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Item 1: Pitt Bros. stoneware advertising jug, 1-gallon size, stenciled cobalt lettering and border: “From Pitt Bros. Distillers & Wholesale Liquor Dealers, Springfield, Tenn. Tom Pitt General Manager.” Robertson County, Middle Tennessee. Late 19th century. Note: Early Robertson County settler Arthur Pitt established a small still on his property in the early 1790s. Over the next several decades, Pitts’ sons continued the operation and developed the distillery into a prosperous business. As the whiskey industry soared in the mid-19th century, competition increased. Charles Nelson’s distillery in Greenbrier became Pitts’ largest competitor, producing over eight thousand barrels of whiskey per year. Business began to decline in the 1880s as tobacco surpassed whiskey in production, and anti-whiskey pressure rose from temperance groups. Prohibition stopped the production of whiskey altogether in 1909 and the company never recovered. Several extant buildings of the Pitt Distillery are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. (Source: The Tennessee Encyclopedia). Item 2: Albany slip-covered miniature whiskey advertising jug for M. J. Levy & Son, a Nashville-area liquor distributor, active in the last quarter of the 19th century. Incised “Cave Spring / Whiskey / M J L & Son.” 3 1/4 in. H x 2 in. D. Late 19th century. Note: A Nashville Banner newspaper article from July 13, 1892 describes the maker and brand in an article titled “Nothing Small About Nashville.” “Not alone is Nashville ahead of all other cities of her size in lumber, shoes, etc., but whisky also plays a prominent part, especially the celebrated ‘Cave Spring’ whisky. Messrs. M. J. Levy & Son, the Market-street liquor dealers, made a large shipment of this popular brand to Chicago yesterday. Messrs. Levy & Son own and control the ‘Cave Spring’ whisky, and it keeps them busy shipping it to all parts of the Union.” A PDF of the article is available to the winning bidder.
PROVENANCE: The collection of Mr. and Mrs. David Allen, Springfield, Tennessee.
CONDITION: Item 1: A visible hairline crack at handle; UV light does not indicate repair. Fleabite chips to front label area. Item 2: Very good overall condition, with “240 GR – 3” written in black marker on the bottom.
