Pepsi:Cola employed at least five types of paper labels on the bodies of their bottles and at least six on the shoulder/neck areas.  The body and shoulder/neck labels generally matched each other although two variations of shoulder/neck labels accompanied the last type of body label (derived from data in Ayers 1995; Stoddard 1991; and Rawlinson 1976:32-34, as well as empirical data from observed bottles and a 2000 poster denoting bottle styles from PepsiCo).  The term, shoulder/neck label is used because the label usually appeared on the shoulder of the non-standardized bottles but on the neck of the standardized containers and non-standardized ones that have embossed areas at the shoulder. 

      Body label style #1 was the first paper-label container illustrated on the PepsiCo poster (2000).  It shows a label that I have not seen in collections or the literature and appears on a non-standard bottle.  The body label consists of a white background with SPARKLING BRACING BEVERAGE in brown lettering across the top.  A red, uneven background follows with Pepsi:Cola in white letters.  Below this is REFRESHING/HEALTHFUL/SERVE ICE COLD/12 OUNCES in brown on a white background.  The accompanying shoulder label (neck/shoulder label 1) is applied at an upward slant to the right.  A central red rectangle on a white background contains the Pepsi:Cola logo with FAMOUS FOR OVER 30 YEARS above and REFRESHING . . . HEALTHY below, all in brown letters.  The bottle shown is colorless with slight shoulders and a long neck (similar to late 20th century Miller Beer bottles) with gold foil enclosing the cap and finish.  According to the poster, these were introduced in 1933 and were the first paper labels since the 1905, diamond-shaped label.  Because Pepsi-Cola was not introduced in El Paso until 1935 (by Woodlawn Bottling Co.), labels of this type should probably not be expected on El Paso bottles.

      Body label style #2 was a rectangular label with a red background enclosing a blue double-outlined, white unevenly-spaced octagon.  At the top of the square were the words, A SPARKLING/BRACING/BEVERAGE in blue, followed by the PEPSI:COLA logo in red outlined with blue.  Nestled below the large "C" in fine print was the information, TRADE MARK/REG. U. S. PAT. OFF in blue with, CONTENTS 12 FL. OZ. in red.  Below that appeared the words, REFRESHING/HEALTHFUL, followed by the name of the bottler and the city/state designation.  The accompanying style #2 shoulder/neck label was set on a rectangular layout in red inset with a blue-outlined, white downwardly arched rectangle.  The blue-lettered information on the label was centered around the red PEPSI:COLA logo.  Presented above the logo was, REFRESHING . . HEALTHY with FAMOUS for OVER 30 YEARS below (cf. Ayers 1995:109).  In all examples investigated, shoulder/neck label #2 only accompanied body label #2.  Labels in the #2 style were generally used from 1936 to 1940, although at least one local example was on a bottled manufactured in 1944. 

      According to the PepsiCo poster (2000), the above label first saw use in 1936 and was followed by two variations that I have not noted in the empirical discussion of label #2.  The 1937 example is very similar to the one from 1936 but includes an arrow above the body label that points to the label and states: Look for the/Trade Mark.  The neck label maintains FAMOUS 
for OVER 30 YEARS below the Pepsi:Cola logo, has no lettering above it, and includes an extension above the original neck label that says: ORIGINAL.  A 1939 label is also similar except that the extensions above both the body and shoulder labels are gone, the lettering is slightly thicker, and the Pepsi:Cola logo on the shoulder label is not outlined in blue.  All three bottles are generic with no embossing.  Note that this is the first label since 1933 (which probably continued in use until 1936) that included the capacity (12 ounces).

      Body label style #3 was a rectangular label with a red background enclosing a blue-outlined, white unevenly-spaced  octagon.  At the top of the square were the words, A SPARKLING/BEVERAGE in blue, followed by the PEPSI:COLA logo in red.  Nestled below the large "C" in fine print was the information, TRADE MARK/REG. U. S. PAT. OFF in blue 
 with, CONTENTS 12 FL. OZ. in red.  Below that appeared the words, REFRESHING-SATISFYING in blue followed by the local bottler information, e.g. PEPSI-COLA BOTTLING COMPANY/OF KEESVILLE/KEESVILLE, NEW YORK. 
The accompanying style #3 shoulder/neck label was set on a rectangular layout in red inset with a blue-outlined, white downwardly arched rectangle.  The blue-lettered information on the label was centered around the red PEPSI:COLA logo with TRADE/MARK in fine print to the left and REG. U. S./PAT. OFF. to the right.  Presented below the logo was, REFRESHING - ENJOYABLE/FAMOUS FOR OVER 30 YEARS (Cf Ayers 1995:63; PepsiCo poster, 2000).  Although shoulder/neck label #3 usually accompanied body label #3, in at least one case a #3 shoulder/neck label appeared with a #4 body label.  Empirical data suggest that these labels were likely used prior to 1937, although the possibility of later use remains.  However, the PepsiCo poster's 1940 style conforms this variation and is shown on the standardized bottle that was introduced in 1940.  The poster, however, varies slightly from the available bottle photos.  The poster shows no bottler/city/state information on the body lable and excludes the trademark and patent information on the neck/shoulder label.

      Body label #4 was a rectangular label with a red background enclosing a blue and red double-outlined, white unevenly-spaced octagon (note that the blue line outlining the octagon was much thiker than the red line in this variation).  At the top of the square were the words, SPARKLING/SATISFYING in blue, followed by the PEPSI:COLA logo in red outlined with blue.  Nestled below the large "C" in fine print was the information, TRADE MARK/REG. U. S. PAT. OFF in blue with, CONTENTS 12 FL. OZ. in red.  Below that appeared MADE ONLY BY PEPSI-COLA COMPANY/LONG ISLAND CITY, NEW YORK, followed by the name of the bottler and the city/state designation.  The accompanying style #4 shoulder/neck label was set on a rectangular layout in red inset with a blue-outlined (with thick blue line), white downwardly arched rectangle.  The blue-lettered information on the label was centered around the red PEPSI:COLA logo with TRADE/MARK in fine print to the left and REG. U. S./PAT. OFF. to the right.  Presented below the logo was, FAMOUS FOR OVER 30 YEARS (cf. Ayers 1995:76). 

      Body label #5 was also rectangular but bore little resemblance to the earlier labels.  A central blue oval was outlined by a red line with red outside corners.  A white scroll stretched across the blue oval background from the left slightly upward to the right.  Within the scroll was the PEPSI:COLA logo with REG. U. S. PAT. OFF. in fine print below the "C" underline, all in red.  The upper blue area contained the word, SPARKLING.  The lower blue area contained the contents information (e.g. 12 FL. OZ.), followed by the local bottler information.  Below the local bottler information was the company disclaimer, UNDER APPOINTMENT BY/PEPSI-COLA COMPANY, N. Y.  The accompanying shoulder/neck label #4 was a miniature elongated version of the body label with no print appearing in the blue areas and the REG. U. S. PAT. OFF. claim in fine blue print (cf. Ayers 1995:101).  With a single exception, body label #5 was accompanied by shoulder/neck label #5 in the examples examined.  The exception was shoulder/neck label #6.  This label displayed the same configuration as #5 but 
lacked the PEPSI:COLA logo.  In its place were three lines of text.  In the blue area above the text was the word, PLEASE, and the blue areas below contained the phrase, THANK YOU.  The text within the white area was so indistinct as to be illegible in the photograph examined but may have included the wartime warning (see below) (cf. Ayers 1995:105). 

     Empirically, labels in the final group were used between 1942 and 1946 (the PepsiCo 2000 poster notes the first year as 1943). Notice that the stronger emphasis on red, white, and blue fell during the period of patriotic fervor stirred by the United States participation in World War II.

Table 7d-1 - Comparison and Contrast of Empirical and PepsiCo Dates for Pepsi Bottles

     Although dating paper label bottles is probably more academic than practical for archaeologists, such labels occasionally survive subsurface and are excavated (cf. Herskovitz 1978:5-6;  Lockhart & Olszewki 1994; Wilson 1981:1-6).  With the single exception of body label #2, the dates are surprisingly close.  Body label #1 was not included in my original empirical study because it did not appear in any of the literature nor in any examples I observed.  It is quite possible that containers in the sample of bottles containing body label #3 were all notably older than the labels, thereby creating the discrepancy between observed bottles and the PepsiCo date.  Because bottles were reused and labels were not, new labels were commonly attached to older containers.   I have no explanation for why label # 4 was not included in the PepsiCo poster.

     Based on both forms of data, the most useable dates would be:
 

Table 7d-2 - Dates for Paper Label Pepsi Bottles

Label #1	Label #2	Label #5

     The second datable feature was the front neck logo.  From 1945 to 1948, the words, PEPSI:COLA, on a white background were enclosed by an oval in the neck area.  A new neck logo, 2 FULL/GLASSES, also enclosed in an oval, replaced the old one from 1949 to 1951.  In 1952, the PEPSI-COLA logo returned (in dash form) and was used until 1958.  Note that the eight- and ten-ounce bottles were not produced in the 2 FULL GLASSES version.  A combination of the two features produces the dating scheme shown in Table 1.

Table 7d-3 - Dating Guide for 12-Ounce ACL Pepsi Bottles
 
 

     Eight- and ten-ounce containers were introduced in 1948, although the ten-ounce bottles were not used in all areas.  These bottles retained the designs described above, but are distinguishable by the size designation in the lower right section of the body label and, of course, by visual determination (Rawlinson 1976:19, 46).

     The swirl bottle was named for the series of embossed, vertical "swirled" ribs extending from heel to neck.

    A poster from PepsiCo (History of the Pepsi Trademark, 2000) defines the changes in Pepsi logos from 1898 to 1998.  Although I have only empirically noted two variations in the "swirl" bottle that was introduced by Pepsi in 1958, there may be as many as five datable variations based on label/logo changes.

     When Pepsi introduced the swirl bottle in 1958, the dash logo with script lettering and a long "tail" streaming back from the "C" (used since 1951) was still prominent, and the initial bottles bore that logo.  In 1962, the script was changed to block lettering with capital letters, but the entire Pepsi-Cola name was still used, and the red crescent above and blue crescent below the logo still remained.  The "Cola" was dropped in 1965, leaving only PEPSI surrounded by the two crescents.  The block letters became thicker in 1971, and two rectangles (each with one convex side) were added to the right (blue) and left (red) of the main logo.  In 1987, another font change rounded the corners of the "E" and slightly altered the "S" to a flatter configuration, but the red and blue crescents and the right and left rectangles remained.  The same font remained (but in italics) in 1991, but rode atop a thick red bar with the two crescents now compressed into a red and blue ball.  In 1996, only the crescents/ball remained.  The final logo to date rests on a rectangular blue background with the crescents/ball slightly offset to the left and the word PEPSI again appearing centered at the top of the blue background and superimposed over the upper segment of the crescents/ball.

Table 7d-4 - Logo Changes that May Appear on "Swirl" Pepsi-Cola Bottles used After 1957

     On September 2, 1964, PepsiCo purchased the Tip Corporation, then owner of the Mountain Dew label, formula, and franchises and operated the company as a subsidiary.  A new label appeared briefly in 1968.  This one was similar to the initial offering except that the words, MOUNTAIN/DEW now occupied two lines, and the "signatures" were gone from the body front label.  This ten-ounce package was apparently only offered for one year (Bates et al 1996a:M-16; Bridgeforth 1997a:[22, 26-27]; 1997b:[11]).