CHEERS! Collectors are raising their glasses – and bidder badges – to beer memorabilia

Written by Barbara Toombs

 

This impressive, large Hamm’s Beer porcelain sign from the 1940s (Lot #8190) is among the beer collectibles – and many other authentic items – to be featured at the upcoming Barrett-Jackson Northeast Auction.

 

Lot #8292 at the upcoming Northeast Automobilia Auction is a Schlitz neon sign from the 1930s/40s

One of the oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic drinks in the world – and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea – beer is as important a part of the fabric of American culture as is the automobile. So it comes as no surprise that those collecting nostalgic items like gas pumps, car dealership signs and jukeboxes of days gone by for their “man caves” or garages are also looking to add beer memorabilia – otherwise known as “breweriana” – to their collections.

A Hamm’s Beer TV “rippler” motion sign was among the beer collectibles at the 2019 Palm Beach Auction.

Beer collector clubs and beer memorabilia shows have sprung up all over the U.S., with enthusiasts clamoring for their favorite items marked with a brewery’s name. That could include anything from beer bottle caps or crowns (an innovation of the 1890s), beer bottles and cans, and brewery photographs to advertising mirrors, signs and display counter pieces – and everything in between.

Among the wealth of memorabilia on offer at Barrett-Jackson’s well-known Automobilia Auctions – held each day prior to the collector car sales at every Barrett-Jackson event – collectors will find a number of fine, authentic beer collectibles – particularly highly coveted items from the 1950s and ʼ60s. While you’ll notice items from household names like Schlitz (check out Lot #8292 at the upcoming Northeast Auction – a Schlitz neon sign from the 1930s/40s), Pabst and Budweiser, offerings from Hamm’s have become increasingly sought-after in recent years.

A 1960s Hamm’s Beer bar-back display piece featuring Sascha the bear sold for $1,725 at the 2019 Scottsdale Auction.

It is said the first beer in America was made by Virginia colonists back in 1587, with the first commercial brewery in the U.S. opened in Manhattan by the Dutch West India Company in 1632, producing “New Amsterdam.” In the mid-1700s, George Washington himself operated the largest beer distillery in the U.S.

But it was in the 1800s that commercial breweries really took off. In 1844 what would later be known as the Pabst Brewing Company was opened in Milwaukee by Jacob Best. It was followed by many others – including one in St. Louis, Missouri, opened by George Schneider, which grew into industry giant Anheuser-Busch.

In 1865, a German immigrant named Theodore Hamm took over the Excelsior Brewery in St. Paul Minnesota, but it didn’t really rise to prominence until the 1950s, thanks to its trademark friendly Hamm’s bear (named Sascha) and its catchy jingle: “From the Land of Sky Blue Waters/From the land of pines, lofty balsams/Comes the beer refreshing/Hamm’s the beer refreshing.”

This Hamm’s Beer light-up chalet-style sign will be offered at the Northeast Auction as Lot #8196.

Hamm’s beer memorabilia comprises an array of beer steins, clocks, advertisements, ash trays, salt and pepper shakes, glasses, decanters and crockery – much of it featuring Sascha the bear, Hamm’s official mascot throughout the brewery’s heyday in the ʼ50s and ʼ 60s. Among the most coveted items from that time are Hamm’s Beer neon signs and “Scene-o-Ramas” made for taverns and bars. Motorized Scene-o-Ramas are particularly prized; some of them measuring more than 5 feet across and featuring working clocks, with others featuring scenic photographs of lakes and streams with surfaces that appear to be moving.

Lot #8291 at the Northeast Auction is a Hamm’s Beer porcelain neon sign from the 1930s/40s.

Other popular Hamm’s items among collectors are “ripplers,” which were produced in 1956 and 1965. The 1956 version of this type of sign is known as the “TV Box Rippler,” as the scenic image is housed inside a frame that resembles a 1950s television set.

Look for authentic beer collectibles – as well as neon signs, impeccably restored gas pumps, service station clocks, porcelain dealership signs and much, much more, including a number of fine pieces from the Doug Kotte Lifetime Collection – at the upcoming Barrett-Jackson Northeast Automobilia Auction at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, June 26-29, 2019. Hamm’s Beer fans will want to take particular note of Lot #8190, a large and distinctive porcelain shield-shaped tavern sign from the 1940s, and a rare porcelain neon tavern sign (Lot #8291) from the 1930s-40s.

Bottoms up!

 

For a look at all the authentic automobilia items being offered at the 2019 Northeast Auction, click HERE.