Antique Bremner Bros. Butter Wafer Cracker Tin Box Chicago w/Attached Snap Lid

Description

Born in the ashes of the 1871 Great Chicago Fire, the Bremner Biscuit Company was a Chicago institution for more than a century. David F. Bremner moved to Chicago in 1871 to supply bread to the devastated city after the Great Fire. The bread was baked with his initials D.F.B. stamped on the top, and for this reason D.F. Bremner's bread became known as "Damn Fine Bread." In 1905, David Bremner's sons established their own bakery, calling it Bremner Brothers Biscuit Company, which produced wafer crackers at their 901 W. Arthington St. plant, in Chicago’s Little Italy neighborhood The cracker’s claim to fame is that it is baked light and crispy with only a hint of salt as a flavoring. Bremner moved to Denver in the 1980s and is still in business, but its neutral flavor, said to be perfect for pairing with wine, cheese, paté, seafood, soups, and salads, is also an explanation for its bland, tasteless flavor. According to Bremner, its wafers cleanse the palate and support other flavors. Yeah, Ritz or Cheez-Its they are not.
From 1907 to the early 1920s, Bremner sold its product in a silvered rectangular tin with an embossed hinged metal lid that read "Bremner Bros. Butter Wafers Chicago.” In the 1920s the company switched to a detachable metal rectangular lid before it morphed into round tin cans with snap lids, so we know this box is a legitimate 1900-1920s antique. It measures 9 x 4.5 x 4.5 inches (23 x  10.5 x 10.5 cm). The hinge still works and the box closes tight, but not too tight to reopen. The silver color has aged to a nice brownish patina with a few rust spots and marks. There are a couple very small paint spots on one side. The bottom (not pictured) has light scratching but is in otherwise very good shape. Perfect for a general storage box, but what about a decoration in a country or general store, or an old farm design? An open box could hold papers, snail mail (remember what that is?), or used as a tall recipe box. You could put a couple of plants or cacti in it. Hey, you could even put crackers in it, if you washed it out first. Decoration for your wine party? Shipped free in the US. Check out our other advertising antiques and décor at
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DF412002