Horton Export Beer Cone Top Can

Horton Export Beer Cone Top

This 12-ounce high cone top container features the distinctive banner reading "EXPORT" arched directly over the gothic-lettered Horton brand name. Produced by City Brewing Corporation in New York, the can carries the tax legend "WITHDRAWN FREE OF INTERNAL REVENUE TAX FOR EXPORTATION" along its lower rim, accompanied by metric volume markings indicating 35 centilitres alongside the standard 12 fluid ounces. The centerpiece of the label design is an oval medallion framed by the motto "AMERICA'S FINEST," showcasing an illustration of two hands raising stemmed goblets in a toast.

The Horton brand originated with the Horton Pilsener Brewing Company, an enterprise based on Amsterdam Avenue in Upper Manhattan. Marketed as a premium regional line of lagers and ales, Horton leaned heavily on traditional German-American brewing heritage, employing classical typography and celebratory toasting iconography across its packaging and tavern advertising. The export version was produced specifically for foreign trade or duty-free overseas shipment during a period of heightened international military and maritime activity, exempting the product from standard federal excise taxes.

City Brewing Corporation, the brewery named on the label, operated out of the Ridgewood neighborhood on the Queens and Brooklyn border. Its plant dated back decades to the pre-Prohibition William H. Frank Brewing Company. After the repeal of Prohibition, the location reorganized as City Brewing Corporation, achieving regional prominence with its flagship Tally-Ho label. In early 1941, consolidation swept through New York’s independent brewing community. The Greater New York Brewery acquired the Horton assets and merged with City Brewing Corporation, concentrating production at the Ridgewood facility and keeping the Horton brand alive under the City Brewing name. Facing post-war expansion by national giants and setbacks from the citywide 1949 brewery strike, the plant ceased operations around 1950.

Among breweriana collectors, this can holds strong historical appeal as a tangible relic of New York City’s mid-century brewing industry. Cone tops carrying export designations and dual metric measurements are particularly valued by collectors who specialize in tax-exempt variations and wartime-era packaging, while the high cone silhouette and graphic toasting emblem make it a standout display piece.