single mid-19th century medium cobalt blue glass iron pontil bottle distributed by eugene roussel, philadelphia, pa. the bottle contains a long and narrow neck with intact applied tapered blob top. the pontiled base is slightly indented. the body contains embossed block lettering around the bottle with the bottler’s name and the city (i.e. philadelphia) abbreviated beneath. typical crudity consistent with age and date of manufacture, including a small vertical bubble near the letter ‘s’ in the manufacturer’s name. the bottle was likely fabricated by the dyottville glassworks kensington, pa. in 1838 or 1839 the first syruped soda water was bottled in this country by eugene roussel who kept a perfumery shop in philadelphia. he had a dispensing apparatus in his store, and the idea came to him that there was a legitimate extension of his business in the bottling and sale of soda or mineral water. the first syrup bottled was lemon, and roussel soon established a business and a reputation, and was followed closely by other philadelphia competitors, so that within a few years there were no less than half a dozen manufacturers of bottled carbonates in the quaker city alone. it took about six years for the new trade to reach new york, for in the spring of 1843 three soda-water bottling establishments were opened simultaneously by philadelphians john tweddle, a. w. rapp and thomas newton. they all began bottling within the same week. the first bottled soda water sold in new york, was made by roussel in philadelphia and shipped to john tweddle for sale. it was "pure food" soda even in those days, for the greatest care was exercised in its compounding and preparation; the sugar employed was the best loaf, the whites of eggs were used to clarify it and the syrup was well-boiled and strained before the flavoring was incorporated.