Descriptions 
      Descriptions of bottles generally require some explanations.  As with all specialties, bottles have their own set of nomenclature. 

Figure 4-1 - Bottle Nomenclature

     The finish received its name because it was the last part of the bottle to be finished in hand-blown manufacturing process.  In El Paso soda bottles, only two types of finishes were generally used.  The earliest, Hutchinson-style finish (shown in Figure 1) was used on only four main bottle styles.  The crown finish, still in use today, became the most common of all soda bottle finishes in El Paso as in the rest of the world.  The continuous thread finish was used on non-returnable bottles from about the 1960s but is not within the scope of this work. 

     Wherever possible, I have used descriptive terms found in Jones and Sullivan (1989), such as ribs to describe embossed, rounded ridges, although I have continued to use spelling common to the United States (e.g. mold rather than mould). 

     Although I have attempted to be as comprehensive as possible, it is important to note that the list of bottles in this volume is far from complete.  Collectors, archaeologists, and antique dealers discover new additions to the list periodically.  Representative examples are lacking from at least a dozen local companies, and examples of at least seventeen known beverage types advertised by local bottlers are as yet unfound.  There are undoubtably undiscovered bottle styles and variations from bottlers whose more common containers are listed in this work.  With many of the paper-label variations, the ravages of time may have destroyed all examples.  The descriptions of bottles are as complete as I could make them. 

Descriptions Within the Text 
     Each bottle listed in the text is described using the same format. At the top of each bottle description is an identification number (e.g. H 01 for Houck & Dieter) followed by a brief (2-4 word description that highlights the container's differences from preceding and/or following bottles.  If certain sections (e.g. neck or heel) are excluded in a given description, it is because they contain no labeling or descriptive design.  If more than one size bottle is described or if the bottle type contains minor variations, the second (or third) size or variation is described in brackets [ ].  Bracketed description only occurs in sections where change is apparent.  If, for example, a body logo is the same on both 7- and 10-ounce sizes but the neck logo is different, a bracketed description will appear in the neck section but not in the body section.  Embossing, printing, or ACL labeling is presented in either capitals or mixed letters as it appears on the bottle or printed label.  Details (such as italics, arches, upwarly slanted labels, etc.) follow the lettering in parentheses ( ).  A line change is indicated by a slash (/) between words (e.g. BOTTLE STERILIZED/BEFORE FILLING). 

Method of Manufacture:  Only two methods of manufacture were used for El Paso soda bottles:  the two-piece mold process and machine manufacture.  In some instances, I have identified semi-automatic or fully automatic bottle machine manufacture, but such distinctions are not always clear. 

Color:  This refers only to the color of the glass (e.g. Georgia Green, colorless, or amethyst), not to labeling colors.  Glass that contains no apparent pigmentation is referred to as colorless, not clear.  The word, clear, is a very ambiguous term.  The word, colorless, is much more (pardon the expression) clear.  Early accounts refer to the color caused by iron impurities as common green, rather than aqua or aquamarine.  I like the descriptiveness of the term and use it.  Manganese-bearing glass is variously described as purple, solarized amethyst, or SCA (sun-colored amethyst).  I chose to use the word, amethyst.  Georgia Green is the color popularized by Coca-Cola; Forest Green was chosen by Seven Up.  Both colors were used by other companies.  Amber glass (in El Paso) was used mostly by beer companies who bottled cereal beverages or "near-beers" during the Prohibition period.  These almost always carried paper labels and are frequently only distinguishable from beer bottles by the absence of the word "beer" on the paper label. 

Size (in cm.):  Size is given in centimeter and always includes height (h) and diameter (d) at center body.  In most cases, body diameter is the approximate mean diameter of a bottle.  Although soft drink bottles appear to be circular in cross-section, they are usually slightly oval.  Even relatively new bottles can vary in diametric measurement by as much as 0.1 cm., and older containers sometimes vary by more then 0.2 cm.  If other diametric measurements are important, they are also listed.  Bore diameter is generally standard for the use of crown caps and thus is not listed.  Both height and diameter tend to vary among individual containers that were blown into a two-piece mold.  Measurements were maintained at a closer tolerance with the advent of machine-made containers. 

Primary Labeling Style:  Labeling falls into four categories:  embossed, debossed, ACL, or paper (although etching was used on Empire Products Corp. seltzer bottles).  Embossing is raised lettering created during the molding process; debossing is similar but with the letters sunken into the glass surface.  Applied Color Labeling (ACL) is the application of heated enamel to the glass surface (also known as painted labels or baked enamel labeling).  I commonly use the ACL designation for brevity and because it is used by the bottling industry.  Paper labels are, of course, printed on paper and glued to the glass surface. 

Finish:  With five exceptions (using Hutchinson-style finishes and one with a Christin finish), all El Paso soda bottles reviewed in this work were manufactured with crown finishes. 

Capacity:  Capacity is measured in fluid ounces.  Where such information was included as a part of the bottle labeling, it is reported as x oz. (e.g. 10 oz.).  When circumstances allowed, bottles with no content information on the label were filled with water to approximately 1.5 inches below the lip and then poured into a measuring cup.  These were reported as ca. x oz. (e.g. ca. 10 oz.).  Bottles I was unable to measure and which contained no content information were reported as ca. x oz. (est.) [e.g. ca. 10 oz. (est)]. 

Overall Bottle Design:  This section describes the overall shape of the bottle (usually cylindrical) along with general embossed designs, such as swirls, vertical ropes, ribs, constricted waists, etc. 

Front Description  The sections below refer to the obverse or front side of the bottle.  This generally contains the main labeling area. 

Neck: Neck area labels or designs are described here. 

Neck/Shoulder:  Sometimes, because of the shape of the shoulder, location of the label, or label size, it is unclear whether a label is actually on the shoulder or the neck.  In these cases, the designation, neck/shoulder, is appropriate. 

Shoulder:  Shoulder area labels or designs are described here. 

Body:  Labels or designs located on the body (usually the primary labeling area) are described here. 

Heel:  The heel was a favorite area for content information, although occasional other data such as manufacturer's marks or mold numbers appear here. 

Back Description  The sections below refer to the reverse of back side of the bottle. 

Neck:  Same as front description. 

Neck/Shoulder:  Same as front description. 

Shoulder:  Same as front description. 

Body:  Same as front description. 

Heel:  Same as front description. 

Base:  Important dating information such as manufacturer's marks, patent dates, year of manufacture, or even initials of the company owner were frequently embossed on the base. 

Manufacturer:  Where known, the manufacturer is listed, along with the dates (in parentheses) during which the mark appearing on the bottle was used. 

Dating:  The approximate dating period for the bottle appears in brackets (e.g. [1921-1933]).  Wherever pertinent, an explanation of how the dating was derived follows. 

Collection(s):  This section contains names of collectors and/or collections where samples were obtained. 
 

     Bottle descriptions follow the histories of the companies that filled them.  For help in cross-referencing, a list of drinks known to have been bottled in El Paso and the dates during which each company bottled or distributed them is provided in Appendix B.  Appendix D contains a list of manufacturer's marks along with dates used, company names, and addresses. 

 Photographs 

     Photographs are arranged according to the bottler who filled the bottles.  For example, Empire Products Corp. bottled Dr. Pepper (in the debossed bottles), Chocolate Soldier, Empire flavors, NuGrape, and a variety of other products.  All of these appear at the end of Chapter 5, "Purity, Houck & Dieter, Empire, and Grapette."  These photographs come from a large variety of sources that includes private collections, archaeological collections, my own collection, and some photographs that were sent to me by collectors.  Although my wife, Wanda Wakkinen and/or I shot most of the photos, some were taken by other collectors or professional photographers.  As a result, these photos are of varying quality.  Color is very true in some cases and radically distorted in others.  Photos were selected because they showed details better than other choices, rather than for overall photo quality.  Photos of my collection, taken by us, will not carry citations.  If a photo came from another collection, it is labeled just below the picture with the collector's name or name of the specific collection (for archaeological collections or museums).  Photographers' names (other than ours) will follow the collection name in brackets.