Posted 8 years ago
Leinenkuge…
(3 items)
The earliest known use of the “mystical and lovely“ Indian Maiden that is synonymous with the Leinenkugel’s brand was first used by the company in advertising over 110 years ago. This image depicting a Native American Indian Maiden has been attributed to artist Raphael Beck (1858-1947) who painted it as a “stock image” to be used primarily as advertising for all sorts of businesses that would then have included their business addresses printed on them as a daily reminder to potential customers.
This exact image was very common and appeared as a stock image for use in advertising well into the 1920’s, primarily on calendars, but also on postcards, and even a beer tip tray. In 1906, this beautiful print of the lovely Indian princess was printed by the Hayes Lithographing Company of Buffalo, New York and was used by the J Leinenkugel brewery on a calendar during that year.
After the image was painted by the artist, Hayes Litho began work on compiling copies of the original painting, making transfers, making proofs, then through the various steps of their press room after the art was printed, it was taken to their bindery, where the calendar pads were collated, gathered, wire stitched, padded and the order completed and packed for shipping.
Original calendars would have the name of the business at the very top and at the bottom would have been a paper calendar of sheets that were stapled and then, each month, torn off to reveal the current month. The original image of the Indian maiden should have the full feather and wearing a shawl; however, most people cut out the business advertising and, in doing so, cropped the viewer from seeing the full image.
If you look closely at this photograph of patrons enjoying Leinenkugel beer in the Schindler Saloon in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin (courtesy of Paul Bialas – see below for more info) you can see the calendar hanging to the right of the mirror in the bar. This allows us to date this photograph. The calendar states the generic statement “High Grade BEERS of Proven Quality and in Conformity with all Pure Food Laws”.
Unfortunately, most of the calendars that exist today lack the name of the company and/or are missing the paper calendar showing the year. Like most calendar’s, if the owner admired the image of the lithography and wanted to retain the most beautiful part of the print, they cut the calendar leaving behind only the Indian maiden image.
While this is a very beautiful item to enjoy and display, a ‘cut’ calendar to ephemera collectors is significantly diminished its value compared to original, intact calendars. Because this advertising item is quite common, a calendar that has been trimmed and missing its pads is worth more to the eye than their value to collectors.
If, however, you find this stock image, showing the name of the company and the calendar showing the year, in this example 1906, they can fetch a bit of money to collectors.
If you want to know whether your Indian Maiden calendar originated from Leinenkugel's brewery, the very top brown cover should read 'J. Leinenkugel Brewing Co.' and on the next line below 'Chippewa Falls, Wis.', like shown here:
The bottom right hand corner of the calendar is where the printer placed their makers mark and the date, which for this calendar is 1906.
BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW!
It might surprise Leinenkugel collectors to know that this same image was used by a Mexican brewery as their logo as late as into the 1920’s. The Cervecertia Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma brewery of Monterrey, Mexico used the same Indian maiden logo in their advertising.
The Indian Maiden has remained mostly unchanged for over 80 years. Bill Leinenkugel stated, “We feel the design still holds the same mystique that it always has,” and it’s the nostalgic logo for a family brewery that highly regards tradition as one of the seventh-oldest continuously operating brewery in the United States (excerpt from Paul Bialas’ wonderful book, which may be purchased at:
Website for Paul Biala's: http://www.lakecountryphoto.com
or
The Leinie Lodge Online Store: http://shop.leinie.com/leinenkugel-s-150th-book.html)
CREDITS
Picture of Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma tray courtesy of Lisa Allen.
ABOUT ME
I live in Beaverton, Oregon, which is a suburb of Portland. I’ve been collecting beer collectibles for 34 years now. My passion is collecting and researching the history of advertising from the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.
I am a member of the
American Breweriana Association
(#10800) and the
Brewery Collectibles Club of America
( #34192).
My passion for Leinenkugels is shared throughout social media:
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/LeinieCollector
And through the Jacob Leinekugel Beer Collectors Group on Facebook that I founded:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1161537260534511/
Very informative enjoyed the read!! I'll be right back going to the fridge for a beer:))