Heard it through the
Grapevine
Bottle Collectors Support John Ryan Grave Marker By Bill Baab Savannah, Georgia – One-hundred and thirty-five years ago, this port city lost one of its most prominent sons when soda water manufacturer John Ryan passed away after a short illness. From 1852, when he joined Savannah’s Irish community and established his Excelsior Bottling Works, Ryan became well-known for his soda water, ginger ale and mineral water — put up in a scintillating colorful array of bottles.
of Augusta (1866), Atlanta (1867) and Columbus (1883).
of America’s best-known pioneer soda water manufacturers.
In the early 1960s the hobby of digging privies and 100-year-old landfills in Savannah for antique bottles brought to life many of Ryan’s bottles that had been buried just after his death on March 25, 1885.
So a memorial fund has been established with a $5,000 goal, a suitable marker will be selected and a graveside memorial service to commemorate his life and achievements will be held. Once the goal is reached, the bottle collecting world will be notified of the date and time and collectors who would like to attend the service will be welcomed.
Collectors were astounded by the containers’ colors in cobalt blue, emerald green, various shades of amber, yellow, red, pink and even gray. Bottles in the odd colors are rare.
When the Civil War started, he faced difficulty in acquiring shipments of the bottles manufactured at Philadelphia’s Union Glass Works and other glass manufactories in the North.
After his death, Ryan was interred in the old Catholic Cathedral Cemetery on Savannah’s Wheaton Street. One would think a man of his prominence would have his grave marked with a first-class monument, but such was not the case, for unknown reasons.
But after the war ended in 1865, John Ryan resumed operations and even established branches in the Georgia cities
Many collectors of Ryan’s bottles have become offended by the lack of a monument or memorial on the grave of one
4
Antique Bottle & Glass Collector
The writer financially supports such an endeavor and hopes many of his collector friends will feel likewise. Checks payable to the John Ryan Memorial Fund and mailed to P.O. Box 9491, Savannah, GA 31412-0491 will help reach the goal. If contributors wish to pay by credit card, ask for an invoice and it can be paid securely by their email.
r Note: Image courtesy of Mike Newman
