WILKINSON/TANSAN, D2 92mm loop head

Submitted by Anthony on Mon, 29/09/2014 - 13:50

Forums:

On behalf of 'crowncork', who says...

 

"Just wondering about the following openers listed in the unknown section:

 

TANSAN/blank Type A, 82mm

TANSAN/WILKINSON, Type D2, 95mm

TANSAN/WILKINSON, Type D2, 90mm

 

See a D2 example below (probably the smaller of the ones listed above)

 

 

There was a firm of Wilkinson (aerated waters) in North Shields England in the late 1800 to early 1900 but no sign of the word TANSAN. But, there was a company in Japan by the name of Wilkinson selling TANSAN aerated water about the same period. Perhaps these openers should be added to Asian list, under Japan?"

Anthony

Wed, 01/10/2014 - 09:44

The Clifford-Wilkinson Tansan Mineral Water Co., was established in Kobe, Japan in 1895 and was incorporated on 08 Oct 1904. There is a picture of the The Clifford-Wilkinson Tansan Mineral Water Co. Ltd., Nr. Kobe, Japan (not certain what date), here. Asahi marketed Wilkinson Tansan mineral water in Japan in 1951, history here

Any further information or feedback on this topic would be most welcome.

steve

Fri, 17/10/2014 - 12:39

Tansan Mineral water from Japan was marketed worldwide from the early 1900s. The Australian agents were Dalgety & Co as early as 1903 (see here) but it was not overly popular in New Zealand due to suspicions about it’s purity and origins (see here) . By 1905 the Tansan Mineral Water Company were general agents for the United States and the US Government selected Tansan for use in the Philippines where at that time three thousand cases were sold monthly.(see here). It was so popular in the Philippines that crown cork bottle tops there became commonly called Tansan (see here). In England the Tansan Mineral Water Company was set up in about 1912 and had the sole rights of importation, distribution, and sale throughout Great Britain and the Continent of Europe.(see here).

Anthony

Wed, 08/10/2014 - 15:58

Why are the openers listed as TANSAN / WILKINSON, when the name of the company is Wilkinson Tansan? Typically the name of the company is listed on the Face side of an opener, (or the start of the name), but it does depend what is being advertised. I am not an expert in the conventions of lists. But its proposed that we change the way the 3 openers above are listed, i.e., to show WILKINSON / TANSAN for consistency.