Art Larrance Papers, 1876-2000
Art Larrance is the co-founder of Portland Brewing Company and the Raccoon Lodge & Brew Pub and Cascade Brewing. He co-founded the Oregon Brewers Festival and collects materials related to Northwest beer history. The Art Larrance Papers include digitized versions of materials held by Larrance, including articles of incorporation for Portland Brewing, company newsletters, and pre-Prohibition hops and brewing advertising and company materials.
The digitized materials in this collection are available in Oregon Digital.
These materials were provided to the Special Collections & Archives Research Center in 2015 for digitization. The original items have been retained by Larrance.
Container List
- Series 1: Hops, 1896-1925 Add to Shelf
The series consists of photo postcards, invoices, and packaging related to the West Coast hop industry. The items feature hop fields, hop pickers, and various hop-related activities in Oregon, Washington, and California.
Many of the photographs show hop fields in various stages of growth and harvesting. Some are labeled with specific locations and dates, such as a hop field in Evans Valley, Oregon in 1908, and a hop field in Southern Oregon in 1914. Other photographs show unidentified hop fields, such as a hop field in California circa 1905.
The photographs show men, women, and children picking hops, often in groups. Some are labeled with specific locations and dates, such as hop pickers in Oregon City in 1907 and hop pickers in McMinnville, Oregon in 1910.
The series also includes an invoice from 1910 for Pacific Coast Hops from the McNeff Brothers. There are letters from the McNeff Brothers to the Becker Brewing and Malting Company, one of their clients, from 1910 and 1917. These letters provide insight into the business side of the hop industry and the relationships between hop dealers and their customers.
In addition to photographs depicting hop fields and pickers, the series includes several items that depict hop-related activities and objects. For example, there is a photo that shows Badger Brand Hops packaging from circa 1925, and another that shows a cartoon of a bird and frog picking hops, presumably for a children's audience.
- Series 2: Oregon breweries, 1876-1996 Add to Shelf
The series contains a variety of documents and photograph postcards related to beer brewing and consumption in Oregon from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century.
The series includes photographs of saloons, breweries, and delivery wagons, as well as brewery newspaper ads and beer bottle labels. Some of the notable photographs include the Columbia Saloon, the Max Weiss Brewery in Roseburg, and the interior of a saloon in Glendale, Oregon. There are postcards featuring images of various breweries and beer-related signs and advertisements, including the Portland Brewing Company's Edel Brau beer and the Star Brewery's Rose City Beer. The postcards and photographs also reveal the changing landscape of Oregon, with images of the Bonneville Dam celebration in the late 1930s and a Weinhard Rheingold sign during prohibition.
The documents range from beer stamps and transit tickets to invoices and letters, reflecting the business operations of various breweries and saloons. There are also documents such as invoices, checks, and letters related to breweries such as the Henry Weinhard Brewery and the Portland Brewing Company. Henry Weinhard's brewery in Portland was one of the largest in the region.
There are also materials related to the original Portland Brewing Company. In 1905, George Wilhelm, Otto Meier, and Alvin Schmidt incorporated the original Portland Brewing Company. The next year, Mary Wilhelm, George's mother, bought the business and became a principal stockholder; Mary had run the Sellwood Brewing Company following the death of her husband. Maurice Reinstein was elected Portland Brewing Company president. Mary wasn't involved for long and by 1911, Arnold Blitz had joined the board of the brewery. After the merger with the Weinhard Brewery in 1928, Blitz became president.
- Series 3: Portland Brewing Company, 1986-2000 Add to Shelf
This series shows the activities of the Portland Brewing Company, founded in 1986. Among the documents are newsletters, including a special issue newsletter from 1993, which includes articles on the company's history and growth, as well as information on its different beers and brewpub locations. Other documents include fliers for events such as the company's grand opening and Octoberfest, a menu from the Portland Brewery Dinner in 1989, table stands, and a brochure for Bert Grant's Yakima Brewing and Malting Company. There is also a shareholders' certificate from 1993 and a special tax stamp from the 2000 Oregon Brewers Festival. Additionally, there are several certificates of reservation for corporate names issued to brewing companies in Oakland, San Francisco, and other parts of California, and Yakima, Washington in 1986.
There is a photograph of Frank Commanday, Fred Bowman, Art Larrance, and Bert Grant making the first brew on January 1, 1986.
- Series 4: Prohibition, 1900-1925 Add to Shelf
- This series focuses on the theme of Prohibition, some items reflect support and others opposition. A pledge card from around 1905 promotes the Union Sunday School Temperance Army and encourages children to pledge abstinence from alcohol. One postcard from 1908 shows Eugene W. Chafin and Aaron S. Watkins, Prohibition candidates for President and Vice President. Another from 1907 features a woman's lips with the caption "Lips that touch liquor shall never touch mine," a slogan that became popular among Prohibition advocates. A postcard from 1910 shows a Prohibition parade with marchers carrying signs promoting the cause. Another postcard from 1914 features a photograph of the Tillamook Lighthouse with an Oregon Prohibition sticker affixed to it. One postcard from 1916 features an anti-Prohibition cartoon from a group called the Anti-Prohibition Gravediggers Association, with a message that not drinking alcohol would kill people.