I traveled to Milwaukee over several years for research at the Milwaukee County Historical Society, located downtown on Third Street in a former bank.
Several major Milwaukee breweries began in the nineteenth century. When they later closed, most of them gave their archival material to the MCHS.
It was at the MCHS that I discovered the Pabst archives. I spent many hours examining that material.
This book is based on that Pabst research.
The title of my book is Pabst Extract: Selling Alcohol as Medicine in the Gilded Age.
My research and writing interests focus on the history of advertising, marketing, and public relations. I like to look at the text, in this case, materials like the ads, circulars, calendars, and pamphlets about Pabst Extract, dating from 1887. This material illustrates the cultural values of that period of time.
In the process of writing the book I am reading contextual material, including books and articles, which I will use in the book as well.
Since I have already signed a book contract, my goal is to complete the book manuscript by the end of this year.