The first consumer packaging were glass bottles used to carry perfumes in ancient Egypt. Additionally, another type of packaging used apart from glass and clay during the same period was skin.
The ancient Roams used glass bottles to store their wine Archeologists discovered a 1700-year-old Roman wine bottle in Speyer, Germany – with wine still in it.
The glass workshops were first established in the 16th century and that their development continued until the 19th century. It is stated that the production of glass packaging at workshops began in 1870.
The manufacture of glass bottles was a skilled job as they were hand blown. The air blowing rods, which facilitate the production of glass packaging, were invented by the Romans.
Many of the early glass bottles had round bottoms ensuring that they were stored on their side, thereby keeping the corks moist and so preventing leakage from corks drying out.
Although some semi-automation had been introduced earlier, the first patent for an automatic glass bottle blowing machine was granted to Michael J. Owens in the USA in 1904. He formed the Owens Bottle Machine Company in 1903. His machines could produce glass bottles at a rate of 240 per minute, and reduce labor costs by 80%.
Only since 1912 have glass jars and bottles been in cheap and plentiful supply for pharmaceuticals, household products, food and beverages, and an endless variety of uses. The bottle-making machine introduced the safety, standardization, quality, and convenience of glass containers.
High pressure generated inside bottles by the carbonation caused frequent leakage and although improved by wiring-in-place, corks were generally unsatisfactorily. In 1892, William Painter patented the crown cork. This was a metal cap that had a layer of cork inside that gave a good seal against the top of a glass bottle.
History of glass bottle
