Description
Very Good+ dust jacket, slight chipping at corners and spine ends, price clipped, a mylar dust jacket has been added. The Near Fine binding is light green cloth over boards, gilt lettering on spine, black-and-white illsutrations throughout. The binding is tight and pages are clean. The book measures 11.3″ tall x 8.9″ wide.
Third Printing
About the book (from the dust jacket)
Any American over the age of three who has not tasted or even heard of Coca-Cola is suffering from severe cultural lag. “The pause that refreshes” has become the most popular international soft drink in history, due to a remarkable advertising history. The promotional items and advertising memorabilia for Coke have become the newest and most popular collectibles for huge numbers of enthusiastic hobbyists. Cecil Munsey offers the most complete selection of available advertising memorabilia, from the earliest newspaper ads to the latest in jewelry.
Munsey traces the history of The Coca-Cola Company from the invention of Coke in 1886 by John S. Pemberton an Atlanta, Georgia, druggist-in an iron cauldron in his backyard, to its present position as the number-one soft drink. The history of Coca-Cola reflects the cultural history of America itself. Coke was first served only at soda fountains, and one of the first advertising items produced was a tray with a picture of a pretty girl holding a glass of Coke. Each year another tray, featuring a different girl wearing the latest fashions, was produced. The Coca-Cola Company began offering cigars, razor blades, chewing gum, glasses, and glass holders bearing the trademark for Coca-Cola. As Coke became more popular, famous stars such as Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, and Cary Grant posed for trays, posters, and billboards for Coke. Such items are prized collector’s items.
When The Coca-Cola Company started bottling its product, the most outstanding collector’s item, the Coke bottle, came into being. The variety of bottles makes any collector seek out as many as possible. Early bottles were straight-sided, and it was not until the standard hobble-skirted bottle was adopted that uniformity could be expected from various bottlers. Other popular items are bottle caps, stationery, coolers, calendars (very desirable), pocket mirrors, blotters, bookmarks, cards, coupons, newspaper
and magazine ads, pens, pencils, music boxes, thermometers, games, dolls, toys, books, signs, and display posters. Favorite items are Christmas cards and posters which feature the famous Santa Claus created by artist Haddon Sundblom. Sundblom’s Santa has become the stereotype for all depictions of fat, jolly Saint Nick. Munsey makes special mention of the treasured clocks bearing the trademark for Coca-Cola, as well as the Tiffany-style stained glass lamps (now worth over a thousand dollars apiece) that have recently been copied.
Munsey depicts the huge variety of collectibles in over eight hundred black-and-white photos. He has included extensive appendixes listing bottlers, artists who have worked for The Coca-Cola Company, and slogans to aid the collector in dating memorabilia.
About the author (from the dust jacket)
Cecil Munsey, frequent contributor to many bottle periodicals, is the author of The Illustrated Guide to Collecting Bottles. He is the cofounder of National Bottle Gazette. A teacher, currently working on his Ph.D. in Education, Mr. Munsey lives in Poway, California, with his wife and son.
