John G. Epping Bottles

[SODAPOPBOB]

P.S. Josh: I've looked at a jillion bottle design patents but cannot find one specifically for your deco Epp's-Kola bottle. But I did find this one, which is the closest style I could find that's even remotely similar. I'm not certain if the design is similar enough to have caused the Epp's-Kola bottle not to have been granted a patent, but it might have been. Also notice the dates. This patent was filed by the Root Glass Company in 1923 and registered in 1924 ... 1. Your bottle2. Root bottle cropped3. Root bottle patent ( The primary difference appears to be the shape of the 'box' where the name goes )

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Speaking of bottle caps, I also found this one, but there was no date associated with it ...

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Josh: Another Question: Do any of your other Epping/Epp's bottles have Graham Glass Company codes on them? The reason I ask is because I found a reference for an Epping bottle that was marked on the heel with ... 2699E 5 G26 Unfortunately there was no picture accompanying the reference, but it clearly indicates an Epping bottle made by Graham Glass in 1926. The 2699 code indicates its a different style than your Epp's-Kola bottle that's marked with 2351

 

[RED Matthews]

Wow you guys really dig up details. RED M.

 

[bottleopop]

That design patent D64209 is the design used by Julep.(Not to say that it couldn't have been used by Epps as well.)

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Clarification / Confusion To clarify what I said earlier about the Epps-Kola bottle looking similar to the so called Julep bottle patent, I did not mean they were identical. Because the pictures and references I've seen for the Epps-Kola bottles indicate them as being marked with "Patent Pending" as opposed to being marked with a "Design Patent Number," this leads me to suspect the Epps-Kola design was applied for but never granted a patent. And if in fact the Epps-Kola design never received a patent, I'm thinking the reason might have been because the design was too similar to a bottle that had already been granted a patent, such as the Julep design. Hence, possibly explaining why all of the Epps-Kola bottles appear to be from 1924 and not later. ~ * ~ As to my ongoing confusion, earlier I said I could not find a McCabe Bottling Works located in Kentucky that was connected to a Epps-Kola. As it turns out, there was a McCabe Bottling Works in Louisville, Kentucky. Check out these two eBay listings.
eBay ~ Epps-Kola ~ McCabe Bottling Works ~ Louisville, Kentucky ~ Large M on base

http://www.ebay.com/itm/EPPS-KOLA-Soda-Bottle-6-1-2-Fl-OZ-LOUISVILLE-Ky-McCabes-Bottling-Works-/191567384059?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c9a4e4dfb



eBay ~ Epps-Kola ~ John G. Epping ~ Louisville, Kentucky ~ Large E on base

http://www.ebay.com.my/itm/Vintage-1920s-Epps-Kola-Soda-Bottle-Art-Deco-Ribbed-John-G-Epping-Louisville-KY-/141635906441


Notice the first listing mentions a McCabe Bottling Works in Louisville but no mention of John G Epping. Now notice the second listing mentions John G Epping in Louisville but no mention of McCabe Bottling Works. This leads me to believe there were two bottlers in Louisville that bottled Epps-Kola at the same time. And let's not forget that Morb said McCabe and Epping were related. So am I just imaging things or were there in fact two bottlers of Epps-Kola in Louisville? Or were they the same bottler?

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

P.S. As near as I can determine, the Epping Epps-Kola bottles as well as the McCabe Epps-Kola bottles all have the same Graham mark of 2351 EG 24. This leads me to suspect ... 1. They were all made in 19242. They were designed by either Ray or Robert Graham, or possibly an assignor to Graham Glass

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

P.S. ~ P.S. Based on Josh's earlier comments, we know his McCabe bottle is marked with 2351 EG 24. The image below is from the second eBay listing I posted for the John G Epping bottle. If you look close you can see the number 24 ...

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

If the information in this 2001 publication "Encyclopedia of Louisville" is accurate, it indicates Louisville was the original home of Epping Bottling Works, and then in the late 1930s operated branch plants in ... New Albany, Indiana Campbellsville, Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky Because the deco-style Epps-Kola bottles are all from Louisville, this suggest they were only bottled there and not in Lexington. Of course this still doesn't explain the two different names on the Epps-Kola bottles from Louisville, namely Epping Bottling and McCabe Bottling, but perhaps it will eventually lead to more clues that will explain those two names. Speaking of clues, I finally found some Trademark information. However, what I found pertains to the branch plant in Lexington and not the original plant in Louisville. But at least it gives us a date to work with for Lexington. (I haven't been able to find any Trademark information for Louisville). Beverages/Drinks of various flavors John G. Epping Bottling Works, Inc. Lexington, Kentucky Serial Number: 238,845 Filed: October 19, 1926 Published: December 28, 1926
Encyclopedia of Louisville ~ 2001
https://goo.gl/rcnj81

1926 Patent / Trademark (First two images below)
http://www.mocavo.com/Index-of-Patents-Issued-From-the-United-States-Patent-Office-1926-Volume-1926/338245/1880

1926 Patent / Trademark (Third image below)
https://goo.gl/1LGIlW

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

P.S. Where the 2001 encyclopedia says ... ... and then in the late 1930s operated branch plants in ...

New Albany, Indiana
Campbellsville, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky Doesn't necessarily mean those branch plants were established/opened in the 1930s. It simply means they were in operation at that time. Because of the Trademark information, we know the Lexington plant was in operation at least as early as 1926.