Tap, Beer

Object Name:

Tap, Beer

Object ID:

1992.063.610

Place of Origin:

New York, NY

Date:

circa 1900

Description:

Tap for effervescent drinks, from a drugstore. In original box. Plated metal. Pointed shaft for piercing cork. Shaft has four holes for drawing liquid upward. Head has cap stamped "THE / LAWRENCE / TAP". Knurled knob on side of head, stamped "BENTLEY'S / PAT. OCT. 17.1876". Knob controls flow of liquid to adjacent nozzle. In original wooden box with hinged lid. Printed paper label adhered to lid: "THE LAWRENCE TAP / PATENTED. / FOR DRAWING AT WILL A SINGLE GLASS OF KOUMISS, CHAMPAGNE, / SODA, ALE, OR OTHER EFFERVESCENT DRINK, YET / PRESERVING THE REMAINDER. / [directions] / THE THEO. RICKSECKER CO., NEW YORK." In bottom of box, and inside lid, are printed advertisements for Ricksecker's Soap.

Material:

Metal
Wood

Dimensions:

W-1.5 L-4.2 D-0.9 inches

Provenance:

Part of the Wilfred B. Osgood Pharmacy Collection, consisting of the 1870s-1950s contents of the Knox Pharmacy (owned by Fred L. Knox) and Roberts Rexall Store (owned by George C. Roberts) in Farmington, NH. Wilfred Osgood purchased both pharmacies in the late 1940s/early 1950s, and kept the original furnishings from both stores. During the 1970s, he created a pharmacy display room from the contents of both stores. This collection is the contents of that display. The collection also includes manuscripts, books, photographs, and printed ephemera, transferred to NHHS library (1992-068).

Credit Line:

Gift of Donna T. Osgood in memory of Wilfred B. Osgood

People:

Osgood, Wilfred (1911-1988), Roberts, George C., Knox, Fred L.

Subjects:

Pharmacies, Pharmacists, Drugstores