Cincinnati-Made Brass Liquor Store Sign 

American (Cincinnati), last quarter 19th century. A hand-carved brass advertising sign for I. Kaufmann & Co. / Liquor Dealers, stamped at the bottom F.I. Hoefle 179 Race St. Cin. O; 10 x 60 in.

This wonderful advertising piece was engraved by Francis I. Hoefle, an engraver working in Cincinnati in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The sign originally hung in Isaac Kaufmann's liquor store in nearby Hillsboro, Ohio. In State Centennial History: The County of Highland, Kaufmann was described as "a public-spirited citizen of Hillsboro" and it was noted that despite his German birth, he was "decidedly American in his manners and methods. He combines the German level-headedness and prudence with the American push and originality, a combination that has enabled him to succeed and thrive, no matter what the obstacles might be." Kaufmann opened his liquor store shortly after arriving in Hillsboro in 1875, and in 1880 his brother-in-law joined him in business. Business thrived and a wholesale store was operated in Cincinnati by Kaufmann's son around the turn of the century.

It is interesting to note that Kaufmann resided in Hillsboro, which played an important role in the history of the Women's Christian Temperance Union and the prohibition movement. The WCTU was founded in Hillsboro in December 1873, and went on to become a national organization. The women would pray in front of saloons and other establishments that sold liquor, in their mission to create a "sober and pure world". It is almost certain that Kaufmann's liquor store was one of the businesses targeted by such "crusades", his store having opened just a short time after the WCTU was founded.