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Stock
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Unknown
Wollcott Co. - Burbon
Unknown
Bangor, WI
Hussa Brewing Co.
Bangor, WI
The 'Stock' Exchange
The Meek Co.:    No. 90    "Pride of the Farm"
Date:  1908 - 1910
Size:  
13.25" x 13.25"
Style:  Pie
Scarcity:  Uncommon
Value:  $$$ to $$$$
Condition & Brewer Dependent

Confirmed Brewer used Stock Trays


Non-Beer Related & Non-Tray Uses


General
No. 90 “Pride of the Farm” returns to the farming/agricultural theme invoked in “The Sheep Fold” (No. 76), although maybe with a less work-a-day orientation.  Farm operations were still largely manual, and horses were still needed for many farm operations in the early decades of the 20th century.  Unlike “Colin” (No. 88) farm horses would have been prized for their ability to aid heavy farm operations or transportation.  At the beginning of the 20th century there were almost 22 million horses and mules on farms who provided the power for operating field machinery and hauling farm products to market, with the peak in the number of horses and mules occurring between 1910 and 1920.  The greatest concentration of horses occurred in the Midwest from Ohio to Nebraska; ironically by the 1950 the overall number had declined to fewer than 8 million, with almost no animal power used on farms in the Midwest.  Given this context, it’s easy to understand how valuable a good horse was to a farm, enough to warrant being considered “the pride of the farm.”

We have been unable to identify any artistic or literary work that this scene might be based on.  It carries a 1908 copyright date but no artist signature appears on any example we’ve seen.  Sahling does have an entry in his workbook for April of 1908, but like No. 89 (St Vincent) it indicates “stock oval tray”, a size/shape we have never encountered.

Shape & Rim & Advertising Placement
Like “St Vincent” (No. 89), all of the examples we’ve seen have been square images, whether they are trays or signs.  The only exception being an 10.5" x 13.5" oblong (for an Illinois coal company).  Rims are dark green with gold advertising text.

Hager & Price
Hager does not discuss this design other than in his date table where he indicates 1908; he does include it in his catalog.  Prices for the few brewery examples are oddly inconsistent and probably driven mostly by the obscurity of the brewery and the variability of condition in examples found.  Non-brewery examples tend to hold low value, even when compared with other stock designs.
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