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AEDJ.H. Cutter Whisky Embossed Tin Lithograph Sign
About Seller
300 20th Street
Sacramento, CA 95811
United States
Witherell’s auction house is a family business rooted in a passion for fine art and antiques, based in Sacramento, a region known for its history and its important 20th century art scene. It all started when Brad Witherell was gifted a Civil War-era Henry rifle from his uncle as a teen, spurring his...Read more
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About Auction
LiveOct 29, 2026
Witherell's Live Luxury Asset Auction, October 29, 2026, from the Sutter Club, Sacramento. 363 lots: Warhol's $9, a Peale portrait, a Stone Declaration of Independence, Rolex, gold, fine jewelry, California baskets and more. Witherell Auctions Brian@witherell.com
View Full Catalog (363)
- Lot Description
An original embossed tin lithographed advertising sign for J.H. Cutter Whisky, distributed by A.P. Hotaling & Co., San Francisco, one of California’s foremost wholesale wine and spirits merchants during the late nineteenth century. Founded by Anson P. Hotaling, the firm supplied saloons and merchants throughout the American West. Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, the company’s warehouse famously survived, giving rise to the well-known verse: “If, as they say, God spanked the town for being over frisky, why did He burn the churches down and save Hotaling’s whiskey?”
The sign advertises J.H. Cutter No. 1 Old Bourbon, a Kentucky bourbon distilled by C.P. Moorman of Louisville and bottled for the California market by A.P. Hotaling & Co. Produced during the last quarter of the nineteenth century, it is an early embossed tin lithograph, among the first durable forms of commercial color advertising. The lower border bears the imprint of Pacific Sheet Metal Works, San Francisco, identifying the local manufacturer that produced the sign for A.P. Hotaling & Co., reflecting the city’s emergence as a leading center of commercial sign-making in the American West.
Dimensions: 13.5 × 9.75 in.
Shipping: Free Sacramento pickup. Shipping via FedEx within the continental U.S. for $65 plus 1.5% insurance (unless waived in writing).
Condition
Embossed tin lithograph retaining strong original color and excellent display appeal. Extensive age-related craquelure to the original finish throughout, with scattered scratches, isolated areas of oxidation, light edge wear, and minor handling marks consistent with age. The reverse retains its original dark painted surface with expected wear from use and storage.
- Provenance
The Estate of Mike Dolcini (1946–2012), Sacramento, California. One of the most respected Western bottle collectors and excavators of his generation, Dolcini was widely recognized for his expertise in California Gold Rush-era bottles, Western bitters, and nineteenth-century glass. Over decades, he also assembled a carefully curated collection of Western advertising with a particular emphasis on Sacramento history.
- Shipping Info
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Shipping is only in continental U.S. and information regarding shipping price is provided within the description of each lot. For international and larger items that we cannot ship in house, please take a look at our shipping contacts.
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