Friday, December 2, 2011

Philly's Two Angelos: 40 Years Dealing Myers Whiskey

Two Angelos, father and son, made the name Myers famous for four decades selling whiskey in Philadelphia and throughout the U.S. Initially rectifiers and later true distillers, the Myers popularized a wide series of liquor brands through their vigorous merchandising.

The Myers saga began in Germany when the first Angelo was born in 1844. Subsequently, exact date unknown, he came to the United States, settling in Philadelphia with his brother, Henry.  Around 1874, the pair founded A & H Myers, as a whiskey distributing company located at 405 N. Third St.. Their flagship brand was "Schuykill Whiskey," named after the river that flows through the city.

For the next 18 years the brothers prospered, as evidenced by an elegant back of the bar decanter etched with their logo. About 1881 the company moved to 311-313 N. Third Street, a five-story building. During this period Angelo married a Philadelphia woman named Julia Bissinger. They had one son whom they named after his father.

The success of the Myers brothers was recognized by an 1886 publication entitled “Philadelphia List of Leading Merchants and Manufacturers.” It recorded that A & H Myers claimed “branch houses” in New York, Boston, Washington, Hartford, Savannah, New Orleans, Memphis, St. Paul Minn., and Cincinnati. A reasonable assumption is that saloons in those cities carried Myers whiskey.  The publication said of the brothers: “It should be remarked that Messrs. A and H. Myers are upright, honorable, liberal, public-spirited merchants and citizens and are always to be found among the enterprising spirits of the city, who aid every measure introduced for the benefit of the community.”


In 1892, however, something occurred to sever the partnership between Angelo and his brother.  Henry started his own, short-lived firm and advertised himself as “successor to A & H Myers." Angelo nevertheless stayed in the Third Street building and put his name on the front. It remained the Myers central facility until closed by Prohibition.


Angelo’s company blossomed with a myriad brand names: "Ardmore", "Beaumont Gin", "Independence Hall", "Myers Pure Malt", "Neshaminy Rye", "Oglethorpe Club", "Old Barrel", "Old Schuylkill Choice Rye", "Penngleann", "Schuylkill", and "W. W. W. Rye." Some brands like Penngleann and W.W.W.. Myers registered with the federal government.  Most he did not. Shown here are bottles and a shot glass from several brands.


During the late 1890s, Myers associated with a distillery located on the Schuykill River in nearby Linfield, Pennsylvania.  It had been founded on his farm by Jacob G. Kinsey, a lifelong dairyman, possibly with help from his friend, Angelo. As a former Kinsey employee later related, Kinsey had absolutely no experience with distilling so he had to rely on Myers to guide him as a whiskey specialist and merchandiser. The liquor produced was named "Kinsey Whiskey" and became Myers’ new flagship label. In his advertising Angelo claimed ownership of the distillery.

More than that, Angelo dispatched to Linfield his son, Angelo J., who by now had learned the liquor business from his father.  Angelo J.  apparently ran the operation day-to-day for Kinsey.  In 1905, the Philadelphia company incorporated with assets of $50,000 as Angelo Myers Distillery, Inc. The officers listed were Angelo J. Myers as president and Henry J. Bissinger, likely his wife’s brother, as vice president.


Under the young Angelo’s management, the Kinsey distillery grew rapidly. A 1904 publication reported that it was operating eight months a year and employing six to ten men. The warehouse capacity gradually grew from 2,000 barrels capacity to 20,000. The expanded distillery is shown above in a postcard. Moreover, Kinsey whiskey was winning the company gold medals at expositions in New Orleans and San Antonio, Texas.  Myers trumpeted those wins on a reverse glass mirror given to favored saloons.


As Angelo J. was being groomed to replace his father at the appropriate time, he married a local woman named Corrine Glaser, the daughter of Adolf Glaser, a Philadelphia merchant specializing in lace, embroideries and handkerchiefs. In 1907 the elder Angelo died, much mourned as a philanthropist who contributed generously to local and national charities. Angelo J. became the president of the company.

Under his leadership, the Myers company continued to be successful. Angelo J. was able to arrange for Kinsey Whiskey to be distributed widely across America and provided customers with an attractive sign that showed a hunter appeasing a farmer with a swig of Kinsey. Even more unusual, in 1910 the company letterhead listing the officers included two women, Florence M. Bamberger and Miriam M. Moos. This was at a time when women were almost entirely absent from the whiskey trade.

Within five years Angelo J.’s interests had expanded to other enterprises, specifically to the infant automobile industry. He now was a vice president of the Rose Manufacturing Company of Philadelphia, an outfit that specialized in making an early form of brake lights. He also had stepped down to vice president of the liquor firm. The new president was Henry Bissinger, presumably his uncle. Once again the business name was changed, this time to Angelo Myers Distilling Co.,Inc.

With Prohibition, all activity ceased at both the Angelo Myers company and the Kinsey facility. In 1923, at the young age of 38, Angelo J. died. After Prohibition, Jacob Kinsey revived the Linfield distillery briefly until selling out to Continental Distilling Corporation of Philadelphia.  Continental continued to produce and market the Kinsey brand until it went out of business in the mid-1980’s. The abandoned buildings of the distillery remain, moldering along the Schuylkill River.

Thus ends the story of the two Angelo Myers. They provided Philadelphia and the rest of the country with good whiskey for four decades and in the process left behind a legacy of attractive labels, bottles and giveaway items. Although their history is not unique, their survival in the liquor trade for four decades sets the two Angelos apart from the ordinary.





























18 comments:

  1. Thank you for providing this site with such great info! I recently acquired an a h myers decanter similar to the one pictured above except it does not state pure malt on it. I will be putting it up for auction tonight on ebay if anyone of your followers is interested. Thanks for the great background on it, this is the only site I could find one of these decanters on.

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  2. Unknown: If yours is the beautiful etched piece similar to the one shown above, you should find a buyer.

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  3. Excellent article.
    I have recently come across a bottle with the Angelo Myers label and was looking for info if you may have any.
    The bottle shows "Chester Club Whiskey"
    Angelo Myers, Philadelphia
    Bottled for Cabrielli Wine Co
    New York, New York

    Any info on this bottle would be much appreciated.

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  4. Dear Unknown: Although I do not find Myers putting out a "Chester Club Whiskey," it would not be unusual for them to make and bottle whiskey for another outfit and put their label on it. Cannot find any reference to a Chester Club whiskey from the usual sources. Nor a listing of Cabrilli among liquor dealers in NYC. But that might not mean a lot. Many brands and companies "flew under the radar."

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  5. Very interesting and informative. I recently found a small bottle in my basement that still has a small amount of whiskey in it. It says "Angelo Myers" and "Phila." underneath the name.

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  6. Unknown: Your bottle likely is pre-Prohibition but since the family continued after Repeal, a possibility that it is newer. A good find in any case.

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  7. I found a cork top pint bottle nearly 40 years ago on Mount Olive in Flanders NJ. No label but on the glass it says "Angelo Myers Phila."

    From this very informative article it looks like my bottle is also pre-Prohibition.

    If you would like a picture, please let me know.

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  8. Dear Frank: Thanks for being in touch. Your bottle almost certainly is pre-Pro. Thanks for the offer of a picture but my file on Myers is bursting with images.

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  9. I picked up a bottle awhile like the one on here in Memphis. I was wondering if they had corks and not crystal stoppers?

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  10. Unknown: While many decanters have crystal stoppers and some back of the bar bottles did as well, I have also seen cork closures used. It is difficult to know if they were original or a substitute for glass stopper.

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  11. Hi, Jack! I'm curious about the Myers men. I have been learning a good deal about Angelo Myers and his incredibly important role in fighting the Whiskey Trust near the end of the 19th century. What an incredible role he played in crafting the consolidation of distilling might in NY, PA and Peoria! I'm still looking into what A&H Myers Co.'s interest in the Montrose Distillery out in Freeport was...but I digress...
    My question is about Henry, Angelo's brother. In your research, did you see if he was the same guy as this Henry Myers- http://www.pre-pro.com/midacore/view_vendor.php?vid=COV7940 ?
    Your post here mentions you were not sure what happened between them. I can tell you that Angelo was busy in 1892 constructing and crafting the distillery that would be Phila. Pure Rye Whiskey Distillery in Eddington, Pa. It was he that led the Philly and NY interests in funding that beast of a distillery to scuffle with the Whiskey Trust. It seems that, right around that time, the Myers Co. in KY came to be with a Henry Myers at the helm. Can you tell me if you have made any connections there? I'm trying to put the pieces together...I'm so interested in Angelo Myers' history. He seems to be quite the whiskey baron and very shrewd businessman.
    Thanks!
    Cheers,
    Laura

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  12. Laura: Like you I am a fan of whiskey men like Angelo Myers who helped bring down the Trust. As for the connection with the Henry Myers of Kentucky, investigating that will take some time. Please send me an email at jack.sullivan9@verixon.net and I will communicate the results of my research to you that way. Thanks for putting me on the trail.

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  13. Laura: I was able to check more quickly than expected on the Henry Myers of Covington KY. He is not Angelo's brother. He is a native Ohioan and does have a distiller brother, Herman, also born in Ohio. Hope this is helpful.

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  14. Hello Jack, I would like to ask for your help with identifying a bottle of whisky I recently found that's possibly from the 1870s. It's still full and sealed and has a partial label from Phialdelphia. I was thinking it could be Kinseys rye whiskey but don't know if that brand name goes back to the 1870s. Label says "seys" at the top with the first part of the name missing.
    Thank you, Dan

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    1. Please call text or email me if you can, I would really appreciate it and can send you some pictures. Danwhiteantiques@gmail.com 240 682 2714

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    2. Dan: I do not know how I missed this earlier. I am emailing you now.

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  15. Thanks for the informative article. Corinne Glaser was a relation of our family, and therefor I have been genealogy research that includes her and her family. I offer some addition details and some minor corrections:

    Angelo Myers was born July 14, 1844 in Altenstadt, Germany. He immigrated in 1850 and married Julia Bissinger on Jul 17, 1878. Julie was the daughter of Henry Jacob Bissinger and Miriam nee Arnold. She was born 1 Jan 1857 in Pontotoc, Mississippi.

    Angelo and Julia had three children:
    Florence Myers (1879 - 1967) married Arthur Bamberger
    Angelo Julian Myers Jr. (1885 - 1923)
    Miriam A Myers (1886 - 1941) married Jackie Moos

    Florence Bamberger and Miriam Moos are the women listed on the company letterhead in 1910

    In 1892 Angelo Sr. decided to join with other wholesalers in Philadelphia to form The Philadelphia Pure Rye Whiskey Distillery. It was a massive endeavor built on a plot of 103 acres in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and capable of producing 30,000 barrels a year. Angelo was initially elected Chairman of the group. I don't know if there is a connection with this and the severing of his partnership with his brother Henry or not.

    Henry J Bissinger is a mystery. Since Henry Jacob died in 1893, it could not have been him running the company in 1915. Hence it is natural to believe he is the son of Henry Jacob Bissinger and brother of Julia. But after much research, I cannot determine for a fact that he was Henry's son. Angelo Sr's mother was also a Bissinger, so it’s possible that Henry Bissinger and Angelo Jr. were second cousins.

    Corinne Glaser (1885 - 1971) was the daughter of Adolph Glaser (1854 - 1917) and Rosalind nee Scherzer (1857 - 1944). Rosalind was born and raised in Philadephia. Adolph was born in Tereschau Bohemia, but moved to St Louis in 1867 and worked for his family clothing businesses until he started his own business in laces and embroideries in 1898. Corinne was therefore born and raised in St. Louis, not Philadelphia. Corinne's mother must have played matchmaker to connect Angelo Julian Myers Jr with Corinne. They were married Feb 4 1907 in St. Louis but settled in Philadelphia and later Jenkintown, PA.

    Seeing the Prohibition writing on the wall Jacob Kinsey and Angelo sold the assets of the Angelo Myers Distillery Inc. to Harry Wissinger in 1918 who later sold it to Michael Minnick, a millionaire real estate dealer. In January 1919 the distillery was dismantled, but it still had a large stock of whiskey. In 1923 Minnick was indicted of conspiracy to remove 4200 barrels of whiskey (worth $4,200,000) from the distillery on illegal permits.

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  16. Jsauter: Thanks for all the good information on the Angelo Meyers family. I rely on kinfolk like you for the "rest of the story." And it is a good one. Meyer helped to bust the Whiskey Trust.

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