The Man Behind the Bottle: The Origin and History of the Classic Contour Coca-Cola Bottle as Told by the Son of Its Creator

By Norman L. Dean

The contour Coca-Cola bottle is the most recognized package created by man. It has been called an international icon and one of the most significant artifacts of the twentieth century. Of everything that has been written about The Coca-Cola Company, the one error of omission has been the complete and accurate story about the creation of its famous contour bottle and the impact it has made in the world. Knowing his entire life that it was his father, Earl R. Dean, who designed the bottle, it became the authors mission to get the story told before the truth was forever lostto set the record straightnot only for his father and his descendants, but for the millions of people all over the world who have enjoyed a romance with his bottle.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 5, 2010
• ISBN: 9781450054058

Norman L. Dean

Norman L. Dean is the second son of Earl R. Dean, the designer of the classic contour Coca-Cola bottle. Norman was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, the birthplace of the contour Coke bottle. Knowing his entire life that his father designed the bottle, it became Norman’s mission to get the story told before the truth was forever lost.

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Contents

Foreword

Preface

Chapter 1      The Bottle’s Impact

Chapter 2      Birth of the Bottle

Chapter 3      Coke Bottle Inventor Tells His Story

Chapter 4      My Challenge

Chapter 5      Dean Discovered

Chapter 6      Dean Returned to Obscurity

Chapter 7      The Auditor’s Interview

Chapter 8      Power of the Contour3

Chapter 9      Myths, Misconceptions, Inconsistencies and Contradictions

Chapter 10    The Three Contour Bottle Patents

Chapter 11    Evolution of the Bottle

Chapter 12    About the Man Who Designed the Bottle

Front Cover photo:

Earl R. Dean standing next to the Johnny Bull bottle machine, the first machine to produce the contour Coca-Cola bottle, circa 1915.

Dedicated to the memory of my father,

Earl R. Dean

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Foreword

It’s more than an honor, more than a privilege. I strongly believe that it is also my responsibility to introduce you, the reader, to the controversy that has prevailed for many years over the origin of the contoured Coca-Cola glass bottle. I also believe that it is my responsibility to help resolve that controversy and to support the convictions of the author of this narrative, Norman Dean. Norman and I have been in touch since my 1971 interview with his father, Earl, in June of that year. This is how that interview came about.

My employer, Owens-Illinois, Inc. had produced a limited number of reproductions of the original contour Coca-Cola bottle for Chapman S. Root, grandson of the founder of Root Glass Company of Terre Haute, Indiana, where the unique container was born. As manager of advertising and publicity for O-I’s Glass Container Division, I was asked to publicize these replicas so that Mr. Root could exchange them for other Coke memorabilia for his museum. After gathering information from Coca-Cola archivist Wilbur G. Kurtz, Jr. in Atlanta, I met with Mr. Root and his brother-in-law, Robert L. Voges in Florida. Bob Voges explained that he had written to all known survivors of Root Glass to learn more about the Samuelson bottle. He showed me a response from a former Root Glass employee stating that he had never heard the bottle referred to as the Samuelson bottle. His name was Earl Dean. He added that Alex Samuelson had nothing to do with the container and that he alone was responsible for its design. Bob Voges and Chapman Root agreed to my offer to make a personal call on Mr. Dean in Clarendon Hills, Illinois where he lived with his son, Robert.

Some weeks later, I visited Mr. Dean. He was not at home when I arrived at the appointed time but a neighbor, Mrs. Margaret Townsend, crossed the suburban street to explain that Mr. Dean was taking a driving test in Chicago and might be delayed. But, she explained that Mr. Dean was very reliable and a man of his word. A few minutes later Mr. Dean arrived. He apologized for the delay and was most cordial and accommodating when I asked permission to record the interview. The gist of that recording is contained within the pages of this narrative, the culmination of months and years of investigation on the part of Earl Dean’s son, Norman.

Working with Norman Dean has been a most satisfying experience. His research has been most thorough. He has attempted to document all of the facts that he has accumulated in time-consuming and costly ways. He has made many long-distance calls to my home or office and to other places to question a statement or substantiate a fact. He has sent much correspondence for the same purpose. He has thoughtfully provided me with an advance copy of this narrative for which I am most appreciative and with which I am in complete agreement. I will conclude this Foreword by indicating that Norman has impressed me with his honesty, integrity, and openness, the same traits that his father exhibited during our taped interview in 1971. I have also been impressed by Norman’s intense desire to honor his father and his noted accomplishment . . . . creating a container recognized by 90 percent of the world’s population, one that can be identified even in the dark.

John A. Zabowski, Sr.

Preface

In 1996, I decided that the origin and the history of the classic contour Coca-Cola bottle and the impact it has made around the world for almost a century, was a subject worthy of a book. The bottle was designed by my father, Earl R. Dean, in 1915.

Myths abound about the most famous package of all time. And because so much written about Coca-Cola’s classic contour bottle—in particular its origin and history—is either misleading or wrong, I felt compelled to set the record straight.

To write the book, my research would entail a visit to Terre Haute, Indiana, where it all took place. Armed with addresses, old photos and a list of places to visit—including the site of the old Root Glass Company where my father was employed when he created the bottle—my wife, Linda, and I took off on a 30-day, 5,500 mile round trip in June, 1996.

Upon our arrival, the first thing we did was to visit the Terre Haute Courthouse to look up where my father had lived when he designed the bottle. We found his address in the 1915 Terre Haute City Directory and had no difficulty in locating the house. It was next door to what my family had always referred to as Cal’s house, because Uncle Cal (my father’s brother) had once owned it. My mother and father had also lived there for a short time in the 1920s just after they were married.

We decided to go meet the occupants. As we walked across the street toward the house, out came a young lady with a couple of youngsters in tow. When I introduced myself to August Robinson as the son of the Coca-Cola bottle designer, her face lit up with a big smile. She exclaimed excitedly, Oh, I just love Coca-Cola products! As it turned out, she was a collector of Coca-Cola memorabilia from the time she was five years old. When I told her the Coca-Cola bottle was designed in the very house in which she was living, she could hardly believe it. This would be quite a revelation, of course, for any Coke buff living there.

Years later, I asked August what got her interested in collecting Coca-Cola memorabilia. She answered, It was when my uncle George gave me my first bottle of Coca-Cola. I would hold it up to the sun. I loved the way it looked and the shape, and what it tasted like. It was something that was really special to me. I believe she echoed the sentiments of Coca-Cola memorabilia collectors around the world.

It has sometimes been difficult to write about the bottle as an entity separate from the product it contains. A possible explanation for this is that when drinking a Coke from the contour bottle, the visual allure, the feel of the bottle and its refreshing, thirst-quenching contents, all blend into one singular experience not quite like any other. This makes the allure of the bottle and its contents difficult to separate in one’s mind. This may be what is called the Coca-Cola experience, which is discussed later in this book.

The Coca-Cola story has been the subject of numerous books with little, if any, of its history left out. Of everything that has been written about the Company, which would fill volumes, the one error of omission has been the complete and accurate story about its famous contour bottle and the impact it has made in the world. It has been my objective for this book to be the most complete and honest documentation ever written solely about the classic contour bottle.

In doing my research over the years, I met and spoke with many people who provided me with their time and invaluable information. My thanks to the Vigo County Historical Society in Terre Haute, Indiana for access to their files and records; to the late Wilbur Kurtz, Jr., original archivist to The Coca-Cola Company and to Philip Mooney, the company’s current archivist, for their cooperation with oral history and source material. A special thanks to John Zabowski, former Manager of Advertising and Publicity of Owens-Illinois Glass Container Division, who led the investigative team that helped my father get discovered by The Coca-Cola Company. I want to thank my 3 sons, Jeff, Greg and Brad, for their support and encouragement.

Though many people have played an important role, this book would not have been written if it weren’t for the enthusiasm, patience, love and support of my wife, Linda, who has believed in me and my desire to write this book from the very first day in which I was inspired to do so.

Chapter 1

THE BOTTLE’S IMPACT

Order the most widely-known consumer product in the world; have it served in the world’s best-known container, and voila! You have a bottle of Coke—the most recognized commercial product in the world.

The classic contour Coca-Cola bottle has long transcended the mere status of a proprietary package. And although the bottle is recognized by almost everyone on the planet, few ever give it a second thought. And why should they, one may ask? The short answer is the contour bottle is the world’s most widely distributed container. It has been a greater factor in the world-wide marketing, distribution and consumption of a commercial product than any other container in the history of commercial packaging. As a Coca-Cola spokesman once put it, The bottle physically represents all that is Coca-Cola. It has even been called one of the most significant artifacts of the twentieth century. It is Coca-Cola’s Holy Grail.

Try to think of another man-made package that is recognized by its shape alone by over 90% of the world’s population. If the egg comes to mind, cited by Coca-Cola as the only serious rival to its bottle, the egg is not man-made. Give up? That’s because there is no other—not even a close second. Conversely, try to think of another consumer product that is more universally recognized by the shape of its package than Coca-Cola. Again, there is no other.

The contour bottle has often been looked upon as an art object. It’s totally original and unique in itself, said Clive Chajet of brand identity firm Lippincott & Margulies in 1994. The only reason it is not considered a piece of art is, it’s commercial, and it’s reproduced by the billions. Even so, the bottle has inspired artists all over the world.

Andy Warhol was quoted as saying that his favorite image of the USA was the Coke bottle, as everyone drinks Coke. In fact, a painting of Coke bottles by Andy Warhol sold for $2.1 million at an auction. Norman Rockwell featured the bottle in many of his folksy portrayals of Americana. German artists such as Tom Wesselmann, Bernd Hotzel, Klaus Staech and Ulrich Walter often depicted the contour bottle in their paintings. In the early 1990’s, The Coca-Cola Company Brazil celebrated Coca-Cola: 50 Years of Art. This was attended by such acclaimed artists as Leonilson, Carlos Vergara and Luiz Paulo Baravelli.

No container has played a more vital role in the success of a product than the contour Coke bottle. As speculated in the April 1959 issue of The Coca-Cola Bottler, No one can even guess where the Coca-Cola business might be today if it were not for the unique package that distinguishes the product of Coca-Cola bottlers around the world. David A. Goldman, soft drink industry analyst at Robinson-Humphrey, put it another way, The introduction of the contour bottle has to be one of the greatest marketing moves of the decade.

In its early days Coca-Cola and other beverages struggled with sanitation problems in the bottling and cleaning processes. To the chagrin of the consumer, the purity of the product was not always a given as it is today. But once the Company got its act together, Coca-Cola has set the standard in the beverage industry for maintaining the quality of its product. To resolve the sanitation problems, Coca-Cola devised a number of basic quality-control procedures to safeguard the uniformity and purity of its product. For nearly a century, the classic contour bottle has been Coca-Cola’s best emissary in delivering this well-guarded reputation to the far corners of the earth.

The contour bottle has been honored more than all other containers put together. In 1950, a bottle of Coke appeared on the cover of Time magazine, the first commercial product to ever appear on its cover.

On April 19, 1994 in a ceremony in Terre Haute, Indiana, a historical marker was dedicated to commemorate the birthplace of the Coca-Cola Bottle. The marker features a raised, gold-leaf outline of the contour bottle, and is the only historical marker in Indiana with an illustration of a commercial product or any other item. The marker was unveiled and honored at the Vigo County Historical Society in Terre Haute, and placed at the site of the former Root Glass Company where the bottle was created. It reads:

BIRTHPLACE OF THE COCA-COLA BOTTLE, World-famous trademark created in 1915 on this site at Root glass Company, by Chapman J. Root, T. Clyde Edwards, Earl R. Dean, and Alexander Samuelson. Bottle design selected in national competition.

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Historical marker in Terre Haute, Indiana, at the site of the Root Glass Company. The site is on U.S. Highway 41, at the intersection of Third and Voorees Streets.

At the ceremony, which was attended by more than 300 people, Coca-Cola Executive Vice President Douglas Ivester remarked, This bottle born right here in Terre Haute has become the bottle truly known around the world. Nothing instantly communicates the essence of Coca-Cola throughout the world like our contour bottle.

On that same day, the bottle made it into the Congressional Record as an American symbol—the only glass container to carry that distinction. In a tribute to the bottle, the following remarks were made by Rep. John T. Myers, 7th District, Indiana:

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to honor a symbol of Americana and recognize its birthplace in Indiana. Today, the state of Indiana will dedicate an official historical marker to honor the ‘Birthplace of the Coca-Cola Bottle.’ The bottle’s design was created in 1915 at the Root Glass Company in Terre Haute, Ind., after winning a national competition to find a distinctive shape for Coca-Cola. During the decades that followed, the significance of that trademark has gone beyond the simply commercial; the Coca-Cola bottle has become part of American culture, a symbol that generations of Americans young and old recognize. Indiana officials, Terre Haute civic leaders and representatives of the Coca-Cola Company will be in Terre Haute today to celebrate this important occasion at the Vigo County Historical Society. Mr. Speaker, it is fitting that the House of Representatives should honor the Root Glass Company for designing, and the citizens of Vigo County for preserving, a symbol of 20th-century America.

Coca-Cola was labeled the world’s strongest brand name in 2001 by Interbrand Group, a U.K.-based advertising and branding consultant. In fact, a bottle of Coke is often embraced by the citizens of other countries as a local product. Coca-Cola doesn’t discourage this. They actually look upon it as a good thing. Ergo, the Company slogan, Think globally, but act locally.

In order for a Coca-Cola franchise in a foreign country to get a bottle of Coke to market, it must also go through the entire manufacturing processes, much as it does in this country—except for making the syrup. It is only natural, therefore, that the citizens of another country would think of the product as one of their own. During World War II, a German prisoner was reportedly walking down a gangplank at a U.S. port when he spotted a Coca-Cola sign. Oh, he said to a guard, You have Coca-Cola here too!

But in reality, both the soft drink and its package are pure Americana. The contour bottle was created by an American for an American company, for a product invented by an American.