Coalton
H.B. Kramer
1904—1906; 1908—1913
Harry B. Kramer began bottling with his father, John F. Kramer, in 1903 in Davis (“Tri-State Obituary,” 1945). A year later, he moved to Coalton to begin his own bottling operation (Mercantile Agency, 1904). He then moved to Belington a time later, then finally Elkins in 1927. In Elkins, he would setup shop on Railroad Street (Exposition Co. of America, 1925; H.S. Rich & Co., 1930).
With Kramer around for so much longer than most bottlers, I suspect that these hutches that have been discovered are merely a case of not searching hard enough, rather than a vastly limited number being manufactured. H.B. Kramer would later also bottle in Belington and Elkins (Expositions Co. of America, 1925) with his Elkins plant being located on Railroad Street (H.S. Rich & Co., 1930).
Of note with this bottle is that there are two variants that appear identical in all details except the base. One bears a horseshoe, the other has a blank base.
H.B. Kramer bottle, Coalton. No horseshoe on the base.
H.B. Kramer bottle, Coalton, horseshoe w/ "L" on base.
The base of the Coalton bottle to the immediate left.
References
Expositions Company of America (1925). Bottlers and beverage manufacturers universal encyclopedia, a complete reference book and guide.
Header background: West Virginia History OnView (1908). View of buildings and farmland; Coalton, W.Va. [postcard].
H.S. Rich & Co. (1930). The beverage blue book, 1930, the standard directory buyers' guide and reference volume for the beverage industry.
Tri-state obituary. (1945, January 14). Cumberland Sunday Times, 20.