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23 Nov 2021, last revised 15 Apr 2023

Henry Larsen's bottling works in Hancock was a continuation of the Sterling Spring Mineral Water Co.

Henry Larsen was born on 01 Feb 1874 in Escanaba (1). He presumably moved to Hancock with his father, Peter Larsen, around 1897, and then was listed as a resident of Hancock on the 1900 U.S. Federal Census (1). He worked with his father at the Sterling Spring Mineral Water Co., being listed as manager in 1903 (2), teamster in 1905 (3), and manager of a South Range branch in 1907 (4). He was then listed as proprietor with Hans Johnson in 1910 (5) and sole proprietor in 1912 (6).

In 1910, the Michigan Dairy and Food Department tested the following sodas produced by Henry Larsen: Royal Brew, Ginger Ale, Lemon Soda, Orange Cider, Cream Soda, Cremo, Iron Brew, Pear Cider, and Root Beer (11).

One HENRY LARSEN bottle has a date code for 1912, so Henry Larsen evidently dropped the Sterling Spring name by then. The 1916 Polk directory listed Henry Larsen as a bottler under his name at 511 Hancock St. (7), the same address as for the Sterling Spring Mineral Water Co. He also had a branch in Calumet (7), with bottles specific to that branch (see H. Larsen & Co.).

Sanborn map - Aug 1917
Sanborn map - Aug 1917

The bottling works at 511 Hancock St. continued well into the ABM age. Henry Larsen was listed as a manufacturer and dealer in carbonated beverages in the 1921 directory (8). The 1930 directory listed the name, "Hancock City Bottling Co." for Henry Larsen (12). However, he died on 08 Dec 1929 at the age of 54 and was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, Houghton (10).

The 1939 directory shows that the "Hancock City Bottling Works" continued at the same 511 Hancock Ave. address under Aladino Nutini (9). The directory specified Kist Beverages and Wegener's Original Rock and Rye as franchised brands (9).

Aladino Joseph Nutini was born on 06 Oct 1910 in Trimountain (14) to immigrants from Italy (15). His family resided in Trimountain in 1920 (15) and had moved to Hancock by 1930 (16). He was listed as a sales manager in 1940 (17) and had 511 Hancock Ave. as the employment address on his World War II draft card (18). He was a resident of Detroit when he died on 28 Mar 1971 (19).

The bottling works was not listed in a 1947/1948 business directory (13), suggesting that it closed by then. The latest date code on an ABM bottle is 1940.

Henry Larsen ABM soda label<br>Courtesy of the Richard Dana Collection
ABM soda label

References

  1. U.S. Census Bureau. 1900 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
  2. R. L. Polk & Co. 1903. Houghton County Directory 1903-04. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
  3. R. L. Polk & Co. 1905. Houghton County Directory 1905-06. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
  4. R. L. Polk & Co. 1907. Houghton County Directory 1907-08. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
  5. R. L. Polk & Co. 1910. 1910 Calumet, Houghton, Hancock and Laurium Directory. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
  6. R. L. Polk & Co. 1912. 1912 Calumet, Hancock, Houghton and Laurium Directory. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
  7. R. L. Polk & Co. 1916. Houghton County Directory 1916-17. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
  8. R. L. Polk & Co. 1921. Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1921-1922. R. L. Polk & Co. Detroit, MI.
  9. R. L. Polk & Co. 1939. Polk’s Hancock (Michigan) Directory 1939. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
  10. Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, Michigan; Death Records (accessed on ancestry.com).
  11. State of Michigan. 1910. Dairy and Food Department. Bulletin No. 173-178. Jan-June 1910. Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co. State Printers. Lansing, MI.
  12. R. L. Polk & Co. 1930. Polk’s Hancock (Michigan) Directory 1930. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
  13. The Daily Mining Gazette. 1947 or 1948. Copper Country Classified Business and Professional Directory. Houghton, MI.
  14. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 (accessed on ancestry.com)
  15. U.S. Census Bureau. 1920 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
  16. U.S. Census Bureau. 1930 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
  17. U.S. Census Bureau. 1940 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
  18. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 (accessed on ancestry.com)
  19. Michigan, U.S., Death Index, 1971-1996 (accessed on ancestry.com)
53
Henry Larsen bottle
capacity: half-pint
color: aqua
top: Hutchinson top
base: cup-bottom
maker's mark: (none)
other marks: H.L. (base)
date: 1912-1915
rarity: rare
  • same plate for 53 and 53a
  • T in REGISTERED slightly left of L in LARSEN
  • narrow space between H in HENRY and H in HANCOCK
53a
Henry Larsen bottle
maker's mark: (none)
other marks: H.L. (backwards, base)
rarity: extremely rare
  • same plate for 53 and 53a
  • backwards base mark
s12
Henry Larsen bottle
capacity: half-pint
color: aqua
top: Hutchinson top - tooled
base: post-bottom
maker's mark: ROOT (back heel)
other marks: (none)
dated: 1912
rarity: extremely rare
  • different plate from 53
  • T in REGISTERED further left of L in LARSEN
  • half-rounded base
  • this example has date code: 12 ROOT 542
54
Henry Larsen bottle
capacity: half-pint
color: aqua
top: Hutchinson top - tooled
base: post-bottom
maker's mark: N B B G CO. (back heel)
other marks: REGISTERED (lower front), THIS BOTTLE IS NEVER SOLD (lower back), H.L. (base)
date: 1912-1915
rarity: rare
  • different plate from 53 and s12
  • T in REGISTERED under L in LARSEN
  • includes generic mark on front
  • marker's mark difficult to see
55
Henry Larsen bottle
capacity: quart
color: aqua
top: crown top - tooled
base: post-bottom
maker's mark: N B B G CO (back heel)
other marks: H.L. (base)
date: 1912-1915
rarity: scarce
  • same plate for 55 and 57a
s64
Henry Larsen bottle
capacity: quart
color: aqua
top: crown top - tooled
base: cup-bottom
maker's mark: (none)
other marks: H. L. (base)
date: 1912-1915
rarity: ?
  • smaller plate than 55 and 57
  • backwards base mark
56
Henry Larsen bottle
capacity: half-pint
color: aqua
top: crown top - tooled
base: post-bottom
maker's mark: N B B G CO (back heel)
other marks: H.L. (base)
date: 1912-1915
rarity: scarce
  • different plate from 54
  • T in REGISTERED slightly right of L in LARSEN
  • same plate for 56 and 56a
56a
Henry Larsen bottle
maker's mark: N B B G CO (back heel)
other marks: CONTENTS 7 FL. OZ. (lower front), H.L. (base)
rarity: ?
  • same plate for 56 and 56a
  • contents embossed on front
57
Henry Larsen bottle
capacity: quart
color: aqua
top: crown top
base: post-bottom
maker's mark: ROOT (front heel)
other marks: CONTENTS 24 - FLUID OZS (front heel), H.L. (base)
date: 1912-1915
rarity: common
  • different plate from 55
  • larger font for name and location
  • includes contents on front
57a
Henry Larsen bottle
maker's mark: N B B G CO (back heel)
other marks: CONTENTS 24 FL. OZ. (front heel), H.L. (base)
rarity: (?)
  • same plate for 55 and 57a
  • includes contents on front
abm-50
bottle image
capacity: half-pint
color: pale aqua
top: crown top - ABM
base: post-bottom
maker's mark: (none)
other marks: H. L. (base)
dated: 1920
rarity: common
  • this example has an A B Co. date code: 20 S 6
abm-51
bottle image
capacity: quart
color: aqua
top: crown top - ABM
base: post-bottom
maker's mark: (none)
other marks: THIS BOTTLE IS NOT SOLD AND MUST BE RETURNED (lower back), H. L. (base)
dated: 1921
rarity: common
  • this example has an A B Co. date code: 21 S 2
  • T in REGISTERED slight left of L in LARSEN
abm-51a
bottle image
maker's mark: N B B G CO (back heel)
other marks: (none)
date: c.1920
rarity: common
  • different plate from abm-51
  • T in REGISTERED slightly right of L in LARSEN
abm-52
bottle image
capacity: quart
color: colorless
top: siphon top - ABM
base: ?
maker's mark: (none)
other marks: (none)
date: c.1915
rarity: extremely rare
abm-53
bottle image
capacity: quart
color: aqua
top: crown top - ABM
base: cup-bottom
maker's mark: ROOT (front heel)
other marks: REGISTERED (back heel)
dated: 1927
rarity: common
  • this example has date code: 3944C ROOT 27
abm-54
bottle image
capacity: quart
color: aqua
top: crown top - ABM
base: cup-bottom
maker's mark: (base)
other marks: REGISTERED (back heel)
dated: 1931
rarity: common
  • this example has a date code for 1931
abm-55
bottle image
capacity: half-pint
color: aqua
top: crown top - ABM
base: cup-bottom
maker's mark: ROOT (back heel)
other marks: MIN. CONT. 7 FL. OZ. (back heel)
dated: 1926
rarity: common
abm-56
bottle image
capacity: quart
color: aqua
top: crown top - ABM
base: post-bottom
maker's mark: ROOT (front heel)
other marks: MIN. CONT. 24 FL. OZ. (back heel)
dated: 1924
rarity: common
abm-57
bottle image
capacity: half-pint
color: aqua
top: crown top - ABM
base: post-bottom
maker's mark: ROOT (back heel)
other marks: MIN. CONT. 7 FL. OZ. (back heel)
dated: 1925
rarity: common
abm-58
bottle image
capacity: half-pint
color: colorless
top: crown top - ABM
base: cup-bottom
maker's mark: (base)
other marks: MIN. CONT. 7 FL. OZ. (back heel), REGISTERED (base)
dated: 1937
rarity: common
  • this example has a date code for 1937
abm-59
bottle image bottle image
capacity: half-pint
color: colorless
top: crown top - ABM
base: cup-bottom
maker's mark: (base)
other marks: CONTENTS 7 FL. OZ. (front heel)
dated: 1940
rarity: common
  • this example has a date code for 1940
abm-60
bottle image
capacity: pint
color: aqua
top: crown top - ABM
base: cup-bottom
maker's mark: (none)
other marks: (none)
date: 1950s
rarity: common
  • It is possible that this bottle belongs to Mattson Bottling Works instead.