C.J.W. Summers / Summers & Allen


Company Names, addresses, dates1:
  Janney & Co, NW corner King & Royal Streets, Alexandria VA (1876-1882) 2,3
  Summers & Allen, NW corner King & Royal Streets, Alexandria VA (1882-1884) 3,4
  Summers & Allen, NW corner King & Pitt Streets, Alexandria VA (1884-1889) 4,5
  Summers, Charles J W, corner King & Pitt Streets, Alexandria VA (1889-1890) 5,6
  Summers, Charles J W, King street near Lee, Alexandria VA (1890-1892) 6,7
  Summers, Charles J W, 900 Duke St, Alexandria VA (1892-1911) 1
  Summers, Charles J W, 901 Duke St, Alexandria VA (1912-1923) 1

Notes:
 Charles Jacob Wingate Summers (1855-1939)8 became a partner of the Janney & Co drug store at the NW corner of King and Royal streets in 1876, and was in charge of said drug store.2

In october 1882, Summers teamed up with Ernest Linwood Allen (1856-1939)9 to take over the drug store. The new name was Summers & Allen. 3
The drugstore included apparatus for making soda water.10

In October of 1884, they opened a new location at the NW corner of King & Pitt Streets. At this point, their business was referred to as a "Drug Store and Soda Water Manufactory".4
In March of 1889, they split the business, with Summers taking over the Soda Water business, and Allen taking over the drugstore5.

In February 1890, Summers moved his mineral water manufactory to King Street near Lee Street. 6
That business didn't last long, as in 1892 he opened a new drug store at the corner of Duke and Alfred Streets, and the announcement and subsquent ads for the drug store don't make any mention of manufacturing soda water. So it appears he went back to the drug store business for the rest of his career. 7,1

C.J.W. Summers Bottles:
summers_03 book # 672
This is an aqua 7.5" hutchinson (with Baltimore-loop top) embossed:
front: C.J.W. SUMMERS / ALEXANDRIA / VIRGINIA
summers_04 book # 673
This bottle has the same embossing as the bottle above, but it's a 1/2-inch taller, it has a blob-top (vs. baltimore-loop top), and it has a round bottom. It's an 8" tall aqua hutchinson bottle, embossed:
front: C.J.W. SUMMERS / ALEXANDRIA / VIRGINIA
 It has a round bottom and will not stand up on it's own
(also, the embossing has been painted white)



Summers & Allen Bottles:
summers book # 674
This is an aqua 7.5" Baltimore loop top bottle embossed:
front: SUMMERS & ALLEN / ALEXANDRIA / VIRGINIA
summers_05 book # 675
This differs from the bottle above in that it has a hutchinson type lip vs. a baltimore-loop lip. It's an aqua 7.5" hutchinson bottle embossed:
front: SUMMERS & ALLEN / ALEXANDRIA / VIRGINIA
 (the embossing has been painted)
summers_02 book # 675
This is an aqua 7.5" hutchinson bottle embossed:
front: SUMMERS & ALLEN / ALEXANDRIA / VIRGINIA
 It differs from the bottle above in that it has a round bottom, and will not stand up.


1 Alexandria Virginia City Directories, various years
2 Alexandria Gazette, 12-Sep-1876, page 3 (Messrs Janney & Co have purchased...)
3 Alexandria Gazette, 23-Oct-1882, page 3 (paragraph about new druggists)
4 Alexandria Gazette, 21-Oct-1884, page 3 (NOTICE of new location)
5 Alexandria Gazette, 25-Mar-1889, page 3 (DISSOLUTION OF COPARNERSHIP)
6 Alexandria Gazette, 05-Feb-1890, page 3 (Mr C.J.W. Summers has removed his soda ...)
7 Alexandria Gazette, 16-Apr-1892, page 3 (The store at the corner of Duke ...)
8 Virginia death record 13612 for Charles Jacob Wingate Summers, b:Mar-17-1855, d:Jun-1-1939 in Fairfax VA
9 Find-a-grave entry for Ernest Linwood Allen
10 Alexandria Gazette, 24-Oct-1882, page 3 (NOTICE Samuel H Janney transfer to Summers & Allen)


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This page last updated on March 13, 2024.