LIST OF OVER 300 COCA COLA IMITATORS AS OF 1919

[SODAPOPBOB]

Cola ~ Sterculiaceae ~ Cola acuminata ~ Kola nut

According to Wikipedia ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cola_(plant) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterculiaceae

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cola_acuminata

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kola_nut

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

I'm glad they called it "Coca Cola" instead of this ... []

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

This post will conclude my search for a product earlier than Coca Cola to use the word "Cola." It seems apparent to me that Coca Cola was the first company to use the word commercially and introduce it to the western world and that it had it's origin in Africa and is directly related to the word(s) Kola / Kola Nut. ~ * ~ This definition pertains to the attached picture ... a·kee

a?k?,?ak?/
noun: ackee

[*]a tropical tree that is cultivated for its fruit. Native to West Africa, it has been introduced into the West Indies and elsewhere.




[/ol]

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Speaking of the word "Kola" This one is also on the master list. Kola-Kola From ... The Lethbridge Herald ~ Lethbridge, Alberta Canada ~ September 16, 1908

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

This will do it for the day! Time for dinner-and-a-movie! [] This is the earliest one I've posted so far and is also my new favorite. Man-o-man, they really had a lot to say! The word "bottle" is in there somewhere! Kongo Kola From ... The Salem Daily News ~ Salem, Ohio ~ June 6, 1896 (You might have to save and zoom this one - its not cooperating. I had to resize it five times)

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

More Kongo Kola ...

I'm a little intrigued with this brand but also a little confused. It is on the 1919 list of imitators, so I suspect it was referring to the snake-oil-cure-all "Kongo Kola Kure." And yet, here it pops up again in 1936. But this time it is definitely a carbonated beverage and available in bottles. I did a brief search but could not find a picture of the bottle. I also searched the bottling company who made it, but could only find references for it from the 1920s. Because the ad is dated 1936, there's a good chance the bottle was an acl. Maybe an Oklahoma collector or someone else who is familiar with the brand will be able to tell us more about it. I'm also wondering if the Coca Cola Company had any concerns about the name in 1936?

Kongo Kola

From ...

The Democrat American ~ Sallisaw, Oklahoma ~ August 13, 1936

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

I'm giving up the search regarding the Sallisaw Bottling Company/Works. Other than a few 1920s references and a couple of 1930s ads, I couldn't find anything about them. This 1937 ad is the latest I could find - after that they disappear. And just a year earlier, in 1936, they were bragging about how good Kongo Kola was, and yet no mention of it in 1937. It's looking as if they might have gone out of business around 1937. ??? ( The ad mentions "Pop-Cola" but I haven't found anything on that either ) From ... The Democrat American ~ Sallisaw, Oklahoma ~ July 29, 1937

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

P.S. If my assumptions are correct, and the Sallisaw Bottling Company did bottle Kongo Kola for only a year or two, that would suggest an extremely hard to find and rare bottle, especially if it was a paper label bottle and not an acl. That is if there even was a bottle - maybe it was only a fountain drink. ???

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

I don't know very much about this brand, but I know they had a bottle because I found a picture of one. The shoulder is embossed with QUA, but the heel has Qua Kola Bottling Company.

Qua Kola

From ...

The York Daily ~ York, Pennsylvania ~ February 5, 1917

 

[ScottBSA]

My local knock off was KC-Ola from the Eagle Bottling Works, Kansas City, Missouri. Scott