The form of a bottle's lip can say something about a bottle's age. Regional preferences and traditions help to
dictate what lips were popular and for how long.
Some lips are noticeably rare or absent from some areas of the country.
In New York City, early porter bottles were produced with a tapered or
rounded collar lip type. In Philadelphia, a mere ninety miles away, the
double taper lip was used almost exclusively on these same bottles.
Considering that both these city's bottles were manufactured at the
Dyottville and Union Glass Works, one can see the influence of regional
preferences, which can be used to identify a bottles place of origin. A
pontiled porter bottle with a rounded collar is not likely from
Philadelphia or its surrounding region.
The lip styles shown below are general representations only. The exact
shape of lip may very greatly.
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Rounded taper lip, circ:
1850-1920, Occurs on over 3,500 bottles.
This type of lip is often called a "blob" top by collectors. It was first used on
porter shaped bottles and later on various shapes of
soda and mineral water bottles. Its rounded shape prevented chipping and provided the strength needed to mount various closures. It was used almost exclusively on
champagne shaped bottles. It was by far the most common type of lip used on pre-crown
beer bottles. |
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Double tapered lip, circ: 1815-1885, Occurs on over
1,300 bottles.
The type of lip first made its appearance on black glass wine
and beer bottles. The shape second taper was a refinement of the
earlier lips used on these bottles. The second taper was used to
hold wire that was wrapped around the bottle and over the cork
to hold it in place. This type of lip was the mainstay on early
beer bottles. Its popularity started to fade during the 1880s
when it was replaced with the rounded taper lip. |
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Rounded lip, circ: 1885-1905, Occurs on over 200 bottles.
This type of lip is sometimes referred to as a doughnut by
collectors. It was used on some beer bottles: mainly in the
Midwest and Baltimore areas. It is also used on other
internally stopped bottles such as those that used the Baltimore
loop seal, which used champagne
shaped bottles. This patent has a ring inside
the lip that is part of the sealing mechanism. |
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Tapered lip, circ: 1846-1910,
Occurs on 523 bottles.
This type of lip was used on early porter shaped
bottles. It was commonly used in the New York and
Baltimore areas during this period. Its use was replaced by the rounded
taper lip, but its use resurfaced later and was used on various
beer bottles. |
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Tapered lip with ring, circ: 1848-1870,
Occurs on 43 bottles.
This type of lip is often called a Twitchell top by collectors.
George Twitchell of Philadelphia was the first to use this top
in the late 1840s and used it almost exclusively on his bottles. This lip style was later used
by other bottlers in New York, Georgia, Illinois, and
Pennsylvania, but was never really that popular. It is known on
porter, early lager,
soda, pony and drug store shaped soda and mineral water bottles. |
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Applied square ring lip, circ:
1865-1915,
Occurs on 19 bottles.
This type of lip was used on champagne shaped bottles that were
used to bottle lager beers, cider and occasionally ale
bottles. I was never popular on beer bottles in the
United States. |
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Applied ring, circ: 1845-1890,
Occurs on 13 bottles.
This type of lip was never really popular and was occasionally used on
some beer bottles. This style of lip was often used on pottery
cider bottles and very rarely glass bottles. |
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Heavy flared lip, circ:
1855-1875,
Occurs on 1 bottle.
This type of lip was used primarily on pottery beer bottles from
the second quarter of the nineteenth century. They are
often very crude and uneven in appearance. |
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Rounded with tapered ring lip, circ:
1850-1875,
Occurs on 107 bottles.
This type of lip was never really popular and was only used on
some beer bottles. This style of lip was popular in England and
without a doubt, American bottles tried to identify their wares
with the English products. This lip style was used on porter and
early export beer shaped bottles. |
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Rounded taper with insert lip, circ: 1900-1920,
Occurs on 13 bottles.
This type of lip was never popular in the United States, but
examples do exist. It was much more popular in Germany. The
insert in the side of the lip allowed the eccentric part of a
wire closure to be mounted and eliminated the need for a wire
band under the lip to secure it. This lip was used almost
exclusively on champagne beer shaped bottles.
. |
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Taper with insert lip, circ:
1890-1920,
Occurs on 10 bottles.
This type of lip was mainly used on transfer print ginger beer
bottles from Canada and the United States. The
insert in the side of the lip allowed the eccentric part of a
wire closure to be mounted and eliminated the need for a wire
band under the lip to secure it.
|
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Long Taper with insert lip, circ:
1890-1920,
Occurs on 9 bottles.
This type of lip was mainly used on transfer print ginger beer
bottles from Canada and the United States. The
insert in the side of the lip allowed the eccentric part of a
wire closure to be mounted and eliminated the need for a wire
band under the lip to secure it.
|
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Inverted tapered lip, circ:
1848-1855,
Occurs on
41 bottles.
This type of lip was used on some porter shaped bottles
manufactured in the Pittsburgh and West Virginia region during
the era that pontiled bottles were being manufactured. |
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Double rounded lip, circ:
1860-1905, Occurs on
51 bottles.
This type of lip was not extensively used, but does occur on a
few beer bottles. The height of both the rounded collars on
these lips varies greatly. These bottles range from a porter
shaped bottle from Louisiana to a Zaun shaped weiss beer bottle
from New York and a champagne shaped beer from Philadelphia. |
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Square collared lip, circ:
1860-1910,
Occurs on 63 bottles.
This type of lip was not extensively used, but does occur on a
few beer bottles. The height of the square band on
these lips varies greatly. This lip occurs on some mead bottles
and some champagne shaped beer bottles. |
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Crown lip, circ: 1892-2000
This type of lip was extensively used on beer bottles after 1900
and were standard after 1920. They were mostly used on
champagne shaped beer bottles, but do occur on porter shaped
beer bottles. |
