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Latest Project Status Reports update posted December 23, 2011

Hutchinson Highlights...

I. HUTCHINSON BOTTLES CONTAINED SODA OR MINERAL WATER, NOT BEER

The current edition of an antique bottle club's on-line newsletter that we regularly peruse includes a photo of two nice bottles that utilized William Painter's "Bottle Seal" patent stopper, a closure typically referred to as a "Baltimore Loop Seal."  Although the owner of the bottles knows and understands Baltimore Loop Seal stoppers, the editor doesn't, having labeled the photo "two nice...Hutchinson style bottles."  Baltimore Loop Seal bottles are often identified as having utilized Hutchinson's Patent Spring Stoppers, particularly on GreedyBay.  When time permits, we EMail sellers and direct them to the "Hutchinson Bottle Sales Guide" in order to educate and help them better understand closures that are frequently confused with Hutchinson stoppers.   

William Painter's Bottle Seal patent description suggested his closure was "particularly designed for use with bottles or similar vessels containing fluids under pressure from effervescence or otherwise; but it is adapted as well for use where such pressure does not exist."  Further, one of his Bottle Seal Company advertisements in an 1886 issue of the National Bottlers' Gazette describes the closures as "THE ONLY PATENT STOPPER IN EXISTENCE THAT COVERS THE ENTIRE FIELD OF CARBONATED AND FERMENTED BEVERAGES."  In my opinion, Painter's claim that Baltimore Loop Seals were effective closures for bottles containing soda or mineral water was marketing hype and wishful thinking on his part.  Without exception, the bottles I've seen that utilized Baltimore Loop Seals were used for "still" and/or fermented beverages, particularly beer.  (For more information about Baltimore Loop Seals, check out the patent drawings and detailed description posted in the "Industry History" portion of www.HutchBook.com.)

And that brings us full circle to Hutchinsons.  There are quite a few Hutchinson bottles bearing the embossed names of breweries and brewers, but Hutchinson bottles were used for soda and mineral water, not for beer.  Several brewers also bottled soda and mineral water and delivered their carbonated beverages in Hutchinson bottles.  The basic design of Hutchinson's Patent Spring Stopper took advantage of the pressure created by the carbon dioxide in between the surface of the liquid and the stopper to seat the stopper's rubber gasket against the inner shoulders of the bottle.  Beer is a fermented beverage and not carbonated, so there was no carbon dioxide to hold a Hutchinson stopper in place.  Call them "Hutchinson soda bottles" or "Hutchinson mineral water bottles," but don't call them "Hutchinson beer bottles;" they were not used for beer.

II. RARE WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA HUTCHINSON VARIANT SURFACES

One of this year's major contributions to our hobby's body of new publications is Larry Smith's nicely done book Treasures in the Sun: Antique Soda and Beverage Bottles of Key West, Florida (click the title to review the additional information and ordering details posted in the "Collecting" section's list of state bottle books for sale).  In addition to bottles from Key West, Larry also collects bottles from West Palm Beach.  A West Palm Beach Hutchinson variant recently showed up on GreedyBay and following some very spirited bidding, Larry added the bottle to his collection.  He sent along the accompanying photo illustrating the FL 260 and (new) FL 261 variants.  We have this plant's bottles catalogued as:

FL 259 - West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida: WEST PALM BEACH / BOTTLING WORKS / WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. = 2 leaf mold, aqua, 6.500" x 2.375" with round (oval) plate mould, back and base embossing unknown, round base, Rare.

FL 260 - West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida: WEST PALM BEACH / BOTTLING WORKS / WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. = 2 leaf mold, clear, 6.500" x 2.375" with round (oval) plate mould, blank back, J.E.W. (large) on base, round base, Scarce.

FL 261 - West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida: REGISTERED (on shoulder) / WEST PALM BEACH BOTTLING / WORKS / WPB (monogram) / FLA. = 2 leaf mold, clear, 6.625" x 2.500" with round (oval) plate mould, blank back, blank base, round base, Rare.

Congratulations on your new acquisition, Larry, and thanks also for providing the photo and complete bottle data for cataloguing in the Hutchinson Bottle Directory database.

III. SPEAKING OF "VARIANTS"

The West Palm Beach, Florida Hutchinsons illustrated above are excellent examples of why we are continually striving to clearly explain the definition of "variant" being utilized for the Hutchinson Bottle Directory project.  Early on we sought input from Hutchinson collectors across the continent and boiled the definition down to the following (this same list is posted on the "Hutchinson Variants" page in the "Bottle Directory" section of HutchBook.com):

  • Bottles with different plate mould shapes, e.g. round versus horseshoe-shaped versus private moulds, are variants;
  • Bottles with different base shapes, e.g. round versus 10 panels, are variants;
  • Bottles with totally different glass colors, e.g. aqua versus flint (clear) versus cobalt blue, are variants;
  • Specific shades of aqua are noted, e.g. “light aqua” versus “blue aqua,” but no matter the shade of aqua, these bottles will receive only one catalog listing;
  • Flint (clear) and sun-colored-amethyst bottles that are otherwise identical will receive only one catalog listing;
  • Bottles blown by different glass manufacturers are variants.  Although the embossing may appear to be identical, close examination usually reveals the punctuation varies, lettering and plate moulds are different sizes, etc.; and
  • Size differences between bottles will not be noted if the embossing is identical, with the exception of the larger, approximately 28 ounce bottles often incorrectly referred to as “quarts;” they will have their own listings.  

We recognize these guidelines won't please everyone, but we had to clarify the definition of "variant" or likely never be able to bring this project to fruition.  Fortunately, many experienced Hutchinson collectors agree with the definition we are using.  One of them is Gregg Wilson, a collector who recently added the illustrated Cuban Hutchinson bottles to his ever-growing collection.  Although CUB 4 and CUB 5 look the same on paper, the bottles are definitely variants that feature different positioning of their respective embossings:

CUB 4 - LA / HABANERA / CRUSELLAS RODRIGUEZ Y CIA / + (large) / CRUZ. BLANCA / HABANA = 2 leaf mold, aqua, 7.625" x 2.875" with private mold, ESTA BOTELLA NO SE VENDE embossed vertically on the back, + (large) on base, round base, Rare. 

These bottles were clearly blown in two different (albeit similar) moulds.  I don't collect Cuban Hutchinsons, but if I did, I'd definitely want to have an example of each in my collection!  Thanks for the photos and bottle data, Gregg!

IV. UNRAVELING THE BODE NO 5 MYSTERY

We don't track inquiries by bottle, but it sure seems like we receive more requests for information about No / BO  DE / 5 bottles than any other Hutchinson.  One reason, of course, is because they are common and found all over the North American continent.

 

(The beautiful aqua example is courtesy of Mark Edward Nelson, Kirkland, WA.  The clear/SCA [nuked?] example is from GreedyBay 300630480834, a recent offering by bbr80, a seller in Texas.  We were unable to seek his/her permission to post the photo thanks to GreedyBay's fear that someone would buy something outside of their service and they'd not reap their huge percentage fees.)

We have the two illustrated bottles catalogued as:

IL 135 - Chicago, Cook County, Illinois: No / BO DE / 5 = 2 leaf mold, aqua, 6.750" x 2.125" with round (oval) plate mould, A.G.W. on back heel, blank base, round base, Common.

IL 136 - Chicago, Cook County, Illinois: No / BO DE / 5 = 2 leaf mold, clear, 6.750" x 2.125" with round (oval) plate mould, blank back, blank base, round base, Common.

Chicago?  Yes.  We know these mavericks are from Chicago because of cataloguing these two related Hutchinsons:

IL 133 - Chicago, Cook County, Illinois: G. A. BODE / BOTTLERS / EXTRACTS / CHICAGO / A.G.W. (near base) = 2 leaf mold, aqua, 7.000" x 2.125" with round (oval) plate mould, THIS BOTTLE NOT / TO BE SOLD on back, 5 on base, round base, Common.

IL 134 - Chicago, Cook County, Illinois: G. A. BODE / BOTTLERS / EXTRACTS / CHICAGO = clear, round (oval) plate mould, back and base embossing unknown, round base, rarity unknown.

An image of either IL 133 or IL 134 was included in Gustav A. Bode's early 1890s National Bottlers' Gazette advertisement for Hutchinson stopper injectors (illustrated below).  Bode operated a bottler's supply house that was nationally known for distributing high quality extracts.  Although we have yet to discover any primary resource material verifying Bode's method of operation, it is my theory that bottlers responded to Bode's ads offering free extract samples, and Bode shipped those samples in the No / BO DE / 5 Hutchinson bottles.  Whether they became Bode customers or not, bottlers didn't return the Hutchinson bottles that contained samples, and simply put them into use in their own bottling plants.  Again, this is just a theory, but it would seemingly explain why so many of these bottles have been found across the continent.  We have yet to find any hard evidence explaining what the embossed "No 5" represented.

(Note: Additional information about the above illustration is included on the "Hutchinson Stopper Injectors" page in the "Hutchinson's Patent Spring Stoppers" portion of HutchBook.com's "Bottling" section.)

V. ROORBACH - TUCKER STOPPER PATENT

This month's EMail brought an inquiry from Bill Vezendy, one of the 23 Pennsylvania Hutchinson Specialists assisting with the HutchBook initiative.  Bill recently acquired an example of the illustrated PA 1725 Hutchinson: REGISTERED / J. ESPOSITO / 706 / (American flag) / FULTON, ST. / PHILADA. (R. J. Brown photo).  In addition to being Rare, Bill's bottle contained a bonus item; inside he found a hard rubber stopper bearing an 1890 patent date.  Bill submitted the accompanying photo of the stopper, describing it as "some type of hard rubber, as it floats, and its measurements are 2-5/16" long and 9/16" in diameter...it was in the Esposito bottle and fell right out after I got it in the right position."

Having the U.S. patent date made researching and finding the patent information a snap.  William L. Roorbach and George W. Tucker were issued patent number 429,482 on June 3, 1890.  We have added the patent drawings and much of the patent filing details to HutchBook.com's "Industry History" section list of "Stopper Patents."  Click on the patent # above to navigate to this patent's page.  This is a fascinating stopper.  Roorbach's description of his stopper's purported advantages also shed more light on the day-to-day challenges faced by soda bottlers.

Thanks for bringing this one to our attention, Bill.  The thing I enjoy most about this hobby is that even after collecting bottles for 50 years, there's always something new to learn! 

Be sure to click on Project Status Reports for the latest HutchBook.com updates!

HutchBook.com Development

It is incredibly exciting to make available the accompanying material concerning the wonderful bottles that utilized Hutchinson's Patent Spring Stopper!  Since the Hutchinson Bottle Directory initiative's founding in 1976, over 1,000 people have contributed bottle data and related information that will benefit collectors, archaeologists, historians, and other interested parties.  Here are details documenting the project's historical development:

Given the enormity of the HutchBook.com project, it is being delivered in three phases:

Phase I: Extensive, factual documentation concerning soft drink industry history, the Hutchinson era, the term "soda pop," stopper patents, W. H. Hutchinson and Son, Hutchinson's lawsuits, the American bottling system, pre-Hutchinson Era bottling, Hutchinson's Patent Spring Stoppers, Hutchinson bottles, the Hutchinson bottling process, and much more;

Phase II: Hutchinson Bottle Directory listing 17,011 different bottles; and

Phase III: Illustrations accompanying each bottle listings.

Project Status Reports

Phase I: Hutchinson History

September 30, 2009: Phase I launched! 

Phase II: Bottle Directory

Note: HutchBook.com does not yet include public access to the Hutchinson Bottle Directory data base. 

Click this link to the Project Status Reports page for the latest update.  Please bookmark this page and visit regularly to track on-going project developments!

Phase III: Bottle Illustrations

We will start adding Hutchinson bottle illustrations after Phase II has been moved up to the Internet for public access.