Orange Crush with tooled top whittled neck.

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SODABOB

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Here's what I've found so far regarding the various brands bottled and/or distributed by the Orange Crush Bottling Company in Binghamton ...

Note: Even though I haven't found any of these brands on an O-C bottle from Binghamton, they were obviously on some type of bottle distributed and/or bottled by them.

Here's the brands again that I'm looking for ...

Orange Crush Binghamton NY The Binghamton Press Feb 25, 1922.jpg

And here's what I've found ...

Cherry Blossoms / Paper Label

Cherry Blossoms Bottle Label.jpg


Here's a double-wammy I was surprised to find ...

Notice its a "Cherry Blossoms" tray but says "Purity Brand Beverages" at the top

Cherry Blossoms Purity Brands Tray (2).jpg

Most of the Buckeye Root Beer stuff I've seen appears to be soda fountain related, such as dispensers and mugs, but where there's a bottle cap there must be a bottle ...

Buckeye Root Beer Cap.jpg

( I'm still looking for "Tuxedo Ginger Ale" labels/bottles and other "Purity Brand" stuff )
 
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SODABOB

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To clarify ...

1. It appears to me that the Purity Beverages Company / Orange Crush Bottling Company in Binghamton started out with straight-sided bottles in 1920 that had Orange Crush paper labels, and then switched to the "Crinkly" Orange Crush bottles when they became available in 1921.

2. We may never know for certain who made the straight-sided bottles or how many of them were produced, but it seems likely to me when the Binghamton operation began in 1920 that they would have ordered hundreds and possibly thousands of straight-sided bottles to accommodate the needs of a new bottling operation.

3. Based on what I know about such things, bottles were one of the most expensive overhead items for bottlers, requiring numerous refills of a single bottle before realizing a noticeable profit. I've read where it required an average of five refills of a single bottle just to brake even, which is understandable when you take into account the cost of ingredients, handling, delivery, wages, etc.

5. With all of the above said, I find it hard to believe the Binghamton Orange Crush Bottling Company would dispose of hundreds and possibly thousands of relatively new (straight-sided) bottles when they could easily be refilled/reused for other brands. All they had to do was slap a paper label on it and they were good to go - and easily identified if/when the paper label came off.
 

SODABOB

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P.S.

I forgot to include ...

6. ACL (painted label) soda bottles didn't come out until 1934-35, which is about fifteen years after the Binghamton Orange Crush operation began - which suggest numerous years of paper label bottles distributed and/or bottled by them. I'm thinking they used at least some of the straight-sided Orange Crush bottles for the brands that required a paper label.
 

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Speaking of other brands, let's jump ahead to 1934, which was still during the paper label era ...

From ...

The Binghamton Press ~ January 2, 1934

Orange Crush Binghamton Press January 2, 1934 (2).jpg

Orange Crush Binghamton Press January 2, 1934.jpg
 

SODABOB

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Obviously not real - just fooling around with CreekWalker's bottle ...

Orange Crush Bottle CreekWalker.jpg
 

SODABOB

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Remember this photo I posted earlier?

Orange Crush Binghamton NY front (2).jpg

This newspaper article appears to have the identical photo and likely dates it to ...

The Binghamton Press ~ January 3, 1933 (or earlier ?)

Orange Crush Bottling Binghamton January 9, 1933 (2).jpg

Orange Crush Bottling Binghamton January 9, 1933 (4).jpg

But there's more to see! Check out the bottles under the yellow arrow. Are they possibly straight-sided Orange Crush bottles with paper labels for other brands? Hmm, I wonder.

​1933

Orange Crush Bottling Binghamton January 9, 1933 (3).jpg
 

SODABOB

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Or ...

Are what appears to be paper labels just part of the machinery to move the "Crinkly" Orange Crush bottles along the assembly line? Okay, fine - I'll concede that likely possibility. But what about the bottles under the red arrow? They appear to be larger and darker. Are they possibly straight-sided Orange Crush bottles? They are even more distinguishable in the sepia photograph.

Orange Crush Bottling Binghamton January 9, 1933 (5).jpg
 

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I'm still fooling around but just about ready to give up the search for a straight-sided Binghamton Orange Crush bottle with a paper label by a brand other than Orange Crush itself. When I first came across this "Kruger's Special" ad I thought it was a brand of beer but did a little research and discovered it was some type of soft drink that apparently just taste like beer. Because of the 1927 date, which was during Prohibition (1920-1933), it lends credence that it was a non alcoholic and legal beverage. As for CreekWalker's bottle for comparison, well, I guess I'm groping for straws in an attempt to support my believe that the straight-sided bottles were re-purposed and not disposed of - even if I can't prove it. One thing is certain; during the course of my research between about 1920 and about 1935, I came across even more brands of soft drinks by the Binghampton Orange Crush Bottling Company than those already mentioned, most of which surely had paper labels.

From ...

The Binghampton Press ~ Binghampton, New York ~ July 28, 1927

Orange Crush Kruger's Special July 28, 1927.jpg


​??????????????????????????????
 

SODABOB

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Final Thoughts / Observations ...

1. I do not consider the Binghampton straight-sided Orange Crush bottles to be as rare as some seller's describe them. I have found numerous examples of the same bottle throughout the course of my research. And every one of them had a tooled finish, which likely dates them between 1920 at the earliest and 1925 at the latest.

2. Hence, with so many examples of the straight-sided bottles still in existence, it suggest that not all of them were discarded or destroyed when the Binghampton Orange Crush Bottling Company switched to the "Crinkly" bottles in 1921.

3. Thus, because so many of them survived all these years, I highly suspect they were re-purposed for other brands of soda pop that were bottled by the Binghampton Orange Crush Bottling Company.
 
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SODABOB

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Last but not least ...

Binghampton wasn't the only Orange Crush bottler in New York state to use a straight-sided aqua bottle. There was another bottler located in Oneonta, New York that used what appears to be an identical bottle with a tooled finish (The finish looks tooled but is not 100% confirmed yet). Oneonta is about 60 miles northeast of Binghamton and its possible that both bottlers got their bottles from the same glass factory. I did some quick research and it appears the Oneonta Orange Crush bottler opened in 1920 just slightly after the Binghamton Orange Crush bottler opened.

Here's a sampling - Described as follows ...

[FONT=&amp]Wooden soda case with 24 1920's era or earlier soda bottles. There are 17 light green 6 oz. bottles from the Orange-Crush Bottling Co. around the bottom of the bottles it says "Binghamton, N.Y. Purity Beverage Corp." There are 7 light green 6 oz. bottles from the Orange-Crush Bottling Co. around the bottom of the bottles it says "Oneonta, N.Y." There are even a couple of original paper straws left in some of the bottles. The case appears to be from the same era.


[/FONT]
Orange Crush Bottles Oneonta New York.jpg

Orange Crush Bottles Oneonta New York (2).jpg


Footnote: This is just one example why I think the straight-sided bottles are not as rare as some seller's claim.
 

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