Chris, I will get some good pictures of them tomorrow in natural light. It would be really great to know that there are two different molds known for these bottles. The higher placement of the embossing on my taller example led me to think the same thing. The letters being identical is what made me wonder. Every last serif and small detail is the same. On the one bottle, the Z in ZERBE appears to be recut after another letter was peened out. I will look closely at the other one to see if there is any evidence of the same thing on it. Of course, maybe they botched both molds and had to fix them. Thanks, and I'll get those pics up. ~Jim
I just heard from our good friend Tod (sodasandbeers). The variation in these bottles is the result of a mold alteration. The mold was originally making the bottles in a slightly larger capacity than what was desired. The mold was cut down to correct this. This explains the embossing characters being identical, but positioned differently. The neck also seems to have been retooled to better fit the new, slightly smaller sized bottles.
This is very exciting for several reasons. There are now two variations of this bottle confirmed. Also, I think it is fairly safe to assume that the taller bottle almost has to be one of the earliest examples of this bottle, which would date it right around 1855. The extreme rarity of the taller version suggests that the change was made early, perhaps after just one order of bottles. I can't imagine them intentionally destroying the larger bottles when the change was made, but if they disliked them enough to have the mold reworked, who knows?
Hopefully, I will eventually track down a few more of these bottles to compare. This has been very interesting for me. I love these bottles, and they just got a little more interesting. A big thanks to Chris, Tod, and everyone else for your help. ~Jim
PS- Better pics are coming as soon as I can get them in daylight. I have not been able to get home before it starts getting dark. Winter/ early dark sux [>:]
Thanks, Bob. These are Lewistown's only known pontiled soda. They are very hard to find, but I have been fortunate enough to snag two of them in a little over two years, both mint. If I ever come across another one and it's not another different mold variation that I need, I would probably be willing to trade it, since I have two in my collection. I only know of about eight of them anywhere, but there could be another one or two hiding out somewhere. The only other squat from Lewistown is the smooth-base aqua F.H. Wentz, and it is actually more rare than the Soult & Zerbe. The S&Z is still the "king" to me, being green and pontiled.
I think a Soult & Zerbe would fit right in with your early PA soda collection. I'll keep you in mind if I get another one, I'd like to see you get one. ~Jim
