ATTENTION! FORUM MEMBER squirtbob ~ EARLY SQUIRT BOTTLING NEWSPAPER ADS

[SODAPOPBOB]

Hey, squirtbob

Long time no see. I hope all is well in Squirtland.

Note: I intended to post this on the thread I started back in September of 2012 where we discussed Citrus Club and early Squirt bottlers, but I could not see where it was possible to reply to that thread. Maybe older threads are locked down, I'm not sure. Anyway, I figured my only option was to start a new thread and hope you would eventually see it. Here's the link to the original thread for those who might like to read through the 21 pages and 400 individual replies.

https://www.antique-bottles.net/forum/ANOTHER-quotNEWquot-FREE-ACL-BOOK-CONTEST-m548546.aspx

(By the way, the offer for the free acl book no longer stands - the statute of limitations ran out on that some time ago - I no longer have a spare copy of the book).

~ * ~

I did an extensive search through some newspaper archives to see what I could find regarding Citrus Club and early Squirt bottlers. I searched a wide array of different newspapers, including several from the Phoenix, Arizona area. I did not find a single listing for Citrus Club, which leads me to suspect (as discussed previously) that it was a very short-lived product and possibly only available as an experimental fountain drink.

But the good news is that I found the following regarding early Squirt bottlers. The ads shown below are the earliest I could find and the first one pictured might very well be the earliest ever published in a newspaper. Notice that it appeared in the Classified section under the heading of "Miscellaneous." The second ad pictured is by the same bottling company. Notice where it says, "Exclusive Bottlers of Squirt." If I'm not mistaken, I'm pretty sure the word "Exclusive" means they were the only one bottling it at the time and possibly were the first bottler ever. The third ad is close on the heels of the first two date-wise, but is a different bottler from a different town. All things considered, these two bottlers could very well have been the first to bottle Squirt, but no indication from the ads whether the bottles were acls or had paper labels.

Hopefully the ads will assist you in your search for super-early Squirt bottles.

The ads are from ...

1. Manitowoc Herald-Times ~ Manitowoc, Wisconsin ~ April 25, 1938.
(Manitowoc Bottling Works)

2. Manitowoc Herald-Time ~ Manitowoc, Wisconsin ~ June 16, 1938
(Manitowoc Bottling Works)

3. The Post-Crescent ~ Appleton, Wisconsin ~ August 9, 1938
(Twin City Beverages)

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

P.S. Regarding "Citrus Club" ... I forgot about this ad that was posted by member celerycola on Page 18 - Reply #354 of the original thread. So I stand corrected about Citrus Club only being a fountain drink. Ad Dated: August 21, 1936

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

I haven't been able to find a picture of a 1938 Manitowoc Bottling Works Squirt bottle, but I did find the following which is a good indication that a 1938 bottle does exist. Here's the description that accompanied the picture ... "This auction is for one of several great vintage 1930s movie slides that were used in a movie theater. The slide would be shown in between movies and such as advertisements. They were made to fit into special projectors and this one was made by the Kansas City Slide Company. This slide advertises Squirt which was bottled by the Manitowoc Bottling Works."

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

I forgot to point out that "Twin City Beverages / Twin City Bottling Company" was located in ... Menasha, Wisconsin I looked around but so far have not found a 1938 Squirt bottle by them, nor any from other dates. Menasha and Manitowoc are about 75 miles apart.

 

[squirtbob]

Hello again Sodapopbob,No question about it you are a bottle super sleueth. The dates with the ads help to pinpoint the earliest appearance of squirt. As you know co-founder Herb Bishop had the midwestern headquarters in Milwaukee, so its not surprising to see bottlers in Wisconsin. The April 1938 ad date is very early ...good find. I know for sure that early bottles prior to 1940 appeared in NJ, IL, PA and CA. Perhaps there are more. I now know of one confirmed 1938 bottle, not owned by me. I have one from either 1938 or 1939 that looks like the 1938 bottle. The earliest bottles do not mention the ingredients either on the back of the bottle or the cap. I've posted some pictures so that others can see some of the subtle differences in bottle advertising for the early years. Squirt in cursive writing was 1938-1947. At that point the word SQUIRT appeared in all bold caps. 1n 1958 the twisty bottles first appeared. I'm posting a picture of an early Squirt delivery truck. Can you identify the make and model? **Just when I thought I knew how to insert a picture they have changed the method ...nothing stays the same...guess my age is telling on me.** I'll try to figure it out and post some helpful pictures.

 

[squirtbob]

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

squirtbob emailed me some pictures to post for him and this is one of them. He didn't include any specifics about it other than he believes the delivery might be a 1938 model, especially because of the slogan "A New Taste Sensation." The second picture is one I found for comparison and is a 1938 Reo. They look similar to me, but neither squirtbob or myself are car experts, so we are not certain about the date of the Squirt van. I also did a brief search on Wayne Kissack Distributor but haven't found a Squrit connection for him yet, although I did discover that he operated in Chicago Heights, Illinois in the 1930s and 1940s. That's one cool Squirt delivery van and might be one of the first.

 

[squirtbob]

Thanks for posting the truck picture Bob. The others that I forwarded will give everyone a sense of the bottle advertising evolution through its first ten years 1938-1947 (squirt in cursive) and 2nd 10 years 1948-1957. I also included one twisty bottle which dates to the next change in 1958. Although the formula for squirt has changed over the years it's still one of my favorites. Please post the other picture when convenient for you. Thanks.

 

[squirtbob]

Hopefully these pictures will post.

 

[squirtbob]

This post should show the back of the bottles from 1939-1947. Notice the change in advertising. In the mid 40's the contents were moved from the back to the cap.