Vol. 6, No. 2, Monday October 26, 2009

THE COMMON STUFF
by dick bales

The Detricks: Variations
of a

Common Glass

In the October 15, 2009, SOTW, Robin commented that “One could clearly spend a lifetime collecting variants of even the common glasses. Dick, sounds like another “Common Stuff” article to me! Start with Detricks?”

Actually, I have already done at least one such article. The May 5, 2007, issue of “The Common Stuff” featured an article on the Zahringer glasses and all their variations. But I have also written articles on Sunny Brook glasses (September 3, 2004), Hayner glasses (February 2, 2005), the Burrichter Bros. glasses (December 22, 2006), and the glasses of East Dubuque, Illinois (June 1, 2008).

Readers may recall that Robin tossed out a similar remark to me when he wrote in the March 24, 2009, SOTW that “I also think of Minnesota as being the state that gave us the greatest number of instantly forgettable glasses, most of which originated from Minneapolis. No doubt Dick Bales will be spurred to prove me wrong in a future edition of The Common Stuff.” Just like a few months ago, I am again prepared to accept his challenge.

The following historical information is taken from the pre-pro website.
J. Frank Detrick established a milling company in 1884, but he later began fermenting the grain he was milling and then turned it into liquor. The "Detrick Milling and Distilling Company" was established in 1897.
 
The Detrick Distillery (registered distillery No. 60, in the 10th District) was located in Tippecanoe City (now Tipp City), Ohio, about 30 miles north of Dayton.

The Detrick Distilling Co. retail store and mail order department was located at 313-315 E 1st. Street. Its postal address was "Lockbox 301." This was in 1907. By 1908, the company was shipping from 35 S. Ludlow, with a postal address of "Lockbox 928".

The company also had a branch in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which was listed in the 1912 and 1913 directories at 225 E 11th St. under the name, “Dietrich.”
With the onset of Prohibition, Frank Detrick returned to milling under the name of the Detrick Grain and Mercantile Company.

The company is most famous for its "motto jugs” or "toast jugs," as the company called them in its advertising. They stood about 4-1/2" tall and were filled with Detrick's Private Stock and were offered as a free gift to new customers, along with the shot glasses and a corkscrew. Twelve different jugs were offered:

1: "As I go up the hill of prosperity, may I never meet a friend."
2: "Eat, drink and be merry."
3: "While we live, let's live."
4: "May fortune ever smile on you."
5: "To err is human, to forgive divine."
6: "There's always more from where I came."
7: "I am always welcome wherever I go."
8: "A friend in need is a friend indeed."
9: "When you see me you will always smile."
10: "If you try me once you will try me again." (See picture)
11: "Drink weary Pilgrim, for tomorrow you may die."
12: "Rye on Toast."

But enough about jugs, what about the glasses? (Although if you ever get a chance to watch Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas, do so; it is a true holiday classic.)
 

The first glass (shown at left above), like almost all the Detrick glasses, features the frosted barrel-end “DDCO” logo. In this case the logo includes a background of seven grain stalks. Note that the glass contains the words, “No 60/1ST. DISTRICT OHIO.” In a frosted block the words “DISTILLERS OF/PURE RYE & BOURBON/WHISKIES” appear in three lines.

The second glass (above, center) is significantly different from the first. Note that the district number has been changed to the “10TH DISTRICT.” There are now two lines of words in the transparent block instead of three; they read: “DISTILLERS OF/PURE RYE & BOURBON.” The word “The” now appears in the logo.

The third glass features feathers instead of sheaves of grain. The two lines of the words in the frosted block read, “DISTILLERS OF/PURE RYE & MALT WHISKEY.”

The second glass referred to the 10th District and contained the words “THE DETRICK DISTILLING CO./DAYTON, OHIO” along the bottom of the glass in two lines of text. The fourth glass (below, left) also mentions the 10th District, but now the wording at the bottom reads, “DETRICK DISTILLING CO./OFFICES SHIPPING DEPOTS/DAYTON O. & CHATTANOOGA TENN” in three lines of text. Also, there is no “The” inside the logo.


The pre-pro web site indicates that there is a variation of this glass. The etching is the same, but the glass has twenty inside panels. The panels can easily be seen in the accompanying picture (above, right).

The previous two glasses had three lines of text at the bottom. The fifth glass (below, left)  contains an extra fourth line: “DETRICK DISTILLING CO./OFFICES SHIPPING DEPOTS/DAYTON O. &/CHATTANOOGA TENN.” And again, the website indicates that there is a twenty-paneled variation of this glass (below, right).


This glass hales from Tippecanoe City, Ohio. Unlike the previous glasses, note that one of the “Ds” in the logo now has a woven appearance.)

The Detrick glasses are often mocked by collectors. (See, e.g., recent mid-October 2009 postings in the “Chat with the glassmaster” section of the pre-pro website.) This criticism, however, is probably unwarranted. One could spend a lot of time but not a lot of dollars amassing a comprehensive collection of all variations of the Detrick glasses. And all these variations appear to be significant, unlike the miniscule Hayner differences, as researched so thoroughly by Robin.


What kind of variations am I referring to? Barbara Edmonson notes, e.g., on page 57 of Old Advertising Spirits Glasses and on page 177 in Historic Shot Glasses that some Detrick glasses have the word “THE” to the left of the logo. The pre-pro database indicates that there are two paneled variations. Who knows how many more are out there, undiscovered by collectors because the eBay listings don’t mention the panels and thus are ignored by bidders?


 

If you would like to comment on "The Common Stuff", please post it but you can also contact Dick Bales directly at  BalesD@CTT.com

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