1242 Codd Bottles revised

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A Bottle…
…is defined as a container with a neck that is narrower than the body and has a “mouth.” Bottles
are often made of glass, clay, plastic, aluminum or other impervious materials, and are typically used to
store liquids such as water, milk, soft drinks, beer, wine, cooking oil, medicine, shampoo, ink and
chemicals. A device applied to seal the mouth of a bottle is termed an external bottle cap, closure, or an
internal stopper such as the Codd bottle stopper featured in this monograph.
The bottle has been developed over more than 1,000 years. Some of the earliest examples
appeared in China, Phoenicia, Rome and Crete. In modern times bottles are a part of every culture.
PART A
THEN (19th and 20 th Centuries)
At first, carbonated drinks were contained in stoneware bottles, but these had a
tendency to allow the gas to leak and consequently make the drink “flat.” As a result,
makers began to use glass for their bottles. A problem with the glass bottles was that the
pressure of the gas within the bottle could force the cork stopper out especially if the cork
dried out.
Most shopkeepers were reluctant to store
the drinks on their side to keep the cork wet, so
bottle manufacturers adopted a new shape devised
by an Irishman, William Hamilton in 1809. This
bottle was egg-shaped with a rounded bottom
preventing the bottle from standing upright (Fig.
1). This shape came into general usage in 1840 –
(Fig. 2) and was used until the end of the
nineteenth Century (1899).
(Fig.1) Hamilton bottle circa 1817