"Bricked"

In answer to the “What’s up?” emails; here goes…



Turns out there’s a geek speak term in the computer world called “bricked”. I’ve just gotten a crash course in Bricked 101.


The OS, Win Vista 64, in this computer that I had custom built by Dell about 3 years ago,  has been somewhat problematic but useable. I’ve been able to run compatibility software to integrate old with new programs and the 5th edition of Western Whiskey Bottles (WWB) was slowly coming back to life after the last computer “issue”.


Thanks to Dell who built this thing and Seagate who built & distributed the defective primary hard drive (a 750gb / #7200-11), with a ticking time bomb in the form of faulty firmware, I'm dead in the water.

We were gone on vacation for well over a week at the first part of May, and returned last Monday (5/21) only to discover that the grenade finally detonated when I attempted to boot up the system. My primary desktop was rendered useless. The bios failed to recognize the startup drive and all we got was a simple error message to the tune of no hard drive recognized. Anyone care to run a Google search of the same and then join in a class action?


Now that I’ve vented, many thanks to the tech dept. at my IT, who were successful in at least getting me back up in a marginal fashion using a spare surplus drive running Windows XP. Turns out that the Seagate Free Agent external backup drive which was supposed to be backing up my files, was also not doing its job. Here’s hoping that the firmware fix that Seagate may or may not perform on their “Barracuda” hard drive in the next who knows how long, will resurrect my data.


As such, the photos, research, data, layouts etc. are gone once again; perhaps for good. If so, kiss the 5th edition of “WWB” good-by. This is the 3rd failure of this Dell computer (and subsequent BS attempted fixes by Dell), with consecutive total loss of unrecoverable data, and there’s no more smoke in my shorts (to quote an old pal up in D’ville).

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Time will tell. And as for Dell, well, you can guess where they can go!

Braunschweiger; The final chapter.

Here's a quick summary of what we've covered to date; the salesmans sample, family history and dysfunction, evolution of the business, brands, and his Oak Valley Distilling Co. of Covington Ky. (or not).

We'll finish up with an encore presentation by Herman Jr., take a peek  at some of their paper and advertising, have a look see at some of the glass produced to hold and sample their wares, view the Great 1906 Earthquake and Fire first hand, and finally bid adieu to one of the greats in the western whiskey saga.

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On September 18, 1905 Herman Jr. once again in a drunken rage, makes an appearance. With Herman Sr. on his deathbed, Jr. enters and trashes the residence, breaking a window and cutting his arm. He is treated and booked, yet again.

Braunschweiger employed a number of different bill heads and invoices over the years. Stacks of barrels with the company's brands burned into the ends, and a depiction of the Extra Pony squat quart were recurring themes, as was a litho of their location on Drumm Street.

An ornate "calling card" was also produced. These were considered a must have in the sales arsenal of every successful whiskey drummer. One of these was, no doubt, used by the gentleman who spirited the salesmans samples around Nevada, California and Idaho at the turn of the century. Oh, and there's that pesky Oak Valley Distilling Co. poking up it's head again~

No self respecting saloon back bar would be replete without a back bar sign and matching etched shot glasses for the brands at hand. And so, Braunschweiger obliged. A huge and ornate sign was produced to help along the sales of the Golden Rule brand. Notice the dapper gentleman filling the genteel lass's glass while she gazes longingly into his face. Yep, I can hear it now; "My dear lady, finished already? Do have another shot..."

I can't help wonder if the diminutive glass she's holding also advertised the brand. Actually, it didn't, since there are no documented examples of a Golden Rule shot. There are however, a handful of other Braunschweiger glasses.

Another rare piece of advertising medium is the reverse glass painted sign shown here. An absolutely over the top addition to any advanced western whiskey collection!

As mentioned, numerous brands were marketed by Braunschweiger, and fortunately for collectors, most all were sold in embossed bottles.

The firm couldn't have chosen a worse location to do business out of as the morning of April 18th , 1906 will attest to. According to fire records;

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THE PROGRESS OF THE FIRE IN SAN FRANCISCOAPRIL 18th-21st, 1906
AS SHOWN BY AN ANALYSIS OF ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS

PERIOD ONE

"Crossing to the other side of Market Street, and returning back to the Ferry district, a fire whose origin, around California and Davis Streets, has not been determined to our satisfaction, rapidly devoured the Hanford Block, which occupies most of the block bounded by California, Market and Davis Streets; it crossed California Street, and Drumm Street, and burned along the north side of Market to the East. About ten o'clock it had reached the Terminus Hotel, a large brick building which had recently been built. Fire also started in a building on Davis Street near Clay, reported by a fireman as the Armour Packing House, and rapidly spread East. Before noon the buildings opposite the Ferry Buildingalong East Street, from Market to Clay had all been burned."

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Photos of the area on the morning of the 18th plainly show the inevitable just before noon as the inferno barrels toward #5 Drumm Street.

After the earthquake, the family and the company endeavored to keep their head above water in Herman Sr's absence. Unfortunately, Braunschweiger & Co., like so many others, fell victim to unscrupulous insurance companies who skipped on their obligations to pay for damages suffered by their insureds. Rhine & Moselle (of Strasburg, Germany) was one of many foreign insurance carriers who defaulted in part or entirety. According to the Report of Special Committee on Settlements Made by Fire Insurance Companies in Connection with the San Francisco Disaster;

"RHINE & MOSELLE FIRE, STRASBOURG, GERMANY,

exhibits a very bad record. Its policies contained an earthquake clause and the company denied liability and withdrew from the State refusing to pay any except claims of $500 or less on which it offered 50 per cent. Gross loss was about $4,500,000."                    

No amount of litigation seemed to help. The attorneys seemed to be the only ones benefiting from the tragedy. Some things never change...

And so, on a winters day in late December of 1906, with a complete lack of fanfare, Braunschweiger & Co. quietly shut their doors forever and disappeared into the pages of history.

Again, my sincere thanks to Rich L., Mike D. and Ken S. for their generous help in providing photos and access to many of the rarities pictured in this article. And again, a heart felt thank you to Jeff Lawrence for sharing the salemans samples and their provenance. Without your help, none of this would have been possible~

Thistledew. Well I'll be; again~

My old pal, TQ, once again came through with some amazing "stuff" and what he provided is nothing short of the smoking gun in the Thistledew mystery. Here is where things really start to gel. Look at the broadside in the window. It advertises none other than, Thistledew Whiskey. And, it clearly shows F. Mandlebaum as the Sole Agent for the Pacific Coast; in San Francisco!

An invoice dated 1879 from Mandlebaum clears up two decades old questions. The address on the invoice matches that on the broadside; 312 Sacramento. But this invoice is for Nabob Whiskey! And so, Mandlebaum was responsible for both Thistledown and Nabob. But, check out the fine print on the invoice~ We always assumed that the product, like most whiskies was available by bottle or in bulk in the form of hogsheads. Notice though, the reference to flasks? Ones mind whirls with visions of grandeur when the possibility of a picture flask exists. Look out N. Grange and J. Moore!

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. If you recall in the first write-up, I mentioned the movie Deadwood, as being one of my all time favorites. Little did I know that Deadwood would figure prominently into the Thistledew / Nabob saga. By 1886, Mandlebaum disappears from the picture and Geo. Simmonds is handling the Nabob product himself out of his place over at 215 - 217 California St., less than two blocks away. Note the invoice mailed to... you guessed - Tombstone!

Although Wyatts residency in Tombstone was from 1879 - 1881, he or brothers Virgil and Morgan may well have imbibed of Nabob at one time or another while dealing faro in the Oriental Saloon.

To sum it up, Thistledew had two Sole Agents handling the brand consecutively. F. Mandlebaum had the sole agency for the Pacific Coast in 1879, pushing the product hard, along with Simmonds Nabob. But by 1886, Geo Simmonds was handling the Nabob product on it's own. Thistledew had gained popularity in the silver camps of Nevada by 1887 and was being hyped by a W.O.H. Martin out of Reno. After that point in time, Martin disappears and the Thistledew saga comes to a close.

Well I'll Be...

One of my favorite movies of all time is Tombstone; the one with Kurt Russell,  Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, & Bill Paxton.

One of the many memorable lines, (and my favorite) went like this; Wyatt says, "Well, I'll be damned", to which Doc Holiday replied "You may indeed - if you get lucky".

I may be both~

While perusing the Reno Evening Gazzete November 12, 1887 edition, I stumbled across an advertisement on page 4 which clears up a mystery that's dogged us since John Thomas came out with his first book on western whiskies, back in the sixties.

John stated, "As far as known, nobody has found one of the Thistledew bottles with a label. This bottle is still only believed to come from the West." All but a couple of the few known examples have been recovered in Nevada, Utah and Idaho.

The advertisement spells it all out in a nice neat package. W.O.H. Martin / For Sale Wholesale & Retail / Sole Agent for Reno, Washoe County, and Lassen and  Modoc Counties, California.

 
Well John, you can't get much more "western" than the Silver State! Looks like Tommy Taylor has company now. Thistledew is a Nevada Whiskey.


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Just got an email from an acquaintance on Oahu. I stand corrected. At least two globby Thistledews have been dug in and around Honolulu. A little more "digging" turned up the reason;

This ad appeared on May 24,1886;

Followed by this one from the December 17, 1887 edition of the Hawaiian Gazette. Kinda gives a new meaning to crossover, eh?

New Show Location!

Morro Bay Show this weekend!

March 2012

23 & 24 March 2012 (Friday & Saturday) Morro Bay, California The San Luis Obispo Bottle Society’s 44th Annual Show and Sale Friday 1:00 pm to 6: 00 pm and Saturday 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Morro Bay Veterans Hall, 209 Surf Street, Morro Bay, California. Free admission and no charge to early birds. Info: Richard Tartaglia 805.543.7484.

Braunschweiger continued

The Braunschweiger Family Tree - bad apple and all

The Braunschweigers had three children, possibly four, since I found a passing reference to a married adult female by the name of Mrs. R. W. Bachrach in Herman's obituary. Edward, was the eldest, born in either 1868 or 1870, depending on which account you read, and Frida, the youngest were the two "good children". Edward became secretary / treasurer of Braunschweiger & Co., and ultimately was the one whom Herman handed the company  reigns over to just prior to his death in 1905; ("& Co." - mystery solved). Daughter Frida accompanied Herman Sr. and Mother Eliise on trips abroad to Europe, and Herman Sr. to Hawaii on business. She and Edward steered clear of both trouble and the limelight. Little is known about Frida's adult life after the turn of the century. Edward appears only briefly in newspaper articles dated December 2 and 3rd 1913. The San Francisco Call reported that blonde, 45 year old, five foot eleven inch tall Edward, "retired capitalist and former Wholesale Liquor Merchant", had suffered a debilitating stroke and had wandered away from his home in Palo Alto; whereabouts and safety unknown. He was located two days later, filthy, mumbling incoherently, minus cash and jewelry, but otherwise unharmed.

The third and middle sibling, Herman Jr., was a source of embarrassment from an early age. As is true with so many family's, even today, the Braunschweigers  had a black sheep. Son, Herman Jr., was born in 1873. He was on a first name basis with the S.F.P.D. and his name occurs with regularity in the police blotters starting when he was 17 years old, in 1890.

Described as a wayward son, he was arrested as a runaway and a thief. Worse yet, he had twice stolen family property prior to lighting out.





Father apparently tried, unsuccessfully, to provide Jr. with stable employment and he is listed alternately as a junior accountant in 1892 and as a traveling salesman from 1893 - 1895 with Braunschweiger & Co.. I'm guessing that he became one of his own best customers as on May 1of that year, he was committed to the "Home for Inebriates". Released some time thereafter, he relapsed. Referred to as a thug, and a mean drunk, and unable to hold down a job; he was constantly in trouble. Junior continued his downward spiral and married a "notorious lady" by the name of Sadie Nichols on August 8th 1896. Mother Elise (sic), was distraught over the marriage and died "broken hearted" on July 27, 1899. Meanwhile, by August 18th, 1896 Junior was back in front of a judge yet again, this time charged with lunacy (God how I LOVE those politically incorrect days!). His free fall continued and he in fact, ransacked the family home, located at 2216 California Street, just a few days before Herman Sr. died on October 1, 1905.

Aloha~

The Honolulu Daily Bulletin of July 4, 1893 noted that Herman and daughter arrived that day in Honolulu on the steamer W. G. Hall, from Maui and Hawaii. They contracted to advertise Braunschweigers products in the local newspaper and a constant presence in the classified ads was soon noted for Braunschweiger & Co's offerings. The ad campaign ran almost daily in the Honolulu Evening Bulletin, ending on Nov. 4, 1896.

Note the request that orders be sent by mail. Nothing like overstating the obvious...

This advertising campaign, no doubt, accounts for the examples of Braunschweiger & Co.  "Old Pioneer" and Bear Grass picture whiskies that have been recovered on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii.

They returned to the US on July 19, 1893, bound for San Francisco on the SS Australia. Interesting to note that fellow passengers were none other than Mr. and Mrs. Claus Spreckles; also wealthy San Franciscans...

For reasons unknown, son Edward was back in Honolulu in February of 1899; most probably to check up on family business.

Later, starting on October 1, 1904, Braunschweiger entered into a partnership with Hackfeld & Co. a huge commission merchant in Honolulu, to start yet another strong advertising push.

The last record of Braunschweiger / Hackfeld advertising occurs in the April 2, 1906 edition of the Honolulu Evening Star; a scant few days before the Great S.F. Earthquake and Fire.

Oak Valley Distilling Company (or not?)

Something that caught my attention, was the repeated reference to the Oak Valley Distilling Co. As mentioned previously, Mike located claims of trademark, registering seven brands of whiskey with the State of California dated September 12, 1884. They were Golden Rule Old XXXX Bourbon, Golden Cupid Old Bourbon, Golden Chief Old Bourbon, Golden Anchor Old Bourbon, Silver Wedding Old Bourbon, Extra Pony, and Our Choice Bear Valley Old Bourbon. Four  bear reference to the Oak Valley Distilling Co. on the labels and others actually state "Kentucky".

One brand registration, Extra Pony Kentucky Club Bourbon does not list Oak Valley on the label although Kentucky is spelled sans the "E" thus implying that the product was from Kentucky.

And the embossed bottles have Oak Valley Distilling Co. embossed on the first line.

Oddly though, no where in the applications does it pinpoint the physical location of the Distillery, simply Kentucky.

Later, around 1900, Braunschweiger cleared things up; a bit... Ads began to state that the Oak Valley Distilling Co. was located in Covington Ky. Covington was, at one time, home to numerous distilleries; all documented extensively.

It was common practice to "puff" ones brand of whiskey by creating an association with "Old Kentucky". Period newspaper articles are rife with horror stories about drinkers being made sick or worse by consuming cheap west coast distilled spirits. In order to create an aura of integrity, many western distillers, sole agents and sole proprietors created an illusion of legitimacy by hyping their wares as having been distilled "back east".

Government controls were lax when it came to pre food and drug act liquor proprietorships and agencies. It comes as no surprise that a product distilled, blended and rectified on the west coast might be touted as being something that it was not. I began to wonder if such was the case with Oak Valley Distilling Company. Verifying the existence of the Oak Valley Distilling Co. should have been a walk in the park. Unlike liquor dealers, detailed distillery liquor records were required to be kept by the US Government and in order to simplify things, states were broken up into Liquor Districts. Covington Ky. is located in Kenton County, which was in the 6th district.


Calls and emails to the libraries and historical societies were made. What records do you have of the Oak Valley Distilling Company? Results; absolutely nothing. Period. Lots of photos, documentation, records, billheads and photos of a myriad of other distilleries, but nothing for Oak Valley...


Braunschweiger did indeed register the Oak Valley brand with the govt. patent office on March 10, 1905 and had alluded to the fact that they had supplied goods to him since the mid 80's. And, Snyder made reference (without documentation) to Oak Valley in his whiskey brand database, but US Govt. distillery records come up blank for any entity by that name in the State of Kentucky. Same goes for both Covington and Kenton County records, (where Covington is / was located). I was able to create tax district associations in Kentucky using single word "Oak" or "Valley", but came up empty when both words were combined into "Oak Valley".

I further expanded the search to include any of the major whiskey centers on the east coast and California. Again, no hits. After weeks of exhausting every possibility, it can now be said with near certainty, that there was no such thing as the Oak Valley Distilling Company; except on paper. Now that's merchandising!

Or... does this mystery somehow tie in with the term painted in large block letters on the front of the Braunschweiger Building: "Reimported"?