Legal Name

AB-II Code

Dates

  William Bierly

MA 88a

1878 - 1878

  McNirney & Coyne

MA 88b

1878 - 1887

  Holyoke Brewing Co.

MA 88c

1887 - 1890

  Hampden Brewing Co.

MA 88d

1890 - 1899

  Springfield Breweries Co., Hampden Branch

MA 88e

1899 - 1918

  Jampden Extract Co.

MA 88f

1918 - 1933

  Hamden Brewing Co.

MA 88g

1933 - 1957

  Hampden-Harvard Breweries, Inc.

MA 88h

1957 - 1961

  Hampden- Harvard Breweries, branch of Drewrys, Ltd.

MA 88i

1961 - 1962

  Piel Bros., Inc.

MA 88j

1962 - 1975

Manufacturer

Stock

Date

 Width

Height

Depth

Style

 Art Application

J.W. Russell & Co., NY

1878 to ??

No

1890's

12"

12"

0.5"

Plate

Plated Brass

 Comments:

Image Courtesy of Morean Auctions.

Beautiful, very early brass tray.

Manufacturer

Stock

Date

 Width

Height

Depth

Style

 Art Application

Unknown

Yes

1930's

13"

13"

1.25"

Pie

Lithograph

 Comments:

Image Courtesy of Breweriana.com Auction.

There are two versions of the Hampden BC 'Handsome/Ugly Waiter,' with this version being much more difficult to find.  The differences we have noted are the obvious tag line "Who wants the..." being in black, versus the much more common yellow; a different color background, with more brown tones versus green; and no Manufacturers mark that we will discuss in the next tray down.

Manufacturer

Stock

Date

 Width

Height

Depth

Style

 Art Application

H.B. Co.

Yes

1930's

13"

13"

1.25"

Pie

Lithograph

 Comments:

From the Collection of Mark Rogers. 

There is a very unique manufacturer's mark on this tray that may hold a clue as to who the manufacturer might be.  The 'H.B. Co.' could reflect H.D. Beach, but we are looking for confirmation or align with another manufacturer, so please contact us if you have more information. 

The manufacturers mark also indicates a Copy Right of 1933 which is interesting as St. Thomas Metal Co. of Canada used the same image for a very similar tray and one reflecting a unique depiction with less detail.  Please follow this link to see the full inventory of known Handsome Waiter Stock Trays.

Manufacturer

Stock

Date

 Width

Height

Depth

Style

 Art Application

Unknown

No

Early 1940's

13"

13"

1.25"

Pie

Lithograph

 Comments:

From the collection of Mark Rogers.

A nice low three color litho tray.  Several coaster/beer mats from the early 1940's reflect the barrel with ingredients on the side (see below - images Courtesy of Breweriana.com), so we will use this to set a date in the early 40's on this nice pie.  Not a difficult tray to find, but the silver base is difficult to find with out chips and scratches.

Manufacturer

Stock

Date

 Width

Height

Depth

Style

 Art Application

Unknown

No

Late 1940's

13"

13"

1.75"

SS Dish

Lithograph

 Comments:

From the collection of Mark Rogers.

Very fun waiter tray using Hampden's 'Mild' campaign of the later 40's, early 50's.

Manufacturer

Stock

Date

 Width

Height

Depth

Style

 Art Application

American Can Co. (CanCo)

1913 to Present

No

Late 40's

Early 50's

13"

13"

1.75"

SS Dish

Lithograph

 Comments:

From the collection of Mark Rogers.

Two versions of this tray if you look at the barrel you will see 'Mild Ale' on this one and 'Ale & Beer' on the others.  We do not believe one to be more difficult to find than the other, as internet searches of recent sales seem to be pretty well split between the two.

Manufacturer

Stock

Date

 Width

Height

Depth

Style

 Art Application

American Can Co. (CanCo)

1913 to Present

No

Late 40's

Early 50's

13"

13"

1.75"

SS Dish

Lithograph

 Comments:

From the collection of Anthony Emory. 

'Ale & Beer' version.