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…
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…
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,…
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…
Here is a really neat prohibition era cardboard sign from the Val Blatz Brewing Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for their prohibition Malt Tonic Drink. The sign says the drink was “A Nerve & Muscle Builder”. This was a substitute after beer was outlawed by the government. The sign has a string attached via two small holes…
The Kansas City Breweries put out a series of Victorian lady serving tip trays before the start of prohibition, all very similar in style except the image of the woman is different. Circa 1910.
Featured is a beautiful tin sign from the Yankee Girl brand of cigars, circa 1900. The sign has a price of 5 cents per cigar, and boldly claims “It Equal Cannot Be Found”.
Here is an incredible Wieland Brewing Company embossed tin sign, simply stating “A Western Product”. The tray does advertise their Extra Pale Lager Beer and features a beautiful image of a Indian in full headdress
Featured here is a beautiful square tin sign with a concave image in the center of a woman resting near a fireplace. This piece was a stock sign, and was produced by the West End Brewing Company in Utica, New York prior to prohibition.
Here is a beautiful Tin over Cardboard soda sign from the Taka-Kola brand, a very popular brand around 1900. The sign says “At Founts, 5 cents, In Bottles”. The woman in the center was a common image in many different Taka-Cola advertising pieces in the early 1900’s.
