RARE SODA BOTTLE BOOK ~ By J. L. JONES ~ COPYRIGHT 1972

[SODAPOPBOB]

P.S.

I can't say for certain at the moment, but there is something about the Coca Cola bottle's shoulder that sure looks a lot like a blob-top to me and not a straight-sided bottle.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

I realize the J. L. Jones postcard I received may not be of particular interest to every soda bottle collector, but for those who are curious about it I did some research on the addressee and discovered it was sent to ...

Dr. Franklin Tulley Hallam

Born August 15, 1901
Died May 1982

http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/w/i/n/Holly-G-Winder/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0014.html

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Dr. Hallam was also a stamp collector which explains his connection to J. L. Jones. I am assuming the card was sent to Dr. Hallam because of the 1954 "pre-cancelled" stamps.

I have tried to make sense of "Pre Cancellation" stamp collecting but I still don't fully understand it. All I can gather is that it involves two ink-mark lines which are located above and below the town name on the stamps and that it is of particular interest to a certain niche of stamp collectors. Speaking of which, I bet there are a few stamp collectors out there who would like to have my J. L. Jones postcard. But I intend to hold onto it for a while unless some stamp collector offers me some big bucks for it.

Bob

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Dr. Hallam joined the Bankers Life Company in 1953

http://xrl.us/bpvsch

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Dr. Hallam moved to Florida in 1968 ~ Possibly to retire ~ (Scroll to page 7)

http://mlstamps.com/sites/stamps/PSSforum/1968/July%201968.pdf

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This PDF file from 1969 shows an example of the Thomas Jefferson 2-cent stamp on Page 5 which is ink-marked like the one on my postcard.

http://mlstamps.com/sites/stamps/PSSforum/1969/May%201969.pdf

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Here's an article regarding an interview with Dr. Hallam ~ I'm not sure when the interview was conducted but it obviously had to be prior to Dr. Hallam's death in 1982. I get the impression that Dr. Hallam was a big-time stamp collector and was well known back in the day.

(I sent this organization an email to see what they could tell me about my postcard, especially if they knew when it was mailed. I also inquired about Dr. Hallam and a few other questions I had regarding pre-cancellation stamp collecting).

http://www.precancels.com/hand-electros-25-years-of-precancel-history/

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The snippet pictured below is from a 1955 Des Moines, Iowa Directory

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Here's the postcard again so you won't have to click back/scroll to find it ...

 

[FitSandTic]

This was the first bottle book I was given as a younger collector.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Regarding the blob-top Coca Cola bottle ...

I have discontinued my search because after several hours of looking I simply cannot find another example like it, nor even a reference to one. So I guess I will have to leave it up to other members, especially the advanced Coca Cola experts among us, to determine if its the real deal or not. However, I will say this much; I want to believe that J.L. Jones knew his bottles and that he would have commented on it if he knew it was not legit and was some kind of fake. But not only did he not say that, but he even gave it a value which he stated in his introduction was based on "actual sales and competent authorities in this field." I'm thinking that someone, somewhere apparently knew something about the bottle, including its 1972 value, in order to include it in the book. I'm also thinking that a glued on or melted on lip would have stood out like a sore thumb. But J. L. didn't describe it as rare or even one of a kind, which you would think he would have done if that had been the case. I honestly get the impression that other examples existed but were hard to find and explains the so called high value he gave it of $25.00 to $30.00.

Bob

 

[FitSandTic]

You should see some of the doctored bottles out there now. They do not stick out. I am not questioning the authors knowledge at all but I went to an auction where old bottles were pulled out of a barn the day of the sale. These bottles were dusty, full of bugs, and in the boxes that they were carried in the building the day the owner brought them home. In one of those boxes was a amber Norfolk Coca Cola that had a sloping collared lip with ring. The guy I was with was going nuts for it all he could talk about was how rare it was. I told him that there was never a Coca Cola that was produced with that type lip. He did not listen to me and bought the box for $90, so other people believed it was real as well. When he got home he soaked the bottle in his sink to get the dust and dirt off of it. After soaking in the sink for a little while the lip fell of the bottle. I looked at the bottle close at the sale, maybe not close enough but I did not see where it had been attached. I really do not care much about whether not the bottle really exists but the reason I mentioned it is from past experiences. I am not questioning the authors knowledge but back then looking for things like doctored bottles was not high on priorities. It may exist and that would be great, I just said something because I had an experience where a new style Coca Cola was found and it really wasn't. Hope you find you Coca Cola blob in the future and if you do please share it with me.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Travis / atticfinds ~

I'm convinced - I no longer suspect that Coca Cola ever produced a blob-top bottle. There is nothing I can find whatsoever to support they ever existed. The one listed in the J.L. Jones book is most likely a fake.

Thanks for the due diligence - much appreciated.

Bob

~ * ~

Antique Blob-Top Soda Bottle Hall of Fame ...

http://www.antiquebottles.com/soda/fame.html

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

As a comparison to the so called Augusta, Georgia blob-top Coca Cola bottle, here are two more Augusta, Georgia bottles from the same page.

Please make note of the heights and ounces ...

[ Text ~ Page 86 ~ Image #s 2016 & 2017 ]

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Here's the text again for the blob-top.

[ Page 86 ~ Image # 2014]

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

And here are the two other Augusta, Georgia bottles ...