Created in 1939, “Refreshment Through the Years” is a corporate history of the Coca-Cola Company produced by the Jam Handy Organization. This film was the very first Technicolor industrial film ever produced. This account of the invention of Coke by John Pemberton through its growth in popularity to become the most popular soft drink in history — produced in huge quantities on an assembly line and supported by enormous distribution chains — was shown at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York, and then to audiences around the United States.
In 1886, as the soda fountain was rising in popularity as a social gathering spot, Coca-Cola was invented by a pharmacist and Civil War veteran named John “Doc” Pemberton. After Pemberton’s death in 1888, a man named Asa Griggs Candler rescued the business. He hired traveling salesmen to pass out coupons for a free Coke. His goal was for people to try the drink, like it, and buy it later on. It helped make Coca-Cola a national brand, rather than just a regional brand.
A controversial move on the part of Candler was to sell Coca-Cola syrup as a patent medicine, claiming it would get rid of fatigue and headaches. In 1898 Congress levied a tax on all medicines and, after a court battle, Coca-Cola was no longer sold as a drug.
In 1899, Ben Franklin Thomas and Joseph Whitehead approached Candler about bottling the drink. In the early 1900’s bottled Coca-Cola was available at grocers and saloons. Coke bottling was a highly successful venture. Thomas sold the bottling rights to independent businessmen, and by 1909, 379 bottling plants were in American cities and towns. With the bottle caps keeping the drink fresh, mules and carts were about to deliver the drinks to towns in all parts of the country.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
