John Matthews (1808-1870) was an English engineer who moved to New York in 1832 and began making soda water. After purchasing the Bigelow Manufacturing Co., he began making soda water apparatus. In time, The John Matthews Apparatus Co. (as the firm became known) was the leading maker of soda water apparatus in the U.S. Among Matthews’ many apprentices was William Gee, a New Yorker who designed and manufactured soda fountain apparatus. His most notable was the Monitor Crystal Spa, some features of which appeared in his design patent of Dec. 3, 1878. This glass dome was once part of a Monitor Crystal Spa.
Ref: William Gee, “Improvement in Apparatus for Drawing Soda-Water,” U.S. Patent 38,577 (May 19, 1863); reissue Feb. 2, 1864.
William Gee, “Improvement in Apparatus for Drawing Soda Water,” U.S. Design Patent (Dec. 3, 1878).
William Gee ad for Monitor Crystal Spa in Druggists’ Circular and Chemical Gazette (Jan. 1, 1879): 23.
“The Monitor Crystal Spa” in John Matthews Apparatus Co., The Matthews Catalogue and Price List of Apparatus, Materials, and Accessories for Making and Dispensing Carbonated Beverages (New York, 1891), pp. 192-194.
“John Matthews Apparatus Co., New York,” in Merck’s Market Report and Pharmaceutical Journal (Feb. 1895): 61-62.
Chauncey Mitchell Depew, 1795-1895. One Hundred Years of American Commerce (New York, 1895), vol. 2, pp. 471-472.
James Tufts, “The Growth of the Soda Water Industry,” American Druggist and Pharmaceutical Record 36 (1900): 78-84.
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