COLLECTOR INFORMATION
SODA BOTTLES - Cone Top Soda Cans

There are two known generations of cone top Bala Club cans.  The difference is in the contents lines found at the bottom of some of the cans.

Seven different generations of punch top cans followed the introduction of Bala Club in cone top cans, and two generations of tab top cans ended production of the brand in the late 1960's.

Only two Bala Club bottles have been cataloged. A clear glass 32 ounce bottle dated 1959, and a green glass 32 ounce dated 1962. The large bottles of this era usually contained ginger ale, or various mixers.

Sales of the drink in cone top cans must have been less than expected as only one more Booth's canned product has been noted, a tab top can produced in 1981.

At least four different generations of bottles were sold from 1951 to 1966.

(2-1) ROOT BEER (Yellow Name + Flavor)

(4-1) GINGER ALE

To save money, the first generation of Bottom's Up was a generic type can with the flavor on the cap instead of on the face of the can. A second generation can followed with the flavor printed on the cans.

No other cans beyond the production of the cone tops are known to exist, but at least four generations of 8 ounce bottles dating from 1956 to 1974 have been cataloged. 

The company's beginnings can be traced back to 1866 when it started exporting a ginger ale drink to the United States from Ireland.

The can producing companies did a good selling job on C & C, and they tested their first generations cone top cans produced at the New York bottling plant in the late 1940's. Their can distribution grew rapidly as shown by the increasing number of canners listed on the label of the cans. By 1953, they covered a large portion of the nation with their products.

In the late 1950's they switched to punch top cans of which two generations have been cataloged. In 1964, they started canning in tab top cans. Fifteen different tab top labels have been noted through 1985. 

(4-1) GRAPE

Canada Dry products were placed in many early type bottles such as the blob top, Hutchinson type, and machine made embossed bottles with paper labels. One unusual machine made bottle was an iridescent red glass color with a paper label, and the brand name embossed on the bottom.

Eighty seven varieties of the painted label bottles have been cataloged, dating from the early 1940's to the 1980's.   Canada Dry's debut with cans began about 1951 with a Spur Cola cone top can accented by a silver border around the shield logo. This test must have been successful, as it was followed with a full flavor line of cone top cans, all with a gold border around the shield logo.

After the introduction of the cone top cans came thirty-two different punch top cans, sixty nine generations of tab top cans, and several commemorative and sports set cans.

The main product line now being marketed by Canada Dry is a full line of drink mixers.  

There are two known varieties of the first soda can. The filled can has a blue background. An identical can with a green background also exists, which is suspected to be a can company sample can.

Leakage, flavor absorption problems, and difficulty in handling and stacking spelled failure for the first canned soda.   Better can liners convinced the company to try cans again about 1950, when Cammarano Brothers in Tacoma, Washington tried ginger ale and a lemon drink called "Up" in a 32 ounce cone top can. The same drinks were also canned in 12 ounce cone tops with "canners name and address on crown".

The last Clicquot Club was put in cone top cans about 1954 when the familiar Eskimo logo was replaced with clowns grouped around the brand name.

Three punch top cans and 5 tab top cans, the last one cataloged in 1978, followed the cone tops. Twenty-nine Clicquot Club painted label bottles have been noted dating from 1940 to 1968.

From those humble beginnings in 1886, Coca-Cola has risen to a position of dominance in the soft drink industry. Many thousands of bottle and can generations have been produced over the years which are the subject for many books on collectibles.

Coca-Cola's brief flurry with cone top cans occurred in the late 1930's to the early 1940's preceding World War II. A 16 ounce tall cone top and a 32 ounce cone top can with the Coca-Cola logo was produced. The only known examples of these much sought after cans are found at the Coca-Cola archives in Atlanta, Georgia, and a 32 ounce can is on display in the Schmidt Coca-Cola museum in Elizabethtown, KY.

It is the opinion of the Atlanta Archivist, and most collectors that Coca-Cola cone tops were never filled or market tested, but existed only as can company samples. The value of either one of these cans would most certainly be in the thousands of dollars if more were found.

(1-1) Sample Can

A 12 ounce and a quart cone top can was tested, both with identical labels. Seven different punch top cans and 39 varieties of tab top cans followed the initial can market test.  Early paper label bottles were followed by 61 cataloged painted label Dad's bottles. 

It is speculated that the only known Dairy * Seltz can was probably a sample can presented to the company in the mid 1930's to try and convince them to market their chocolate flavored drink in a can.

The only thing we know about the company is to be found on the can's label. The drink was to be "Prepared and distributed by Southern Dairies Laboratories, Miami, FL"

There are no other know examples of cans or bottles of any type with the brand name Dairy * Seltz.

The introduction of the brand was followed shortly by three known generations of punch top cans. Four Donald Duck painted label bottle types have been noted, all dated 1953. 

Around 1952, 12 and 32 ounce cone top cans were filled and market tested. Three punch top and 19 tab top Double Cola cans have followed the early test.

Double Cola with the assistance of Owens Illinois Glass Company was the first to place its drink in a painted label bottle. Thirty one cataloged generations of painted label bottles have followed the first filling.  

Dr Pepper has been a prolific producer of containers for their soft drinks over the years. Their bottle spread ranges from the old Hutchinson style to the modern day painted label bottle. Fifty two generations of painted label bottles have been cataloged, beginning with their first ACL bottle produced in 1955.
 
On October 13, 1954, Dr Pepper held a press conference in Dallas, TX to announce a series of market tests for non-returnable containers.  Three sizes of cans were included, a 6 ounce cone top with the bottle cap design, and a 10 and 12 ounce punch top can. St Louis, MO was chosen for the site of the test.

About 1955, a logo change from the bottle cap to the circular 10-2-4 label occurred. A pair of cone top cans, a 6 and a 12 ounce, were filled and sold at that time.

The last cone top can, part of the "candy stripe" promotion, was sold in 1958. Six punch top, thirty six tab top, three snap top, and many commemorative and offer Dr Pepper cans have followed the early day tests on the versatile container for soft drinks.

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