The earliest documentation for the Dr. Brown’s brand goes back to 1886 when a bottling company called Schoneberger & Noble was producing the pair of sodas from a red-brick building at 672 Water St. in lower Manhattan. Although the building no longer exists, a large white syrup cauldron from the original factory has been preserved and is on display at the Museum of the City of New York.

Other important surviving clues to the early history of Dr. Brown’s are its ads and product labels. Ads from 1910 by Schoneberger & Noble endorse Dr. Brown’s Celery Tonic as “a pure beverage for the nerves that strengthens the appetite and aids digestion.” Another trumpets the inclusion of vitamin D.

In his 2004 book, New York City Food, author and radio personality Arthur Schwartz writes that “in the early years, Cel-Ray was considered a real health drink.” In the 1890s and the early 1900s, numerous competing brands came and went, including “Dr. Carpenter’s Celery & Phosphate” from San Francisco, and “Sedgwick & Smith Celery Tonic” from Iowa. As for the taste, Schwartz writes that “it really isn’t as bizarre as it sounds. It’s incredibly refreshing and thirst quenching and became the perfect foil to the Jewish delicatessen, which tends to be salty.”

By the 1930s, Dr. Brown’s Celery Tonic became known as “The Jewish Champagne.” It was the drink of choice at weddings, bar-mitzvahs and sweet-sixteen parties. Celebrities of the day, including Ethel Merman and Guy Lombardo, were said to have “sworn by it,” according to a 2011 article in the New York Times. A newspaper ad from 1910 lists this “delicious, thirst quenching, healthful beverage” at the price of $1 for a dozen bottles (with a rebate on the empties).

Schoneberger & Noble gradually added new flavors to the Dr. Brown’s line. A 1923 filing with the US trademark office shows that they had registered: NONALCOHOLIC, NONCEREAL, MALTLESS BEVERAGES SOLD AS SOFTDRINKS — NAMELY GINGER ALE (SARSAPARILLA) CELEREY LEMON SODA AND CREAM SODA.