singular c. 1880's blue aqua privy-dug hutchinson blob tops manufactured for the chicago consolidated bottling company. the front body features a clean strike in the form of embossing, "chicago / consolidated / bottling co. / 14 to 18 / charles place / chicago". the base is smooth and visible side seams run up to the base of the neck. it would have been closed with the hutchinson patented spring stopper. crudities such as bubbles, whittling and surface wear are typical of its age and date of manufacture. john lomax's charles place bottling operation expanded in the early 1870's, with the construction of additional buildings on the lots he already owned. with the facilities for turning out 12,000 dozen (144,000) bottles of soda per day, besides mineral waters and other beverages, lomax kept twenty wagons running constantly to meet demand. by the late 1870s lomax's regional sales were increasing as well, and he had begun advertising his bottled products far beyond chicago. after 1886 the lomax bottling works became the chicago consolidated bottling company (ccbc) by combining with 15 other bottling plants, most of which john lomax had purchased. the consolidated bottling company was badly damaged by a fire in 1891. after presumably recovering, lomax continued as president and chief owner until his death in 1899.