This is a beautiful art deco sign from the Prince of Pilsen brand of beer, produced by the Mound City Brewery or Brewing Company formerly in New Athens, IL. The tiny community of New Athens, Illinois is located about 30 miles southeast of the city of St. Louis, MO. This art deco lighted sign is the only one known to exist, and is a great example of an early post prohibition brewery advertisement. In this case, while the Mound City Brewery produced about 30 or so different brands (I have been told there were only 4 true beer recipes and many of the labeled brands were the same beer produced over the years), the Prince of Pilsen brand was their flagship brand, followed by the Sportsman’s brand. However, the race for sales was not even close. The Prince brand was the money maker for this small town brewery in St. Clair County, ILL.
The Mound City Brewing Company originally started as the East St. Louis-New Athens Brewing Company prior to prohibition, and their largest seller was the Egyptian brand of beer. This was not a surprising name, as the area of Southern ILL where New Athens is located as often referred to as “Little Egypt”. This brewery was a big seller for a small town brewery location, and the brewery came back strong after the end of prohibition in 1933. It is at this time, this particular art deco sign was made, an obviously datable sign when so many art deco signs were being produced for many product segments. Today these signs are very collectible, and with the neon look for many, the look is timeless in the authors opinion. The Mound City Brewery eventually closed in 1949 due to competition from the larger breweries of which they simply could not compete long term with. The brewery building itself was torn down in 1966 and remains a rock paved parking lot at this time.