Featured is a stunning pre-prohibition serving tray from the Union Brewing Company out of Detroit, Michigan. This particular metal tavern or saloon tray advertised a well known turn of the century beer in Detroit called Gilt Edge. The tray incorporated a lot of patriotic colors in the design, not surprising as patriotism was at a fever pitch following the end of the Spanish-American War just a few short years before the tray was produced.
The Gilt Edge brand of beer was later produced by a multitude of breweries including most notably the Bosch Brewing Company in Houghton, MI, but also by the Grace Bros Brewery out of Santa Rosa, CA. I suspect the Houghton brewery was the true predecessor of the original Detroit brand of Gilt Edge Beer. Today collectors are left with this amazing piece of advertising history!
