Early Chase & Co Ad

Interesting Pioneer Soda Works

Here is a recent swapmeet find from down on the border. This is a true blob soda, 1st one I have seen without the Shield or being a stubby. Came from an Old Digger, I think it has been oiled or has had Shellac applied to it a way long time ago, has that smell to it. I guess some Acetone will get rid of it? DB

Golden Gate

I know these are not rare sodas ( beers?), but I was wondering if anyone has actually pinned down the company which marketed this brand? This example has a faint and rather large slug plate around the embossing pattern. The vast majority of the Golden Gate's that I have seen are smooth based, but check out the pristine metallic pontil on this one! I do not know if this one was used more than once, and almost certainly never in the ground. I have seen one example in a deep lime green, but cannot recall if it was pontiled or not. This one looks 1850s to me. Does anyone know the ratio of smooth based to pontiled specimens out there?

 Thanks! Dale M.

How Many Bay City Variants are there?

After a long, long hibernation from posts on this blog I figured it was about darn time to post something and try to resurrect the activity here! I apologize for dropping the ball with a severe lack of postings and thank you all for your patience. So with no further adieu, I bring to you a new and exciting blob top post!

 

I began collecting the Bay City SodaWater blob tops in the late 1990's and have owned or dug about 30 different examples over the years. From the start I was drawn to the Patriotic 5-Point Star emblem on the reverse side and the neat antlers and script on the front. What stood out next were the various colors and shades of cobalt, teal blue, teal green, light blues, and even aqua shades. But over the past couple of years I have discovered that there are many different variations in the embossing size, font style, and even the shape. What is known, is there are at minimum SIX distinct variants (see proof below). However, I would wager there are likely another variant or two out there that have yet to be accounted for. Of course there are several later Bay City bottles in the hutch, gravitator, and crown top styles, but for the purpose of this post we are talking about the earlier blob top Bay City variants.

• Variant 1 (The Circular "C" -- See far Left of Pic 1): Squattier than most, almost a Tepee/Tipi shape, with a completely round "C" in "Co." Myself and several other western diggers believe this is likely the earliest Variant, but they are often found side by side with Variant 2. I have only seen three Variant 1's in this Teal-Green which is extremely rare, and have also seen them more prevalently in shades of Teal Blue, Blue, and Cobalt. I firmly believe that these are western blown. The embossed Star is very crisp and balanced in size and shape. The Antlers are smaller and a different style shape than the other Variants.
• Variant 2A (The Block "C" -- See second from Left of Pic 1): These are often found right alongside Variant 1's in 1870's era locations. They are the most common Variant that I have come across. They have a more elongated body shape than Variant 1's. These also come in a variety of dark to light blue, cobalt, and teal shades. They usually have sparklematic glass like Variant 1's and I also firmly believe these to be western blown. The embossed Star is fairly crisp and balanced in size and shape. The Antlers are larger than Variant 1.
• Variant 2B (The "No Star" -- See Pic 5): This is the same as Variant 2A except for the fact that there is no star on the reverse side. This is the only known example found several years ago by a diver in the Sacramento River. It's the kind of bottle that shouldn't even exist....only it does, which is both awesome and weird at the same time. Did this precede Variant 2A, and perhaps even Variant 1, or is it simply the result of mould mistake? This also seems to be western blown. So what happened to the Star!?!?
• Variant 3A (The "Triangle on Bottom" -- See third from Left in Pic1, also Pics 2 & 3): This Variant is also a bit squattier in the shoulder area with a bit more of a bulbous blob top. The "C" in "Co" is circular in shape, yet larger than the "C" in Variant 1. These look to be eastern blown, but that is only a guess from observing the characteristics of the glass. The Star on reverse is not as sharply embossed as Variant 1 or Variant 2, and is larger in size with a more uneven, fanned-out appearance. Variant 3A is odd, and the only example I have seen with a small Triangle embossed on the bottom. Perhaps this is a clue to which glass house manufactured it. Any ideas?
• Variant 3B (The "No Triangle on Base" -- See Right side of Pic 4): This Variant is nearly identical to Variant 3A, only there is no triangle embossed on the bottom.
• Variant 4 (The "Tall Star" -- See Far Right of Pic 1): This Variant is most often seen in an a dark electric cobalt blue, often bordering on a purplish-cobalt tint. The "A" in "BAY" is rounded on top, unlike all the other Variants that have a half round/half pointed "A" in "BAY." The Star on reverse is slightly thinner in width and a bit taller than the other Variants. I found one of these in the East Bay and also viewed an example that was dug in downtown Los Angeles a few years ago. These may also be of Eastern manufacture as they usually come out stained and in need of a tumble.

I hope this gets some conversations going about the Bay City Sodawater variations, colors, age of production, and origin of manufacture. This is just touching on generalities and some of the more obvious differences in shape, and embossing font, size, and style. I'd love to hear if anyone has another Variant that I haven't seen yet or may have failed to mention in this post. Any additional info or pictures would be appreciated by many on this site :)

Recently Found Rare Nevada Crown Top Soda. 4 Part Mold with Tooled Crown Top, Embossed JOHNSON & RAMDOHR, WINNEMUCCA, NEV. According to Sources there is only 5 of these sodas known. It is in Excellent Condition and Sporting a Real Nice Shade of Sun Colored Purple.

Where are the bottles?

There probably are none, otherwise some would have turned up back when we were plowing Old Sacramento. From the 1853-54 Sacramento directory.

Pacific Congress Water

Here is one from my collection that I believe is related to the saratoga type, and the version with the running deer on the reverse. I have not seen a lot of pure green western blown sodas, so I thought I would post this one. I would appreciate any thoughts on how many in this color are known. Thanks, Dale M.

Cottle Post & Co.

Probably my favorite blob top soda is the Cottle Post & Co. from Portland. These date from the 1879-84 time period, and are very popular due to the pretty colors they were blown in, and of course the embossed "Phoenix' in the embossing pattern. These are normally found in teal shades, from light, to a dark almost "Palmer green". Occasionally, an amber example turns up, but they are considered vary rare in this color. I can account for 7-10 in collections, and several are damaged. Due to the elaborate embossing, and typical usage, the embossing is prone to wear. The theory is that the amber specimens contained cider, where the teal examples held soda or mineral water. The amber western blobs in amber coloration ( Eastern Cider, Crystal ) are cider. This must not have been as popular as hoped, as these amber blobs are rare with the Eastern Cider being more plentiful. Every amber Cottle Post I have seen is the exact same darker amber with none being seen in a light yellow, or olive tone to my knowledge.

The Los Angeles Trio

Finally, a free moment to post L.A.'s three blobs. My research has one, John Moran, Sr. of Los Angeles, trying his hand at soda waters in the early 1860's. A product he sold for two bits a bottle from his vineyard(unembossed). But in a city full of saloons, prostitutes, banditos, and vigilantes, his soda water was too "soft" a drink to find much favor. Little was done to establish the soda water trade until 1867, when Henry Stoll, a German immigrant, arrived to organize the Los Angeles Soda Water Works. The mis-spelt "Los Angelos" bottle (ca.1873, L.A.'s first embossed soda) was Henry's embarrassment, and he had them distributed to the nearby Chinese railroad camps, and the German village of Anaheim. I understand mine is the only one without damage! He then quickly wired San Francisco to correct the mistake the "other" glasshouse made. It was just about that same time that the boys at Excelsior Soda & Mineral Water Factory in Los Angeles were coming into their own, and rode Henry's coat-tails by saving the money it would take for an original mold of their own... Or visa-versa. Hard to say unless you were there. Their bottle is the same mold as Henry's second run, instead putting "Excelsior" where Henry has "Los Angeles." These are my examples - enjoy!

"Cross" Soda

Over the years, I have picked up a number of early pontiled western sodas. I prefer the uncleaned even if "scummy" examples over the tumbled specimens. These bottles are Gold Rush artifacts which represent some of the most wild times in our nation's history.

Here is one which remains a mystery to me. There is the mindset that these pontiled blobs contained holy water, but many believe that this was simply a soda or mineral water which may have focused on the lonely faith based miner as it's target market. I believe these are mainly found in the Sierra foothills, but would be very interested to learn more about this bottle. Does anyone know who sold these, or have any more information in addition to Markota's research?

Western Distributed Soda’s

Hi Lance,

Thought I would send along a few pictures of some early soda’s that were distributed to the gold rush camps here in Sierra County.

 Almost all of the early soda distributers that were located on the west coast had their bottles manufactured on the east coast and shipped to their “depots” here in California.

The early gold rush era camps of Sierra County had a ferocious appetite for any type of manufactured goods that could be packed into the remote areas that were being mined and that included the popular brands of soda water bottled in Sacramento, Marysville and San Francisco.



Western distributed soda's recovered from Sierra County



Two Lancaster variants

Iron pontil base



Iron pontil base













Although I do not collect soda's "per say" I do collect gold rush era bottles that I have recovered from Sierra County.
I sure enjoy following your soda site Lance........
rs

J. Monier

This is somewhat of a mystery bottle due to Jerome Monier being listed in San Francisco Directories in the late 1850s as a hair dresser, not a soda water manufacturer. As suggested in the Markota's book, "Western Blob Top Soda and Mineral Water Bottles" Monier could have maintained a short lived soda bottling business as a sideline. Regardless of his business interests the bottles do exist and we have Jerome to thank for that.

This cobalt example was dug from a downtown Sacramento privy a few years ago and now rests firmly in a Northern CA collection. It has a iron pontil and is simply embossed J. MONIER & CO/CL FR Na.

Recent Acquisition- B&G

The Canyonville, Oregon show had a wide variety of nice glass. I was fortunate to pick up this great example of a B&G San Francisco soda. This is one of those rare combinations of great condition ( never cleaned) and no wear on the lettering. The glass is pretty clean with the exception of some stain, but no etching or pitting. Combined with a huge top, and pristine pontil, this was a great find for me. This is a classic Gold Rush soda that is getting very hard to find in this condition.

soda bottoms

Mikes post on the trade mark painting of soda bottoms got me thinking about the early pontiled sodas sent west and refilled by whatever soda works could get their hands on the empties. Some sodas seem to lose their paint and their graphite on the bases being buried for 150 yrs while others can retain both their graphite and the paint. My experience with bottles dug in the gold country indicates a better survival rate of intact painted examples. Here are some from my collection. Cal 49er

Chase & Co's ad in SF Directory

The firm of Chase & Co placed a two page spread in LeCount and Strong's 1854 Directory of San Francisco. Frederick G. Chase opened his soda water manufactury in San Francisco, on Broadway near Kearny St in 1853. Later that same year he expanded his operations to include Stockton and Marysville. A.W.Cudworth was a partner in Chase & Co and assumed ownership in 1856 after buying out Chase.

As we all know, there were two different Chase & Co bottles. The green face plate embossed CHASE & Co/MINERAL WATER/SAN FRANCISCO/CAL. and the highly desired 3 cities version, CHASE & Co/MINERAL WATER/SAN FRANCISCO/STOCKTON/MARYSVILLE.

Painted Soda Bottoms As Trademarks

These trademarks are from 1861. Anyone ever dug one of these western soda's with the bottom paint still intact?
rs

Dirty old bottles

Here we have a "C&R" on the left and a C&K next to it. Casey and Kelly first opened their soda water manufacturing business in 1858, but this type of embossing doesn't show up until 1860/61. Prior to that it is believed that the "Sac Eagle" embossed bottles were used to contain their products.

The "C&R" bottle is believed to have been made for and used by a James Kelly, a usurper, who listed the address of 109 K St as his place of business. This was the location of the C&K Works, a place to which he had no connection. C&K were understandably ticked off about this blatant copycat and went about securing a trade mark on their bottles. They also moved their works to 107 K, distancing a bit further from James Kelly who understood the situation and disappeared from the Sacramento soda water scene.

The C&K bottles are quite common, but the "C&R" not so. Notice the size difference between to two bottles, with the C&K being somewhat larger than the other.

Some Gerdes Love....

Here is a recent find fresh from mother earth's grasp.  Being 10' underground didn't phase this soda at all which turned out to be a crude sparkler after a light muriatc bath.  Lying in the same layer were several other sodas, master inks, spices, blacks, and a mysterious neck to a pure green whiskey 5th with a monstrous drippy top.