Cocktail Ephemera Collection Cocktail Ephemera Collection, c.1870s-2000s Ms.2013.027

Cocktail Ephemera Collection, c.1870s-2000s Ms.2013.027


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Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech

Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)
560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
Business Number: 540-231-6308
specref@vt.edu
URL: http://spec.lib.vt.edu

Kira A. Dietz, Archivist

Repository
Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Identification
Ms.2013.027
Title
Cocktail Ephemera Collection c.1870s-2000s
Quantity
1.59 Cubic Feet, 6 boxes; 1 oversize folder
Language
The majority of the items in the collection are in English, but the collection does also include postcards in French, Russian, and German and wine labels in several languages. There is also a receipt in Spanish.
Abstract
The Cocktail Ephemera Collection is a collection that was created in 2013. The collection consists of materials in a variety of formats (i.e., postcards, pamphlets, and adverstising ephemera) relating to the history of the cocktails, spirits, and wine, dating from the about the 1870s to the present.

Administrative Information

Use Restrictions

Copyright for individual items may vary. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives for more information on copying or publishing items from Cocktail Ephemera Collection.

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Alternate Form Available

Selected items from this collection have been digitized and are available online . Additional items will be added to the digital collection as they are scanned.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Cocktail Ephemera Collection, Ms2013-027, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

Initial materials in the Cocktail Ephemera Collection consisted of five individual purchases, made between 2012 and 2013. Additional materials are expected in the future.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Cocktail Ephemera Collection was completed in July 2013. Further description is expected when new materials are added to the collection.


Scope and Content

The Cocktail Ephemera Collection is a collection that was created in 2013. The collection consists of materials in a variety of formats relating to the history of the cocktails, dating from the about the 1870s to the present. Materials include advertising and promotional items; pamphlets with recipes and suggestions for entertaining (party games, themes, and more); and postcards. The focus of the collection is cocktails, but some materials also relate to wine and beer in their own right, as well as ingredients in mixed drinks.

Arrangement

At its creation, the collection was established with three series: Series I: Advertising/Promotional Materials; Series II: Pamphlets; and Series III: Postcards/Cards. The Advertising/Promotional Materials and Pamphlet series are organized into three subseries each: Beer, Cocktails/Punch, and Wine. The Postcards/Cards series is arranged in alphabetical subseries based on cover images: Bars and Restaurants; Beers, Wines, and Liquor; Holidays; People and Scenery; Quotes and Text; and Recipes.

Additional series have been added to the collection over time (as well as additional items added to existing series). Series IV: Labels contains unused labels from bottles, mostly wines, but also some harder spirits and government organizations. Series V: Artifacts includes a small collection of 3-D items that were advertisements or feature cocktails recipes or advertisements on them. Examples of this include a vintage Bakelike faux shaker with recipes on an embedded rolodex and a tape measure with inches on one side and recipes on the other. Series VI: Menus/Drink Lists/Recipes contains menus or suggested drink lists from cafes, bars, restaurants, and hotels. Series V: Receipts includes documents that reflect transactions relating to cocktail, ingredients, and equipment/supplies.

Additional series, subseries, and items are expected as the collection expands.

Related Material

Virginia Tech Special Collections also includes a number of similar and related collections of ephemera and culinary publications:

Ms2011-002, Culinary Pamphlet Collection. Finding aid available online.
Ms2011-022, National Agricultural Publications. Finding aid available online.
Ms2012-040, State/Regional Home and Agricultural Publications. Finding aid available online.
Ms2013-027, Virginia Tech Special Collections Culinary Ephemera Collection. Finding aid available online.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

  • Advertisements
  • Beer
  • Cocktail History Collection
  • Cocktails -- History
  • Culinary pamphlets
  • Ephemera
  • Folk, historical, and patent medicine
  • History of Food and Drink
  • Pamphlets
  • Patent medicines
  • Postcards
  • Wine and wine making

Container List

Series I: Advertising/Promotional Materials
  • [Beer]
  • Cocktails/Punch
    • box-folder 1 folder: 1
      "Barkeeper's Friend" sticker
    • box-folder 1 folder: 1
      Cinzano fan
    • box-folder 1 folder: 1
      "Cocktail Guide" wheel with recipes
    • box-folder 1 folder: 1
      Crigler & Crigler Distilling/Woodland Whiskey ephemera
      c.1906-1907
    • box-folder 1 folder: 1
      Flip-tab cocktail recipes (with "Facts about Wines")
    • box-folder 1 folder: 1
      Harper Whiskey trade card with puzzle
    • box-folder 1 folder: 1
      [Heller Bros., Bristol, VA.] "Complete Price List."
    • box-folder 1 folder: 1
      Prince George Hotel [Nassau] "Planter's Punch" recipe
    • box-folder 1 folder: 1
      The Oxford bar [U.K.] menu
    • folder 1
      "Recipes by High Rock" pamphlet
    • folder 1
      "The Sixty Happy Gloomchasers" recipes, April 1931
    • box-folder 1 folder: 1
      Tolu Rock and Rye standing display
      c.1880-1881
      Scope and Content

      Tolu Rock and Rye appears to have a short history of distribution between 1880 and 1881 (possibly a little later) as a patent medicine.

      Classification of the drink as a medicine in the late 19th and early 20th centuries made it easy for suppliers to avoid unwanted attention from the temperance movement and to avoid the taxes placed on alcohol at the time. As a medicine, rock and rye might be drunk straight, or mixed with hot tea. Recipes ranged from a basic mix of whisky and rock candy to more complex blends with citrus and herbs. Tolu Rock and Rye likely also contained tolu itself, a fragrant tree resin. Following Prohibition, Rock & Rye continued to appear as a cocktail in bars and saloons.

      This item suggests Tolu Rock and Rye was distributed by Donaldson Brothers, New York (likely among others). Contemporary newspapers and advertisements indicate this particular brand of "Tolu Rock and Rye" was a secondary company of Lawrence and Martin Company of Chicago. Rock and rye concoctions containing tolu were produced by several companies.

    • box-folder 1 folder: 1
      Tribuno Sweet Vermouth advertisement
    • box-folder 1 folder: 1
      Southern Wine & Liquor Co. ephemera (ads, mailers, and letters of solicitation)
  • Wine
    • folder 1
      "The Drink Sensation at the World's Fair" poster (Sterling Cider Company)
      c.1939-1940
  • Temperance Movements/Alcohol Prohibition
    • folder 1
      Black Valley Railroad Broadside
      1863
      Scope and Content

      This broadside from 1863 depicts the evils of drinking alcohol through an extended allegory of the "Black Valley Railroad" and its many stops. It appears to have been reproduced by different groups from the original print by the Massachusetts Temperance Alliance (as per SI: https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_557196). This version is hand-colored, contains additional text about the "stops" and costs of alcohol consumption, and was issued by the National Temperance Society in New York.

    • box-folder 2 folder: 12
      Constitutional Prohibition Broadside
    • box-folder 2 folder: 12
      "Dead River Grand Trunk Railway" Broadside/Vinegar Bitters advertisement
      c.1870
    • box-folder 2 folder: 12
      "The New Law" [Text of a California law prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors to minors]
      1891
    • box-folder 2 folder: 12
      Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform Flyers [Do you want to help pub the criminal out of business? and Three steps to temperance]
      undated, but between 1919 and 1933
Series II: Pamphlets
  • box-folder 1 folder: 2
    Beer
    • American Can Company. "Food for Entertaining-Better with Beer."
    • [Carling Brewing Company, Cleveland, Ohio.] "Carling: The Story of Brewing."
  • Cocktails/Punch
    Scope and Content

    Folder includes bartender guides, cocktail and punch recipes, pamphlets with party games and themes, and a "history" of the cocktail.

    • box-folder 1 folder: 3
      A-F
      • [A. Overholt & Co.] "Old Overholt."
      • [The American Malleable Castings Company.] "Cheeri-O."
      • [Angostura-Wupperman Corporation (Later: A-W Brands, Inc.).] "Angostura Delicious-Digestible."
      • [Angostura-Wupperman Corporation (Later: A-W Brands, Inc.).] "Angostura Recipes." 1934.
      • [Angostura-Wupperman Corporation (Later: A-W Brands, Inc.).] "Professional Mixing Guide." 1971.
      • [Arrow Liqueurs Co.] "Arrow Cordial Cookery." 1973.
      • [Arrow Liqueurs Co.] "Arrow Recipes."
      • [Arrow Liqueurs Co.] "Beautiful Adventures with Arrow Cordials."
      • [Arrow Liqueurs Co.] "How Arrow and Waring Go Together like Strawberries & Cream."
      • [B. B. Dorf & Company.] "Cordial Cocktail Confidences."
      • [Bacardi Imports, Inc.] "Bacardi Party Book." 1968.
      • [Barcardi Imports, Inc.] "The Bacardi Party Book." 1977.
      • [Bacardi Imports, Inc.] "Bacardi Recipe Book." 1971.
      • [Bacardi Imports, Inc.] "Be a Drink Expert."
      • [Bacardi Imports, Inc.] "Be a Food & Drink Expert."
      • [Bacardi Imports, Inc.] " 10 Ways to Enjoy Life."
      • [Bacardi Imports, Inc.] "Your Guide to Wonderful Cocktails."
      • Beach, Donn (Also: Don the Beachcomber.). "World Famous Exotic Cocktail Mixes."
      • [Bols and Osterizer]. "Bols Liqueuers Since 1575."
      • [Bols and Osterizer]. "For Elegant Entertaining."
      • [Brown-Forman Distillers Corporation.] "It's Party Time..." [2 copies]
      • "Burke's Complete Cocktail & Drinking Recipes." 1934.
      • [Calvert Distiller Company. (Also: Calvert Distillers Company and Calvert Distilling Co.)] "The Calvert Party Encyclopedia." 1960.
      • [Calvert Distiller Company. (Also: Calvert Distillers Company and Calvert Distilling Co.)] "The Calvert Party Encyclopedia: Your Complete Guide to Home Entertaining." 1966.
      • [Calvert Distiller Company. (Also: Calvert Distillers Company and Calvert Distilling Co.)] "Do Your Christmas Shopping Here."
      • [Calvert Distiller Company. (Also: Calvert Distillers Company and Calvert Distilling Co.)] "Drinking & Dining Recipes from the Original Thirteen Colonies."
      • [Calvert Distiller Company. (Also: Calvert Distillers Company and Calvert Distilling Co.)] "The House of Calvert Party Encyclopedia." 1960.
      • [Calvert-Maryland Distilling Co., Inc.] "Clear Heads Cool Off with Calvert: A Guide to Cooling Hot-Weather Drinks." 1935.
      • [Calvert Distiller Company. (Also: Calvert Distillers Company and Calvert Distilling Co.)] "Suppose He Called This Very Minute?"
      • [Calvert-Maryland Distilling Co., Inc.] "Low-Down on Mix-Ups."
      • [Canada Dry Ginger Ale, Inc.] "Drinks that Delight with Cinzano Vermouth."
      • [Canada Dry Ginger Ale., Inc.] "The Fine Art of Mixing Fine Drinks."
      • [Canada Dry Ginger Ale., Inc.] "When It's Party Time It's Canada Dry Time!"
      • [Carstairs Brothers Distilling Company., Inc. (Also: Carstairs Distilling Co.)] "Carstairs Guide to Better Parties and Better Drinks and Professional Barmen's Recipe Chart."
      • [Carstairs Brothers Distilling Company., Inc. (Also: Carstairs Distilling Co.)] " Carstairs Party Book with Excerpts from the Esquire Drink Book."
      • [Carstairs Brothers Distilling Company., Inc. (Also: Carstairs Distilling Co.)] "The Man Who Cares Says Carstairs."
      • [Carstairs Brothers Distilling Company, Inc. (Also: Carstairs Distilling Co.)] "Professional Barman's Recipe Chart and Guide to Good Drinks and Good Parties."
      • [Chronmaster Electric Corporation.] "The Genial Host is a Good Mixer."
      • [Cointreau Liqueur.] "Cointreau Secrets of Flaming Desserts."
      • [Cointreau Liqueur.] "The Gourmet's Guide to Dining and Drinking." 7th edition.
      • [Cock 'n Bull Products. (Also: Cock 'n Bull Beverages.)] "Cock 'n Bull Products."
      • [Cock 'n Bull Products. (Also: Cock 'n Bull Beverages.)] "The Moscow Mule."
      • [Dell Purse Books.] "Mixing & Serving Drinks." 1963.
      • [Duffy Malt Whiskey Co.] "Old Time Recipes for the Sick and Convalescent." 1910.
      • [The Early Times Distillery Company.] "Barmasters' Secret Recipes."
      • Ellsworth, Mary Grosvenor. [Seagram Distillers Company.] "The Golden Touch of Hospitality." 1953.
      • [Erven Lucal Bols Distilling Co.] "Bols Liqueurs: Recipes for Cocktails, Entrees and Desserts."
      • [Felton & Son.] "Old Rum and Its Uses."
      • [The Fleischmann Distilling Corporation.] "Fleischmann's Mixer's Manual." (3 different editions.)
      • [The Fleischmann Distilling Corporation.] "Recipes for America's Most Popular Drinks."
      • [Four Roses Distillers Company.] "Four Roses Guide to Sippin' and Samplin'."
      • [Frankfort Distilleries, Inc.] "7 Favorite Drinks (and How to Make Them Better)."
    • box-folder 1 folder: 4
      G-L
      • [Glenmore Distilleries Co.] "Let's Have a Old Thompson Luau Party."
      • [Glenmore Distilleries Co.] "The Spirit of Old Kentucky." 1945.
      • [Gordon's Dry Gin Company. (Also: The Distillers Company, Limited.)] "World Famous Gin Recipes."
      • [Hiram Walker & Sons, Inc.] "A Collection of Cordial Cookery Recipes Featuring Hiram Walker Cordials."
      • [Hiram Walker & Sons, Inc.] "Cordial Entertaining by Hiram Walker."
      • [Hiram Walker & Sons, Inc.] "Entertaining with Hiram Walker Cordials."
      • [Hiram Walker & Sons, Inc.] "How to be a Good Mixer."
      • [Hiram Walker & Sons, Inc.] "Quality by Hiram Walker."
      • [Hiram Walker & Sons, Inc.] "A Rainbow of Flavors: Hiram Walker Cordials."
      • [Holloway's Sloe Gin.] "Have You Tried This One?"
      • "Household Guide to Wines and Liquors." 1934.
        Scope and Contents

        Includes a handwritten "Old Fashioneds" recipes on the inside cover.

      • [Irvinware.] "Your Guide to Successful Entertaining."
      • [Jas. Barclay & Co.] "'How to be a Great Host:' Corby's Party Book."
      • [Jas. Hennessy & Co.] "Select Recipes from Jas. Hennessy & Co."
      • [Jose Cuervo.] "Cocktails: Tequila 'Cuervo' La Rojena."
      • [Julius Marcus Laboratories, Inc. (Also: Allied Brewing and Distilling Co., Inc.)] "The Story of Liqueuers including 55 Recipes for Unusual Cocktails." 1934.
      • [Julius Wile Sons & Co.] "Spécialitiés de Bénédictine: Enticing New Drinks, Appetizers, Desserts." 1979.
      • [Kalúha. (Also: Jules Berman & Associates, Inc.)] "Kalúha, Anyone?" 1967.
      • [Kalúha. (Also: Jules Berman & Associates, Inc.)] "Kalúha is Kalúha is Kalúha."1960.
      • [Kalúha. (Also: Jules Berman & Associates, Inc.)] "Kalúha Recipe Book." 1986. (2 copies.)
      • [Leroux Liqueurs & Brandies. (Also: General Wine and Spirits Co.)] "The Cordial Touch: A Guide to Creative Cooking from Leroux."
      • [The Liberty Cherry & Fruit Co., Inc.] "Cocktails with Liberty Cherries."
    • box-folder 1 folder: 5
      M-R
      • [Many, Blanc, & Co., Inc.] "Cocktail Recipes."
      • [Marie Brizard & Roger.] "Liqueurs Marie Brizard: Their Story and Their Uses Including World Famous Recipes for Food and Drink."
      • [Martini & Rossi.] "Ye Olde Tyme Grill."
      • [McKesson & Robbins, Inc.] "How to Make Cocktails and Punches/Wines and Liquors How to Serve."
      • [Melchers Distilleries Limited.] "The Old Bourbon Spirit."
      • "Mixed Drink Recipes."
      • [Mohawk Liqueur Corporation.] "Mohawk Recipes for Mixed Drinks."
      • [Morris Extract Co.] "Your Books of Recipes for Use with 'Cocktail Mix.'"
      • [Patrick Howard Wine and Liquor Store.] "Cocktails."
      • "Pocket Guide to Great Rum Drinks."
      • [Puerto Rican Rums.] "The Light Rums of Puerto Rico."
      • [Ronrico Corporation.] "Correct Simplified Procedure for Mixing and Serving..."
      • [Ronrico Corporation.] "Home Cooking with Ronrico."
      • [Ronrico Corporation.] "The Rum Connoisseur."
      • [Rums of Puerto Rico.] "Wonderful Rum Drinks."
    • box-folder 1 folder: 6
      S-Z
      • [Seagram-Distillers Company.] "Seagram's Vacation-Time Food & Drink Guide."
      • [Sheridan Bar and Package Store.] "All-in-Vue 84 Drinks for You: A Recipe Book with a Great Deal of Other Valuable Information."
      • [Siboney Distilling Corporation.] "Fifty Delicious Rum Recipes."
      • [Southern Comfort Corporation.] "After Five Happy Hours Barguide." 1978.
      • [Southern Comfort Corporation.] "Barmate Home Bartenders Guide to Expert Drink Mixing."
      • [Southern Comfort Corporation.] "Beachcombers' Barguide." 1971.
      • [Southern Comfort Corporation.] "From New York and Restaurants at the World's Fair: 46 Great Drinks." 1961.
      • [Southern Comfort Corporation.] "45 Great Drink Recipes." 1970.
      • [Southern Comfort Corporation.] "Happy Hour Barguide." 1969. [2 copies]
      • [Southern Comfort Corporation.] "Happy Hour Barguide: 45 Prize Recipes."
      • [Southern Comfort Corporation.] "History of Mixed Drinks and How to Mix 42 Great Ones."
      • [Southern Comfort Corporation.] "How to Make the 44 Drinks that Put Life in Your Party."
      • [Southern Comfort Corporation.] "How to Make 44 Favorite Party Drinks."
      • [Southern Comfort Corporation.] "How to Make 32 After-Sport Drinks." 1961.
      • [Southern Comfort Corporation.] "How to Make the 32 Drinks Guests Most Often Ask For." 1958. (2 copies.)
      • [Southern Comfort Corporation.] "How to Make the 32 Most Popular Drinks."
      • [Southern Comfort Corporation.] "The Lively Life Barguide: Home Bartenders' Guide to Being a Great Mixer."
      • [Southern Comfort Corporation.] "The Sip into Something Comfortable...Barguide." 1977.
      • [Southern Comfort Corporation.] "Southern Comfort Party Book." 1952.
      • [Southern Comfort Corporation.] "World-Wide Bar Guide: Famous Drink Recipes from Famous Places."
      • [Ste. Pierre Smirnoff Fls.] "How to Give a Vodka Party."
      • [Ste. Pierre Smirnoff Fls.] "Smirnoff Citrus Summer." 1983.
      • [Ste. Pierre Smirnoff Fls.] "The Smirnoff Football Brunch and Seven Other Great Brunch Ideas."
      • [Ste. Pierre Smirnoff Fls.] " Smirnoff Summer Classics." 1982.
      • [Ste. Pierre Smirnoff Fls.] "Suddenly Everyone's Drinking Smirnoff Vodka."
      • [Tail o' the Cock restaurant, California.] "The Tail of the Cock."
      • [W. H. Haller Co., Inc.] "Haller's Mixing Guide."
      • [West Bend Aluminum Co.] "Tipple Tips." 1934.
      • [Worch Cigar Co.] "For Snake Bites or Somethin!"
      • Yaskell, Robert, comp. and ed. "The Complete Party Manual and Bartender's Guide." 1985.
  • box-folder 2 folder: 7
    Non-Alcoholic
    • National W. C. T. U. Publishing House. c.1919-1933.
  • box-folder 2 folder: 13
    Wine
    Scope and Content

    Folder includes a guide for vintage Italian wine, as well as recipes for cooking with wine.

    • Cresta Blanca Wine Company. "Ways with Port."
    • "Cresca Fin-o-Sher: The Wine Sauce with the Fine Old Flavor."
    • Garvin, Fernande. "French Wine Handbook." 1972.
    • Italian Wine Promotion Center. "Vintage Guide to Fine Italian Wines." 1980.
    • Louis M. Martini. "The California Wines of Louis M. Martini."
    • Pleasant Valley Wine Co. "Let's Take the Guesswork Out of Serving Wine."
    • Pleasant Valley Wine Co. "Party Punches with Great Western Wines and Champagnes."
    • The Taylor Wine Company. "Dine with Wine." 1962.
    • The Taylor Wine Company. "Light and Bright Foods."
    • The Taylor Wine Company. "Sparkling Hospitality."
    • The Taylor Wine Company. "Success with Game in Camp or Kitchen." 1964.
    • The Taylor Wine Company, Inc. "Wines for Everyday Enjoyment."
    • "Where German Wine Grows."
    • Wine Advisory Board. "Adventures in Wine Cookery."
    • Wine Advisory Board. "Fish Dishes with Wine."
    • Wine Advisory Board. "Hostess Book of Favorite Wine Recipes."
    • Wine Advisory Board. "How to Cook with California Wines: 81 Delicious Secrets of Wine Cookery."
    • Wine Advisory Board. "How to Make Punches & Other Mixed Drinks with California Wines: 58 Easy Recipes for Year-Round Refreshment."
    • Wine Advisory Board. "Recipes to Help You Discover the Extra Pleasure of Meats with Wine."
    • Wine Advisory Board. "17 Wonderful Ways to Combine Fish with Wine."
    • Wine Advisory Board. "Wine Cookery...The Easy Way."
Series III: Postcards/Cards
  • box-folder 2 folder: 1
    Bars and Restaurants (Specific/Named)
  • box-folder 2 folder: 2
    Beers, Wines, and Liquor (Specific/Named)
  • box-folder 2 folder: 3
    Holidays
  • box-folder 2 folder: 4
    People and Scenery
  • box-folder 2 folder: 5
    Quotes and Text
  • box-folder 2 folder: 6
    Recipes
Series IV: Labels
  • box-folder 2 folder: 10
    Government
  • box-folder 2 folder: 8
    Spirits
  • box-folder 2 folder: 11
    Wine
Series V: Artifacts
  • box 5
    Bar Aid [in original box]
    Scope and Contents

    This item consists of a spool with cocktail recipes inside of a metal casing. The casing includes a list of recipes, the directions for which can be seen through a window at the. A wheel allows one to cycle through the recipes.

  • box 3
    Baron Fougner's Bar Guide [scroll case with cocktail and food recipes in original box]
    1940
  • box 4
    The Black Clawson Company Cocktail Mixer
  • box 6
    Mr. Bartender Cocktail Set [in original box]
  • box 3
    "Cocktail Mix-o-Meter" [in original box]
  • box 4
    Cocktail recipe charm bracelet
  • box-folder 2 folder: 14
    "Free Drinks: A Wonderful Card Trick."
  • box-folder 2 folder: 14
    Hand Blocked Colored Prints of the Gay 90's. [Boxed cocktail napkin set]
    c.1930s-1940s
    Scope and Content

    Eight cocktail napkins with printed illustrations, in the manner of Jazz Age cartoonist, John Held, Jr. Printed in red, blue, yellow, green, and pink, comic scenes are drawn in a mock-archaic style: carousers sing and drink; a man rides a velocipede, a cop drinks a beer, a drunk man leans on a wooden cigar statue.

  • box 5
    Home Bartender's Order Pad
  • box 3
    Keychain recipes, "Mix 'n Drink"
  • box 5
    Mixer's Index [in original box]
    c.1960s?
    Scope and Contents

    This item consists of a metal and plastic casing with cocktail recipes on cards inside. Using the selector to pick a card number, the release bar pops open the lid to reveal the recipes on the card. The selector also includes an index tab/card and the original pencil included so the owner could make notes on recipes.

  • box 5
    "On Me" game [in original box]
    c.1934
    Scope and Contents

    Produced by the House of Gadgets, Inc., probably c. 1934, this post-Prohibition game includes an oilcloth "board" and a Bakelite and metal spinner. Panels on the board were labeled with different cocktails on which players could place bets. The spinner would produce a square number and odds for paying out the bet.

    A previous version of the game was issued as early as the 1920s by the Imperial Brass Manufacutring Co. House of Gadgets, Inc. made the spinners for the 1920s version, as well as for this later one. In 1934, "On Me" was trademarked as the new name, which suggests the date for this particular item.

  • box 4
    Pabst Blue Ribbon Can Coin Bank and Mini-Bottle [in original box]
  • box 3
    Spinning cylinder with recipes
  • box 3
    Tape measure advertising H. Kohnstamm & Co. pigments, featuring inches on one side of the tape and cocktail recipes on the other
    1919
  • box 4
    Vintage chrome faux cocktail shaker with Bakelite recipe rolodex
    c.1918?
  • box 5
    Wonder Bar [in original box]
    n.d., but likely 1940s-1950s
    Scope and Contents

    This item consists of a tabletop miniature bar, decorated with small bottle-topped cocktail picks and a tiny book of recipes.

Series IV: Menus/Drink Lists/Recipes
  • box-folder 2 folder: 9
    Collection of Handwritten Recipes
    likely Prohibition era (1919-1933)
    Scope and Content

    Four handwritten recipes for liquor, most likely used during Prohibition. Recipes for:

    SWEDISH RAISIN JACK: Brown Sugar, Rye or Cornmeal, Seedless Raisins, Yeast, etc. The recipe says it was copied from the Swedish Monthly Paper - TEKNISK TIDSKIRIFT, Feb. 1923. REAL OLD GORDON GIN, with a recipe for a Gin Ricky at the end. Two recipes are written on Hotel stationary from the MANSION HOUSE, Reading PA. The first of these recipes is for a peach liquor, the other is for FRED'S MASH MIXTURE, using Rye and Corn.

  • box-folder 2 folder: 9
    Foreign Club Cafe and Bar
  • box-folder 2 folder: 9
    Penobscot Exchange Hotel
Series V: Receipts
  • box-folder 2 folder: 15
    Receipt for payment, Compania Ron Barcadi S.A.
    1955-08-17Spanish; Castilian.
    Scope and Content

    Spanish language receipt for the purchase of 125 Bacardi bottle lids.