Antiga Garrafa Tipo Torpedo Belfast Ano 1860 A 1890 Raridade

The round bottom soda pictured to the left is a very common and typical example that was imported from the British Isles into the U.S. in mass quantities (the pictured example was found in Oregon).  It is embossed with ROSS'S on one side and BELFAST (Ireland) on the other.  It has an applied finish that is a cross between a blob (large and one-part) and and the oil style (flattened and tapered outside surface), was blown in a true two-piece mold, and exhibits no apparent mold air venting evidence.  Click Ross's close-up to view an image of this bottles shoulder, neck, and finish.  If American-made this bottle would key out on the Bottle Dating pages as having been manufactured in the 1865 to 1880 era.  However, it was likely made in the late 19th century or even early 20th as European bottle making techniques were a decade or two behind American ones.  Though foreign made, these bottles were imported by the millions into the U.S. from the mid-19th century until well into the 20th century and are very commonly found on late 19th to early 20th century historic sites, though they can also date back to the 1870s.  These type sodas - and the Ross's in particular - are also found throughout the world but are particularly prevalent in British Commonwealth Nations like Australia, Canada, India, and others.

Additional images/information on rounded bottom soda bottles:

• COCHRAN & Co / BELFAST - This is embossed vertically (horizontally?) on one side of a modified version of the round bottom soda that actually has enough flattened base portion (about the size of a quarter on this bottle) to stand upright, though it will tip over easy.  This bottle has an applied one part "blob" finish (with the typical flattened sides like the bottle above), was blown in a post base mold (or the equivalent for a round base bottle), is almost exactly 9" tall, and lacks any obvious evidence of mold air venting.  These bottles - like the equally common and similar ROSS's bottles discussed above - are hard to date precisely but are of a late 19th to early 20th century (i.e., 1880s to 1910s) vintage.  Click on the following links for more images:  base view showing the small resting point that is indented in the middle; close-up of the shoulder, neck and finish showing the applied finish which shows a distinct line where the cracked-off end of the neck and the applied finish glass merged.  It also has the very heavy glass typical of these bottles, weighing in at just over one pound.  The bottle also has the greenish aqua color that is often seen in a variety of English made bottles, though that color was not exclusive to bottles from the British Isles.

Dating Summary/Notes: The majority of mouth-blown round bottom/torpedo sodas date from the 1870s to the 1910s and were imported, though there are some American made (Eastern Seaboard) torpedo bottles that date back as early as the 1840s (McKearin & Wilson 1978; Baltimore Bottle Club 2002).  The more pointed base torpedo bottles appear to be mostly a 19th century style, with few (if any) edging into the 20th; none of this style have been observed with crown finishes (Jones & Sullivan 1989; empirical observations).  Most mouth-blown round bottom sodas have a blob style finish (often flattened on the outside surface), rarely an oil or mineral finish, with a few observed with a Codd's ball stopper finish/closure (Elliott & Gould 1988).  Towards the end of the era of popularity for these bottles a crown cap accepting finish was relatively common (about 1895-1897 on into early 20th century), though of course with this closure type the utility of the round bottom - to keep the cork wet and tight - was irrelevant.  Machine-made examples of round bottom sodas date from the early 1910s into at least the 1920s and possibly beyond.