intact and original antique c. 1880-1885 hutchinson cobalt blue glass bottle manufactured for john a. lomax. the front body is deeply embossed, with the lomax raised 4-bottle logo configured in a diamond near the shoulder, surrounded by "trade / mark / regis / tered"; beneath this is embossed "j.a. lomax / 14 16 & 18 / charles place / chicago" with the first and last lines in large block lettering. the tall body features a squat neck with applied blobtop with slop and stretch marks inside the bore. the original patented spring stopper was removed or lost long ago. crudities include whittling, seeding, and minor spots of discoloration. the heel contains the glass company's mark for chattanooga bottle & glass manufacturing company, chattanooga, tennessee. john a. lomax entered the bottling operations in 1854, distributing soda water located at 38 w. lake street in chicago. in 1859, the plant was destroyed by fire and operations were moved to a two-story frame building located at 16 charles place. as business grew, john and his son george erected a large masonry building in 1871, which was consumed by the great chicago fire the same year. shortly after, lomax rebuilt an even larger four-story facility that was advertised as being the "largest bottling house in the world.” during their peak production years, lomax serviced more than five thousand of the approximately seven thousand saloons across the city of chicago. their bottling works furnished soda-waters, ginger ale, mineral and spring water, ales and other drinks. the company ceased operations in 1885. great overall condition.