BEER ON TSARISTIC PRE-PRINTED POSTCARDS


A LATVIAN CONNECTION: WALDSCHLÖSSCHEN

The address on this card has a Latvian connection:
to the office of the main-wholesale house of the Riga brewery ВАЛЬДШЛЕСХЕНЪ (WALDSHLESKHEN), Waldschlösschen (or Waldschloshen) in St. Petersburg.
This company, founded in 1865 by the Bavarian brewer Johannes Dauder, became the forerunner of Aldaris, now the greatest brewery of Latvia.
Aldaris is in 1937 founded with coming into use again of the former brewery Waldschlösschen. Sice the beginning of World War I this brewery was not active.

Original print size of this image: 14,385 x 9,355 cm (is something more as the postal item)
This picture and all pictures below on this page, if not mentioned otherwise: scanned about 300 dpi. Then set right and cut out - noted the actual print size-, resized 25 % of this image and saved as jpg





Backside: 50 %.

Between 1879 and 1891 this kind of pre-printed postcards (postal stationeries) were used by beer-breweries and beerdistributors in Moscow and St. Petersburg for ordering beer. On the adress-side you see the adress of the brewery and the backside was pre-printed for ordering beer. The rate is of course 3 kopeken, the inland rate.
In the beginning the breweries used a great stamp, but later the cards were professionally printed.

Of course we want to know, what you could order in that time. The list here begins with БАВАРСКОЕ ПИВО (BAVARSKOE PIVO), Bavarian Beer.
Then follows Dark beer (table) and Light beer (table). The last is РУССКО - АНГАIЙСКIЙ ПОРТЕРЪ (RUSSKO-ANGAISKI PORTER) Russian-English porter or stout. In the Russian 'PORTER' we recognize of course the English 'Porter', called to the 'porters', who carried goods -also beer- in London. According the legend the innkeeper Ralph Harwood invented porter in 1730. It is a mixed beer: Stout is originally a 'Stout Porter', a strong porter. In 1775 it came via the Baltic Harbours to Russia and the strong porters became very popular on the Court of the tsars. For the long transport the porters were made stronger.
Catharina II, who reigned 1762-1796, granted it the name 'Imperial Russian Stout'. Also now 'Imperial Stout'is brewed, even stronger then before: 8-10%. On this moment only Aldaris and the brewery Cēsu Alus brew Latvian porters.

In the first column the order can be filled in by БОЧКИ (BOCHKI), cask/barrel, in the second column the amount of БУТЫЛКА (BUTYLKA), bottles.
Russia had his own measures for liquids: 1 ВЕДРО (VEDRO), bucket = 10 КРУЖКА (KRUZHKA), cup = 100 ЧАРКА (CHARKA), little glass = 12.3 litre. The relation between БОЧКИ (BOCHKI) and ВЕДРО (VEDRO), bucket is not clear for me.


The sender of this card was thirsty: handwritten is indicated 'urgent'.
Also you an overview of the prices and at the bottom is mentioned that for delivery at home at least 30 bottles must be ordered.

A nice picture card with the brewery in Riga. The card is sent from Riga and there is cancelled with a 'normal' two-rings-postmark.


Original print size of this image: 14,664 x 9,381 cm
(is something more as the postal item)




Here an invoice of the brewery.

On this account we see a tax stamp.
Tax stamps are not used for a postal service, but to pay tax or a license from the government. Therefore, these stamps usually not in a post-stamp collection included. The distinction is also not absolutely: on British stamps is often seen "Postage and Revenue", so they were used as a stamp and tax stamp.
About the use of tax stamps: even then for cigarettes and alcohol, but also many other things, passports, bank transactions, tea, sun-bathing on the beach, ..and more. For passports we must not only thinking to travel abroad. Under the tsars had a Russian citizen departing from his home to ask permission from the authorities. He got a passport, which he also returned to the police in the place of arrival had to report here and got a visa. Frequent travelers needed a passport book. All this with the necessary stamps. In Rossica has J.G. Moyes an article about the regulations during Nicholas II wrote.
Original print size of this image: 22,953 x 18,169 cm (is something more as the postal item)

Literature:

  • Passport fees under Nicholas II / by J.G. Moyes. - In: Rossica Journal 1994 ; 123. - p. 54-65
  • The St. Petersburg hospital tax / by J.G. Moyes. - In : Rossica Journal 1996 ; 126. - p. 51=60
  • Furthermore: the Russian tax stamps (Russian Revenues) a whole site is dedicated:www.nepochta.ru/index_eng.html


MOSCOW BAVARIA


Also the brewery Moscow Bavaria used pre-printed cards. This card has is adressed to the 'Office of the Brewery "Moscow Bavaria" in Syromyatniki'. This company is founded in 1810 and was in hands of the trade-house Tarusin K.S. and Sons.
The communists were against the use of alcohol, and the revolution was also the end of the brewery.

Original print size of this image: 12,531 x 9,025 cm
(is something more as the postal item)



Backside (50%)

Also with this card of Moscow Bavaria is was possible to order different kinds of ПИВА (PIVA), beer.




VENA BREWERY

Probably here is indicated the 'VENA' brewery. This company was a great brewery in St. Petersburg and on 17 May 1875 the company received from tsar Alexander II an official charter as Vena-ВЕНА-Brewery Company, founded in cooperation with a Viennese company.
From 1881 this brewery was also connected with Moscow by train and Vena had indeed a great store in Moscow.
The breweries in the capital St. Petersbug were very successful, partly due to the availability of high quality water in the region, necessary for the production of beer. Close before World War I one-sixth of the beerproduction was from this city.




With this card you could -as you see- of course order РИВА 'ВЕНА' (PIVA 'Vena') beer 'Vena'. Here the amount of 60 БУТЫЛКА (BUTYLKA), bottles.

Original print size of this image: 12,531 x 9,051 cm
(is something more as the postal item)


Another card of the same brewery.
Original print size of this image: 12,353 x 9,000 cm (is something more as the postal item)

According information from Internet:
The Vena (Vienna) Brewery is Russia’s second oldest plant. Leisinger Brauerei of Austria founded it in 1872. The brewing equipment was built in Austria and modern lagering technology was employed. In the 1880s, Vena made use of the new rail network to export its beers to Moscow. Its independence was short-lived, however. In 1889 it was sold to Kalinkin (now called Stepan Razin).



KARNEV, GORSJANOV AND CO

This card, 'To (the) office Shabolovsk Beerbrewery Factory Karnev, Gorsjanov and Co. Morcow in Shabolovsk', is professionally printed in black ink. The card shall be pre-printed by the E.Z.G.B. To the end of 1894 not only the printing of cards with imprinted stamp was a monopoly of the state, but even printing of formular cards was a monopoly of the state. The E.Z.G.B. (under control of the Department of Finances) was since 1863 responsible for the printing of postcards.
Shabolovsk is the district in Moscow, where the office was established. The Shabolovsky brewery is built in 1865. In the beginning of the 20th century it was in size the second brewery of Moscow. The company had a great distribution-system with storehouses in Kazan, Kaluga, Kasimov, Kolomna, Kastroma, Lipetsk, Nijmiy Novgorog< Rybinsk, Saratov, Serpuchov, Simbisrk, Sizpan, Tambov, Tula, Tsaritsin on the Wolga, and Yeroslavl.
During the first years of the Soviet-Union it was property of Markov and Komarov, but after the end of the NEP (New Economic Policy) the brewery disappeared.

Original print size of this image: 12,454 x 9,000 cm (is something more as the postal item)
Backside (50%)
The Shabolovsky brewery couild be seen regularly with its products on expositions, for instance on the Russian Industrial Exposition in Moscow ,1882. In 1876 the company get the right to set the state logo on its bottles.

This bachside begins with 'Request for delivering on undermentioned address:' with the stamp of A.G. Ribinov, who is ordering something with this card.
Here also in the first column the order can be filled in by БОЧКИ (BOCHKI), cask/barrel, in the second column the amount of БУТЫЛКА (BUTYLKA), bottles.
Here the list start with ПОРТЕРА (PORTER), the English porter or stout, a very popular beer as we have seen above.
The next beer we can also recognize in the English language: &$1069ЛЬ (EHL), the English Ale.
Then follow some more strange kinds of beer:

  • ЦАРСКАГО РИВА ЭКСПОРТУ (TSARSKAGO PIVA EKSPORTU), Tsaristic Beer Export
  • ПИЛЬЗЕНСКАГО РИВА (PILZENSKAGO PIVA), Pilsener Beer
  • ВЬНСКАГО РИВА (VENSKAGO PIVA), Viennese Beer
    СЪ КРАСН. ЯРЛЫК (S. KRASN. YARLYK.), with red label
  • ЧЕРНАГО РИВА (CHERNAGO PIVA), Dark Beer
    Also deliverable as БАРХАТНАГО (BARKHATNAGO), velvet (?)
  • РУССКАГО НАРОДНАГО РИВА (RUSSKAGO NARODNAGO PIVA), Russian People's Beer

After the beer can be ordered МЕДА (MEDA) or МЕДУ (MEDU): honey. Fermented honey was used for making an alcoholic drink. This traditional drink was, besides beer, already before the coming of Christianity produced in almost every Russian house. According the chrinicles the choice for Christianity was based on the popularity of this drink. Therefore prince Vladimir choose in 985 not Islam as -only- religion: alcohol was forbidden in Islam.


МЕДА (MEDA) could be ordered in different quality: No. 1, the better quality honey, РОЗОВАГО (ROZOVAGO), rosé or БЬЛГО (BELAGO), white. No.2 was the lesser quality, also rosé or white.
Many beers use honey, but in 'honey-beer' this use of honey must be tasted.
At the bottom of the card the address can be written. Here is stated a request for taking back something (people's beer).



Also some nice posters of this company from the period before the Russian revolution you could find on internet. The link was www.beersofrussia.co.uk , but the site is not longer working. (So set very interesting matters from the internet on your computer!)

The posters, on which you can recognize Shabolovsk and the name of Karnev, Gorsjanov and Co.