Tag: antique bottle

Creedmoor Beer, 321-323 Rutledge St., Brooklyn

Always located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. the Creedmoor Beer Company began operations sometime in the late 1870’s at 369 S 2nd Street before moving to 321-323 Rutledge Street, the address embossed on the subject bottle, in 1883.

The company was not a small brewery as you might expect from their name but in fact, a manufacturer of carbonated beverages whose menu of products was described in the August 15, 1885 edition of the “Brooklyn Daily Times.”

The Creedmore Beer Company’s list of carbonated beverages includes root beer, pop beer, raspberry beer, birch beer, ginger ale, mead and lemon cream soda. Only the choicest of extracts, made from roots, barks, herbs, etc., are employed in the manufacture of these beverages, which are absolutely free from any deleterious ingredients. Havemeyer & Elders’ Moller, Sierck & Co.’s and North River Refining Company’s confectioner’s “A” sugar only is used in making the syrups, which are carefully strained and purified.

Their plant location, generally  described in advertisements as Rutledge Street, near Broadway is depicted on this this Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, dated 1887 (just to the right and below the “R” in Rutledge).

Who exactly owned the business is not clear, however, according to another “Brooklyn Daily Times” item, this one published in their July 31, 1886 edition, it was managed by a man named David U. Quick.

Mr. D. U. Quick, the Manager of the Creedmoor Beer Company, whose well-appointed establishment is located at 321 and 323 Rutledge Street, near Broadway, Brooklyn, E. D. has had a long experience in the manufacture of carbonated water and fully understands the requirements of the trade, which he conscientiously endeavors at all times to meet, therefore the character of their goods for reliability and purity can always be depended upon. Hence the company’s well-merited success.

The above description was included in what was certainly a newspaper advertisement presented to look like a news item, a tactic the company employed on more than one occasion in the “Brooklyn Daily Times” during 1885 and 1886.

One such item, published on  June 6, 1885, appealed to the temperance movement, stressing the non-alcoholic nature of their products.

One of the surest indications of the advancement of a true spirit of temperance is to be found in the rapidly increasing consumption of what are known as carbonated beverages. Although non alcoholic and therefore non intoxicating in their nature, they possess certain qualities that make them especially desirable as quenchers of thirst, and being composed chiefly of the extracts of roots and barks noted for their tonic and exhilarating effects, the use of these beverages if pure can be indulged to any rational extent, without the least injury to the most delicate and sensitive physical organizations. In fact, pure carbonated waters are highly recommended by medical men generally, on account of their healthful and refreshing effects on the human system.

Still another, published in the “Brooklyn Daily Times’s on July 10,1886, associated those “healthful and refreshing effects ” with the digestive system.

The inestimable value of pure carbonated beverages in all cases of feeble digestion and lack of tone in the stomach is universally acknowledged. All of the ailments prevalent in warm weather, Dyspepsia, Diarrhea, Acidity of the Stomach and kindred affections are due to but one source, namely , lack of vigor and vitality in the digestive organs. Every person who has given the subject any study is fully aware that nothing equals in efficacy in all such troubles a beverage impregnated with a pure carbonic acid gas. Between the debilitating and enervating effects of alcoholic and ice cold drinks and the invigorating and healthful carbonated beverage there should be no hesitation in choosing. Absolute purity is of vital importance, and this can only be assured where a firm has the greatest facilities and a determination that their goods shalll be the finest that skill and cleanliness can make them. All this can be said of the Creedmoor Beer Company, of 321 and 323 Rutledge Street, near Broadway, Brooklyn.

Creedmoor classified advertisements that ran in several 1886 and 1887 editions of the “Brooklyn Daily Times” made the case much more succinctly.

Carbonated waters impart vigor and tone to the stomach and exhilarate the system.

Sometime in 1889 the company moved to 67 Kent Avenue (sometimes listed as 42 N. 10th St.). By then their business card, found in the 1890 edition of Brooklyn’s “Lains” Business Directory,” identified  the company as dealers in cider and vinegar in addition to carbonated water manufacturers.

The company apparently had a short stay on Kent Avenue, disappearing from the directories by 1892.

One Final Note: The “Historical Guide to Long Island Soda, Beer & Mineral Water Bottles & Bottling Companies – 1840-1970” by George Fisher, indentified a “Creedmoor Beer”  bottle embossed with an address of 369 South 2nd St. in Brooklyn. The description of the bottle as presented in the guide is shown below.

While I cannot find a directory listing that associates the Creedmoor company with that address, I did find their manager, David Quick, listed with the occupation “root beer” at 369 S 2nd Street in the 1879/1880 Brooklyn city directory. This all but confirms that the company got its start in the late 1870’s at that location..

The subject bottle was blown in a mold with what looks like a tooled blob finish. It’s 10-1/4 inches tall and 3-1/2 inches in diameter. The embossed address of 321 – 323 Rutledge Street dates it between 1883 and 1889 when the company was located at that address.

 

 

 

 

Conrad Witzel, 558 & 560 St. Ann’s Ave., New York

Conrad Witzel, and later his Son, William C. Witzel, operated a mineral water manufacturing and bottling business in the Bronx, New York from the mid-1890’s up through sometime in the mid-20th Century.

Located at a single location, 558-560 St. Ann’s Avenue, for approximately 50 years, a feature on the Witzel’s, found in the August, 1921 edition of a publication called the “Edison Monthly” suggested that the company had been there so long that the Bronx literally grew up around their bottling plant.

The bottling plant has been occupied by the Witzel organization for more than a quarter of a century. In the early days it was embowered in an apple orchard, and fields stretched wide on either side. Now it has in the tall buildings which line the thoroughfare dignified architectural neighbors; for the growth of the Bronx has been phenomenal.

The founder, Conrad Witzel, according to census records (1910) was born in Germany in 1860 and arrived in the United States in 1882. Prior to settling in the Bronx, Witzel lived on East 25th Street in Manhattan where several New York City directories between 1887 and 1893 listed his occupation as a “driver.” During this time he apparently worked for a brewer named Andrew Koch & Sons, as evidenced by this story that appeared in the December 23, 1888 edition of the “New York Tribune.”

A WOMAN KNOCKED DOWN BY A WAGON

Mrs. Sarah B. Harring, age fifty, who lives at No. 87 Madison Ave., in attempting to cross Broadway in the neighborhood of Hudnut’s pharmacy, yesterday noon was struck by the front wheel of a two-horse wagon, owned by Andrew Koch & Son, at No. 455 First Ave., and driven by Conrad Witzel. a German whose home is at No. 322 East Twenty-fifth St. She was taken into the pharmacy and an ambulance from Chambers Street Hospital telegraphed for. On the arrival of the ambulance-surgeon it was found that Mrs. Harring’s injury consisted of a slight contusion of the left leg. Witzel had been taken to the Church St. station, but as Mrs. Harding had said that she had tripped and stumbled and that the driver was in no way to be blamed for the accident, he was discharged. With the assistance of a friend, the injured woman went to her home.

Sometime in 1893 or 1894 Witzel moved to the Bronx where he was first listed as a mineral water manufacturer at 558 St. Ann’s Avenue in the 1894-1895 New York City directory. A small operation, according to New York State’s Factory Inspection Report for the fiscal year ending November 30, 1900 the company employed a total of three people. One, categorized as “Male – Under the Age of 16,” was likely his son, William, who was born in 1889.

By 1910 William was certainly involved in the business, listing his occupation as a “driver” in 1910 census records.  Like his father he was almost certainly a wagon driver, that is until 1915 when the business transitioned to using the “Autocar.” This October 15, 1915 “advertisement, found in the “American Bottler,” pictured what was likely  both father and son in their recently purchased “Autocar.”

By then, William was apparently in partnership with his father, as evidenced by directory listings as early as 1912 that named the company as C. Witzel & Son. The listing as it appears in New York City’s 1915 Copartnership and Corporation directory is shown below.

The company operated under this name until May, 1919 when, with Conrad Witzel likely retired, William C. Witzel, along with an employee named Oscar Hoenig  formed a co-partnership, continuing the business under the name of C. Witzel & Co.

Not  long afterwards, according to the “Edison Monthly” feature, the partnership committed to modernizing their bottling plant.

…a partnership conference was held at which the various elements in the manufacturing and marketing phases of the business were considered. With respect to the manufacturing end, there was unanimity of opinion that the beverages which bear the firm’s name should be permanently standardized for purity.

The feature went on to describe their modernized plant and how it worked.

First a system, modern in every detail, was installed for cleansing bottles. To operate this a ten horsepower motor was provided and connection was made to the service of the New York Edison Company. Progressive simplicity characterizes the working of this department.

The bottles are placed in double rows. like two files of soldiers, on a circular platform. The switch is thrown in and the platform begins to move, carrying the companies of bottles into the drenching shower of a rinsing bath. From this they pass along to receive an internal douche of hot water which is directed into the neck of each bottle with force enough to reach every part. Passing on they enter a tunnel charged with live steam, an accepted method of germ destruction. Emerging with the glisten and polish which is proof to the eye of cleanliness, they finally appear at the end of the journey in position to receive their thirst-relieving charge at the filler machines….

Such is the efficiency and economy of this part of the plant that it is possible to handle ten thousand bottles in an ordinary work day.

The feature went on to say:

The 100-gallon filters are in another part of the building. The water is piped into them from the bottom, passes upward and through the filter bed and, seeking its level, finds an outlet again at the bottom. To supplement the filter and make sure that every bottle of beverage is strictly pure the modern electric sterilizer was added to the plant.

A compact three-party tandem mechanism it is and in position it looks as if it were on a mantel piece. At one end stands a one-horsepower alternating current motor not much larger than some mantel ornaments. Alongside of it is a direct current generator, almost a twin in size of the motor. At the other end stands the ultra-violet ray device.

The motor is started and immediately the bulb which is directed against a water tight glass receptacle inside the sterilizer, bursts into light. The finger on the ammeter dial moves slowly toward the figure 5, the light growing brighter each instant. As the 5 is passed the circuit is automatically closed and the water valve connected with the sterilizer opened. The ultra-violet rays by this time have reached the required intensity. The water rushes in, the flowing stream passing under the direct rays. Such bacteria that may exist in the water are destroyed. The sterilized water passes under pressure to the tanks which are directly connected to the filling machines

The upper floor of the establishment is devoted to offices, storerooms, sugar boiling and syrup blending departments. Cane sugar alone is used for sweetening. One room is piled high with it. The syrups are made from the juices of fully ripened fruits and the greatest care is taken to make contamination impossible. Syrups are stored in covered crocks and are piped direct to the tanks where the beverages are made. The idea of cleanliness one obtains throughout…

The business  continued to operate under the partnership until the early 1930’s when disagreements between the partners resulted in a court ordered dissolution of the partnership on March 17, 1931. Subsequently, according to New York State Supreme Court records, (Hoenig v. Witzer), the business was put up for sale at  public auction on July 18, 1931 and all indications are that Witzer was able to buy it back.

Shortly afterwards he incorporated the business under the name Wm. C. Witzel, Inc., as evidenced by this August 15, 1931 item found in the “Beverage News.”

The 1939-1940 Bronx Telephone Book (one of the few I have access to) continued to list Wm .C.  Witzel, Inc. at the 558 St. Ann’s Avenue address.

Ten years later, William Witzel, still in the beverage business, listed his occupation in 1950 census records as “Proprietor, Mineral Water Distributor.” By then the business had apparently moved to East 161st Street, as evidenced by this item that appeared in the May 12, 1950 edition of New York’s “Daily News.”

Having moved out of his long time factory sometime in the 1940’s suggests that by then he was no longer manufacturing mineral/soda water and was simply serving as a distributor. How long he remained in business on 161st Street is not clear.

William Witzel ultimately passed away on March 27, 1971, with his death notice appearing the next day in New York’s “Daily News.”

The subject bottle was blown in a mold and contains roughly 8 ounces. It exhibits a blob finish suggesting that it was in use during the early years of the Witzel operation.

 

 

 

Trade Mark W-W-W (Livermore Stylographic Pen Co.)

The only embossing on this four-ounce spool shaped ink bottle is a monogram consisting of three interconnected W’s ornamented with diamonds. While in search of the company behind this monogram I came upon a story featuring the Livermore Pen and its manufacturer, the Stylographic Pen Company of Providence, Rhode Island. Published in the October 8, 1885 edition of the “American Stationer” the story read in part:

Livermore’s stylographic ink, specially prepared for his own trade, is claimed to be unexcelled for general counting-room use, though manufactured more especially for use in stylographic pens. It is neatly put up and can be had in black, violet, green, blue and crimson. As a protection to the trade the letters “W.W.W.” are blown in the bottles.

Popular during the early to mid 1880’s, an advertisement touting both the Livermore Pen and their stylographic ink appeared in an 1881 document entitled “Minutes and Register of the 41st Session of the New England Southern Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.”  The ad specifically referenced the “W-W-W” monogram.

OUR INKS ARE THE ONLY GENUINE STYLOGRAPHIC INKS IN THE WORLD…SEE THAT W-W-W IS BLOWN IN THE BOTTLE.

Another advertisement, this one published in the December 21, 1882 edition of the “American Stationer”pictured what looks like a labeled version of our spool shaped ink bottle.

While this may not serve as absolute confirmation, it certainly makes a case that the subject bottle once conatined stylographic ink manufactured by Charles W. Livermore’s Stylographic Pen Company.

The Livermore Pen’s namesake, Charles W. Livermore, according to 1880 census records, was born in Massachusetts about 1830.  By 1872 he was living in Providence, Rhode Island and was working in a jewelry store run by partners William W. Rathbun and Henry Leonard that was located at 107 Friendship Street. A year later, in 1873, the Providence city directory listed Livermore as a principal in the firm of Rathbun, Leonard & Co.

Livermore remained  at Rathbun, Leonard & Co. (1874 and 1875), later called simply William Rathbun & Co. (1876), until 1877 when he apparently went into business for himself. Initially listed in the directories as a jewelry manufacturer with an address of 94 Orange Street, a year later Livermore moved the business to 102 Orange Street, where he was listed in both the 1878 and 1879 directories.

It was here, according to U.S. patent records, that on October 4, 1879 he submitted an application for his Stylographic Fountain Pen. The design was ultimately patented on March 9, 1880. (On a side note, his design was actually presented as an improvement to the original Stylographic Pen design of Duncan McKinnon, patented on July 15. 1879)

That same year, 1880, the Stylographic Pen Company was listed for the first time at Livermore’s jewelry store address of 102 Orange Street.

Early advertisements for the Livermore pen concisely described it like this:

The Livermore Stylographic Pen is a pencil that writes ink, never needs sharpening and never wears out…

This advertisement published in the September, 1882 edition of a magazine entitled the”U. S. Monthly” provided a little more detail.

Another early advertisement, this one found in the December 20, 1880 edition of the “Hartford Courant,”went on to enumerate the pen’s advantages to what was certainly their primary market, professionals.

The new Stylographic Pen is eagerly sought after by the writing fraternity, and has during the past year, become the cherished companion of over 86,000 of the most intelligent people of the world. Its special convenience for the lawyer in taking testimony at court, at his office, or in fact anywhere and in any branch of his profession where speed, cleanliness and legibility are desired; the physician in his office or in the sick-room, where pens are so difficult to find, and when found in most cases unfit for use; for clergymen sermon and manuscript writing, as well as for the editor, the author, or in fact to all writers to whom it is important that the train of thought should be uninterrupted by dipping, splattering or blotting; for the student in taking notes of lectures when the loss of time in dipping with the ordinary pen might prove a serious matter. For the bookkeeper, the correspondent, and the businessman, its advantages are many and varied. For ladies it has peculiar advantages over the ordinary pen, in the fact that they never need have any inkstands liable to breaking or spilling about the house, never have inky fingers, never have a corroded or broken pen, or their letters unanswered because their ink is dried up or their pens are bad.

This advertisement  specifically targeting the medical field appeared in the January 1, 1881 edition of the “Homeopathic Courier.”

Sometime in 1881 or 1882 the company moved from Orange Street to 44 Arnold Street where it remained up through the late 1880’s. The October 8,1885 “American Stationer” feature described the Arnold Street facility as a four-story brick factory building  located at the corner of Arnold and Brook Streets.

In addition to their Providence factory, company advertisements in the early 1880’s also listed branch locations in Boston, New York  and Chicago. Likely sales offices, they were certainly active during the early 1880’s but all seem to have disappeared by the latter half of the decade.

This advertisement, published in several 1882 editions of the “Pathfinder Railway Guide,”named Louis E. Dunlap head of the Boston branch, located at 290 Washington Street.

Sometime in the mid-1880’s Dunlap left the Livermore company and established his own company, the Dunlap Stylographic Co., located right down the street from Livermore’s at 296 Washington Street. Now in competition, by 1886 advertisements for both companies were appearing in the same edition of The “American Stationer.” In fact, in their March,18,1886 edition the “American Stationer” positioned an advertisement for Livermore’s “Challenge” Stylographic Pen  directly above one for Dunlap’s “Champion” Stylographic Pen.

The Livermore advertisement pictured above no longer included the Boston address and in fact, as early as 1885 the company was no longer listed in the Boston directory, all suggesting that the company had abandoned the Boston branch by that time.

In New York, the early 1880’s found the company branch in Room 13 of 169-171 Broadway, putting it at the corner of Broadway and Cortlandt Street in what was then called the “Giles Building.” The building is pictured years later in this 1906 photograph, courtesy of the Library of Congress.

According to an 1881  advertisement published in the “American Almanac and Treasury of Facts,” the company’s New York agent at the time was a man named William Winthrop.

Winthrop  was listed with the occupation “agent”at the 169 Broadway address, in New York City’s 1882 directory after which I lose track.

In Chicago, while I haven’t been able to associate the branch with a specific manager or agent, advertisements like this one, exhibiting a 38 Madison Street address, pretty much disappear by 1883.

That said, the company’s factory was still listed in the Providence directories up until 1887. Shortly afterwards, in 1889, Livermore passed away at which point, another Providence firm, F. T. Pearce & Co. took up manufacture of the Livermore brand. According to a May 3, 1893 feature on F. T. Pearce & Co., published in the “Manufacturing Jeweler,”

The line of goods produced by this house have been noted for beauty of design and finish as well as for originality in construction. Their gold pens, penholders, pencils and toothpicks, for which many patents have been granted, are to be found in all the leading American jewelry stores , and a profitable export trade has been established…. Since the death of the inventor and manufacturer, Mr. Livermore, Messrs. Pearce & Co. have been sole manufacturers of the Livermore fountain and stylographic pens.

This Pearce advertisement, picturing the Livermore Fountain Pen was published in several 1892 and early 1893 editions of the “Manufacturing Jeweler”

Located at 94 Point Street since 1888,  sometime in 1893 F. T. Pearce & Co. moved to 85 Sprague Street at which time they continued to include the Livermore name in their advertising, as evidenced by this May 3, 1893 ad in the “Manufacturing Jeweler.”

As late as 19oo,  F. T. Pearce & Co. still included

Livermore’s Fountain and Stylographic Pens and Pencils and Stylographic Inks

in this business card advertisement found in the “Directory of Jewelry Manufacturers” published in the State of Rhode Island’s “Thirteenth Annual Report of the Commissioner of Industrial Statistics.”

That said by the early 1900’s a feature on fountain pens published in the “Scientific American” on May 5, 1906, certainly suggested that by then the days of the Livermore Pen were long over.

It was in its day a very excellent pen, but is now seldom seen. One of these pens, which I carried regularly for some years away back in the early eighties, only failed as the result of falling on a railway platform some twenty years ago. The pen has now been repaired and is in perfect working order.

The subject bottle is a four-ounce spool ink that was blown in a mold. I suspect it dates to the early to mid – 1880’s when the Livermore pen was at the height of its popularity. In fact, according to many early 1880’s advertisements, when ordering a pen by mail, it would arrive “together with a package of superior ink.”

On a final note, it’s unclear (at least to me) as to why Livermore would utilize a trademark consisting of three W’s as a way to distinguish their brand of stylographic ink. I suspect that it could have something to do with Livermore’s middle name, Walter. In 1880, the first year the Stylographic Pen Company appeared in the Providence directory, and only that year, the company was listed as  a partnership of Livermore & Son (Charles W. and Walter A. Livermore).

Recognizing that the name Walter was common to both father and son could have led to the establishment of the trademark. Taking it a step further, the larger “W” positioned in the center of the trademark could serve a second purpose, that of connecting the two smaller W’s together, sending the message of  W & W.

Please note this is total conjecture on my part and not based on any documentation whatsoever. That said, I thought I’d throw it out there. If anyone has information about the trade marks origin or meaning I’d love to hear from you.

 

Sheaffer’s Skrip, PAT’D 1759866

The bottle pictured above is two ounces in size and at one time contained a brand of writing ink called “Skrip” manufactured by the Sheaffer Pen Company.

Incorporated into the bottle itself was a small well at the top designed to facilitate the filling of a self-filling fountain pen. Invented by a man named Owen E. Raab, he filed a patent application (No. 1759866) for his bottle design on November 9, 1927 and it was ultimately patented on May 27, 1930. (Note the number “9” within the patent number embossed on the base of the bottle is reversed in error.)

The June 7, 1930 edition of “American Glass Review” provided this description of Raab’s design under the heading “NEW PATENTS.”

A bottle having a neck provided with a transverse which passes substantially through the neck in the general direction of the neck and forms an integral wall arranged to be filled by tilting the bottle, both the bottle and the well being directly accessible for the dipping of a pen thereinto through the mouth of the bottle

The well at the top of the bottle is clearly visible in this photograph of the subject bottle, looking down at the top. Embossing directly below the well reads:

This Side Down to Fill Pocket

At some point Raab apparently assigned (likely sold) the bottle’s design patent to the Sheaffer Pen Company who began utilizing it to package their Skrip brand ink in 1935. Referring to it as the Skrip-Well, Sheaffer utilized the bottle design until the early 1960’s. This depiction of the “Skrip-Well” bottle appeared as part of a full-page Sheaffer advertisement published in the May 30, 1938 issue of “Life” magazine.

The Scheaffer Pen Company had gotten its start years before the introduction of Skrip-Well when, in 1906, Walter A. Sheaffer purchased the Fort Madison, Iowa jewelry store of Myron L. Bowen and over the next 15 years sold both jewelry and musical instruments out of the store’s Second Street location. Initially partnered with a man named W. L. Saunders, this advertisement for their business appeared in the October 10, 1910 edition of Keokuk, Iowa’s “Daily Gate City.”

Sometime in 1910 the Saunders name was dropped after which the business continued to be listed solely under the Sheaffer name. As late as 1921 this advertisement touting the Sheaffer Jewelry and Music Co. appeared in the Fort Madison city directory.

According to Sheaffer’s biographical sketch found in Volume III of a 1952 publication entitled “The Story of Iowa, The Progress of an American State,” in addition to jewelry and piano’s Sheaffer also sold fountain pens out of the Second Street store and it was here that the idea of the Sheaffer fountain pen was conceived.

Mr. Sheaffer also sold the fountain pens of the day, but felt they could be much improved. As this sense of dissatisfaction grew, in the course of showing them to customers and discussing their shortcomings, he kept pondering the idea of their improvement. Finally he conceived the idea of the first lever self-filler.

That initial idea, sometimes referred to as the single bar design, was patented in August, 1908.

In 1912, four years after obtaining his patent, Sheaffer established the Sheaffer Pen Company. That first year the Fort Madison city directory listed the company at the Second Street address of his jewelry store where, according to Sheaffer’s biographical sketch:

In a small room twelve by fourteen feet, in the back of his jewelry store, seven men began to turn out the first Sheaffer self-filling pens for commercial distribution.

Years later, according to a 1930 interview with the Sheaffer Company’s advertising manager at the time, C. K. Hart, published in the March 23, 1930 edition of the “Des Moines Register,”early on the company’s marketing was accomplished solely by word of mouth.

Mr. Sheaffer, in the beginning, worked with that line of trade with which he was most familiar to get initial distribution – the jewelers. He and his assistants made it their policy to leave a Scheaffer pen for trial purposes with every jeweler they called on, even though he didn’t happen to be a prospect for a fountain pen stock. In fact they made the majority of the dealers presents of the pens.

One such dealer who did stock the pen was an Oklahoma jeweler named Dorsey who ran one of the earliest newspaper advertisements for the Sheaffer Self-Filling Fountain Pen that I can find. It appeared in several December, 1912 editions of the “Muskogee Times-Democrat.”

Sheaffer’s biographical sketch goes on to say that less than a year later, in January, 1913, he organized the W. A. Sheaffer Pen Company with an initial capital subscription of $35,000. No longer co-located with the jewelry store, the 1914 Fort Madison directory listed the company plant at 401 Front Street, with Scheaffer named as president, a position he would hold until December, 1938.

Around the same time he organized the company Sheaffer submitted another patent application. Filed on February 1, 1913 , it improved on the original design and was sometimes referred to as the double barrel design.

This October 24, 1914 item published in the “American Stationer” described how the pen worked.

Another advertisement found in the same edition of the “American Stationer” touted the self filling pen’s advantages.

By 1914, due in no small part to the pen’s popularity, the company’s capital stock was increased to $100,000 and three years later the company increased its capital again, this time to $400,000. At the same time an April 25, 1917 story in “Walden’s Stationer and Printer” announced the company had outgrown its Front Street facility and was planning a major expansion.

The W. A. Sheaffer Pen Company has recently purchased an entire manufacturing plant at Fort Madison, Iowa, including the grounds and factory buildings, comprising the greater portion of the block bounded by Front, Broadway, Second and Oak Streets…

The Sheaffer company has been operating in its present quarters at 401 Front Street, just across from the big shop which it has just purchased, but growth of the business compelled an extensive increase in its factory facilities. The new plant will give the company ample quarters, providing floor space of 290,000 square feet. New machinery has been ordered and has been installed. It is stated that the output of the company for 1917 will have to be at least 300 percent greater than last year’s output in order to supply the nominal demand…

The story included the above rendering of the new Sheaffer plant and went on to say that by 1917:

The Sheaffer Pen Company has branch offices at Chicago, San Francisco and New York. Sixteen men are now traveling for the company, covering the entire United States…

By the early 1920’s a June 11, 1921 story  published in the “American Stationer and Office Outfitter” announced that even more factory space was necessary due to the recent introduction of  Sheaffer’s “Propel-Repel-Expel” mechanical pencil.

Rapid Expansion of its automatic pencil business has forced the W. A. Sheaffer Pen Company of Fort Madison, Iowa, to build a  modern new factory – 45′ x 140′ long, three stories, to be used for the manufacture of their new  “Propel-Repel-Expel” pencil…

…The Sheaffer Pen Company has been experimenting with the manufacture of mechanical pencils for several years but has not gone very heavily into the market. Last year the new Sheaffer “Propel-Repel-Expel” pencil was perfected – samples of these new pencils were submitted to dealers all over the world and words of praise have been received by the hundreds. The mechanism of the pencil is extremely simple. There are no springs and no parts to get out of order. It will project, withdraw and expel the lead with a few turns of the cap, eliminating waste by using the last particle of lead.

The new pencil will be produced in large quantities in the new factory and it is the desire of the management to double production within the next year…

Two years later an item describing Sheaffer’s 1923 catalog, published in the September, 1923 edition of “Office Appliances,” demonstrates that in a short time both their pen and pencil designs had grown to include a wide range of styles.

This catalog contains 48 pages bound in neat covers. It lists and illustrates the complete Sheaffer line, including Sheaffer’s regular line of fountain pens in eighteen different styles, three styles of  Sheaffer’s Student’s Special pens, Fourteen styles of the Lifetime pen, ten styles of the Ebony line, five styles of the No. 46 special line in red, and five styles in different barrels…

Of the Sheaffer Propel-Repel-Expel pencils no less than 70 different styles are shown…

The catalog also included mention of:

Sheaffer’s “Skrip,” a new fountain pen fluid for which many desirable things are claimed.  The manufacturers state that Skrip flows evenly and smoothly without flooding; that it does not clog the feed channel nor form a gummy substance around the nib; that it starts writing the instant the pen touches the paper; that it will not deposit sediment and makes a smooth, even line without skipping. Skrip comes in several colors such as red, purple, black, blue and green.

This advertisement, published around the same time touted their pens, pencils and ink as “A Perfect Trio.”

While the 1923 catalog suggested Skrip was a new item, jewelry and drug store advertisements for it were appearing as much as three years earlier. The earliest  advertisement I can find appeared in the August 26, 1920 edition of a Colorado newspaper called the “Poudre Valley Democratic” so it had certainly hit the market by then. Run by a chain of drug stores the ad included what would become Skrip’s long running catch phrase, “The successor to Ink.”

Early Skrip advertisements listed three different sizes, 15c (2 oz), 25c (4 oz) and 50c (I suspect 8oz). The two and four ounce bottles were similar in shape to the one pictured in this March 17, 1925 “Boston Globe” advertisement.

Then, in late 1926, a December 11th item found in a publication called the “Editor & Publisher” announced the company had changed the design of their four ounce bottle making it keystone shaped.

The W. A. Sheaffer Pen Company sell a fountain pen ink called Skrip, “the successor to ink.” The company has discontinued making its conventional four-ounce bottle. Instead, it now gets out an odd-shaped, keystone bottle which permits filling a pen to the last drop.

A similar announcement in the October 1926 edition of “Typewriter Topics” provided the reasoning for the change along with a representation of the new bottle.

…The new bottle is the shape of a keystone and for that reason the small lower end will allow filling the fountain pen to the last few drops in the bottle…

About a year later Sheaffer began advertising another container, this one called Safety Skrip. It was pictured in this early advertisement published in the September, 1929 edition of the “American Druggist.”

The ad went on to pitch the new container like this:

Carry it in your bag, or to your classroom. This air-tight, practically unbreakable container won’t leak a drop of its cargo of Skrip, successor to ink. Water-Proof! Evaporation-Proof! Saves cleaning bills, saves your carpets too! You’d willingly pay a dollar for handsome Safety Skrip, but it costs 50c, Skripfilled. Refills, 3 for 25c…

By the early 1930’s other products began appearing under the Skrip name as well. This August 31, 1933  advertisement in Neenah, Wisconsin’s “News-Record” specifically mentions Skrip-Grip Liquid Paste and Skrip Mucilage along with Sheaffer’s School Paste and Sheaffer’s Paralastic.

By 1930, in a January 2nd item found in Williamsburg, Iowa’s “Journal Tribune,”  Sheaffer’s New York manager Hugh O. Jones stated:

…the Sheaffer Pen Company is now doing one-third of all the fountain pen business in the country although the company is but sixteen years old. The business for 1929 was the largest in its history.

According to advertising manager C. K.  Hart’s interview published in the March 23, 1923 edition of the “Des Moines Register,” much of this success was due to advertising.

Advertising is credited with an important part in the company’s success. The first newspaper advertising was run in 1919 (note: I’ve seen local ads as early as 1912) and newspapers have had a prominent place in the Sheaffer advertising program ever since. Both daily and Sunday newspapers are used, in black and white, and also in rotogravure, as well as college papers and magazines of various types…

In 1929 steady schedules were carried in more than 200 newspapers, daily and Sunday editions…

…advertising appropriations now, including all kinds of media and the usual sales help, is “well over $1,000,000,” according to C. K. Hart, advertising manager, and for 1930 will be considerably above the 1929 figure.

Heavily exposed in magazines and newspapers, Sheaffer’s  initial word-of-mouth approach to advertising was also still alive and well as demonstrated by this program described in the December 6, 1930 edition of “Sales Management.”

Approximately 1,000 sample bottles of Skrip fountain pen ink, product of the W. A. Sheaffer Pen Company, are distributed daily from an exhibition motor bus, which has covered the country from coast to coast.

The traveling exhibit not only carries samples of Skrip, but also contains a display of the Sheaffer pen line, and shows graphically the manufacture of pens.

Dealers are appraised of the arrival of the bus, which is stationed in the busiest part of each town, and are urged to notify newspapers, advertise the bus and identify their stores as Sheaffer outlets. The bus carries window displays for dealers.

Each visitor signs a register and receives a bottle of Skrip.

According to a story in the October 18, 1928 edition of the Alameda (California) “Times Star,” the vehicle was 31 feet long and cost $20,000. Its tour started in Chicago in September, 1925 and by the time it reached Alameda the bus had been exhibited in 33 states.

It was in August of 1935 that the Raab designed Skrip-Well bottle began appearing in their advertising, suggesting that it was introduced at about that time. One of the earliest ads I can find appeared in the August 20, 1935 edition of the “Oakland Tribune.”

The following year, in 1936, the company got the word out by running dealer sponsored bicycle contests across the country. One such dealer, E.E. Johnson, located in White Salmon, Washington State, advertised the contest in the October 2, 1936  edition of a local newspaper called “The Enterprise.”

In effect the contests instantly recruited and assembled a nationwide Skrip sales force consisting of thousands of school aged boys and girls. Johnson, in the October 23rd edition of the same newspaper described how the contest worked.

BICYCLE CONTEST ON AT JOHNSON’S

Each boy and girl that is in this contest is given information and sales talk to give to the public in regard to Sheaffer products and to tell them about the wonderful ink and the new Skrip-Well bottle.

This bottle according to Mr. Johnson of E.E. Johnson & Co., is far superior to anything that he has seen yet, in the way of enabling everyone to use the very last drop of ink and also to keep the fingers clean.

For the benefit of those who do not know, the boys and girls in this contest go out and sell this ink and Wasp pencil, and every article that they sell they not only are given a number of votes toward winning the bicycle, but are also given a cash commission.

Another Contest this one touted in the August 27, 1936 edition of the “Redmond (Oregon) Spokesman” published the prize schedule.

The schedule also serves to point out that the Skrip-Well bottle was sold in 15c, 25c and 50c sizes.

In 1941 the Sheaffer company modified a good portion of their facilities in support of the war effort. According to a June 25, 1944 story in the “De Moines Register:”

The pen and the sword came off the production lines in the same cluster of white brick buildings fronting along the Mississippi here.

After making instruments of peace exclusively for 28 years the W.A. Sheaffer Pen Co. started manufacturing for war in midyear, 1941, several months before Pearl Harbor.

The first war goods contract came from the signal corps in September, 1941. It was a kind of “educational” contract for management and employees. With its lesson learned, the company received its first contract soon after Pearl Harbor.

An investigation several years before the war started showed that the company was capable of producing ordinance fuses for artillery and bombs and it received a contract. Procurement of equipment and facilities was started early in 1942.

What had been a warehouse was rebuilt for manufacturing and equipment installed. Production of fuses was underway by May and the company never has missed a schedule since…

Building of an intricate precision instrument for the signal corps and the navy was begun in December, 1942, under other contracts. The instrument requires nearly 1,000 parts, chiefly of stainless steel, and all of them so finely machined that the instrument will function in temperatures down to 50 below zero centigrade.

The story went on to say:

Manufacture of fountain pens and pencils continues on a limited scale and the company still makes its patented version of ink, and adhesives for civilian use, for the army quartermaster corps and navy ship stores. Under current WPB quotas, it may make 481,000 pens a quarter.

They  must have made enough pens and ink for civilian use to keep advertising them as evidenced by this May 22, 1944 ad that appeared in “Life” magazine.

Ten years after the war ended things began to change in the pen and ink market when Sheaffer introduced their new “Fineline Cartridge Pen.” This introductory advertisement began appearing in newspapers all over the country beginning in the late summer/early fall of 1955.

The ad lead with the catch phrase:

Put the ink in the pen…not the pen in the ink.

and went on to say:

Gives you true pen point writing PLUS convenience of mess-proof cartridge filling!. No more messy ink bottles! Just pop a transparent Sheaffer’s Skrip cartridge into the barrel…and write!

Recognizing that the Skrip-Well bottle design was predicated on “putting the pen in the ink” it appears that it’s days were numbered, and six years later with the cartridge pen gaining popularity the last Sheaffer advertisement I can find that mentioned Skrip-Well appeared in the June 12, 1961 edition of New York’s “Daily News.”

The Sheaffer family retained control of the company until 1966 when it was acquired by Textron, Inc. The acquisition was reported in the March 1, 1966 edition of the “Des Moines Tribune.”

The W.A. Sheaffer Pen Co. was acquired Tuesday by Textron, Inc., for approximately $19.5 million. The transaction was closed here (Fort Madison) where Sheaffer has its headquarters…

…Textron is a diversified manufacturing company with headquarters in Providence R.I. and operates in five basic product groups, aerospace, agrochemical, consumer, industrial and metal products.

Later, in 1987, Textron sold their Sheaffer Division to Gefinor, Inc., an investment banking company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Then, in 1997, the “Des Moines Register” reported that Sheaffer had been acquired by BIC, for $33 million. At the time, Shaeffer was the fifth largest pen brand in the world.

Less than 10 years later, the January 4, 2008 edition of “The  (Waterloo, Iowa) Courier” announced that BIC was closing  Sheaffer’s long running Fort Madison plant.

Sheaffer Pen Factory in Fort Madison to Close in Spring

FORT MADISON – Nearly a century of making pens in this southeast Iowa city will end this spring.

BIC USA Inc. plans to complete the shutdown of the Sheaffer Pen factory by the end of March, affecting about 40 workers, officials said Thursday.

“This has been a challenging transition over the past few years, and we thank the Sheaffer work force for their dedication and patience.”said Ron Davanzo, general manager of Sheaffer Pen in a press release.

Sheaffer fountain pen point assembly department will be moved to a third-party manufacturer in Asia. Customer service, purchasing, information technology, warehousing and distribution operations, packaging and quality control will go to Slovakia.

Service and repair will be handled by Sheaffer’s distributor, Hampton-Haddon Marketing Corp., in Philadelphia.

Sheaffer’s product development department, which has three employees, moved to another facility in Fort Madison in December.

Although their Fort Madison factory is long gone, the Sheaffer name remains in the pen and ink market to this day. According to Sheaffer’s website:

A significant chapter in Sheaffer’s rich history was written in 2022 when the company was acquired by William Penn, a company based in Bangalore, India, and a respected name in the world of luxury writing instruments. The acquisition marked a new phase of growth and potential for Sheaffer, as the combined strengths of both companies aim to forge a new path, offering patrons an expanded portfolio of premium cutting-edge products that carry forward the Sheaffer legacy.

Their product line continues to include ink sold under the Skrip name.

 

J. F. Hughes, 233 West 33rd St., New York

John F. Hughes was a mineral water manufacturer whose business operated on the west side of Manhattan from the late 1880’s up until 1914 when it was one of six companies that joined together and established the New York Bottling Company, Inc.

Born in Ireland in 1862 or 1863, Hughes arrived in the United States in 1869 at the age of six and by 1880, according to census records was living with his parents on Rutgers Street in Manhattan.

When exactly he started in the mineral water business is not exactly clear. According to an advertisement Hughes ran in the “Purchaser’s Guide and Commercial Register” included in the 1896/1897 New York City directory, his business was established in 1887 (lower left hand corner of the ad).

That said, I can’t find him listed in the New York City directories until 1890 when he was included under the heading ” Mineral Waters” with an address of 233 West 33rd Street in Trow’s 1890 Business Directory . He was certainly in business by the spring of that year as evidenced by this classified advertisement he ran in the May 6, 1890 edition of the “New York Herald.”

Located between 7th and 8th Avenues, the business remained at that location until sometime in 1894 when it relocated to 146 – 148 West 31st Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues. Hughes remained in business there up until 1914, during which time he ran annual advertisements in Trow’s New York City Directory. The advertisements all suggest that he limited his inventory to non-alcoholic beverages. One of the earliest I can find appeared in Trow’s 1895/1896 edition.

Later directories exhibited this updated advertisement which replaced the earlier one sometime around  1910.

On April 1, 1914 John F. Hughes combined his business with five other bottling concerns and the consolidated business was incorporated under the name “New York Bottling Company, Inc.” The announcement appeared in the January 15, 1915 edition of the “American Bottler.”

A consolidation of the following prominent New York City bottling concerns took place on April 1: A. Ludorff, S. A. Ludin & Co., (New York Bottling Company Co.), W. E. Seitz & Co., John F. Hughes, Henry Kracke (Globe Mineral Water Co.) and the A. Liebler bottling Co., Albert Ludoff is president and J. E. Ludin is Tres.

The 1915 NYC Copartnership and Corporation Directory listed the consolidated company as a New York corporation with Albert Ludorff, president, John E. Ludin, treasurer and R. E Schoder, secretary. Capital $750,000.  It went on to list three addresses: 532 W 20th, 417 E 90th, and 402 w 126th, suggesting that Hughes’ 31st Street location was not utilized by the new corporation. Hughes continued to be associated with the corporation in some capacity, actually serving as president for several years in the early 1920’s.

According to an April 6, 1929 story in the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle,” The New York Bottling Corporation was acquired by the Carl H. Schultz Corporation in November, 1928 and soon after both were folded into the American Beverage Corp.

More information on the New York Bottling Company , along with information on several of the firms that made up the 1914 consolidation can be found by visiting another post on this site.  New York Bottling Co.

The subject bottle was blown in a mold and exhibits a blob finish. The bottle’s embossing includes the 233 West 33rd Street address dating it between the late 1880’s and 1894 when the company was at that address.

Another  bottle, recently offered for sale on the Internet, exhibits the company’s 146 – 148 West 31st Street address used from 1894 to 1914.

Wheeler & Co., Belfast

The embossed insignia on the face of the subject bottle (or what’s left of it) consisting of a wagon wheel with the embossed letters “E R’ at the top and “& Co.” below, served as the clever trademark for a mineral water manufacturer and bottler that operated in Belfast, Northern Ireland under the  name of Wheeler & Co. from the early 1860’s up through 1947. This advertisement exhibiting their “wheel” trademark appeared in the advertising section of the “Belfast and Province of Ulster Directory” in 1884

In addition to bottling their own manufactured waters, the company also served as a bottler for other manufacturers, “Guiness Stout” and “Bass Ale” to name a few, all of which were bottled under what they called their “Wheel Brand.”

The company got its start, not as a mineral water manufacturer or bottler but as an apothecary business whose roots were established in April, 1852 with the opening of the Belfast Apothecaries’ Hall at 33 High Street. An item announcing the opening appeared in several editions of the “Belfast News-Letter.”

Five years later, in 1857, another advertisement for the Apothecaries’ Hall associated it with W. J. Wheeler & Company, short for Walter James Wheeler. The ad published in several October, 1857 editions of the “Belfast News-Letter” named the company as agents for a wide range of proprietary medicines and medical products.

The advertisement went on to say:

THE DEPARTMENT FOR THE COMPOUNDING of Physicians’ and Surgeons’ Prescriptions is under the charge of Mr. HENRY WHITAKER, Licentiate Apothecary, formerly of Butler’s Medical Hall, Dublin.

At this point while Wheeler and Whitaker were both involved in the business, they were apparently not in total control. That would change less than a year later when this announcement, dated May 1, 1858, appeared in several May editions of the “Belfast News-Letter”under the heading:

The announcement read:

WALTER J.WHEELER & HENRY WHITAKER respectfully intimate to the Medical Profession and the Public that they have assumed the entire control and management of the above Establishment, and that, it will be conducted by them. Their devoting themselves exclusively to the business of the Apothecary and Pharmaceutical Chemist, and living on the Premises (thereby insuring their constant superintendence), are the surest guarantees that the interests of the public will be properly attended to.

The announcement went on to describe the fledgling operation.

THE RETAIL DEPARTMENT will be always well supplied with the purest Drugs and Chemicals, Patent Medicines, Perfumery, Toilet Requisites, and all other articles usually kept in first-class Medical Establishments.

THE COMPOUNDING DEPARTMENT will be under the management of Henry Whitaker, Surgeon and Licentiate Apothecary, formerly of Dr. Butler’s Medical Hall, Dublin, who confines himself exclusively to the business of the Apothecary, abstaining altogether from Medical practice, in order that he may be enabled to devote his entire time to this Department, which will be constantly supplied, not only with all Medicines in general use, but also with all the new preparations, as they are brought under the notice of the Profession; so that Medical Gentlemen may rely upon having their prescriptions properly compounded and their views fully carried out.

1st May, 1858

Several years later, the partnership of Wheeler & Whitaker, trading under the Wheeler & Co. name, introduced their “Aerated Waters” to the public. This April 29, 1862 advertisement published in the “Belfast News-Letter” suggested they were first put on the market in the Fall of 1861.

As early as 1864, this June 30th advertisement published in the “Glasgow Herald” stated that the water used in the manufacture of their aerated waters was obtained from a series of wells located in the vicinity of Cromac Street in Belfast, later referred to as the Coromac Springs. The advertisement read, in part:

Wheeler & Co.’s Aerated Waters prepared with Water from the celebrated Cromac Springs at Belfast, the great purity of which peculiarly adapts it to this purpose, and are of uniform strength and peculiarly fine flavor. Every bottle of the genuine article bears the name “Wheeler & Co.” on the label.

In 1865, according to a summary of court proceedings, “Wheeler Co. v. James Johnston,” published in the November 13, 1877 edition of the “Belfast Evening Telegraph,” the company established a manufacturing facility at one of the Cromac well sites.

… Messrs. Wheeler & Whitaker traded at Belfast under the style of Wheeler & Co., and had an extensive business as manufacturers of aerated and mineral waters. The affidavit of Messrs Wheeler & Whitaker stated that in May, 1865, they took a lease of certain premises in Murphy Street, Belfast. A valuable well existing on the premises afforded a large supply of water of a very pure quality, and formed one of a number of wells in the neighborhood of Cromac Street, used formerly for the water supply to Belfast for domestic purposes. Wheeler & Whitaker erected machinery and works and commenced their business operations, which they had since carried on using exclusively the water of the well in question. Soon afterwards Wheeler & Whitaker adopted for their works the name of “Cromac Springs…”

In addition to their Belfast facilities, by 1868 the company had also established a presence in Dublin and Glasgow. Both are mentioned in this advertisement that appeared in the March 3, 1869 edition of the “Belfast News-Letter.”

By 1870, in addition to bottling their own beverages, Wheeler & Co. was also bottling those of other manufacturers under their “Wheel” trademark. This brief item touting Guinness Porter began appearing in the “Belfast News-Letter” as early as March 3, 1870.

If you want Guinness’s XX Porter, in Bottle, unmixed, ask for it labeled with the “Wheel” Trade Mark.

The following year the trademark itself began appearing in their Guinness advertisements as evidenced by a series of  March, 1871 advertisements found in both the “Belfast Evening Telegraph” and “Belfast Evening News.”

Other brands were added over the next couple of years including HENLEY & SONS’ CIDER, touted in this April 26, 1871  “Belfast Evening Telegraph” advertisement…

… and Bass, Allsopp, Ind and Cooper’s mentioned in another “Belfast Evening Telegraph” advertisement, this one in their January 7, 1873 edition.

At the same time, the apothecary and chemist portion of the business continued to operate out of 33 High Street before moving to 37 High Street in 1881.

During this time they were associated with a number of patent medicines some of which they also manufactured  including “Wheeler & Whitaker’s Balm of Licorice.”

Things changed in 1882, when two separate dissolution notices effectively transitioned the business into separately owned entities. The first, executed on April 13, 1882, dissolved the partnership associated with the Apothecary/Chemist portion of the business, leaving it in Whittaker’s hands.

A little over a month later this advertisement published in the May 24, 1882 edition of the “Belfast News-Letter” named Henry Whitaker, proprietor of The Belfast Apothecaries’ Hall, “Late Wheeler & Whitaker.”

As far as I can tell, not long after he gained control, Whitaker turned the  Apothecary business over to William Hanbury who in 1890 declared bankruptcy. This notice dated January 24, 1890  announcing the bankruptcy sale appeared in the February 13, 1890 edition of the “Belfast News-Letter.

Three months later, a May 17, 1890 item in the “Belfast Evening Telegraph” announced that the

THE PRESCRIPTION BOOKS, PROPRIETARY RIGHTS and the VARIOUS FORMULAE of the SPECIAL PREPARATIONS of MESSRS. WHEELER & WHITAKER (Belfast Apothecaries’ Hall) HAVE BEEN PURCHASED by their late Senior Assistant, MR. T. N. MOFFIT…

Meanwhile, back  in 1882, a second dissolution notice, this one dated October 16, 1882, put the manufacturing of aerated waters and bottling operation solely in the hands of Walter J. Wheeler. That notice appeared in the October 20, 1882 edition of the “Belfast News-Letter.”

A year later, according to a May 16 1883 story in the “Belfast Evening Telegraph” some of their bottled porter and ale was making its way across the Atlantic.

LARGE SHIPMENT OF BOTTLED BEER TO AMERICA. – At present Messrs. Wheeler & Co. are delivering at Prince’s Dock, Belfast, 400 barrels of porter and ale in bottles, for transshipment into lighters for conveyance alongside the Dominion Line steamer Toronto, which vessel will arrive in Belfast Lough on Friday morning for Quebec and Montreal. By the steamer Montreal, on Friday last, Messrs. Wheeler & Co. shipped a similar quantity, and on following weeks like shipments will be made by this firm.

In April, 1890 Walter James Wheeler passed away with the business continuing under the management of his son Frederick. After Walter’s death it appears that the company remained closely held by the Wheeler family until 1895 when they offered a portion of his stock for sale in an effort to realize his estate. The offer appeared in the May 3, 1895 edition of the “Belfast News-Letter.”

That said, during the late 1890’s, this item that appeared in the September 20, 1898 edition of the “Glasgow Herald” suggested that the company continued to be quite successful.

MESSRS WHEELER & CO., LTD., BELFAST have secured the honor of having their famed “WHEEL BRAND” AERATED MINERAL WATERS chosen as being most suitable for the use of the British Troops in Egypt; also the British expeditions from Lagos and Sierra Leone to Central Africa were supplied entirely with the Waters manufactured from the famous Cromac Springs of which WHEELER & CO., LTD., BELFAST are the Sole Proprietors.

In fact, in 1899 an August 28th advertisement in the “Belfast News-Letter” indicated they were planning an expansion of their Belfast facilities at the time.

As far as I can tell, the Wheeler family continued their involvement with the business until 1923 when a February 23rd notice announced the stockholders had decided to liquidate.

At this point it was acquired by a man named George A. Davidson who several years later was adjudged bankrupt on December  16, 1927.

Later, according to a July 19, 1947 item in the “Belfast Telegraph”

An offer of composition was made and accepted by his creditors and the money had been lodged with the official assignee for the payment of the composition.

As a result Davidson was apparently able to continue operations in Belfast. Though likely not a large operation and certainly not a heavy advertiser there are signs that the company remained active into the 1940’s. Both their Belfast Ginger Ale and “Anti Laria” Tonic Water were listed in the “Grocery and Provision Merchant Directory of Brands, Trademarks and Trade Names” in 1930 and, as late as 1939 the company was included on this list of Belfast and Ulster mineral water manufacturers published in the October 3, 1939 edition of the “Belfast Telegraph.”

Ultimately Davison, trading as Wheeler & Co., declared bankruptcy again, this time  in 1947 with the notice appearing in the May 14th edition of the “Belfast Telegraph.”

This time, according to the July 19, 1947 “Belfast Telegraph” story the bankruptcy was annulled by the Lord Chief Justice in the Ulster High Court due to the actions taken in the 1927 bankruptcy case. That said, as far as I can tell, this marked the end of Wheeler & Co. as a mineral water manufacturer and bottler.

The bottle I found was blown in a mold and likely had a blob finish at one time. In addition to the “Wheel” trademark embossed on the face of the bottle, embossing  on the shoulder includes the representation of  four gold medals (two on each side) and reads: ” Belfast 1895 Gold Medals.”

The base is embossed with a large capital “W’ which I assume stands for “Wheeler.”

Th bottle most closely resembles the Belfast Ginger Ale bottle pictured on the far left in the following January 1, 1890 advertisement published in the “British Trade Journal,” though it does have a flat bottom as opposed to the rounded one pictured.

While not heavily advertised in the United States, references to Wheeler’s Belfast Ginger Ale sporadically appear in U.S. newspaper advertisements between 1884 and the mid-teens. This likely dates the bottle between 1895 (the date embossed on the bottle) and the mid-teens.

Edmund Spieler, Cold Spring Harbor, L.I.

Edmund (sometimes Edward) Spieler was a local brewer and beer bottler in the Town of Huntington on Long Island New York’s north shore. Located in the hamlet of Cold Spring Harbor, the business was active from sometime in the mid-1870’s up until Spieler’s death in 1889.

Born in Bavaria in 1846, Spieler apparently arrived in the United States around 1870 where he first appeared in New York City’s 1871/1872 directory with the occupation “beer” and an address of 546 W. 36th Street. By 1880, census records put him in the Town of Huntington with the occupation “brewer.”

He had arrived on Long Island as early as 1878 when the Board of Excise” granted him a license for the sale of “ALE & BEER.” The announcement appeared in the May 18, 1878 edition of the “Suffolk Weekly Times.”

During the late 1870’s and early 1880’s  he continued to obtain what appears to be the same license to sell ale and beer during which time he delivered his product in a horse drawn wagon. Those deliveries did not always come without incident as evidenced by this story that appeared in the August 11, 1882 edition of a newspaper called the “Long Islander.” The story definitely falls in the category of “they don’t write them like this anymore!”

In this town we have a wholesale peddler of beer. He has a handsomely painted wagon. That wagon has long borne the owner who answers to the euphonious patronymic of Spieler. Last Friday Mr. S. came to this village with a full load of his “sour lightning” – the kegs and bottles were full and so was the owner. The wagon was being turned in front of Simon Hirschfeld’s when, mindful of the request embodied in the name of the proprietor, it proceeded to “spill-her” in good style. The spoke of one wheel of the vehicle broke and down it came on its side. The stream was la(r)ger as it flowed and many stood on its brink eager to stop the waste. Some who assisted could only say in the technical phase of the newspaper man “For further particulars see our inside.”

Less than a month later, the September 8th edition of the same newspaper reported that Spieler’s beer wagon had run into trouble again.

The redoubtable wagon of Spieler. the lager beer peddler has again been on a rampage. On Tuesday while coming down the hill from Greenlawn near Merril’s Hotel, Centreport, the wagon struck a stone and one of the wheels completely collapsed, letting the vehicle down in the sand. Well the occupant of the vehicle said about everything “but his prayers,” and left for home to get another wagon.

All that aside, Spieler continued to deliver his beer by horse drawn wagon up through at least 1885 as evidenced by this item that appeared in the June 26, 1885 edition of the “Long Islander.”

There were six horses brought up on the steamer on Tuesday night last, one of which was for Edmund Spieler to be used on his beer wagon.

Sometime about 1888, it appears Spieler traded his beer wagon in and became a saloon/hotel operator and bottler. That year, the May 12th edition of  the “Long-Islander announced that the Board of Excise granted Spieler an INN KEEPER’s license in lieu of ALE & BEER.

Less than two years later, on December 10, 1889 Edmund Spieler passed away, with his death notice appearing in the December 21st edition of the “South Side Signal.”

It appears that Spieler’s wife, Frances, continued the hotel/saloon/bottling business for a while after his death. The May 6, 1890 edition of the “Brooklyn Daily Times” included her on a list of applicants who had been  granted a hotel license by the Huntington Board of Excise that year. She was still in business in 1892 when this story appeared in the January 9th edition of the “Long Islander.”

A team of young horses belonging to Mrs. Spieler started from before her saloon Thursday and ran down the street until they came to the mill dam at the old saw mill and ran across passing safely over where it would be almost impossible for a man to drive them, and then ran through the woods to Dr. O. L. Jones’ fields where they were captured. Horses, wagon and harness were uninjured.

What became of the business after 1892 is not clear. That said, in 1894 Frances Spieler married John Wolfert who, according to a December 12 1896 “Long Islander” story, operated “a large beer bottling business” in Cold Spring and later listed his occupation as “saloon and bottling” in 1900 census records. Though I can’t confirm it, this at least suggests that Spieler’s business may have been the predecessor of Wolfert’s business or possibly incorporated into it.

The bottle I found is a champagne style beer with an applied blob finish. It fits the 1880’s era when Spieler was in business. Maybe it was on one of those wagon’s that broke down?

 

 

Paterson Brewing & Malting Co., Paterson, N.J.

Established in 1899, the Paterson Brewing and Malting Company was the culmination of a roughly ten year process that brought all six of Paterson New Jersey’s major brewing interests together under one corporate umbrella. So it stands to reason that the company history begins, not in 1899 but much earlier with its predecessors, the six individual breweries that made up the corporation.  So with that in mind I thought it important to begin this post with a brief history of each of those breweries. Much of that early history was included in an 1890 publication entitled “Paterson, New Jersey, Its Advantages for Manufacturing and Residence: its Industries, Prominent Men, Banks, Schools, Churches, etc.” by Charles A. Shriner, and is presented below in quotes. Quotes from other sources are specifically referenced in the text.

THE BRAUN BREWERY

In 1855 Mr. Christian Braun, father of Messrs. Christian and Lewis F. Braun, started a brewery on the corner of Braun and Marshall Streets and conducted the business with increasing trade and success until the year 1870, when he leased the business to Sprattler & Mennel. Mr. Braun died in 1876 and his sons took possession of the business… The brewery was increased until they had a structure 75 x 200, three stories high, equipped with all the latest improved appliances for the production of a superior grade of lager beer; the capacity of the brewery is 60,000 barrels per year…

This business card advertisement for Braun’s Brewery appeared in the January 31, 1886 edition of Paterson’s “Morning Call.”

THE SPRATTLER & MENNEL BREWERY

Mr. Gustav Sprattler and Mr. Christian Mennel established the brewing of lager beer in Paterson in 1870, having leased the brewery up to that time operated by Christian Braun… In 1876 they took possession of a new brewery, which they erected for that purpose and which at the time had a capacity of 8,000 barrels per annum. In the succeeding years enlargements of the plant were made and new buildings erected until the brewery is one of  the most complete in all respects in New Jersey, having a capacity of 40,000 barrels per annum. The plant covers an area of 185 x 200 feet, upon which are erected ice houses, brewery and malt houses, store houses, etc. Mr. Sprattler died in October, 1883, after which the business was conducted by his estate and Mr. Mennel…

Paterson’s “Morning Call” ran this advertisement for Sprattler & Mennel’s “Extra Lager Beer” in their December 25, 1885 edition.

PASSAIC SPRING BREWERY (GRAHAM & CO.)

The early history of the Passaic Spring Brewery was found in James A. Graham’s obituary published in the March 26, 1909 edition of a Paterson, New Jersey newspaper named the “Morning Call.”

The father of James A. Graham, whose name was also James managed his brother’s brewery on Hamburg Avenue, while the latter was in the Civil War. Their father, Archie Graham, was also engaged in the same business over seventy-five years ago, winning an enviable reputation for his excellent brew and ale.

When still a young man, while living on a farm, James A. Graham was induced to take charge for a short time of his Uncle Archie’s brewery on Hamburg Avenue, to close out the business, which was rapidly failing. So successful was he that he built up the business and was given a third interest in the concern by his uncle.

Sometime in the late 1870’s Graham’s uncle Archie passed away leaving the business to a partnership of James A. and Sarah J. Graham. A story in the October 1, 1886 edition of “The Morning Call” picks up the story from there.

The place has been modernized and enlarged until it has grown entirely out of all resemblance to the quaint little snuggery that occupied that location for many years. The extension completed in 1881 is a brick structure four stories high, with a cellar underneath that is equivalent to another story… With exceptional facilities the best of ale is made in this old facility.

This Passaic Springs Brewery’s  business card advertisement appeared in the January 31, 1886 edition of Paterson’s “Morning Call.”

THE GRAHAM BREWERY (JAMES A. GRAHAM & CO.)

In 1886 James A Graham left the Passaic Spring Brewery in the control of Sarah A. Graham who I suspect was his sister-in-law.  The dissolution notice appeared in the November 20, 1886 edition of Paterson’s “Morning Call.”

James A. Graham then went on to establish his own brewery the following year.

… In 1887 Graham concluded to go into business for himself. For this purpose he purchased a tract of land lying on Cedar Street and running from Straight Street to Ramapo Avenue. This gave him a very desirable location, lying in the center of the city and adjoining the tracks of the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad… The building is three stories high, built of brick and has a frontage of 40 feet and a depth of 100 feet…

The opening of Graham’s new brewery was announced in the April 19, 1887 edition of Paterson’s “Morning Call”

For the first time the engine in the new brewery of James A. Graham was in operation yesterday, and all the belts and wheels which go to complete the operating machinery were revolving as rapidly as those of any of our silk factories. Despite the cold breeze and drizzling rain and snow men were busy working on the huge mash tubs and at different other occupations which are necessary in the process of producing the anti-prohibitoion liquid. “Jimmy” does not intend to make any deliveries this week, but next week, his drivers expect to have a busy time rolling barrels of XXX into the cellars of hundreds of saloons.

The barrels were certainly rolling by May, 1887 at which time Graham was advertising his Standard Ales in the Passaic “Daily Herald.”

KATZ BROTHERS BURTON BREWERY

Katz Brothers, Phillip and Bernard…began brewing in July 1877, on the corner of Goodwin and Bridge Streets, where their capacity was twenty-five barrels a day. The only difficulty they experienced was that they could not supply the demand for their product. While they were contemplating the erection of a new brewery or looking for some way in which their establishment could be increased so as to meet all the demand upon it the Burton Brewery was offered for sale… In liquidation…it was purchased in 1882. Their XXX and Canada Malt Ale and other brands were in such demand wherever they had been introduced that the firm soon found it necessary to open stores in New York and other cities and their renown as brewers ceased being provincial or local and became national. From all parts of the United States came orders for Katz Brothers’ ales and porters. Having met with this almost phenomenal success in the brewing of ales and porters they concluded to undertake the brewing of lager beer…

Their move into lager beer brewing was announced in the July 27, 1887 edition of Paterson’s “Morning Call.”

A New Lager Beer Brewery

The Katz Bros. propose to go extensively into the business of lager beer brewing in the near future. Mr. Phillip Katz is now in Bohemia, where he has engaged the services of an expert brewer, and has also purchased twelve hundred bales of the Saaz Bohemia hops. The Katz Bros. have been remarkably successful in the ale brewing, having in a few years succeeded in building up a reputation for fine ales that has caused a demand and sale of nearly one hundred thousand barrels during the last twelve months. From this we may judge what the Katz Bros. will do in the brewing of lager beer.

The 1890 History of Paterson picks up the story from there.

For this purpose they erected a substantial addition to their already large establishment… Their brewery has a frontage of 200 feet on Straight Street, 300 feet on Governor Street and 300 feet on Harrison Street; it has annual capacity of 130,000 barrels.

According to a November 19, 1888 story in the “Morning Call” the company began the manufacture of lager beer on that day and by the spring of 1888 a May 17th advertisement in the “Passaic Daily News” announced that their “Bohemian Lager Beer” was “Ready for Consumption Now.”

HINCHLIFFE BREWING AND MALTING COMPANY

In 1861 Mr. John Hinchliffe leased the old “Archie” Graham brewery; having a practical knowledge of brewing he established the business under the title of Hinchliffe & Co; he subsequently associated himself with John Shaw, a fellow countryman… The lease having expired Mr. Graham recommenced business and the firm of Hinchliffe & Co. established an agency for Cox’s then celebrated ales until they could erect a suitable brewery for themselves. In 1867 the present Eagle ale and porter brewery was built; they then admitted a new member to the firm, Mr. Thomas B. Penrose, a practical brewer… and the firm name was then changed to Shaw, Hinchliffe and Penrose. In 1872 to meet the requirements of their increasing trade and to enable them to insure a constant supply of the best malt they erected the extensive malt house which stands in the rear of the property; it is a massive brick structure 150 x 75 feet, six stories high, with slated roof… The capacity of this house is over one hundred and fifty thousand bushels of malt per season.

Penrose retired in 1878, Shaw passed away in 1881 and John Hinchliffe passed away in 1886. This left the brewery in the hands of Hinchliffe’s three sons, John, William F. and James C. who on January 1, 1887 began business under the name of Hinchliffe Brothers. An announcement to that effect appeared in the May 26, 1887 edition of the Passaic “Daily Herald”

At this point the brothers decided to add a lager beer brewery to their plant.

With this end in view they consulted the well known firm of Charles Stoll & Son, brewery architects of Brooklyn, who soon had plans and specifications drawn for the largest brewery of its kind in the city and they immediately began to tear down old buildings and prepare for the new and model ones… After eight months had gone by they had completed the lager beer brewery which is shown in the engraving as taken from the front elevation of the architect’s plans.

The storage and brew-house is five stories high built of brick and iron trimmed with granite…in the rear is a three-story ice factory… These buildings and two smaller ones constitute the lager beer brewery, which is said to be the heaviest building in the city.

The capacity of brewing is about 75,000 barrels per year. The brewery is under the direct supervision of the company, which is composed of John Hinchliffe, president; William F. Hinchliffe, vice president, and James C. Hinchliffe, secretary and treasurer, who own equal shares of stock.

In 1890, all six breweries were up and running when four of the six joined together and incorporated the predecessor to the Paterson Brewing and Malting Company. Called the Paterson Consolidated Brewing Company, the reasoning behind its formation was explained in the 1890 Paterson, New Jersey publication.

During the year 1889 representatives of an English syndicate made overtures to a number of the brewers in Paterson to purchase their entire establishments for the purpose of forming a stock company and disposing of the stock in England. After long and tedious negotiations the project fell through, but it had not been without fruit. The negotiations had brought the brewers closer together and they recognized the benefits to be derived from concerted action among men having an identity of interests. The result was the formation of the Paterson Consolidated Brewing Company.

The formal announcement appeared in the March 4, 1890 edition of the  “Passaic Daily News.”

A certificate of incorporation of the Paterson Consolidated Brewing Company was filed yesterday morning in the clerk’s office of Passaic County. The capital stock is fixed at $1,000,000. The action completes a combination of four out of six breweries in Paterson. The concerns in the combination are those of Katz Brothers, ale and lager beer brewers; James A. Graham, ale, and Sprattler & Mennel and C. Braun, lager beer. The two Katz brothers, Phillip and Bernard hold 5,350 shares; Christian Mennel surviving partner of Sprattler & Mennel, 1500; Christian & Louis F. Braun, 750 each and James A. Graham, 1,000. The capitalization of $1,000,000 represents only a fraction of the aggregate value of the four breweries, but the combination is a close corporation, intended for mutual benefit and not to sell stock, and the figure is therefore made nominal.  The combination is the result, indirectly, of the negotiations for the sale of the Paterson breweries to the English syndicate. The deal with the Englishmen fell through, but in the numerous meetings while the negotiations were going on the brewers found the advantage of combination, and decided to take advantage of them without the aid of any foreign capital.

Four months later, the Paterson Consolidated Brewing Company announced a major expansion of the Braun Brewery. The announcement appeared in the July 30, 1890 edition of the “Passaic Daily News”

A Monster Brewery at Paterson

The Paterson Consolidated Brewing Company has decided to erect a large brewing-house to be added to the Braun Brewery. The building will be one of the finest of its kind in the State. The main structure, which is to be built of brick, with stone trimmings, will be 42 x 44 feet in dimension and five stories high. From its top will arise a malt tower, which will have a capacity of 10,000 bushels. The addition will increase the capacity of the brewery so that it will produce 150,000 barrels of lager per year.

A rendering of the improved Braun Brewery appeared in the 1890 Paterson New Jersey feature referenced at the beginning of this post.

Three years after formation of the Paterson Consolidated Brewing Company the February 3, 1893 edition of the “Passaic Daily News” announced that the Passaic Spring Brewery had also joined the fold.

THE HINCHLIFFE’S ALONE NOW

All the Rest of the Big Paterson Brewers Have Entered the Combine.

A deed of conveyance of the property of Graham & Co., proprietors of the Passaic Spring Brewery, to the Paterson Consolidated Brewing Company was recorded yesterday at the County Clerk’s office. About two years ago all the Paterson breweries, excepting the Hinchliffe Brewery and The Passaic Spring Brewery united in a corporation as the Paterson Consolidated Brewing Company. At that time an effort was made to have all unite, but the Hinchliffe brothers and Mrs. Sarah H. Graham who is practically the sole owner of the Passaic Spring Brewery, would have nothing to do with the movement. A few days ago, however, Mrs. Graham agreed to join the majority, so that all the Paterson brewers, excepting the Hinchliffes are now united.

Finally in 1899 the Hinchliffe’s agreed to join and the new combination was reorganized under the Paterson Brewing and Malting Company name. The announcement appeared in the June 23 1899 edition of Paterson’s “Evening News.”

After negotiation extending over a period of nine years the consolidation of the Consolidated Brewing Company and the Hinchliffe Brewing Company effected yesterday afternoon and the continued interests will immediately be reorganized under the name of the Paterson Brewing and Malting Company with a capital of $6,000,000.

A month later it was announced in the August 2, 1899 edition of Paterson’s “Evening News” that all the brewery properties were now owned by the new corporation.

Notice is hereby given that the brewery plants of the Paterson Consolidated Brewing Company and the brewery plant of the Hinchliffe Brewing and Malting Company have been sold and conveyed to a new corporation just formed and known as the Paterson Brewing and Malting Company…

Not long after, a June 23, 1900 “Passaic Daily News” story announced that the Passaic Spring Brewery was to be shut down.

TRUST CLOSES A BREWERY

It is Not a Temperance Measure But a Practical Economy

On July 1 the old Passaic Spring Brewery in Paterson will close its doors. This is brought about by the consolidation of all the local concerns into a brewery trust. The plant has outlived its usefulness, and could not be worked to advantage, because of its distance from the railroads. The machinery that is good for anything, with the brewers and other workmen, will be transferred to Hinchliffe’s Brewery…

Over the next 17 years or so the trust, comprised of the five breweries, not only dominated the manufacture of beer in Paterson but according to the July 14, 1908 edition of Paterson’s  “Morning Call,”controlled Paterson’s saloon business as well.

Sensational in some respects were the facts brought out yesterday at the inquiry of the state excise commission into the manner in which the excise laws of the state are being observed in Passaic and Bergen Counties and particularly in this city and Passaic.

Paramount in importance was the revelation that 335 of the 494 retail liquor licenses for saloons in this city are absolutely owned and controlled by the Paterson Brewing and Malting Company. Into this phase of the excise situation the state probers delved with surprising result, showing that the brewery holds the power of attorney for nearly all the licenses issued to the men who conduct the saloons in which their beer is sold.

It was shown in Passaic as well as in this city all prosecutions for violation of the excise laws are disposed of in the police court, the police authorities having grown weary of bringing cases before the grand jury and the licensing bodies only to get rebuffed.

Another story covering the inquiry, this one in the July 14th edition of the “Passaic News” revealed that the company, though not exclusive, was heavily entrenched in Passaic as well.

Fifty-one saloons, exactly half the number in the city, are owned by brewers, but there is no exclusive brewery monopoly as there is in Paterson. Of the fifty one brewery-owned saloons in Passaic, twenty-eight are owned by the Paterson Brewing and Malting Company, seventeen by the Hygeia Brewing Company, three by Peter Hauck and three by Ballentine’s, the two latter being Newark concerns.

As late as 1917 all five of the company’s  breweries were in operation as evidenced by this advertisement that appeared in the July 13th edition of Paterson’s “Evening News.”

That said, changes were on the horizon as the U. S. entered WWI and resultant government restrictions began taking their toll on the brewing industry.

The first came in the Fall of 1917 when the company made the decision to expand into the cold storage business. The announcement appeared in the November 21st edition of Paterson’s “Morning Call.”

BREWING COMPANY TO CHANGE CHARTER

The stockholders of the Paterson Brewing and Malting Company at a meeting Tuesday afternoon in the Katz building decided to change the charter of the corporation and enter in the cold storage business. Brewing will be given up at the Hinchliffe Brewery and the building will be remodeled for cold storage purposes.

Contracts for the conversion were announced the following Spring in the “Morning Call’s” April 5, 1918 edition.

Contracts were filed with County Clerk John J. Slater yesterday, made between the United Cork Companies of New York and the Paterson Brewing and Malting Company, for the alteration of the Hinchliffe Brewery at Governor Street and the Erie Railroad. It is proposed to build over the interior of the plant to make it into a cold storage plant. The contract price is $18,465.

Many of the compartments and rooms of the brewery are suited for the purpose and the alterations are mainly to make it air-tight to conform to the new business for which it is to be used. Composition floors of cork, asphalt and concrete will be installed, and alterations made to partitions, ceilings and doors. William T. Fanning is the architect.

Later that year the company announced that two of its four remaining breweries were closing. The first, announced in the July 9, 1918 edition of  Paterson’s “Morning Call,” was the James A. Graham Brewery.

The James A. Graham Brewery, Straight and Cedar Streets, one of the first establishments of its kind in the city, but in recent years a part of the Paterson Brewing and Malting Company, is to cease operations. It was ordered yesterday at the plant that no more beer is to be brewed there and the brewery will practically be closed this week. Another one of the three remaining breweries is also to be closed.

“The Graham Brewery will practically be closed this week,” said Mr. Hinchliffe, “and is in fact for sale now.”

Two days later the “Morning Call” announced that the Braun Brewery was closing as well.

One more local brewery was abandoned by the directors of the Paterson Brewing and Malting Company at their meeting yesterday afternoon. It was voted to close the Braun Brothers’ Brewery on Marshall Street at once. The company had already ceased to brew beer there. It is not the intention to dismantle the plant, but rather to keep it in condition to operate again should it be deemed advisable.

The trade which was provided for at the Braun Brewery will now be divided between the Sprattler & Mennel Brewery, Marshall Street and the Katz Brothers’ Brewery, Straight and Governor Streets. No further reductions to breweries are contemplated at this time.

The reasoning for the closures was explained in the April 9th story.

The shortage of coal which all breweries in the country are facing since restrictions were placed on their output is said to be responsible for closing the plants. James C. Hinchliffe, treasurer of the consolidated company, when asked as to the reason for closing the Graham Brewery said it was because of the curtailment of fuel to breweries by the government, and that they were allowed now but fifty percent of the former supply of coal…

Since the country’s entrance into the war the output of breweries has been regulated and curtailed. A short time ago a cut of 30 percent was ordered. Now another cut has been ordered into effect July 1, which reduces the output now to fifty percent of what it formerly was in normal times.

Later, in the June 25th edition of the “Evening News” the company announced that the James A. Graham Brewery, along with the old Graham & Co. Passaic Spring Brewery that was closed years ago, were both sold.

Confirm Report Silk Men Buy Breweries

Confirmation of the exclusive report published in the News several days ago that two old breweries in this city have been sold to silk firms was given this morning by the Paterson Brewing and Malting Company.

The James A. Graham Brewey of Straight and Cedar Streets, which has been closed for several months was sold to Janowitz Brothers Silk Co. for $40,500.

The old Graham Brewery on Hamburg Avenue and Matlock Street was purchased by Jackman & Miller, silk manufacturers for $17,000. The building has been used recently by Carlock & Co. Inc., plumbers.

Shortly after the start of National Prohibition the Paterson Brewing and Malting Company  got into the silk business as well when a February 24, 1920 story in  Paterson’s” Evening News” announced they were refitting the old Braun Brewery for that purpose.

One of the largest and most up-to-date silk hose manufacturing plants in the State, one that will contain the most modern and complete machinery in the country, will be put into operation at the old Braun Brewery on Marshall Street, this city, within the next four or five weeks.The project, which is being furthered by the Paterson Brewing and Malting Company at a cost of approximately $800,000, will provide employment for over 200 men and women when completed.

Still in the brewing business as well, on April 7, 1920 Paterson’s “Morning Call” included both of the Paterson Brewing & Malting Company’s remaining breweries on a list of “Beer Bottler’s License Renewals.”

Later that year they introduced a “near beer,” with less than 0,5% alcohol, called “James A. Graham’s XXX Pale.” Introduced in September the brew was advertised in the local newspapers during the Fall and Winter of 1920. This advertisement featuring their labeled bottle appeared in the December 8, 1920  edition of Paterson’s “Evening News.”

Another brand, Salvator, was specifically referenced as a  Sprattler & Mennel product in this December 22, 1920 “Evening News” advertisement. It was available on draught and in bottles.

Their newspaper advertisements disappear at the end of 1920 so how long the Paterson Brewing and Malting Company continued to brew “near beer” is not clear. That said, it’s quite possible that the company continued to brew the real product up until at least October of 1923, at which time Herbert Katz, then secretary/treasurer of the company, was arrested and charged with bribing federal prohibition agents. The story made national news with Patersons “Morning Call” reporting it in their October 19th edition.

HERBERT KATZ, LOCAL BREWER, STATE OFFICIAL,PASSAIC MAN, AMONG 11 TAKEN IN HUGE U.S. RUM DRIVE.

The federal government today fired a double barreled charge into wet forces alleged to be drenching New York and New Jersey with illicit liquor. With one charge federal agents, working under orders from Washington, brought down a bag of eleven alleged conspirators, rounded up in the Hotel Pennsylvania and elsewhere and alleged to have been using $80,000 to bribe prohibition agents not to stop the brewing of real beer in New Jersey, not to intervene with the converting of industrial alcohol into strong liquor and to break the flooding of New York and New Jersey with beer from rival vats in Pennsylvania…

Trap is Set

The round-up at the Hotel Pennsylvania came at the close of the day. Federal prohibition and treasury agents, on appointment made with the alleged bribers, waited in several rooms and took their guests into custody one by one as they arrived. It was stated that a regular weekly bribe of $4,500 was accepted by one of the agents before making the arrests.

The men arrested were Harry J. Foley, former secretary to Senator Edwards and when the latter was governor, and now state superintendent of weights and measurers of New Jersey; Herbert Katz, of Paterson Brewing and Malting Company; Edward Butler of the Peter Breidt Brewing Company of Elizabeth, N. J.; Herbert Muller of the Hygeia Brewing Company, Passaic N. J.; George Seeber of the Rising Sun Brewing Company, Elizabeth, N. J….

Five months later Katz was acquitted of the bribery charge. That said, according to this March 21, 1924 “Morning Call,” story even though he was acquitted of bribery that didn’t mean that he hadn’t been brewing beer in violation of the Volstead Act.

The acquittal of Major Herbert Katz, the Paterson Brewing and Malting Company, and J. Harry Foley, superintendent of weights and measures for New Jersey, after a trial on charges of having bribed prohibition agents to permit them to manufacture and sell beer containing a larger percentage of alcohol than the law permits will probably come as a surprise to many, especially in view of the fact that Mr. Katz admitted having paid bribes to agents of the government.

Acquittal was undoubtedly due to the charge of the trial judge, who told the jury that if they believed the statements of the defendants that the government agents had deliberately sought to make criminals out of innocent men, and to that end had solicited bribes from the defendants, then the latter should be acquitted.

According to the judge, the defendants were not on trial on charges of having violated the prohibition law, but that the charge against them was bribery. It is evident, then, that the jurors believed that the defendants had been solicited for bribes, and on the basis of the judge’s instruction on this point the verdict should be no surprise.

The mistake made by the government was in trying to catch violators of the prohibition law in the act of bribery, instead of going about the business for which its agents are appointed, the detection and arrest of violators of the law…

Not long after Katz’s acquittal a May 2, 1924 story in Paterson’s “Morning Call” announced that the Paterson Brewing and Malting Company had abandoned the business of brewing altogether.

TWO PATERSON BREWERIES LEASED

Sprattler & Mennel Plant and Katz Building in Control of New Corporations.

Coupled with the filing in County Clerk John McCutcheon’s office yesterday morning of certificates of incorporation by the Paramount Malting and Beverage Company and the Hazel Brewing Company came the announcement that the Paterson Brewing and Malting Company will no longer engage in the brewery business and has leased to the newly organized concerns the old Katz Brewery at Governor and Straight Streets and the old Sprattler and Mennel Brewery at 236-248 Marshall Street, respectively.

The Paramount and Hazel corporations were organized, their certificates state, for the manufacture and sale of near beer and near ale, etc. Each has an authorized capitalization of $50,000…

Surprisingly, or maybe not surprisingly, less than three months later both breweries had been seized by prohibition agents. According to a July 10, 1924 story in the “Evening News:”

Prohibition agents, working under the direction of R. Q. Merrick, divisional prohibition chief raided the plant of the Hazel Brewing Company, on Marshall Street yesterday and seized beers and equipment said to be valued at $200,000. This marks the second raid to be conducted on breweries here during the past few months. A short time ago the Paramount Brewing Company plant , at Straight and Governor Streets, was seized by Director Adrian Chamberlain…

The bottle I found has a a crown finish and is  embossed with the “Paterson Brewing and Malting Company” name. Machine made it likely dates to the latter half of the company’s history say 1910 – 1921.  Also embossed on the bottle are the initials “H – K.”

While I can’t be certain, I suspect the letters H – K refer to the breweries of Hinchliffe (H) and Katz (K). According to this 1899 Sanborn Map the breweries were located adjacent to each other on either side of Straight Street, so it’s certainly within the realm of possibility that they shared a bottling department.

If Im right then the bottle likely dates no later than 1917 when the Hinchliffe Brewery was repurposed for cold storage.

On a final note, a  portion of the Hinchliffe Brewery remains to this day.

While just a shell of its former self, today’s version still maintains a resemblance to the 1890 engraving prepared by architects Charles Stoll & Son.

 

Will J. Fox, Oyster Bay, N.Y.

William J. Fox was the proprietor of an Oyster Bay, Long Island hotel and saloon called the Trout Pond Inn during much of the early 1900’s. Originally called the Franklin House or sometimes Franklin’s Hotel it was named after a man named John A. Franklin who was typically referred to as “Capt.” in the local newspapers. The reasoning for this was explained in his July 12, 1907 obituary published in a newspaper called the “Long Islander.”

He was a veteran of the Civil War, having fought in the Third Missouri Cavalry and was honorably discharged.

After the war, 1880 census records listed his occupation as “oysterman” so it’s likely he started his hotel  sometime after 1880. That said, it was certainly up and running in the summer of 1895 when a June 15th “Long Islander” story announced:

John A. Franklin, a hotel keeper, had wells driven 54 and 156 feet deep. He conducts a part of the water into his cellar for refrigeration purposes.

Another story, this one in the October 25, 1895 edition of the “Long Islander” made it clear that his submerged beer kegs shared the space with a large number of speckled trout.

John A. Franklin of Oyster Bay, has a tank in his cellar in which he cools his beer kegs. In the tank are about 100 speckled trout. It is said the largest weighs over six pounds.

The May 1902 Sanborn Map located what I suspect was Franklin’s hotel “D” and Saloon “Sal” near the Oyster Bay waterfront at the corner of Bay Street and what would later become Bayles Place.

As far as I can tell, Franklin continued to serve as proprietor of the hotel and saloon until his death in 1907. At this point, William Fox, who census records suggest had married Franklin’s daughter Mary Anna in 1898, assumed the proprietorship. As early as 1908 Fox was listed as the hotel’s liquor tax certificate holder in the New York State Department of Excise Directory.

By that time, the February 1909 Sanborn Map officially referenced the saloon as the Trout Pond Cafe. The map also indicated that a mineral water works under  the management of a man named Geo. Caspari had been established adjacent to the cafe.

This close-up view of the hotel, cafe and mineral water works suggests they all shared a common driveway and backyard.

 

Sometime in the early teens Fox also became proprietor of the bottling business which, by 1915  was labeled as the Oyster Bay Bottling Works on the Sanborn Map.

Fox’s business card reflecting the change appeared as part of a June 17, 1916 feature on Oyster Bay published in the “Brooklyn Daily Times.”

Fox continued to be listed as the hotel’s liquor tax certificate holder up through the start of prohibition and a May 2, 1920 story in the “Brooklyn Daily Times” suggests he wasn’t adverse to selling liquor  even after the 18th Amendment was enacted.

William J. Fox, a saloon owner, and Stanley Kessler, a bartender, of Oyster Bay, were charged with violation of the prohibition law and held by Commissioner McGoldrick for examination. Fox’s bail was fixed at $1,000 and Kessler’s at $500.

How long Fox remained proprietor of the Trout Pond Hotel is not clear. According to 1930 census records he was still living on Bay Street in Oyster Bay but at that point listed his occupation as none. This March 1, 1926 item published in the “Brooklyn Eagle” suggests he may have given up proprietorship of the business by that time.

The caption below the photo reads:

Mr. and Mrs. William J. Fox of Oyster Bay, stopping for a brief rest beside the great pyramid at Cairo, Egypt. The couple are enjoying a tour of the world on the Canadian Pacific S. S. Empress of Scotland.

In 1940, still living on Bay Street he was working on account as a barkeeper (just staying busy?)

The “Brooklyn Eagle” reported that Fox passed away in May, 1940, leaving his entire estate to his wife Mary. The story appeared that year in their June 29th edition.

William J Fox owner of the Trout Pond Inn at Oyster Bay for many years, who died in that village May 24, left an estate of more that $11,000, according to his will dated Nov. 19, 1925 and filed here for probate yesterday with Surrogate Leon D. Howell. The entire estate was left to the widow, Mary Anna Fox. She is the executrix.

This undated photograph appeared in a feature on Oyster Bay found in the October 13, 1994 edition of a newspaper called the “Glen Cove Record Pilot.” As far as I can tell right to left are the hotel, cafe, driveway and former bottling works.

Today’s view, courtesy of Google Maps, is not all that different.

The bottle I found is a 7-ounce tooled crown. It likely dates to around the time when Fox became proprietor of the mineral water works, sometime in the early teens.

On a final note, this story appeared in the January 13, 1919 edition of the “Evening World.” While it exaggerates the age of the Trout Pond Hotel it’s certainly not the only exaggeration the story contains. That said, it’s certainly worth a read!

Out at Oyster Bay, set among a cluster of antique dwellings on the sands of the beach itself, is one of the oldest inns on Long Island. It is also one of the most remarkable.

Over the door swings a sign which tells the close observer that the place is the Trout Pond Inn. The sign starts to tell you when the inn was established, but it gets no further than “18” – the century is distinguishable but the year has long faded into a weather beaten blurr.

William Fox, the present proprietor has been there for more than 30 years and his predecessor was there longer than that.

If you happen to be the kind of a person he likes he’ll tell you who put the trout pond in the Trout Pond Inn..

Bill consented to show the writer the trout pond, although he said he didn’t like to at that particular time, because there had been an accident a few days ago from which the fish had not yet recovered. However he led the way to a dark cavern underneath the bar, where the sound of running water could be heard.

Suddenly Bill flashed on a string of electric lights and revealed a concrete lined, circular cave, at the bottom of which was a glistening pool of clear sparkling artesian well water.

Submerged in the pool were several beer and ale kegs attached to the spigots on the bar by long metal tubes.

Around the kegs cavorted a dozen huge trout. The smallest Bill said, weighed considerably more than six pounds and several tipped the scales at better than eight. “Tipping the scales”is one of Bill’s standard jokes.

Just then Bill dropped down among the group and brought up a glass of water that was clear as crystal. As he held it up against one of the electric light bulbs the water shone like liquid diamonds.

“See them trout?” he added. “Well there ain’t one that has been in that pool for less than ten years. Now, there’s Jesse, for instance. She’s hidin’ behind the beer barrel ’cause she’s sort of shy with strangers.”

“Jessie ain’t as spry as once she was,” declared Bill. “She is close onto eleven years old now, and I guess she’ll be passin’ out soon. Her father, a trout called Old Bill, whose remains are stuffed and hanging up behind the bar, lived in this pool for twelve years and three months. At that age he died a natural death. This part of Oyster Bay went into mourning when old Bill died. He was the most gentle souled, affectionate trout I ever see. He’d come when I called him and eat out of my hand.”

“All the fish you see here are Old Bill’s children. When Old Bill died he was twenty-five inches long and weighed just a trifle over nine pounds, which is some proportions for a trout.”

“Now you see them small kegs under the water, right next to the ale kegs? Well, they got sherry in ’em.

You wouldn’t believe it, but when I opened up here the other morning I heard a great splashing down in this pool and I hustled right down to see what the matter was. The trout were racing around, chasing each other in all directions and making general fools of themselves.

One of them was lying on the surface upside down and I thought at first he was dead. I couldn’t understand what had happened until I noticed a queer odor of sherry in the pool. Then I noticed that one of the sherry casks had sprung a leak and I knew in a minute that all those fish were plum intoxicated.

The one lying on the surface was sleeping his jag off. The rest were simply having a wild cabaret. I let a lot of fresh well water into the pool and after a while they began to sober up. Most of ’em had had headaches for a long while after.

 

Geo. Grau, 734 Sixth St., New York

George Grau was a native New Yorker who over the course of a 35 plus year period from 1881 to 1917 counted New York City mineral water manufacturer and saloon keeper and later, Huntington, Long Island hotel proprietor among his several occupations.

Grau’s early life was described in his March 16, 1917  obituary published in a Huntington, Long Island newspaper called “The Long Islander.”

Mr. Grau was born in Manhattan December 23, 1858, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Julius Grau. He was educated in the city schools afterward completing his education at the St. Mark’s German School. When a young man he engaged in the mineral water business with success.

His start in the mineral water  business came in 1881 when he was listed with that occupation and an address of 125 Central Avenue in Brooklyn. A bottle exhibiting that initial address is pictured in a publication entitled “A Historical Guide to Long Island Soda, Beer and Mineral Water Bottles and Bottling Companies, 1840 – 1870,” by George Fisher.

Grau’s stay in Brooklyn was short-lived and by 1882 his mineral water business had moved across the East River to Manhattan where it was located on the lower east side at 734 Sixth Street, the address embossed on the subject bottle.

Grau remained on Sixth Street until 1893 when he sold the business to a man named Leo Friedman. An item announcing the sale was included under the heading “Conveyances” in the May 6, 1893 edition of New York’s “Real Estate Record and Builder’s Guide.” It described Grau’s facility as:

…a five-story brick mineral water factory with one-story frame and two-story brick buildings in the rear.

By 1895 Grau was serving as the proprietor of a hostelry and barroom at 395 Bowery called the Eagle Hotel.  A hearing held in regard to Grau’s application for a liquor license was described in a May 18, 1895 story published in the “New York Herald.”

Capt. Louis Wendel of the First Battery, appeared yesterday before the Excise Board to support the application for a license for the Eagle Hotel at Sixth Street and Bowery, of which George Grau is proprietor. The application was opposed by agents of the Parkhurst society on the ground that the house is a disorderly house…

Grau must have ultimately gotten his liquor license because up through 1897 the New York City directories listed is occupation as “Liquors,” at the 395 Bowery address.

Then in February, 1898 he partnered with Aaron Hanover as proprietors of a saloon at 12 Center Street in lower Manhattan. Located near New York’s City Hall the saloon, called the Tiger Cafe, was apparently quite successful until subway construction put them out of business in 1905. The June 20th edition of the “New York Herald” told the story.

TIGER CAFE CLOSED

Subway Building Obstructed Access to it for a Year.

The Tiger Cafe, at 12 Centre Street, patronized by politicians, did not open for business yesterday. A sign on the door said, “Closed for Repairs.” Late in the afternoon Hanover & Grau, the proprietors, filed a petition for bankruptcy.

Aaron Hanover is known as the “Mayor of Avenue D.” George Grau resides at Amityville, Long Island. The firm liabilities are $28,341 and the nominal assets $42,303, including a claim for $25,000 damages against the Rapid Transit Commission for taking certain parts of their premises for the subway and general interference with the business. Loss of business on account of building the subway is said to be the principal cause of their bankruptcy. The obstructions were in front of the saloon for more than a year. Before the subway operations the firm, it is said, refused an offer of $50,000 for the place. They took it in February, 1898, and spent much money refitting it. They leased the premises for ten years at $7,000 a year, and at the start gave a chattel mortgage to George Ehret for $10,000. The place is said to have been very profitable up to the time of the subway building…

Later that month, another”New York Herald” story, this one published in their June 29th edition,  announced that the Tiger Cafe had been sold at auction.

Hanover & Grau’s saloon at 12 Centre Street, known as the Tiger Cafe, was sold at auction yesterday by Charles Shongood, auctioneer, under the direction of Henry W. Sykes, receiver in bankruptcy. It was sold as a going concern in one lot, subject to two mortgages, aggregating $10,700 and $1,166 back rent. There was a large crowd present, including many politicians and friends of the bankrupt firm. The sale opened at a bid of $100  over the charges, which was gradually raised to $1,075 at which price the place was knocked down to a representative of George Ehret, the brewer, who holds a $10,000 mortgage on the fixtures. The big stuffed tiger in the window was included in the Ehret mortgage, and the crowd was disappointed because it was not sold separately.

Less than two years later, Grau was retired and still living in Amityville, Long Island when he leased the Suffolk Hotel in Huntington, Long Island. The announcement appeared in the February 1, 1907 edition of  “The Long Islander.”

George Grau who has been living a retired life in Amityville for some time past, has leased the Suffolk Hotel for ten years beginning April 1, from Landlord Carll. We are informed that Mr. Grau is a man of means and will make several notable improvements to the hostelry at his own expense…  Mr. Grau formerly conducted the Tiger Saloon, on Chambers Street, Manhattan, which was made prominent by having a stuffed tiger in the window.

Shortly afterwards the March 22, 1907 edition of “The Long Islander”  described some of the improvements Grau was implementing..

Charles A. Hallock has begun the task of moving his furniture and other effects to his Centreport hotel. George Grau of Amityville, the new proprietor of the Suffolk, has been in town several days this week seeing about the extensive improvements that will be made this spring to the well-known hostelry. John Hurd is the architect who has drawn the plans, and the work will be done under his supervision. A fine plate glass front will be put in with double doors, and the bar moved back and a small auditorium fitted up in front so that one can enter the hotel without having to go through the barroom. New black walnut fixtures will be installed. The barroom and vestibule will have a fine white hexagon tile floor, and a handsome steel ceiling will be another attraction. Sanitary plumbing will be put in and steam heat will be installed throughout. Every room in the house will be repapered and repainted, and up to date furniture will be used. Mr. Grau says he will run the house in first class shape, and have a dining room and table over which there will be no room for complaint…

“The Long Islander” announced the hotel’s reopening in their May 17, 1907 edition.

The rejuvenated Suffolk Hotel will open up tomorrow (Saturday) under the new management of Proprietor George Grau. Mr. Grau has made many marked improvements in the old hostelry, and promises to give the public a superior service.

As early as June 11th Grau’s business card advertisements were appearing in the “Brooklyn Eagle.”

Not a small operation, a September 8, 1910 feature on Huntington published in the “Brooklyn Eagle” described Grau’s hotel like this:

The Suffolk Hotel, one of the oldest and best-known hostelries in the country, has 25 sleeping apartments and the dining room will seat 60 persons at one time. The house is eighty years old, and has been entirely renovated and supplied with new furniture recently at a cost of several thousand dollars. The building is steam heated and has hot and cold baths. George Grau, the proprietor, is a well known hotel man.

This photograph of Main Street in front of the hotel appeared in the “Official Membership Book of  the New York State Hotel Association,” published in 1916.

Grau served as the hotel’s proprietor until his death in March, 1917. Subsequently his wife Minnie’s name was on the hotel’s liquor tax certificate up through September 30, 1918.

So it appears she continued to manage the hotel for a while after George Grau’s death.

Ultimately, the hotel property was sold in 1921 with the sale reported in “The Long Islander” on November 4th.

The Suffolk Hotel property at Main Street, and New York Avenue, which has been a hotel since 1848, has been sold by the Edward Carill estate to Paul Schwenn, of Manhattan. The purchase price is somewhere around $120,000. The hotel and four stores front on Main Street and eight stores on New York Avenue. No one knows what is to be done with the property…

Demolished several years later, a story found in the April 8, 1927 edition of “The Long Islander” best serves as the hotel’s final chapter.

Main Street, Huntington, looks as if a cyclone has struck it.

Two outstanding objects that have served the people well for years are being relegated to that heap where all things are sent when their usefulness is over.

One is the wood-blocks which has made Huntington’s wide thoroughfare through the heart of the business section a marked spot throughout all the north shore of Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

The other is the old Suffolk Hotel which has stood at Main Street and New York Avenue long before there was any thought of a paved street.

With the tearing up of one and the tearing down of another, it is about all your life is worth to attempt to travel along the Main Street, but as “Every cloud has a silver lining,” the business people and the motorists are looking forward to a new and better Main Street and the new business building that will replace the old Suffolk Hotel will be such an improvement, that from a civic standpoint the village will be well repaid in losing the old landmark.

The bottle I found was blown in a Hutchinson mold. Its embossing includes the New York City address of 734 Sixth Street dating it between 1882 and 1893 when Grau manufactured mineral water at that address. Embossing on the back side includes a monogram of Grau’s initials along with the year 1881, his first year in business.