File:Coke Bottle (13272070155).jpg

On March 29 1886 Dr John Pemberton brewed the first batch of Coca Cola. Pemberton was a pharmacist who served as lieutenant colonel of the Confederate Army's 12th Cavalry Regiment. In 1866, in Columbus, Georgia, he started working on painkillers that would serve as opium-free alternatives to morphine. He next began experimenting with coca and coca wines, eventually creating his own version of Vin Mariani, containing kola nut and damiana, which he called Pemberton's French Wine Coca. According to Coca-Cola historian, Phil Mooney, Pemberton's world-famous soda was "created in Columbus, Georgia and carried to Atlanta." Pemberton relied on Atlanta druggist Willis Venable to test and help him perfect the recipe for the beverage, which he formulated by trial and error. With Venable's assistance, Pemberton worked out a set of directions for its preparation that eventually included blending the base syrup with carbonated water by accident when trying to make another glass. Pemberton decided then to sell it as a fountain drink rather than a medicine. Soon after Coca-Cola hit the market, Pemberton fell ill and nearly bankrupt. Sick and desperate, he began selling rights to his formula to his business partners in Atlanta. Pemberton had a hunch that his formula "some day will be a national drink," so he attempted to retain a share of the ownership to leave to his son. But Pemberton's son wanted the money. So in 1888 Pemberton and his son sold the remaining portion of the patent to Asa Candler. The image presented here is of a design patent lodged with the New Zealand patent office for the world famous coke bottle design. The patent application was lodged on the 29 March 1938. The Patent Office had to approve designs for sale in New Zealand. In 1995 the New Zealand Patent Office came under the control of the Ministry of Commerce and in late 1997 changed its name to the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand. Its functions remained essentially the same. Reference: ABPJ 7554 W4989 1 4039 archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewFullItem.do?code=1700617 For updates on our On This Day series and news from Archives New Zealand, follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/ArchivesNZ