Manwaring – Rigoli, Guide to

Contributing Institution: Sacramento Public Library

email: sacroom@saclibrary.org

phone: (916) 264-2795

Title: Guide to the Manwaring – Rigoli Collection

Identifier/Call Number: MC 123

Physical Description: 1 Linear Feet

Date (inclusive): 1881-1974

Abstract: Collection is composed of photographs of 2131 H Street, a postcard of the Sacramento Winery, a trade card for A. A. Van Vorhies and Co., glass bottles from local breweries, and brewery ephemera from the region. All objects date from circa 1881 to 1974. This collection highlights Victorian-era architecture in Boulevard Park and early brewery history in the Sacramento region.

Language of Material: English .

Collection Creators

The creators of this collection, Sean Manwaring and Jacob Rigoli, are local historic preservationists, collecting and conserving ephemera from around Northern California. Their primary objective is to preserve and share the stories of the Californians who came before them, especially those whose stories may have been lost or forgotten over time.

Photographic Postcards

Located in the Boulevard Park neighborhood of Sacramento, the house at 2131 H Street was built in 1907 by Aden C. Hart (1868-1954), a prominent Sacramento physician and surgeon. He earned his degree from Cooper Medical College of San Francisco in 1891 and practiced medicine in Colusa for a few years before relocating to Sacramento. Hart was appointed to the State Board of Health in 1903 by Governor George Pardee and served as president of the Sacramento Society for Medical Improvement in 1911. He was also a member of the Northern District Medical Society, the California State Medical Society, and the American Medical Association.

Ruhstaller

Frank Ruhstaller (1846-1907) was born in Switzerland where he learned the trade of brewing. He immigrated to the United States in 1862 and landed in Sacramento in 1865. After working in local breweries for many years, Ruhstaller purchased the City Brewery in 1881. Ruhstaller's deep knowledge of brewing led to various innovations such as being the first brewery to utilize mechanical refrigeration in the manufacture of steam beer. He was also the first brewery owner on the West Coast to support the unionization of his workers.

Buffalo Brewing Company

Herman Grau (1846-1915) was born in Germany and after working as a brewer in Buffalo, New York moved to Sacramento in 1889. Grau teamed up with Emil Gerber, a Sacramento County auditor, to open Buffalo Brewing Company. Fellow brewer Frank Ruhstaller supported this venture and invested $10,000 in the business along with other community and state leaders. Buffalo Brewing opened on August 31, 1889 and was several times larger than any brewery in Sacramento and the largest west of the Mississippi. In the early 1900s Buffalo's reach expanded outside of the United States as they exported their beer to China, the Philippines, Central American, and the Pacific Islands.

A. A. Van Voorhies and Co.

Albert Alexander Van Voorhies (1833-1906) started A. A. Van Voorhies and Co., a premier nineteenth-century saddlery in Sacramento. Located at 322 and 324 J Street, they were manufacturers and importers of saddles, harnesses, collars, saddlery hardware, whips, robes, horse clothing, carriage trimmings, leather, and shoe findings.

Globe Mills

The Globe Milling Company of San Francisco purchased the Phoenix Milling Company at Twelfth and C Street in Sacramento in 1919, which had operated in the region since 1853. In 1940, Pillsbury purchased Globe and continued to manufacture under the Globe Milling trademark. During World War II, Pillsbury modernized the plant and tripled the capacity of bulk grain storage making it one of the largest feed and flour mills in California. Pillsbury closed the Globe Mills in 1968, and in 2008 the grain storage building was redeveloped into a residential building comprised of lofts and affordable housing units.

James Woodburn Co.

James Woodburn (1832-1902) went into business with Warren R. Barnes (1835-1886) to form Woodburn and Barnes, importers and wholesale dealers of whiskies, brandies, wines, and liquors, located at 417 K Street in Sacramento. Following Barnes' death in 1886, James Woodburn took over the business and renamed it James Woodburn Co. (1887-1912).

[Identification of item], Manwaring-Rigoli Collection, MC 123, Sacramento Room, Sacramento Public Library, Sacramento, California.

This is an artificial collection that has come to the archive in two segments. The first segment consists of 10 photographic postcards of 2131 H Street. The second segment includes brewery bottles and ephemera from the region, a postcard, and a trade card. The entire collection is housed in a single archival box and includes the following:

10 photographic postcards of 2131 H Street (3 1/4" x 5 1/4") stored in a single Mylar sleeve.

Postcard depicting The California Winery (3 1/2" x 5 1/2") stored in a single Mylar Sleeve.

Trade card for A. A. Van Voorhies and Co. (2 3/4" x 4 1/4") stored in a single Mylar sleeve.

Ruhstaller bottle opener (1" x 3") wrapped in foam.

Ruhstaller "Gilt Edge" beer label (3" x 4 1/2") stored in a single Mylar sleeve.

Ruhstaller "Gilt Edge" bottle (11 5/8" tall) wrapped in foam.

Globe Mills of California bottle (11" tall) wrapped in foam.

James Woodburn Co. bottle (12" tall) wrapped in foam.

Buffalo Brewing Co. bottle (11 5/8" tall) wrapped in foam.

Sealed Buffalo Premium Lager 12oz bottle with contents inside, dated 1974, (9.75" tall) wrapped in foam.

Buffalo Brewing Co. serving tray (1.25" x 12"), dated 1916, wrapped in foam.

Buffalo Brewing Co. ashtray (5/8" x 4.25"), made in Germany, wrapped in foam.

All requests to publish or quote from private collections held by the Sacramento Public Library must be submitted in writing to sacroom@saclibrary.org. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Sacramento Public Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the patron. No permission is necessary to publish or quote from public records.

Guide to the Manwaring – Rigoli Collection MC 123