The first two photos show people gathered around a Mills 47-N, manufactured between 1939 and 1945. These machines are located in workplaces for the use of the employees. In the first instance, there are bus drivers taking a break, and the second photo appears to be taken inside a beauty salon. (Note the vintage Coca-Cola advertising on the wall behind the soda machine.)

The next two photos are of the Mills 47-A, manufactured between 1938 and 1940. The first location appears to be a school and the second is most likely an office break area. From the looks on the faces of the people in the pictures, it appears that the Coca-Cola Company was able to find an abundance of willing subjects to be photographed using their Mills vending machines for promotional advertising.

It’s very interesting to note the original selling prices for these Coca-Cola coolers. The prices ranged from $6.50 for the Counter cooler to $155.00 for the DeLuxe Frigidaire Complete cooler, (the first mechanical Glascock chest cooler). All Glascock coolers had replaceable side panels to display the Coca-Cola logo. And all were painted the classic Coca-Cola red and Moroccan green.

Produced: Late 1920s to Early 1930s

Manufactured by:
Glascock Bros. Manufacturing Co.
Muncie, Indiana

This is an eye-catching cooler manufactured for dispensing and promoting the sales of Coca-Cola in bottles and cans. It was manufactured in the 1960s by the Beverage-Air Company of South Carolina. It has a very large capacity, with 12 display racks. There are two glass doors that open to provide access to the cold the Coca-Cola. These large glass panels also keep the product visible, making it easy for the customer to find what they’re looking for. There is plenty of space for Coca-Cola in 6-packs and cans, as well as other Coke products such as Tab and Sprite.

The signage is illuminated and, combined with the clearly marked six-packs within, make this refrigerated cabinet a clever merchandising tool. As this ad states, “Every inch of width is equal to one cubic foot of effective signage and display space”.

Manufactured by:

Beverage-Air Company
Spartanburg, S. Carolina

The Victor Products Corporation started out as a commercial refrigeration manufacturer in the 1920s. They became well known for producing their uniquely styled, yet functional counter coolers. Victor built a series of counter coolers for the Coca-Cola Company that included one-, two-, three- and four-door styles, in addition to the very rare Victor Kooler Grill.

The C-31 was a 3-door counter cooler. It had a large capacity, able to hold 756 bottles of chilled Coca-Cola. The bottles were placed in the cooler horizontally, positioned on top of each other in alternating directions, to fit together like a puzzle. The doors on the cooler were roll-top style so they could be pushed up out of the way to access the soda bottles. The cooler was available with an optional black laminate countertop. It extended the length of the cooler and served as a sales and lunch counter. There were two built-in bottle openers with cap catchers and all four sides were embossed with Coca-Cola logos.

A restored Victor cooler such as this one would make a terrific retro style bar in a home or business and would also make a great addition to a gameroom or home theater.

Capacity: 756 bottles
Dimensions: 40”H x 75 1/2”W x 29”D
Weight: 605 lbs.
Produced: Early to mid-1950s

Manufactured by:
Victor Products Corporation
Hagerstown, Maryland

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

These are a series of brochures for some vinyl Coca-Cola picnic coolers with dates ranging from about 1939 to 1957. The dates are determined by the slogans used. “Whoever you are, whatever you do…” was used by the Coca-Cola Company beginning in 1939 until about 1942. “Sign of good taste” was slogan used in 1957.

These coolers were made of plastic, or what we refer to now as vinyl. Some of the brand names of these products are “Ideal”, “Werner-Freeman” and “Nappy”. These must have made super picnic coolers, since they were insulated to keep food and drinks cool and the waterproof plastic could easily be wiped clean. The Coca-Cola Company promoted these coolers in order to make it more convenient to have cold Coke on hand, no matter where you happened to be going. These also served as an additional mode of advertising for their soft drink. All the coolers look as if they were made to accommodate two six-packs of Coca-Cola bottles: either side-by-side or with them stacked one over the other.

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

The pages pictured here are from an old Coca-Cola Company equipment brochure, describing some of the equipment available for use by the vendors of Coca-Cola soft drinks. These are mobile, or stadium cup vendors that could be utilized at various events, such as sports, fairs or others gatherings. These appear to be manufactured by the same company as a stadium cup vendor we already blogged—the Glasco Corporation. They were all produced in the 1950s.

The first vendor featured on these pages is the 400-drink mobile dispenser. This vendor was designed as a pushcart and had space for four soda tanks and ice to keep the drinks cold. In addition to the Coca-Cola tanks, it would have also been necessary to add a cylinder of carbon dioxide for carbonation. The cold Coca-Cola was dispensed into the paper cups that were stored on the cart.

The 100-drink mobile vendor was a smaller version of the Coca-Cola pushcart. It could carry 1 tank of soft drink in an insulated compartment. There wasn’t any room for ice on this one, so the tanks had to be pre-cooled (for approximately 8 hours) before the vendor set off.

The last vendor is a carry pack. It was able to dispense 50 drinks from a pre-cooled tank that was inserted into an insulated compartment. This carry pack was equipped with a heavy-duty strap so it could be worn over the shoulder. The pack also had a compartment for paper cups as well as a small platform for the cup to sit on while the Coke was dispensed into it.

These are all clever designs, and The Coca-Cola Company appears to have gone to great lengths to get their product out to where people were seeking relaxation and entertainment—and getting thirsty. We believe these would not have been manufactured in very large numbers. If you have more information about vendors like these, please blog-in and share your thoughts.

The Coca-Cola Company certainly made an effort to get their name out wherever they could, as evidenced by these brochure pages for a Coca-Cola school zone sign. On this page dating to 1966, the sign was categorized as “outside advertising” and was probably suggested safety and marketing equipment directed at storeowners in the vicinity of schools. These signs would not have been used by the local highway department. The text says they were “redesigned to conform with city and state regulations, which prohibit the use of signs similar to official regulatory signs”. They were an opportunity to advertise while also projecting a “good neighbor” image.
The sign itself was constructed of half-inch plywood with a laminated surface sheet, with a front and a back as you can see here. The sign bolts onto a rust proofed base designed to make the sign stable. The graphics are reflective and, interestingly, the copy says that if the sign is accidentally left out at night it will provide “additional advertising value”.

We restored the base of this Coca-Cola school zone sign. The plywood placard was in nice shape already.

Dimensions: 16”W x 50”H
Base diameter: 24”

This is a 1960 Coca-Cola tire rack and 2-sided metal sign combination. Never missing an opportunity to advertise, this clever solution was designed for filling stations that also sold Coca-Cola. It was made of tin with a carry handle on top. It’s a very clever design solution since the inclusion of the tire will also promote tire sales for the filling station owner as well. As the text states, “It helps the dealer by suggesting a check of tires and possible sale, and also suggests that the motorist ‘Enjoy Coca-Cola’”. They’re pretty rare and one of these in very good shape recently went for $2,600 at auction.

Dimensions: 17”W x 32”H

Found this interesting picture in one of the old magazines we have around here. The Middletown, Ohio Coca-Cola Bottling Company has their float ready for the Old Fashioned Days celebration. Looks like they took one of their Coca-Cola Company Ford pick-ups and decked it out in all things Coke. What I find most interesting is the size of that six-pack and I wonder if it survived? Is it in someone’s garage or warehouse or did it get tossed and is it gone forever? What the heck is that thing made out of? Were they mass-produced, and if so did any survive?

These two ads were part of an advertising series appearing in a trade publication from 1949. They feature Coca-Cola button signs manufactured by Temco Inc. of Nashville, Tennessee. The signs are pictured in these ads with the Taj Mahal and Stonehenge to illustrate how “timeless” and long-lasting Temco porcelain enamel signs are. I also came across another ad online featuring the Matterhorn. There may have been more ads pairing up the Temco Coke signs with other indestructible icons. Maybe you could let us know if you’ve seen one.

As you can see, these Coca-Cola button signs were designed to withstand years of outdoor use. They were used outside filling stations, neighborhood grocers and drugstores. They were very often used as part of a larger sign or in combination with others and could have been hung on a wall or installed on a stand. These Temco signs came in sizes ranging from 12 inches to 36 inches in diameter. In addition to the red signs shown here, with the Coca-Cola logo, there were also versions made that were white and/or had a Coke bottle on them as well as the logo. Some said “Drink Coca-Cola” or “Drink Coca-Cola in Bottles”. Because of their durability, you can still find these button signs today, although they don’t come cheaply.

This photo is of a page from The Coca-Cola Company’s 1957 catalog featuring commemorative Coca-Cola jewelry, made by the L. G. Balfour Company. Since the turn of the century, The Coca-Cola Company has believed in creating employee incentive and rewarding loyalty with acknowledgment that may have come in the form of merchandise, gift cards or discount vouchers. As seen by these catalog pages, in 1957 Coca-Cola turned to the L.G. Balfour Company of Attleboro, MA to create gifts with their insignia. Balfour has been making quality jewelry since 1913. Lloyd Garfield Balfour originally started the company to make items for fraternities and sororities on college campuses. During WWI the US Government hired them to make military insignia for the Armed Forces. When the war was over, Balfour created new product lines including a wide array of company service awards. The Coca-Cola Company awarded pins to their employees after completing every five years of service up to what appears to be 50 years according to the catalog. The pins were 10K gold and included enamel and/or genuine precious stones. The last pin shown is in a classic Coke bottle shape and is listed as a “Pledge Pin” for the modest price of $1.50. At the bottom of the catalog page you can see they also offered a genuine Rolex watch for the phenomenal 1957 price of $50.75.

The next page of the catalog illustrates a wide array of additional items awarded by The Coca-Cola Company and made by Balfour. Included are a makeup compact, bracelets, a necklace, tie clips, a keychain, a money clip, a lighter and a belt buckle. Noted is the option of having the item made with a “50th Anniversary mounting, Coca-Cola Bottle mounting, or Coca-Cola (logo) mounting”.

This 1962 catalog page shows that Bulova also made merchandising items for The Coca-Cola Company. These products were also directed at the management at Coca-Cola as gifts and awards for their employees. Each quality watch bears the Coca-Cola logo painted in red on the watch face. The ad states, “With these beautiful watches Bulova helps you say ‘Thank You’ in an unforgettable way”. I’m sure the lucky recipients were very happy to receive these gifts and also very proud to wear them.

The Vendo V-83 Coca-Cola Vending Machine

The V-83 has the distinction of being Vendo’s first coin-operated, upright soda vending machine to be mass-produced. Like all other Vendos, it was made exclusively for the Coca-Cola Company and was produced from 1946 to 1955. There were more of this model machine made among upright Vendos, than any other machine up until 1960.

The vending couldn’t have been simpler; just insert a nickel and lift the dispenser door to lift out your Coke. It is a single-selection machine that vends 83 bottles and has space to pre-cool 75. The 6.5-ounce bottles were loaded into individual compartments in a honeycomb-shaped drum. By lifting the door to remove a Coke, the drum was rotated to the next available bottle.
This Vendo 1947 V-83 brochure states that demand is so high for this machine, that they may have difficulty filling orders for them in the following year—so you had better put your order in early! Not so true anymore, as this is such a heavy machine, that it’s not all that popular with collectors. In addition, it can only hold the original 6.5-ounce bottles.

Dimensions: 63”H x 32 1/2”W x 18”D
Weight: 450 lbs.

Manufactured by:
The Vendo Company
Kansas City, Missouri

The 1920’s Icy-O Coca-Cola Vendors

Following the first efforts at bottling Coca-Cola in 1894, the Coca-Cola Company decided they needed a way to display and sell cold bottles of Coke. Originally, the solution was a wooden barrel sawed in half and filled with ice. A sign was usually attached to the front of the barrel. This tub-style Icy-O vendor was the first of the Coca-Cola Company’s improvements to the more crude former method. In this vendor, the bottles were displayed beneath a clear door. A crank of the handle would allow the customer to see and select a bottle. The door in the front of the vendor was for the empty bottles.

If the merchant did not have enough floor space for the tub vendor, the Coca-Cola Company’s solution was the Icy-O countertop model. Ice was placed inside to keep the soft drinks cold. This is a self-service cooler that was made of metal, but finished to look like wood.

Manufactured by:
The Icy-O Company, Inc.
Peachtree St. and Clement Ave.
Charlotte, NC

Both the tub and countertop models are very rare. Do you happen to be lucky enough to have one? Send us an email and let us know.