Images(5)

Sign, Advertising

Object number2017.94.6

Date1930-1957

OriginUnited States of America

Possible OriginPhiladelphia, PA

MediumPaperboard; Ink; Adhesive

Credit LineGift of Robert Thomas

DescriptionWhite paperboard sign in the shape of a candle with rectangular sign above. Sign depicts lit red wax candle draped in evergreen boughs with two Christmas tree ball ornaments and a pinecone at the base. Above the candle is an askew rectangular sign with red and green printed holiday message. Reverse has a brown triangular paperboard fold-out stand adhered down center.DimensionsHeight x Width x Depth (Standing): 24.125 × 13.313 × 7.625 in. (61.3 × 33.8 × 19.4 cm)
Height x Width x Depth (Flat): 24.25 × 14 × 0.375 in. (61.6 × 35.6 × 1 cm)
InscriptionsTop rectangular section of sign has printed red and green text "GREETINGS / FORT PITT / special BEER".
MarksFront's bottom edge has printed white text at left "...'D IN U.S.A.", printed black text at center "FORT PITT BREWING CO., PITTSBURGH, PA.", and printed gray text at right "© THE WEILLER CO. PHILA".
Historical NotesFort Pitt beer advertising holiday sign. Part of a collection of Fort Pitt Brewing Company artifacts that was collected by donor Robert Thomas to document the time his family ran the company (1930s through the 1950s). The donor’s great uncle, Michael Berardino, became president of Fort Pitt Brewing Company two years after one of the original owners and founder, Samuel Grenet, died suddenly in 1935. Grenet had started the business in 1906 with Herman Hechelman. They built a brewery in the suburb of Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, survived Prohibition and were set to be the number one brewery in the state when Grenet passed. Berardino began an aggressive sales campaign to turn the company around after lagging sales the year before. The company also bought the Victor Brewing Company of Jeannette, Pennsylvania, but continued to produce their signature Old Shay beer. In the early 1950s due to local strikes and an increase in national brand popularity, Fort Pitt struggled. After Berardino died in 1957, the company stopped brewing at the Sharpsburg plant and expanded into other products and became the newly incorporated Fort Pitt Industries. The rights to the brand were sold to Gunther Brewing of Baltimore. In 2010, the Fort Pitt name was purchased by Mark Dudash who began producing Fort Pitt Ale.

Related institution Fort Pitt Brewing Company (1906 - 1957)

Related person Michael Berardino (died 1957)

Collector Robert M. Thomas

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