A Wine Which is the Pure Juice of the Grape. Mellowed by Age. [Croton Point Vineyards]

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An unusual wine-themed trade card given out by H.K. & F.B. Thurber & Co., located at West Broadway, Reade and Hudson Streets in New York City.

The function of the card was to alert consumers that Thurber and Company had purchased all of the wine made by Phillip Samstag, the right-hand man for Dr. R.T. Underhill, viniculturist and winemaker at Croton Point on the Hudson. Underhill’s heirs had pro-Temperance sentiments which led to the wine sale to Thurber and Company.

Richard T. Underhill was the Grape King of Croton Point: “In 1827 he began planting Catawbas and Isabellas. This vineyard of American grapes grew until it covered 75 acres, the product of which was sold in New York City. This was the first large vineyard in the country.” (U.P. Hedrick)

See The Season of the Vintage, accessed online, which gives the history of Underhill and the Croton Point vineyards and also illustrates an example of this trade card and that of another.

Price: $150.00