Swan Brewery bottle with embossed picture of a swan
First ad I could find for the Swan March 1871.
Interesting they are selling the stock and fixtures of a company that may have just started in business
Reverse of the Swan bottle.
Take a look at the curved R's on this beauty
Swan ad from the February 1874 Los Angeles Herald
Looks like there might be some Swans down in So cal
Swan bottle in a yellow olive
Swan Brewery partnership in December of 1874
The Swan Brewery incorporates in August of 1875
Swan Trademark February 1879
Soda man Phil Caduc is selling the Swan product in March of 1879
After spending some time looking at the Swan Brewery I am more confused than before I started. I guess ignorance is bliss.
Great post! These have always been interesting bottles to me. They are relatively early for western beers, and come in nice colors...and the picture of the swan! They have a lot going for them. I believe that the majority of known examples came from one or two holes back in the 1970s. I have not heard of a new find since although I am sure someone must have dug some. The values have steadily increased on the Swan's now commanding four figures. DM
ReplyDeleteOne was dug in S.F. in 2002
ReplyDelete100 dozen porter, hops bottles! would have liked to have been at that auction... So the upstart company failed and was then auctioned off only to be made successful by the highest bidder it sounds like?
ReplyDeleteMatt L.