Gund Beer Advertisement

Peggy Derrick

Catalog Number: 2011.014.018

This circa 1900 Gund beer advertisement is actually a metal tray, printed with a color lithograph. The painting it reproduces combines several traditional 19th century conventions intended to please the viewer. The romanticized natural landscape enjoyed by this hunting party is replete with mist rising off the pristine lake in the background, and reflects the influence of the popular painters of the Hudson River School. Domestic animals, especially dogs, were beloved subjects of Victorian-era paintings, and this painting features a handsome pair of hunting dogs.

But what takes center stage in this composition, painted with great attention to detail? Two cases of Gund Peerless ale, of course! The dogs, instead of hunting up game, are pointing at the cases; hence title, “A Good Point.”

John Gund Brewing Company was one of La Crosse’s biggest breweries, and Peerless was its main brand. The Gund Brewery operated from 1873 until 1920, when labor problems and Prohibition forced it to close. But in 1910 the thriving Gund Brewery employed over 450 people.

Near the top of the picture are the words “Gund’s Bottle Beer, the Sportsman’s Favorite.” Bottled beer that would keep and could be taken on a hunting trip was a fairly new innovation, the results of pasteurization, developed in 1876, and the crown cap, the same bottle top we know today. This tray is in fact the results of two late 19th century advances in technology: bottled beer and the color lithography that allowed printers to reproduce relatively cheaply the rich colors of the original art work. In the case of this tray, the beautiful color reproduction is being used to remind consumers that they can enjoy Peerless beer anywhere.

This article was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune on February 20, 2016.

This object can be viewed in our online collections database by clicking here.

A blue Signature Quilt

By Samantha Reinders ad Rebekah Bain

Catalog Number: 2011.fic.791

The quilts on our bed during these cold months are meant to keep us warm. Some also have a story behind them while others are purely decorative.

Signature Quilts tell a story. They were created in America as fundraisers for different organizations and causes. People would pay a small fee, such as ten cents, to have their name added to the quilt, which would then be auctioned off to raise yet more money. This blue and white cotton quilt may have been a fundraiser for the Woman’s Relief Corps sometime around 1930. There are many fraternal military organizations sewn onto the quilt besides the WRC, including the American Legion Roy L Vingers Post No. 52 and Auxiliary, the Thomas Rooney Ladies Auxiliary VFW of the US No. 1530, the United Spanish War Veterans, M.C. Casberg Comp. No. 11, the Grand Army of the Republic, and the Auxiliary of Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.

 The Grand Army of the Republic was an organization created by Union military veterans who had served in the Civil War, and the Woman’s Relief Corps was their female auxiliary group. Both the GAR and WRC were large national organizations that were socially and politically influential. They even still exist today today, and focus their energy on patriotism, and Civil War education and memorials.

Today, women’s auxiliaries are less common, now that most organizations, including veteran’s organizations, admit women, but these women’s groups used to be an important force for charitable work and community organizing.

This signature quilt is embroidered with 699 names, many of which can be traced to the La Crosse area. These, and the insignia of many veterans’ organizations active here, give this object a double identity: it is both a bed covering and an historic document, a record of the people who lived here and what they cared about.

This article was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune on February 13, 2016.

This object can be viewed in our online collections database by clicking here.

Lacrosse Stick

Calli Niemi

Catalog Number: 1985.064.01

The name “La Crosse” is thought to have been inspired by a popular game played by Native Americans in the region, which was known as Prairie Lacrosse to the first white settlers. Today, lacrosse continues to grow in international popularity, but what is known about the origins of this game and the people that played it?

The game of lacrosse, also known as the “Creator's Game” to the Ho-Chunk, has a long history, as there were three different types played across the United States at the onset of European contact in the seventeenth century: southwestern, Great Lakes, and Iroquoian.

The stick pictured here is in the Great Lakes style, and was likely made and used in our region by a Ho-Chunk man. Lacrosse sticks like this one are made from a single piece of wood that is carved, and then steamed, boiled, and bent to create the circular shape. It is believed that these curved sticks reminded early French settlers of the staff carried by bishops, called la crozier, which sparked the name La Crosse.

Lacrosse games were grand events, and were not necessarily a ‘game’ in the same sense that we think of today. While it was played for recreation and ceremonial purposes, lacrosse could also be used to determine wealth, land, or social status, and was frequently used as a substitute for war. Because of this, a game could have hundreds of players spread out over miles.

While lacrosse games have changed over the years, the core values of the sport remains: identity and community. Lacrosse continues to be played locally by the Ho-Chunk Nation using traditional equipment to bring the community together and keep traditions alive for future generations.

This article was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune on February 6, 2016.

This object can be viewed in our online collections database by clicking here.