$3000.00

Hires Root Beer Advertising Sign/Tray

"Say Hires, The Honest Root Beer". A great old Hires Root Beer tin advertising sign or serving tray. It measures 16 1/2 tall and 13 3/4 wide. Considering its age it is in good shape. There are a few blemishes and a minor ding at about 1 o'clock. These are highly collectible and this one is from c. 1904.

Charles E Hires (1851 to 1937), a Philadelphia druggist, became "The Father of Root Beer" in the early 1870's when he concocted a medicinal drink recipe that mixed roots and herbs. He sold the syrup at his drugstore, at soda fountains and at grocery stores for home use. And he advertised his soft drink through everything from mugs, signs and trays to dispensers, watch fobs and trade cards. Some of the best early pieces feature the "Hires Boy" sometimes dubbed the "Ugly Kid." The boy was illustrated wearing a dress from 1891 to 1906, a bathrobe from 1907 to 1914, and a dinner jacket from 1915 to 1926. Hires Root Beer Collectibles are featured in Kovels Newsletter Aug 2007. ID=ANTQ20