The Featured Pontiled Soda ...
The FPS continues into 2011 with a growing archive of rare soda images to add. Email me at wil@mywebmarket.com with descriptions and photos of your rare or unlisted sodas, and we will feature them here.
2010
December: Of the multitude of known Conant soda and mineral variants, not discounting the 20 I have already listed, here's one more that I can't find a listing for anywhere--another crude, donut ring-topped squat.
November: Sometimes you have to marvel at a bottle that defies the form norm. Not unlisted, but certainly rare, I found an old pic of the Ellis "oversized drug store" for yet another wild druggist cross-over form..
October: How about an unlisted S. Mason (Richmond) pony for October, not listed by Tod Von Mechow and the only one I've ever seen.
September: For September, here's another ten pen which makes the case for the druggist or chemist connection to the early soda water industry, this time in Nashville.
August: Though not unheard of, few collectors north of old Dixie have seen the only known pontiled Natchez, Mississippi soda on record. We just added the listing, and image, for the August FPS.
July: Most advanced soda collectors know of the Roseberry eagle soda and squat porter from Alexandria. But this mold was previously unlisted. The form, top and slug all resemble that rare slug plate mold used in Baltimore.
June: This month's FPS pays tribute to the growing gulf coast oil disaster and it's hardest hit city, Louisiana. While F. A. Conant was certainly one of New Orleans most prolific bottlers, this mold was previously unlisted among the many.
May: This month kicks up yet another unlisted Richmond soda. We know that the Canfield porters come in several molds, some marked Richmond, some not, but all are marked as agents for the mysterious "S.H.C."
April: While the picture is compelling, I'd have to examine this R. P. COOK in person to compare the embossing style to some of the Baltimore torpedos. If someone would just ship one of these to me, I'll try to put the notion to bed.
March: This little stubby porter is yet another McCormack mold which I suspect very few soda collectors have ever seen. The embossing font appears identical to the other porter mold, but provenance of glass works is debatable.
February: The parade of unlisted pontiled Southern sodas continues with the unlisted BOWEN PATENT soda from Richmond, Va. in cobalt blue. There may not be a whole one out there - until seeing this one, I'd never heard of it.
January: When unlisted pontiled Southern sodas surface it's always worthy of note. When they are open pontiled, like this previously unlisted SCOVEL they are exciting enough to ring in the new decade.
2009
December: Certainly another Baltimore Glassworks piece, this bottle sold on ebay for well over $3500, but the images were poor. This extremely rare Brummel & Byrne from Richmond, kicks off the Holiday Season for 2009.
November: Beginning this month we will be featuring a group of southern pontiled sodas presumed blown at a Baltimore glasshouse (though not marked as such) beginning with an extremely rare McCormack mold from Richmond, Va.
October: Though not unlisted the O. Chisolm soda is one of my favorite Charleston sodas, and since this one never completed it's auction cycle on eBay, I thought some visitors might want to review it here..
September: When an open pontiled, unlisted soda comes along, it really needs to make the FPS, even if severely damaged. Presumably from Philly or South Jersey, this McManus qualifies.
August: I thought it would be fitting to point out a very rare Chicago soda for the August FPS. Quite some time ago I spotted a peacock blue Lomax and haven't seen one before or since. We'll miss you Paul.
July: Terry Herron sent in this fat, barrel-squat Schrader porter. There are a lot of Schrader's out there, some smooth based, but this Dyottville example appears to be a new one.
June: For June, I selected an early soda to commemorate the many great sodas that have appeared on eBay in days gone by. This Hall soda is an early one from Philly.
May: Here is the extremely rare pontiled N. Oester soda, one of only a few from Indiana, and perhaps the only one from Aurora. Probably from the Pittsburgh Glassworks.
April: I was alerted to the "Dr. Power" soda soon after it was dug here in the deep south. I reported it unlisted. When it hit eBay, the full name of "Dr. W.R. Power" gave me a little bit more to go on toward attributing this "well traveled" find.
March: For March, rather than to point out one of the many great sodas that turned up in one of the major auctions, I thought I'd pull up an old favorite, the extremely rare W. H. BUCK that we have a small pic of in one of the slide shows.
February: I should have gone "all in" on this M.C. WILBUR soda a few months prior, but it's hard to say where the bottle would have landed. As it turned out, the bottle was stolen for less than half it's value. Rare and near mint.
January: The January FPS is a porter that I fell asleep on and missed for a meager $120 on eBay. If you think all aqua sodas are "color distressed" think again. For character and condition, this rare COLE & DEAN can't be beat.
