Thorpe & Co. Ltd. Vancouver BC 1889-1935

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iggyworf

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Love the inside threads of your new one. Also love the embossed hand. Great info & pics on that company. I always thought about collecting Canadian bottles. Seeing as I am half French Canadian. My Dad's family was from the great white north.
 

Canadacan

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Thank you for the comment iggyworf.I was researching some bottles this morning and came across this bottle, same as my inside thread but with a lemonade paper label. [attachment=Thorpe's Lemonade.jpg]
 

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Canadacan

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Also found this on the net.... an amazing Root Beer paper label! This was the only pic available, it's pretty tiny but gives us a good idea what some of the other labels may have looked like. I see it used a shield symbol and is marked Vancouver & Victoria.....no mention of Nelson BC? [attachment=Thorpe root beer.jpg]
 

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Robby Raccoon

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What stands out to me the most is actually that it says "PROTECTED" upon it-- I've not seen that before. I love the amount of embossing. Grand bottles.
 

CanadianBottles

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That internal thread is the same one I have. Mine has a stopper from a different company I've never heard of, though I've never been able to decipher the name. Could likely be a British one that made its way over here recently and was just stuck in the bottle because it needed a stopper.That Country Club relation is interesting, especially since it looks like they also had something called Thorpe's Pale Dry Ginger Ale at the same time. I think it says "Blends with friends" under Ginger Ale on the sign, which means it's their slogan on the trucks, not Seven-Up's. Seems like there's a pretty likely connection between the two companies, considering that Country Club took over Thorpe's Seven Up franchise. Are you sure that they didn't just rebrand themselves as Country Club instead of being two separate businesses?
 

CanadianBottles

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iggyworf said:
Love the inside threads of your new one. Also love the embossed hand. Great info & pics on that company. I always thought about collecting Canadian bottles. Seeing as I am half French Canadian. My Dad's family was from the great white north.
French Canadian bottles can make a good collection while still being relatively specialized enough to not go overboard. I have a few bilingual bottles (from before bilingualism was made law in the seventies) but I don't think I have any that are French only. Plenty of them exist though, including some very inexpensive patent medicine bottles.
 

Canadacan

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CanadianBottles said:
That internal thread is the same one I have. Mine has a stopper from a different company I've never heard of, though I've never been able to decipher the name. Could likely be a British one that made its way over here recently and was just stuck in the bottle because it needed a stopper.That Country Club relation is interesting, especially since it looks like they also had something called Thorpe's Pale Dry Ginger Ale at the same time. I think it says "Blends with friends" under Ginger Ale on the sign, which means it's their slogan on the trucks, not Seven-Up's. Seems like there's a pretty likely connection between the two companies, considering that Country Club took over Thorpe's Seven Up franchise. Are you sure that they didn't just rebrand themselves as Country Club instead of being two separate businesses?
Great bottle though hey!..does yours have the backwards S in sparkling? Wayne notes that they are FOR A VERY LIMITED FEW, that have them.Well the conclusion I'm drawing is that's what happened...a re branding of sorts, but usually that happens under new ownership?...but I suppose that's not always the case. Yes it is a bit of a mystery indeed! [attachment=Thorpe backwards S.jpg]
 

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CanadianBottles

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I don't think mine has the reverse S but I don't have the bottle near me at the current time to check.
 

Canadacan

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Jumping back to the Thorpe & Co. Ltd display at the 1930 Vancouver Pacific National Exhibition I noticed a couple of syrup dispensers on the counter, at first just I assumed they were one of the Thorpe's flavors but upon a real good study of the picture I found out that It's another USA brand called Green River Syrup http://www.greenriversoda.com/chicago/history/I think the label is similar but not exact to the one I pasted on the left....and so was this Thorpe's go to drink before 7up?......about all I can say now is wow! [attachment=Circa 1930 Thorpe ...on. - Copy (2).jpg]
 

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Canadacan

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CanadianBottles said:
Seems like there's a pretty likely connection between the two companies, considering that Country Club took over Thorpe's Seven Up franchise. Are you sure that they didn't just rebrand themselves as Country Club instead of being two separate businesses?

Well as if we needed any more evidence about the connection, well I found some any ways!Just to make a note here, in 1931 Country Club Beverages appears in the directories for the first time and shares the same address as Thorpe's, until they disappear from the directories altogether in 1935, so for 4 solid year they were listed with the same address. The next 2 photos I'm posting are the money Shots!
 

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