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Comment by WillNotDownvote | Hacker News Reader

Trendy brands are fashion items with limited product histories? Who would have guessed?

In any case, it's instructive to look at old menus and wine lists to get a feel for what was actually on offer way back when. For the most part, cocktails as we know them don't show up until the 1940s or so. Though it's worth noting there aren't a lot of speakeasy menus around.

On the other hand, generic types of liquor like "old tom gin" or "rye" date back well into the 19th century.

Wine brands certainly date back even further, and interestingly it's the champagnes that have changed very little in the top brands for centuries. Some beer brands, particularly Guinness and Bass have been popular on American menus for a long, long time.

Browse the New York Public Library's historic menu collection here- http://menus.nypl.org/

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If it's not something you think much about, the history can be pretty surprising. I happen to have spent much of the past few years rummaging about in the archive closets of the Industrial Revolution -- its emergence and development. Part of that story is of development of technologies and products, some is how those came to be branded and merchandised.

It's fascinating history.

James Burke in his 1979 series Connections dates modern consumer goods to Wedgwood China in the 18th century.

The first real "personal appliances" -- consumer mechanical products -- were the bicycle and sewing machine, both emerging in the 1880s.

Edward Bernays and principles of modern PR and advertising would make another excellent topic of exploration.

All of which goes over and elucidates a tad more than snark.

But the NYPL link is appreciated.

I was looking for something on r/askhistorians I saw a while back about a hot sauce bottle found in Virginia City ruins, indicating a brand that had gone national in the 1870s or so.

Haven't found it yet, but did find this- a discussion of the saloons of the city, which mentions the Irish bar in town a few times, as well as Tennent's Ale, which was a growing global brand at the time.

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/285y5g/what_e...

In any case, I spend a fair amount of time browsing 19th century American magazines and newspapers (for fun, I suppose), and you can see the early national brands growing over the decades. The railroads were what made it all possible, they really did transform daily life in substantial ways. Certainly in places that were directly connected, but also even in more remote towns. Goods moved much more quickly, and growth hacking of all sorts was rewarded quite handsomely.

EDIT- here's the thread I was looking for, it was specifically the Tabasco brand we know today. There's also a subthread on cocktails of the era! http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/29tus4/compar...

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