 COCA-COLA ANTIQUES
MAKE SURE IT'S THE REAL THING!
by Wayne Mattox
After fighting for the confederacy during
the civil war, John Pemberton moved to Atlanta, Georgia where he specialized in the
mixing and vending of various patent medicines. The pharmacist claimed
that one of his recipes, a Bordeaux laced with caffeine (from the seed of an African kola tree) and cocaine,
would cure sluggishness, nervous disorders, headaches, internal plumbing, and improve sexual performance. Not
surprisingly, French Wine of Coca, was his best seller.
In November 1885, Atlanta voted to become a dry city. Experimenting in a three-legged
brass kettle in his back yard, Pemberton's various non-wine coca kola concoctions proved bitter tasting. He added
sugar, vanilla, caramel, orange, lemon, nutmeg, lime juice, cinnamon and coriander oil. Finally, Pemberton arrived
at a caramel colored syrup he merchandised by hauling in a jug to a local pharmacy called Jacob's, where it was
sold at the soda fountain as a "Delicious and Refreshing" drink for five cents a glass.
That same year, the world's most famous trademark-white
Spencerian Coca-Cola handwriting on a red background-was introduced by a printing innovator Frank Robinson,
who contracted for an interest in the company and was instrumental in launching it. In 1886, sales of
Coca-Cola averaged nine drinks per day. Unfortunately, Pemberton proved to be his own best customer. A drug
addict, he began selling interest in the floundering business (including Robinson's) and died in
1888.
Shortly thereafter, Atlanta entrepreneur, Asa Candler, at the
urging of hoodwinked Robinson, purchased sole proprietorship rights to Coca-Cola for $2,300. He removed
cocaine from the recipe in 1903. With innovative bottling systems in place and merchandising genius Frank
Robinson rehired, Candler expanded consumption of Coca-Cola to every part of the nation within four
years.
Since its inception, Coca-Cola has been a world leader in innovative merchandising
and advertising policies. By 1905, they had already produced calendars, stationary, booklets, logo decorated
ceramic syrup urns, post cards, coupons, bookmarks, trays, a plethora of signs, advertising clocks, fans, napkins,
banners, posters, novelties, and the once familiar Coca-Cola flare glass. The bell shaped fountain glass would
become standard in 1929. The Root Glass Company introduced Coca-Cola's famous contoured 6.5-oz. bottle in 1915.
Coolers and wooden and cardboard six
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