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"?

Herman Braunschweiger - a fresh look

I'd like to take a moment and share a little about the following  article in advance. The ball got rolling thanks to a gentleman by the name of Jeff Lawrence. Jeff was fortunate enough to have come across a salesman's sample kit. The original owner had been employed by the firm of Braunschweiger & Co. back around the turn of the century. Jeff sent me photos and asked me if I'd ever seen or heard of another. I had. We corresponded back and forth and I decided to research Braunschweiger (the man), his business endeavors, his family, and the legacy that he left us in the form of collectibles. I owe a huge debt of gratitude, in addition to Jeff,  to (in alphabetical order) Mike Dolcini, Rich Lucchesi, and Ken Schwartz. Without their help, this article could never have been written. Rather than make this a single, long grind, I've opted to break it up into a few more manageable segments.

The beginnings

Back in late December I received an email from a Jeff Lawrence. He stated, " I recently acquired a pair of whiskey drummer cases from the late 1800's by Braunschweiger. I see you're an expert at San Fran Whiskey goods and I'm wondering if you have any info on these." He'd also contacted the owner of a west coast auction house and that individual quickly posted a short blurb about the find. However, I felt that there might just be more to the story than simply reprinting what could easily be gleaned from the old stand by stories in Thomas and Wilson.

In a followup email, Jeff added some interesting provenance;
"Several weeks ago I acquired one of the cases from a store in Idaho Falls. Upon further research online, I saw that someone had a very similar case in Utah. I contacted them and was able to acquire the second one from them. They told me they purchased the second case at the exact same location as I purchased the first one and that the two cases were from the same owner. I then was able to contact the previous owner that was in Idaho and he told me his grandfather was the original owner and whiskey drummer who traveled all around particularly in Idaho. He also told me about his great-grandfather who started a resort and was a decorated war hero and that the cases resided in that house where his great-grandfather lived. Upon further research, the dates for his grandfather don't match up if he was the original owner (he may have taken the baton and continued on with it perhaps later but he was under 10 years old when the case and bottles were made/dated). However, the great-grandfather is listed in census reports as being a liquor dealer and traveling salesman in multiple states (California, Nevada, Idaho) and the dates of the census reports are more parallel with the age of the bottles/cases so it seems more logical that this was the primary owner. This cannot be confirmed at this time however as the gentleman I spoke to says it was his grandfather who was the salesman. Maybe there was a different owner before him, I don't know. I suppose it's also plausible that Braunschweiger used these at one time or helped put these together for the salesman...but I have no evidence to support this. Another piece of history that the previous owner shared was that they were rescued from a flood that originated near me in Jackson Hole...in the 20s a giant landslide created a damn of a river and formed a lake called Slide Lake. Everyone thought it was safe as a natural dam and would hold but they were wrong and a year or so later it broke and flooded the Snake River - killing 6 in the town of Kelly. These cases were far downstream in Idaho but located in a house just off of the Snake River so this flood came into the house where these cases were located...but were rescued by one of the family members of the previous owner."

OK, I was hooked. And so, I enlisted Rich's help in obtaining photos of bottles and shots, Kens help with invoices and letterheads and Mike's help with obtaining copies of the original applications for trade mark located in the California State Archives in Sacramento. Me? I've spent the past two months trekking through the archives of time in an effort to fill in the missing pieces of the Braunschweiger saga. Here goes.

Hermann Braunschweiger was born in 1839, in Brunswick Germany. His early years are lost to time. I first picked up his trail in San Francsico in 1871. Contrary to popular belief, his first foray into the world  of Western Whiskey dealing was not with Amandus Fenkhausen! Instead, he and a gentleman by the name of Claus R. Schluter were in partnership together as Braunschweiger & Schluter (retail liquor dealers) located on West 4th, near Berry. Prior to this association, Schluter was listed as far back as 1869 as a retail liquor dealer;  "C.H. Schluter & Co." in partnership with a J. Haser at 115 Post, dealers in wines and liquors.  At that time, Schluter lived at 231 Stevenson. 1871 records state that the W. 4th St. address was both a business and residence ( a common practice with retail down and residence upstairs), and that Braunschweiger shared the home with Schluter. Records from 1872 indicate that they were doing business together at the same address but were now dealers in both groceries and liquors.


For reasons unknown, Braunschweiger disappears from the radar completely in 1873. No reference to his and Schluter's partnership, no record of him doing anything or even residing in San Francisco; although Schluter still remains listed as a retail liquor dealer at the same address. However, in 1874, Hermann resurfaces; only now he's listed simply as a clerk employed by Schluter. Interesting too, is that he has shortened the spelling of his name and eliminated the second "N" in Herman.

1875 saw something interesting; the location on West 4th, near Berry is now listed as being owned by H. Braunschweiger, and is strictly a residence. And, Schluter disappears completely from any and all records. Also significant is that Herman now lists his employer as A. Fenkhausen & Co.. A closer look reveals that the "& Co." was indeed H. Braunschweiger, and that they were importers and jobbers of wines and liquors, located at the NW corner of Sacramento and Front; smack dab in the middle of the liquor district. 1876 and 77 continued on status quo with A. Fenkhausen & Co. churning out whiskey. In 1878, at 414 Front (the corner of Clay & Front - location change or error in the directories?) the firm of "Fenkhausen and Braunschweiger" becomes public record. A mold was commissioned for "Wm. H. Spears / Old Pioneer Whiskey / Fenkhausen & Braunschweiger / Sole Agents, S.F." and the "two name bear" was introduced to the public at that time. This positively dates the 2 namer to 1878.

During the tenure of their partnership the Old Pioneer brand was their flagship. The labels and the embossed bottles that contained the product pictured a side view of a California grizzly bear. It rapidly became exceptionally popular. Business continued on, status quo, until May 11th,1881.

In 1881 Braunschweiger left this partnership to establish one by the name of Braunshweiger and Bumstead (ca. 1881 - 1884). When the split-up occurred, Fenkhausen retained rights to the Old Pioneer brand, as well as the "walking bear" design. Braunschweiger apparently had a soft spot for the bear and as such, introduced his own "bear" brand ca. 1881 while in partnership with Bumstead. It was named Bear Grass Bourbon. In order to avoid patent infringement he had a mold cut picturing the bust of a grizzly bear (as opposed to a side body view). It too became wildly popular.

Up to this point in time, it has been generally accepted that no known embossed bottles existed for the partnership of Fenkhausen & Braunschweiger prior to the appearance of the two name bear. Evidence suggests though, that the two name bear was not the first mold for the Old Pioneer brand.

An applied top mold exists, embossed "Wm. H. Spears / Old Pioneer Whiskey / Fenkhausen & Co.  / Sole Agents, S.F." that does not have the slugged out portion where Braunschweigers name was later inserted (and then removed) and does not bear, (no pun intended - OK maybe just a little),evidence of a repair to the reverse of the body in the form of the vertical patch. It is virtually identical in all regards to the two name near. As such, this could actually pre-date the two namer and in fact be the original mold blown for Fenkhausen & Co, when Braunschweiger was the silent partner (& Co.).  The firm of A. Fenhausen &Co. continued to push the Old Pioneer brand hard until 1893, when the firm dissolved due to the death of Fenkhausen. Subsequent to Braunschweiger embarking on his own, the Old Pioneer mold was reworked into the "repaired" variant that we are familiar with.

Braunschweiger & Co. - the business end

The firm of Braunschweiger & Co. came to be in 1884, (after the partnership dissolution of Braunschweiger and Bumstead on August 9th of that year).

Bumstead leaving for, perhaps, what he saw as greener pastures signed on with Wolters Bros. & Co. as the "& Co."  on August 13, 1884.

Braunschweiger retained ownership of the Bear Grass brand and it continued to flourish.  Braunschweiger acquired the Old Pioneer brand subsequent to Fenkhausen's demise in 1893. A clear tooled top embossed "Old Pioneer" cylinder (two different molds?) for Braunschweiger & Co. was commissioned.

As his business grew and his fortunes increased, Braunschweiger began to introduce new brands. The brands that they had control over, which we have documented, include; "Bear Grass", "Bear Valley", "California Club", "Extra Pony", "Golden Chief", "Golden Cupid", "Golden Rule", "Golden Rule XXX Sour Mash Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey", "Oak Valley Distilling: Brunswick Extra Pony Pure Bourbon Whiskey", "Old Pioneer", "Tennessee White Rye" and "Silver Wedding."

Mike located paperwork filed by Braunschweiger and Co. as claims of trademark, registering seven brands of whiskey with the State of California dated September 12, 1884. They are, Golden Rule Old XXXX Bourbon, Golden Cupid Old Bourbon, Golden Chief Old Bourbon, Golden Anchor Old Bourbon, Silver Wedding Old Bourbon, and Our Choice Bear Valley Old Bourbon.

Many of these names are present on the labels in the salesman's kit that Jeff sent photos of.

The going must have been a bit rough at first though, since on June 4, 1885 Braunschweiger ran an advertisement in the Daily Alta Calfornia seeking a partner in his wholesale liquor store, which was then located at 223 California.

It also makes one wonder who (if anyone) was the & Co...

Stay tuned for part two~

Spring 2012 in Chico!

When 2+2 doesn't equal 4

Got an email the other day from a non-collector. He'd spotted the sign next to one of my display cases pictured on the opening page of the website. Said he'd picked one up at the estate sale of an old gold panner down in Northern California. He went on to say, "I am interested in selling it and was wondering if you could recommend a place to do so and perhaps a "ball park figure" to ask as I am not very well versed in vintage whiskies/bourbon memorabilia."

Here's my reply;

First, a bit of history of Fenkhausen. Amandus Fenkahausen and Herman Braunschweiger entered into a "co-partnership" in 1878. Their flagship brand of whiskey was "Old Pioneer". The labels and the embossed bottles that contained the product, pictured a side view of a California grizzly bear. It rapidly became exceptionally popular. Later, Braunschweiger left this partnership to establish one by the name of Braunshweiger and Bumstead (ca. 1881 - 1885). When Fenkahausen and Braunschweiger split up, Fenkhausen retained the rights to the Old Pioneer brand.

Braunshweiger apparently had a soft spot for the bear and as such, introduced his own "bear" brand ca. 1881 while in partnership with Bumstead. It was named "Bear Grass". In order to avoid patent infringement he had a mold cut picturing the bust of a grizzly bear (as opposed to a side body view). It too became wildly popular.

The firm of Braunschweiger and Co. came to be in 1886 after the partnership dissolution of Braunschweiger and Bumstead. Braunschweiger and Co.  retained the Bear Grass brand at that time. Other brands marketed by the firm included "Bear Valley", "California Club", "Extra Pony", "Golden Chief", "Golden Cupid", "Golden Rule", "Golden Rule XXX Sour Mash Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey", "Oak Valley Distilling: Brunswick Extra Pony Pure Bourbon Whiskey", "Silver Wedding" and "Tennessee White Rye".

When Fenkhausen died in 1893, Braunschweiger re-attained the rights to the Old Pioneer brand. This is a documented fact and an embossed bottle exists to prove this out. However, we do not have any evidence (with the exception of the reverse glass sign) that Fenkhausen ever had rights to or marketed "Tennessee White Rye". We are left with two possibilities, either the sign was a mistake (it is known that both firms ordered bottles, labels etc. at the same time from suppliers in S.F.), or the sign is a "fantasy piece". At this time, there are believed to be around a half dozen examples in collections. All appear to be old and the expense of producing a sign this size on a limited scale appears to rule out the possibility of a fake. And yet...?

Something just doesn't add up... And so fellow collectors; what's your take?

Photos wanted

Good morning all~

I am in need of good, crisp, high resolution photos for the following bottles; Barnett #77,78,81,82. All four are clear tool tops. The photos will be part of a feature article that we've been working on for the past several weeks. Please forward them to me via email in .jpeg format. If duplicates are received, I'll pick out the highest quality photo to post. I will make the neccesary corrections in terms of cropping, sizing etc. but will not digitally alter anything else.

We are also in need of photos depicting Braunschweiger & Co. go-withs, shots, paper, letterheads etc. etc. etc.

Let me know whether you'd like credit for your photos in the footnotes of the article or not; and if so, prefer just initials, or would like your name published.

Thanks in advance!
Bruce

Weather permitting - See you there~