The Meadville, Pennsylvania Distilling Company cleverly put out a stunning tin sign with an angel sitting on top of a heart, extolling the virtues of pureness for their rye whiskey brand. The use of both “Pure Rye” and “Genuine Rye” on the same sign, with the use of the angel is an easily recognizable attempt to portray the pureness of the whiskey brand. I have not seen this sign image used on any other advertising signage, so I do not believe this was a stock image, meaning it was intended for this distillery only. This particular sign does not have the original frame though. if you look closely the brand Puryo is embedded inside the heart. The heart image was started around 1906 by the distillery, hence, the sign would date to somewhere between the years of 1906-1920.
Located in Crawford County, PA, the Meadville Distilling Company was well known in the pre-prohibition era. The company started around 1885, but sometime around 1887 the headquarters moved to Buffalo, N.Y. after being purchased by interest from that city. The grain helped to make the rye continued to be made in Meadville, but the Buffalo market offered a much bigger retail scene, which worked well as the brand became a very big regional seller throughout the Northeastern U.S. Today antique advertising collectors can still easily find many different advertising pieces from the Meadville Distillery remaining in existance.