Posted 13 years ago
WalterG
(1 item)
I found this tray when cleaning out our old family home in Stuttgart Ar. Great Grandpa was a pretty hard corp evangelical preacher but they were German and did like their beer. I'm guessing this was a souvineer of a trip to visit family in Illinois pre 1930.
When I saw it I thought it must be some kind of knock off but since I've been seaching for something like it and the closest I've found is one with a darker or black outer trim and looked like it had been tossed around some.
I would like to know more if any experts here know more detail about where it might have been found or when.
svdelightful@gmail.com
Here's a link for a little history of Dick & Bros'
http://www.taverntrove.com/brewery.php?BreweryId=353
The tray you found says it was manufactured by the Standard Advertising Co.
http://trayman.net/TrayDetail/Factories/Dicks.htm
Here is a tray like yours with the red border. It's an Acrobat file, takes awhile to open, go to page 9:
http://morfauction.com/source/auctions/addendums/auction70/Auction70.pdf
I see there is writing on the bottom right of your tray but I can't read it. What does it say?
Chas W Shonk Lithograph... is on the bottom rt.
Hey solver,
Thanks for the link to morfauction. That tray is the same as mine and if they rate that one as a C8+ then mine could be an easy 9. It is an interesting image. Last night I got out a magnifying glass and was amazed with the detail of the people walking or riding in horseless carriages next to horse drawn wagons and also very early barrel trucks that look like they came from a science fiction picture. My tray has much less spotting and edge damage as well as no touch ups. I did find two tiny black spots in front of the house that I thought might be dogs but they are flaws.
Now I would like to figure out what time frame these were distributed.
Here is some information from Mark Rogers's website, The Trayman:
"The quality of the manufacturing process can usually be identified by who manufactured the tray. If it is a Chas. W. Shonk tray, you can be pretty much guaranteed the quality of the item will be excellent."
http://trayman.net/info/Value.htm
He also has a comprehensive list of tray manufacturers that indicates that Chas. W. Shonk, Chicago, Illinois, manufactured "retangulars" or "oblong" trays from 1890 to the late 1920s. Dates and locations in this list are taken from Gary Straub's "Collectible Beer Trays," a Schiffer Book for Collectors, 1995:
http://www.trayman.net/Info/Manufacturers.htm
From the Antique Auction Forum "Collectible Antique Advertisements Podcast" narrative by Phelps Fullerton:
"Chas. W. Shonk Litho Co., Chicago (1886-1935) were among the most prolific makers of tin lithographed advertising. Many of their highly skilled artists were Europeans who brought their trade with them when they immigrated. They bought the American Can Co. which was formed in 1901.
...
Most of the lithographed tin serving and change or tip trays were produced by the Chas. W. Shonk Co. in Chicago, IL or from one of the lithography companies in Coshocton, OH."
http://antiqueauctionforum.com/antique_advertising__phelps_fullerton