Cook's Goldblume Beer Cone Top Can

Cook's Goldblume Beer Cone Top Can

Dating to the late 1940s, this twelve-ounce high-profile cone top represents a classic post-World War II container packaged for the F. W. Cook Company of Evansville, Indiana. The can bears the mandatory "INTERNAL REVENUE TAX PAID" statement along its upper rim, firmly placing its production prior to the federal tax statement repeal in 1950. The visual presentation is anchored by a vertical blue and gold center column topped by a serrated emblem enclosing the brewery's circular trademark. Directly below, a flowing red script "Cook's" arches across a red banner that displays "GOLDBLUME" in gold block lettering, while the bottom of the column displays the word "BEER" rendered in bold white type flanked by red stars. This specific white-lettered typography differentiates this can from other design variations produced across the brand's packaging history.

Cook's Goldblume was originally introduced in 1885 and rapidly became the brewery's undisputed flagship brand. Marketed as a clean, refreshing lager, it earned immense regional loyalty across the Midwest and down the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys. Cook promoted the brand heavily through newspaper, outdoor, and point-of-sale advertising, famously backing the product with slogans like "The Best Beer on Earth". Beyond traditional print campaigns, the brand cemented itself into community life by sponsoring local athletics, including the Cook's Goldblumes semi-pro baseball team in the 1930s.

The brewery itself originated in 1853 when Frederick Washington Cook and his stepfather, Jacob Rice, founded the City Brewery in what was then an open cornfield in Evansville. Following Rice's death in 1885, the business reorganized as the F. W. Cook Brewing Company. After surviving a catastrophic fire in 1891, the brewery rebuilt on an ambitious scale. Cook weathered Prohibition by producing cereal beverages and near beer, reopening swiftly in 1933. The company was notably self-reliant, even operating its own dedicated electric switching line, the Cook Transit Corporation, to move freight cars to downtown rail yards. In 1950, Terre Haute industrialist and Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Anton "Tony" Hulman Jr. acquired controlling interest. However, prolonged labor disputes in 1955 prompted management to halt production, bringing an end to more than a century of brewing at the site.

Cone tops from this era remain a cornerstone category for breweriana enthusiasts, capturing the postwar zenith of crown-sealed canning before flat tops became universal. This can holds special appeal for collectors of Indiana brewing history, celebrating one of the Ohio River valley's most storied pre-consolidation names.