Rheingold Extra Dry Lager Beer Flat Top Can

Miss Rheingold Contestant Can

The Rheingold Extra Dry Lager Beer flat top featuring Kathleen Wallace represents one of the most celebrated marketing campaigns in American brewing history. Produced by Liebmann Breweries at their Orange, New Jersey plant, this container was issued as part of the nationwide promotion for the Miss Rheingold contest.

The Miss Rheingold Contest

Introduced in 1940 by Philip Liebmann, the Miss Rheingold pageant grew into a massive annual cultural phenomenon throughout the greater New York metropolitan area and the Northeast. Each summer, six professional models were selected as finalists, and the brewery launched an extensive election inviting the public to vote for their favorite candidate. Ballot boxes were placed in thousands of grocery stores, taverns, and restaurants, generating millions of votes each year. To promote the election, Liebmann Breweries released cans showcasing portrait photographs and names of the individual candidates, including New York finalist Kathleen Wallace.

Collectibility and Regional Variants

This can features the classic Rheingold Extra Dry label motif accented by the Kathleen Wallace portrait panel. For collectors, the contestant cans remain enduring artifacts of mid-century advertising culture. Liebmann produced the series across multiple packaging locations, leading to text and mandatory labeling variations reflecting the Orange, New Jersey facility alongside other brewery operations.