Cant find anything on this bottle

[sandrajoan22]

Good! not the same forest preserve mwahaha my secret is safe... so far.

 

[ybwblue@comcast.net]

I just posted this same bottle I found at my parents house in Chicago. See What it is after 1900.

 

[railroadrx]

My grandfather immigrated from Bohemia (Czech Republic) stowing away on a boat. Settled in Chicago and went into a partnership with brother in law, Otto najmnik in 1889. This later became Vana, Inc. My father worked there all of his life perfecting flavors and mixing syrups. Fisk Street is now Carpenter Street and the building has since fallen in. My dad and his siblings were raised in the building.

A couple interesting facts: The crest on the bottle is a Bohemain symbol and was part of Bohemia's flag. In the sixties the neighborhood began changing from mostly Bohemian to Peurto Rican. My father adapted more flavors that were favored by the Peurto Rican population. The company wholesaled alcoholic beverages as well until prohibition. When prohibition ended they did not return to the alcohol market.

The distribution area included the West side of Chicago and the Western Suburbs. They delivered to bars, grocery stores, and homes.

Please let me know if you would possibly be interested in allowing me to acquire the bottle for a family keepsake.

Miles

 

[Ryan Schnitzer]

seeing bottles like yours makes me continue looking for old bottles[]

 

[hvychev]

Hello, I saw this thread while searching something related and thought I would answer some questions about the Alois Vana bottle. I am not a bottle collector, but someone who collects items related to Chicago and Czech Chicago history. Some of Miles info above was helpful but I will fill in some gaps.

As it was already said, Alois Vana was a Chicago Bohemian/Czech bottler who early on bottled alchohol as well as soft drinks. During and after Prohibition he concentrated on non alchoholic beverages. His bottling facility was located in the Chicago Bohemian neighborhood of Pilsen in Chicago. This neighborhood survives today as one of the oldest in Chicago, having been built up after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The neighborhood was populated with Bohemians and later Poles, Slovenians, and Yugoslavians. In the late 1950s the Eastern Europeans began to move away and Mexicans, NOT Puetro Ricans, replaced them. The neighborhood stlll remains mainly Mexican, but has been gentrifying since the turn of the 21st century. Many artists and urban professionals have been moving in primarily because of the neighborhoods proximity to downtown Chicago and the fabulous vintage buildings that survive there.

The Alois Vana bottling facility was located at 1835-37 S. Fisk St., the street name was later changed to Carpenter St. Here is a google maps view of the location although unfortunately the facility was torn down.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1837+s+carpenter+chicago&hl=en&ll=41.856864,-87.653174&spn=0.000016,0.016469&sll=41.884715,-87.646952&sspn=0.007364,0.016469&hnear=1837+S+Carpenter+St,+Chicago,+Illinois+60608&t=m&z=17&layer=c&cbll=41.856956,-87.653176&panoid=DZ-tTqPRF1EFlBar4hCmuw&cbp=12,102.43,,0,-7.27

I am pretty sure that the lion crest on the bottle is influenced by the "Czech Lion" that appears in some of the crests from different Czech cities. Maybe Mr. Vana "borrowed" the crest from his villages flag? Either way, it all ties together with his Bohemian/Czech heritage. Just a bit more info for the bottle collector. If you find Alois Vana bottles with an address of 82-84 S. Fisk St. they date to before October 1909. That was when Chicago redesigned their address numbering system. 82-84 S. Fisk St. became 1835-37 S. Fisk St. after 10/1909.

Here are a few ads and items from my colection. The first is an ad that appeared in the 1915 Chicago Bohemian directory.



The next is an ad that appeared in the 1933 Chicago Words Fair, Czechoslovaks of Chicago book. You can see how Mr. Vana aged over the years. It also mentions that 1933 was the 50th anniversary of Alois Vana's operation. I believe that Mr. Vana passed away in 1948.

The last item is a celluloid advertising brush with Alois Vana's company info on it.

I hope this helps with the mystery of this and other Alois Vana bottles that may surface in your searches.

Best,

Frank Magallon
Author of: Chicago's Little Village Lawndale-Crawford.
http://www.amazon.com/Chicagos-Little-Village-Lawndale-Crawford-Publishing/dp/0738577375/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338509325&sr=8-1

 

[surfaceone]

Hello Frank,

Thanks for adding to this discussion. Welcome to the Blue Pages.

Here, we use an arcane

system that takes a bit of getting used to.

As an old part Bohemian sort, I appreciate your contribution.

From.

 

[epackage]

Thanks for the small pics Surf...LOL

 

[surfaceone]

You're Welcome.

 

[epackage]

I'm gonna have to get a bigger monitor...[]