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There is an abundance of literature that can help research a whiskey brand and its owner.
Some of the better ones are collected here: you can find many
more in The www.pre-pro.com Library.
Whiskey Brands
Bottle Collecting, General
Bottle Collecting, Regional
History of the Liquor Industry, General
History of Individual Distillers
Whiskey Brands
Researching brands and their ownership would be infinitely more difficult if it were not for the
diligent work of Bob Snyder, the founder of the self-named "Snyder Whiskey Research Center". Mr.
Snyder spent many years researching the pre-prohibition whiskey industry and issued two books that are
invaluable for those wishing to learn more about their shot collection.
Whiskey Paper, by Robert E Snyder, 1980
This is a 96-page collection of letterheads, labels, advertisements, and sales information. Many
familiar brands and distillers can be found here. Included are two pages of photographs of shot-glasses.
Available from this website for $20.00,
shipping included. Contact sales@pre-pro.com for
details.
Whiskey Brands, by Robert E Snyder, 2002
A binder containing lists of 6,500 brands and their owners and
date of registration. Mr. Snyder used the binder format to
allow for updates. Note that all of the information contained in Whiskey Brands has been converted to electronic form and is freely available in the Robert E Snyder Whiskey Brand database here at www.pre-pro.com. The database containes over 10,000 brands as of writing (2009)!
Bottle and Glass Collecting,
General
The bottle-collecting world is way ahead of us in terms of
cataloging merchants and distillers who produced shot
glasses. They also have useful ideas regarding displays,
photographing glass, and cleaning out persistent
deposits that one sometimes finds in the bottom of a shot.
There is an abundance of literature on bottle collecting, but
listed below are some of the notables.
The Official Price Guide to Bottles, by Jim
Megura, 2000. Thirteenth Edition, The Crown Publishing Group, New York,
NY: ISBN #0-676-60184-7, $17.95
Availability: In your local bookstore
The Illustrated
Guide to Collecting Bottles, by Cecil Munsey, 1970. Hawthorn
Books, New York, NY: ISBN # 0-8012-3940-4 Availability:
Out
of Print - check used book sellers. This
is a must-have book for understanding the history of glass and the
glass-industry. Lots of nice pictures. While there is nothing
in shot glasses per se, there is an abundance of relevant information
presented in a highly readable form.
Dictionary
of Spirits and Whiskey Bottles, by John C. Fountain and
Donald Colcleaser, 1969. Ole Empty Bottle House Publishing Co. Availability:
Out of Print - check used book sellers
Digger Odell's Official Antique Bottle and Glass Collector
Magazine Price Guide, Vol. 8 Whiskeys, by John
Odell, 2005. Available from
http://www.bottlebooks.com/products.htm,
$34, shipping included
Glass of Cumberland Maryland Area, by Dale
Murschell, 2002. Self-published. This is a
wonderful book on the glassmakers who made and etched the old
shots, including a section on George Truog of Maryland Glass
Etching Works Fame. Contact Dale directly at
mountainmonster@mountain.net for a copy, and see his
website
www.cumberlandglass.org. The text is derived from
the book, but you'll still want to get a copy for the
additional photo's and figures.
Bottle Collecting,
Regional
Redigging
the West, by Lynn Blumenstein, 1965. Old Time Bottle
Publishing Co., Salem, OR. Availability:
Out of Print - check used book sellers
Spirits Bottles of the Old West, by Bill and Betty Wilson, 1968.
Antique and Hobby Publishing Co, Amador City, CA. Availability:
Out of Print - check used book sellers - expect to pay around
$50.
Whiskey
Bottles of the Old West, by John L. Thomas, 2002. An updated and revised edition of a classic, published by Liza
A. Brighton, 61 Terrace View Drive, Scotts Valley, CA 95066.
ISBN #09663143-2-8 $69.95 Limited availability,
order
from Bill Ham P.O.Box
427, Downieville, CA 95936, FAX: 530.289.1228. For
more information, see http://www.bittersbottles.net/
John
Thomas' four earlier books are detailed at www.buywhiskeybottle.com,
and there are links to help you find the books at
Amazon.com. They include:
Whiskey Bottles and Liquor Containers from the State of
Washington, by John L. Thomas, 1998. Amanta,
Soquel, CA.
Whiskey Bottles and Liquor Containers from the State of Oregon,
by John L. Thomas, 1998.
Whiskey Bottles,
by John L. Thomas, 1977. Maverick Publications, Box
243, Bend OR 97701. ISBN 89288-088-2
Picnics, Coffins, Shoo-Flies,
by John L. Thomas, 1974. Maverick Publications, Box
243, Bend OR 97701. ISBN 0-89288-009-0
History of
the Liquor Industry, General
Dictionary of the History of the American Brewing and
Distilling Industries, by W. L. Downard, 1980.
Greenwood, Westport, CT.
The Social History of Bourbon. An
Unhurried Account of Our Star-Spangled American Drink,
by Gerald Carson, 1963. Reprinted in 1984 by University
Press, Kentucky. ISBN# 0-8131-1509-4. Availability:
Out of Print, but readily
available from used book sellers
Whiskey. An
American Pictorial History,
by Oscar Getz, 1978. David McKay Co., New York, NY. Availability:
Out of Print, but readily
available from used book sellers
Bluegrass, Belles and Bourbon.
A
Pictorial History of Whiskey in Kentucky by H. H. Kroll, 1969, Barnes &
Co., Inc. , Cranbury NJ. Availability:
Out of Print, but readily
available from used book sellers
The Book of
Classic American Whiskeys, by Mark H. Wayback
and James F Harris, 1995. Open Court Publishing Co., La
Salle IL. ISBN# 0-8126-9305-1.
Availability: In your local bookstore:
$26.95
History of
Individual Distillers
The
Evolution of the Bourbon Whiskey Industry in Kentucky,
by Sam K. Cecil, 1999. Turner Publishing Co., Paducah
KY. ISBN# 1-56311-486-0.
Availability: In your local bookstore:
$35.00
This is an outstanding book with histories of many of
the old Kentucky distilleries
based on the unpublished
work of Whit Coyte.
Jack Daniel's Legacy, by Ben A Green, 1967.
Rich Printing Co., Nashville TN. Availability:
Out of Print - but readily
available from used book sellers
But
Always Fine Bourbon. Pappy Van Winkle and the Story of
Old Fitzgerald, by Sally Van Winkle Campbell,
1999. Limestone Lane Press, Louisville, KY. ISBN#
0-9674208-0-6.
Out of Print - but available from used book sellers
The
American Whiskey Jug, by Jack Sullivan, 2002.
This is a self-published compendium of articles written for
various magazines. Jack is a whiskey research maestro
and his articles contain many histories of individual
distillers -- albeit with a jug slant. He actually
taught me a thing or two about the Philadelphia dealers and I
thought that I was the expert! Jack can be reached at
4300 Ivanhoe Pl., Alexandria, VA 22304.
The
Whiskey Ceramics of Scotland, Ireland and England,
by Jack Sullivan, 2002. A companion volume to the one
above.
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