Today in 1941, US Patent 2237879 A was issued, an invention of William Hinkel, assigned to the Schlitz Brewing Co., for his “Display Stand” for beer bottles. There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

This invention relates to `advertising displays and refers particularly to a display stand for use in displaying bottled goods like beer and other beverages.

In advertising displays of this type, empty bottles must be used; but empty bottles lack the appeal of full bottles. It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a display stand so constructed that it imparts the illusion of a full bottle when the display is viewed in the normal manner.

Another object of this invention is to provide a display stand so constructed as to support a plurality of bottles in a novel pyramid fashion.

Another object of this invention resides in the provision of means for securing the bottles in place on the stand so that they cannot be removed or shifted from their proper positions with respect to that portion of the stand which serves to create the illusion of fullness for the bottles.