A Great Coca-Cola Book to Read This Winter

For God, Country, and Coca-Cola: The Definitive History of the Great American Soft Drink and the Company That Makes It

By Mark Pendergrast                                      

(1^st edition is from 1993, 2^nd edition is from 2000 with some updates and a few new chapters.)

 This is probably one of the best books I read that covered the history of The Coca-Cola Company.  The book covers the early beginnings of Coca-Cola as a patent medicine, to a soda fountain drink, to the worlds best known bottled soft drink in the early 1990’s (The second edition covers Goizueta’s era up to 1999.)

          A very well researched book that will answer most questions you might have about anything Coca-Cola. The book also discusses Coca-Cola products, such as the obscure Chime and Simba to the most popular products like Diet Coke and Sprite.

             All the main characters that have made The Coca-Cola Company what is today are here, John Pemberton, Asa Candler, Robert W. Woodruff, Paul Austin, Roberto Goizueta and Doug Ivester.

 Innovative ideas are discussed such as the contour bottle, the first six pack, advertising jingles that are still known today and who can forget New Coke!      All this and much more are covered in this 664 page book.  I highly recommend it. It is one of those types of books that I find myself referring back to.

 This book can be found online as well as at used bookstores and I also see it often at a few local thrift stores that have a large book section.

 A great read for this time of year!

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Random bottle thoughts:

I don’t know if you heard or not-Beyonce has created a new fragrance called Heat.  What does this have to do with antique bottles you ask? Well. When it came time to design the fragrance bottle Beyonce explained “We thought of making the bottle look like its on fire. I wanted something with an antique yet modern feeling. I love antique bottles – my mother had a collection of them when I was growing up.”

 Another antique bottle collector: Jimmy Carter, the first U.S. President to collect antique bottles. He began collecting bottles as a child, finding many of his bottles digging. His collection is on display in Plains, Georgia at the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site.

 You just don’t know who has collected bottles and how it has played an influence in their lives.

I have tried to find out what other famous antique bottle collectors are out there, but I just can’t find any information.

Collector Clubs Declining Membership

 

I read an interesting article in The Wall Street Journal this week. It covered Beer Can Collectors and the issues the clubs are having with declining membership. Most Collectible Clubs have suffered the same fate of fewer members since the 1990’s. The current economy has not helped much either.   It is hard to figure out exactly why people below the age of 30 are not inclined to join.  A few bottle clubs I had been a member of for many years have fallen by the wayside and disbanded.   I would like YOUR opinion. Why do you feel membership in Collectible Clubs is not as popular as it once was? 

Here is the link to The Wall Street Journal story:  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126022528798380825.html

Santa found under debris in Akron Ohio!

Recently in Akron, Ohio, the oldest known Santa in the U.S. was found at an old toy factory.  Ohio is known for the clay and many items were produced there. Bricks, china, clay marbles and toys are just some of the items that have been produced with it.  Here is an interesting article about an archeological dig at an old toy factory site.  A great story for this time of year.  Follow the link to the story:

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/11/prweb3247724.htm

Stocking Stuffers

What do you buy an avid bottle collector for Christmas?  Well-one thing they always need are cleaning supplies. Bottles can be a pain to clean, but these products make it a whole lot easier.

Bottle Brushes: It is probably the most needed and used item. A few places that have some great quality brushes would be either Lee Valley :

http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=2&p=10209&cat=2,50560

And Crate and Barrel has some good brushes too: 

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=690&f=27135

What about that gunk that sits on the bottom of those bottles in the hard to reach corners? This Decanter and Bottle Washing Kit from Brushtech is great for that. It consists of a funnel and ball bearings. Put in a mild detergent, some hot water and drop in the ball bearings and swirl around. Removes all the dried up mess in the corners. You can find it on Amazon, or do a search for it on the internet. Here is the Amazon link: 

http://www.amazon.com/Brushtech-B293C-Decanter-Bottle-Washing/dp/B000RK1UYS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1259842558&sr=8-1

And a great cleaner for those ACL bottles is a product called Bar Keepers Friend. It can be found at your local grocery store or even some hardware stores. It is a mild abrasive similar to Comet, but specifically made to clean glass. It is a great product. Here is the company website:

http://barkeepersfriend.com/BarKeepersFriend_powder.htm

Hope this gives you a few ideas. You can even buy them for yourself for Christmas!

Christmas Ideas

If you are trying to figure out what to get that bottle collector you know for Christmas, check out the ‘Bottle Books to Read’ on my blog. Most can be found on the internet. Also-my book is available and I have sold several copies in the last few weeks that will be gifts for some of those collecotrs out there.   I will also post some other gift ideas that would be great stocking stuffers!