A NEW KING IS CROWNED.
It’s not often that a “new” western pre-pro glass appears. And I honestly can’t recall an undocumented western pre-pro picture glass surfacing since Barb Edmonson published her last book “Historic Shot Glasses” in 1992 (34 years ago).
That day has arrived!
Crown Distilleries was a corporate spinoff of Lilienthal and Co. of San Francisco. Wilson stated that Crown Distilleries was established in 1896; Thomas stated 1899. Both statements are erroneous.
One of their lesser encountered products, bottled in amber fifths, was Crown Cocktails. They, like the early applied top Crown Distilleries variants, are occasionally seen in the hammer whittled, blood red, applied top German Connections variants which date ca. 1888 – 1892.
The Crown Cocktail fifth is also seen in a crudely tooled top western blown amber fifth. Both are embossed, simply, “Crown Cocktails / ready to drink”.
Several years ago, I stumbled across a tooled clear picture miniature embossed simply “Crown Cocktails”. It had a picture of a crown embossed on it as well. It was a previously unknown western picture mini that had been dug in San Francisco. Its association with Crown Distilleries was immediately evident.
And so, a new western mini was born. It appeared to be a later example than the fifths, and I estimated it to date to the mid to late 1890’s; which would align with the estimates of both Wilson and Thomas.
Recently I had the good fortune to encounter, and acquire, a pre-pro glass which completes the Crown Cocktails trifecta. Yep, a picture Crown Cocktails glass. One that has never been documented, and one that I’d never even heard of.
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a great while~
A NEW KING IS CROWNED. Hail to the King.
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