COCA COLA / 1915 PROTOTYPE / EARL R DEAN / RAY A GRAHAM

[SODAPOPBOB]

I just received another email from Jeff Dean and he said the owner of the Graham bottle has received offers ...

"everywhere from $10,000 up to middle six figures."

And that he has declined all of them and intends to put the bottle up for auction "in the fall" of this year.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

P.S. / Correction ...

The guy said he's going to auction the bottle in the fall, but only "if he still has it at that time." Apparently he's taking offers now and will only auction it if it doesn't sell first. If interested in making an offer of say, $200,000+, please let me know and I will let Jeff Dean know. That is unless Jeff comes on board himself as he has a link to this thread and is following it.

Bob

 

[epackage]

If it had Paterson embossed on the bottom I might, but I have that dreaded Fundsrlow disease....

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Link is to portions of the Dean book online which include several images and the following ...

1. Coca Cola bottlers convention January of 1916
2. 11 contenders

http://books.google.com/books?id=dGTbe_4NXkAC&pg=RA1-PT4&dq=1916+coca+cola+bottlers+convention&hl=en&sa=X&ei=SPxrUamsGsfJqQH6z4GoBA&ved=0CFkQ6AEwBg

I wonder what became of the "other" entries and if any of them will ever surface?

Bob

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

The following list is from Bill Porter's book and includes "some" of the glass manufacturers who at one time produced Coca Cola bottles. I have to believe that most of them had entries at the 1916 convention. I plan to research the names and see if I can find bottle patents issued by any of them in 1915 and 1916 that might have been contenders at the convention.

1. Laurens Glass Works
2. Root Glass Co. (The Dean Prototype / Winner)
3. Graham Glass Co. (Under Discussion)
4. Chattanooga Glass
5. Southern Glass
6. Reed Glass

Bill states "there were many other small glass companies," [ that produced Coca Cola bottles] but he does not list all of them. If the count is close to accurate with the eleven (11) contenders, I imagine they would include some of the major glass makers who are not listed here.

Other possible contenders might be found here ... (But would need to have been in business in 1915)

http://www.glassbottlemarks.com/bottlemarks/#ABCDEF

Bob

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

I just realized that the R. A. Graham bottle was patented "after" the convention. Which suggest that "other" contending bottles could easily have been patented after the convention as well.

On this page and the one that follows are two bottles patented on October 3rd by a R. C. Graham. Not doubt the R. C. stands for Robert C. Graham who was Ray's brother and one of the co-owners of the Graham Glass Company. But whether or not either of the two R. C. Graham bottles were entries at the Coca Cola convention, I do not know.

Notice that the R. C. Graham patents have the same attorney and wittnesses as the Ray A Graham patent ...

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

And the second patent ...

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

And the R. A. Graham patent (again) so as to show all three together ...

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Hmmm ...

It appears that Robert C Graham was also the designer (patent owner) of the familiar "star fruit flavor" bottle ... 1923

http://www.google.com/patents/USD63365?pg=PA1&dq=r.+c.+graham+bottle&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QRFsUdyjLpCOrQHkzIEg&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=r.%20c.%20graham%20bottle&f=false

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Side Note:

I'm not sure when the Graham Glass Company started producing the 1915 patent contour bottle, but I bet it bugged them to no end to have to produce a bottle that was designed by a Root Glass employee. I can just hear the gossip around the Graham Glass water cooler ...

"It should have been our bottle that won the contest. That Root bottle looks like a piece of ... "

Bob