I recently acquired this neat Pabst Brewing advertising cover from 1900. It has a Barry machine cancel with an oval date stamp and horizontal killer bars. The stamp is probably US Scott #279b.
Pabst brewed its last keg of beer in Milwaukee in 1996, but for a good part of the 20th century, it was the largest beer brewer in the nation. The brewery complex as depicted on the back of the envelope covered several square blocks on the near north side of Milwaukee.
The recipient of this cover was William Langson, the secretary of the Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce. At the time, the Chamber was not an organization that promoted the city and local businesses, as chambers of commerce do today. Rather, the Chamber operated one of the oldest - and at one time, among the largest - commodity exchanges in the Midwest.
There was an enclosure in this envelope, but I doubt it was the original enclosure. Nevertheless, it is quite fascinating. It is a 16-page invitation to visit Milwaukee and the Pabst Brewery that Pabst distributed at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Be forewarned: The prose is over the top and one illustration depicts racial stereotypes.
One final factoid: Pabst Blue Ribbon has been Pabst's flagship beer for over a century, but contrary to widespread belief, it did not receive a blue ribbon at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Pabst Select Beer, which was its best-selling brand, had won numerous awards before 1893, and Pabst had begun tying blue silk ribbons around the neck of each bottle as early as 1882. Pabst did receive a medal and certificate at the Columbian Exposition, but so did other beers. Captain Frederick Pabst, the company's namesake, unilaterally decided to deem his beer the "grand prize winner" and changed the name of its flagship brew from Pabst Select Beer to Pabst Blue Ribbon.
Posted 08/31/2022 3:48 pm
Let me check the beer fridge.
