My interest in this listserv stems from research into 19th century saloons,
especially in the American West, their operations and the drinks that were
actually served. My wife and I have authored two books in the subject area,
"The Wild West Bartender's Bible" [publisher's title, we originally titled
it Saloonkeeping in the American West 1862-1908] published by Texas Monthly
Press and the more popular "The Authentic Guide to Drinks of the Civil War
Era" published by Thomas Publications in (where else) Gettysburg, PA.
 
We have trid to separate the Hollywood myth from reality by studying
original bartenders' guides, saloon fixtures catalogs, probate inventories
of saloons, newspaper articles and other contemporary sources. We are
especially interested in saloon furnishings and fixtures and the myriad of
drinks that dispell the "whiskey or beer only" myth.
 
We would be very interested in exchanging information on the material
culture of saloons, drink recipes from ca. 1850 to Prohibition and
bartender's guidebooks (which are rare given the numbers destroyed during
Prohibition and the poor quality paper on which they were printed). We have
an extensive drink database and would be glad to post from it if anyone is
interested.  And by the way, most guidebooks of the era have sections of
"temperance drinks."
 
My wife, Sharon, has been a library specialist for 19 years and I have been
a museum director and curator for 20.
 
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Byron A. Johnson, Exec. Dir.
The Tampa Bay History Center, Tampa, FL
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P.O. Box 948
Tampa, FL  33601-0948