# J.A. Lomax



## bottlekid76 (Aug 11, 2012)

John Ryan in Georgia produced so many great varieties and colors of his bottles, John Lomax was also busy in Chicago producing as many different shapes sizes and colors for his soda business too. The Lomax bottles come in a large range of shapes, sizes and transitions. Most of his products came in many shades of cobalt and sapphire, with green Lomax bottles being tough to come by. He and his son George who also has some bottles ran what must have been a very popular establishment.

 I found ths online to be interesting...

 George Lomax is a native of New York, his 
 birth having occurred in the town of Haver- 
 straw, on the 9th of June, 1852. In 1854, 
 however, he was brought to Chicago by his 
 parents, and the days of his boyhood and 
 youth were passed in a manner usual to 
 children of that period. The city schools 
 afforded him his educational privileges, and 
 his business training was obtained in the es- 
 tablishment of his father, J. A. Lomax, who 
 on coming to the city in 1854 began the 
 manufacture of soda-water. 

 In 1872 Mr. George Lomax was united 
 in marriage with Miss Helen Bolton, who 
 was born at Jersey City, New Jersey. They 
 have four children George, J. Alfred, Frank 
 B. and William L. , aged respectively twenty- 
 three, twenty, eighteen and eight years. 

 From the time that Mr. Lomax entered 
 his father's employ he applied himself assidu- 
 ously to the mastery of the business, and as 
 time passed, more and more relieved his fa- 
 ther of the management and care of the en- 
 terprise. He also purchased a controlling 
 interest and extended the business in its fa- 
 cilities and scope. He is a gentleman of 
 great energy and excellent ability, whose 
 careful management of its interests, com- 
 bined with the true western spirit of prog- 
 ress, has brought to him success. He and 
 his father are now the principal owners of the 
 Chicago Consolidated Bottling Company, 
 the most extensive concern of the kind in 
 the United States. This is the outgrowth of 
 the business which was established by John 
 A. Lomax more than forty years ago. He 
 began operations on a small scale at No. 38, 
 West Lake street; but the plant was com- 
 pletely destroyed by fire in 1859. In the 
 fall of the same year business was resumed 
 at No. 1 6 Charles place, in a two-story 
 frame building twenty by thirty feet, which 
 was then in the midst of the heavy timber. 
 The sales of the house materially increased 
 as the years went by, and in 1871 John A. 
 Lomax and his son George erected a large 
 stone and brick building, which was sup- 
 posed to be fire-proof, the dimensions being 
 forty by one hundred and ten feet; but the 
 great conflagration of October 9-11, 1871, 
 which laid the city in ruins, destroyed their 
 new plant. With characteristic energy, 
 however, they at once began rebuilding, and 
 now occupy with their business a four-story 
 brick structure three hundred by one hun- 
 dred and twenty-five feet, which is the larg- 
 est exclusive bottling-house in the world. 

 On the 7th of March the stock was cap- 
 italized under the name of the Chicago 
 Consolidated Bottling Company, for six 
 hundred thousand dollars, with John A. 
 Lomax as president, Herman Pony as treas- 
 urer, and George Lomax as manager. In 
 their plant every device and improvement 
 known to the business is used. They em- 
 ploy three hundred men, use two hundred 
 horses and eighty double and single wagons 
 to deliver their goods to their customers. 
 They manufacture one million boxes of two 
 dozen bottles each per annum; and out of 
 seven thousand saloons in Chicago they 
 have the patronage of more than five thou- 
 sand of them, furnishing soda-waters, ginger 
 ale, mineral and spring waters and other 
 light drinks. This is an indication of the 
 volume of the business which is carried on 
 at the extensive establishment of the Chi- 
 cago Consolidated Bottling Company, which 
 now controls one of the leading industries 
 of the city. 

 The quality of their products is unsur- 
 passed, for only the best materials are 
 selected for their manufacture and every 
 precaution is taken to secure cleanliness and 
 purity. The laboratory is under the super- 
 vision of a skilled chemist, and all the dif- 
 ferent departments are superintended by 
 men of the utmost reliability, thoroughly 
 understanding the duties entrusted to their 
 care. The genial manager, George Lomax, 
 is a man of far-seeing ability, of courteous 
 bearing and manly dignity. He possesses 
 that happy faculty of making friends, hun- 
 dreds of whom speak highly of his hospital- 
 ity and generosity. At a meeting held by 
 the Hudson County (New Jersey) Bottling 
 Protective Association, October 5, 1896, 
 most favorable and complimentary resolu- 
 tions were passed concerning the kindness 
 and courtesy of Messrs. John A. and George 
 Lomax for the courteous and charming way 
 they entertained the members of the asso- 
 ciation at the eighth annual meeting of all 
 the bottlers of the United States, which was 
 held in Chicago in October, 1896. The 
 resolutions are handsomely engrossed and 
 framed, and occupy a most conspicuous 
 place in the company's office. 


 Here is a nice ale that I have from his busy location on Charles Place. I remember Rory showing a pic of a very nice early JAL soda he has. Maybe he can post that one again sometime. []


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## epackage (Aug 11, 2012)

Nice bottle Tim, I'm diggin' the amber more than the cobalt...


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## bottlekid76 (Aug 11, 2012)

Thanks Jim, me too!

 ~Tim


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## Road Dog (Aug 11, 2012)

That amber rules! My brother has a pontiled G. Lomax I gave him. I sold my JAL bottle. Still have a few commons.


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## Road Dog (Aug 11, 2012)

The JAL I sold awhile back


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## bottlekid76 (Aug 11, 2012)

Thanks Rory, that's one fine bottle []

 ~Tim


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## botlguy (Aug 11, 2012)

WOW ! I hope you guys realize how blessed you are to live in an area that produced so many GREAT bottles. Now I woudn't change locations with you for any bottle or bottles but it sure would be nice if we had bottles like that up / out here in the bottle wilderness.  

 Can any of you go fishing 10 minutes from home in a pristine lake? 3 pound Rainbows, 5 pound Large Mouth bass, 12 inch Kokanee salmon? Ever had smoked salmon? Hey, I've got to console myself some how.[][][]


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## bottlekid76 (Aug 11, 2012)

Fishing is pretty big around here but our closest lake would be about 30 mins away. Lots of tournaments, the Heartland Pro-Am, Central Pro-Am. The Bass Pro headquarters is about an hour away for me!

 I bet you have some beautiful lakes there tho Jim!

 ~Tim


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## botlguy (Aug 11, 2012)

> ORIGINAL:  bottlekid76
> 
> Fishing is pretty big around here but our closest lake would be about 30 mins away. Lots of tournaments, the Heartland Pro-Am, Central Pro-Am. The Bass Pro headquarters is about an hour away for me!
> 
> ...


 We do have some really gorgeous water out here, very clear water. But my Son and I favor Bass fishing and my personal record Large Mouth at 5 1/2 pounds is small by your standards. I caught an endangered Bull Trout / Dolly Varden which had to be released that was 27 inches and estimated at about 10 pounds in water so clear you can see bottom at 20 feet. Not one stick of development on a 10 X 4 mile lake. A day on that lake is like heaven on earth for me. Can't say I've ever found any bottles there though.


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