# 1931 Par-T-Pak Ginger Ale with Label



## ACLbottles (Jul 27, 2014)

I recently picked up this unembossed Par-T-Pak Ginger Ale bottle, and I can't find much about it. I realize that because it has a paper label only and no embossing to distinguish it from other similar bottles, not many may be around, but I wanted to post it here and see if anyone has ever seen one. It's dated 1931 on the base, which seems like a really old bottle from this company. Does anyone know when Par-T-Pak was first bottled? Most of the earliest Par-T-Paks that I've seen are quart-sized, but this is a 12 oz size. I was able to find a picture of a quart sized bottle with a very similar label, but not quite the same. So... has anybody ever seen one?[attachment=IMG_1751.JPG] [attachment=IMG_1753.JPG] [attachment=IMG_1761.JPG]


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## ACLbottles (Jul 27, 2014)

A couple more. I forgot to mention that in the bottom right corner, it says Columbus, Georgia.[attachment=IMG_1765.JPG] [attachment=IMG_1799.JPG]


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## ACLbottles (Jul 27, 2014)

Here's the similar quart bottle. Sorry about the small picture.[attachment=untitled.png]


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## SODAPOPBOB (Jul 27, 2014)

ACLbottles I just now came across this thread and haven't had time to do any research, but based on memory I believe PAR-T-PAK was first introduced in *1932*. So I am a little confused about the 1931 date. It's possible the solo number 1 is for 1941 and not 1931. As you probably know, the bottle was made by the Owens-Illinois Glass Company and that the number 14 represents their plant in Brighton, New Jersey which (according to most charts) opened in 1930. So the plant number fits, but I'm still not sure about the 1 for 1931, especially if my memory serves me correctly and PAR-T-PAK was introduced in 1932. All things considered, I suppose the bottle could have been made in 1931 but not distributed until 1932. Of course, this all hinges on when PAR-T-PAK was actually introduced. Once these dating uncertainties are accurately established, it could turn out that you found one of the first PAT-T-PAK bottles ever made.


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## SODAPOPBOB (Jul 27, 2014)

Here's one of the Owens-Illinois charts I was referring to so as to help establish the 1930 date for their plant number 14 in Brighton, New Jersey.


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## SODAPOPBOB (Jul 27, 2014)

The information on this link indicates the name PAR-T-PAK was ... First used in December of 1931Filed in December of 1935Registered in November of 1936 http://trademarks.justia.com/713/72/par-t-pak-71372985.html  ( I'm beginning think you found a first-ever PAR-T-PAK bottle )


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## SODAPOPBOB (Jul 27, 2014)

P.S. I just realized your bottle has the words "TRADE MARK" on the label, which could change things. Question: Were manufacturers allowed to use the words TRADE MARK before the brand was offically filed and legally registered?


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## SODAPOPBOB (Jul 28, 2014)

Based on some preliminary research findings, it appears that manufacturers were *not* allowed to use the word(s) TRADE MARK/TRADEMARK until their product or service was legally filed and registered with the U.S. Trademark Office first. If this is in fact true, and the 1935-1936 dates for when PAR-T-PAK was filed and registered are accurate, then it leads me to believe the bottle in question was produced after 1936. Which in turn suggest the single-digit 1 is for 1941 and not 1931. I admit this information is not proof-positive as to the bottle's production date, but I do believe it is sufficient enough to warrant additional research.


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## SODAPOPBOB (Jul 29, 2014)

This is the earliest Ad I can find for PAR-T-PAK Ginger Ale ... ( Quart Bottle ) From ... The Bee ~  Danville, Virginia ~ October 21, *1932*


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## SODAPOPBOB (Jul 29, 2014)

This is the earliest Ad I can find for PAR-T-PAK Ginger Ale that mentions a 12 Ounce bottle ... From ... The Evening Independent ~ Massillon, Ohio ~ May 27, *1937*


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## SODAPOPBOB (Jul 29, 2014)

ACLbottles Good News / Bad News / ? I was just about to toss in the towel when I discovered the attached ad. It's from 1934 and is the earliest image I can find of a PAR-T-PAK bottle that has a paper label similar to yours. But the real kicker is that it clearly includes the words TRADE MARK. So this means the trademark filing and registration dates I posted earlier are either inaccurate or else PAR-T-PAK did in fact use the TRADE MARK designation on their labels "prior" to it actually being filed and registered. I'm not sure what the answer is but this could possibly put your bottle back into the 1931-1932 era. However, the glitch with this revised possibility falls back on the fact that I cannot find a 12 Ounce bottle any earlier than 1937. But one thing is for certain, the paper label similar to yours was indeed used as early as 1934! Ad From ... The Charleston Daily Mail ~ Charleston, West Virginia ~ November 30, *1934*


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## SODAPOPBOB (Jul 29, 2014)

Cropped from the 1934 Ad for general interest and comparison ...


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## morbious_fod (Aug 4, 2014)

Soda, it's a paper label. It could easily have been placed in an older bottle. Just Saturday I was talking to the author of a Dr. Enuf book where we had the same conversation about a 1947 bottle with a 1952 era paper label on it from the brand. The bottler in question was a Dad's Root Beer bottler who would have been using amber bottles for that brand for years and they were the logical choice for the transition to amber bottles for Dr. Enuf.

Using the date on the bottom on ACLs works because ACL is a permanent thing applied when the bottle was made. A slick side bottle with a paper label may have worn multiple labels in its career, and it would only be sheer luck that one would be the first application on a brand new bottle ordered in 1931.

Not to mention the fact that during the depression people were purchasing old Canada Dry, or other bottles, from bottle salvagers in the New York area in order to have bottles to bottle their drinks according to Wythe Hull owner of the Marion Bottling Company. This is where the Pepsi-Cola paper labels on Green and Brown bottles are believed to have stemmed from. This could be a 1931 ginger ale bottle from the New Jersey/New York area that was purchased for use in another part of the country thus the Bridgeton plant number.

Dating returnable paper label bottles is a tricky business due to their very nature of being removable.


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## morbious_fod (Aug 4, 2014)

BTW ACLs that is a very nice early paper label Par-T-Pak.


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## morbious_fod (Aug 4, 2014)

I've got a few unused neck labels for Par-T-Pak Orange from the same era around here somewhere.


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