Learning through objects from the Islington Education Library Service’s handling collection
Soda Bottle, Victorian, Original
We are all used to fizzy drinks that come in a range of flavours. We are also used to buying carbonated water in the supermarket. These drinks come in different types of bottles and cans with a variety of lids. When the process of carbonating water was first discovered in 1772 it posed a whole set of problems for the manufacturers of bottles. Carbonated water builds up pressure inside the glass bottle and this can blow the cork out - this led to different designs being tried out in the second half of the 19th century.
One of the most successful solutions was reached by Hiram Codd in 1875. He used the pressure in the bottle itself to force a glass marble up into the neck of the bottle, pressing it against a rubber ring to seal it. The bottle was sold with a plunger to push the marble down into the bottle, where it was trapped by dents in the neck of the bottle.
This bottle is 23cm high and made of thick, greenish glass. On the front are embossed the words 'C. Cobley's Aerated Waters' and the image of a lion.
The marble-stopper design survived until about 1930 when the crown cap that is used today was designed. Codd himself never gave up trying to improve the bottle. One of his ideas was to use an oval glass stopper, as the biggest problem with his bottle was the number of breakages - small boys would smash the bottles to get the marbles out!
One of the most successful solutions was reached by Hiram Codd in 1875. He used the pressure in the bottle itself to force a glass marble up into the neck of the bottle, pressing it against a rubber ring to seal it. The bottle was sold with a plunger to push the marble down into the bottle, where it was trapped by dents in the neck of the bottle.
This bottle is 23cm high and made of thick, greenish glass. On the front are embossed the words 'C. Cobley's Aerated Waters' and the image of a lion.
The marble-stopper design survived until about 1930 when the crown cap that is used today was designed. Codd himself never gave up trying to improve the bottle. One of his ideas was to use an oval glass stopper, as the biggest problem with his bottle was the number of breakages - small boys would smash the bottles to get the marbles out!
Height:20cm
Height:20cm
We are all used to fizzy drinks that come in a range of flavours. We are also used to buying carbonated water in the supermarket. These drinks come in different types of bottles and cans with a variety of lids. When the process of carbonating water was first discovered in 1772 it posed a whole set of problems for the manufacturers of bottles. Carbonated water builds up pressure inside the glass bottle and this can blow the cork out - this led to different designs being tried out in the second half of the 19th century.
One of the most successful solutions was reached by Hiram Codd in 1875. He used the pressure in the bottle itself to force a glass marble up into the neck of the bottle, pressing it against a rubber ring to seal it. The bottle was sold with a plunger to push the marble down into the bottle, where it was trapped by dents in the neck of the bottle.
This bottle is 23cm high and made of thick, greenish glass. On the front are embossed the words 'C. Cobley's Aerated Waters' and the image of a lion.
The marble-stopper design survived until about 1930 when the crown cap that is used today was designed. Codd himself never gave up trying to improve the bottle. One of his ideas was to use an oval glass stopper, as the biggest problem with his bottle was the number of breakages - small boys would smash the bottles to get the marbles out!
One of the most successful solutions was reached by Hiram Codd in 1875. He used the pressure in the bottle itself to force a glass marble up into the neck of the bottle, pressing it against a rubber ring to seal it. The bottle was sold with a plunger to push the marble down into the bottle, where it was trapped by dents in the neck of the bottle.
This bottle is 23cm high and made of thick, greenish glass. On the front are embossed the words 'C. Cobley's Aerated Waters' and the image of a lion.
The marble-stopper design survived until about 1930 when the crown cap that is used today was designed. Codd himself never gave up trying to improve the bottle. One of his ideas was to use an oval glass stopper, as the biggest problem with his bottle was the number of breakages - small boys would smash the bottles to get the marbles out!
