A Sand Art Bottle, Andrew Clemens (1857-1894), McGregor, Iowa, Dated 1888

the front depicting an eagle and flag, the reverse depicting a floral wreath and bearing the inscription Geo. Brumder / 1888 / From J. Fischer, with an affixed Andrew Clemens paper label to the underside.

Height 6 7/8 x diameter 2 1/2 inches.

Provenance:

George Brumder (1839-1910), Milwaukee, Wisconsin;

to his youngest son, Herbert P. Brumder (1885-1967), Milwaukee, Wisconsin;

to his son, Philip G. Brumder (1920-2010), Milwaukee, Wisconsin;

thence by decent to the present owner.

George Brumder (1839-1910) was a prominent businessman and publisher who found great success as a German immigrant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Born in the Alsace-Lorrain region of France, on the border of Germany, Brumder arrived in Milwaukee in 1859 where he held a variety of labor jobs, including a job as the foreman of the crew laying the first streetcar tracks in the city.

In 1864 Brumder became a bookseller and printer, and by 1874 he had acquired the controlling interest of the German Protestant Publishing Company, which had been founded by prominent German immigrant. They published journals under the name of Die Germania. He would later acquire other publications, including The Abend-Post and the Milwaukee Herald. Brumder was also the president of the Germania National Bank and the Concordia Fire Insurance Company.

The Germania building in downtown Milwaukee, was constructed by Brumder as the headquarters to his publishing empire in 1896. The eight-story building still remains and is now converted to apartments.

It is unclear as to who the J. Fischer who gifted the bottle to Brumder is. However, according to census documents there are several J. Fischers in the Milwaukee area in 1888. Notably though, around the time that Brumder was opening his first book shop, a pair German immigrant brothers, Joseph and Ignaz Fischer, established their own music publishing company, in Dayton, Ohio.