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Dave, you said it very well once again. So true

Okay, I've got 2 questions.
I've seen people post before about how bottles were used during WWII because of all the metal going to the war effort.

Am I then correct to think that bottles were never used before the war?

And, as soon as the war ended, did they go back to cans?

Bulk oil glass quart bottles were used for years before and after the war ended. I don't know if you're questioning brand specific oil bottles, but of course they exist, Standard, Sunoco, Shell, Pure Tiolene, etc. that are embossed with the company name/logos. They were intended for bulk oil dispensing at the stations whereas cans were more for the public to buy and take home, before and after the 1940's.
I don't know if anyone has "studied" the use of the glass bottles that were specifically made during war-time. I don't know if they were used at the beginning or end of the war, but in the case of Mobiloil, the ads used during that time always show cans, but they did produce glass jar packaging of the same design. I also have a Standard Lubrite glass jar. Unfortunately they do not have any date code information to help pin down a date of manufacture.
Darin

Great info as always Darin! This answered another question for me.
I have two oil can books that both have the Dynalube brand showing up in 1946 (post war). Granted this is a pretty broad stroked piece of information, but with what you said about bottles going post war, it at least tells me that the Dynalube brand and the use of bottles could have co-existed.

Stippling, the bumpy finish on the base of bottles and jars, was popular from post WWII to the mid-1950s and faded out as newer and faster machines were introduced. While there are still some stippled jar bases now, they were few and far between before WWII.

I would be wary of any oil bottle/jar that did not have the "Fill to line" embossing on it, but there were some marine/2 cycle original bottles that did not have that line.

I've always been leery of bottles that advertised Multi-grades on the bottles....

The research I've done, doesn't support "Multi-grade" oil being advertised before 1953....

Veedol, a leader in the "field" did not make or sell "Multi-grade" Oil before the later half of 1953 and the 1954 Veedol Lubrication Guide was their first to make mention of 10-30SAE Motor Oil....

As such, I've stayed away from any bottle that signify "Multi-grade" Oil....

Hmm.... Very very interesting info Bob!!!

Here's an interesting read on Torco's website about multi-grade oil for racing.

Torco history of multigrade oil.

That Torco link was an awesome read!

Veedol High Detergency would be considered now a multi-grade...


But, like the Torco... The Society of American Engineers had not upgraded the Standards for Motor Oil.... So the oil was advertised as "single grade Motor Oil".....


Torco Racing Oil is a "staple" in the Sport... My Dad used it in the 60s in his SCCA A SEDAN/TRANS AM car and I used it in my racing cart and in the 1/4 Midget in the later 60s.... Later used it in the SCCA, IMSA and Vintage Racing cars....

Wow!! 170965161456 is up to $255 with 3 days to go!!