Old Spice Collectibles Traditional Bottles

The A.E. Hull Pottery Company in Crooksville, Ohio, made the earliest containers for Shulton from 1938 until 1944. And, up until the mid 1940s, all pottery products bore the Ship Grand Turk. The ship appeared on the bottles between the words "Old" and "Spice", which were in red script. Beneath the ship, the words "Ship Grand Turk" appeared in a banner. On the back of the containers in blue appeared the contents: "After Shave Talc," "After Shaving Lotion," or "Cologne for Men." Over the years, the Grand Turk has taken on a more stylized appearance.

By the 1940s, the demand for Old Spice After Shave and Talc had risen to the millions of bottles. Shulton was forced to adopt automatic filling and closing processes making the pottery bottles a thing of the past. In reality, both Hull Pottery and Shulton were pleased with the introduction of the glass bottles. Controlling the neck opening and capacity tolerances of the pottery bottles demanded by Shulton's machine operations was virtually impossible, and was fast approaching a profitless operation for Hull. The large percentage of leakers, the porosity of the pottery and the inaccurate filling of the containers made handling and costs of the pottery containers prohibitive on a large-volume basis.

The first glass bottles were manufactured by the T. C. Wheaton Company in Millville, New Jersey. The "pottery-glass" containers are similar to opal glass, but are manufactured in a clay color with a luster very close to pottery. Developing this glass required several months of research and several thousand dollars to determine the right blend of ceramic materials to give a realistic pottery appearance. For some bottle styles I may only show an after shave or a cologne example. The styles are generally the same but for the words "After Shave" or "Cologne."

The descriptions below may reference a "stopper style; these are described on the Stopper Page.

Hull Pottery Bottle 1938 to 1946

The Hull Pottery bottles were in production from 1938 until around 1946. The examples shown here are the After Shave, Talcum and a 9.5 ounce Cologne. Note that steeper slope of the taper on the talcum bottle. From 1938 until 1941 the pottery bottles all showed the Ship Grand Turk with the words "Old" and "Spice" on the left and right, respectively

Around 1941 the Ship Friendship appeared on the Cologne bottle and the Ship Mt. Vernon appeared on the talcum bottle. The Ship Grand Turk remained on the after shave.

Bottle Style 1946

Bottle Style Early 1950s

Bottle Style 1956

This style of glass bottle dates from 1956. Note that the name of the ship has been dropped, and the contents appears below the ship. These bottles have Stopper #3.

Bottle Style 1967

This bottle style dates from 1967The volume has not yet appeared on the front (see bottle below).This bottle has Stopper #3 and Stopper #4 (early 1970s).

Bottle Style 1973

Bottle Style 1980

This bottle style dates after 1980. Note the "Old Spice" now appears above the ship images; After Shave or Cologne would appear below. The bottle has Stopper #4.





Sometime in the 1980's the bottles appeared with a location of Wayne, NJ. This was the location of the American Cyanamid headquarters. Wayne, NJ on a bottle would date it between 1972 and 1992 when Procter & Gamble acquired the brand.

Bottle Style 1981

Bottle Style 1993

This bottle is copyrighted 1993 and differs from earlier versions by the appearance of "ORIGINAL" on the front. After 1992 bottles are marked "Distributed by Procter & Gamble."

1996 Limited Edition

This is the original glass bottle by the Wheaton Glass Company manufactured in 1946. The after shave shows the Ship Grand Turk. The cologne bottle(not shown) bears the Ship Recovery. In red script, the word "Old" appears to the left of the ship and the word "Spice" appears to the right. These bottles have Stopper #1.Almost identical to the original glass bottle above, this one came out a few years later. Note that it has the plastic stopper #2 and includes a little more information on the back.This bottle shows the volume beneath the contents "After Shave" dating it after about 1973. The bottles have Stopper #4.These images were taken from a 1981 marketing brochure advertising the "New Look For Old Spice After Shave and Cologne- More Attractive and Contemporary." Note the introduction of the blue banner on the packaging and the new bottle graphics.Around 1995 the Old Spice logo took on this very contemporary look. The old clipper ships have been replaced by modern day racing yacht. These two "limited edition" commemorate the 60th anniversary of Shulton. Stopper #4.