# Pop! Pop! Pop!



## Flasks (Mar 17, 2020)

It is lunchtime in the early oil fields of Pa. and shortly after,  one might likely have heard a single "pop"  or maybe several more soon after. If you guessed these guys were opening their soda bottles you'd be right. In 1864 a Mr. Matthew's patented a glass stopper with a band of rubber held in place by the carbonated drink. Sometimes they were pulled out from the neck, but at other times the palm of the hand tapped quickly and firmly down on top of the stopper creating a pop as the gas escaped. The stopper would remain in the wide part of the bottle and the beverage could be consumed. Now you know where the term "pop bottle" originated. I've found several of these but the one pictured is embossed with the name Matthews, pat. applied for, and 1864. One picture shows this stopper in place but due to time the rubber seal has crystalized and disintegrated. I'm enclosing a copy of a research paper (no copy write) for additional information.  My prayer goes out to those in need during this trying time for all of us, panic is not the answer and worsens this critical time, but being a bottle hunter, which you are if you're reading this, chances are you're pretty well self sufficient.


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## yacorie (Mar 17, 2020)

That’s awesome - I never knew that type of cap existed.  Such a large piece of glass for a stopper


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## Flasks (Mar 17, 2020)

The stopper would have been about 3/4" deeper into the neck of the bottle when the rubber gasket  was in place sealing the bottle. The bottle was filled with the bottle in the upright position...the stopper was pushed in squeezing the rubber stopper enough to pass through the neck and then immediately released......the pressure would immediately force the stopper up into the neck and seal the contents in.


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## iggyworf (Mar 17, 2020)

Very cool! I also have never seen that one before.


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## hemihampton (Mar 17, 2020)

Most of the Gravitating Stopper Bottles I've seen look pretty similar to the Hutch or Hutchinson Bottle. But they will say Mathews Gravitating stopper bottle on the bottom of Bottle. I've only dug one or 2 of these over the years & only have a small few in my collection. They seen hard to find, especially from Michigan.


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## Flasks (Mar 18, 2020)

The life of these glass Matthews stoppers was short lived and soon became obsolete with the advent of the Hutchinson closure. In my estimation, a stopper in good condition with the rubber having survived in place and being signed is usually worth more than the bottle it came from...just my 2 cents.


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## sandchip (Mar 18, 2020)

Very cool.  Always nice to learn something new.


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## SODABOB (Mar 19, 2020)

See and read ...





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						US44684A - Improved method of stopping bottles  - Google Patents
					





					patents.google.com


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## Flasks (Mar 19, 2020)

All the stoppers I've found are embossed "matthews" with the date 1864 and "patent" and are a different form of the glass plug. Albertson must have discovered the "idea" and Matthews improved upon it, perhaps this is the reason Alberton assigned the patent to Matthews?   Thanks for your contribution to this little known stopper. I've never found a bottle such as pictured above, all mine have come from blob top style sodas. We still have lots to learn.


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## SODABOB (Mar 19, 2020)

I scanned these from David Graci's 2003 book ...

"Soda and Beer Bottle Closures 1850-1910"

David's book is one of the most advanced studies ever published on the topic.  Another good resource is the 1993 Roy M. Topka study - which I don't have.


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## SODABOB (Mar 19, 2020)

Another good resource is the Tod Von Mechow website





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						North American Soda & Beer Bottles - Soda & Mineral Water Closures
					

This site offers a history of North American antique soda and beer bottles.  Within you will be able to date your old soda and beer bottles based on shape, color, base style, lips, and closures.




					www.sodasandbeers.com


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## SODABOB (Mar 19, 2020)

This link will take you to Tod's site and what he calls the Collector's Shelf.  Each of the bottles shown used a Gravitating Stopper.  Click on any bottle and it will pull up information about it ...





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						North American Soda & Beer Bottles - Collector's Shelf
					

This site offers a history of North American antique soda and beer bottles.  Within you will be able to date your old soda and beer bottles based on shape, color, base style, lips, and closures.




					www.sodasandbeers.com


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## hemihampton (Mar 19, 2020)

I've dug Gravitating Stopper type/style Bottles with Hutchinson spring stoppers intact which seems kinda odd. LEON.


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## falls (Mar 25, 2020)

That story is a myth. I have found the word "pop" on bottles that pre date Mathews. "California pop beer" comes to mind. When did this story switch from "hutch" bottles to "gravitators"? Read Ron Fowlers opinion on this at Hutchbook.com.  Nice story but not true.


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## epackage (Mar 25, 2020)

Flasks said:


> It is lunchtime in the early oil fields of Pa. and shortly after,  one might likely have heard a single "pop"  or maybe several more soon after. If you guessed these guys were opening their soda bottles you'd be right. In 1864 a Mr. Matthew's patented a glass stopper with a band of rubber held in place by the carbonated drink. Sometimes they were pulled out from the neck, but at other times the palm of the hand tapped quickly and firmly down on top of the stopper creating a pop as the gas escaped. The stopper would remain in the wide part of the bottle and the beverage could be consumed. Now you know where the term "pop bottle" originated. I've found several of these but the one pictured is embossed with the name Matthews, pat. applied for, and 1864. One picture shows this stopper in place but due to time the rubber seal has crystalized and disintegrated. I'm enclosing a copy of a research paper (no copy write) for additional information.  My prayer goes out to those in need during this trying time for all of us, panic is not the answer and worsens this critical time, but being a bottle hunter, which you are if you're reading this, chances are you're pretty well self sufficient.



The term soda pop DID NOT originate because of these stoppers, there are instances of the term being used 30-40 years earlier, to spread this rumor as truth doesn't do anyone in the hobby any good, but you're not alone with this exaggerated theory, people have been saying it about hutches as well for many years. It's just one of those untruth's people will keep buying into because they read it online...


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## Bark (Mar 25, 2020)

Very nice but I still prefer the "pop" sound that comes from opening a beer bottle.  Ooops...got off topic again.


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## SODABOB (Apr 8, 2020)

Perhaps this will shed some light on things.  The following text is from a personal study I conducted and pertains to the invention of carbonation, which was obviously an integral aspect of all carbonated soft drinks worldwide.  Prior to the introduction of carbonation, there were numerous types of beverages, such as lemonade, but those were not carbonated. 

*1772*

"The development of effervescence or carbonation took many years to perfect and included experimentation by a variety of chemists and scientists, such as Jan Baptista van Helmont (Flemish), Gabriel Venel (French), Joseph Black (British), and Robert Boyle (Anglo-Irish), among others too numerous to mention. But it was an Englishman named Joseph Priestly who is now considered the grandfather of the soft drink industry. In 1772, he invented a small carbonating apparatus that injected fixed air into water. Shortly afterwards, another Englishman, Thomas Henry, used Priestly’s invention to introduce the first fully carbonated water."

Switching to the key word "Pop" this is the earliest use of the word I have been able to find in the United States.  Even though it pertains to a fountain drink called Ginger Pop, its still a form of soda pop.

*1831  ~ Charleston, South Carolina ~ Ginger Pop




* 

Next up is the earliest use of the words Soda Pop I was able to find.

*1850 ~ Buffalo, New York ~ Soda Pop



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Last but not least is the invention of the Hutchinson stopper.

*1879



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Although there could be earlier examples of Ginger Pop and Soda Pop that I was unable to find, the main point is that the word "Pop" was being used many years before the invention of the Hutchinson stopper. Hence, any claim that the Hutchinson stopper was the origin of the word "Pop" is incorrect.


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