First, thanks to those who responded to my request for data on the
blackglass wine/stout/ale bottles.  We are also going to receive two
fairly large databases from older excavations.  I will make a short
report to HISTARCH when we have something concrete (or at least
asphalt).

Second, I was asked to address 20th century blackglass bottles.  Some
of the late 19th century wine/stout/ale bottles continued to be made
into the 20th century, although we do not know how long — at this
point.

The California Crushed Fruit Corp. used blackglass bottles with crown
finishes for their Mission soda brand from 1929 to at least 1933,
possibly until 1935 or even later.  These are clearly marked on the
bases with the Mission identification.  By the mid-1930s, the firm
became the Mission Dry Corp.  The bottles used paper labels until the
late 1930s.  The Mission Dry specialty (proprietary) bottle was design
patented (No.  114,026) on March 28, 1939, although the patent was
submitted December 28, 1938, so the ACL bottles were not available until
that date.
 
Although the general (and correct) date usually given for ACL use on
soda and milk bottles in 1934, most bottlers and dairies did not adopt
the ACL bottles, staying with embossed milk and soda bottles until the
late 1930s to mid-1940s.  Some real holdouts (like Coke and Dr. Pepper)
waited until the 1960s.  Some dairies never switched, using embossed
milk bottles into the 1980s (or maybe even later).

Bill



 
 
Bill Lockhart
Associate Professor of Sociology
New Mexico State University
Alamogordo, NM
(575) 439-3732