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Surely most collectors will agree that
Sunny Brook shot glasses are found on eBay about as frequently as reruns
of "Law and Order" appear on cable television. Nonetheless, the
seemingly lowly Sunny Brook can form the basis of a respectable shot
glass collection.
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The
pre-pro data base indicates
that although the Sunny Brook distillery was located in Louisville,
Kentucky, it was a Chicago-based firm that was owned by Rosenfield Bros.
The first glass pictured here indicates that Sunny Brook was the only
whiskey awarded the grand prize and gold medal at the 1904 World’s Fair.
Barbara Edmonson in Historic Shot Glasses says that there was
"contention and scandal" concerning this award, as Jack Daniels also
apparently received a gold medal. This particular glass has 14 vertical
panels; I have another one with 11 panels.
The second glass appears to be the rarest one in my Sunny Brook
collection. Bearing the familiar words, "SUNNY BROOK THE PURE FOOD
WHISKEY," it adds at the bottom, BRASSY & CO. DISTRIB. SAN JOSE, CAL."
Ms. Edmonson in Old Advertising Spirits
Glasses points out that the Sunny Brook slogan reflects the war
between the bourbon and straight whiskey firms and the blended and
rectified spirits manufacturers. This battle resulted in a 1906
declaration that only the former were true or pure whiskeys; the latter
were imitation whiskies. This decision was reversed in 1909. This second
glass bears no flat panels.
The third glass reads simply "SUNNY BROOK THE PURE FOOD WHISKEY." This
glass, too, has no flat panels, but I have another with 14 panels. (By
the way, I have found that the easiest way to count the panels is to
hold the glass in front of you with the etching facing away from you and
look through the inside of the glass at the etching in the front. Find
some part of the etching on a panel that you can use as your starting
point and then start counting. If necessary, move the glass around,
looking through the glass at various backgrounds until you find one that
allows you to distinguish the panels. Keep track with your finger as you
rotate the glass, counting the panels as you go around.)
We have all seen the ubiquitous Sunny Brook Inspector peering out from
the eBay auction pages. Variations of this glass abound. All the
Inspectors I have seen so far have flat panels; I have them with 11
panels, 12 panels, 13 panels, 16 panels, and 20 panels. They come in
various sizes, too. Compare the fourth glass shown here (16 panels) with
the fifth glass, a 20-paneled monster that is two and one-half inches
high! (I have another one with 20 panels that is only two and
one-quarter inches high.)
So what, you sniff? You say you don’t want a dozen pair of Inspector
eyes staring at you from your display case? An understandable thought,
but think about this. Think of the research information that one can
obtain simply by collecting even just the Inspector variants! Barbara
Edmonson lists the Inspector has having no panels and 9, 11, 12, 13, 14,
15, 19, and 20 panels. In just a few months I have found this 16 paneled
Inspector variant that is not listed in either one of Barbara’s books.
Just think; I purchased an unlisted Edmonson shot glass for just a few
dollars!
And Ms. Edmonson’s books indicates
that there are other Sunny Brook glasses out there that I don’t even
have yet. For example, there are versions of the second and third glass
pictured here that include the words "HALL LUHRS & CO." I may have
missed it, but so far I have not even seen one of these glasses offered
on eBay in recent months. Barbara also mentions a "BRASSY & CO." variant
that she lists at a respectable price of $65-$75!
It seems clear that one can enjoy shot glass collecting and even
contribute towards our knowledge of shot glass variants without spending
a lot of money. There are other benefits, too. There is less concern
about last minute sniping that drives the glass prices upward. If you
miss one on eBay, you can still sit back and relax, content with the
knowledge that another one is likely to come around in the not too
distant future. Finally, I have always felt that much of the joy of
collecting comes in the hunt. With the countless Sunny Brook variants to
be found, you can start a Sunny Brook collection, knowing that you will
be trolling eBay, bottle shows, and antique stores for a long time
before you amass a comprehensive collection.
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