White text on three horizontal, red diamonds between black text on a yellowed background. 

In 1821, John Cooper and Thomas Gould established a brewery in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. When William Van Nostrand acquired interest in 1860, he gradually expanded production and distribution.  His son, Alonzo G. Van Nostrand, originated the “P.B. Ale” (Purest and Best) brand.  In the 1890’s, Alonzo became the sole proprietor of the brewery which was now known as the Bunker Hill Brewery.  It operated until Prohibition.  In addition to P.B. Ale, the brewery also manufactured; Boston Club Lager, Bunker Hill Lager, Old Musty Ale, Owl Musty and Van Nostrand's Porter.

See more photos of pre- and post-prohibition beer buttons on the Busy Beaver blog.

White text on a red background with green around the edge.

Budweiser is a pale lager produced by Anheuser–Busch InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Adolphus Busch from Saint Louis, MO it has grown to become one of the highest selling beers in the United States, and is available in over 80 markets worldwide. Over the years, Budweiser has been distributed in many sizes and containers. Until the early 1950s Budweiser was primarily distributed in three packages: kegs, 12-ounce bottles and quart bottles. In 1955 August Busch Jr. made a strategic move to expand Budweiser's national brand and distributor presence. Along with this expansion came advances in bottling automation, new bottling materials and more efficient distribution methods. However, the Budweiser bottle has remained relatively unchanged since its introduction in 1876.

Illustration of an old, red beer wagon with white text on a blue background.

Budweiser is a pale lager produced by Anheuser–Busch InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Adolphus Busch from Saint Louis, MO it has grown to become one of the highest selling beers in the United States, and is available in over 80 markets worldwide. The Budweiser Clydesdales get most of the attention but the wagon they pull is also quite special. The red Studebaker dates back all the way to 1903. The Budweiser Clydesdales were first introduced to the public on April 7, 1933, to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition. August A. Busch, Jr. presented the hitch as a gift to his father, August Anheuser Busch, Sr., who was guided outside the brewery by the ruse of being told his son had purchased him a new car, but instead was greeted by the horses, pulling a red, white and gold beer wagon. The hitch proceeded to carry the first case of post-Prohibition beer from the St. Louis brewery in a special journey down Pestalozzi Street in St. Louis.

Illustration of the Budweiser Bud Man in red, white, and blue on a white background.

Budweiser is a pale lager produced by Anheuser–Busch InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Adolphus Busch from Saint Louis, MO it has grown to become one of the highest selling beers in the United States, and is available in over 80 markets worldwide. Back in 1969, the marketing department at Anheuser-Busch introduced a character that became one of the most recognizable symbols of Budweiser, known as Bud Man, the "Dauntless Defender of Quality." He quickly became the official mascot of Budweiser and has been used in such varied promotional products as display signs, key chains, and beer steins and mugs.

The top half of the button has an illustration of two men with blue text on a white background. The bottom half of the button has white text on a blue background.

Charles J. Vopicka, his brother-in-law Otto Kubin, and John Kralovec founded the Bohemian Brewing Company in Chicago in 1891, and renamed it Atlas Brewing Company in 1896. Atlas remained open during Prohibition as the Atlas Beverage Company producing near beer and soft drinks and exploiting its bottling capabilities. When Prohibition was repealed, Atlas Brewing Company received the first license to resume brewing of real beer in the Northern District. However, prior to this Vopicka's original partners had died and the company wasn't profiting after the initial boom in business from the repeal despite the large appeal of Atlas Prager Beer. This was followed by Vopicka's death in 1935. All of this lead to the company going into receivership in the late 1930s.

In 1940, after a bankruptcy reorganization Louis Kanne became the majority stockholder and CEO of Atlas Brewing Company. He merged the brewery with Schoenhofen-Edelweiss brewery but each brewery kept its original name. This did not prove as profitable as was hoped and led to the purchase of both breweries by Drewrys. They continued to operation until 1962 when Atlas Brewing Company was closed permanently. 

A color illustration of a mustachioed waiter in a blue suit and business man wearing glasses with a pipe and brown suit sitting at a yellow table locking arms and toasting glasses on a green background. A yellowed ribbon hangs from the button front featuring green text and a red, bow tie shaped Budweiser logo.

Budweiser beer was introduced to America in 1876 by Eberhard Anheuser and his son-in-law Adolphus Busch. In 1879, they named their company the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Association. With technological innovations in pasteurization, artificial refrigeration, refrigerated railcars, and rail-side ice houses, the company was able to ship its beer over long distances and market it as America’s first national beer. Today it is still one of the most popular brands of beer in America.

White text outlined in black on a red rectangle outlined in yellow in the center of blue, green, and purple arches and loops between blue text on a white background. 

This is a button advertising Altes Fassbier beer from Detroit, Michigan. "Fassbier" is German for "draft beer", indicating that this button is advertising for Altes brand draft beer. Altes beer was brewed by Altes Brewing Company between 1948 and 1954, and was later brewed by the National Brewing Company between 1954 and 1967. It is unclear exactly when this "Thirst Power" campaign began, but it may have been used by the National Brewing Company during the 1960s, with the introducion of the new Altes Golden Lager can, which claims it tastes "like the Fassbier draft beer". 

A pink rose sits on the left while a green fish head sits on the right below white text over brown background. 

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Illustration of a red rabbit in a green, hilly landscape with a yellow sky and blue text at the top.

The button's text is a play on words referring to the song "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You" written and published in 1944 by Russ Morgan, Larry Stock, and James Cavanaugh. The song was most famously covered by Dean Martin in 1965. 

Two pigs wearing sneakers below black text over beige background. 

The caption "My Pace or Yours?" is a phrase common among runners and joggers, sometimes as a slighting remark. But it is also used as a flirt or innuendo between a couple.