c. late 1850’s or early 1860’s medium blue aqua iron-pontiled blobtop soda or mineral water bottle manufactured for Michael Keeley. The tapering shoulders & slim neck are finished with an applied blobtop that exhibits allover whittling, & some slop. There are several straw marks on the exterior glass below the blobtop finish. The front body is deeply embossed in a serif font, “M. Keeley. / Chicago. /ill”. At the base is a shallow kickup with little iron residue. Crudities are typical of the age & date of manufacture, & include allover seeding, whittling, & surface wear like scratches or flea bites. The glass has been lightly cleaned & appears clear & without haze. Michael Keeley moved out of his cellar ale & porter depot at 43 s. Water street & relocated his ale bottling operation to 60 W. Lake in 1858. The following year, he established a soda water bottling operation at 291 S. Canal. The 1860 industrial census for Chicago lists Michael Keeley as a soda & ale manufacturer with an annual production of 3,000 barrels (since the soda would have been bottled, it is unclear how this was figured into the estimate). Keeley bottled at both locations until 1867, when he consolidated his bottling operations into a series of structures at 289-295 S. Canal & ceased ale bottling activities to focus on soda water. From 1862-1864 he also served as cook county treasurer. There are no Keeley-embossed Chicago bottles that date after the time of the Chicago fire. All of the embossed ale, porter & cider bottles listed were manufactured & used between 1858 (after the Keely & brother operation closed) & 1867 (when Keeley stopped bottling ale & focused on soda). Original 1850S Antique American Iron-Pontiled Chicago Privy Dug Michael Keeley Soda Or Mineral Water Bottle
