Old Covina Glass

I know I said a while back that I was done collecting Covina antiques, but bottles were one of my earliest specialties, and I simply can't resist temptation when it comes to old Covina glass.

So, given that affinity, what would a local history nut like me most like to acquire? A Covina orange juice bottle, of course! You might think they'd be relatively common, but it's taken me forever just to find one. And here it is: a beautiful, like-new half gallon juice bottle from the Damerel-Allison Company of Covina that dates from 1946-1950.

Photos by Jose Lomeli.

A case could be made that Damerel-Allison invented bottled orange juice. Founded in 1901, D-A pioneered storage and refrigeration techniques that made it possible to reliably mass produce orange and other fruit juices for the regional consumer market. D-A also achieved market advantage by controlling its entire supply and distribution chain all the way from the grove to the grocer's shelf. After WWII, Damarel-Allison opened the largest and most thoroughly automated frozen juice concentrate facility in the United States. In 1950, D-A was acquired by a division of the California Fruit Growers Exchange, whose consumer products brand name was... Vita-Pakt! Under that name, the company would remain a staple of Covina's economy for another half-century.

These advertising measuring glasses hail from two post-War-era Covina drug stores. S. & M. Pharmacy first opened in Market Circle on W. San Bernardino Road in May, 1955. The original proprietors were Stan Stamper and Kenneth Miller. Their 3rd location – in Berkley Square at Badillo & Grand – opened in May, 1957. Rose Professional Pharmacy was owned by Porter and Jo Rose, and opened on E. Rowland Avenue in October, 1953. Going by those dates, the measuring glass from S. & M. is from 1975 or 1977, and the Rose one is from 1968.

As nice as those are, however, my most treasured recent acquisition is this pre-1920 etched measuring glass from the Warner & Whitsel Company. Founded in 1891, it was Covina's go-to grocery for four decades until changing times and competition from new chain stores closed their doors in 1928.

At left, the Warner-Whitsel building (1909) still stands today at 126 North Citrus.

Despite the desirability of all of the above, to this day nothing quite tops my first Covina bottle for either rarity or age. Fifteen years later and I've still never seen another like it!

I feel I must apologize for the lengthy hiatus from posting. I've had some minor but annoyingly persistent health problems that have preoccupied me for the past six months. Am hoping to be able to return to my historical pursuits full time again soon.

Addendum, June 2023: I just acquired this little pint milk bottle from Covina Meadows the other day. It's supposedly from 1958 and is in super nice condition. I've wanted a Covina Meadows bottle for a while, and they are actually pretty common, but I've only ever seen half-gallons for sale before, and I consider those a bit too large for collecting and display. Pints and half-pints, though, are the perfect size. :-) I've also got a pint bottle from Arden, which I found over 40 years ago in the rock quarry next to my dad's factory in Irwindale, but it doesn't say Covina on it, so I don't consider it an official part of my local collection.