# INTRODUCTION OF 7UP ~ 1928 or 1929 ?



## SODAPOPBOB (Dec 13, 2012)

If someone were to ask me when 7up was first introduced, I would say 1929. At least that's what I've always thought until just recently when I came across this eBay listing for a ...

 1. Commemorative 7up Bottle 
 2. 50th Anniversary 
 3. 1928-1978 
 4. Seven-up Bottling Company
 5. St. Louis, Missouri
 6. Edward L. Taylor 
 7. World's First 7up Bottler

 eBay Link:  http://www.ebay.com/itm/250989119292?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

 Most of us are familiar with the Charles Grigg / Edmund Ridgway / Howdy / Bib Lithiated Lemon-Lime story. If not, here's a link that briefly discusses it ...

 http://www.digitaldeliftp.com/LookAround/advertspot_7-up.htm

 I've looked, but so far (other than on the commemorative bottle) I cannot find the name Edward L. Taylor mentioned in any of the numerous 7up history articles. 

 So what I'm wondering is ...

 1.  Exactly who was Edward L. Taylor?
 2.  Did he actually bottle 7up ~ Howdy ~ Bib ~ or all three?
 3.  Why do most (if not all) of the dates listed for the introduction of 7up say 1929 instead of 1928?

 If you have the answer(s) please let us know.

 Thanks.

 Sodapopbob  

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## SODAPOPBOB (Dec 13, 2012)

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## SODAPOPBOB (Dec 13, 2012)

Lastly ...

 What the heck does a *1928* 7up bottle look like anyway?

 Bob


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## SODAPOPBOB (Dec 13, 2012)

This might shed a little light on things. But it still doesn't clairfy everything just yet ...

 "Continuously used ...  August 7, 1928"


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## SODAPOPBOB (Dec 13, 2012)

PS ~

 Is the patent referring to a Howdy bottle as "the said goods" or a 7up bottle? If Howdy, does it mean that some certain Howdy bottles are embossed with the words Seven-Up? And was Howdy what Edward L. Taylor bottled?

 Bob


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## epackage (Dec 13, 2012)

This is from The Southeast Missourian of 1953 Bob.... It mentions the founding was in 1928 and Mr. Taylor is mentioned late in the article....


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## SODAPOPBOB (Dec 13, 2012)

Jim ~

 Thanks. But (as usual) I'm still a little confused. Exactly "what" is the eBay bottle commemorating? It leads one to believe it is commemorating the first 7up bottler in 1928. And yet, your article states ... "turning to 7up exclusively in 1930." Which still gives me the impression they were bottling 7up prior to 1930. I guess another way to ask this is to re-word it ...

 1.  Was or was not 7up being bottled as early as 1928?  

 2.  Was or was not there a 7up bottle as early as 1928? 

 Thanks again.

 Bob


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## epackage (Dec 13, 2012)

It says the company was founded in 1928, so I have to figure there should/could be a bottle from that time, I don't know much about 7up or their early efforts and paper labels...


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## epackage (Dec 13, 2012)

It may also be that Taylor was bottling Grigg's early efforts at a lemon lime drink as early as 1928 that went on to become 7up in 1930...


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## SODAPOPBOB (Dec 13, 2012)

Interesting read ... and the same bottle as the one member wonkapete shared a couple of years ago. I'm not a member of this site so was unable to enlarge/save the pictures of the bottle shown. But it appears to be in near-mint condition. I might sign up later and take a closer look. Anyhoo, I believe this is the first 7up acl bottle, but I'm not sure about the first paper labels, either.

 http://forum.antiquebottles-glass.com/discussion/482/very-rare-7up-bottle-looking-for-details-possible-value/p1

 If someone is a member and/or can save the pictures, please do so and share them with the rest of us.

 Thanks.

 Bob


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## SODAPOPBOB (Dec 13, 2012)

Another interesting read and possibly the best regarding 7up's history. But mainly I'm posting this to show what (apparently) the first Howdy bottles looked like ...

 http://www.angelfire.com/zine2/thesodafizz/SevenUp_CMunseyRFowler.pdf


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## epackage (Dec 13, 2012)

.


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## SODAPOPBOB (Dec 13, 2012)

Jim ~

 Super! I was hoping you'd get the hint. Thanks. I knew I could count on you. [sm=thumbup1.gif]

 And here's a (possibly first) Howdy bottle, but no reference to 7up or specific information as to date, etc.

 http://www.ebay.com/itm/HOWDY-Soda-Bottle-6-1-2-fluid-oz-/120985896123?nma=true&si=S6F4JXzTRz%2FmCeF7Jxj%2BaJvZMHM%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557


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## SODAPOPBOB (Dec 13, 2012)

Now all we have to do is figure out what the bottle looked like that Edward L. Taylor used and is referred to on the commemorative eBay bottle. 

 Clue? If they are using a swimsuit bottle to commemorate Mr Taylor's bottle, doesn't it seem logical to assume that his was also a swimsuit bottle. Right? Maybe? I don't know? Help !!! (Lol)

 Bob


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## SODAPOPBOB (Dec 13, 2012)

> ORIGINAL:  SODAPOPBOB
> 
> Now all we have to do is figure out what the bottle looked like that Edward L. Taylor used and is referred to on the commemorative eBay bottle.
> 
> ...


 
 I vote "No" on the acl swimsuit bottle because we're dealing with 1928 here and not 1935. But I think one thing that might help is to determine when the first "swinsuit paper label" was introduced? That should tell us something ... hopefully. ???

 Bob


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## SODAPOPBOB (Dec 13, 2012)

According to this Bill Lockhart artice, the first 7up paper labels were introduced on an amber bottle in *1929*. So we're getting closer and closer to Mr. Taylor's 1928 bottle ... but just what type of bottle that might have been I still don't know. 

 Bob

 http://www.angelfire.com/zine2/thesodafizz/SevenUp_BLockhart.pdf


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## epackage (Dec 13, 2012)

I'd suggest sending Mr. Lockhart an email Bob...


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## SODAPOPBOB (Dec 13, 2012)

> ORIGINAL:  epackage
> 
> I'd suggest sending Mr. Lockhart an email Bob...


 
 Jim ~

 I agree because I'm totally lost. Based on what I presently know, "no one" could have bottled 7up in 1928 because it simply did not exist until 1929. Thus, I am of the opinion that the commorative bottle is referring to the bottling of either Howdy or Bib Label Lithiated Lemon Lime, which "eventually" developed into 7up. Nothing else makes sense ... in my humble opinion.

 Bob


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## epackage (Dec 13, 2012)

> ORIGINAL:  SODAPOPBOB
> 
> 
> Thus, I am of the opinion that the commorative bottle is referring to the bottling of either Howdy or Bib Label Lithiated Lemon Lime, which "eventually" developed into 7up. Nothing else makes sense ... in my humble opinion.
> ...


 Agreed


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## SODAPOPBOB (Dec 13, 2012)

I'd bet a nickle if we found a history for Edward L. Taylor Bottling in St. Louis, Missouri, that it would show a start-up date of 1928. No doubt he was "The World's First Seven-Up bottler" but I'll bet that was in 1929 and not 1928. The commorative bottle simply states he was the first bottler but (other than the misleading reference to 1928-1978) that doesn't necessarily mean he started bottling 7up that early, but only that he was the first.

 Bob


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## pickensbob (Dec 13, 2012)

i found name of charles leiper grigg invented 7 up,  go to, inventors.about.com


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## splante (Dec 14, 2012)

from the 7 up web site history no pics but see the quote on ......its early Early advertising   

 Created by the Howdy Corporation in St. Louis, MO, 7UP was an optimistic venture from the very start. After great success with the Howdy Orange drink, company founder C.L. Grigg decided to try his luck with lemons and limes. C.L. Grigg spent more than two years testing over 11 different formulas, all in search of a drink that was refreshing enough to prove irresistible to the people of Missouri and the world at large. In 1929, C.L. Griggâ€™s bubbliest drink was born.

 The public quickly developed a taste for Griggâ€™s caramel colored lemon-lime soda. Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda sold, and sold well. As the drink grew more and more popular, the original name was traded in for something short and sweet. Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda became known as 7UP.
 [color=#660033]Early advertising featured a winged 7UP logo with copy that read "a glorified drink in bottles only. Seven natural flavors blended into a savory, flavory drink with a real wallop." The drink was so successful by 1936 that Grigg changed the name of The Howdy  Corporation to The Seven-Up Company. By the late 1940s, 7UP had become the third best-selling soft drink in the world[/color].

 In the decades to follow, 7UP developed iconic branding, setting it apart from industry front-runners. In 1967, 7UP brought the phrase UNCOLA into the national vernacular. The UNCOLA campaign set 7UP apart from its competition and became part of a counter cultural that symbolized being true to yourself and challenging the status quo.


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