In 1894, two glassblowers from Pittsburgh, together with a hotel keeper and a retail merchant, started their own glass plant at Glenshaw, about three miles north of Pittsburgh. The company grew steadily, and by 1961, had a branch plant in Orangeburg, New York. They made glass for beers, minerals, liquors, flasks, wines, packers, and most importantly, soda bottles.
The "G" in a square used as a trademark on ware was adopted in 1932. What is most unusual, however, was Glenshaw's method of marking the date of manufacture on their bottles.
On most Glenshaw bottles, a letter appears beneath the lip of the bottle. Starting with "G" to represent 1935, and ending with "Z" for 1954, a letter was used to represent the bottles date of manufacture.
Why the letter "G" for 1935? That may have been the introductory year that Glenshaw applied color label bottles. From 1953 to 1958, Glenshaw began double dating bottles. Many 1953 bottles had the "Y" in its customary position, and a "53" was also embossed on the bottles base. When reaching the end of the alphabet in 1954, Glenshaw started back at its beginning for its 1955 bottles. These bottles were marked with an "A" on the lip, and a "55" at the base. This double dating continued until the late 50s. Eventually the dates were only embossed on the base, as the alphabet system was dropped.
G = 1935 K = 1939 O = 1943 S = 1947 W = 1951 A = 1955 H = 1936 L = 1940 P = 1944 T = 1948 X = 1952 B = 1956 I = 1937 M = 1941 Q = 1945 U = 1949 Y = 1953 C = 1957 J = 1938 N = 1942 R = 1946 V = 1950 Z = 1954 D = 1958
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