Common 20th Century Artifacts – A Guide to Dating – Bottles, General

 

Historical archaeologists and others trying to date historical sites by means of the artifacts found on them are increasingly interested in common items manufactured during the lifetimes of people still living. This dating guide is intended to provide a simple source for the most common artifacts found in archaeological or historic contexts.

Cathy Spude compiled the following dating information for use by the public and professionals.

• Aluminum Foil
• Bottles, General
• Bottles, Beer
• Cans, General
• Cans, Beer
• Cigarettes
• Closures, Bottle
• Plastics and Synthetics
• Other Artifacts
• References Cited

Bottles, General

1820-1925: Tooled finish (Jones and Sullivan 1985: 165).

1877 – 1920: Vent marks (Jones and Sullivan 1985: 165).

1886: The first machine to make narrow-mouthed bottles was developed. This was a semi-automatic Ashley machine. It involved the hand-gathering of glass (Douglas and Frank 1972: 178).

1889-present: Machine-made bottles (Jones and Sullivan 1985: 165).

Post 1892: Crown finish. Originally made with a finishing tool (Jones and Sullivan 1985).

1905-1982: “Owen’s” mark on bottle base (Miller and McNichol 2002).

1905-1920: 6 oz, 7 oz, and quart soda pop bottles standardized (Kaplan 1982).

1905: Owen’s mark first appearts on beer, porter, ale, soda water, wine, brandy, milk and patent medicine bottles (Miller and McNichol 2002: 3).

1906: Owen’s mark first appears on catsup bottles (Miller and McNichol 2002: 3).

1908: Owen’s mark first appears on vinegar, grape juice, narrow mouth food bottles and European bottles (Miller and McNichol 2002: 3).

1910: Owen’s mark first appears on fruit jars, packers ware, prescription ware, ammonia bottles, and Heinz bottles (Miller and McNichol 2002: 3).

1911: Owen’s mark first appears on whiskeys, gallon packers, and small bottles from one-half to six ounce capacity (Miller and McNichol 2002: 3).

1912: Owen’s mark first appears on carboys (Miller and McNichol 2002: 3).

1914: Blue glass, primarilly Bromo-Seltzer bottles, first produced by Owens machine (Miller and McNichol 2002: 8).

1917: Half of all bottles produced in the United States are made on Owens machines (Miller and McNichol 2002: 3).

1920-1930: 8 oz. bottles standardized (Kaplan 1982).

1924: 9 oz, 10 oz bottles standardized (Kaplan 1982).

Pre-1925: Hand-blown bottles (Jones and Sullivan 1985: 165).

1929-1931: Pepsi introduces the 12 oz. bottle (Kaplan 1982).

1934: Square paper milk container introduced (Busch 1987: 76).

1935: Non-returnable beer bottles introduced (Busch 1987: 77).

1935: “FEDERAL LAW FORBIDS SALE OR RE-USE OF THIS BOTTLE” mandated for all liquor bottles (Busch 1987: 75).

1948: Non-returnable soda bottles introduced (Busch 1987: 77).

1955: Coca-Cola introduces the 26 oz. bottle (Kaplan 1982).

1955-1960: 16 oz. bottle introduced (Kaplan 1982).

1958: Introduction of plastic 6-pack carriers (Kaplan 1982: 127).

1965: Non-returnable bottles or One Way bottles introduced (Kaplan 1982:106).

1970: Plastic soft drink bottles introduced (Kaplan 1982: 106).

1971: Plasti-shield bottles introduced by Owens-Illinois (Kaplan 1982:106).

1977: Introduction of PET bottle (polyethylene terathalate) (Kaplan 1982: 113).

1978: Wide-spread adoption of plastic pop bottles (Kaplan 1982: 109)

1978: 62% of soft drink bottles, 89% of beer bottles and 98% of milk containers were non-returnable (Busch 1987: 77).