The Shaving Mug Review

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Thompson Collection: Occupational Shaving Mug: John B. Brasser: Brewer and Bottler: Pabst Blue Ribbon Occupational Shaving Mug

John B. Brasser - Brewer and Bottler - Pabst Blue Ribbon
Occupational Shaving Mug

An outstanding, exceptional porcelain antique occupational shaving mug of the well-known Newark, N.J. beer brewer and bottler, John B. Brasser, written in gilt on the top.

See additional photos of his bottles and horse-drawn wagons in front of his business in Newark.

There is a Pabst Blue Ribbon on the front of the mug with "Pabst Milwaukee" well-defined in the circle. There is also cursive writing on the blue ribbon that is slightly faded. And below that in tiny legible block lettering it says, "The Beer of Quality." The mug is banded in deep red. All of the gilt, excepting around the base is crisp and bright. This is one of the finest mugs in the collection with some nice local history attached to it.

The Thompson Collection: Occupational Shaving Mug: C. L Dow: Train Engineer

C. L Dow - Train Engineer
Occupational Shaving Mug

The Thompson Collection: Occupational Shaving Mug: Train Engineman: J. E. Dougherty

J. E. Dougherty - Train Engineer
Occupational Shaving Mug

Although I have no verifiable connection at this point, I did find an intriguing reference to an Engineman Dougherty in the Locomotive Engineers Journal, Volume 47

The Thompson Collection: Occupational Shaving Mug: Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen: B.R.T. Frisco 112

F. C. Murnan - Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen
Occupational Shaving Mug

See also on this site: Railroad Brotherhoods History and Their Fraternal Shaving Mugs by Joseph Albanese

RAILROAD BROTHERHOODS

"Along with many other pioneering labor organizations in the nineteenth-century America, organizations of railroad workers took the name "brotherhoods" in token of their partly fraternal purposes. The most powerful of the railroad brotherhoods was those formed in the operating trades-those directly involved with moving trains. These included the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (founded in 1863), the Order of Railway Conductors (1868), the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen (1873), and Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen (founded in 1883 as the Brotherhood of Railroad Brakemen). Sometimes grouped with "the Big Four" was the Switchmen's Union (1894), "who were responsible for making up trains and for controlling the track switches within a yard. Numerous other unions were founded to represent non-operating railroad employees such as the trackmen (1887), railway clerks (1899), and sleeping car porters (1925). Though the operating brotherhoods represented less than one-fifth of all railroad employees, they dominated the history of organized labor in the railroad industry.

Although rail transportation has declined, the fraternal shaving mugs of these brotherhoods represent a period of our history when railroads were a central part of our daily lives."

Wikipedia: Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen

The Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen (BRT) was a labor organization for railroad employees founded in 1883. It was originally called the Brotherhood of Railroad Brakemen. Its purpose was to negotiate contracts with railroad management and to provide insurance for members. The BRT grew to become the largest brotherhood of operating railroad employees. In 1969 it merged with three other unions to form the United Transportation Union.

The Thompson Collection: Occupational Shaving Mug: D. J. Dodd L&N Railroad Train Engineer

D. J. Dodd - L&N Railroad
Occupational Shaving Mug

From Wikipedia: The Louisville and Nashville Railroad

The Louisville and Nashville Railroad (reporting mark LN) was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.

Chartered by the state of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of the great success stories of American business. Operating under one name continuously for 132 years, it survived civil war and economic depression and several waves of social and technological change. Under Milton H. Smith, president of the company for thirty years, the L&N grew from a road with less than three hundred miles of track to a 6,000-mile system serving thirteen states. As one of the premier Southern railroads, the L&N extended its reach far beyond its namesake cities, stretching to St. Louis, Missouri; Memphis, Tennessee; Atlanta, Georgia; and New Orleans, Louisiana. The railroad was economically strong throughout its lifetime, operating both freight and passenger trains in a manner that earned it the nickname, "The Old Reliable."

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

The Thompson Collection (partial): Occupational Shaving Mugs

Fred Hartman - Horse and Buggy -

Bottom - J. P. L. France

Crack on right side on letter "a"

Fred Hartman - Horse and Buggy - Front

Fred Hartman - Horse and Buggy - Left Side

Fred Hartman - Horse and Buggy - Right Side

Fred Hartman - Horse and Buggy - Detail

J. A. Pezr (?) - Fireman Hose Wagon

Slight written inscription on bottom

Cracking in the ename, Gold faded

J. A. Pezr - Fireman's Hose Wagon

Angelo - Horse and Carriage

Gold faded over first name

Angelo - Horse and Carriage

W. B. Boyer - Locomotive Engine

T&V Limoge France on bottom

W. B. Boyer - Locomotive Engine - Front

W. B. Boyer - Locomotive Engine - Detail

W. B. Boyer - Locomotive Engine - Right Side

Ned Long - Musician

Gold band at top faded

Ned Long - Musician - Front Left

Ned Long - Musician - Left

Ned Long - Musician - Right

Ned Long - Musician - Front

Fred Pepper - Horse
"141" on bottom

Fred Pepper - Horse - Front

Pomeroy Witten - Mortar and Pestle - Pharmacist

Aug. Kern Barber Supply Co., St. Louis, MO on bottom

Pomeroy Whitten - Mortar and Pestle - Pharmacist - Right

Pomeroy Whitten - Mortar and Pestle - Three Owls - Left

Wiliam Steinbauer - Steer and Butcher's Tools

William Steinbauer - Steer and Butcher's Tools - Front

William Steinbauer - Steer and Butcher's Tools - Left

William Steinbauer - Steer and Butcher's Tools - Right

A. T. Carr - Caboose

T&V France on bottom

A. T. Carr - Caboose - Front

A. T. Carr - Caboose - Left

A. T. Carr - Caboose - Right

Will Evans - Miner

Cracked interior

Koken, St. Louis on bottom

William Evans - Miner - Front

William Evans - Miner - Detail

Louis K. Haas - Train

Slight crack

Louis K. Haas - Train - Front

Louis K. Haas - Train - Right

Louis K. Haas - Train - Detail

A. L. Logan - Chimney
Cracked interior

A. L. Logan - Chimney - Front

Bundy Bros. - Train
"2682" on bottom

Bundy Bros. - Train - Front

J. T. Berry - Produce(?) Wagon
"C." on the bottom

J. T. Berry - Produce(?) Wagon - Detail

J. T. Berry - Produce(?) Wagon - Front

Christopher Mertz - Public Truckman

Sign reads: Chist Mertz Public Truckman 21-23 Jacob St Newark, N.J.

"Leonard Vienna" on bottom

Damage to base

Christ. Mertz - Public Truckman - Front

Christ. Mertz - Public Truckman - Detail

Christ. Mertz - Public Truckman - Right

Christ. Mertz - Public Truckman - Left

G. M. Mertz - Plowman with Horses
"2027" on bottom

G. M. Mertz - Plowman with Horses - Detail

G. M. Mertz - Plowman with Horses - Front

G. M. Mertz - Plowman with Horses - Right

G. M. Mertz - Plowman with Horses - Left

John B. Brosser - Pabst Blue Ribbon
T&V Limoge France on bottom

John B. Brosser - Pabst Blue Ribbon - Left

John B. Brosser - Pabst Blue Ribbon - Detail

John B. Brosser - Pabst Blue Ribbon - Front

John B. Brosser - Pabst Blue Ribbon - Right

M. R. McCann - Caboose

"WPM" on bottom

M. R. McCann - Caboose - Front

M. R. McCann - Caboose - Right

M. R. McCann - Caboose - Left

F. L. Chapman - Horse
T&V Limoge France "4505-L" on bottom

F. L. Chapman - Horse - Front

H. W. E. Corley - Horses

H.W.E. Corley - Horses - Front

J. H. Gardner - Steer

Aunt of JLT

Chip on base

J.H. Gardner - Steer - Right

J.H. Gardner - Steer - Left

J.H. Gardner - Steer - Front

J.H. Gardner - Steer - Detail

N. A. Nelson - Horse and Buggy
Chips on base

N.A. Nelson - Horse and Buggy - Right

N.A. Nelson - Horse and Buggy - Left

N.A. Nelson - Horse and Buggy - Front