Bartels Pure Beer Flat Top Can

The Professor of Edwardsville

Brewed by the Bartels Brewing Company of Edwardsville, Pennsylvania, this flat top can represents one of the most recognizable regional beer brands of the Wyoming Valley. Established in the late 19th century along Toby's Creek, Bartels resumed production following Prohibition and became a household name across northeastern Pennsylvania.

A centerpiece of the can's presentation is "The Professor," the brewery's celebrated advertising mascot. Depicted as a distinguished, bearded gentleman wearing spectacles, The Professor regularly appeared across newspaper advertisements, coasters, and tavern signs dispensing words of wisdom and endorsing the beer. His likeness is paired with the brewery's classic slogan, "There Is None Better," emblazoned across the lower band.

This specific container is characterized by its enamel finish, distinguishing it from alternate production runs that featured metallic trim. After the Edwardsville brewery ceased operations in the late 1960s, the Bartels brand and its iconic Professor emblem were purchased by Wilkes-Barre's Lion Brewery, preserving the regional icon on shelves for decades to follow.