Vegas Btl - news

4/4/05- SACRAMENTO, CA- When a local bottle collector came upon an oddball, crown-top soda from Las Vegas, he thought his $100 investment was a bit risky, but what the heck. As it was, the bottle, which reads J.J. Truckfield Las Vegas Bottling Works Nevada, was one of three known and sought after for over 30 years by

more than one Nevada bottle expert. He was immediately offered $5,000. Guess what? He took it. "I thought it was a neat bottle, but I didn't know it was THAT neat," said the seller, who wished to remain anonymous. "I've been looking for this bottle for 30 years," said the buyer, who is a well-known and respected Nevada expert. "I don't usually buy things like this, but I've been looking for so long. We knew it existed, but over the years it disappeared."

Auctioneer Jeff Wichmann, who runs American Bottle Auctions, says the quick profit is not unusual. "We sold a soda last auction for almost $20,000. Yes, it was older, and more historic, but maybe not even quite as rare. When a collector needs that last Ming Dynasty piece, or comic book, there's no telling what he'll pay. The buyer is thrilled, the seller is thrilled, it's a win-win situation. Even the original seller was happy with the $100."

"I figured it was a $200-300 bottle. Crown top sodas aren't that old," the seller remarked. "I understand why he (the buyer) would pay that. Rare is rare, and there won't be many more of these coming up."

The Las Vegas Bottling Works began in 1905 in reborn Las Vegas. The railroad had just been laid and this watering hole, spec on the map began to attract a variety of businesses, the least of which was a bottling works. The original name of the business was Lincoln County Bottling Works and was co-owned with Tuckfield by a Mr. Gadette. Their ad ran for a year in the Las Vegas Times. By 1908, Tuckfield had bought out his partner and changed the name. By 1915 he was out of business and very little is known about the man or his business.

There isn't a clear explanation as to why there aren't more of the aqua sodas, but one answer may be that they used an un-embossed bottle with a paper label earlier on and eventually forked out the money to buy something with the company name and owner embossed on it. It's not unusual for a company to begin using generic

bottles then finally get their own custom version. This bottle was probably made at the San Francisco and Pacific Glass Works.

No it's not the Declaration of Independence found behind a $30 picture frame, or a Chippendale card table purchased for $100 in a Public Storage unit. But, for the folks in this interesting and historic area of antique bottle collecting, it's quite a find. After all, finding one of the first bottles with the name of Las Vegas, one of only two known to exist, can be quite exciting. Who knows what historical significance it will have in the future? Where does the happy buyer live who purchased this rare find? We're not real sure and anyway, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

I happened upon your article about the Vegas Soda Bottle that turned up. There is a comment in the article that states not much is known about JJ Tuckfield. I am related to him and did not know he was in the bottling industry, so I found it very interesting. I would love to know where I can find additional information about the Nevada bottling company. His full name is Joseph James Tuckfield and he was born in Woolrich, England 10 April 1865. His family emigrated to the United States about 1870, they settled for a time in Missouri and joined other aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents in Salt Lake City, Utah about 1873, where he worked with his father and brother as boiler makers. He married in Park City, Utah, but his wife died soon after their child was born. He then went to Nevada, remarried several years later and had another child. He ended up in Los Angeles, California, in his later life where he lived with his daughter and her husband until he died sometime after 1930 and before 1943.

-Christine Tuckfield Cox