The history associated with this bottle begins with an Irish immigrant named Francis (sometimes Frank) McDermott who, according to 1900 census records, arrived in the United States in 1868, at the age of 16. Sometime in the mid-1880’s he partnered with New York born William H. Callanan and they established a bottling business that operated under the registered trade name of the O.K. Bottling Company.
Located on Manhattan’s west side at 528 West 38th Street, most directory listings included the company’s line of business as “mineral waters.” That being said, a bottle pictured on http://historicbeerbottlesnyc.com that is embossed with the O.K. Bottling Company name and address along with the words “Weiss Beer,” confirms that the company bottled beer at some point as well.
According to Callanan’s April 29, 1912 affidavit in a court case, “Thomas Donohue v. William H. Callanan and Frank McDermott” the company began operation 27 years prior, in 1885. That being said, I can’t find it listed in the directories until 1887/1888 so its safe to say the business opened for business sometime between 1885 and 1887.
New York State’s Factory Inspection Report, dated January 27, 1896, indicated that in 1895 the company employed an-all male staff of 14, each working a 60 hour week. So, while not an overly large operation, it wasn’t all that small either.
In 1898, while continuing to serve as proprietors of the bottling business both McDermott and Callanan were involved in the incorporation of a second business, the McDermott Bunger Dairy Company of New York. The incorporation notice was published in the March 29, 1898 edition of the “New York Tribune.”
New York City’s 1901 Copartnership and Corporation Directory listed the dairy’s headquarters directly across the street from the bottling business at 527 West 38th Street and went on to name McDermott as president and Callanan as a director.
McDermott continued as both a proprietor of the bottling business and president of the dairy until 1912 when his partnership in the bottling business was dissolved. Callanan continued to serve as a director in the dairy so I suspect the dissolution of the partnership was amicable and had more to do with the needs of the dairy business than any disagreement between the two.
By this time, the 1914 New York State Factory Inspection Report indicated the bottling business had almost doubled in size, listing a total of 26 employees, 24 in the shop and two in the office.
It was around this time that the company made national headlines when a bomb exploded in the company office, killing a 20 year-old stenographer.
The caption below the photo reads:
Wreckage in office of the O.K. Bottling Company and shattered top of desk at which Miss Ida Anusewitz was sitting when she opened bomb.
According to a December 13, 1913 “Associated Press” account:
A young foreigner, swarthy and clean shaven, was sought today by detectives as the sender of the infernal machine which killed Ida Anusewitz yesterday as she opened it at her desk in the office of the O.K. Bottling Company.
From a patchwork of clues the police wove overnight a theory of motive for the crime. The slain girl they believe was not the victim for whom the bomb was intended; William H. Callanan, the proprietor was. Business rivalry, the police believe, prompted the attack.
Following still further this theory detectives believe the young man they seek acted as agent for someone else when he took the package containing the bomb to the office of an express company for delivery…
A year later, a December 10, 1914 “Brooklyn Daily Eagle” story stated that the explosion remained a mystery and as far as I can tell the crime was never solved.
Callanan was still serving as head of the O.K. Bottling Company when, according to an item found in the May, 1928 edition of the “American Perfumer & Essential Oil Review,” he passed away on May 9th of that year. Subsequently, it appears control of the business remained in the family with New York City’s 1933/1934 Directory naming his sons Lawrence and William H. Jr. as president and secretary/treasurer of the business respectively.
At some point in the late 1930’s the company moved to a new location at 520 West 44th Street where it was listed in the Manhattan Telephone Book during the early 1940’s. The move was likely required to facilitate construction of the Lincoln Tunnel ramp that now crosses below 38th Street in the vicinity of their former building’s footprint.
The O.K.Bottling Co. was no longer listed in the 1945 Manhattan Telephone Book, likely signaling the end of the business.
Seven years later another O.K. Bottling Company was incorporated in the State of New Jersey. The incorporation notice appeared in the May 27, 1952 edition of the “Trenton Times.”
Located on Barnt Avenue in Trenton, there’s no indication that it was in any way connected with the previous New York business.
The bottle I found is in pretty bad shape, missing both a part of its blob finish and its entire base, but it’s still undeniably a Hutchinson design. A complete version of the same bottle was pictured recently on e-bay.
On a final note: Over the years William H. Callanan’s name appears with several different spellings in census records, directory listings and newspaper stories. Other versions I’ve seen are Calanan and Callahan. For consistency’s sake I’ve chosen to use Callanan throughout this post.