HIRES ROOT BEER ~ vs ~ VERNOR'S GINGER ALE

[SODABOB]

Here's another guy who apparently did his homework. I'm not sure if all of it is true, but its definitely an interesting read and has some information that's rarely seen ...

By: Tristan Donovan ~ Published in 2014

(Scroll back one page where it starts with "Charles Elmer Hires")

https://books.google.com/books?id=B...oot beer 1876 philadelphia exposition&f=false

 

[SODABOB]

In my Post #2 I copy/pasted some information that included ...

"He also sold ginger ale which was called Champanale."

I was curious about it and found this from ...

1917

 

[SODABOB]

I also found this Champanale collection that sold at auction for $900

(Notice the Hires cologne bottle)

 

[SODABOB]

In case you're wondering where I'm going with this ...

Circa 1905



1898

 

[SODABOB]

Nothing major to report (yet). Just "Trolling" for clues ...



1898



1905



Exact Date Unknown ...
But Likely 1898 to 1907

 

[hemihampton]

A old Hires Bottle.

 

[iggyworf]

Leon, nice bottles. Do you own them?

also check this one out;

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hires-Rootb...833903?hash=item25c611a06f:g:GzMAAOSwxKtX~niH

 

[SODABOB]

I just want to save this while its handy ...



[SIZE=+3]Charles Hires

[/SIZE][FONT=&amp]AKA Charles Elmer Hires
[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]Born: 19-Aug-1851
Birthplace: Elsinboro, NJ
Died: 31-July-1937
Location of death: Haverford, Pa.
Cause of death: unspecified
Remains: Buried, Westminster Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, PA
[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]Gender: Male
Religion: Quaker
Race or Ethnicity: White
Occupation: Business, Inventor[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Root beer


[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]Philadelphia pharmacist Charles Hires originally called his beverage "root tea", but was convinced by a friend that it would sell better in his local area -- Pennsylvania's hard-drinking Cumberland County -- if he called it "root beer".

[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]Hires made root beer famous, and root beer made Hires a millionaire, but it is an exaggeration to credit him with inventing the drink. He reportedly first tasted something quite similar to root beer in a restaurant in 1875, and obtained the recipe from the proprietor -- who had in turn based her recipe on long-standing folk recipes for beverages brewed from all manner or roots, bark, and herbs. Hires worked in his laboratory to improve the flavor of the concoction, then reduced it to a powdery concentrate that could be mixed in drug stores to make large quantities of the drink, just by adding water, sugar, and yeast. He also had the idea of serving his beverage cold, instead of hot.[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]Hires' Root Beer was introduced at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial exhibition.

The Charles E Hires Company was established in 1890, and in addition to the powder began selling the product in convenient carbonated bottles in 1893. Hires himself remained active in the business until his son took the reins in 1925. His mother, Mary Williams Hires, was said to be a direct descendant of Martha Washington from her first marriage to Daniel Parke Custis. His uncle, George Hires, was a U.S. Congressman representing New Jersey's First District from 1885 to 1889.


[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]Father: John Hires (farmer)
Mother: Mary Williams Hires
Brother: Frank Hires
Wife: Clara Kate Smith (b. 1852, d. 1910)
Son: Charles Hires Jr (President of Hires Company)
Son: Harrison Hires (poet)
Son: John Edgar Hires (engineer)
Daughter: Linda Hires (architect)
Daughter: Clara Hires (botanist)
Wife: Emma Waln (school teacher)[/FONT]

 

[SODABOB]

I'm trying to figure out when the "liquid" extract bottles were introduced and what they looked like. The guy who photographed this bottle claims its the first and is BIM. The earliest bottles had the word "Improved" embossed on them.





The only thing I'm certain about is, the bottles with the words "Household Extract" embossed on them came later.

 

[SODABOB]

Hey, Leon

I just realized the guy who photographed the bottle I posted and the guy who photographed the bottle you posted are the same guy. It appears we're on the same page, again.