Preliminary identification
Photo reference
5 uploaded photos
Overview
An exceptional, turn-of-the-century commercial brass and copper beer tap tower featuring a circular multi-faucet configuration. This magnificent piece of saloon history is crowned with a cast bronze finial depicting King Gambrinus, the legendary patron saint of beer, raising a goblet in toast.
Story
Before Prohibition silenced America's saloons in 1920, ornate brass towers like this were the pride of grand beer halls. This tower features King Gambrinus, a mythical Flemish king celebrated as the inventor of hopped brewing.
Maker / Origin
During the golden age of American brewing, companies like Bishop & Babcock of Cleveland and the Liquid Carbonic Company of Chicago competed to outfit saloons with the most luxurious, gleaming brass dispensing apparatuses.
Condition & Value
The tower shows a beautiful, authentic aged patina with minor surface oxidation, scuffs, and wear consistent with decades of commercial use. It is missing two of the original faucet taps, though the remaining taps retain their wooden handles.
Full Research
Sold comps, value drivers, and venue guidance pulled from recent auction results.
Build on this identification
Layer in sold comps, value drivers, and venue guidance.
Comparable demand stays strongest where maker, originality, and venue confidence line up. Broader examples still trade, but the range tightens quickly when provenance, condition, or selling lane fit is missing.
Best Venue
Specialty auction or a focused dealer with buyers already in this lane.
Signed example with light edge wear and original frame.
Comparable format with stronger provenance and cleaner surface.
Smaller related piece with visible craquelure and trimmed margins.
Period match with softer condition and weaker subject matter.
Close market lane comp with similar material and presentation.