I thought this one had been tossed around before and there was a
discussion on this topic in March of 2002 according to the HISTARCH
archives.

Plastic liners were introduced in 1955 and gradually replaced cork
liners (Lief 1965:40).  Another temporal nugget - a crown cap with a
shorter "skirt" was introduced in 1956 (Riley 1958:272).  These two
innovations make a nice cut-off for the 50 year old threshold.  If only
I was looking at older assemblages more often ...

Lief, Alfred
1965  "A Close-Up of Closures:  History and Progress."  Glass
Containers Manufacturers Institute, New York.

Riley, John L.
1958  "A History of the American Soft Drink Industry - 1807-1957." 
American Bottlers of Carbonated Beverages, Washington, DC.

Cheers,

Sean Dunham



Sean B. Dunham, RPA
Commonwealth Cultural Resources Group, Inc.
Phone:  517-788-3550 / FAX:  517-788-6594
e-mail:  [log in to unmask]
http://www.ccrginc.com


>>> [log in to unmask] 10/28/05 02:50AM >>>
With regard to crown bottle caps, I have wondered if there was a  
technological evolution of the liners? Although most have had cork
liners during  my 
lifetime, plastic liners began popping up recently and no doubt changes
will  
continue in the future. This makes me wonder if they always had cork
liners.  Does 
anyone know?
 
Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.