Sign

Object Name:

Sign

Object ID:

2026.018

Place of Origin:

Portsmouth, NH

Date:

circa 1917

Description:

Sign. Rectangular embossed cardboard HI-LO sign with a white diamond on a red background. The text reads "HI-LO / A TEMPERANCE / BEVERAGE / BREWED AND BOTTLED FOR / PORTSMOUTH DISTRIBUTING CO. / PORTSMOUTH, N.H. / ALCOHOLIC CONTENT LESS THAN ONE HALF PERCENT / NO U.S. INTERNATIONAL REVENUE SERVICE TAX / REQUIRED".

Material:

Paper

Dimensions:

H-10.825 W-18 inches

Provenance:

Hi-Lo was a brand of near beer being brewed and bottled for the Portsmouth Distributing Company by November 1917, when a bottle label was featured in that month's issue of The Western Brewer. Back in April, New Hampshire had passed a law banning the manufacture and sale of "intoxicating liquor for beverage use." As New Hampshire's breweries and distilleries faced financial ruin, some chose to introduce a watered-down beer called "near beer," which contained less than a half percent of alcohol. The Frank Jones Brewing Company launched the Jesno brand around the same time as the Portsmouth Distributing Company's Hi-Lo. None of the near beers were very popular, and they didn't keep Portsmouth's breweries from shutting down

Credit Line:

New Hampshire Historical Society Purchase, Katharine Prentis Murphy Fund

People:

Jones, Frank (1832-1902)

Subjects:

Beer industry, Beer, Brewing industry, Breweries, Prohibition, Temperance