Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
SHOT TOWER BEAM CLUB
SHOT TOWER BEAM CLUB. An organization of antique bottle collectors in Dubuque, the Beam Club celebrated not only the contents of the bottle but the shape of the containers.
The whiskey bottles, usually thought of as a square bottle with rounded edges, were offered in series named Customer, Club, Sports, Portraits, Miniatures, Centennial and Trophy among others. Each series was divided into thirty or more subheadings leading collectors to have a choice of at least 450 designs.
Prices varied widely. In 1977 an empty Beam Club Red Coated Fox bottle could cost $2,640 while one in the likeness of former Vice President Spiro Agnew was priced at $1,960. Errors could make the bottle more expensive. A Centennial bottle from another distiller honoring the state of Missouri came out a year early. Another brewer included "God" on his label which caused confiscation of those not already sold.
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Source:
Bulkley, E. A., "A Collection on the Beam," Telegraph Herald, December 18, 1977, p. 14