The American Brewing Company (A.B.C.) The Original “King of Bottled Beer” This extraordinary “Temple of Commerce” beer serving tray has been a special antique advertising treasure to me because it symbolizes how creative the American Brewing Company (A.B.C.) was in marketing around the world starting as early as 1890. This impressive oval tin serving tray…
Cherokee Brewery’s Promotional Beer Stein Created a Buzz! The Cherokee Brewery developed an impressive advertising campaign with a stoneware beer stein for consumers in 1890. This beautiful salt-glazed mug has been part of my collection for years and reveals a story about how this brewery was ahead of its time. The dark blue and grey…
A Colorful Lithographic Advertising Display Bin for St. Louis Coffee & Spice Mills Circa 1910 I just acquired this rare Nectar Brand Spice display bin manufactured by St. Louis Coffee & Spice Mills located in St. Louis, Missouri circa 1910. This unique bin highlights “Ground Black Pepper” on the top and was intended to store…
A Rare Breweriana Corner Sign with Seven-Color Design from Bluff City Brewery 1890 A favorite antique advertising sign from my collection is this rare, beautiful Reverse-on-Glass corner sign from the Bluff City Brewery Circa 1890. This unique Breweriana sign has a vibrant seven-color design. It brilliantly reflects the red, blue, green, gold, brown and black colors…
Anheuser-Busch Featured Nursing Mothers and Babies in Malt-Nutrine Ads It is surprising to see how breweries featured nursing mothers and their babies in advertisements starting in the late 1800’s. This 1905 Anheuser-Busch Malt-Nutrine advertising sign is fairly rare and I’ve had it in my collection for about ten years. It’s a self-framed tin sign and…
A Rare Breweriana Sign From The Wm. J. Lemp Brewing Co 1895 Last week, I acquired a stunning reverse-on-glass Lager Beer sign manufactured by Wm. J Lemp Brewing Company, circa 1895. This unique Breweriana advertising sign is considered very rare and to date it is the only one known to exist. The oval-shaped sign has…
A Rare Ten-Gallon Salt Glaze Stoneware Whiskey Jug Used in an 1880’s Saloon I just found this massive ten-gallon salt glaze stoneware whiskey jug made for Theodore Vogt, a whiskey wholesaler from East. St. Louis, Illinois circa 1880. The only other known stoneware whiskey jugs from Theo Vogt are one-gallon black-stenciled jugs from approximately 1900-1905. …
Delivery of Milk By Wagon In the Late 1800’s Perhaps you’ve found a relic glass milk bottle in an older home or have collected a few from a town where you grew up. Antique milk bottle collecting has always been very popular and is a reminder of the early days when milkmen delivered milk directly…
Smoking Tobacco Lunch Box Tins One of the most surprising advertising relics I have is the lunch box tin that featured smoking tobacco brands. Around the 1880’s through the early 1900’s, it was common to see children march off to school hauling their lunch pails made out of colorful tin tobacco boxes that had convenient wire…
Soda Fountains in Drug Stores In the early 1900’s, the neighborhood drug store with a soda fountain and lunch counter was an important part of small-town America. It was common for hard working folks to take a break and sit around soda fountain counters to socialize and enjoy a drink. It was also a great…