rare c. 1870-1872 vibrant cobalt blue squat soda bottle with blobtop manufactured for chicago bottler john lomax. the front body features a clean strike in the form of embossed lettering that reads "j.a. lomax / 14 & 16 / charles place / chicago.". the low, sloping shoulders and squat neck are finished with an intact applied blobtop. there is whittling below the finish as well as a long vertical bubble. the base is flat with the letters "jl" centrally embossed. crudities are typical of the age and date of manufacture, including bubbles and minor surface wear. the bottle has been cleaned (i.e. tumbled) and so appears in good condition and free of haze. the backside features barely legible and lightly embossed lettering from an older slug plate that was peened out. 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.