The Winterthur Library

The Winterthur Library

The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum

5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur, Delaware 19735

Telephone: 302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

Creator: Eberhardt and Ober Brewing Company

Title: Bills and letters

Dates: 1883-1897.

Call No.: Col. 823

Acc. No.: 92x166 [part – see description for exact numbers]; 08x18

Quantity: 58 items

Location: 34 J 5

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

In 1870, William Eberhardt and John Peter Ober, both sons of brewers, formed a brewing company in Allegheny City (now part of Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania. In 1883, they incorporated as Eberhardt and Ober Brewing Company, Inc. In 1899, the company merged with the Pittsburgh Brewing Company. Eberhardt and Ober specialized in lager beer; its product was very popular; two of its brands were Dutch and Club.

John Peter Ober, the son of Mary Vogel and brewer George Ober, was born in Pennsylvania in 1848. He went to work in his father’s brewery when he was 14 or 15 years old. William Eberhardt was born in Alsace in 1844, the son of Salome Blesse and brewer Conrad Eberhardt. The Eberhardt family moved to Pittsburgh in 1846, and Conrad established a brewery in 1848. In 1870, Conrad Eberhardt retired, and his son William, in partnership with John Peter Ober, took over his brewery. In 1883, Eberhardt & Ober bought the J.N. Straub Brewing Company. (Mr. Staub became an officer in Eberhardt and Ober.) There was a fire at the brewery in 1883, which necessitate the building of a new brewery. In 1899, shortly before William Eberhardt’s death, Eberhardt & Ober joined the Pittsburgh Brewing Company, where Ober served as treasurer until his death in 1909.

In 1871, John Peter Ober married Salome Eberhardt (1850-1913), the sister of William Eberhardt; they had several children. (Daughter Wilhelmina Ober married brewer Edward Straub.) In 1874, Eberhardt married Wilhelmina Christina Koenig (1857-1928; surname also given as King; her father may have been a brewer), and they had several children as well.

SCOPE AND CONTENT

Bills and letters sent to the Eberhardt and Ober Brewing Company. Ten of the bills are for work on wagons, including lettering wagons. One bill is for making canvas wagon covers; two are for making kegs and barrels. Two bills are for making frames for cards of some sort. All the bills have decorative billheads: a window awning for the company that made the wagon covers; a framed picture for the company making the frames; barrels for the cooperage; and different kinds of wagons and carriages for the wagon makers and painters. Most of the bills are from businesses in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, while the picture framer was in Pittsburgh.

The letters and a few of the bills are from the Pictet Artificial Ice Company of New York, which supplied machines to make ice and machines to provide refrigeration for warehouses, packing houses, and breweries. In 1883, Eberhard & Ober purchased a refrigerating machine from Pictet, which was installed in their new brewery, which opened in 1884. A number of the letters are in regard to specifications for the machine being furnished. Later, Pictet solicits a testimonial letter from the brewery about the machine. A diagram of some machinery appears on the back of a letter dated Sept. 17, 1885. A picture of some sort of machine appears on the letterheads.

ORGANIZATION

The papers are in two groups: letters from Pictet Artificial Ice Co., and bills. Within each group, the items are in chronological order.

LANGUAGE OF MATERIALS

The materials are in English.

RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS

Collection is open to the public. Copyright restrictions may apply.

PROVENANCE

Purchased from Second Story Books, Rockville, Maryland.

RELATED MATERIALS

The University of Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvania State University libraries also hold collections of materials from the Eberhardt and Ober Brewing Company.

ACCESS POINTS

People:

Eberhardt, William, 1844-1899.

Ober, John Peter, 1848-1909.

Topics:

Pictet Artificial Ice Company (New York).

Brewing industry - Pennsylvania - Allegheny.

Breweries - Pennsylvania - Allegheny.

Carriage and wagon making - Pennsylvania - Allegheny.

Wagons - Maintenance and repair - Pennsylvania - Allegheny.

Coopers and cooperage - Pennsylvania - Allegheny.

Canvas.

Ice industry - New York (State) - New York (City).

Picture frames and framing - Pennsylvania - Pittsburgh.

Refrigeration and refrigerating machinery.

Business records.

Billheads.

Bills.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

Location: 34 J 5

All items are addressed to Eberhardt & Ober, unless otherwise indicated.

Folder 1: Bills:

[all accession numbers in this folder begin with 92x166]

.18 bill from W.H. Bakewell, Allegheny, April 29, 1884: for making six wagon covers;

Printed and illustrated billhead: manufacturer of all kinds awnings, awning frames, tents, wagon covers, tarpaulin and sail making in all its branches; tents for sale and to rent; illustrated with a window awning

.35 bill from Hillengass, Allegheny, Oct. 1, 1887: for repairs to wagons; [some words are in German];

on back: receipt signed by Leopold Hillengass;

Printed and illustrated billhead: coach and wagon builders; illustrated with an enclosed wagon; company named has been altered: it was Hillengass & Vaupel, but the name Vaupel has been crossed through; [the same wagon is used as illustration on .36]

.32 bill from John Fishering, Allegheny, July 1, 1891: for letter wagon, Jos. Pittb.;

Printed and illustrated billhead: coach and wagon painter; illustrated with a wagon, with the slogan “Fine Furniture” [same illustration as on .33]

.33 bill from R. Kress & Son, Allegheny, Oct. 1, 1891: for work on wagons: new singletree, front axle set, straightening, new doubletree, stay chains, making a crank handle larger, bolts, spring blocks, washers, , etc.;

Printed and illustrated billhead: coach and wagon manufacturers; illustrated with a wagon, with the slogan “Fine Furniture” [same illustration as on .32]

.36 bill from M. Doehla & Son, Allegheny, Jan. 1, 1892: for new end gate, shaft bolts[?], end gate steeple and rod, doubletree cleves, link on stay chain, etc.;

Printed and illustrated billhead: coach and wagon builders; illustrated with an enclosed wagon [same illustration as on .35]

.31 bill from R. Kress & Son, Allegheny, July 1, 1892: for work on wagons: eye ring for end gate chain, singletree hooks, new tires, spring shackle bolts, bumper on doubletree, rubber block with extra shoe, holes drilled in four track irons, pipe forged out, etc.;

Bottom of bill has been cut off;

Printed and illustrated billhead: coach and wagon manufacturers; illustrated with a wagon, with the slogan “Fine Furniture” [same illustration as on .32]

.6 bill from John H. Myers, Allegheny, July 2, 1894: for 266 kegs and 266 barrels;

Printed and illustrated billhead: cooperage of all kinds; illustrated with kegs and barrels

.7 bill from John H. Myers, Allegheny, Oct. 1, 1894: for 125 kegs and 46 barrels;

Printed and illustrated billhead: cooperage of all kinds; illustrated with kegs and barrels

.39-.40 two bills from M. Doehla & Son, Allegheny, both dated July 1, 1895: for steel tires, wedging boxes, rim on wheel, a hind axle, plates below footboards, new seat board, new end gate spring, repairing a bonnet, , shoes, new coil spring, etc.;

[bottoms of both bills have been cut off];

Printed and illustrated billhead: coach and wagon builders; illustrated with an enclosed wagon [same illustration as on .35]

.37 bill from Smith & Hickel, Allegheny, Oct. 1, 1895: for single tree hooks, new bottom in bed of wagon, iron bottom strips, repairs to wheel platform, spring bolts, doubletree clips, repairs to side rail, new bed straps, repairing bed braces, new oak bottom, resetting hind axle, new end gate slate bar, new spring hanger, new seat handle, etc.;

[bottom of bill has been cut off];

Printed and illustrated billhead: buggy and wagon builders; illustrated with an enclosed wagon [same illustration as on .35]

.38 bill from M. Doehla & Son, Allegheny, Oct. 1, 1895: for repairing side brace and endgate rail, straightening singletree, a spring clip, axle clips, hickory crossbar in shaft, new bolster, hickory lock bar, etc.;

[bottom of bill has been cut off];

Printed and illustrated billhead: coach and wagon builders; illustrated with an enclosed wagon [same illustration as on .35]

.14 bill from Peter Young, Pittsburgh, May 8, 1897: for 30 frames for cards [possibly show cards];

Printed and illustrated billhead: manufacturer of mantel and pier looking glasses, portrait and pictures frames, water colors, engravings, etchings and fine arts generally, American and French plate and window glass; illustrated with a framed painting displayed on an easel

.13 bill from Peter Young, Pittsburgh, Dec. 13, 1897: for 50 frames for cards [possibly show cards]; and for 5 lights for cards and setting;

.34 bill from M. Schmitt & Co., Allegheny, May 16, 1898: for a new tongue, repairs to bed, , spring bolts and other items and fastening them on the axle, straightening the platform on two steps, painting and lettering, etc.

Printed and illustrated billhead: Enterprise Blacksmith Shop, blacksmiths and wagon manufacturers; illustrated with an enclosed wagon;

Folder 2: Letters from Pictet Artificial Ice Company:

[all accession numbers in this folder begin with 08x18, unless otherwise noted]

.1 letter from Robert Whitehill, President, Pictet Artificial Ice Company, New York, Dec. 3, 1883: gives dimensions, weight, and contents of the condenser tanks and the refrigerator tanks;