Subgrp: 1. Pabst Brewing Company, 1873-197-?
Scope and Content Note: The earliest records in this group date from the incorporation of the Phillip Best Brewing Company in 1873 and continue through 1889, when the company name changed to the Pabst Brewing Company. The time span covered by the majority of the records ends by 1920, when the Pabst Brewing Company went into liquidation (see the "Liquidation Records") and the Pabst Corporation was organized to carry on production (see "Combination Record of the Pabst Corporation"). In 1932, the Pabst Corporation merged with the Premier Malt Products Company and, in the following year, the name of the company changed to the Premier-Pabst Corporation. The collection contains very little information on this event, but does include a 1934 appraisal of the Premier-Pabst Corporation. In 1938, the name of the corporation reverted to the Pabst Brewing Company.

The administrative and financial records constitute the majority of records in this group. They include Annual Inventories and Statements, Cash Books/Mail Remittances, Cash Receipts, Customer Ledgers from various U.S. branches, Profit and Loss Accounts, Salary Ledgers, and Stock Records. General Ledgers [Series 1] show debits and credits for financial accounts nationwide; General Ledgers [Series 2] shows debits and credits for various accounts, such as beer, barley, malt, hops, shipping cooperage, machinery, and insurance.

In addition to administrative and financial documents, this group includes a series of Production Ledgers or "Süd Books" documenting the analytical side of brewing and containing formulas, notes on trials, specifications of raw materials as well as finished goods, and tests on competitors' products. A related series of Research Journals contains similar information.

Finally, this record group includes a scrapbook of 325 clippings from newspapers worldwide observing the death of Captain Frederick Pabst in 1904; a scrapbook containing photographs of Pabst's Blue Ribbon Town, U.S.A. radio program, which was hosted by Groucho Marx; and a film titled The Pabst Pledge of Quality (197-?) that was likely shown during public tours of the brewery operations.

Abstract of Title, 1873-1880

Annual Inventory and Statement C, 1882-1894

Annual Inventory and Statement D, 1895-1902

Appraisal Report of Premier-Pabst Corporation, 1934

Cash Book/Mail Remittances 24, 1916-1917

Cash Receipts 2, 1924

Cash Receipts 3, 1924-1925

Cash Receipts 4, 1925-1926

Cash Receipts 5, 1926-1927

Cash Receipts 6, 1927

Cash Receipts 7, 1927-1928

Cash Receipts 8, 1928

Cash Receipts 9, 1928-1929

Cash Receipts 10, 1929-1930

Combination Record of the Pabst Corporation, 1920-1935, Including Articles of Incorporation, 1920, and Minutes, 1920-1935

Confidential Memos and Inventory of Private Matters, 1883

Country Accounts Ledger, M-Z, 1917-1919

Current Ledger, Denver Branch, 1913-1916

Current Ledger, Milwaukee Branch, 1917-1919

Current Ledger, Minneapolis Branch, 1916-1919

Current Ledger, Philadelphia Branch, 1916-1919

Current Ledger, Unidentified Branch, 1913-1918

Denatured Alcohol Reports, 1904-1910

Denatured Alcohol Reports, 1910-1918

Director's Record [Minutes], 1897-1913

Director's Record [Minutes], 1913-1920
Note: Continued by Combination Record of the Pabst Corporation.

Ephemera, Including Letterhead and Labels

Export Shipments Record, 1909-1911

Export Shipments Record, 1915-1919

Financial Records of Premier-Pabst Corporation

1921-1922

1921-1923

General Ledger [Series 1] G, 1887-1889

General Ledger [Series 1] K, 1894-1895

General Ledger [Series 1] M1, 1898-1899

General Ledger [Series 1] N1, 1900-1901

General Ledger [Series 1] O1, 1902-1904

General Ledger [Series 2] B, 1876-1878

General Ledger [Series 2] C, 1878-1881

General Ledger [Series 2] D, 1881-1883

General Ledger [Series 2] E, 1884-1885

General Ledger [Series 2] H, 1889-1890

General Ledger [Series 2] I, 1891-1892

General Ledger [Series 2] K, 1893-1894

General Ledger [Series 2] L, 1895-1896

General Ledger [Series 2] M, 1897-1898

General Ledger [Series 2] N, 1899-1900

General Ledger [Series 2] P, 1903

General Ledger [Series 2] A, 1904-1906

Liquidation Records, Including Articles of Organization, Bylaws, Stock Registers, and Stock Ledgers, 1920-1921

Liquidation Records, Minutes, Boards of Directors and Trustees, 1920-1921

Liquidation Records, Statements and Various Other Papers Referred to as "Exhibits" in Minutes, 1920-1921

Pabst Pledge of Quality, 197-?
Access Restrictions: The original film is restricted; users must use network access copy available in the Archives.

Physical Description: Film reel (16 mm) 

Physical Description: 1 digital video file (17 min, 33 sec) 

Payments, 1917-1918

Payments, 1917-1919

Private Journal (financial ledger), 1876-1881

Private Journal (financial ledger), 1881-1894

Private Journal (financial ledger), 1894-1908

Private Journal (financial ledger), 1909-1920

Private Ledger II, 1873-1876

Private Ledger III, 1876-1881

Private Ledger IV, 1881-1910

Private Ledger V, 1911-1920

Production Ledger ("Süd Book"), 1891

Production Ledger ("Süd Book"), 1893-1894

Production Ledger ("Süd Book"), 1894

Production Ledger ("Süd Book"), 1896

Production Ledger ("Süd Book"), 1898

Production Ledger ("Süd Book"), 1901

Production Ledger ("Süd Book"), 1902

Production Ledger ("Süd Book"), 1905

Production Ledger ("Süd Book"), 1908

Production Ledger ("Süd Book"), 1910

Production Ledger ("Süd Book"), 1911?

Production Ledger ("Süd Book"), 1912

Profit and Loss Account, 1903-1905

Real Estate Sales and Purchases Ledger, 1892-1902

Real Estate Sales and Purchases Ledger, 1902-1908

Real Estate Sales and Purchases Ledger, 1917-1921

Real Estate Sales and Purchases Ledger, 1921-1922

Research Journal, 1896-1898

Research Journal, 1899-1900

Research Journal, 1900-1902

Research Journal, 1902-1903

Research Journal, 1903-1904

Research Journal, 1904

Research Journal, 1904-1905

Research Journal, 1905

Research Journal, 1906

Research Journal, 1907-1909

Research Journal, 1909

Research Journal, 1937-1943

Research Journal, undated

Salary Ledger, 1876-1882

Salary Ledger, 1883-1892

Salary Ledger, 1893-1900

Salary Ledger, 1911-1914

Sales Ledger, Bottled Beer Sales, 1913-1916

Sales Ledger, Pablo, 1917

Scrapbook, Obituaries of Frederick Pabst, 1904

Scrapbook, "Blue Ribbon Town, U.S.A.", circa 1943-1944
Scope and Content Note: Blue Ribbon Town was a comedy-variety radio series, sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer, broadcast on CBS from March 27, 1943 to August 5, 1944 and starring Groucho Marx. Originally in the form of a scrapbook, it was taken apart due to preservation concerns.

Stock Certificates, Pabst Brewing Company, 1930

Stock Certificates, Pabst Brewing Corporation, 1933

Stock Certificates, Pabst Corporation, 1925-1927

Stock Ledger A, 1873-1910

Stock Ledger B, 1873-1884

Sundries, 1894-1920

Tax Returns, Including Federal and State Returns, and Related Documentation, 1922-1939

Theatre Advertisement Poster, circa 1970s

Transfer Ledger, Oshkosh, 1917-1920

Transfer Ledger, Springfield, 1916-1919

Trial Balance Ledger B, 1881-1917