# Anheuser busch blob



## ROBBYBOBBY64 (Jan 27, 2022)

I just got this New Jersey Bottling Association Somerville Branch Somerville, N.J.  The number 626 embossed on the base.
ROBBYBOBBY64.


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## Cola-Coca (Jan 27, 2022)

Soo cool, what year?


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## ROBBYBOBBY64 (Jan 27, 2022)

Cola-Coca said:


> Soo cool, what year?


1890's- 1905.
ROBBYBOBBY64.


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## UncleBruce (Jan 27, 2022)

Nice grab.


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## hemihampton (Jan 27, 2022)

Congrats, Nice Looking Bottle.  Leon.


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## Csa (Jan 27, 2022)

Very cool! Somerville is just a few miles down the road from me. Where did you pick this up.?


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## Len (Jan 27, 2022)

Hey RB et al,
Can't beat American classics like this one!  Question- When did the conjoined AB show up as their base mark? '20s? Thanks.


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## ROBBYBOBBY64 (Jan 28, 2022)

UncleBruce said:


> Nice grab.


I don't know why I was worried. Lenny is a good guy. Thanks, I like them local.
ROBBYBOBBY64.


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## ROBBYBOBBY64 (Jan 28, 2022)

Csa said:


> Very cool! Somerville is just a few miles down the road from me. Where did you pick this up.?


Lenny Ciufo on HardCore bottle collectors group UncleBruce runs on Facebook. Buy & Sell, Show & Tell.
ROBBYBOBBY64.


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## ROBBYBOBBY64 (Jan 28, 2022)

Len said:


> Hey RB et al,
> Can't beat American classics like this one!  Question- When did the conjoined AB show up as their base mark? '20s? Thanks.


AB connected mark was used but the dates used is i would say 1905-1917. Here is a link to confusing information.
ROBBYBOBBY64.








						AB (connected) mark on antique glass beer bottles ~ information, history.
					

"AB-Connected" mark on bottle bases ~ American Bottle Company / Adolphus Busch Glass Manufacturing Company ~ old beer bottles circa 1905-1917



					glassbottlemarks.com


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## ROBBYBOBBY64 (Jan 28, 2022)

Here is a better picture outside. Snowing today. Looks like a ladies leg whiskey bottle.
ROBBYBOBBY64.


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## Len (Jan 28, 2022)

Hey RB!
Thanks for the info! Now I can go for that PHD in Brewalia.


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## Csa (Jan 28, 2022)

That American bottle-Anheuser Busch A/B mark discussion is a confusing one. I have bottles with each type of a-b mark on them and still am not sure who exactly made them!  Great early AB eagle bottle Robbie.


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## Dogo (Jan 28, 2022)

I wonder how many branches there were, I had two from Forked River.


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## ROBBYBOBBY64 (Jan 29, 2022)

Dogo said:


> I wonder how many branches there were, I had two from Forked River.


I know of a New Jersey bottling association Plainfield brsnch and New Brunswick branch bottles but no Anheuser busch mark. Forked River have the Eagle and the A embossed?
ROBBYBOBBY64.


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## Hogtown Hunter (Jan 29, 2022)

My favorite antique bottle.
My favorite modern bottle.


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## nhpharm (Jan 29, 2022)

Very cool bottle!  I dug an early E. Anheuser bottle from St. Louis down in Galveston once...thought it was pretty cool to dig such an early bottle from them down here.


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## ROBBYBOBBY64 (Jan 29, 2022)

Csa said:


> That American bottle-Anheuser Busch A/B mark discussion is a confusing one. I have bottles with each type of a-b mark on them and still am not sure who exactly made them!  Great early AB eagle bottle Robbie.


Still ones like this. Maverick? No embossed city, state or numbers...just the A and Eagle symbol. Care for an old cold one?  Snowing today.
ROBBYBOBBY64.


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## hemihampton (Jan 29, 2022)

I have 2 Anheuser Busch Bottles from a Battle Creek Michigan Branch. LEON.


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## DavidW (Jan 29, 2022)

Csa said:


> That American bottle-Anheuser Busch A/B mark discussion is a confusing one. I have bottles with each type of a-b mark on them and still am not sure who exactly made them!  Great early AB eagle bottle Robbie.


I will certainly agree that my discussion of the AB/Connected mark on the base of beer bottles is VERY confusing.  But I tried to cover all of the known information, and leave it up to other collectors and researchers to keep investigating this, and come up with their own conclusions.  The truth is that sometimes we just simply do not know (with 100% certainty) the exact "written in stone" answers to some questions.    I'm always looking for solid input from anyone on the AB/Connected mark!!   Thanks guys!  David Whitten (writer of the article in question, on glassbottlemarks.com)


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## Csa (Jan 29, 2022)

Your info is invaluable!  Certain makers with the many mergers and  new plants can get quite hard to follow. But between your work, the SHA stuff and earlier material at least newbies like me have some excellent historical info.


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## Dogo (Jan 29, 2022)

Yes, Forked River had the full logo


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## ROBBYBOBBY64 (Jan 29, 2022)

DavidW said:


> I will certainly agree that my discussion of the AB/Connected mark on the base of beer bottles is VERY confusing.  But I tried to cover all of the known information, and leave it up to other collectors and researchers to keep investigating this, and come up with their own conclusions.  The truth is that sometimes we just simply do not know (with 100% certainty) the exact "written in stone" answers to some questions.    I'm always looking for solid input from anyone on the AB/Connected mark!!   Thanks guys!  David Whitten (writer of the article in question, on glassbottlemarks.com)


I am the one confused. Not the information. I love your site and use it often.
ROBBYBOBBY64.


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## Len (Jan 29, 2022)

Hogtown Hunter said:


> My favorite antique bottle.
> My favorite modern bottle.


Hey Hogtown Hunter,

You are refreshingly consistent. ...Now if you'll excuse me, I believe I'm thirsty.


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## Hogtown Hunter (Jan 29, 2022)

Len said:


> Hey Hogtown Hunter,
> 
> You are refreshingly consistent. ...Now if you'll excuse me, I believe I'm thirsty.





Len said:


> Hey Hogtown Hunter,
> 
> You are refreshingly consistent. ...Now if you'll excuse me, I believe I'm thirsty.


I like Bud Lights and I cannot lie.
Lol
Sorry. Too many modern Anheuser bottles tonight. Lol


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## Len (Jan 29, 2022)

I like it. Is there another verse? Its all good. Besides you have at least one cannon. (Drop mic and say BOOM.)
 ...Ever use that six pounder(?) to welcome the crop eating hogs to Gainesville?


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## DavidW (Jan 30, 2022)

ROBBYBOBBY64 said:


> I am the one confused. Not the information. I love your site and use it often.
> ROBBYBOBBY64.


Thanks so much!  I appreciate the kind words!


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## SandiR (Feb 2, 2022)

The conjoined AB mark continues to confuse. Julian Toulouse's "Bottle Makers and Their Marks" which was written by a bottle industry insider in 1971 says that it was Adolphus Busch 1904-1907. ABGMCo (Adolphus Busch Glass Manufacturing Company) was their more common mark used from 1886-1928. But there are lots of other opinions out there about the AB conjoined mark. I like Toulouse because he knew a lot of the people who knew the histories.


Len said:


> Hey RB et al,
> Can't beat American classics like this one!  Question- When did the conjoined AB show up as their base mark? '20s? Thanks.


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## K6TIM (Feb 2, 2022)

ROBBYBOBBY64 said:


> I just got this New Jersey Bottling Association Somerville Branch Somerville, N.J.  The number 626 embossed on the base.
> ROBBYBOBBY64.


That a nice looking embossed beer bottle.You don't see beer in clear bottle often!


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## Len (Feb 2, 2022)

SandiR said:


> The conjoined AB mark continues to confuse. Julian Toulouse's "Bottle Makers and Their Marks" which was written by a bottle industry insider in 1971 says that it was Adolphus Busch 1904-1907. ABGMCo (Adolphus Busch Glass Manufacturing Company) was their more common mark used from 1886-1928. But there are lots of other opinions out there about the AB conjoined mark. I like Toulouse because he knew a lot of the people who knew the histories.


Stated like a true hops historian. SandiR, welcome to our community!


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## ROBBYBOBBY64 (Feb 3, 2022)

SandiR said:


> The conjoined AB mark continues to confuse. Julian Toulouse's "Bottle Makers and Their Marks" which was written by a bottle industry insider in 1971 says that it was Adolphus Busch 1904-1907. ABGMCo (Adolphus Busch Glass Manufacturing Company) was their more common mark used from 1886-1928. But there are lots of other opinions out there about the AB conjoined mark. I like Toulouse because he knew a lot of the people who knew the histories.


Ever see one like this? My Canadian friends don't recognize it and it isn't American. Could be from the UK but why import to American, American beer? Dug in NJ dump.
ROBBYBOBBY64.


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## ROBBYBOBBY64 (Feb 3, 2022)

K6TIM said:


> That a nice looking embossed beer bottle.You don't see beer in clear bottle often!


Thanks. No I don't see too many.
ROBBYBOBBY64.


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## SandiR (Feb 3, 2022)

ROBBYBOBBY64 said:


> Ever see one like this? My Canadian friends don't recognize it and it isn't American. Could be from the UK but why import to American, American beer? Dug in NJ dump.
> ROBBYBOBBY64.


That's extremely interesting. How big is that bottle? It is very much like some European bottles that I have found in Vancouver. Only mine don't have that base mark - but the number on the heel intrigues me. Can you e-mail me at snratch(at)telus(dot)net? I'd like to look further into this. There seems to be very little information from Great Britain on their marks - they just don't see these types of bottles as being old enough to be interesting. I would assume this is the maker's mark - and not Adolphus Busch. It's an early Owen's machine-made bottle and might have been made in Great Britain or even Germany. It would be an imported beer if it is from Europe. How do you know it isn't American?


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## Len (Feb 3, 2022)

ROBBYBOBBY64 said:


> Ever see one like this? My Canadian friends don't recognize it and it isn't American. Could be from the UK but why import to American, American beer? Dug in NJ dump.
> ROBBYBOBBY64.


Ok, I'll state the obvious--looks primitive. Possibly hand etched into an early already existing mold. Wine bottle knockoff?


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## ROBBYBOBBY64 (Feb 4, 2022)

SandiR said:


> That's extremely interesting. How big is that bottle? It is very much like some European bottles that I have found in Vancouver. Only mine don't have that base mark - but the number on the heel intrigues me. Can you e-mail me at snratch(at)telus(dot)net? I'd like to look further into this. There seems to be very little information from Great Britain on their marks - they just don't see these types of bottles as being old enough to be interesting. I would assume this is the maker's mark - and not Adolphus Busch. It's an early Owen's machine-made bottle and might have been made in Great Britain or even Germany. It would be an imported beer if it is from Europe. How do you know it isn't American?


Looks like a standard 12 oz beer bottle. What would you like Emailed? I believe it is not American because I have never seen roman numerals like this III =3 or X =10? Just seemed British made because none of my Canadian friends who dig loads of AB embossed bottles have ever seen one like this.
ROBBYBOBBY64.


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## SandiR (Feb 4, 2022)

Ah - here I see the size. I'm a Canadian archaeologist working on a bunch of bottles from Vancouver, BC. I've never seen one just like this, either, but I've seen loads that shape (known as an apollinaris shape) with different marks on them (sorry if I tell you stuff you already know). This one looks half American and half European to me, so I'm a bit confused, too. However, if it is teal green with that mark, then my first guess would be American. The British people preferred a darker kind of yellowish green - an old preference from the days in the 1600s when they developed a very strong green glass. The first images I'm adding are of two bottles similar to yours (emerald green) with their bases (yes, that 2 is backwards). Then a comparison image with one I know for certain is European. You can see it is more brown. I don't know for sure that the emerald ones are from the U.S., but they are different from the one I know for certain is European (as it's a Guinness bottle and at that time only bottled Guinness was shipped overseas). (As an aside, any E.J. Burke bottle you find is from Ireland but might have been made in Germany as they made about 1/2 the bottles used in the British Isles in the early 20th century). The ones in my photos are 6 Imperial ounces or a "splits" size, but I have one or two 12-ounce bottles, too. What really got my attention, though, is the "5" on the heel of yours as most of mine have a number or code on the heel and the letters are big like that. Is there any other mark on the opposite heel? I assume not, as I think you would have photographed it. Until after WWI, the Brits only made green beer bottles. Something I only recently found out. But I don't know what shades - the Americans certainly used green, too - but MOST of their beer bottles seem to be amber.

Now, your bottle was made in an Owen's Machine - and from what I see, I think it was an early one (1905-1908 ish - but don't quote me, I could be wrong, I don't know everything). As far as the AB is concerned, I would bet my lunch that it was a bottle made by Adolphus Busch, and possibly in St. Louis. Adolphus was the "Busch" part of Anheuser-Busch (Busweiser), but he was a business tycoon and built himself a couple of bottle plants. He incorporated in 1892, and then joined with the American Bottling Company in 1905. But I do wonder if the plants that he maintained an interest in used the AB mark as a combination to indicate the Adolphus Busch brand along with their being part in the American Bottling Company?

LOL - any of that make sense?


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## DavidW (Feb 4, 2022)

SandiR said:


> Ah - here I see the size. I'm a Canadian archaeologist working on a bunch of bottles from Vancouver, BC. I've never seen one just like this, either, but I've seen loads that shape (known as an apollinaris shape) with different marks on them (sorry if I tell you stuff you already know). This one looks half American and half European to me, so I'm a bit confused, too. However, if it is teal green with that mark, then my first guess would be American. The British people preferred a darker kind of yellowish green - an old preference from the days in the 1600s when they developed a very strong green glass. The first images I'm adding are of two bottles similar to yours (emerald green) with their bases (yes, that 2 is backwards). Then a comparison image with one I know for certain is European. You can see it is more brown. I don't know for sure that the emerald ones are from the U.S., but they are different from the one I know for certain is European (as it's a Guinness bottle and at that time only bottled Guinness was shipped overseas). (As an aside, any E.J. Burke bottle you find is from Ireland but might have been made in Germany as they made about 1/2 the bottles used in the British Isles in the early 20th century). The ones in my photos are 6 Imperial ounces or a "splits" size, but I have one or two 12-ounce bottles, too. What really got my attention, though, is the "5" on the heel of yours as most of mine have a number or code on the heel and the letters are big like that. Is there any other mark on the opposite heel? I assume not, as I think you would have photographed it. Until after WWI, the Brits only made green beer bottles. Something I only recently found out. But I don't know what shades - the Americans certainly used green, too - but MOST of their beer bottles seem to be amber.
> 
> Now, your bottle was made in an Owen's Machine - and from what I see, I think it was an early one (1905-1908 ish - but don't quote me, I could be wrong, I don't know everything). As far as the AB is concerned, I would bet my lunch that it was a bottle made by Adolphus Busch, and possibly in St. Louis. Adolphus was the "Busch" part of Anheuser-Busch (Busweiser), but he was a business tycoon and built himself a couple of bottle plants. He incorporated in 1892, and then joined with the American Bottling Company in 1905. But I do wonder if the plants that he maintained an interest in used the AB mark as a combination to indicate the Adolphus Busch brand along with their being part in the American Bottling Company?
> 
> LOL - any of that make sense?


Hi SandiR!  I really am beginning to think the "AB connected" mark was used as a "multi-tasking" mark, standing for both the Adolphus Busch Glass Manufacturing Company (bottle factory) beginning around 1904-1905, AND later for American Bottle Company (not "Bottling" Company).  The fact that the initials also fit "Anheuser-Busch" was also a very good thing whether it was coincidental or not, and perhaps they allowed everybody to assume that was what the initials stood for.  
One note to think about: Some "AB-connected" beer bottles were ALSO marked with a small "CO" to the right of the logo. That would presumably mean the name of the company could NOT be "Adolphus Busch Company" or "Anheuser-Busch Company" since neither of those were *exact* names of the brewery or their bottle factory.  On those bottles it would stand for American Bottle Company. 

The dark teal green bottles with the Roman numbers underneath the logo have been found a few times, and they certainly look like they are British. They *might *have been made for export IF they had been made in the US at St. Louis.  Some glass companies made bottles in dark greens to imitate European bottles, and American Bottle Company may have done that.   And yes they are machine-made with the crude-looking mold seams.  

  I think those dark green AB-connected bottles are the *ONLY *AB-connected ones that are machine-made, they are definitely not mouthblown. So far, have heard from people in Canada, South Africa, and 2 from the United States (Michigan, Pennsylvania) in this list of code numbers that have been recorded so far. I started this list several years ago as just an idle whim project, thinking it would be a fairly small list! Ha! Now it has turned into a monstrosity with many codes. Maybe a little meaningless in some ways, but I have had fun putting this together and adding more codes from people around the country! 
 You have probably seen this page before, but I'll show it here,  for anyone else who wants to see the list of codes that have been reported so far.   Here's the page URL-  see the Roman numeral reported bottles at the very bottom of the list: 
 https://glassbottlemarks.com/list-abconnected-bottle-base-mold-codes/


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## SandiR (Feb 4, 2022)

DavidW said:


> Hi SandiR!  I really am beginning to think the "AB connected" mark was used as a "multi-tasking" mark, standing for both the Adolphus Busch Glass Manufacturing Company (bottle factory) beginning around 1904-1905, AND later for American Bottle Company (not "Bottling" Company).  The fact that the initials also fit "Anheuser-Busch" was also a very good thing whether it was coincidental or not, and perhaps they allowed everybody to assume that was what the initials stood for.
> One note to think about: Some "AB-connected" beer bottles were ALSO marked with a small "CO" to the right of the logo. That would presumably mean the name of the company could NOT be "Adolphus Busch Company" or "Anheuser-Busch Company" since neither of those were *exact* names of the brewery or their bottle factory.  On those bottles it would stand for American Bottle Company.
> 
> The dark teal green bottles with the Roman numbers underneath the logo have been found a few times, and they certainly look like they are British. They *might *have been made for export IF they had been made in the US at St. Louis.  Some glass companies made bottles in dark greens to imitate European bottles, and American Bottle Company may have done that.   And yes they are machine-made with the crude-looking mold seams.
> ...


Yes, David, that was my thought as well - that Adolphus Busch may have used this mark before being bought out by American Bottling and then continued to use it to identify the bottles from the old Adolphus plants for a few years after. I thought I saw somewhere (either that or I theorized) that the AB mark might have been designed for the St. Louis World's Fair.

Yes, I've seen your site, it is quite a project you've taken on!!

I suppose that a few bottles might have been exported to the UK really early on in the Owens history - as that was one of the fears of the German Producers if they didn't license the Owens machines as well - that their mould-blown or semi-automatic-made bottle exports to the UK might be taken over by US producers who had the cheaper Owens made bottles. I've learned an awful lot about the Owens machine in Europe over the past few months. Hope to publish something on it.


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## UncleBruce (Feb 4, 2022)

ROBBYBOBBY64 said:


> Ever see one like this? My Canadian friends don't recognize it and it isn't American. Could be from the UK but why import to American, American beer? Dug in NJ dump.
> ROBBYBOBBY64.
> 
> 
> ...


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