Aqua Lina was marketed as a cleanser, disinfectant, germicide and deodorant from the mid-1920’s up through the mid-1960’s. Typically sold in quart bottles, it was bottled in concentrated form and had to be mixed with water before use.
As far as I can tell, it was strictly a local product that was both manufactured and exclusively advertised in Brooklyn, New York over most of its 40-year history.
The originator and driving force behind Acqua Lina was Vincent Quartararo whose family arrived in the United States from Italy in 1898, when he was only a year old. By 1920, census records indicate Quartararo was living in Brooklyn where he listed his occupation as “chauffeur for a trucking company.”
Four years later, in 1924, Quartararo was listed in the Brooklyn telephone book at 33 Wallabout Market with the occupation “grocer.” This photo of Wallabout Market taken about the time Quartararo arrived appeared in the August 10, 1924 edition of the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle.”
It was shortly after establishing what was likely a wholesale grocery business that, according to an advertisement in the July 3, 1937 edition of a newspaper called the “Brooklyn Tablet,” Quartararo began marketing Acqua Lina.
That being said, it wasn’t until 1930 that a listing for the Acqua Lina Manufacturing Co. began appearing in the Brooklyn telephone book, and when it did appear its address was the same Wallabout Market address as the grocery business. This all suggests that in its early years the operation was quite small, manufacturing just enough of the cleanser to sell through the grocery business.
Things began to change in the fall of 1935 when Quartararo filed a trademark for Acqua Lina with New York’s Secretary of State. The announcement appeared in several October editions of both the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle” and “Brooklyn Times Union.”
A little over a year later advertisements for Acqua Lina began appearing in the “Brooklyn Tablet.” The earliest one I can find appeared in their May 29, 1937 edition.
Around the same time, this advertisement disguised as a news story laid out the company’s sales pitch. It appeared in the July 3, 1937 edition of the “Brooklyn Tablet.”
“ACQUA LINA”
Man’s inventive genius, since the turn of the century, has helped greatly in relieving the dreary burden of wash day. To expedite and ease this work, there have been advances in hot water arrangements, washing machines and cleansing preparations. One of the most popular of the latter is Acqualina Washing Liquid, which has been marketed for the past ten years, with a steady increasing volume due to its efficient properties.
Acqualina can be used as a germicide, disinfectant, deodorant, cleanser and it has many other uses. Acqualina’s high quality and strong concentration makes its use very economical. The price of Acqualina is sold very reasonable and within the reach of all. It is sold only in handy quart bottles, each sealed with a special gold seal which must be broken before the bottle is opened, thereby protecting the purchaser against adulteration.
Mr. Vincent Quartararo, president of the Acqualina Manufacturing Co. of 33 Wallabout Market, has found over 1,000 uses for this fine washing liquid which does its work well, and in addition lessens the manual labor involved. The company is now serving many Catholic institutions, and has received good reports on its product from large users of this type as well as from private homes.
Acqualina Washing Liquid has many good properties as a disinfectant for personal use, as for cuts, scratches, burns and surface wounds and is excellent for baths and antiseptic douches.It is sold by leading grocers, and a call to EVergreen 8-6568 will bring the name of the nearest dealer.
Four years later, with Wallabout Market set to be razed and become part of an expanded Brooklyn Navy Yard, Quartararo bought a factory building in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene section. The transaction was announced in the May 4, 1941 edition of the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle.”
Factory Building Sold
Harry M. Lewis Co., Inc., in conjunction with John F. James & Sons, Inc., sold for estate of Thomas C. Craig to Vincent Quartararo, doing business as Acqua Lina Manufacturing Company, the two story brick mercantile structure on lot 49 x 80 feet at 368 – 370 Cumberland St., Fulton St. and Atlantic Ave. The purchaser is making extensive alterations to this building for his own occupancy.
Six weeks later, with the alterations suficiently completed, the June 14, 1941 edition of the “Brooklyn Tablet” announced that the company was moving in.
ACQUA LINA MFG. CO. IN NEW QUARTERS
The Acqua Lina Mfg. Co., formerly of 33-34 Wallabout Market, manufacturers of Acqua Lina Washing Liquid, have removed their plant to 368 -70 Cumberland St., Brooklyn.
The firm, 15 years ago, perfected a liquid which has more than 1,000 uses. It is an efficient cleansing agent, a potent germicide, a powerful disinfectant, and an effective deodorant. One drop of this fluid mixed with water forms a cleanser whose efficiency is unsurpassed…
Around this time references to Quartararo as a “grocer” disappear from the Brooklyn phone books so I suspect by then the business was entirely focused on the manufacture of “Acqua Lina.”
Quartararo passed away in December 1952 after which it appears that the family continued to run the business. In fact, as early as 1950, with Vincent unable to work, census records named his son Leonard as “plant manager.”
The company remained active throughout the 1950’s during which they made some changes to the product’s packaging. The first came in 1951 when they transitioned to a “no deposit” bottle, as evidenced by this advertisement that appeared in the April 5, 1951 edition of the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle.”
Later, according to this September 16, 1954 “Brooklyn Daily Eagle” advertisement, the company added half gallon and gallon sizes to go along with their traditional quart bottle.
In 1961, newspaper advertisements for “Acqua Lina Bleach” began appearing in grocery store price lists outside of Brooklyn, in near-by places like Staten Island and New Jersey and as far away as Buffalo, New York. Whether the name change and expanded distribution were the result of an ownership change is not clear but by the mid-1960’s all newspaper references to Acqua Lina vanish and the Acqua Lina Manufacturing Company was no longer listed in the Brooklyn telephone book.
The bottle I found is machine made and the company’s typical quart size. The company information is embossed on the base and the words “Acqua Lina” also appear on the shoulder.
I suspect it was manufactured sometime between 1930, when the company name began appearing in the phone book, and 1951 when they switched to a “no deposit” bottle, at which time I would expect to see those words embossed somewhere on the bottle.
The makers mark of an “F” inside a hexagon found on the base serves to further narrow down the range. According to http://glassbottlemarks.com the mark refers to The Fairmount Glass Company who, according to their trademark application, first used the mark on November 6, 1933 and used it up through the late 1960’s.
This puts the bottle’s manufacture sometime between 1933 and 1951.