The use of the word “gypsy” typically brings to mind negativity, deceit, or danger in most people’s mind. However, one company used the word Gypsy to entice people to buy their product, and by doing so, were apparently very successful in establishing their ladies and men hosiery as one of leading selling brands in the…
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One of my favorite advertising items is this beautiful oak wood clock from the August Graf Distilling Company. This clock was found in a tavern in a small town of Albers, Illinois and had been there for over one hundred years. It was a giveaway intended for this distiller’s larger retailers at that time and was…
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One of the more unusual and eye-catching figural advertising items you will run across were the brainchild of George Meredith, a laborer working at the KT&K pottery in East Liverpool, OH. The KT&K Pottery, better known as the Knowles, Taylor and Knowles Pottery produced unique whiteware pottery at a time when most potters were making…
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A recent “big” find for me is this transom window sign from the Louis Obert Brewing Company which was based in St. Louis, MO before Prohibition. Transom signs were commonly displayed over the entrance of many 1900 era saloons. Taverns built in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s often had an entrance with a small…
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The Peter Doelger Brewery in New York City was started in 1859 by Peter Doelger, a coppersmith immigrant from Germany. Mr. Doelger came right at the perfect time to make his mark in brewing, when the Croton Reservoir System was completed in NYC, providing fresh water for brewers to craft their products. The breweries beer must…
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One of my favorite self-framed tin signs come from the Buffalo Brewing Company, which was based in Sacramento, CA. The Buffalo Brewing Company was once the largest selling brewery west of the Mississippi River, and dominated sales throughout California, the Pacific NW, Hawaii, Alaska, Central and South America, and even Russia and China. In fact,…
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One of my favorite advertising items are the beautifully decorated metal charger signs, which were commonly used by companies from the 1890-1920 time period. One of the biggest users of these chargers were breweries, however, collectors can find whiskey products, cigars, and other categories advertising on them at that time. The Daniel Aberle and Sons…
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One of the most desirable vintage advertising items sought by collectors today is a self-framed tin sign from the Post Grape Nuts Cereal brand featuring a young girl being walked off to school with her loyal St. Bernard. C. W. Post Cereal Company used this classic scene on several different advertising pieces, but the one…
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The image of a young debonair American colonial man was widely used by the Robert Burns brand of cigars in the early 1900’s. The Robert Burns brand of cigars featured this image on larger charger tray signs as well as the featured vitrolite corner sign in the early 1900’s. Both signs are wildly popular today…
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One of my favorite pre-prohibition brewery advertising items features a bulldog guarding an ABC brand beer bottle with the slogan “Watching a good Thing”. In the early 1900’s The American Brewing Company based out of St. Louis, MO had an extensive campaign which illustrated a story of the bulldog protecting their owner’s bottle of ABC…
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