EARLIEST KNOWN CROWN CLOSURE SODA BOTTLE

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Harry ~

Thanks. Great stuff. I've seen that before and it always cracks me up. I remember so called tough guys in high school who would use their teeth to open soda bottles. But I never once tried it myself, and never intend to.

Here's one you might like. It's a Coca Cola coaster that shows how to drink from a bottle. But as far as I know it's not really that old, maybe 1930s or 40s. You would think by then that people had it figured out.

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[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Pat ~

That's a great picture of your grandparents. Talk about "Have a Coke!" The openers are great, too. Prior to crown caps they actually did need a cork screw, or a good set of teeth.

Thanks for the tip for dealing with a cold. Especially the part about plenty of liquids. By the way, does rum & Coke count? Lol

Below is another Crown related item. The first person (Other than Harry because I know he knows) who can tell us how and what it was used for wins a prize. I will send the winner a bottle cap. Geez, how generous of me.

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P.S. Edit/Add ... I actually think the Moxie cap has 21 teeth also. But please don't tell anyone I said that.

 

[pat-tekker-cat]

Pat ~
That's a great picture of your grandparents. Talk about "Have a Coke!".

Thanks, I took a picture of the picture, no scanner.

Thanks for the tip for dealing with a cold. Especially the part about plenty of liquids. By the way, does rum & Coke count? Lol

Only if you leave out the coke! just kidding, hehehehe. Some here, may disagree but, whatever you do, don't take an immune booster product now, in the full throws of it. Your body is already kicking out the good stuff to fight it, an immune booster kicking out more for ya, make you feel even worse! Natural, fundementals, food, liquid, rest, repair.

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Here's an early crown-top soda bottle from El Paso, Texas. I got the picture from the "Bottle Research Group" (BRG) website that I referred to earlier. If my memory serves me correctly, I believe the Group said it was the earliest crown closure soda bottle they were aware of until I shared my Murdoch & Freeman bottle with them. But the main reason I am showing this bottle here and now is because it more clearly illustrates the "sloping" feature on the upper lip. Notice how the very top part looks kind of odd compared to later bottles of the 20th Century. This particular bottle has a confirmed and documented date of 1897.

[ R. F. Johnson & Co. - El Paso, Texas - 1897 ]

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

[ My 1895 Murdoch & Freeman that I purchased on e-Bay for $20.00 ]

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Here are a few more early ads related to crown-top bottles. The only bummer is, I don't have a confirmed date for a single one of them. But I have to assume that most of them are circa 1900. The ones that use the term "machine" could be referring to either electric machines or manually operated machines. I'm just not sure. The first ad is from San Antonio, Texas. They are fun to read, especially when they make the 'new' crown bottles sound almost sensational. I especially like the ad below where it says something like; "They're Coming!" They make it sound like an invasion of flying saucers. Lol

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[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Previously I mentioned what I referred to as the 1893 "Depression," and how it was responsable for glass factories and bottlers not wanting to risk money on new investments at the time. It was actually known as the "Panic" of 1893. Below is a little information I found on it from Wikipedia.

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The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in that year. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures. Compounding market overbuilding and the railroad bubble, was a run on the gold supply (relative to silver), because of the long-established American policy of bimetallism, which used both silver and gold metals at a fixed 16:1 rate for pegging the value of the US Dollar. Until the Great Depression, the Panic of '93 was considered the worst depression the United States had ever experienced.

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And according to the following information, the so called Panic lasted to about 1897, which is when we see the majority of the crown bottles (Hires - Moxie - and others) begin to emerge. [ The picture of the 1896 poster accompained the Wikipedia info ]

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The U.S. economy began to recover in 1897. After the election of Republican McKinley, confidence was restored with the Klondike Gold Rush and the economy began 10 years of rapid growth, until the Panic of 1907.

 

[pat-tekker-cat]

Hey sodabob, I hope your feeling better and whipping that cold!
Rough day, dug a little gold outta the ocean. The cat's prancing all around this site tonight,(cheaper and safer than venturing out, in a lightening storm, for a laugh).
They having a little trouble rebuilding the pub, so I'm trying to get the jukeboxes set up! hehehehehe

The ocean beat me up today, so only bottle I wanna see tonight, better have my favorite wine in it! LOL!
Have fun, feel better, I'll be lurken, here and there! hehehehehehe

 

[mile-ender]

Below is another Crown related item. The first person (Other than Harry because I know he knows) who can tell us how and what it was used for wins a prize. I will send the winner a bottle cap. Geez, how generous of me.

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P.S. Edit/Add ... I actually think the Moxie cap has 21 teeth also. But please don't tell anyone I said that.

It's an "illustration of an early tooling caliper. It was hinged and would close around the top of the bottle and spun while the glass was still hot. Notice at the bottom where it is shaped like a crown-topped bottle. These types of tools usually pre-date the automatic bottle machines that were first introduced around 1905."
I don't know if that count's - I just copy and pasted your words from another forum
As far as the moxie - I'm counting 21, maybe 22 - I can't decide if there's one or two at the top part

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

mile-ender ~

Thanks. You properly identified the tool. I'm serious about sending you a bottle cap if you would like to receive one. Just let me know what brand(s) you prefer and I will see if I have one. Or else I can just send you something random as a surprise. You decide. I will need a mailing address (via a personal e-mail/PM).

I'm pretty sure the Moxie cap has 21 points, too. But if the patent design is any indication, there should be some 24 pointer's out there somewhere.


Pat~Cat ...

Thanks ... I am feeling much better now. And happy to announce that I am the proud grandpa of a new baby girl who was born yesterday. Her name is Sofia Victoria - weighed 7.5 lbs - and is doing fine. But I won't get to see or hold her until my cold completely clears up, which I hope will be by the end of the week.

SODABOTTLECAPGRANDPABOB

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

Just for the record here is a for sure 22 point beer cap. I don't know the date or much else about it ... but it will confirm at least one exception to the standard 21 count.

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[ Buffalo Brewing Co. - Sacramento, Cal - Old, but no confirmed date ]

 

[pat-tekker-cat]

Pat~Cat ...
Thanks ... I am feeling much better now. And happy to announce that I am the proud grandpa of a new baby girl who was born yesterday. Her name is Sofia Victoria - weighed 7.5 lbs - and is doing fine. But I won't get to see or hold her until my cold completely clears up, which I hope will be by the end of the week.
SODABOTTLECAPGRANDPABOB

Congratulations! Don't blink, she'll be 10, blink again, 20...........know what I mean! LOL!
What a beautiful name, too. While it may be good to build an immune sytem, I dunno 'bout at day 1, with the cold virus. No honey either, for baby. No well water, no swimming in creeks, rivers, ponds.......
Now I sound like my mom! I'm trying to find a ring for a family, no luck today, gonna try again tomrow, and I'm whipped. I'll be around, glad you feel better!

 

[DevilDog812]

SODABOTTLEBOB, did you receive my PM? thought i sent it but im not sure

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

DD ~

PM received and reply sent. Thanks.

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[DevilDog812]

alright let me know how it works out