Tag: blob top

H. C. Muller, Far Rockaway, L.I.

The H stands for Henry C. Muller who operated as a bottler under that name in Far Rockaway, New York, from the mid 1890’s up until 1904. However, the seeds of the business were planted much earlier by a German immigrant named Urban Kneer.

Census records from 1880 indicate that Kneer arrived in the United States from Wurtenburg Germany in 1872. In the late 1870’s he was living in Manhattan where the 1879 New York City Directory listed him with the occupation “cider,” and an address of 274 East Houston Street.

The following year he relocated to Brooklyn where he listed his occupation as “keeper beer saloon,” in the 1880 census records. Brooklyn city directories from 1880 to 1886 listed his address as 103 Bushwick Ave. Then sometime in the late 1880’s, he apparently moved to Far Rockaway where he’s listed in the 1890 Lain’s Business Directory of Brooklyn and Long Island (Far Rockaway section) as a bottler on Birdsall Avenue near Guy.

Sometime in 1894 Kneer apparently turned the business over to a partnership that included Muller and Peter C Klein. In 1895, the firm of Klein & Muller was listed at “Birdsall n Guy,” as “Agents for Otto Huber’s Lager Beer, Bottlers of Ale & Porter.” A bottle embossed with the “Klein & Muller” name recently appeared for sale on the internet. It exhibits the same “tree branch” trade mark that Muller’s does.

The following year, it appears the partnership was dissolved and the business was simply listed as Henry C. Muller at the Birdsall Avenue location.

By the late 1890’s, Muller had apparently moved to a nearby location, changing his address to Carlton Ave c. Guy, Far Rockaway, where he was listed under bottlers of lager beer in the 1899 and 1903 Trow Business Directory of the Borough of Queens. A small operation, the Report of The Factory Inspector for the State of New York, dated January 23, 1899, listed the business as having four employees

According to the November 15, 1903 issue of American Carbonator and American Bottler:

H.C. Muller, Far Rockaway, NY, makes high grade beverages and has many customers.”

The October 15,1904 issue of the American Carbonator and American Bottler reported that H.C. Muller had sold his business to Henry Lutgens, however the deal must have fallen through because a month later, in the November 15th issue of the same magazine, there’s a letter to the editor stating that Muller was out of business and that the magazine should be sent to James VanBrunt.

It should be noted that in subsequent years VanBrunt was listed as a bottler with the same address as Muller and his bottles exhibited the same “tree branch” trade mark. Van Brunt’s business is covered in another post on this site.  J. H. VanBrunt, Far Rockaway, L. I.

Carlton has been renamed Nameoke Avenue and Guy has been renamed Augustina Avenue. An old frame building that until recently sat on the northwest corner of Nameoke and Augustina likely once accommodated the business. It has recently been demolished.

The single bottle found is a champagne style with a tooled blob top. It fits the 1890’s to early 1900’s time frame of the business.

 

E Matthews/E Matthews Sons, Hempstead, L I

matthews

According to the “History of Long Island” dated 1903, Elbert Matthews was a life-long resident of Hempstead. At the time of his death in 1891, he was proprietor of the Long Island Hotel and ran a business bottling soda and mineral waters. He ran the hotel for twenty years (dating it to 1871), but the story is not clear on how long he had the bottling business. The 1880 census listed Matthews as a manufacturer of soda water so it probably dates to the 1870’s as well.

This August 7, 1886 advertisement that appeared in the “Roslyn News” points out that the business also bottled porters, ales and lager beer as well.

After Elbert passed away on October 12, 1891, his widow Mary managed both the hotel and bottling business for the next eight years. According to an article in the December 7, 1892 edition of the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle:”

Mary Matthews is the widow of the late Elbert Matthews whose success in the bottling of mineral waters brought him a fortune and an extended acquaintence in Queens County. Mr. Matthews died a year ago leaving his property to his wife. His real estate included the bottling establishment and the Long Island Hotel, a well-known hostelry in Hempstead Village. After her husband’s death, Mrs. Matthews employed a superintendent to run the bottling business and also concluded to run the hotel with the assistance of a hired man.

Mary conducted the business until 1899, when two of her sons, Irvin A. and Charles S. purchased the business. Subsequently both the hotel and bottling business were continued under the name of “E. Matthews Sons.”

By the early 1900’s the business had added liquor to the sale of beer and mineral water as evidenced by this 1906 advertisement that appeared in the “Hempstead Sentinel.” This advertisement is the first and only time I’ve seen the name “Nassau Bottling Company” associated with their operation.

It’s not clear exactly when the business ended but it was likely sometime between 1906, when this advertisement was published, and 1910, when both sons listed their occupation as “trucking” in census records.

On a final note: In the “Hempstead” section of the 1890 Lain’s Business Directory, E Matthews was listed as a ” bottler,” Main c. Centre, and “hotel” at 57 Main Street. The Hempstead Public Library has several historic photographs of the hotel, some after the blizzard of 1888. It was a three-story wood frame building not much bigger than a house with a canopy extending out over the sidewalk. According to the 1903 History of Long Island:

The object of the hotel was to maintain a cozy, home-like hostelry for the accommodation of the traveling public and for those who seek quiet and pleasant surroundings.

A total of five bottles have been found, all different styles:

  1. A Hutchinson embossed E Matthews.
  2. A champagne style (12 oz) with an applied blob finish embossed E Matthews, Lager Beer on a slug plate.
  3. A champagne style (12 oz) with a tooled blob finish embossed E Matthews, Lager Beer on a private mold.
  4. A champagne style (12 oz) with a tooled blob finish embossed E Matthews Sons, Lager Beer on a slug plate.
  5. A honey brown champagne style (12 oz) with a tooled crown finish embossed E Matthews Sons on a slug plate.

The first three date to before the sons took over the business so they’re pre-1899. The first two are probably early 1890’s. The third was found together with the fourth so they probably date to right around the take over date; say 1898 (E Matthews)-1900 (E Matthews Sons). The fifth is a crown top and likely dates to the early 1900’s.

Obermeyer & Liebmann Bot’g Dept., New York City

The founders of Obermeyer & Liebmann were Joseph Liebmann and David Obermeyer, both of whom were sons-in- law of Samuel Liebmann, who founded the S Liebmann’s Sons brewery in 1855.

According to his April 5, 1895 obituary published in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle:

Joseph Liebmann was born in Wurtemberg, Germany on September 8, 1938. He came to this country in 1859 and was engaged in the dry goods business in New York. In 1861 he married his cousin Fanny, the youngest daughter of Samuel Liebmann of Brooklyn.

Seven years later he came to Brooklyn and together with his brother-in-law incorporated the firm of Obermeyer &  Liebmann, brewers, situated between Bushwick Avenue, Forrest and Bremen Streets. The plant has grown extensively and is now one of the largest breweries in the metropolis.

Joseph’s brother-in-law, David Obermeyer, according to his December 17, 1887 obituary in the Brooklyn Times Union, was born in Germany in 1825 and came to the United States in 1852.

In 1868 he associated himself with Mr. Liebmann in business and commenced the business as brewers and malters, which has since become so large.

The business was listed in the 1871 Brooklyn Directory with an address of Bremen, near Forest. Later directories would include the more formal address of 67 Bremen Street

After the deaths of the founding partners the business passed on to their sons Theodore Obermeyer and Henry Liebmann. The Copartnership and Corporation Directory of the Boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens 1913-1914 named Theodore Obermeyer Pres and Henry Liebmann VP. The 1922 edition  of the same directory listed the same officers but listed the address as 50 Stanwix. It should be noted that Bremen Street was renamed Stanwix Street so I assume that the actual location remained the same.

Obermeyer & Liebman incorporated in 1889. The NY Times reported on January 16, 1889:

The firm of Obermeyer and Liebmann was incorporated today with a capital of $300,000 to operate in New York and Brooklyn in the manufacture of malt and malt liquors. The trustees are Joseph Liebmann, Theodore Obermeyer and Henry Liebmann.

It appears that the company began bottling their beers at the brewery sometime in the mid to late 1890’s This legal notice dated February 8,1893 and found in the March 3, 1893 issue of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle made no mention of bottles and stated:

Obermeyer and Liebmann do hereby certify that they are engaged in the manufacture of malt liquor for sale in butts, hogsheads, barrels, half barrels, casks, quarter casks, or kegs with their name or other private marks respectively branded or stamped thereon. That the following is a description of the name used and other private marks or marks branded and stamped or to be branded and stampedthereon, to wit:

OBERMEYER & LIEBMANN, BKLYN NY

That the county in which such malt liquor is manufactured is the County of Kings – Dated February 8, 1893.

Another notice, this one dated September 10, 1900 and published in the September 21 and September 28 editions of several Brooklyn newspapers, included their embossed markings on bottles:

On some of said bottles; OBERMEYER & LIEBMANNS BOTG. DEPT.” arranged in a circle, in the center whereof is a symbol representing the sun, and under said arrangement the words “NEW YORK CITY REGISTERED.” and on the opposite side of said bottles a monogram composed of the letters “OL”

Over the years I’ve have found several bottles with blob finishes that have included this exact embossing.

The bottling notice goes on to mention the embossing of several independent bottlers as well so it appears their beers were not bottled exclusively at the brewery.

Whether these bottlers were exclusive to Obermann & Liebmann or bottled the brands of other brewers as well is not clear.

A June 21, 1921 article in the “Beverage Journal” indicated that Obermeyer & Liebmann remained open at the start of Prohibition making cereal beverages, but apparently hit hard by National Prohibition, they auctioned off many if not all of their store front properties in 1923. A notice for one such auction was published in the May 8, 1923 issue of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

Ultimately, in 1924, Obermeyer and Liebmann merged with Samuel Liebmann’s original company, S Liebmann’s Sons, and the combined business was renamed Liebmann Breweries, Inc.  Liebman Breweries was the name listed in the NY Telephone Directory by 1924.

Information on Liebmann Breweries, Inc., after the merger, is included in the post on this site entitled “S. Liebmann Sons Brewing Co.”

S. Liebmann’s Sons Brewing Co.

Over the years I’ve found quite a few Obermeyer and Liebmann bottles  embossed with a sunshine face. They are champagne style bottles with a tooled blob finish from the late 1800’s to early 1900’s and tooled crowns from the 1900’s to 1910’s. The tooled crowns lack the “OL” on the back.

I’ve also found a tooled crown with the company name embossed in a triangular form.

Finally, I actually found a machine made blob top (only one of two I’ve ever seen from this era).

S. Liebmann’s Sons Brewing Co., N.Y.

liebman

In 1854 Samuel Liebmann, an established brewer in his native Germany, arrived in the United States and for the next 100+ years he and his heirs operated a successful brewery in Brooklyn, New York. Over that span the business was listed in the Brooklyn Directories under the following names:

  • 1858 to 1868 – Samuel, and later his sons, were listed individually as brewers
  • 1869 to 1871 – S. Liebmann & Sons
  • 1875 to 1887 – S Liebmann’s Sons
  • 1889 to 1922 – S Liebmann’s Sons Brewing Co.
  • 1924 and later – Liebmann Breweries, Inc.

A September 25, 1909 story in the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle” provided a snapshot of first year or two of the business.

Samuel Liebmann, founder of the firm of S. Liebmann & Sons, brewers, came to the United States in 1854 from Ludwigsburg, Wurtemberg, Germany, and with his three sons Joseph, Henry and Charles rented a small brewery in Meserole Street. In 1855 Mr. Liebmann, finding his plant to small, opened a much larger brew house on Forest and Bremen Streets, and from his comparatively small beginning it grew so fast that today the establishment, with its great buildings, occupies four city blocks, making the plant the largest and most complete in the East.

A June 15, 1895 feature on S. Liebmann’s Sons published in the “Brooklyn Times Union” documented the company’s early growth mentioning that their annual output had grown from 1,200 barrels in 1855 to over 165,ooo barrels in 1894. Another feature on the brewery, this one in the May 23, 1907  edition of the Staunton (Va) “Daily Leader” stated that by then the output had more than doubled again to 400,000 barrels.

This pre-prohibition growth in output certainly coincided with expansion of the physical plant which was demonstrated by an advertisement printed in the May 19, 1912 issue of the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle.” It included a map depicting the size of the brewery in 1912 and stated:

This drawing shows the great space now occupied by the S. Liebmann’s Sons Brewery, Brooklyn. 58 years ago it occupied but one small building.

Another advertisement, this one in February of 1909, actually showed a picture of their plant at the time.

The business not only grew through physical expansion but also through acquisition as well. The most significant was the Claus Lipsius Brewing Company in 1902. The January 5 edition of the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle” reported the acquisition like this:

Joseph Liebmann of the firm of S. Liebmann’s Sons Brewing Company, told an Eagle reporter Saturday morning that some of the members of his firm had bought all of the stock of the Claus-Lipsius Brewing Company, but that there would be no change in the management or in the operation of the Claus-Lipsius Company…

The Liebmann Brewing Company is on Forrest Street and the Claus Lipsius Company is on Bushwick Avenue. The two plants are among the largest in the east and each is well equipped with modern machinery housed in fireproof buildings.

From the start, the business was a family run operation. After Samuel passed away in 1872 his sons Joseph, Henry and Charles assumed control serving as president, vice president and treasurer respectively. The 1895 “Times Union” feature described the role of each brother.

The whole business, we understand, is divided into departments, of which one of the above named gentlemen is the head. All work together in complete harmony, and the phenomenal growth of the business, placing it among the leading enterprises of its kind in this country, must be ascribed to systematic arrangement. Joseph Liebmann possesses rare financial talent; Henry, as superintendent, has been a mainstay to this company. Charles, a shrewd, deep man, possesses remarkable talents as an engineer, and also as an architect. The three brothers together make a most remarkable combination, and each can fill the position of the other.

The “Times Union” story went on to say that their sons, David, Julius, Adolph and Samuel were also involved in the business at that time.

Julius and Adolph are practical brewers, having studied in Europe and in this country. David has given his attention to the office, and Samuel is acquiring the art of brewing.

By 1913 the Copartnership and Corporation Directory of Brooklyn and Queens listed this third generation of Liebmann’s as officers of the company and by that time a fourth generation was also involved.

The 1895 “Times Union” feature referred to their bottling department as a “departure from their regular line of business pursued for so many years by this company,” and it went on to say that it “had more than satisfied expectations.” Based on this statement, I have to assume that the company began bottling their beer at the brewery not too long before the story was written, maybe sometime in the early 1890’s. As far as I can tell, newspaper advertisements for their brewery bottled beer began appearing in the fall of 1896 further justifying this assumption. The earliest ad I can find was published in the October 31, 1896 edition of the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle.”

The bottling department that in 1895 had “more than satisfied their expectations,” had, by the early 1900’s, become the largest beer bottling establishment in the East.

According to the 1908 feature in the Staunton “Daily Leader,” that year, of the 400,000 barrels produced by the brewery, “no less than 65,000 barrels were bottled in their own bottling establishment.” This picture of their bottling operation was published in the October 5, 1907 edition of the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle.”

The “Times Union” story also mentioned the menu of beers and ales being brewed and marketed by S Liebmann Sons in the late 1800’s.

Three kinds of lager are manufactured by this company, Regular, Rheingold, Wurzburger. In ales, at present use, a stock ale and a porter. These are sold in New York State, New Jersey, New England, the South and Cuba with shipments to all parts in bottled goods. Particular attention is called to the “Teutonic,” a concentrated liquid extract of malt and hops. This was placed on the market in October, 1894.

Originally marketed for medicinal purposes, Teutonic was referred to as “A Valuable Substitute For Solid Food,” and “Recommended and Prescribed By All Leading Physicians.” in this December 19, 1896 advertisement found in  the publication “Brooklyn Life.”

How long Teutonic was on the market as a malt and hops extract is unclear but it apparently didn’t last too long. In April, 1909 Liebmann ran newspaper advertisements announcing that they were now selling their Wurzburger beer under the Teutonic name.

Advertisements that followed in May of 1909 referred to Rheingold and Teutonic as their pale and dark beers respectively.

According to a November 20, 1937 story in the “Brooklyn Citizen,” the company’s signature brand, Rheingold, was adopted as the brand name from one of the Wagnerian operas at a time when the music of the famous Richard Wagner enjoyed its greatest popularity in this country.

When exactly that was is not clear to me. A story in the June 27, 1893 issue of the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle” talked about Liebmann’s exhibit at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, mentioning Rheingold specifically, so it dated back at least that far.

The Liebmanns have acquired, during long years of experience, a thorough knowledge of the tastes of the beer drinking public and have developed from this knowledge the two brands so widely associated with their name, their Wurzburger dark beer and the Rheingold, their pale table lager.

The article goes on to say that:

The Liebmann lager was awarded a premium at the Centennial, in Philadelphia, in 1876.

Based on this it’s clear that the lager beer itself dates back at least to the 1870’s, and likely as far back as the origins of the brewery in 1855.  However, at this point the story refers to the beer as the “Liebmann lager” so whether it was actually branded as Rheingold in 1876 is open to interpretation.

A 1912 photograph of Moeschle’s Cafe in Ridgewood Queens indicated Rheingold was well accepted as a brand by that time.

liebman-photo

During Prohibition, a June 21, 1921 article in the “Beverage Journal” stated that S Liebmann’s Sons were making ice, cereal beverages, root beer and cider. One such cereal beverage they were marketing was N-A-B which they described in advertisements as:

A new beverage made from the choicest products of the farm.

References to the N.A.B. Department of the S. Liebmann Brewing Company appear as early as the April 23, 1918 edition of the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle.”

Another product they attempted to market was called “Scotch Brew” Their advertisements called it:

A malt and hops brew, made by a rare Scotch formula that dates back to 1740 – yet within the law!

The company actually ran promotions to try and stimulate sales. One set of promotions offered a free bottle of Scotch Brew to New Yorkers on specific days.

As Sir Harry’s guest you’re invited to drink a bottle of Good Old Scotch Brew FREE with your lunch or dinner. In the hotels, clubs and restaurants of NewYork on Wednesday, November 22nd.

Later, another advertisement offered a free bottle to anyone buying specific products from grocery stores and delicatessens on May 2, 1923.

Hit hard by National Prohibition as early as May of 1922 S Liebmann’s Sons began auctioning off their retail/saloon properties. A story in the May 21, 1922 issue of the “New York Times” introduced one such auction.

S. Liebmann’s Sons Brewing Company will dispose of twenty-two Brooklyn properties consisting of stores, business buildings, flats, tenements and vacant lots, including ten corners at auction on Tuesday evening, May 23, at 8 o’clock, in the Brooklyn Real Estate Exchange, 189 Montague Street., by the Jere Johnson Jr. Company, auctioneers.

This advertisement associated with the auction appeared in the newspapers as well.

At least two more auctions of similar size followed, one in January of 1923 and the other in June of 1923.

In 1924 S Liebmann’s Sons merged with “Obermeyer and Liebmann” under the name of Liebmann Breweries, Inc. Obermeyer and Liebmann was founded in 1868 by two sons-in-law of Samuel Liebmann and located literally across the street from S Liebmann’s Sons. Information on Obermeyer and Liebmann prior to the merger is contained in another post on this site.

Obermeyer Liebmann Botg Dept., New York City

After the merger, Liebmann Breweries, Inc. according to an article in the February 7, 1926 edition of the “Brooklyn Standard Union,” was still “engaged in the manufacture and sale of near beer exclusively for the bottle trade.”

Their new Liebmann Breweries, Inc. trademarks included  one with”Liebmann Breweries” written in a semi-circle (used on kegs) and another with a circled “L.” (used on boxes). According to the trademark notices printed in several May and June 1933 editions of Brooklyn  newspapers the first was in use by the applicant since April 1, 1924. The second, apparently post Prohibition, was in use since April 7, 1933.

By the time National Prohibition was nearing its end Liebman had positioned themselves well for the sale of real beer again by absorbing much of the competition. According to a March 29, 1933 story in the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle” they had absorbed many famous brands of beer and breweries including Welz & Zerwick, George Ehret’s, Beadleston & Woerz and the Krumenaker Bottling Works and some 30 other brands and that “they will now be bottled as Liebmann’s.”

The March 29 story went on to say that at the end of March they began bottling and storing the real thing prior to the legal sale date.

It is at Liebmann’s Brewery, at 36 Forest St., that the floodgates of beer have been unloosed. Blessed with particularly ample storage space, the Liebmann brewers halted the making of near-beer on Friday and began bottling the real thing – to the extent of 3.2 alcoholic percent – yesterday. And, said Thomas Buechner, chief of the sales and advertising staff, the bottling will continue and the beer will be stored, at the rate of something like 2,500,000 bottles a week until the law says that it may be sold.

This April 7, 1933 advertisement in the New York and surrounding area newspapers welcomed Rheingold back after Prohibition.

Look for this picture in store windows about town. It is the sign of good beer – better beer than you ever had before. And when you see it step right in. Place your order for Rheingold. Remember there’s going to be a landslide and delay may mean disappointment. We want no friend of Rheingold to miss the first real treat in 14 years. Watch for the Rheingold sign in your neighborhood. Then be prompt.

In 1937 the brewery claimed to be celebrating its 100 year anniversary. (To accomplish this feat they had to reach back to Samuel Liebmann’s days in Germany.) A story commemorating  the anniversary in the November 20, 1937 edition of The “Brooklyn Citizen” demonstrated that the brewery’s physical plant and annual output was continuing to grow.

Liebmann Breweries, Inc., is now celebrating its one hundredth anniversary, a full century having elapsed since Samuel Liebmann, master brewer, founded his own brewery in Schmiedelfeld Castle, Germany, in 1837…

Now with a capacity of 1,000,000 barrels per year, the present plant of Liebmann Breweries, Inc. occupies an area of six city blocks in the heart of Brooklyn, and the present Rheingold beer is now available all along the Eastern seaboard from Maine to Florida. In the Greater New York area alone, the company operates six of its own distributing depots…

Throughout the summer two complete eight-hour shifts man the Liebmann plant. Of the total sales at the present time about thirty percent is package goods.

The story went on to say that it was at that time that Liebmanns introduced Rheingold “Extra Dry.”

The event will be marked by the introduction of a new beer, to be known as Rheingold Extra Dry Lager.

The new brew, according to Thomas Liebmann, advertising manager of the company, is an answer to an ever increasing demand for a “dry” beer for those who prefer this kind of beverage to beer having a sweet taste.

A series of introductory advertisements for Rheingold Extra Dry began appearing in the newspapers in November and December of 1937. This one appeared in the December 9, 1937 edition of the New York “Daily News.”

In the 1940’s and 1950’s the demand for Rheingold Extra Dry was fueled in part by one of the most famous and successful beer promotions of all time, the Miss Rheingold Contest. In the contest, which ran annually from 1940 to 1964, entrants would be pared down to six finalists by a group of celebrity judges. Here’s the 1948 finalists.

Then the public at large, voting in bars, grocery stores and delicatessens up and down the east coast, wherever Rheingold was sold, would select the winner who would then participate in their advertising campaign over the next year. Here’s 1948 winner, Pat Quinlan in an advertisement.

An item in the September 21, 1957 edition of the “New Yorker” magazine  provided a good indication of how successful this advertising campaign was.

In what American election is the greatest number of votes cast? The answer is, of course, the Presidential election. In what American election is the next-greatest number of votes cast? The answer is the annual Miss Rheingold contest. In 1956, the vote totaled just over 23 million, this year it promises to be even bigger.

The demand for Rheingold resulted in Liebmann Breweries acquiring the John Eichler Brewing Company in 1947. The Acquisition was reported in the May 29 edition of the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle.”

Liebmann Acquires Eichler Brewing

Liebmann Breweries Inc., has acquired the John Eichler Brewing Co. of New York, an acquisition that will bring the Liebmann Breweries capacity to an estimated 2,500,000 barrels a year, Liebmann Breweries, Inc., announces. Liebmann brews Rheingold extra dry beer.

The purchase, according to Julius Liebmann, president of the Liebmann company, was due to the difficulties which the company has had in completing its postwar expansion program. Due to building operation difficulties, jurisdictional strikes and inability to obtain essential equipment, the company has not been able to expand as rapidly as demand has warranted.

As a result, Mr, Liebmann said, the company decided to acquire new capacity by direct purchase. Eichler Brewing with a capacity of about 500,000 barrels a year, has one of the best and most modern plants in the country, he added. Liebmann has no plans for bringing a new beer on the market as a result of the expansion, but will concentrate on meeting consumer demand for Rheingold, he said.

In 1950 they acquired John F. Trommer’s Orange New Jersey plant telling much the same story in the the (Passaic N. J.) Herald-News.

…Liebmann’s will extensively renovate the brewery and use it to increase production of Rheingold.

In 1964, after 100 plus years and four generations of ownership, the family sold the business to Pepsi-Cola United Bottlers.  The New York “Daily News” reported the sale in their February 29, 1964 edition

Bottlers Buy Brewery

Pepsi-Cola United Bottlers, one of the country’s largest independent soft drink bottlers, said it had bought the 110-year-old Liebmann Breweries for $26 million. Bernard Relin, president of Pepsi-Cola United, said his company had signed contracts with “major stockholder groups” of Liebmann and also offered to purchase all other common shares of the Brooklyn brewery.

After the sale the company name was changed to Rheingold Breweries, Inc.

Over the next ten years competition from national brewers and the cost of doing business in New York was taking its toll on the business and by 1974 Pepsico was threatening to shut it down. The situation faced by the brewery at that time was summarized in New York “Daily News” story on January 7th.

Richard I. Ahern, president and chief executive officer of Rheingold, claims the company has little choice, due to the $8 million loss it sustained last year.

“Its an unfortunate fact,” Ahern said, “that the large national breweries with their out-of-area plants and lower operating costs can actually deliver beer in the New York metropolitan area at lower costs than we can and still make profits.”

Another company spokesman pointed out that the cost of operating in the city was simply too high. The cost, he said, included labor, the delivery of materials and every basic operating expense, even the cost of electricity.

On a side note it wasn’t just Rheingold dealing with these economic realities. The story went on to say that since 1948, 13 NYC breweries had closed their doors and at the time the story was written, only Rheingold and Schaefer were still operating within the city limits.

Chock Full ‘O Nuts Corporation ultimately bought the brewery in 1974 but two years later, according to an Associated Press story:

ended production at its 122-year-old Brooklyn plant and will now operate from its newer, more economical brewery in Orange N . J.

The Orange, New Jersey plant closed a year later in 1977.

I’ve found quite a few S Liebmann bottles over the years, all embossed S Liebmann’s Sons Brewing Co, so they date between 1889 and 1924. They include tooled blobs from the late 1800’s to early 1900’s and tooled crowns from the 1900’s to 1910’s.

This July 7, 1907 advertisement in the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle” listed the locations where Liebmann’s beers were being sold on Long Island at that time. Based on the size of the list it’s no wonder these bottles are turning up here.

One tooled crown embossed with a circled “SLS” matches the trademark depicted in a series of advertisements circa 1909.

I’ve also found a Liebmann Breweries, Inc. export style bottle with the post prohibition, circled “L” trade mark. The embossing on the sides and base exactly matches the description from  a Liebmann bottle notice from the June, 1933 editions of the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle.”

A. Liebler Bottling Co., 402 & 404 W 126th St, N.Y.

liebler

The A stands for Anton Liebler who, according to 1900 census records was born in Germany in 1844 and arrived in the United States in 1865. His son, Joseph Liebler, was also heavily involved in the business

The “History of Commerce of NY 1891” highlighted the A. Liebler Bottling Co as a representative business house of NY at that time and provided the following information.

The manufacture of ginger ale, soda water and kindred beverages and the bottling of beer constitute, as it is scarcely necessary to remark, an extensive and highly important branch of industry in this city. The growth of the business has been especially notable during the past decade or two, and a number of big concerns have come into existence within the period indicated. Among those referred to may be mentioned that of the A. Liebler Bottling Co., Nos. 402 and 404 W. 126th Street, near Ninth Avenue, and that which no establishment of the kind in New York is more widely or more favorably known. They are bottlers and exporters of D.G. Yuengling Jr.’s extra fine lager beer, also manufacturers of superior ginger ale, sarsaparilla, club soda water, etc. and their trade is exceedingly large. The concern is the largest and leading one in the line indicated in Harlem, the bottling capacity being fifteen thousand dozen per day and the beer is exported all over the world. The lager put up here is of distinctly superior quality, noted for its purity, choice flavor, tone and general excellence, while the other products, which are maintained at a uniformly high standard, are unsurpassed by anything of the kind made in the city. The flourishing enterprise was started in 1876, the business being conducted at the present location about six years, and from the first the venture has been a positive and permanent success, the demand for the goods growing apace. The works occupy a three-story brick structure, 75 x 100 feet in dimensions, and are perfectly equipped in every department. Sixty in help are employed, with twenty wagons in regular service supplying customers throughout New York and environs, the trade in soft drinks being principally confined to this city and the country surrounding for a distance of fifty miles. A very large and first-class stock is constantly kept on hand, and all orders receive prompt attention, while the very lowest possible prices are quoted, exceptional inducements being offered both the home and export trade. Mr. Liebler, who is the general manager, is a gentleman of middle age and a native of Germany, but a resident of this city over a quarter of a century. He is a man of energy and enterprise, and is one of Harlem’s solid citizens, being president of the West End Co-operative Building and Loan Association.

The NYC Directories confirm the company’s start date. Liebler was first listed in the 1876-1877 NYC Directory as Liebler, Anton, beer, Lawrence and 9th. Shortly thereafter he began his relationship with the D G Yuengling Brewing Company. In the 1880-81 directory his address was listed as West 128th Street, corner of 10th Avenue, which also happened to be the address of the Yuengling Brewery.

The business incorporated in September of 1887 as the A. Liebler Bottling Co., with capital of $150,000. The 1888 Copartnership and Corporation Directory listed Willian J. G. Yuengling as president and A. Liebler as treasurer. Around this time they began listing their address as 402 West 126th Street. A year later, the 1889 Copartnership and Corporation Directory listed John J. Schmitt as president but the relationship with Yuengling continued.

An undated post card advertisement shows several young guys drinking Yeungling from a Liebler case, having fun and being caught and scolded by an older woman, apparently either a mother or neighbor. The advertisement would not work today!

liebler-ad

The 1895 and 1897 editions of Goodwin’s Official Turf Guide, a horse racing publication, contained a Yuengling advertisement that stated: “Bottled for Hotels, the Trade and Families by A. Liebler Bottling Co., 402 & 404 West 126th Street, New York.”

It’s not clear how long Liebler was the bottler for Yuengling but it appears that they may have parted ways around 1912. That year Schmitt was no longer listed with the business in the Copartnership and Corporation Directories and the business capital dropped from $150,000 to $35,000. Joseph Liebler was listed as president and Anton Liebler as secretary.

Ultimately the business was one of the firms that consolidated to form the New York Bottling Co., Inc. According to the January 15. 1915 issue 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 Co), W.E. Seitz & Co., John F. Hughs, Henry Kracke (Globe Mineral Water Co) and the A. Liebler Bottling Co. The new company is called the NY Bottling Co., Albert Ludorff is president and J. E. Ludin is Tres.

Shortly after the consolidation, the December 23, 1915 edition of the  “New York Times” announced that the A. Liebler Bottling Co. had been dissolved. Four months later Anton Liebler passed away on April 13, 1916.

More on the New York Bottling Co., Inc. can be found in another post on this web site.   New York Bottling Co., Inc.

Anton’s son Joseph relocated just north of New York City to Yonkers, N. Y., and continued in the bottling business. A 1917 issue of the American Bottler covered his move:

The quarter-of-a-century old business of M.J. Cantwell, Yonkers, has been sold by Mrs. Sarah Cantrell to J.A. Liebler of New York City. The sale took place a few days ago. The reason for Mrs. Cantwell selling out was that her son Michael J Cantwell, who has been managing the business since the death of his father three years ago, wished to go into the electrical contracting business. The firm will run under the same name, and the same quality of service rendered  under the old management will be carried out. Mr. Liebler has been in the bottling business for over 25 years, being at one time connected with his father’s firm, A. Liebler Bottling Company. It was through this firm that he formed many business relations in Yonkers, where he is now well known. Mr. Liebler will take up his residence there shortly.

Today most of the area in the vicinity of 402 and 404 W 126th St is vacant. Small, older structures do exist (with garage door openings and offices upstairs) with addresses of 400 and 412 W 126th Street. These buildings could have been used by the business at one time (there’s very little distance between the two buildings and it looks as though they were connected at some point).

As far as I can tell, Liebler lived across the street from the bottling plant in a building he owned at 405 West 126th Street. A January 6, 1921 item in the New York Herald mentioned that his estate sold the building at that time.

The bottle I found is a champagne style tooled blob (12 oz) with the A. Liebler Bottling Co embossing so it dates between 1887 and the early 1900’s (probably a Yeungling??). I’ve also seen pre 1887 bottles on the Internet embossed A Liebler & Co. I’ve never seen a crown finish.

 

I. Ledermann, 750 5th St., N.Y.

ledermann-1

Isaac Ledermann was listed as a bottler at  750 5th Street in the 1890 New York City Trow Business Directory and the  1891 New York City Directory. These are the only references I could find that put him at the 5th Street address. At the same time, the August, 1890 edition of the “New York City Real Estate Record and Guide” identified him as a bottler for the George Ringler & Co. brewery.

He’s also listed in the 1883 New York City Directory at 98 Avenue C with the occupation beer.

By the late 1890’s he’s apparently no longer in the bottling business. Between 1897 and 1899 he’s listed in the trucking business at various Lower East Side addresses. Whether he was in the bottling business continuously between the early 1880’s and 1897 is anybody’s guess?

Today the 750 5th Street address does not appear to exist.

The bottle I found is a pony style soda/mineral water with an applied blob finish. It’s embossed with the 5th Street address associating it with the  early 1890’s listings.

 

 

Henry Landgrebe, Valley Stream, L.I.

landgrebe

This brief biographical sketch of Henry Landgrebe was found in his obituary published in the December 12, 1906 edition of the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle.”

Landgrebe was born in Germany and came to this country about 38 years ago when a boy, settling in New York until about fifteen years ago when he came to Valley Stream, where he engaged in the hotel business and later in the beer bottling business, in which he was engaged up to the time of his death.

Census records (1900) are in general agreement with the obituary indicating Landgrebe was born in Germany in 1854 and arrived in the United States in 1866.

As early as 1878 he was living on East 89th Street in New York City with the occupation of “Seegar” maker. He remained at various addresses in New York City up through 1889, after which he moved to Valley Stream, Long Island where he was associated with the Landgrebe Hotel.

landgebe-hotel

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps dated October, 1910 locate the hotel on the northeast corner of Rockaway Avenue and Scranton Avenue in Valley Stream.

He apparently operated the hotel in partnership with a family member (brother?) named Adam Landgrebe. Both were listed with “hotel” as their occupation in 1900 census records.

According to the Valley Stream Historical Society, in September 1894 School District 24 was organized and while the first schoolhouse was being built, Henry Landgrebe rented rooms in his hotel as classrooms.

When exactly Henry Landgrebe began bottling beer is not exactly clear. That being said, both Henry and Adam were listed as New York State Liquor Tax Certificate holders as early as 1898 so I suspect the bottling operation had commenced by that time and possibly sooner.

After Henry passed away in 1906, Adam remained listed with the occupation of “hotel” in 1910 and was listed as a New York State Liquor Tax Certificate holder through 1918. A year later, in September, 1919 Adam passed away. Adam’s wife Mary listed her occupation as “none” in 1920 census records and, as far as I can tell, no other Landgrebe’s mention “hotel” as an occupation in 1920 census records. This all suggests that both the hotel and bottling business had come to an end by then.

As early as 1934, a story in the October 5, edition of the “Brooklyn Times Union” stated that the Valley Stream Bank & Trust Co., occupied the old hotel site. Today, it’s a Chase bank.

The bottle I found is a champagne style with an applied blob finish. It falls within the 1890’s to 1906 range that Henry was involved with the business.

 

A. J. Lamb & Son, Rockville Centre L.I.

Alfred J. Lamb was a prominent resident of Hempstead and Rockville Centre, Long Island from 1870 to 1935, however, there’s very little information I can find on his bottling business. Primarily a builder, Lamb’s story was told in his February 12, 1935 obituary published in the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle.”

Mr. Lamb came to this country from his birthplace in Terrington, England, at the age of 12 (in 1852). He and his father John Lamb, and his brother James engaged in the building business in Brooklyn. They helped to develop the Putnam Ave. section.

Mr. Lamb moved to Nassau County 65 years ago. He had been a resident of Rockville Centre for the past 50 years. He conducted building operations in Hempstead and Rockville Centre, contributing largely to the development of both communities.

After his retirement he became proprietor of the Long Island Express Company of Rockville Centre and also operated a livery business. In 1899 he was a village trustee and later served as keeper of the town’s poorhouse.

He was certainly engaged in the bottling business in 1892. That year, “A. J. Lamb & Son (John T),” was listed in the Rockville Centre Section of the Brooklyn City Directory with the occupational title of “soda water.” The company was not listed in the 1923 Rockville Centre Directory. I haven’t found any other directory information that would serve to further narrow down the time frame of the business.

That being said, there’s some evidence that A. J. Lamb & Son could date back to the late 1880’s. Among his other pursuits, on May 23, 1888 the “Brooklyn Times Union” announced that Alfred Lamb was opening a new ice cream saloon on June 1. Two years later, a May 1, 1890 story  in the “Times Union” (written around the time he sold the saloon) described the operation.

He opened the place as an ice cream and dining saloon. This enterprise was heartily sanctioned and the place was well patronized during the summer months. In the fall Mr. Lamb, at the request of many young men of the village, converted the second story into a pool and billiard parlor. He also engaged in the sale of cigars and temperance drinks and served oysters in all styles.

At the time it’s wasn’t uncommon for the proprietors of hotels or restaurants to bottle their own beverages so it’s possible that A. J. Lamb & Son’s bottling operation was in business in 1888. At the time Lamb’s son, John Thompson (J.T.) Lamb, who was born in 1872, would have only been 16 so it couldn’t have been established under that name much before then.

It’s even possible that the Lamb family’s involvement with bottling could date back even further, to 1880 and earlier. That year, in the census records, Alfred Lamb’s father, also named John Thompson Lamb, listed his occupation as “grocery dealer.” So, it’s certainly plausible that the family was bottling soda water in connection with his grocery business.

There’s no mention of anything related to bottling in the 1900 census records.

Alfred Lamb would live to be almost 95 years old and I couldn’t end this post without mentioning how he spent his 80th birthday. According to the April 17, 1920 edition of the Times Union:

Rockville Centre, L. I. April 17 – Alfred J. Lamb, a retired building contractor of this village, celebrated his eightieth birthday Thursday by taking up automobiling. He appeared on Village Avenue with a new sedan, operating it with all the skill of an experienced chauffeur.

The bottle I found is a pony (approximately 8 oz) with an applied blob finish. It fits a circa 1890 date of manufacture.

Albert Krumenaker, 512 & 514 West 166th St., N.Y.

 

krumenaker

Albert Krumenaker was in business as a bottler from 1892 to the mid-1920’s.

The business was first listed in the 1892 NYC Directory as a bottler at 167th Street near Amsterdam Avenue. Sometime around 1894 he moved to W 166th Street. According to a March 18, 1902 article in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle:

Nine years ago (1893) Krumenaker built a house at 512 West One Hundred and Sixty-sixth Street…Two years later (1895), the Deputy Water Commissioner said, he built a house next door…

On a side note, the article went on to say that Krumenaker had installed an unmetered service in 514 and had under reported his water usage for several years.

The business incorporated in December 1899. The New York Times listed them under “New Corporations” in their December 21, 1899 edition.

Albert Krumenaker, Incorporated, of New York City, to bottle beer; capital $500. Directors – Albert Krumenaker, Julius Bach and Daniel Guggenheim, New York City.

The business served as a bottler for George Ehret’s Hell Gate Brewery. This is confirmed by an undated but old photograph of a Gramm Logan truck with a sign on the side that read” George Ehret’s, New York, lager beer, bottled by Albert Krumenaker, 508-514 W 166th St, Telephone 69 Audobon. The truck certainly looks like it’s from the early 1900’s.

krumenaker-car

krumenaker-sign

At some point he also became the wholesale dealer for Blatz Beer and in 1912 he ran a series of advertisements for Blatz in the “Evening World.”

Krumenaker apparently continued his bottling operation after the enactment of Prohibition as evidenced by a 1921 law suit described in the May 18, 1921 edition  of Portchester New York’s “Daily Item”

Frank Doll, prominent East Portchester resident, and his Distilled Mineral Water Company, located in the same section, are the defendants in an interesting damage suit brought by Albert Krumenaker of New York to recover $600 alleged to be due him for near-beer and other “soft stuff” purchased by the East Portchesterite, but which Doll claims was stale and unfit for use when delivered…

Mr. Krumenaker asks $600 damages, alleging  that there was an unpaid balance of $335.64 due him for beverages furnished to Doll and the defendant company between April 23, 1920 and October 9, 1920…

The business continued to be listed with the name of Krumenaker through 1925. In later years, the business included 508 to 516 West 166th Street in their address.  After 1925, as far as I can tell, the Krumenaker name vanished from the Directories.

Krumenaker passed away in August of 1927. His death notice is printed in the August 8, 1927 issue of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

At some point, according to a March 19, 1933 article in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, the Krumenaker operation was absorbed by Liebmann’s.

Before Prohibition put a snag in the beer business Liebmann’s has absorbed many famous brands of beer and breweries. They were Peter Doelger’s, Welz & Zerweck’s, George Ehret’s, Obermeyer & Liebmann’s plaza brew, Beadelston & Woerz and the Krumenaker bottling works – and some 30 other brands. With the possible exception of Peter Doelger’s, all of them will remain absorbed, and they will reappear – are now being bottled as Liebmann’s

Today, the houses Krumenaker built at 512 and 514 West 166th Street no longer exist. 508 West 166th Street is an old apartment building that according to apartable.com. was built in 1910 so it appears to have been utilized by the business in its later years (this dates the above photograph to no earlier than 1910).

I’v found two Krumenaker bottles. One is a champagne style tooled blob (12 oz) certainly from his earlier history. It has the 512 and 514 West 166th Street address embossed on it near the base so it most likely dates no earlier than 1895 when he built 514 and no later than 1910 when he added 508. The other is a machine made export style probably from the decade before the start of National Prohibition.

W. Z. Ketcham, Hempstead, L.I.

ketcham-1

The W stands for William Z Ketcham. Born in New York, about 1851, as early as 1880, census records listed him  living in “Hempstead Town Village” with the occupation “bottling.” Census records from 1900 to 1920 listed his occupation “soda business” (1900) and caterer (1910 and 1920).

In the Hempstead Sentinel 1938-1940 files there is a story on Ketcham who at the time was 87 years old. It stated that he ran his business from the back of his house on Henry Street and bottled birch and root beer, ginger ale, cream, lemon, raspberry and plain soda. He also ran a catering business.

Directories and advertisements support this story. In the 1890 Lain’s Business Directory under Hempstead, William Z Ketcham was listed as a bottler with an address of 10 Henry. By 1906, advertisements for his business listed him as a caterer at 62 Henry Street. An advertisement in the May 20, 1914 issue of the Nassau Post in Freeport said he’ll provide catering for all social functions.

ketcham-ad

In 1930, census records listed him as widowed  and living with his daughter’s family on Dureyea Place in Hempstead. Apparently retired by then, he listed his occupation as “none.”

Today 62 Henry Street is an old residence with a large driveway in the back that could easily have been utilized for a catering business. The house could date to the late 1800’s or early 1900’s. Today 10 Henry doesn’t exist and the former location appears to be within the right-of-way of Peninsula Blvd. So Ketcham either moved down the block when Peninsula Blvd was constructed or the Henry Street homes were re-numbered around the turn of the century.

I’ve found a total of 4 bottles, 3 Hutchinson’s and a champagne style bottle (12 oz) with a blob finish. All most likely date to around the mid point of the business at around the turn of the century.