This Indenture

Founded and established in Philadelphia, PA 1860, the Christian Schmidt Brewing Company at it's peak brewed nearly 4 million barrels of beer during the late 70's. Christian was born in Magstadt, Germany where he learned brewing at an early age. At age 18 he took his knowledge of brewing to Philadelphia and initially worked on the Camden Atlantic Railroad which was being built for over water access to Atlantic City.  In 1860 he became a partner in the Christian Schmidt Kensington Brewery and became the Sole proprietor in 1863.  The Christian Schmidt Company went out of business in 1987. 

      This beautiful  and scarce 1871 illustration is from Gerard Krefft's "Mammals of Austrailia" .   The Work was published in Sydney by Thomas Richards and illustrated by Helena Ford and Harriet Scott as Helena's name is on the plate.   Krefft was know worldwide for his works as a zoologist and paleontologist and worked with other renowned scientists such as Charles Darwin.  The plate was derived from photograph taken by Victor Prout, a lesser know quantity of the era who illustrated children's books and other publications as well as being a staunch supporter of the Women's Suffrage  Movement in the early 1900's. 

      This rare double page 1890 rendition of the early stage of American football appeared in a same year edition of  Harpers Weekly. The original illustration was by Fredric Remington which was transposed to a woodblock plate for production.  Mr. Remington (1861-1909) was a famous painter and sculptor of all things American West which he was most noted for. He also attended Yale where he played football as a member of the 1879 National Champions.  Many of his sports sketches were published in the Yale Courier.  Frederic's father, Seth Pierrepont Remington, was a Colonel in the New York Calvary during the Civil War.  Eliphalet Remington, the founder of Remington arms, was Frederic's cousin. 

      This very dynamic edition of the Annual Register was published in Pall Mall in 1777.  It details various battles and politics that were happening on American soil at this time.   The siege of Boston chapter had the most carry with me.  It began April 19, 1775 after the battles of Lexington and Concord.  In response the Massachusetts militia and communities blocked land access to Boston central in order to cut off British supplies coming in from the north minimizing their supply chain to mainly the harbor only. There were many on the outskirts of Boston that vacated due to their loyalty to the crown and moved to the bay area at this point. One can imagine the hysteria created by Britain's inability as the greatest power in the world at that point not being able to maintain unity or nationalism. To this day distance has always been a problem in these types of scenarios. This siege line ran through Chelsea around Boston and Charlestown neck to Roxbury.  At that point militias from Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Hampshire organized by the Continental Congress formed the Continental Army led by George Washington. 

       General Thomas Gage of the British army presiding over the defense of Boston decided to reinforce

Roxbury and the hills of Boston Proper. He left abandoned Charleston, Bunker Hill, Breed's Hill, and the Heights of Dorchester.  The latter of the four being his downfall.  Gage had to constrict his viable defensible territory because of the loses per Britain's victories at Lexington and concord. 

        Forward thinking diligence by the Massachusetts Provincial Congress commissioned Benedict Arnold on May 3, 1775 to take Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain for its heavy weapons and light defense.  He united with Ethan Allen and a militia company from Connecticut.  The resulting annexation of the fort produced in excess off 180 cannons. The  cannons and munitions were transported via the Hudson in the dead of January and over land, to Dorchester and Cambridge, Massachusetts where the Continental Army forced out of Boston Commander William Howe of the Royal Navy and Thomas Gage to retreat to Halifax, Nova Scotia ending the siege March 17, 1776.

       There is so much literature documenting the American revolution. Although the revolution was supposed to end with the treaty of Paris September 3, 1783,  it really didn't end until the treaty of Ghent December 24, 1814. This fledgling nation whether it be the battle  against the British and  Tecumseh  in the Michigan Territory, the battle of New Orleans with Andrew Jackson outnumbered over three to one or even the battle of Chelsea Creek demonstrates American ingenuity at its best.  It is undeniable  that our for-fathers, their constituents and the common persons of that time gave up life and liberty for the pursuit of our current day happiness.  And by the way, this edition contains the Declaration of Independence. 

The Gentleman's magazine was founded by Edward Cave in 1731 England.  It is considered the first periodic publication as well as the first to use the word magazine setting the foundation back then for the correlation today.   The magazine carried general news,  politics,  markets and literature etc. 

       The final issue of the gentleman's Magazine was in  1907.  I would say that is a good run. It is suggested the oldest current publication in the world is the Austrian governments official Gazette called Wiener Zeitung.  The United States oldest continuous publication is The Connecticut Courant, better know now as The Hartford Courant. 

       This desirable 1787 edition of The Gentleman's Magazine contains the Constitution of The  United States.

Embossed cross and original cap

Embossed with a four leaf clover.

Lamdin, Thompson  Co. Baltimore, Maryland

"To feel good the morning after, the night out - take.  A clean stomach makes a clear head"  A novel idea.