Red Fox Premium Beer Cone Top Can

Red Fox Premium Beer Cone Top Can

This vintage twelve-ounce high-profile cone top represents a classic post-Prohibition design from Connecticut's brewing heritage. The front of the can features the brand's distinguished mascot—an anthropomorphic red fox dressed in a tailored red coat and blue trousers, balancing a serving tray with two frothing glasses of beer. The central graphic is encircled in a yellow oval flanked by bold red lettering. A key defining feature of this particular issue is its tax statement positioned along the right seam, denoting a "Withdrawn" export or tax-exempt status rather than standard domestic internal revenue phrasing.

Brand History

Largay Brewing Company introduced the Red Fox brand on May 10, 1933, making it one of the earliest new offerings to emerge in Connecticut following the repeal of national Prohibition. Marketed with an approachable yet dapper personality, Red Fox became the brewery's flagship label, appearing on both ale and lager packaging throughout the 1930s and 1940s. The brand gained considerable regional prominence across southern New England. Following the post-war closure of Largay's facility, the brand name and recipe were purchased and produced into the 1950s by outside regional brewers.

The Brewery

Largay Brewing Company, Inc. was established by George H. Largay in 1933. Seeking a ready-made industrial base, Largay purchased and modernized the historic Hellmann Brewing Company facility in Waterbury, which had ceased operations due to Prohibition. Waterbury had only a pair of commercial breweries in its industrial heyday, positioning Largay as an essential local employer and community staple during the Great Depression. Although the brewery navigated the economic turbulence of the 1930s and wartime rationing, intensifying competition from large national shipping breweries led to the company ending operations in the late 1940s.

Collecting Context

Cone top beer cans from the mid-twentieth century are among the most celebrated artifacts in breweriana collecting. Cans from Connecticut breweries are especially prized by regional specialists due to the relatively small number of canning operations active in the state during that era. The memorable animal mascot, paired with the seam-side tax notation, makes this can an essential centerpiece for collectors focused on New England brewing history and mid-century graphic design.