William Dresch Lager Bier

Business Type: Bottling Company

Location: 512 W. 57th St. Manhattan

Years of Operation: 1880 to 1896

Description: William Dresch operated a bottling company on Manhattan’s upper West Side producing bottled beers, sodas & water. Almost no information could be found on this bottling establishment except for a listing & information on the bottle below from “Antique Beer Bottles of Old New York” (Guest, Gary 2004).

This is the only bottle I have seen from William Dresch. This bottle has some unique features in comparison to other NYC bottles from this time period. The shape is similar to other champagne style blob top bottles but the double ring lip is typically only seen on Weiss style bottles. It also has an unusual cornflower blue color. The bottle is embossed “LAGER BIER, Wm. DRESCH, 512 WEST 57TH ST. NY”. Dresch was operating at this address from the years of 1880-1881.

The reverse is embossed “THIS BOTTLE NOT TO BE SOLD”