THE ARCHITECTURE WHICH DEFINES OUR LANDSCAPE IS A TANGIBLE PART OF OUR COLLECTIVE HISTORY. WHEN HISTORIC STRUCTURES ARE DEMOLISHED, A PART OF OURSELVES IS RELEGATED TO MEMORY AND CONDEMNED TO BE FORGOTTEN. IN THE REDISCOVERY OF OUR ABANDONED, OFF-LIMITS, OR OTHERWISE HIDDEN ENVIRONMENTS, I DOCUMENT THEIR EXISTENCE AS WELL AS OUR OWN THROUGH THE PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE ADVENTURES PRESENTED HERE
This page highlights some interesting historical ephemera pertaining to the Lemp Brewing Company of Saint Louis, Missouri.
The first item worthy of mention is the Lemp postcard booklet; The individual postcards themselves are fairly common, but the postcard booklet from which they originally came is extremely rare and very few complete examples seem to have survived to present day. The Lemp postcard booklet is notable for a variety of reasons, primarily because it is the most descriptive and complete single piece of documentation that the Lemp Brewery ever produced about itself, as far as I can tell. It appears to be the first published collection of photographs of the brewery and each postcard is divided by a descriptive page. The booklet itself is decorated in colorful artwork on its covers and folds out to reveal a "toast" written across its three cover pages inside of which, the reader is given a tour of the brewery through its brief historical and descriptive commentary which accompanies the photos on the postcards. This particular example is from my personal collection.
The Lemp Brewery Postcards copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Postcards copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Postcards copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Postcards copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Postcards copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Postcards copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Postcards copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Postcards copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Postcards copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Postcards copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Postcards copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Postcards copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Postcards copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Postcards copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Postcards copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Postcards copyright 2024 sublunar. Note: This description contains a typo; The pictured boilers are 400 HP (each), not 4000.
The Lemp Brewery Postcards copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Postcards copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Postcards copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Postcards copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Postcards copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Postcards copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Postcards copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Postcards copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Postcards copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Postcards copyright 2024 sublunar
The next item I've chosen to highlight here includes examples of the full color Lemp Beer Bottle Labels. These are from the Lemp Toasts Booklets which come up for sale from time to time. This one is also from my personal collection.
The Lemp Brewery Beer Labels copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Beer Labels copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Beer Labels copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Beer Labels copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Beer Labels copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Beer Labels copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Beer Labels copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Beer Labels copyright 2024 sublunar
The Lemp Brewery Beer Labels copyright 2024 sublunar
This blog is dedicated to the pursuit of adventure and exploration in Saint Louis, Missouri and beyond. Here you will find photographs of, and history pertaining to, some of the most interesting, unique, old and/or abandoned locations across the United States.
1. With the exception of any historical photos, all of the photographs here are copyrighted and not to be used for any purpose without my consent. The historical imagery is courtesy of the Missouri Historical Society or as otherwise noted.
2. "Don't try this at home." I absolutely will not be held responsible for anyone else's stupidity. I do not recommend anyone try visiting any of these locations. Sometimes I am granted access to the things you see here and attempting to follow in my footsteps may get you arrested, hurt or killed.
3. "Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints." I do not condone or tolerate: vandalism, theft, littering or any other disrespectful activity in any of these locations. Vandalizing and/or stealing from vulnerable locations is weak and lame as hell. I have respect for the history of these locations and for the history of my city, Saint Louis.
4. Do not ask me for (or post) specific location information. If identifying information is not provided in the post, it was left out intentionally to protect the identity of the location. Any information will be provided either at the time of posting, or updated years later, at my discretion.
5. Any reference to "I/me, we/us" anywhere on this blog is probably just a metaphor. Metaphors are often employed to simplify complex technical details when storytelling. As such, they can never be considered as admission, nor proof, of guilt; They do not provide sufficient evidence as to who (or what) actually took any of the photos shown here. I/we may or may not actually exist.
6. No ads. No sponsors. No gods. No masters. This site is completely non-commercial and for education and/or entertainment purposes only. I have taken significant personal risk, effort and cost to produce all content displayed here. All research is painstakingly engaged in and typed out by myself. I do this because I enjoy every aspect of it and I will not allow my work to be compromised by financial motivations. I am not available for hire.