John G. Epping Bottles

[nhpharm]

I am highly confident it is authentic. Czechoslovakian seltzer bottles are quite often used by US companies...they made many of them. I have a large New Hampshire seltzer bottle collection and several of them are Czech. The etching is done right...some of the reproductions I see are sandblasted rather than acid etched, but this one is good. I've seen the exact same logo on different styles of seltzer bottles before; I think the bottles were imported in bulk blank and then the etching and marking of the metal parts were done here in the US. The fact that the logo is the same as the one on another seltzer you have would actually give me more confidence that it is authentic, as the stencil for this logo obviously is unlikely to still exist. Also, the seller is in Kentucky, so that is a very good sign.

As you noted, the seltzers that have been "reproduced" are large-brand seltzers and most of those are actually fantasy pieces done on South American seltzer bottles.

My main concern with this bottle is the price. I think the seller is crazy to ask so much for it. The market for these standard US seltzer bottles is pretty small and even nice bottles typically do not pull more than about $50...$100 on a very good day with two people that really want one. This one is lacking the correct top as well (which is common but brings down the value).

 

[jblaylock]

Thank you so much for the information. It was the Czech bottle that threw me. I touched base with the seller and they did not have an additional information on it. He/She said they bought it as a 'lot' and priced it at that based on what the seller had it priced for. I'd like to own this, but I'm not paying that for it. Thanks again for the help.

 

[jblaylock]

New John G. Epping Alkalaris Water - 32OZ



What I kind most interesting of the Alkalaris Water is that they list the location as "St. Matthews, KY" This is an area located in Louisville KY. All the other Epping's bottles just say Louisville or Louisville/Lexington. I find it interesting that on this bottle, they singled out one community area in Louisville.

 

[jblaylock]

Saturday was a good day.

Like most who frequent flea markets and vendors malls, its a rarity to find one or two items. Saturday, I was meeting a friend to go to a basketball game. We typically meet across the street from a flea market. I went early to walk through as I'd never been to that one before. Jackpot.

John G. Epping Crate:


Now, on to the bottles.

Green Eppings, likely 10-12 oz. Here it is next to the matching 7oz bottle. I'm assuming these had some type of paper label.
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Green Epping's Kentucky Club 24oz. Next to the matching 7oz Bottle.
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Clear Epping's Beverages 24OZ


Clear Eppings 24oz LEFT hand bottle, next to the 10oz & 7oz that I already had. I was excited about this as I hadn't seen this size in this version bottle.


Clear w/ ACL Old Colony Beverages 24oz. I may be most excited about this one, it's near mint. I hadn't seen on of these either.



I got all of these for a really good price. Needless to say, I was very excited. I didn't find any Pepsi bottles, but I was very happy with what I did find. I hope you enjoy, I know I enjoy seeing other local bottles from all of you.

For a bottler who operated for roughly 100 years, there's very little information about his operation. I spent 2 hours researching today and didn't find any new information.

 

[jblaylock]

Here's the whole family

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Josh

I might be able to provide you with a ton of information about the Epping operation but because I'm not sure exactly what you have so far, I really don't know where to start. Please give me some idea of the specifics you are looking for and I will see what I can find. In the meantime I will start with this ...

The Courier Journal - Louisville, Kentucky - August 24, 1930

 

[jblaylock]

I'm curious about the history and company. I know it was started by Herman Epping in 1863 selling mineral waters. I've tried to do research myself, but can only find a couple pieces of information which I listed on the first few pages.

It just seems like there isn't a lot of information about the company. It operated on a large scale for 100ish years and as you can see from just my collection, he bottled a lot of different drinks. And, there are a lot of different bottles/drinks I don't have.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Okey, dokey. I'll see what I can find. And because everyone likes pictures, check this one out from ...

The Courier Journal - Louisville, Kentucky - September 16, 1910

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Josh

I'm seeing literally hundreds of ads and articles about Epping Bottling but the majority are advertisement about this or that brand of soft drink and some are about beer. The articles touch on various aspects of the operation over the years but most of what I've seen so far I believe you already know. However, I still have a lot more to look at so don't give up on me. In the meantime, could you please compile a list of the soft drink brands you already know about so I can zero in on some brands you might not know about. For example, the first article below is for a brand called "Mit-Che" which I don't recall you mentioning before, although you may have and I forgot. I'm also curious about the Orange Crush ad that sounds like Epping invented the amber, krinkly acl bottle. Read the (two part) article and tell me what you make of it.

Note: The name of the newspaper and date can be seen when you open each attachment. Hopefully you can glean some tid bits of information from the following. I will be posting others as I find them.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Josh

I've seen several references for a brand that Epping bottled called "4%" and was a mixer. I have seen examples of the bottle from other states and by different bottlers, but not by Epping. In the mid to late 1930s the Epping baseball team was called the "Epping 4%"