# trying to find out more on a possible Bluebird canadian bottle ?



## RCO (Feb 10, 2017)

was looking thru some of my bottle books and a listing intrigued me and seemed worthy of some further research 

the initial listing that caught my attention was in a Canadian bottle book from the 70's 
here is the listing -

Bluebird - top crown cap , Colour -clear , height 7 1/2 , neck - crest of bird with top hat  - BLUEBIRD , back same  ,  bottom ring - trade mark reg  6 FL OZ , pat Mar 2 1927  

then i looked thru some more recent bottle books and was 2 listings that mentioned bluebird , one was for Kist which appeared to be more recent and another was from Toronto Ontario and seemed to fit the dates 

The Star Beverage co - ( Blue bird , hires ) 1931- 1941  , older book lists them as starting in 1914 , so they operated for a while in Toronto 

but since I haven't actually seen a bluebird bottle from Toronto , I'm somewhat just trying to fill in the blanks here and figure out if one actually does exist or not and according to listing in original book which is very accurate one does 


anyone seen this bottle or have any other info ?


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## RCO (Feb 10, 2017)

from my google searches there is an American embossed/art deco bluebird bottle from RI/Mass area and it appears to be somewhat common 

but it doesn't appear to be the exact same bottle described in original listing , don't see a top hat and patent date on American one is April 14 , 1925 , although they sound similar 

but I'm willing to leave open the possibility they are somehow related as they do have the exact same name and around the same time period


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## RCO (Feb 10, 2017)

[h=2]


Sunday, June 8, 2014[/h]    [h=3]Blue Bird Beverages of West Barrington[/h]



After a long search, I was able to obtain an elusive RI deco soda bottle.  It is embossed Blue Bird on the shoulder (embossed blue birds), and W.  Barrington, RI on the bottom.  My past research had turned up very little on this bottle, so I decided to try to track it down for good.  The results were a little varied, but interesting!



The Blue Bird deco soda



Base embossing




Blue Bird was a grape flavored soda.  The bottle design was patented in 1925 by the Citrus Products Co. of Chicago.  This was the parent company of brands such as Kist and Chocolate Soldier.   



Bottle design patent.  Paul Ginter was a prolific designer of deco soda bottles


Blue Bird never achieved the success of brands like Kist, but it did well enough to make its way to the east coast.

http://ribottleinfo.blogspot.ca/2014/06/blue-bird-beverages-of-west-barrington.html


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## RCO (Feb 10, 2017)

It copied a little big but I found a blog post from RI that mentions some useful info , author seemed to think original bottle was patented in 1925 and was done so by a company related to KIST and that it was a smaller brand that never managed to become that successful but was sold in some different areas around US 

still leaves me confused about the 1927 patent date bottle mentioned in original book as all the US bluebird bottles I see online are from 1925 , so the Canadian one seems to be a bit different


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## RCO (Feb 10, 2017)

also found one on ebay , looking at pictures up close and the bird described in original listing as having a top hat , doesn't seem to be the same bird on the 1925 bottle , I'm not seeing any hat ? 



http://www.ebay.com/itm/Scarce-1925...ird-Unusual-Sculpted-Shape-Look-/231841576965


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## whittled (Feb 10, 2017)

Just for you...... and anyone else I guess. 1925 Bottlers Encyclopedia.


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## RCO (Feb 10, 2017)

so from reading that it appears anyone could buy the rights to bottle and sell " bluebird " , Chicago isn't that far from Toronto so it wouldn't be unrealistic to assume they signed an agreement to bottle it 

the mystery is why does it appear there bottle is a bit different than the others ? why go to all the trouble of designing a new bottle ?


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## Canadacan (Feb 10, 2017)

The patent dates always seem to be later on Canadian sodas, probably to do with patent laws and being a different country right, so they (Dominion glass, Consumers glass) remake the bottle mold with the new patent date specifically for Canada. An example would be the Kist Deco 6oz USA- Jan 25 1927..... Canada Feb 19 1927...pretty close dates on that ...why the huge date gap on the Blue bird?...I don't know. The early bottles all had paper labels.
Some where I thought I had a clipping from Winnipeg for Blue Bird but I can't find it right now...pretty sure it was from Drewrys. I do have this ad though from my Kist research......

Kist-  The Ottawa Journal, 20 Jul 1937, Tue....source newspapers dot com.


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## RCO (Feb 10, 2017)

that ad is interesting that bottler only seems to have lasted for 3 years 37-39 according to book and after that I can't seem to find who did Kist in Ottawa 

have you seen any bluebird bottles from Canada ? before , either the 1927 one or newer ones from kist ?


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## Canadacan (Feb 10, 2017)

No I have not....but believe they do exist, especially after finding that early SS Kist....and the Green River that showed up, and last year I landed a Canadian made 1930's NuGrape deco that came from a Winnipeg bottler.


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## whittled (Feb 11, 2017)

> Blue Bird was a grape flavored soda.  The bottle design was patented in  1925 by the Citrus Products Co. of Chicago.  This was the parent company  of brands such as Kist and Chocolate Soldier.


Paul A Ginter was an assignor to the American Bottle Co. in Toledo for most if not all of his patents. The bottle makers could vary a design to suit a customer request I believe.
I'm still pondering the Blue Bird vs Bluebird thing. 
Anyway, glad to see this come up again, I didn't get as much 5 or so years ago when I tried.
Thanks.


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## whittled (Feb 11, 2017)

Also, the ad in the Bottlers Encyclopedia was 1925 but may have been compiled before the patent was even applied for. That and the form may not have been "adopted" by Citrus Products until a later date. 
Just thinking out loud.


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## RCO (Feb 11, 2017)

Canadacan said:


> No I have not....but believe they do exist, especially after finding that early SS Kist....and the Green River that showed up, and last year I landed a Canadian made 1930's NuGrape deco that came from a Winnipeg bottler.



from any of my past experiences the entires in that 70's era book are highly accurate to the bottles , anything I've looked up has matched exactly to how they describe them .

so based on that I don't have any reason to doubt the entry or its likely existence


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## RCO (Feb 11, 2017)

whittled said:


> Paul A Ginter was an assignor to the American Bottle Co. in Toledo for most if not all of his patents. The bottle makers could vary a design to suit a customer request I believe.
> I'm still pondering the Blue Bird vs Bluebird thing.
> Anyway, glad to see this come up again, I didn't get as much 5 or so years ago when I tried.
> Thanks.



being that this bottle would of been for the Toronto or Canadian market , it seems reasonable to assume they might of altered it a bit .or it arrived a bit later as to why patent date was 1927 not 1925 

the "top hat " description has be stumped though as the birds on the bluebird bottles I've looked at do not appear to be wearing a hat


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## Canadacan (Feb 11, 2017)

The  top hat is on the crowns....Not sure why the Canadian embossed bird would be wearing a top hat?, I'd love to see one of these!


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## WillowarmstrongsBottles (May 29, 2021)

RCO said:


> being that this bottle would of been for the Toronto or Canadian market , it seems reasonable to assume they might of altered it a bit .or it arrived a bit later as to why patent date was 1927 not 1925
> 
> the "top hat " description has be stumped though as the birds on the bluebird bottles I've looked at do not appear to be wearing a hat



































I think I have your mystery bottle! I just bought it and was attempting to appraise it to no avail! I found this conversation and now I’m ecstatic! It is pat. April 14 1925 the crow has the long top hat and the pattern is repeated on the back side as well. 70oz I believe. The bottom reads “ L G W” I know I’m late to the conversation but excited to speak with you!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## RCO (May 29, 2021)

WillowarmstrongsBottles said:


> I think I have your mystery bottle! I just bought it and was attempting to appraise it to no avail! I found this conversation and now I’m ecstatic! It is pat. April 14 1925 the crow has the long top hat and the pattern is repeated on the back side as well. 70oz I believe. The bottom reads “ L G W” I know I’m late to the conversation but excited to speak with you!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



it is a neat bottle and for sure an older blue bird bottle , what made you think its Canadian , are you located in Canada or bought it here ? nearby ? 

sorry I posted about this a while ago and not up to date on this bottle , don't even have one yet


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## WillowarmstrongsBottles (May 29, 2021)

RCO said:


> it is a neat bottle and for sure an older blue bird bottle , what made you think its Canadian , are you located in Canada or bought it here ? nearby ?
> 
> sorry I posted about this a while ago and not up to date on this bottle , don't even have one yet



I don’t know the origins of the bottle but I’m located in America and have been unable to find another like it. I’m curious if I could possibly even find another. I’ve searched and searched, non alike...


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## RCO (May 30, 2021)

WillowarmstrongsBottles said:


> I don’t know the origins of the bottle but I’m located in America and have been unable to find another like it. I’m curious if I could possibly even find another. I’ve searched and searched, non alike...
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



doubt its very likely your bottle was ever used in Canada 

but it is an older blue bird bottle and does sound very similar to the one mentioned in the bottle book I have from the 70's 

its not a super rare bottle , when I looked around there is others out there , it was sold in many different places back then


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## bottle-o-pop (Jun 2, 2021)

I have some blue bird bottles. Some of them have a bird with a top hat, and some are without a top hat. Most are U.S. made, but one of the blue bird bottles is Canadian made (Consumers Glass Company). That Canadian one, and one of the U.S. made ones has the top hat.


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## RCO (Jun 3, 2021)

bottle-o-pop said:


> I have some blue bird bottles. Some of them have a bird with a top hat, and some are without a top hat. Most are U.S. made, but one of the blue bird bottles is Canadian made (Consumers Glass Company). That Canadian one, and one of the U.S. made ones has the top hat.



if you have a blue bird bottle marked as being made by a Canadian glass company , it sounds like you have the Canadian blue bird bottle I first mentioned several years ago . so there is in fact an embossed blue bird from Canada


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## Bottle 2 Rocks (Jun 3, 2021)

bottle-o-pop said:


> I have some blue bird bottles. Some of them have a bird with a top hat, and some are without a top hat. Most are U.S. made, but one of the blue bird bottles is Canadian made (Consumers Glass Company). That Canadian one, and one of the U.S. made ones has the top hat.


Are they both 7 oz bottles?   I'm theorizing the 7 oz had the top hat and the 6 oz. was just the plain bird logo you see the most. I have the 7 oz tophat version with LGW on base and the 6 oz I have without hat is base marked C H Close Pittsburgh PA


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## WillowarmstrongsBottles (Jun 3, 2021)

Bottle 2 Rocks said:


> Are they both 7 oz bottles? I'm theorizing the 7 oz had the top hat and the 6 oz. was just the plain bird logo you see the most. I have the 7 oz tophat version with LGW on base and the 6 oz I have without hat is base marked C H Close Pittsburgh PA



The LGW is also embossed on my bottle.... confusing to say the least.


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## bottle-o-pop (Jun 3, 2021)

Bottle 2 Rocks said:


> Are they both 7 oz bottles?   I'm theorizing the 7 oz had the top hat and the 6 oz. was just the plain bird logo you see the most. I have the 7 oz tophat version with LGW on base and the 6 oz I have without hat is base marked C H Close Pittsburgh PA



Bottle 2 Rocks, i have a 6oz and 7oz with top hats. I have 6oz, 8oz, and 28oz with no hats.

I don't know what bottle maker my 7oz is. I wasn't reliably recording that info back then. I will come across that bottle again sometime. It is packed away now.

I have not yet seen a U.S. made 6oz with a hat.


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## SODABOB (Jun 8, 2021)

This might be of interest. It's a page from a 1930s Owens-Illinois catalog that shows the 'flying' Blue Bird bottle. As far as I know, these Licensed/Patented soda bottles required permission from the patent owner before a bottler could use them. We are not 100% certain when this particular page was added to the catalog because pages could be added or removed as needed. Owens-Illinois was established in 1929, and we are fairly certain this particular catalog dates between 1930 and 1937. Notice that the "Three Mor" bottle has a line drawn through it. I believe that indicates the bottle was no longer available from Owens Illinois. I haven't looked for one of the Blue Bird bottles made by O-I but I suspect they are out there and should be relatively easy to date.


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## SODABOB (Jun 8, 2021)

Just for the heck of it, here's a photo of the actual catalog where the Blue Bird bottle is shown ...


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## Jstorm (Nov 22, 2021)

Canadacan said:


> No I have not....but believe they do exist, especially after finding that early SS Kist....and the Green River that showed up, and last year I landed a Canadian made 1930's NuGrape deco that came from a Winnipeg bottler.


I know this is an old post but I have a bluebird bottle with a T on the bottom.  Just sharing!


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## Canadacan (Nov 23, 2021)

Jstorm said:


> I know this is an old post but I have a bluebird bottle with a T on the bottom.  Just sharing!


It's possible that was used in Canada...but that is a US made bottle.


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## Jstorm (Nov 23, 2021)

RCO said:


> if you have a blue bird bottle marked as being made by a Canadian glass company , it sounds like you have the Canadian blue bird bottle I first mentioned several years ago . so there is in fact an embossed blue bird from Canada


I believe you! Forgot I had this bottle. Thought the T on the bottom was interesting. Funny thing since I am newbie I just happened to stumble on the post from a few years ago. Pretty cool going through old posts.


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## bottle-o-pop (Nov 24, 2021)

There are 3 types of "Blue Bird" bottles that have a bird on them.

One type is the 28 ounce size. Its design is vaguely similar but different from the others, and is probably not covered by Design Patent 67,025.
It does say "Blue Bird" and has a perched bird on the bottle, with no hat.

The other 2 types come in 6 oz, 7 oz, and 8 oz sizes.

They have the same  (patented) design, except for the different birds.
The 2 types of bird are:
___ a flying (gliding) bird
___ a perching bird (with a top-hat).
(The patent drawing for Des. 67,025 has no bird on it.)

I have one Canadian bottle (made by Consumers Glass). It has the perching bird with the top hat. It is a 6 oz size. I don't know if Canada made any other size. I have never seen a U.S.-made 6 oz perching bird bottle. The Canadian bottle has a March 2, 1927 patent date with almost the same design drawing as U.S. Des. Pat. 67,025.

The non-28oz U.S.-made bottles I have are 6 oz and 8 oz with the flying bird, and a 7 oz with the perched bird with the top hat. There may be other types out there   ... or still in the ground 

Note: there is a different brand of bottle with a gliding bird on it, called Blue Wing, and it looks like this!


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