The Westinghouse WD-12 Soda Machine is a dry cooler, meaning it cools without the use of water. It is very similar to the Westinghouse WE-6 except that machine is a wet box, and because of that, held fewer bottles. Also the WD-12 has the addition of stainless steel details. This Coca-Cola soda cooler has a stainless lid and trim and could hold 140 bottles. The two lids are hinged in the middle so a soda can be removed from either side. The WD-12 was manufactured from the mid-1940s to early 1950s. Pictured here is a machine we restored.

Dimensions: 28 1/2”D x 45 1/8”W x 36 1/4”H
Weight: 255 lbs.

Manufactured by:
Westinghouse Electric Corp.
Monroeville, PA

View the video of this Coca-Cola Westinghouse WD-12 Soda Cooler

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

The Dr. Pepper Guiberson “88” was produced in the late 40’s. It was a simple, rounded ice chest that held 88 bottles when full. The front two doors hid a place for empties. It was not embossed but had a porcelain sign on the front, so I guess it could have been made for any flavor, but we have only seen it in Dr. Pepper. Guiberson also produced an electric version of this that was a coin-operated vendor. I love this little cooler and I wish we still owned it.

Dimensions: 36.5”H x 25.5”W x 19.5”D

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

This brochure features another soda cooler designed especially for locations with limited floor space. It is the Westinghouse R-1 Coolerette, made for “home, office and store”. Introduced in 1957, the R-1 is essentially a small refrigerator. It has a 12-bottle capacity and came with a tray for making ice. These were made for the Coca-Cola Company and were usually all white.

Dimensions:

33¼” high x 14¼” wide x 17½” deep

Manufactured by:

Westinghouse Electric Corporation

Pittsburgh, PA

These were the first of the mini-fridges and are pretty rare today. Do you happen to have one? Blog-in and let us know.

Here is an interesting brochure we came across featuring the V-17 “Office Vendo Top”.

I have never seen one of these and I doubt it was ever manufactured, given this is just a drawing. What’s interesting is that the Vend Top is on what is clearly a Cavalier Office Cooler, but the top appears to be from Vendo given it’s name of “V-17 Office Vendo Top”. Vendo always named its models by how many bottles they would vend, preceded by a “V”. For example, Vendo-81, Vendo 110, Vendo 39 and so on.

If anyone has any information on this, please blog-in and let us know. If it does exist, some photos would be great.

The pages pictured here are from an old Coca-Cola Company equipment brochure, describing some of the equipment available for use by the vendors of Coca-Cola soft drinks. These are mobile, or stadium cup vendors that could be utilized at various events, such as sports, fairs or others gatherings. These appear to be manufactured by the same company as a stadium cup vendor we already blogged—the Glasco Corporation. They were all produced in the 1950s.

The first vendor featured on these pages is the 400-drink mobile dispenser. This vendor was designed as a pushcart and had space for four soda tanks and ice to keep the drinks cold. In addition to the Coca-Cola tanks, it would have also been necessary to add a cylinder of carbon dioxide for carbonation. The cold Coca-Cola was dispensed into the paper cups that were stored on the cart.

The 100-drink mobile vendor was a smaller version of the Coca-Cola pushcart. It could carry 1 tank of soft drink in an insulated compartment. There wasn’t any room for ice on this one, so the tanks had to be pre-cooled (for approximately 8 hours) before the vendor set off.

The last vendor is a carry pack. It was able to dispense 50 drinks from a pre-cooled tank that was inserted into an insulated compartment. This carry pack was equipped with a heavy-duty strap so it could be worn over the shoulder. The pack also had a compartment for paper cups as well as a small platform for the cup to sit on while the Coke was dispensed into it.

These are all clever designs, and The Coca-Cola Company appears to have gone to great lengths to get their product out to where people were seeking relaxation and entertainment—and getting thirsty. We believe these would not have been manufactured in very large numbers. If you have more information about vendors like these, please blog-in and share your thoughts.

The Glascock Junior was a single case cooler, capable of holding 36 chilled bottles. This makes it the same size as the Glascock countertop. The Junior had storage beneath for two cases of bottles and came on legs with casters.

It was equipped with a bottle opener. The sides were covered in removable panel inserts that could be changed out for different soft drink brands or messages, such as “Please Pay the Clerk”. They were painted a distinct Moroccan green that the Glascock coolers became known for. The bottles of Coke were kept cool with ice water.

Glascock was the first manufacturer to produce officially approved coolers for the Coca-Cola Company. The Junior model followed its predecessor, the Standard and was intended for stores with limited floor space. Coca-Cola was vended simply by lifting the lid of the cooler and removing a bottle. The customer then paid the store clerk for the soft drink. The original price for the Junior was $7.95.

Dimensions: 30”H x 17 1/2”W x 17 1/2”D
Produced: In the early 1930s

Manufactured by:
Glascock Bros. Manufacturing Co.
Muncie, Indiana

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

This countertop cooler is from Mexico. The embossing on the front and back reads “Tome Coca-Cola”, or “Drink Coca-Cola”. The manufacturer is unknown. It was probably produced in the 1950s. The design is rather unique, with the very thin, flat lid that covers the entire top of the cooler. We got this cooler in pretty poor condition and have restored it to new condition.

The first Latino countries to be given permission to bottle Coca-Cola were Cuba and Panama in 1906. Coca-Cola was first bottled in Mexico starting in 1926 and is still very popular there today.

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

The Victor Products Corporation started out as a commercial refrigeration manufacturer in the 1920s. They became well known for producing their uniquely styled, yet functional counter coolers. Victor built a series of counter coolers for the Coca-Cola Company that included one-, two-, three- and four-door styles, in addition to the very rare Victor Kooler Grill.

The C-31 was a 3-door counter cooler. It had a large capacity, able to hold 756 bottles of chilled Coca-Cola. The bottles were placed in the cooler horizontally, positioned on top of each other in alternating directions, to fit together like a puzzle. The doors on the cooler were roll-top style so they could be pushed up out of the way to access the soda bottles. The cooler was available with an optional black laminate countertop. It extended the length of the cooler and served as a sales and lunch counter. There were two built-in bottle openers with cap catchers and all four sides were embossed with Coca-Cola logos.

A restored Victor cooler such as this one would make a terrific retro style bar in a home or business and would also make a great addition to a gameroom or home theater.

Capacity: 756 bottles
Dimensions: 40”H x 75 1/2”W x 29”D
Weight: 605 lbs.
Produced: Early to mid-1950s

Manufactured by:
Victor Products Corporation
Hagerstown, Maryland

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

The Westinghouse Half Junior was a countertop ice chest produced from the late 30’s to the early forties. The cooler had embossing on the front and back, as well as the sides. It was designed to hold 24 bottles of Coca-Cola and 20 pounds of ice. These little countertop coolers are rare, although we did own two at one time and restored at least one. You can find them with built-in recessed handles or with no handles at all.

Dimensions: 14”H x 25.5”W x 12”D
Manufacturer:
Westinghouse Corporation
Springfield, Massachusetts

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

This is an eye-catching cooler manufactured for dispensing and promoting the sales of Coca-Cola in bottles and cans. It was manufactured in the 1960s by the Beverage-Air Company of South Carolina. It has a very large capacity, with 12 display racks. There are two glass doors that open to provide access to the cold the Coca-Cola. These large glass panels also keep the product visible, making it easy for the customer to find what they’re looking for. There is plenty of space for Coca-Cola in 6-packs and cans, as well as other Coke products such as Tab and Sprite.

The signage is illuminated and, combined with the clearly marked six-packs within, make this refrigerated cabinet a clever merchandising tool. As this ad states, “Every inch of width is equal to one cubic foot of effective signage and display space”.

Manufactured by:

Beverage-Air Company
Spartanburg, S. Carolina

Vendo was founded in 1937 in Kansas City, Missouri. Their initial product line consisted of chest coolers, but after WWII they became known for their upright vending machines, which were made exclusively for the Coca-Cola Company. This chest cooler is one of the earliest—if not one of the first chest coolers made by Vendo.

This cooler is embossed for Cleo Cola, a soft drink that was introduced in 1935 by the Whistle soda company. Cleo Cola was named after the cigar favored by the company’s owner (presumably Antonio y Cleopatra cigars, manufactured since 1879). Advertising for the soda featured Queen Cleopatra of Egypt, which may explain the use of what then was considered an “oriental” typeface.

In addition to the photo of the Cleo Cola chest cooler, there are also photos of artist renditions of the Vendo chest and an additional cooler embossed with the Coca-Cola logo, in what appears to be an office. Perhaps this gentleman is a Vendo Company executive. In this last picture, it is possible to see the top of the machine with the rotating vending mechanism. This chest cooler represents an early version of the soda vending machines that Vendo continued to develop and became famous for.

Manufactured by:

The Vendo Company
Kansas City, Missouri

These are a series of ads for Arnold Bottle Chest Coolers. These were manufactured by G. J. Arnold Bottlers’ Supplies Co. in the late 1930s and early 1940s. They must be quite rare, as I was only able to locate one source that even knew about the Arnold coolers: in the book titled “Classic Soda Machines, 3rd ed.” by Jeff Walters, and of these coolers shown here, he features the Arnold’s Club House Box and Arnold’s Quick Cooling Chest.

Based on these advertisements, Arnold manufactured a range of soda bottle coolers in metal and wood. The liners were galvanized iron. The Arnold Junior Cooler also had a galvanized iron exterior.

The Club House Box was made with a wooden exterior with a mahogany finish. These were generic chest coolers that storeowners could hammer a tin sign onto featuring a particular soda brand.

This Quick Cooling Chest is also wooden and very similar to the Club House Box, except that it could be ordered in 6 different lengths, ranging from 3 feet to 8 feet. It was available with a ground cork insulation.

Pictured here is another Arnold’s Quick Cooling Chest that was being offered by the Frank F. Pasch Co. of Wisconsin. Frank Pasch was a German immigrant that settled in Milwaukee and was involved in several different businesses, one which evidently included the distribution of Arnold cooler chests.

Manufactured by:

G. J. Arnold Bottlers’ Supplies Co.
1131 South Broadway
St. Louis, MO

The Walrus Manufacturing Company of Decatur, Illinois was one of the many manufacturers that tried to cash-in on the ongoing soft drink craze in the early 1900s. This advertisement is from the “National Bottlers Gazette”. Walrus, like other manufacturers, was marketing their product directly to bottlers in the hope that they could become their cooler supplier. These two models are the Walrus Blizzard Beverage Cooler (top) and the Walrus Beverage Cooler. They were produced in the late 1920s to early 1930s.

Both of these models were self-serve, and used the honor system, where the customer would pull out a bottle of soda and then pay the storeowner. They have openers and cups attached for discarded bottle crowns. There is also a cup to hold straws. Both coolers were manufactured of painted metal and were available with either turquoise blue or tan paint finishes.

The Blizzard was the smaller of the two models. It cooled 36 bottles and the display held 44 additional bottles to be rotated into the ice. It took 35 lbs. of ice to cool the bottles in the Blizzard. The dimensions were 39”W x 27”D x 36 ½”H and it weighed 130 lbs. The larger cooler held 64 bottles and displayed 112. It held 75 lbs. of ice and the dimensions were 45”W x 28”D x 68”H.

These two machines are very rare, and we’d love to hear if you’ve ever seen one. Blog-in if you have any additional information to share.

The vintage photo above is of a Coca-Cola Dispenser Service delivery truck. This is a great old photo, not only of the 1919 Ford Model T truck, but it also shows a variety of vintage Coca-Cola bottle dispensers. These coolers were probably destined for Mom and Pop stores throughout the neighborhood.

The dark colored cooler on the rear of the truck is a Glascock Standard. This is the red and green chest cooler that Glascock manufactured from the late 1920s through the 1930s. It was the first standardized icebox that was manufactured for the Coca-Cola Company. The space under the cooler could accommodate up to 4 cases of bottles of Coke, in addition to the 72 bottles that fit in the ice-filled cooler.

As far as the other Coca-Cola coolers on the truck, if you can identify any of them, please send us your comments.

The Coca-Cola cooler in this photo is the Hemp 9022. It resembles a fishing or tackle box and is a fairly rare cooler. The 9022 was the smallest in the series of 9020-series Hemp coolers. Originally these coolers were painted with white tops. This example has been restored with a solid red color scheme.

Hemp and Company was a division of the American Thermos Products Company. The first thermos, or “vacuum flask” was manufactured in 1892 by the scientist, Sir James Dewar. In 1907 the American Thermos Bottle Company of Brooklyn, New York purchased the Thermos trademark. They began manufacturing insulated picnic jugs and coolers in 1955 and many of them were for the Coca-Cola Company.

This ad features four models of the Hemp line of coolers: the 9022, 9023, 9024 and the 9025, all manufactured in the mid to late 1950s. These have all been embossed with the Coca-Cola Company logo. They are insulated and have galvanized aluminum liners with places to attach bottle openers and ice picks in the lid.

Manufactured by:

Hemp & Company
Macomb, Illinois

This is a Glascock Portable Cooler from the early 1930s. It is based on the Glascock Standard, with the addition of wheels (2 large on the sides, one smaller in the rear), and a push handle. The cooler could hold 72 bottles of Coke and 50 lbs. of cracked ice. Three cases of additional bottles could be stored below. As on other Glascock coolers, there is a bottle opener and crown catcher. The sides had removable panels and it is painted in the standard green and red colors. This cooler would have been just the thing to deliver bottles of cold Coca-Cola to people walking on the street or attending sporting events or fairs.

Dimensions: 40”H x 53”W x 28”D
Produced: Early 1930s

Manufactured by:
Glascock Bros. Manufacturing Co.
Muncie, Indiana

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

Pictured here is a Westinghouse WD-5 machine that we restored years ago. The Westinghouse WD-5 Soda Cooler was a popular self-service soda machine because of its compact size. It needed a minimum amount of floor space but still had adequate storage space. It holds up to 120 bottles, which is a lot, considering the cooler’s size. The bottles position on their sides inside the cooler, rather than standing upright. The cooler lid lifts and the bottles are simply removed from the top of the machine.

The WD-5 is a dry cooler, which means it cools with cool air rather than with water or ice. This cooler is embossed on all four sides with the Coca-Cola logo. The WD-5 was manufactured from the late 1940s to late 1950s.

Dimensions: 28 1/2”D x 28 5/8”W x 36 3/8”H

Manufactured by:
Westinghouse Electric Corp.
Monroeville, PA

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

The Glascock Deluxe cooler, when it was built was the best Glascock had to offer. The $36 price tag was considered a lot at the time (the Standard cost only $15) but came with special features, such as a stainless steel lid and bottle racks. This model was created for storeowners that wanted a more attractive soda machine in their stores.

When the Deluxe was first released in 1930 it was an icebox. Later versions came out as mechanically refrigerated boxes with a price tag of $155. The electric powered compressor was located in the base inside the stand. The vending process was like that of earlier coolers, where a warm bottle had to be inserted into the cooler in order to vend a cold bottle. The vending capacity was 64 bottles of Coca-Cola, with 66 bottles in reserve.

Dimensions: 41 1/2”H x 31”W x 29”D
Produced: Early 1930s
Weight: 418 lbs.

Manufactured by:
Glascock Bros. Manufacturing Co.
Muncie, Indiana

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

The Harris Automatic Coin Changer was designed to operate on all kinds of vending machines including soda, cigarette and candy vendors. It could be modified to return change in many different combinations, as needed. An important feature at the time was the ability to prevent “jackpotting”, or releasing a gush of coins all at once.

The introduction of the automatic coin changer was announced in the August 1946 issue of “Billboard” magazine, with a projected release date of three months later. The device was named after Charles F. Harris, the inventor. According to a 1947 article in “Popular Science”, Harris got the idea for the machine years prior while he was working as an executive of a railroad. He was attending a murder trial at a courthouse on a very hot day when he tried to get a cold soda from a vending machine. He didn’t have the proper change and had to go a number of blocks to find a store where he was able to get a nickel. This frustrated Harris enough that he set about inventing a coin changer to be installed in the vending machines. Harris later served as head of the research and development department at Johnson Fare Box Company where they manufactured his coin changer.

The Johnson Fare Box Company was a manufacturer of fare boxes for trolleys, cable cars and later, buses. They developed the very first fare box around 1905. In 1955 the company was acquired by Keene Corporation, and in turn General Fare Industries bought them in 1980. They still operate today as GFI Genfare.

Manufactured by:
Johnson Fare Box Company
A Subsidiary of Bowser, Inc.
Chicago, Illinois

These items are not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.