Beavers 'n
Bears?
And other ramblings...
Huh? Well I'm from Oregon
and I collect picture whiskies, among other things. I've got a number of
whiskies with pictures of the California
grizzly bear on them. Oregon is the "Beaver
State". You'd think
that there would be a Beaver picture whiskey.
About the closest thing to one though, is the Beaver
Brand etched picture shot glass from
Brunn & Co. out of Portland.
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This past weekend saw many of us trekking north on HiWay 49
to Downieville, where Rick and
Cherry Simi once again hosted an amazing BBQ in conjunction with the annual show, located in
the heart of the northern Gold Country of California. As always, the D'ville
Show was fanatastic. I published an in depth article last year entitled
"What's not to like?"
It spelled out most everyone's feelings about the show and this
year was a repeat of last.
As is so often the case, discussions about western bottles
ultimately swung around to western whiskies. One collector observed that I must
have a large and diverse grouping of Oregon
whiskeyana in my collection since I've resided in Oregon for the past 37 years. I thought for
a moment and responded with a simple, "Nope". It took a moment but a
mental inventory revealed; one glop top Van Schuyver, one glop Rick Rack Hotaling, a clothes brush and a couple of
picture whiskies (El Kader and Henry Fleckenstein with the griffin on it). He
then mentioned that the Henry Fleckenstein didn't count because Bill Wilson said it was an eastern bottle. Not so, I
stated, and here's the rest of the story~
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Bill Wilson, in his book Spirits Bottles
of the Old West, documented the existence of a very scarce picture fifth cylinder,
#68-5, embossed simply, "Henry Fleckenstein & Co. in an arch above a picture
of a Griffin".
The bottle is clear, but will purple, and has a tooled long tapered collar over
a single ring.
Wilson further went on to state that this bottle was distributed
in the east, might be related to Fleckenstein & Meyer of Portland, and
dated it ca. 1895 - 1905 and. And so, for decades, the bottle was assumed to be
eastern and despite the rarity, was accorded little to no respect.
That changed
in the early 1980's when I obtained an advertising brush that plainly shows Henry
Fleckenstein & Co. / Portland
Ore. / Bear
Valley Whiskey. So much for the east coast thing...
It was about that time that I acquired another picture
cylinder. It was embossed simply "El Kader / Fine Old / Whiskey", and
pictured what was quite obviously the Shriners symbol.
I placed the El Kader on the shelf next to the Henry Fleckenstein & Co. and noted that the bottle from the neck down and the slug plates were an exact match. Sure the neck was a little longer but that happens all the time. Coincidence?
Both the El Kader
and the "Griffin"
cylinder are rare, with probably no more than a half dozen of each in collections.
But proving that they were truly
western whiskies and linking them positively to a liquor dealer would prove
daunting to say the least. Life is full of assumptions, maybes, gut feelings
and suppositions. But, without solid proof in the form of advertising, a bill head
or a letter, my hunch remained just that.
Up until a few years ago, I never
paid any attention to pre-pro shot glasses. That changed in an instant when I
purchased a huge collection of western pre-pro glasses, which included well
over 100 examples. And with that purchase came the opportunity to connect the
dots to a lot of western whiskey mysteries. Those little advertising gems have
proved to be an amazing source of information; including clearing up the El
Kader mystery.
When I returned home this week, I thought it would be
interesting to dig a little deeper into Mr. Fleckenstein and see what
relationship he had to the firm of Fleckenstein & Meyer. I lucked out and
actually gained access to the who's who of pre 1900 Portland Oregon.
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Henry Fleckenstein
Henry Fleckenstein was born in the city of Worms,
Germany
on September 14, 1838
At the age of 16 years he was apprenticed in the brewing
business He mastered the business, after which he came to this country, landing
in New York in 1860. Until 1863 he worked at his trade in St. Louis, also a
brewing head- quarters after which, in May, he returned to New York, later going to Aspinwall and thence crossing
the Isthmus, arriving in San Francisco
in 1863.
He later went to Honolulu,
but the climate failed to agree with him. Returning to San Francisco, he moved
north at the end of a month to Portland in 1863 where he was employed for a
year or more in the Weinhard brewery in Portland as a foreman, after which he
started a bottling works in the fall of 1866. He abandoned that ambition a year
later and engaged in the wholesale liquor business, in which he remained up to
the time of his death. It was in 1867 that he was married to Christine Wittman,
a daughter of Nicholas Wittman. The firm name for many years was Fleckenstein
& Mayer. He was the senior member of this wholesale liquor firm until March 4,
1902, when he dissolved partnership and organized the firm of Henry
Fleckenstein & Co. at 122
Second street On April 1, 1902. Mr. Fleckenstein supplied a constantly increasing trade in Oregon
and other states. He was prominent in
both business and official circles.
Brands marketed
by Henry Fleckenstein & Co. after 1902 included; "Elk Tooth", "High
and Dry", and "Belle of
the Pacific", as well as the aforementioned Bear Valley and El Kader.
He also registered the following whiskies under the Henry
Fleckenstein "label";
Serial #30462 - Buck Valley
5/21/1908
Serial #30803 - Diamond Hill also 5/21/1908
Documented addresses included 235 Oak (1903-1906), 68-72 2 nd (1907-1915).
In addition, 204 - 206 Second St. was recently added to the list thanks to the business card above and the following photograph.
Henry Fleckenstein died
of heart failure on July 5, 1910; he was 72 years old. At the time of his death, he was
an exempt fireman, a member of the Elks, A.O.U.W. and the I.O.O.F. and also of
the Chamber of Commerce and the Commercial Club.
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Al Kader Shriners History
The Ancient Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine was founded in 1872 by a group of 13 men belonging to the Masonic Order. It was originally established to provide fun and fellowship for its members. Al Kader was the 46th charter and the first in the Pacific Northwest. It was originally located in the City of Portland.
No references were found linking Henry to the organization. And so the question begs, was the Elkader brand a tribute to, or a jab at, AL Kader and the Shriners organization? I guess that mystery will remain shouded in the mists of time~
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In closing I'd like to say that we have Henry Fleckenstein to thank for some of the
most desirable of the Oregon
glop top cylinders and early flasks, in the form of the Fleckenstein &
Meyer bottles, as well as two of the scarcest tool top western picture whiskies.
Thanks Henry!
Shot glass photos courtesy of Robin Preston~
