Oertels '92 Dealer sign and beer tap found in a Germantown attic in Louisville, KY.

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GlassTank

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I'm not sure how to post pictures on this thread. If anybody could help me out, it would be greatly appreciated.

I found these items under the floor boards in my attic over a decade ago and I have not been able to find any information on them since then.

The sign measures 34 3/4" x 9 5/8". All of the lettering is stamped into the metal and the paint seems to be hand applied in layers, as there are tiny ridges going from one color to another. I have not found any manufacturing stamps or anything printed on the edges, though I have not removed the original backing because it is very fragile and shrinking due to age.

The beer taps' button measures 2 1/2" in diameter and is much more heavy duty than it looks. There is a small nick on the front and the depth makes it feel like it is enamel, but I am not sure. The bottom edge of the button has "CRUVER MFG CO. CHICAGO", printed on it.

The handle appears to be made of steel and measures 4 5/8" from where it attaches to the button to where it curves at the bottom. The back of the handle has "CRUVER MFG CO. PAT. APL'D FOR CHICAGO", stamped in the center. There are also very faint letters stamped lower down on the handle it appears to be a W, a 2 or 9 and an L, but I cant be sure.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Taylor.
 
I'm not sure how to post pictures on this thread. If anybody could help me out, it would be greatly appreciated.

I found these items under the floor boards in my attic over a decade ago and I have not been able to find any information on them since then.

The sign measures 34 3/4" x 9 5/8". All of the lettering is stamped into the metal and the paint seems to be hand applied in layers, as there are tiny ridges going from one color to another. I have not found any manufacturing stamps or anything printed on the edges, though I have not removed the original backing because it is very fragile and shrinking due to age.

The beer taps' button measures 2 1/2" in diameter and is much more heavy duty than it looks. There is a small nick on the front and the depth makes it feel like it is enamel, but I am not sure. The bottom edge of the button has "CRUVER MFG CO. CHICAGO", printed on it.

The handle appears to be made of steel and measures 4 5/8" from where it attaches to the button to where it curves at the bottom. The back of the handle has "CRUVER MFG CO. PAT. APL'D FOR CHICAGO", stamped in the center. There are also very faint letters stamped lower down on the handle it appears to be a W, a 2 or 9 and an L, but I cant be sure.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Taylor.



Take picture.


Upload to pic site- instagram, imgur, photobucket etc.

Click on little pic link above. Looks like mountains with a moon.

Insert link.
 
Gotcha. I'm used to just pulling files from a folder. I'll add them shortly. Thanks!
When you use IMGUR if you don't wanna browse a bunch of files you can easily just drag and drop the picture from any folder. If you wanna avoid the border with it just right click on the picture once it's uploaded and select open in new tab and copy that link.
 
When you use IMGUR if you don't wanna browse a bunch of files you can easily just drag and drop the picture from any folder. If you wanna avoid the border with it just right click on the picture once it's uploaded and select open in new tab and copy that link.
Thanks! I'm working on getting the pics up.
 
I'm not sure how to post pictures on this thread. If anybody could help me out, it would be greatly appreciated.

I found these items under the floor boards in my attic over a decade ago and I have not been able to find any information on them since then.

The sign measures 34 3/4" x 9 5/8". All of the lettering is stamped into the metal and the paint seems to be hand applied in layers, as there are tiny ridges going from one color to another. I have not found any manufacturing stamps or anything printed on the edges, though I have not removed the original backing because it is very fragile and shrinking due to age.

The beer taps' button measures 2 1/2" in diameter and is much more heavy duty than it looks. There is a small nick on the front and the depth makes it feel like it is enamel, but I am not sure. The bottom edge of the button has "CRUVER MFG CO. CHICAGO", printed on it.

The handle appears to be made of steel and measures 4 5/8" from where it attaches to the button to where it curves at the bottom. The back of the handle has "CRUVER MFG CO. PAT. APL'D FOR CHICAGO", stamped in the center. There are also very faint letters stamped lower down on the handle it appears to be a W, a 2 or 9 and an L, but I cant be sure.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Taylor.





http://imgur.com/nEBryjV
http://imgur.com/BtkAPM6
 
I found this interesting information about the brewery:

http://www.taverntrove.com/brewery.php?BreweryId=1013

The sign? It's pre-1967, so 50+ years old.

The beer itself looks to have been brewed from 1936 till they closed. So it's from between that date and 1967.

I don't know if you'd find anyone outside of a beer historian that could date that thing to an exact date.
 
I found this interesting information about the brewery:

http://www.taverntrove.com/brewery.php?BreweryId=1013

The sign? It's pre-1967, so 50+ years old.

The beer itself looks to have been brewed from 1936 till they closed. So it's from between that date and 1967.

I don't know if you'd find anyone outside of a beer historian that could date that thing to an exact date.

Thanks so much for the info. From what I can tell they're pre WW2. The advertising in the 50's and 60's has a logo redesign. The steel wouldn't have been used during the war, but I can't find any records of the early 1900's through the 1930's, or examples online for that matter. I like a good mystery, but after a decade of looking around it's starting to drive me nuts!
 
Thanks so much for the info. From what I can tell they're pre WW2. The advertising in the 50's and 60's has a logo redesign. The steel wouldn't have been used during the war, but I can't find any records of the early 1900's through the 1930's, or examples online for that matter. I like a good mystery, but after a decade of looking around it's starting to drive me nuts!

Seriously though, there's a guy on BeerAdvocate with the username of jesskidden. He will likely be able to provide a whole lot more information.
 
Thanks for the lead.
I was able to contact jesskidden and he placed them in the late 30's - early 40's. Though the jury is still out on what exactly the "Tap Handle" was actually used for.
It doesn't look like a tap handle but something attached to the tap handle to advertise the beer. It probably went on the tap before the handle was screwed on.
 
It doesn't look like a tap handle but something attached to the tap handle to advertise the beer. It probably went on the tap before the handle was screwed on.
That is my thought too. The hole is 5/8", and I believe the standard handle size is 1/2". I think it may have been a "customer" facing advert for a plain handle, possibly.
 
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