rare original late 1840's or early 1850's dark cobalt blue iron pontiled soda bottle manufactured for new york bottlers john and alexander dearborn. the low, steep shoulders are finished with a long, narrowing neck and an intact applied blob top that has a flat chip on one edge. the front body is embossed " j.&a. dearborn / new york" and the reverse "mineral water / D / this bottle is never sold" strong side seams run from base to neck. the base has a deep kickup with heavy residue and a single strong dimple in the center of the base, evidencing manufacture with iron pontil. crudities are typical of its age and date of manufacture, including whittling, chipping at the finish, and open bubbles (flat, exterior bubbles which burst during manufacture). one of the most recognizable new york city bottles of the "iron pontil" age are the soda and mineral water bottles of john and alexander dearborn. the brothers entered the bottling business as partners in 1848. at that time the dearborns took over the business of another successful new york mineral water maker, a.w. rapp, who was in business from 1843-1847. in 1844, city directories list alexander as operating a "coffee saloon" at 107 nassau street in lower manhattan, and john dearborn as a root beer maker on rivington street. the earliest dearborn bottle, c. 1846-47, is embossed "a. dearborn & co." with the "co" being a mr. william boggs, not john dearborn. by 1849 the business was j & a dearborn, and by 1853 john mcchesney had joined as a third partner, with bottles then produced with embossing "j&a dearborn & co.". by 1856, following mcchesney's death, john dearborn is listed as being the only or dominant business partner in the soda business. from 1856-1858 dearborn & co. is again embossed. later sodas and beers from the 1860s are simply embossed "dearborn". 1868 was their last year in business. later 1850 listings for dearborn confirm that john rather than alexander became the dominant partner. from 1856 til 1858 alexander isn't included in general directories. predictably bottles from this period are embossed 'dearborn & co'. later sodas and beers from the 1860s are embossed simply 'dearborn', suggesting a single person, probably john, was running most of the business. 1868 was their last year in business.