body (Tucker 1986). Click steep shoulder Congress Water quart to see a quart example with the taller, steeper shoulders. Later (post-1885-1887) bottles may also be found with a tooled finish instead of an applied one. All bottles observed by the author were blown in post-molds (illustration to the left), though living out West, one does not get a chance to observe significant numbers of what are primarily an Eastern American bottle style.

As implied by the references noted, the best sources for information on the subject of Saratoga type mineral water bottles is Donald Tuckers "Collector's Guide to the Saratoga Type Mineral Water Bottles" (1986) and McKearin & Wilson's (1978) "American Bottles & Flasks and their Ancestry" - the section on "Spring, Mineral, and Soda Water Bottles" (pages 233-244).

"Blob-top" Soda/Mineral Water style

During the late 1830s to early 1840s a new and distinct style of bottle appeared on the scene. The earliest record of flavored soda water being bottled was in about 1838 or 1839 when Eugene Roussel (Philadelphia, PA.) bottled lemon flavored soda water (McKearin & Wilson 1978). He possibly used this style of bottle, but is known to have used bottles similar to the "squat" style noted in the "Early Soda/Mineral Water Styles" section above (von Mechow 2005). A picture of an early 1840s Roussel bottle is available at this link: http://mysite.verizon.net/vonmechow/pictures/18010AE.JPG. By the early 1840s the counter-pressure bottling process and machinery appeared and bottle shops were opening up rapidly along the Eastern Seaboard to provide for increasingly demanded flavored soda waters (Riley 1958). When precisely the blob-top soda style arose is unknown, though the early 1840s appears to be the most reasonable beginning date (McKearin & Wilson 1978). These bottles were, of course, also used for traditional mineral water as implied by the two medium green bottles pictured here; the bottle to the left notes "mineral water" in the embossing.

The blob-top soda style is typified by being round in cross-section (or sometimes multi-sided like the octagonal bottle to the left), with a variably long steep shoulder which blends gradually into a relatively distinct moderate length neck, topped with one of a variety of one-part blob finishes with very subtle differences (two of which are shown in the two pictures below). As usual, the easiest way to become oriented with this style is to study the pictures found here. The style is generally referred to as a "blob" or "blob-top" style soda/mineral water by collectors, though of course "blob" is a finish type that can be found on a relatively wide array of bottle types including some of the soda/mineral water bottle styles addressed later. The name "blob-top soda" has become widely accepted and few alternative names have been suggested, though the term was never used by bottle makers. One slight name variation is "true blob" and some historic archaeologists have called it the "standard style" soda bottle, though this latter name has not particularly caught on (Paul & Parmalee 1973; Schulz 1980; Fowler 1981).

The blob-top sodas range narrowly in size from 8 to 14 ozs., with the smaller end of that range (half-pint) predominating (McKearin & Wilson 1978; empirical observations). The primary closure was a wired down cork for which the blob finish was eminently suitable, though some swing type heavy gauge wire cork holders were also used (Elliott & Gould 1988; Graci 2003). Blob-top sodas are also frequently seen with another highly popular swing type stopper - the Lightning closures. See the Bottle Finishes & Closures - Part III: Types of Bottle Closures (beverage bottle closures section) for more information on the subject. The blob soda style, as pictured here, is similar in general form to the smaller champagne style beer bottles, though that style "evolved" later for beer and are usually distinctly larger and taller bottles with somewhat lighter thickness glass, though still fairly heavy.

The brilliant blue-green mineral water bottle pictured above left is a very early California Gold Rush era soda/mineral water bottle embossed (in a plate) - LYNDE & PUTNAM / MINERAL WATERS / SAN FRANCISCO / CAL. A. It has an applied blob finish, faint iron pontil scar on the base, and was blown in a post base mold with no air venting in evidence. It is believed to date from 1850 to 1851. The address of the company in business directories of the era indicates that it was in the area destroyed by one of several "great fires" that occurred in San Francisco during the early 1850s; specifically the one on June 22nd, 1851. The company was not listed as in business in 1852 (Markota 1994). As there were no glass manufacturing facilities in the West prior to 1859, these bottles were blown at a glassworks on the east coast and transported around "the horn" (South America) by sailing ship to San Francisco. This is proven by the fact that the reverse side of this bottle is embossed (not in a plate) with UNION GLASS WORKS / PHILAD.A. (Toulouse 1971; Hinson 1995). Click on the following links for more view pictures of this bottle: base view showing a very faint improved or iron pontil scar with virtually no iron oxide remaining; close-up of the shoulder, neck, and finish.

The medium cobalt blue soda bottle pictured to the above right is embossed with C. & K. / EAGLE WORKS / SAC CITY (Sacramento, CA.). The C. & K. stood for Casey & Kelly. It has an applied blob finish, no evidence of a pontil scar, and was blown in a post base mold without any evidence of air venting. These manufacturing attributes - including the lack of a pontil scar - are consistent with the known business dates for the company of 1858 to 1866; particularly the later end of this period (Markota 1994). Click on the following links for more images of this bottle: base view; close-up of the shoulder, neck, and finish. As shown by the images here, blob sodas were commonly produced in highly colorful glass colors as well as the more mundane aqua glass (colorless glass has never been observed but of course possible).

The relatively early blob-top soda/mineral water bottle pictured to the left is embossed THE / EXCELSIOR / WATER and was almost certainly made in 1850s. It has an improved pontil mark within the indented base, applied blob finish, was blown in a post base mold, and has no mold air venting as this bottle pre-dates this latter feature by several decades. To view more images of this bottle click on the following links: base view showing the very distinct iron or improved pontil mark filling most of the inset portion of the base; close-up of the shoulder, neck, and blob finish. This bottle is thought by some to be have been used in California but they are known to have been found in the Northeast also. It is likely that this was a semi-generic type bottle that was used by several bottlers in different parts of the country. Actually, there were many generic, multi-user type blob-top soda bottles made which were not embossed (labeled) or just embossed with things like "Improved Mineral Water" or the glassmakers name, but which have no company/city specific information. The pictured bottle has a wide, relatively symmetrical, mushroom style blob finish which was a variation common on earlier (ca. 1850s and 1860s) blob-top soda bottles. This particular blob-top soda bottle is 8-sided, which was a shape that was frequently used during the era noted and continued to be an occasional shape through at least the 1870s (Markota 1994). Multi-sided blob-top soda bottles are very uncommon after that time (empirical observations).

The blob-top soda water bottle pictured to the right is embossed within a round plate - JURGENS & PRICE / BOTTLERS / HELENA MONT. This is an example of a late 19th century blob soda that has a tooled blob finish, very heavy glass thickness, and was blown in a post base mold, though lacks obvious mold air venting marks. These features indicate a probable manufacturing date of between about 1885 and 1890. Since beer was also bottled occasionally in this style of bottle (click H. Weinhard beer bottle for an example of a "champagne style" beer bottle with virtually this same shape) and this bottle is embossed generically with "Bottlers", it is conceivable that it could have been used for beer. However, a check of breweries in Van Wieren (1995) does not indicate that Jurgens & Price were in the brewing business. From this additional information, one could reasonably conclude that this bottle was indeed used for soda/mineral water bottle though more local (Helena, MT.) research would be necessary to confirm this fact. For more images of this bottle click on the following links: base view showing the post base mold configuration; close-up of the shoulder, neck, and finish showing where the mold seam ends on the neck below the tooled finish (as defined on this website). This bottle also has a slightly less squat appearance than the older bottles pictured above (compare the pictures). Bottles with this more slender shape appear to be typical of later (post-1860s) soda bottles, but is not likely to be an absolute feature (empirical observations). (Authors note: An example of Hutchinson style soda bottle [covered later] with the exact same embossing pattern was noted on eBay after the above was written. This provides firmer "proof" that this bottle was almost certainly used for soda or mineral water.)

Additional images/information on blob-top soda bottles:

HOFFMAN & JOSEPH - (Left image.) This "blob-top" soda bottle is embossed with HOFFMAN & JOSEPH / (image of a lion on a column) / ALBANY, OGN. According to Ron Fowler's great book (1981) on Oregon soda water companies and bottles, this business operated under this name from 1880 to 1887, though they filed for the "lion on a column" trade mark in 1882 making 1882 to 1887 the likely date range for manufacture. The physical diagnostic features support this date range as the bottle has single mold air venting marks on each sides shoulder and a tooled blob finish though the bottle has some crudity (stretch marks, bubbles in the glass) and was blown in a post base mold. The image below with the wire cork retainer is of this bottle also.
WILLIAMS & SEVERANCE - (Middle image.) This early "Western" mineral water bottle is embossed on one side with WILLIAMS / & SEVERANCE /SAN FRANCISCO and on the reverse with SODA & / MINERAL / WATERS. It dates from the California Gold Rush era of 1852 and 1854 (Markota 1994). As there were no glass manufacturing facilities in the West prior to 1859, these bottles were blown at a glassworks on the east coast and transported around the horn by sailing ship to San Francisco (Toulouse 1971, Hinson 1995). This bottle has an iron pontil scar, was blown in a post base mold, an applied blob finish, and no evidence of mold air venting - all features consistent with an 1850s manufacture. Purely from a manufacturing based diagnostic features assessment one would date this bottle from the late 1840s to early 1860s; the additional historical information which was derived most likely from San Francisco business directories allows for the tighter dating range. Click base view to see the faint iron pontil scar.
COTTLE, POST & CO. - (Right image.) This bottle is embossed with COTTLE, POST & CO. / (phoenix bird trade mark) / PORTLAND OGN with the company (Portland Soda Works) known to have been in business with both those owners between 1877 and 1881 (Fowler 1975,1981). With that date range one would expect an applied finish on this bottle though it actually has an early tooled finish; a finishing technique which did not dominate the production of "blob-top" style soda bottles until about 4 or 5 years later. (In fact, the same company - minus Mr. Cottle who left the partnership during 1881 - used an applied finish blob top bottle between 1881 and 1883 after the Cottle, Post & Co. bottles were produced. These later bottles were likely produced by a different - and most likely Western - glass company than the Cottle, Post & Co. bottles, which may have been produced in the East or Midwest.) This bottle has no evidence of mold air venting like the majority of tooled finish soda bottles would exhibit which also indicates an earlier production. It was also blown in a post base mold though that was not uncommon on this bottle style well into the 1890s and possibly into the early 1900s.
GREEN & CLARK / MISSOURI CIDER / TRADE MARK - This is embossed on one side of a ca. 1878 to early 1880s "blob-top soda" style bottle that actually contained fermented apple juice, aka "cider" or "hard cider." (Amber bottle pictured to the immediate right.) "Hard" cider (with about 7% alcohol) was a very popular beverage in the U. S. during colonial and early American times and continues with some popularity today. However, bottles with "cider" noted on them seem to have been most prevalent from the late 1840s until about 1880, largely disappearing about the time of the pictured example. It is thought that the popularity of hard cider was and early victim of the rising power of the Temperance movement in the late 19th century (Guest 2007). The pictured bottle is likely from St. Louis, MO. though that is not know for sure. This example has an applied blob finish and was blown in a post base mold with no evidence of air venting. Click the following links for more images: base view showing the round post plate seam; close-up of the shoulder, neck and finish. The "Missouri Cider" name was trade marked in 1878 as evidenced by a variant of this bottle that is embossed with RGD. AUG. 27, 1878; click 1878 Missouri cider variant to see an example. (Photo courtesy of American Bottle Auctions). This trade mark registered date gives a reasonable begin date for the production of these bottles although they could have been made first a bit earlier. (Cider was also commonly bottled in ceramic or stoneware bottles during the noted era. These bottles were similar to the DR. BROWN'S ROOT BEER bottle pictured towards the top of this page.)
HONESDALE / GLASS WORKS / PA. - MINERAL / WATER - The preceding wording is embossed on two sides of another mid-19th century "blob-top" soda bottles that is embossed with the maker - the Honesdale Glass Works of Honesdale, PA. - and not the user of the bottle. (Deep green bottle pictured to the above right.) This bottle has an applied blob finish, was blown in a post base mold, no base pontil scar (i.e., a "smooth" base), and no evidence of air venting. This represents a generic (no bottle purchaser proprietary embossing) bottle sold to and used by potentially many different customers for mineral water. The location of Honesdale, PA to New York City (about 100 miles) probably made that large city a major customer of this glassworks. The Honesdale Glass Works operated under that name from 1856 to January of 1861 when the factory was destroyed by the flood resulting from a breeched dam upstream (Barbe & Reed 2003). The majority of soda and mineral water bottles made during this time period have iron pontil scars on the base. The late 1850s and early 1860s was, however, the heart of the transition period from pontil rods to non-scarring snap case tools, one of which was certainly used in the production of this bottle. Click on the following links for more images of this bottle: base view; close-up of the glassworks embossing; view of the reverse side with the MINERAL / WATER embossing.

Dating Summary/Notes: The blob-top style soda/mineral water bottles appear to have originated in the early 1840s and were quite popular by 1850 (Markota 1994). This style dominated the soda bottle market up through the early to mid-1870s when inroads in to its dominance were beginning to be made by other closure related bottle styles. In general, earlier (pre-1865-1870; the two bottles pictured on the left side of this section) blob sodas tend to be slightly wider in the body (over 2.5" in diameter) with a slightly more abrupt shoulder as compared to later (late 1860s to 1880s; pictures on the right side of this section) examples which tend to be a bit narrower (right at 2.5" in diameter) and have a longer, somewhat more steep, shoulder. However, this is a relatively loose relationship and may not be consistent enough for reliable dating.

This style appears to have largely fallen out of favor by the late 1880s, being overwhelmed by the popularity of the Hutchinson style (covered next). Based on turn-of-the-century bottle makers catalogs, the blob style with the blob finish did survive until the early 1910s though was not very popular because few bottles are known to the author from that era. By the early 1900s this general body shape was being almost universally produced with the superior crown cap accepting finish (covered later on this page). Generally speaking, the blob-top soda bottles follow the diagnostic dating information found on the Bottle Dating complex of pages quite well.

Though the blob-top soda bottle style was primarily used for soda/mineral water, and to a lesser degree beer and ale, there were some rare other uses of the shape. As a additional reminder of the impossibility of coming up with absolute rules for anything dealing with the typing (or dating) of historic bottles, the following is quoted from McKearin & Wilson (1978) about a blob-top soda type bottle put to a different use (medicinal):

"(One collection of bottles)...included a gray-blue half-pint cylindrical bottle with (a) short rounded shoulder and thick round collar (blob type finish) that is inscribed on one side "Dr. Thornton / Lewisburg / Pa." and, on the other, "Compound / Syrup of / Wild Cherry". All of which is a reminder that there were no hard fast rules limiting the use of a particular type of bottle to particular contents or purposes."

Internal Stopper Soda/Mineral Water styles

This class of soda water bottles are differentiated by having internal stopper closures (i.e., not cork sealed) and often body and/or finish shapes that were designed to accommodate these unique closures. Both of the major covered styles (first two below) have long, moderate diameter bodies, short to non-existent necks, and are topped with some variation of the blob finish. Be aware that there were scores of different patented styles of internal stopper - and related bottles - invented and made during the era between the 1860s and the early 1900s (Graci 2003). Most of these types were very short lived (and not covered here) though two major types of stopper defined bottle styles - used primarily for soda and mineral water - are primarily discussed in this section. These were the Gravitating stopper and Hutchinson spring stopper styles. Just for pure interest, one other closure related style - the Roorbach ball stopper - is covered briefly at the bottom of this section. It is seen occasionally but is much more uncommon than the Matthews. These bottles are a hybrid of sorts between the Codd ball and Baltimore Loop Seal closures and the Hutchinson and Matthews bottle shapes.

The Hutchinson style (and closure) was far and away the more popular of these styles, though both stopper types could apparently be used on the other style of bottle (explained below). Both of these related soda water bottle styles are also referred to as the "patent style" by some historic archaeologists, to differentiate them from the "standard style" (blob-top soda) discussed above (Schulz 1980). However, neither of these names has been widely adopted by archaeologists or collectors. (Note: The Codd style bottle is also technically an internal stopper type but is covered separately and later on this page.)

Gravitating Stopper (Matthews Patent) Style

This is an example of a bottle style where its name is related to the closure device, though not to the high degree of the next bottle covered below (Hutchinson soda). The majority (and probably all) of bottles that took the gravitating stopper have the distinctive shape of the bottle to the left. All of the embossed (more later) gravitating stopper bottles that have been noted by the author of this site were shaped like this bottle with a relatively tall, parallel sided body, moderately long steep shoulder, and an almost non-existent neck topped by a relatively short (usually) blob finish. Soda bottles that were made for use with this closure type are early enough that most of the ones noted to date by the author of this website have a true applied blob finish; one exception is discussed below. Early advertisements for "Matthews' Improved Gravitating Stoppers" were illustrated with bottles of the exact conformation pictured and it appears the steeply sloping shoulder best facilitated the proper sealing of this closure (Graci 2003). However, bottles with this shape have also been noted with a Hutchinson stopper in place (pictured below left).

The illustration to the right shows the stopper separately outside and inside a typical gravitating stopper bottle. Click Matthew's stoppers for a picture of several of the glass stoppers minus the rubber sealing ring which would have been on the narrow flared "knob" end (top end as shown in the picture). These bottles were opened by pushing down on the head of the stopper to release the pressure which allowed the stopper to sink to the bottom of the bottle and the contents to be accessed. The stoppers were removable from the bottle for cleaning and re-use, replacing the gaskets as necessary.

The base of many (but not all) bottles that could accept this closure are embossed with something like the following: GRAVITATING STOPPER / MADE BY (around the outside edge of the base) JOHN MATTHEWS / NEW YORK (inside the first ring of embossing) PATD / OCT 11 / 1864 (in the middle). The image to the left is of the base of gravitating stopper showing the stopper itself and this typical base embossing on a bottle used by a California bottler (discussed below). Click g ravitating stopper bottle base to see a close up picture of the embossing found on the base of the bottle pictured above. There are also many bottles that are identical in shape and conformation that do not have the "Gravitating Stopper...John Matthews..." embossing on the base. These may or may not have utilized the gravitating stopper and may have originally had the Hutchinson closure. Unless embossed with the "Gravitating Stopper...John Matthews..." wording on the base, or with the actual stopper inside the bottle or in context with the bottle, one can not be absolutely sure which closure this style of bottle originally had. It is also very likely that some of these type bottles originally started out with gravitating stoppers, but since soda water bottles were typically reused for many years, they may have been later used with the Hutchinson spring stopper or equivalent.

The bottle pictured in the upper left corner of this box is embossed on the body - F. ENGLE / LANCASTER, PA. and has the GRAVITATING STOPPER...JOHN MATTHEWS... embossing on the base. It likely dates from between 1870 and 1880 range based on manufacturing based diagnostic features, i.e., it has an applied blob finish, lacks any evidence of mold air venting with the resulting flattened or rounded embossing, and was blown in a post base mold. In keeping with the typical nature of soda water bottles, this one is made of very heavy glass and weighs over one pound (18 ozs.).

The picture to the left shows a pair of different PACIFIC SODA WORKS (Portland, OR.) bottles. The bottle to the left is a Hutchinson style bottle. The bottle on the right has the typical gravitating stopper shape but with a Hutchinson stopper still in place. This bottle is not base marked with the GRAVITATING STOPPER...JOHN MATTHEWS... wording but may well have started its useful life with a gravitating stopper which was replaced later with the still remaining Hutchinson. Given its shape it could reasonably be called a gravitating stopper style even though no stopper is present. This bottle dates from the 1880s and has early to mid-1880s diagnostic features, i.e., an applied blob finish, lacks evidence of mold air venting, the older style flattened/rounded embossing, and was blown in a post base mold. The first Portland business listing for the Portland Soda Works was in 1881 with the next listings (under a different owner) between 1888 and 1897. The gravitating stopper style bottle likely dates from the 1881 business period though could possibly be from later period, i.e., late 1880s. Additional support for the earlier date is that the gravitating stopper bottle is much rarer than the Hutchinson bottle supporting a narrower production period (Fowler 1981). The Hutchinson variation almost certainly dates from the 1888 to 1897 period (covered in the next section). For more pictures of these bottles click on the following links: base view of both bottles; close-up of the shoulder, neck, and finish of both bottles. This picture nicely shows the shape differences of the two soda bottle types covered in this section.

The bottle pictured to the right is a typical gravitating stopper bottle that is embossed on the base with a variation of the wording noted earlier. Specifically, it is embossed with GRAVITATING STOPPEP (a "P", not an "R") / MADE BY (with the "Y" upside down) / JOHN MATTHEWS. N. Y. / PAT / OCT 11 / 1864 in a similar orientation as above. (The base of this bottle is shown in the stopper and base image above; the noted mistakes are also visible.) This bottle is embossed with a large, thick "B" with diagonal hatch marks indicating its use by Charles Belding who bottled soda waters for a very long time in Stockton and Marysville, CA. during the last half of the 19th century, beginning during the Gold Rush era (1853) until at least 1895. Whether this bottle was used in only Stockton or Marysville or at both is unknown (Markota 2000). It has the typical graceful gravitating soda shape, was blown in a post base mold with no evidence of air venting, and appears to have a tooled blob finish. This is a combination of features that indicating a bottle manufacturing date of the mid to late 1880s.

The apparent peak of popularity for the gravitating stopper and bottle style was in the 1870s and early 1880s, though it was actually still listed in (and presumably produced by) the Illinois Glass Company catalog as late as 1908 with the notation that their mold number "88" was specially designed to accept the "Mathews (sic) Patent Stopper" (IGCo. 1908). Click IGCo. 1906 catalog - page 238 to view the page for the same bottle type from the 1906 IGCo. catalog. Mold number "88" is listed on the left side of the image and exhibits the same sloping shoulder design of the gravitation stopper bottles pictured here. It would be assumed that a bottle made as late as 1908 would have a molded and tooled (not applied) blob type finish, though the author of this website has not observed a tooled finish on a bona fide (i.e., base embossed) gravitating stopper bottle. Given the listing in this catalog, tooled finish examples are quite likely and are probably not base embossed like the earlier bottles. (Note: If any users of the website have information on tooled gravitating stopper bottles, please contact the author; his email is at the bottom of the homepage.)

Dating Summary/Notes: These bottles, with and without the "Gravitating Stopper...Matthews Patent..." embossing on the base, were made by various glass companies primarily between the late 1860s through the 1880s (Feldhaus 1986, Peters 1996, Markota 2000). By the mid-1880s, the Hutchinson stopper in bottles with a more distinctly abrupt shoulder began to dominate the soda bottle market and the gravitating stopper largely disappeared from common use. However, as noted above, gravitating stopper bottles were still being offered as late as 1908, though bottles that conclusively date from that late have not been noted. Although Matthew's gravitating stopper bottles were never as common as other types of bottles/closures during the time frames noted (e.g., blob-top with corks and Lightning stoppers, Hutchinson styles) they nevertheless were used by soda bottlers across the continental U.S. and Hawaii. Please note that collectors sometimes incorrectly call the Hutchinson style stopper/bottle covered next a "gravitating stopper" bottle (though the Hutchinson style might have been rarely used with gravitating stoppers?).

Hutchinson Spring Stopper style

The Hutchinson stopper accepting style of bottle was without a doubt the most popular type used for soda/mineral water between the mid-1880s and mid 1910s. One persistent researcher has cataloged almost 16,000 different embossed Hutchinson soda bottles in primarily the U.S. and Canada (few outside North America) attesting to the popularity of this closure and related bottle styles (Fowler pers. comm. 2007). This researcher's listing includes almost 2,700 different examples just for the state of Pennsylvania (over 500 of which are from just Philadelphia)! Unlike most other bottle types, the majority of soda bottlers did utilize bottles with proprietary embossing. It has been estimated that at least 99% of Hutchinson bottles have proprietary embossing on them since unembossed Hutchinson's are unusual (Fowler pers. comm. 2006).

These types of soda bottles are universally called simply a Hutchinson soda with the only other noted name being the "patent style" which is little if at all used today (Schulz 1980). The Hutchinson style bottle has a distinctive, easily identified shape as shown to the left. Moving up from the heel to the rim of the bottle: it has proportionally tall, vertically parallel sides; a short abrupt shoulder; a short to almost non-existent neck; some variation of the blob finish (applied on the examples produced from or prior to 1885-1890 and tooled on those from the late 1880s an later); and have very heavy (thick) glass in order to withstand the carbonation pressure. The shape is easier to visualize than describe; see the pictures here for very typical examples of several subtle varieties. Capacities of the most common sizes ranged from 7-15 oz. range, with the approximate 8 oz. size being overwhelmingly the most common capacity. Larger "quart" sizes (28-32 ozs.) were used on occasion also; picture and discussion below (empirical observations; Fowler pers. comm. 2006).

Many subtle different variations of the Hutchinson soda bottle were made through the years. The early 20th-century Illinois Glass Company (IGCo.) catalogs illustrated several dozen different molds for Hutchinson style bottles, most of which were available as plate molds allowing for proprietary embossing. There are taller and squattier versions, those with "mug bases", different capacities, and others that are hard to differentiate from the illustrations. Click on the following links to see the different Hutchinson soda listings from the IGCo. 1906 catalog - pages 236-237, pages 238-239, pages 240-241, pages 242-243, and pages 244-245. Early catalogs did not call these bottles "Hutchinson soda bottles", but instead just referred to them as "soda or mineral water bottles" which was logical given that the Hutchinson name is attached the closure not the bottle. These catalogs did often note that the bottles were "finished for the Hutchinson Stopper" and other closures like, cork, the Baltimore Loop Seal, and Lightning stopper. These early IGCo. catalogs also note that "all bottles made in green glass (aqua), unless otherwise noted" (IGCo. 1899, 1903, 1906, 1908, 1911). Indeed, the vast majority of Hutchinson soda bottles were made in shades of aqua, with colorless (which will often turn amethyst) glass being the next most common color. Any other color is rare in these bottles as indicated by one person's account that there were 376 different embossed "colored" Hutchinson soda bottles in the U.S., which when compared to the total of embossed Hutchinson sodas recorded to date, is less than 3% of the total (Oppelt 2003; Fowler 2005).

The Hutchinson stopper was patented in April of 1879 by Charles G. Hutchinson and fairly quickly made cork closured soda bottles obsolete (Riley 1958). This was visually portrayed by a humorous 1880s advertisement from Hutchinson's company which portrayed the Hutchinson style bottle as a boxer knocking out multiple contenders, all of which were varying soda bottles with "other" closures. The Hutchinson bottles "boxing gloves" were the flat ends of the stoppers (Graci 2003). There were numerous types of competing internal spring stoppers similar to the Hutchinson, though the "Hutchinson's Patent Spring Stopper" made by W. H. Hutchinson & Son (Chicago, IL.) dominated the market (Riley 1958). This stoppers' main drawback was that it was internal leading to eventual cleanliness issues concerning the re-use and cleaning of the bottles. Bottlers did not always replace the stopper when reused and hygiene complaints began to be aired during the activist era of the early 20th century (Collins 1969; Fowler 1986). At that same time the crown cap was racing towards beverage bottle dominance for various reasons (next section).

The Hutchinson spring stopper, positioned in a typical conformation bottle, is shown in the cut-away illustration to the right which shows the stopper in the sealed position (illustration courtesy of the Glass Container Manufacturers Institute). The contents were accessed by pushing down on the top of the wire spring loop which released the pressure and opened the closure. When pushed down slightly to open, the stopper stayed in place - i.e., did not drop to the bottom of the bottle - due to the inward curve on each side of the spring handle.

The relatively early (mid-1880s) Hutchinson soda pictured to the left is embossed with PORTLAND / TRADE MARK / (spread eagle) / SODA WORKS / P. O. (Portland, OR.) The base is also embossed with NORTHROP & STURGIS whom were the proprietors of the concern from 1883 to 1911, when it became the Puritan Manufacturing Co. In 1886 - the era of the pictured bottle - the company advertised the production of numerous beverages any of which could have been in this bottle - soda water, sarsaparilla, ginger ale, cream soda, cider, and more. The Portland Soda Works had a long run of embossed bottles (at least 9 different molds in 3 different bottle styles) under several ownerships beginning in 1877 with the Cottle, Post & Co. blob-top soda and ending during the early 20th century with an early (mouth-blown), crown-top soda style (Fowler 1981). The pictured Hutchinson soda is one of three similar variations with an eagle produced by the company and likely dates from about 1884 to 1887. This style was preceded by a similarly embossed blob-top style bottle that likely dates from 1883 or so, as it is very rare indicating that there was likely only one or two orders made for it during the early years of Northrop & Sturgis. (The noted, but not pictured, blob-top Portland Soda Works bottle is an example of where a feel for the relative rarity in hand with other information - i.e., company dates and diagnostic features - can help narrow the probable date range.) The pictured bottle has an applied blob finish and was blown in a post base mold with no evidence of air venting - all attributes typical of an 1880s Hutchinson soda. The manufacturing methods resulted in this (and most of the bottles observed from this mold) being very crude in the body ("whittled") with relatively flat, rounded embossing. Click on the following links to view other pictures of this soda bottle: base view showing the embossing; close-up of the shoulder, neck, and blob finish which shows the distinct interface between the upper neck and finish base indicating a true applied finish, though without any glass slop-over below the finish which is commonly seen on applied finishes.

The soda bottle pictured to the right is a slightly "squattier" Hutchinson style that is embossed in a round plate with MT. HOOD SODA WATER / TRADE (lions head) MARK / PORTLAND, ORE. It likely dates from between 1904 and 1906 and is an example of the relatively common style with a 10-sided "mug base", which has a sided lower body though the base is still largely round. The base of this bottle has an embossed "H" which is believed by some to be makers mark for the Holt Glass Works, which was destroyed by the April 18th, 1906 San Francisco earthquake and not rebuilt, giving the noted end date of 1906 (Toulouse 1971, Fowler 1981,Thomas 1998). This example has a tooled "funnel type" blob finish and was blown in a cup base mold with multiple air venting on the shoulder area of both sides and on the base - typical of an early 20th century mouth-blown bottle (Elliott & Gould 1988).

The soda bottles pictured to the left are both embossed with PACIFIC SODA WORKS PORTLAND, OREGON. The bottle on the right side of the picture has the typical gravitating stopper shape but with a Hutchinson stopper still in place (as was described in the previous section). The bottle on the left side of the picture is a "mug base" (10-sided lower body), tall style Hutchinson soda with the embossing in a round plate, a tooled blob finish, and was blown in a cup base mold with no apparent mold air venting. This bottle also has embossed near the reverse heel - McC - which indicates a manufacture by a William McCully related glass company (Pittsburgh, PA.) which likely used this mark up until at least 1899 (Welker & Welker 1985; Lockhart et al. 2004). The first Portland city business directory listing for the Pacific Soda Works was in 1881 (probably producing the gravitating stopper type bottle) with the remaining listings under a different owner between 1888 and 1897. The glassmakers mark, business directory information, and the noted manufacturing related features indicate a likely manufacturing date for the Hutchinson bottle of the late 1880s or early 1890s which fits the later business period (Toulouse 1971, Fowler 1981). For more pictures of these bottles click on the following links: base view of both bottles; close-up of the shoulder, neck, and finish of both bottles.

The large "quart" size Hutchinson soda bottle pictured to the right is embossed with JOHN DAHLSTROM / ISHPEMING / MICH. inside of a round plate. At the lower back heel is the makers mark S. B. & G. CO. for the Streator Bottle & Glass Company (Streator, IL.) that used this marking from 1881 to 1905 at which point it was merged into the American Bottle Company (Toulouse 1971). This bottle has tooled blob finish and was blown in a cup base mold with multiple air venting marks on both shoulders. The combination of the makers mark termination date and the noted diagnostic features indicate a manufacturing date for this bottle of between about 1895 and 1905, though local (MI.) research might refine this date range further. Click on the following links to see more images of this quart soda bottle: base view; view of the shoulder, neck, and finish. The early 20th-century Illinois Glass Company (IGCo.) catalogs - a regional competitor for Streator - illustrated several different molds for the larger Hutchinson style bottles, most of which were also available as plate molds like this example. Click on the following links to see the different larger style Hutchinson soda listings from the IGCo. 1906 catalog - pages 246-247 and pages 248-249 (IGCo. 1906). The quart size Hutchinson bottles appear only to have been mildly popular and then primarily in states east of the Mississippi; only three embossed examples of the quart size are known from the 11 Western states - one each from Colorado, Wyoming, and California (Holabird & Haddock 1979; Fowler 1981 & 1986; Borton 1988; Markota 1999; Miller 1999; Kyte 2005; Oppelt 2005, Fowler pers. comm. 2006).

The certain Hutchinson closured (stopper missing) bottle pictured to the left is embossed with W. H. HUTCHINSON & SON / CHICAGO ILL'S - W. H. H. and was presumably a salesman's sample used by the company to demonstrate their revolutionary closure, though this might also have been a generic bottle sold by the company which offered a wide array of "bottlers supplies" (Paul & Parmalee 1973). The "SON" in the embossed title is the inventor of this closure - Charles G. Hutchinson (Riley 1958). Note the similarity of this relatively steep shouldered bottle to the gravitating stopper bottle pictured earlier on this page; either of the two closures could have been used in bottles of this shape as noted in the "Gravitating Stopper" discussion. This particular bottle appears to have a tooled blob finish, was blown in a post-base mold, but lacks evidence of mold air venting indicating a likely mid-1880s production. Click on the following links for more images of this bottle: base view (note the poor mold engraving which resulted in the first line of embossing running well onto the bottle heel); close-up of the shoulder, neck and blob finish (note the small dark spots on the bottle which are impact marks resulting from bottles banging against each other in the cases during the multiple use and re-use events).

Dating Summary/Notes: True applied finishes on Hutchinson soda bottles date from about 1880 to 1886-87 and possibly as late as about 1890. Applied finishes on Hutchinson bottles are relatively uncommon compared to tooled finishes since it took some time for the popularity of Hutchinson bottles to usurp the earlier styles. Tooled finish Hutchinson bottles date from the late 1880s to the end of production for this style in the mid 1910s, with most bottles dating between the late 1880s and 1912. It is estimated that well over 90% of Hutchinson bottles have tooled finishes dating most within that age range (Elliott & Gould 1988; Fowler pers. comm. 2006).

During the first decade of the 20th-century tooled crown finish soda bottles (covered next) slowly but surely began to dominate the market and by 1915-1917 period most soda bottle production consisted of machine-made bottles with crown cap finishes (Fowler 1981 & 1986; Feldhaus 1986; Elliott & Gould 1988; Peters 1996; Markota 2000; Lockhart pers. comm. 2003). The W. H. Hutchinson & Sons company reportedly ceased production of the replacement stoppers in 1920 by which time production was almost totally to supply those few bottlers still using Hutchinson sodas made some year before (Elliot & Gould 1988). (Note: Some references list 1912 as the end date for Hutchinson stoppers which seems unlikely since the Illinois Glass Company was still listing over 40 different molds for Hutchinson style soda bottles in their 1911 catalog and other catalogs show them being produced at least as late [IGCo. 1911; Cumberland Glass 1911; Munsey 1970]).

1880s Roorbach closure soda bottle; click to enlarge.

Roorbach Ball Stopper

This closure is covered primarily to show a bit of the variety to the class of internal stoppered soda bottles, most of which (this style included) had limited popularity at best. (This style is also covered since a kind collector provided some good pictures...thanks Barry!) The Roorbach bottle/closure worked in a similar fashion to the Codd's ball stopper discussed later on this page. The internal pressure of the carbonated contents pushed and held in place the hard rubber ball which meshed against the rubber gasket set into a double groove within the wide blob finish. This closure was patented February 20th, 1883, with additional patents in 1885, and did achieve some market success as bottles using it are seen on occasion (Graci 2003).

The pictured bottle is from West Virginia and shows the finish gasket and ball still in the bottle (picture to the right). It is also embossed around the heel with the 1883 and 1885 patent dates. These bottles seem to always have a very wide and somewhat short variation of a blob finish, almost surely to facilitate the ball and gasket use. Click Roorbach finish to see a close-up of the unusual blob. The overall shape of the bottle is reminiscent of a wide necked Hutchinson soda. Most Roorbach bottles appear to be from east of the Mississippi, though a few are noted from the West (Fowler pers. comm. 2005).

During the same era as the the Roorbach closure bottles (1880s) there was also an almost identical competing bottle/stopper - the "Stewart Patented Stopper." The bottle shape, finish, and closure mechanics appear to have been identical to the Roorbach. Stewart's patent was issued June 16th, 1885 (Graci 2003). Click Stewart Patent bottle to view a bottle which is visually identical in shape to the Roorbach pictured here; click Stewart Patent base to see the base of the Stewart bottle. How this bottle differs enough from the Roorbach to warrant a separate patent is hard to say since they appear identical to each other.

Dating Summary/Notes: It appears the Roorbach closure/bottles were a product of the mid 1880s to possibly the early 1890s providing a fairly narrow dating range for this style. The author of this website has not personally observed one of these bottles though both bottles appear in the pictures to likely have tooled finishes, though it is possible that they are applied. The closure never found much favor due to its direct competition with already established (and easier to use) Hutchinson stopper and later the crown cap. (Pictures courtesy of Barry Theurer.)

Crown Top Soda/Mineral Water styles

Period illustration of a crown cap on a crown finish; does not enlarge. The crown cap closure and finish is arguably the second most significant closure invention of the late 19th century with continuous use throughout the entire 20th century and today. (The external screw-thread closure/finish would almost certainly be #1 in finish importance...for those keeping score at home.) The crown cap was patented by William Painter in 1892, who also patented the Baltimore Loop Seal which was used on soda bottles to some degree in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The period (1890s) illustration to the right shows a crown cap on a crown finish which looks exactly like the crown cap/finish used on beer (and some soda) bottles today (from Riley 1958). It was called the crown cap because, according to Painter, it "gives a crowning and beautiful effect to the bottle."

This closure consists of a simple metal cap with a corrugated skirt or flange and a compressible liner (originally cork and now plastic) inside the top. The finish is as shown in the pictures below which is a narrow rounded bead upper part (lip) with a variably sized tapered or rounded lower part (collar) below. The cap is placed on the crown finish and crimped into locking position with some type of crown capping tool or machine (Lief 1965). To access the contents of the bottle the still familiar, small, hand bottle opener is used. This finish style prompted and required new shapes of bottles that were more conducive to the ever increasing automation in the bottling business. That is the subject of this section.

Two date and characteristic related categories are addressed in this section: "Early Crown Top Sodas" (the pre-Applied Color Label or ACL era) and "Later Crown Top Sodas" (made during the ACL era). This is a relatively arbitrary "break" in that some "Early Crown Top Soda" types (i.e., a style dominated by embossed product/producer information - often in a plate) were produced in the "Later Crown Top Sodas" era (dominated by ACL's to provide the product/producer information), and vice versa. The term "modern style" has been used by some historical archaeologists for this entire class of crown top soda bottles which, though relatively accurate in a comparative sense to the earlier styles, has not been widely accepted (Schulz 1980). On this website we refer to this entire class of soda bottles generically as "crown top sodas" due to the binding feature of that finish/closure type.

Early Crown Top sodas

The early crown top style soda bottles of the late 19th and early 20th century are, of course, identified by having the distinctive crown cap accepting finish. There are, however, relatively distinct bottle shapes associated with this class of soda/mineral water bottles. The name "crown top" or just "crown" soda is widely accepted by archaeologists and collectors though these were simply called a "soda or mineral water bottle" by early glass makers with the notation that they were made to "take the crown finish" (IGCo. 1903; Cumberland Glass 1911; Paul & Parmalee 1973; Fowler 1981). One bottle maker just called this general style a "plain soda" (Fairmount 1920s). By "early" we are referring on this website to mouth-blown crown top sodas (mid-1890s to about 1915) and the earlier machine-made examples that look similar to the mouth-blown ones in that the product and/or producer name (if present) is embossed - often in a plate. Machine-made "early" crown top sodas date primarily from the early 1910s, throughout the 1920s, and in to the early 1930s; they generally pre-date the ACL era of bottles. These "early" soda bottles bridge the transition from older craft based bottle manufacturing methods to modern semi-automated and fully automated bottle making machines and soda bottling methods.

The shape of most early crown top soda bottles are similar to those shown here. Moving up from the heel to the rim of the bottle, these have: a body that is proportionally tall with vertically parallel sides; somewhat variable shoulders ranging from relatively short and abrupt to longer and steeper (note this shoulder progression on the bottles pictured top to bottom in this section); a moderate length neck which is variably less than half the height of the body/shoulder but distinctly longer than the Hutchinson style; a crown cap accepting finish; and as with all soda bottles, made with heavy (thick) glass to withstand the high carbonation pressures. See the pictures here for very typical examples of several subtle varieties. Similar to the Hutchinson style, capacities of the most common crown top soda sizes ranged from 6 to 15 oz. range, with the 8 oz. size being the most common capacity. Larger "quart" sizes (27-32 ozs.) were also used occasionally (IGCo. 1903, 1911).

Many subtle variations of the early crown top soda bottles were made through the years. The early 20th-century Illinois Glass Company (IGCo.) catalogs illustrated several dozen different molds for crown top style bottles, most of which were available as plate molds allowing for proprietary embossing. There are taller and squattier versions, those with sided "mug bases", and others that are hard to differentiate from each other. Click on the following links to see the different crown top soda listings from the IGCo. 1906 catalog - pages 238-239, pages 242-243, pages 244-245, and pages 248-249. These early IGCo. catalogs also note that "all bottles made in green glass (aqua), unless otherwise noted" (IGCo. 1899, 1903, 1906, 1908, 1911). Indeed, the vast majority of crown top soda bottles were made in shades of aqua with colorless (which will often turn amethyst) glass being the next commonest color. Any other color in a early crown top soda - especially a mouth-blown example - is very unusual, even more so than with Hutchinson sodas.

The soda bottles pictured to the right are a pair of different styles from the same company. Both are identically embossed with CAPE ARGO / SODA WORKS / MARSHFIELD, ORE. (Marshfield was an earlier - pre-1944 - name for Coos Bay, OR.) The bottle to the left side of the picture is a Hutchinson style soda which was added for style comparison. The bottle to the right (same bottle as pictured above) is a typical mouth-blown crown soda with a tooled crown finish, multiple air venting marks on both shoulders, which was blown in a cup base mold. Both bottles were blown in 4-piece molds as indicated by the horizontal shoulder seam and vertical body side seams. Research indicates that this company was in business from 1904 to 1920 (Fowler 1981). The crown soda is also embossed on the base with P.C.G.W. for the Pacific Coast Glass Works (San Francisco, CA.) which used this mark from 1902 to 1924 (Toulouse 1971). Observations have indicated that this mark was only used on mouth-blown bottles and then primarily from about 1902 to the early 1910s (Lockhart unpublished manuscript; empirical observations). Given all this information, it is likely that the Hutchinson style dates from about 1904 to maybe 1907 with the crown top version dating from 1907 to the early 1910s. Within this timeframe it is