EARLY GEORGIA SODAS
The Bottles & Proprietors
Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Macon, Savannah & Valdosta
By David Kyle Rakes & Ferdinand Meyer V. Published by Peachridge Collections, LLC.
“If there were such a degree as a doctorate in research, David Kyle Rakes would hold it. And, if such a degree in design existed, Ferdinand Meyer V would own it. The degrees may be mystical, but that pair has become a team, and from that teamwork has evolved absolutely one of the best books, sure to be treasured by collectors of Georgia’s 19th-century soda bottles.
“Early Georgia Sodas – the Bottles and Proprietors – Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Macon, Savannah, and Valdosta,” will become every collector’s “go-to” source of up-to-date historical information on John Ryan, Edward Sheehan, and many other bottlers of the soft drinks called sodas.
“Rakes, a resident of Belleview in Central Florida, is a master researcher who has traced the history of each bottler from birth to marriage to death. Those backgrounds generally have not been readily known to collectors. Meyer and his wife, Elizabeth, live in Houston, Texas.”
[Overview by Bill Baab]
Complementing the book’s text are enlarged color photos of each soda bottle, many taken by Mike Newman, of Martinez, Georgia, who has become an expert in the proper use of digital cameras. Mike is also a longtime collector of antique bottles. The book was published in October 2021 and is currently sold out and out of print.
