From New York City to Bangkok, Here Are Some Vintage Photos Captured Coca-Cola Signs From the Mid-Century

On January 31, 1893, Coca-Cola became a registered trademark, launching what would come to be one of the most recognized brands in the world.

Accroding to TIME, during the 1930s, the company had begun to set up bottling plants in other countries. The photos here depict not just the way Coke began to blend into international surroundings, but also the wide array of American locales and subcultures the brand was penetrating.

Boy selling Coca Cola from a roadside stand, 1936. (Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Coca-Cola signs at a roadside store marked "For Colored," 1938. (Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Coca-Cola is on sale at Jimmie's Trailer Camp on U.S. 1, outside of Washington, D.C., in 1938. (Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Coca-Cola throws shoulders for a space among competing brands in 1938. (Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

A drugstore boasts both Cokes for sale and the name of the then-first lady, Puerto Rico, 1943. (THOMAS D. MCAVOY)

A man ponders a Coca-Cola ad in Columbus Circle in Manhattan during a heat wave in 1944. (Marie Hansen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

A Coca-Cola sign at Anne's Sandwich Shop on Cape Cod, during the summer of 1946. (Cornell Capa—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

A Coca-Cola road sign beckons on the Autobahn between Munich and Salzberg, Germany, 1947. (Walter Sanders—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

A Thai billboard makes a suggestion in 1950. (Dmitri Kessel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

A Frenchman considers Coke's allure in 1950. (Mark Kauffman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

A Coke truck makes its rounds in 1950 France. (Mark Kauffman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

A French Coca-Cola truck pauses on its route in 1950. (Mark Kauffman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)