# O'Keefe OK  Soda Dispenser Bottle?



## JKL (Jun 22, 2020)

At an auction over the weekend I picked up what I thought was a soda dispenser bottle.  The bottle is big, maybe 4 or 5 gallons.  The embossing of "O'Keefe OK Toronto" is in fantastic condition.  The bottle maker's mark looks like the Dominion Glass logo but has the capital letter "I" inside the diamond.  There are two other numbers 21 and 58.  I would love to know more about what I have here.  I assume soda bottle of some sort.


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## ROBBYBOBBY64 (Jun 22, 2020)

JKL said:


> At an auction over the weekend I picked up what I thought was a soda dispenser bottle.  The bottle is big, maybe 4 or 5 gallons.  The embossing of "O'Keefe OK Toronto" is in fantastic condition.  The bottle maker's mark looks like the Dominion Glass logo but has the capital letter "I" inside the diamond.  There are two other numbers 21 and 58.  I would love to know more about what I have here.  I assume soda bottle of some sort.


Water bottle.


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## JKL (Jun 22, 2020)

ROBBYBOBBY64 said:


> Water bottle.


Oh man!  I hope it's more than a plain ole water bottle.  But I bought it when I saw it so if just a water bottle well then it proves you win some you lose some but the hunt is fun!


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## CanadianBottles (Jun 22, 2020)

Definitely looks like a water cooler bottle, never seen one of those put out by a soda company/brewery before though.  Pretty cool if you ask me!
Oh and the I in a diamond is the Illinois Glass Company logo.  Pretty unusual to see that one on Canadian bottles.


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## ROBBYBOBBY64 (Jun 23, 2020)

JKL said:


> At an auction over the weekend I picked up what I thought was a soda dispenser bottle.  The bottle is big, maybe 4 or 5 gallons.  The embossing of "O'Keefe OK Toronto" is in fantastic condition.  The bottle maker's mark looks like the Dominion Glass logo but has the capital letter "I" inside the diamond.  There are two other numbers 21 and 58.  I would love to know more about what I have here.  I assume soda bottle of some sort.


Great demijohn or carboy or water jug whatever you call it. It is a good one with embossing upside down so it can be read in the cooler.
ROBBYBOBBY64.


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## RCO (Jun 23, 2020)

never seen it before , definitely from O'keefes which was a large Toronto bottler . not sure if they were known for bottling water back then . but whatever was in it for sure came from there plant


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## JKL (Jun 23, 2020)

CanadianBottles said:


> Definitely looks like a water cooler bottle, never seen one of those put out by a soda company/brewery before though.  Pretty cool if you ask me!
> Oh and the I in a diamond is the Illinois Glass Company logo.  Pretty unusual to see that one on Canadian bottles.


Is there a way to date the jug based on the base?


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## CanadianBottles (Jun 23, 2020)

JKL said:


> Is there a way to date the jug based on the base?


Illinois Glass merged with Owens to form Owens-Illinois in 1929, so it should date before that.  Though I'm not totally sure they stopped using the mark at that point, someone correct me if I'm wrong.


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## SODABOB (Jun 23, 2020)

This is from a 1926 edition of an Illinois Glass Company catalog







               This table is from sha.org - indicating the Diamond I was used between 1915 and 1929


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## JKL (Jun 24, 2020)

I appreciate the info very much.  It was listed as a soda syrup jug at the auction and I thought it was cool.  I'm pretty disappointed it's not soda related because I don't collect non soda.  However it is a very nice clean bottle especially being between 90 and 100yrs old.


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## SODABOB (Jun 24, 2020)

This combo sold at auction in 2018 for $75


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## BillHaddo (Jun 28, 2020)

I checked a reference book I have and it indicates O'Keefe was packaging mineral water from 1932-1937,a real nice bottle!!

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## JKL (Jun 30, 2020)

Great info folks.  I appreciate the feedback.


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## bstarr99 (Jul 1, 2020)

Not really a bottler but follow this site with interest.  As a Canadian I am familiar with the O'Keefe name as it relates to the brewery industry so I did a search and found this on wikipedia.  Not saying this was used for beer but there is a good chance of it.  Might have been the original "draft" ball.  Here's a link.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_O'Keefe


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## 5 gallon collector (Aug 5, 2021)

Appears to be super clean, indeed. 
Very likely water.  I would even say 'certainly', especially given that super wooden crate.  Nothing found on a brief newspapers.com search of keywords/phrases, US / Canada.  The top suggests 1920s, perhaps late teens or early 30s.  So the 21 might well mean a manufacture date of 1921 -- not sure about the 55 -- certainly not 1955 -- An Illinois Glass Company specialist might have info. about the 55 - perhaps a plant ID?
Please let me know if you want to ship it to California.  Sure must be taking up a lot of space you might better use for sodas!
Carboy collector


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## Mailman1960 (Aug 5, 2021)

SODABOB said:


> This is from a 1926 edition of an Illinois Glass Company catalog
> 
> View attachment 209085
> 
> ...


Another example of the best B.I'S (BOTTLE INVESTIGATOR) around. You all continue to find the answers!!!


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## mctaggart67 (Aug 6, 2021)

Canadian prohibition was a funny beast. In fact, the manufacture of beverage alcohol has only been outlawed in Canada during the War of 1812. Starting in the mid-1910s, Canadian provinces began outlawing the sale of beverage alcohol. Constitutionally speaking, the federal government had (still has) say over alcohol production, so it allowed breweries, distilleries and wineries to operate, if anything for the excise tax revenue. Meanwhile, Canadian provinces have constitutional powers over commerce with respect to sales, so, giving into the demented demands of drys, each Canadian provincial government brought in its own provincial regime of no-sales.

This set up three interesting phenomena. One, we Canadians kept on churning out booze to slake the thirst of Americans (your prohibitionists were even more demented in setting up nationwide prohibition on manufacture, distribution and sale. Two, there was still plenty of domestic demand for booze in Canada, which Canadian breweries, distilleries and wineries were all too happy to meet. Three, which had some interplay with #2, prohibition and the threat of it becoming absolute saw brewers, in particular, branch out into other non-alcoholic beverage lines.

This gets us to this marvellous O'Keefe's bottle, as is reflects phenomena two and three. As to three, these bottles were used for distilled water (for the home and hotel trades) and for syrups for ginger ale, etc., as O'Keefe expanded into the pop business as another buttress against prohibition.

So how does #2 two come into play. Well, O'Keefe kept on brewing and used these bottles for beer for homesales. To understand how this worked legally, some quick geography: Quebec borders Ontario and Manitoba borders Ontario. If a thirsty Ontario resident contacted contacted a sales office in either Quebec or Manitoba, then the sale was technically made outside of Ontario and thus the beer could be shipped directly to the home from O'Keefe's brewery in Toronto. Once bordering provinces closed the sales loopholes in their own prohibitory laws, then, quite simply, the beer was shipped illegally to home buyers.

So there you have, a lot of history in one large bottle.


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## Cobrien.cdm (Oct 27, 2021)

mctaggart67 said:


> Canadian prohibition was a funny beast. In fact, the manufacture of beverage alcohol has only been outlawed in Canada during the War of 1812. Starting in the mid-1910s, Canadian provinces began outlawing the sale of beverage alcohol. Constitutionally speaking, the federal government had (still has) say over alcohol production, so it allowed breweries, distilleries and wineries to operate, if anything for the excise tax revenue. Meanwhile, Canadian provinces have constitutional powers over commerce with respect to sales, so, giving into the demented demands of drys, each Canadian provincial government brought in its own provincial regime of no-sales.
> 
> This set up three interesting phenomena. One, we Canadians kept on churning out booze to slake the thirst of Americans (your prohibitionists were even more demented in setting up nationwide prohibition on manufacture, distribution and sale. Two, there was still plenty of domestic demand for booze in Canada, which Canadian breweries, distilleries and wineries were all too happy to meet. Three, which had some interplay with #2, prohibition and the threat of it becoming absolute saw brewers, in particular, branch out into other non-alcoholic beverage lines.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the information on Canadian prohibition. I believe Quebec is the only province not to pass alcoholic restrictions. The Beer Store I assume is an legacy of prohibition era in Ontario.


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