- Milk Bottle Cap Collector Page -

  BY PHONE NUMBER: Many Maverick caps have a phone number. For instance: "Tel. National 23" may be printed on the cap. At one time, 

     phone excahnges began with a word or a series of letters.  These exchanges were regional. Knowing what exchanges were used in which

     cities can be very valuable in identifying Maverick Cap locations. There is a website (a little tricky to use but you'll get the hang of it) that 

     allows you to look up regional locations by exchange and visa versa. Bookmark the link below, you will leave this site by clicking on it but        may use your browser's back button to return here or, if your browser opens it in a spearate window, just close that window when done          or clickthe background window for this page to return. 

     http://ourwebhome.com/TENP/TENproject.html

 

 

  GOOGLE BOOKS: Google Gooks is invaluable in identifying caps. Type in the dairy name in google search.  I like to put it in quotes for 

     starters to get the most specific results. Then from the google tool bar, select "More" and from that drop down select books.  Your best

     bet is to look for results in agricultural and dairy publications. If you do not find any good matches try removing the quotes or try

     seaching the book itslef on the page that opens for that book with a narrower key word.  Not all books are fully imaged, but often

     a snippet will appear that gives you enough information.  You can then create a google account and save those books to your own library

     for future use.

 

 

  OLD ONLINE NEWSPAPERS: Old advertisements can also be very useful. These are commonly accesible in online newspaper archives.

     There are a few sources for this but Newspaperarchive.com, Newspapers.com and Ancestry.com are the best. Newspaperarchive.com is

     actually included in an Ancesrty.com subscription making Ancestry.com a better value.  Using phone numbers found on caps is a good

     way to be sure you are finding the same dairy as the cap you have as names are not always unique.

 

 

  ANCESTRY SITES: Sites like Ancestry.com are also a great source. You may find info in other peoples public family trees, old year book

     and newspaper advertisements, city directories and member stories and forum posts.

 

 

  BROWSER IMAGE SEARCH: Try searching your dairy name under images.  You may find a milk bottle with the same name that includes

     a city and state.  If the font of the bottle logo matches your cap, you are almost certainly done.  You may also find other ephemera or 

     advertsing items such as pens, crates, cap keys, or match book covers that provide the needed info.  Always be aware of the lettering style

     on your cap.  While names are not unique, logos are. 

 

 

  SOCIAL SITES: Almost every city has a nostolgia page on Face Book. Some require you to join the group to post, some do not.  If you have

     an idea where a cap may be from, try posting a pic of it on the page and ask if anyone can confirm.  I have done this and gotten responses

     4 times from actual former milkmen who were able to confirm the cap as being from a dairy they delivered for.  Hard to beat that source.

 

 

  ASK SOMEONE:  Sometimes it's quickest just to ask.  Check with another collector you trust, or post it in the FORUM here and ask if  

     anyone can help.