Meek Stock No. 102 "Buffalo Hunt"

General
No. 102, entitled “The Buffalo Hunt”, continues the western theme previously introduced with “Murietta” (No. 87) and “Sierra” (No. 86/98). There are a number of other non-stock western and cowboy designs from a number of manufacturers, including American Art Works west coast affiliate, Bachrach Co of San Francisco. Although this design was introduced by Meek, it occurred only a short while before the December 1909 name change, so most examples encountered carry the American Art Works signature.

The design is based on a work by artist Philip Goodwin (1881-1935), an American painter and illustrator who specialized in depictions of wildlife, the outdoors, fishing, hunting and the Old American West. He provided illustrations for numerous books and magazines, as well as for commercial items, such as posters, advertisements and calendars. He is perhaps best known for illustrating Jack London's The Call of the Wild and for providing the cover art for many issues of Outdoor Recreation / Outdoor Life Magazine during the 1920s and early 1930s. He is also the artist who designed the Horse & Rider Trademark of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company.

Goodwin studied art at the Rhode Island School of Design, the Art Students League in New York City, and the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry (now Drexel University) in Philadelphia under the well-known Howard Pyle. He later followed Pyle when he opened his own Howard Pyle School of Illustration Art. N.C. Wyeth, Thornton Oakley and Frank Schoonover were contemporaries of Goodwin who also studied under Pyle at that time. He later illustrated Theodore Roosevelt's African Game Trails. Goodwin opened a studio in 1904 in New York City and became well known for his illustrations in numerous magazines and commercial items, such as posters, calendars, and catalogs. Some of the magazines in which his work appeared include Collier's Weekly, Outdoor Life, Outers' Recreation, Scribner's Magazine, The Popular Magazine, and McClure's Magazine. He also did several covers for The Saturday Evening Post.

Goodwin became good friends with Charles Russell, staying with him at Russell's Lazy KY Ranch and his Bull Head Lodge, and also traveling with him on painting, hunting and fishing expeditions. On these expeditions, Russell and Goodwin influenced each other's painting techniques. Goodwin also met and became friends with Theodore Roosevelt, Will Rogers, and Ernest Seton Thompson. Goodwin's calendars were published by Brown and Bigelow, the nation’s largest calendar publisher and he received substantial commissions for illustrating advertisements for the Horton Manufacturing Company (Maker of Steel fishing rods), Winchester Repeating Arms Company and Marlin Firearms Company. Goodwin is well represented in many private collections and museums featuring western and outdoor themes, including the American Museum of Natural History; the Brandywine River Museum; the Buffalo Bill Historical Center; the Charles M. Russell Museum; the Glenbow Museum; the Cowboy Hall of Fame; the National Museum of Wildlife Art; and the Gilcrease Museum.

Sahling has a workbook entry for “Stock tray, The Buffalo Hunt” in November 1909. Given the company’s name change from Meek to American Art Works in December 1909, very few of these trays carry the Meek name and the vast majority are American Art Works. If Sahling’s workbook dates are reliable, this was the last stock design created under the Meek name.

Size & Shape and Advertising Placement
Until recently we had only encountered this design as a square tray; however a 13.5" x 10.5" version was found by the Independent Brewing Co. from Davenport, IA. All the examples we had seen have a sort of faux woodgrain rim that is darker than the woodgrain pattern that appears on some Meek/American Art Works trays, while the Independent version is done in green. Advertising text is gold and only found on the rims.

Hager & Price
Hager does not discuss this design other than to place its introduction in 1909 in his date table, but he does include it in his catalog. This design is one of the most sought-after ones in the entire catalog and also attracts collectors of western/cowboy memorabilia. As such, prices are strong across the board for brewers and non-brewers alike compared to other designs. As is typical, the brewery example command much higher prices. The brewery we’ve encountered most often is A Dotterweich of Dunkirk, NY; two of the most recent Dotterweich examples sold for over $3,000.