ACL Steamboat Bottle Cleaned + history

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digger mcdirt

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Here is the Steamboat bottle after getting all the attic dust etc off it. It came out top shelf minty which is great. I do not have a lot of history on it but it is one of the rarer West Tn ACL's that I know of. I know one sold at the Memphis Bottle show auction several years ago early 2000's but do not know what it brought. Also I have seen 2 others sell many years ago but again no idea as to what they brought. My Uncle and Father who both collected in the 60's-70's were both looking for one but sadly neither found one. I was told by a friend who knows his Sodas that Liberty Bottling in Memphis was the one who put it out. He said it last for only a very short time and was pulled. Another man who was an advanced Tn collector told me that they were put out by Union bottling in Memphis and were a short lived product that went along with their Chisca.They do not have Memphis on them but Most of the Chisca styles do not either (some just have Union Bottling Co on them , some have Memphis and some have nothing) . I lean toward Union Bottling Co as the one who put out the Steamboats. One thing that I did see several years ago was a paper advertisement that had them featured on it along with Chisca. If anyone has any better info please share it.
 

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SODAPOPBOB

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Congratulations on your find.

In the 2002 edition of "Collecting Applied Color Label Soda Bottles" it shows a picture of a Steamboat ACL bottle and list it as follows ...

Steamboat ... Picture Number 968 ... 1948 ... 12 Ounce ... One Sold In 1995-97 For $280.00

The only listing I could find for the Union Bottling Works of Memphis, Tennessee can be viewed on the following link(s) which is from a July 10, 1920 news journal titled "Best's Insurance News." As you will see, it shows John W. Storms as president at the time.

Although the ACL book does not indicate who bottled the Steamboat bottle, and if both references are accurate, I do not consider 1920 to 1948 to be a short time in business. I have been unable to find a picture of a Union Bottling Works bottle from the 1920s or any other time period.

However, I did find a listing for a Liberty ACL (pictured below) that states it is was bottled by the "Liberty Bottling Company" of Memphis, Tennessee. (The 2002 ACL book does not show this particular bottle).

Based on this accumulation of information I am inclined to think the Steamboat brand was most likely bottled by the Liberty Bottling Company - but I'm only guessing.

Union Bottling Works Links:

Short Link:

http://xrl.us/bqmwbm

Long Link:

[URL=http://books.google.com/books?id=vYXPAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA36&dq=liberty+bottling+company+memphis+tennessee&hl=en&sa=X&ei=6ioCU4DrNsuOqAG9g4EY&ved=0CEgQ6AEwAjgU#v=onepage&q=liberty%20bottling%20company%20memphis%20tennessee&f=false]http://books.google.com/b...0tennessee&f=false

Liberty Bottle Link: (The one pictured below).

[URL=http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/straight-side-soda-bottle-embossed-442717132]http://www.worthpoint.com...tle-embossed-442717132
 

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SODAPOPBOB

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P.S. Does your Steamboat bottle have a makers mark and date embossed on it?
 

digger mcdirt

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You may be right . When I said "only lasted a short time " I was speaking of the "Steamboat " Brand. I was told it lasted for less than one year. Both Liberty and Union were in business for a long time and produced a lot of embossed and ACL bottle types/brands. Thanks for your help you always dig up something[:)]
 

acls

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The Steamboat cleaned up nicely. The mystery of where the Steamboat is from has been debated for many years. I once met a fellow who picked up about 4 of theses in a crate buy at a garage sale here in Memphis. Some had an anchor on the neck others did not. A few hsd original bottlecaps on them. An experienced Tennessee collector told me these were bottled in Forest City, AR. I have also heard this from a few AR collectors. Another collector told me he saw one that was marked MS. The city in MS escapes me. It is possible they were bottled in all 3. It's neat that you saw an ad with the Chisca and Steamboat. That would mean Union Bottling carried Steamboat for a time. My relatives started and owned the Chisca hotel in the early 1900s and sold it during the depression.
 

digger mcdirt

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It has Duraglas and the Owens Il mark with a 9 on the left of the mark and a 1 on the right.
 

SODAPOPBOB

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digger mcdirt said:
It has Duraglas and the Owens Il mark with a 9 on the left of the mark and a 1 on the right.

9 <(I)> 1 w/Duraglas = Streator, Illinois 1941
 

splante

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thats a great bottle, beatuiful condition,congrats..no new info just the same as sodapopbob that one sold for $280 in the 90's
 

SODAPOPBOB

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If the ACL book is accurate, which list one from 1948, and the one here is a 1941, then we have a production period of at least seven years.
 

digger mcdirt

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That may be correct but it does not match the info that has always circulated on it being short lived. Also there are very few of the bottles (30+ years and the 2nd one I have seen) where did they go ? When I was in the Memphis Bottle Club 30 + years ago they were all looking for the bottle. I wonder if the 1948 date they list was really just a "8" on the left as this one has a 9 and misread to be the year. My bottle has "DURAGLAS the logo for IL GLASS under it , A 9 on the left and 1. (i didn't see the period when I first looked) on the right" I love this site it opens up many channels of thought ! [light]
 

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